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Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll. From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes! Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee). Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

  1. Sunday Special: How Bollywood Began

    10 HR AGO • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Sunday Special: How Bollywood Began

    The Coronation Cinema, Bombay premiered ‘Raja Harishchandra’, a 40-minute mythological drama directed by Dadasaheb Phalke, on 3rd May, 1913. As a silent film, it obviously contained none of the songs now associated with Hindi cinema - but it helped establish an audience appetite for heightened emotion, clear moral stakes and visual spectacle, all of which later flourished in “Bollywood” cinema. It was a budget affair: Phalke himself wrote, directed, produced, designed sets, handled effects, and even managed costumes and make-up. Female roles were played by men. And strictly speaking, it was not even the first film made in India (an earlier work was filmed by an Englishman). But because Raja Harishchandra was an entirely Indian production, telling an Indian story with Indian performers, it has accrued enormous cultural importance. In this Sunday Special, exclusively for our 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Phalke’s inspiration came from a depiction of the life of Christ; reveal how his trip to Britain led to an apprenticeship from eccentric pioneer Cecil Hepworth; and consider how Bollywood has evolved from a cinematic novelty into one of the world’s most prolific film industries... Further Reading: • ‘Dadasaheb Phalke: 110 years of India’s first feature film Raja Harishchandra’ (Times of India, 2023): https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/110-years-of-indias-first-feature-film-raja-harishchandra/articleshow/99943210.cms • ‘Dadasaheb Phalke: A brief history of the Father of Indian cinema; a man of many talents | Bollywood News’ (The Indian Express, 2023): https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/dadasaheb-phalke-a-brief-history-of-the-father-of-indian-cinema-raja-harishchandra-8575271/ • ‘Raja Harishchandra’ (Dadasaheb Phalke, 1913): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2mruGFm_Ow #India #Film #1910s Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Ollie Peart. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

    11 min
  2. America's Celebrity Child Soldier

    2 DAYS AGO

    America's Celebrity Child Soldier

    Eleven year-old Johnny Clem formally became part of the Union Army on 1st May, 1863 - though he had already been participating as a Drummer Boy for the 22nd Michigan Infantry in the American Civil War for two years. Clem's youthful determination and bravery propelled him into the spotlight of national fame - but he was far from the only child soldier in this tumultuous American era. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly peruse Clem’s memoir, ‘From Nursery To Battlefield’; reveal how President Ulysses S. Grant personally intervened to assist Clem’s further career; and consider how Clem’s image was used for powerful propagandistic purposes…  Further Reading: • ‘The Boys of War’ (The New York Times, 2011): https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-boys-of-war/?searchResultPosition=3 • ‘Why the Union Army Had So Many Boy Soldiers’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2023): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-the-union-army-had-so-many-boy-soldiers-180981458/ • ‘Early Accounts of Drummer Boy Johnny Clem’ (Life on the Civil War Research Trail, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k2dDVnSO2U We'll be back on Monday - unless you join CLUB RETROSPECTORS, where we give you ad-free listening AND a full-length Sunday episode every week!Plus, weekly bonus content, unlock over 70 bonus bits, and support our independent podcast.Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    12 min
  3. Jerry Lewis vs The Holocaust

    3 DAYS AGO

    Jerry Lewis vs The Holocaust

    The Day the Clown Cried, Jerry Lewis’s notorious, unreleased Holocaust movie, faced a crisis on 30th April, 1972, when the American actor-director found himself in an extraordinary predicament: the financing for his deeply personal film project had collapsed mid-shoot. Faced with abandoning the production or funding it himself, Lewis chose to press on, investing his own money despite mounting practical and artistic difficulties, and the risky undertaking of the film’s subject matter itself: a Holocaust drama centred on a disgraced clown.  The project had been years in the making. The script, originally written by Joan O’Brien and Charles Denton, had circulated in Hollywood since the early 1960s without being produced.  Lewis substantially rewrote the script, softening the central character and reshaping the tone into a blend of pathos and sentiment that many later viewed as ill-judged. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine what survives of this never-seen film; consider the near-mythical status Lewis’s rough cut achieved; and consider whether it could REALLY be as bad as everyone assumes…  Further Reading: • ‘‘The Day the Clown Cried’: Why Jerry Lewis’s Lost Holocaust Film Is Still Lost’ (The New York Times, 2018): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/movies/jerry-lewis-day-the-clown-cried.html • ‘‘Ashamed. Embarrassed’: Jerry Lewis’s infamous Holocaust clown film that never was | Film’ (The Guardian, 2024): https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/aug/30/ashamed-embarrassed-jerry-lewis-infamous-holocaust-clown-film-that-never-was • ‘The Story Of The Day The Clown Cried’ (BBC South Today, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbZIyXNRxos #Film #Jewish #Mistakes #70s #Sweden Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    13 min

  4. 3 DAYS AGO

    Roget's Lexical Legacy

    Peter Mark Roget waited until retirement to compile his personal collection of synonyms into a book for publication: the first edition of Roget’s Thesaurus, released on 29th April, 1852.  Despite initial scepticism from critics, who couldn't grasp its practical brilliance, the public embraced the new format - despite its unconventional organisation, in which synonyms were categorised by conceptual threads, rather than in alphabetical order. In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explain how Roget drew inspiration from the systematic brilliance of Carl Linnaeus; discover literary references to the book in J.M. Barrie and Sylvia Plath; and question whether Roget’s work was an entirely positive development for journalism… Further Reading: • ‘Roget and His Thesaurus’ (The Saturday Evening Post, 2023): https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/01/roget-and-his-thesaurus/ • ‘Peter Mark Roget, the Keeper (See: Steward, Caretaker) of Synonyms’ (The New York Times, 2008): https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/books/18book.html • ’Eulogy at a Roget's Thesaurus Funeral - Johnny Carson’ (NBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYzLJiSZzM Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Ollie Peart. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2024. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    12 min
  5. Don't Call Me Bigot

    5 DAYS AGO

    Don't Call Me Bigot

    British Prime Minister Gordon Brown dealt his party’s reelection campaign a massive blow on 28th April 2010, when during a meet-and-greet in the marginal constituency of Rochdale, he was caught on microphone calling one of his own supporters, Gillian Duffy, a bigot. Duffy had engaged the PM in a long conversation about many things, including local concerns about the influx of migrants to the area and the strain that the increased population was having on the local economy. After he finished speaking with her, Brown was ushered into his car where a microphone picked up his now immortal quote: “That was a disaster... should never have put me with that woman. She was just a sort of bigoted woman who said she used to be Labour.” In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Brown probably wasn’t going to win the 2010 election anyway; speculate on why a relatively harmless exchange got under the PM’s skin; and recall another spectacularly cringeworthy moment when Brown was unable to name any songs by his favourite band…  Further Reading: • ‘Bigotgate’ 10 years on: The full exchange between Gordon Brown and Gillian Duffy’ (The Independent, 2020): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/bigotgate-gordon-brown-anniversary-gillian-duffy-transcript-full-read-1957274.html  • ‘Gordon Brown still hasn’t learned his lesson from Bigotgate’ (The Spectator, 2017): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/gordon-brown-still-hasn-t-learned-his-lesson-from-bigotgate/  • ‘Gordon Brown calls Labour supporter a "bigoted woman"’ (Sky News, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEReCN9gO14  Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. This episode originally aired in 2023. #2010s #UK #politics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    12 min
  6. Mussolini's Last Day on Earth

    6 DAYS AGO

    Mussolini's Last Day on Earth

    Benito Mussolini was captured by partisans on 27th April, 1945, whilst attempting a hopeless escape to Switzerland, ‘disguised’ in a Luftwaffe coat and helmet alongside his much-younger mistress, Clara Petacci. Hiding in plain sight was never going to work for a man who had spent years building a cult of personality. He put up little resistance to his capture. That night, the couple spent their final hours in a peasant farmhouse, under the nervous watch of their captors. Mussolini, who once saw himself as Italy’s savior and Hitler’s equal, had lost everything. His empire was gone, his people had turned against him, and now he was simply waiting to die. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the missing evidence around his iconic execution; explain what happened to Mussolini’s body in Milan’s Piazzale Loreto; and discover how his tomb in Predappio is still attracting neo-fascist pilgrims... Further Reading: • ‘Benito Mussolini's Death At The Hands Of Italian Partisans In 1945’ (All That’s Interesting, 2025): https://allthatsinteresting.com/benito-mussolini-death • ‘How Italian Dictator Benito Mussolini Became The First Face Of Fascism’ (HistoryExtra, 2022): https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/benito-mussolini-il-duce-first-20th-century-european-fascist-italian-dictator/ • ‘The Final Years of Il Duce’ (SLICE HISTORY, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2wB22RVkH4 Love the show? Support us!  Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…  … Plus, get weekly bonus bits, and unlock over 100 bits of extra content.  Join now with a free trial on Apple Podcasts or Patreon and support our show ❤️ The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Ollie Peart. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026. #WW2 #Italy #40s #Macabre Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    13 min

  7. 25 APR ·  BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    EXTRA: Studio 54's Eccentric Door Policy

    What were the rules for getting into New York’s most notorious nightclub? In this week’s bonus bit for our 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon, The Retrospectors reveal all. Thanks for supporting the show!

    6 min
  8. Sunday Special: Inside Studio 54

    25 APR • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    Sunday Special: Inside Studio 54

    Thousands of partygoers crowded the pavements outside Studio 54 on its opening night, 26th April, 1977. Inside, a fusion of hedonism, performance, and celebrities on the dancefloor ensured it would quickly become New York’s most talked-about nightclub. Its founders, Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, had transformed a former TV studio into an extravagant pleasure palace complete with elaborate lighting rigs, VIP area, and provocative set pieces, including the infamous “Moon and Spoon” installation. Central to Studio 54’s allure was its famously capricious door policy. Admission was less about fame or wealth than about fitting the desired “scene”. Celebrities such as Andy Warhol, Bianca Jagger, and Elizabeth Taylor became synonymous with the club, yet even well-known figures were routinely refused entry. In this Sunday Special, exclusively for our 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Rubell’s public boasts about profits led to the nightclub’s downfall; consider how large a part Quaaludes and cocaine played in its success; and explain how a photo of Cher kickstarted its phenomenal popularity… Further Reading: • ‘David Bowie, Sly Stallone, Cher and even Donald Trump couldn't get enough of nightclub Studio 54’ (Irish Mirror, 2017): https://www.irishmirror.ie/showbiz/celebrity-news/david-bowie-sly-stallone-cher-9669375 • ‘Studio 54 opens in New York City | April 26, 1977’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/April-26/studio-54-opens • ‘Inside Iconic Disco Nightclub Studio 54’ (ITN, 1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdfYSI5HkDU #70s #NewYork #LGBT #Fashion #Crime Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer: Ollie Peart. Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

    11 min
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Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll. From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes! Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee). Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.

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