Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors
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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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  1. 4h ago

    Why Nobody Liked 'Joey'

    ‘Friends’ spin-off ‘Joey’ premiered on NBC on 9th September, 2004. 18.6 million Americans tuned in to watch Matt LeBlanc’s next chapter as Joey Tribbiani, now relocated to Los Angeles, alongside his sister Gina and her teenage son Michael. But the audience steadily melted away, and NBC shunted the second season around before putting the show on hiatus, before cancelling it.  In today’s episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the delicate dance of trying to spin off a character from a massively successful ensemble comedy; discover that LeBlanc had not been executives’ first choice from the Friends cast to ‘do a Frasier’; and assess whether ‘Gunther and Janice’ would have made a more compelling sitcom…  Further Reading: • ‘'Joey' could use a hug’ (Los Angeles Times, 2004): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-09-wk-brown9-story.html • ‘Remembering 'Joey,' 15 Years After the Maligned 'Friends' Spinoff Ended’ (TV Insider, 2021): https://www.tvinsider.com/1010497/joey-friends-spinoff-what-went-wrong/ • ‘JOEY • Pilot’ (NBC, 2004): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7IciEO6kfw #TV #2000s #Mistakes #Hollywood 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

  2. 1d ago • Subscribers Only

    Last of the Tasmanian Tigers

    The last known Tasmanian tiger to be held in captivity was found dead at Hobart’s Beaumaris zoo on 8th September, 1936. The critically endangered marsupial was accidentally locked out of its shelter overnight and succumbed to the frigid temperatures. With the animal’s death, a species that had once roamed across Australia for thousands of years went out with a whisper.    In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why 19th- and 20th-century Australians hunted Tasmanian tigers with such enthusiasm; explain why Thylacines had been in decline for about 3,500 years anyway; and look into how close scientists now are to bringing the “dog-headed pouched one” back from extinction…  Further Reading: • ‘The history of the Thylacine’ (The Zoological Society London, 2016): https://www.zsl.org/news-and-events/feature/history-of-the-thylacine  • ‘Tasmanian tiger: Remains of last thylacine found in cupboard after 85 years’ (BBC, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-63855426  • ‘Last of their kind: Caring for the Tasmanian Tiger collection’ (Museums Victoria; 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykb66UCOMOY&t=9s  • ‘Tasmanian Tiger in Colour’ (NFSA Films, 2022) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gt0X-27GXM  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 2023. #1930s #Nature #Australia #Sad

    Last of the Tasmanian Tigers

  3. 2d ago

    The One Man Submarine

    America’s first attempt at submarine warfare set sail - or rather, sank - off the coast of New York on 7th September, 1776. ‘The Turtle’ was the brainchild of David Bushnell, a former Yale student who built a wooden, barrel-shaped craft secretly equipped to drill a hole in a British warship, and attach an explosive charge. The vessel had ballast tanks, a hand-cranked propeller, and a snorkel for air - giving the operator about 30 minutes of breathing time. For lighting, candles were too risky, so Bushnell used glow-in-the-dark fungus, which, unfortunately, stopped glowing in cold water. When the mission came, the Turtle’s pilot, infantryman Ezra Lee, paddled out to attack HMS Eagle. After exhausting hand-cranking through tidal currents, he managed to reach the ship, only to hit reinforced copper when he tried drilling into its hull. With the fuse already burning, he had no choice but to release the mine into the harbour, and row like mad… In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why this farcical flop was still seen by some as a psychological victory; reveal what George Washington made of the whole madcap enterprise; and marvel at how from such clumsy beginnings grew one of the world’s most fearsome naval technologies… Further Reading: • ‘David Bushnell’s Turtle: The World's First Submarine’ (Warfare History Network, 2006): https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/article/david-bushnells-turtle-the-worlds-first-submarine/ • ‘World’s first submarine attack | September 7, 1776’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/september-7/worlds-first-submarine-attack • ‘Meet the First Submarine Used in Combat’ (Science Channel, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZTqDjMwejo 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. #1700s #NewYork #Revolution #Military #Inventions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    The One Man Submarine

  4. 3d ago ·  Bonus • Subscribers Only

    EXTRA: Defending McKinley’s Killer

    What happened to Czolgosz, once he was put on trial? The Retrospectors discuss, in this week’s bonus bits for 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon. Thanks for supporting the show!

  5. 5d ago

    The Night The Earls Vanished

    When 90 Irish nobles, led by the Earl of Tyrconnell and the Earl of Tyrone, fled for Normandy in the dead of night on 4th September, 1607, their intentions were not entirely clear.  Their escape, which became known as the ‘Flight of the Earls’, was mainly a bid for freedom from the tightening grip of English Protestant rule - but did they intend to return, securing support for a rebellion against England en route? Or simply seek refuge in Rome, amidst an increasingly impossible situation for Catholics after the Nine Years’ War? In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the slow deterioration of the Irish lords’ status - giving up their titles, language, religion and private armies - led to this moment; consider why other European nations were not keen to support their cause militarily; and explain how one of their progeny ended up in Eton after being abandoned in Ireland… Further Reading: • ‘The Flight of the Earls’ (History Today, 2007):  https://www.historytoday.com/archive/flight-earls • ’Rome to mark Flight of the Earls’ (The Irish Times, 2008): https://www.irishtimes.com/news/rome-to-mark-flight-of-the-earls-1.911911 • ’The Flight of the Earls - Dr Hiram Morgan’ (Hill of The O'Neill & Ranfurly House, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38QJXROmRVk 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

    The Night The Earls Vanished

  6. 5d ago • Subscribers Only

    Sunday Special: The Handshake That Killed a President

    President William McKinley was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition on 6th September, 1901. The assassin concealed a small revolver beneath a white handkerchief, and fired at point-blank range. A nearby waiter wrestled Czolgosz to the ground, preventing him from firing again. Other members of the crowd piled in and began beating him up, until McKinley - already gravely wounded - reportedly urged them to "go easy on him". The President was rushed to the Exposition's hospital, where doctors managed to remove one bullet, but could not locate the other. Eight days later, he died of gangrene. Czolgosz had been increasingly radicalised by the inequality and industrial unrest he had witnessed as a young factory worker. But he was very much a lone actor, viewed with suspicion by anarchists themselves, partly because of his awkwardness and apparent inability to fit into their circles. In this Sunday Special, exclusively for our 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴supporters on Apple Podcasts and Patreon, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how this event provoked widespread fears of European-style anarchist assassinations sweeping America; explain how this event forever transformed the Secret Service; and reveal why Theodore Roosevelt had to borrow formal clothing to be sworn in as President... Further Reading: • ‘U.S. President Mckinley Assassinated (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/u-s-president-william-mckinley-assassinated-1779188 • ‘September 6, 1901| President McKinley Assassinated’ (The New York Times, 2011): https://archive.nytimes.com/learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/06/september-6-1901-president-mckinley-assassinated/ • ‘How the Assassination of McKinley Gave Birth to the Secret Service’ (History, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYpN1ulU50I 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.

  7. 6d ago

    Becoming Frederick Douglass

    Posing as a sailor, with a borrowed ‘Protection Pass’ in his pocket, Frederick Douglass boarded a train from Baltimore to Philadelphia on 3rd September, 1838 - and escaped the slavery into which he had been born.  To formalise the process, he had to dodge slave-catchers, change his name and pay for his freedom. He then became an abolitionist, orator and public intellectual - and one of the most photographed men of the 19th century. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Douglass’s story continues to challenge many of our preconceptions about slavery; explain how he used writing and public appearances to combat racism; and reveal how Douglass’ story has a surprising connection to, of all places, Northamptonshire... Further Reading: • ‘Frederick Douglass’ Incredible Legacy, Told by Laurence Fishburne’ (History at Home, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsFNYW6EJi4 • ‘Frederick Douglass - Quotes, Narrative & Book’ (Biography, 2021): https://www.biography.com/activist/frederick-douglass • ‘Douglass in England - Frederick Douglass in Britain and Ireland’: http://frederickdouglassinbritain.com/journey/FDEngland/ 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 2021. #1800s #Person #Black #US Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Becoming Frederick Douglass

  8. Sep 1

    Candle In The Wind II

    On 1st September 1997, as Britain was still reeling from Diana Princess of Wales’ untimely death, Elton John’s Candle in the Wind 1997 turned up on a shortlist of potential music to be performed at her funeral. The song, which had been reworked and rerecorded in just a few days, had originally been written about Marilyn Monroe. The original had been a moderate success, charting at Number 5 in the UK charts and 6 in the US. The 1997 update, meanwhile, which was released the day after the princess’s funeral stormed straight to the top of the UK and US singles charts – and did the same in countless countries around the world. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why people’s feelings about the song soured so swiftly; discuss which other song was being considered for funeral; and explain which lyrics from the original were thought to be too spicy to be included in the 1997 version… Further Reading: • ‘Slow Burn: How Elton John's "Candle in the Wind '97"—the Best-Selling Single in Music History—Became a Royal Relic’ (Mental Floss, 2022): https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/elton-john-candle-in-the-wind-97-princess-diana-tribute-song-history  • ‘Princess Diana: Palace did not want Sir Elton John to sing at her funeral, newly released papers show’ (Sky News, 2021): https://news.sky.com/story/princess-diana-palace-did-not-want-sir-elton-john-to-sing-at-her-funeral-newly-released-papers-show-12506086 • ‘How Elton John’s Candle in the Wind became the soundtrack of a nation’s grief’ (The Times, 2022) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/princess-diana-funeral-music-25-year-anniversary-fkf7380ph  • ‘Elton John - Candle in the Wind/Goodbye England's Rose (Live at Princess Diana's Funeral - 1997)’ (BBC; 1997): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o9rLDCfO6o  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. #UK #1990s #Royals #Arts #Music Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    Candle In The Wind II
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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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