Today In History with The Retrospectors

Latest Episodes:

Screening The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Oct 01, 2026

Show notes

Tobe Hooper’s legendary low-budget horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, first screened in Austin on 1st October, 1974.

The movie was an international sensation - making £21.9 million from its £100,000 budget in its first year - although not in the UK, where it was not screened nationally for 25 years, due to the BBFC’s concerns about its portrayal of suffering and violence against women.

In this episode, The Retrospectors unpick the picture’s gruesome reputation, given that much of the violence is suggested rather than explicitly shown; pore over the extreme conditions faced by the hitherto unknown cast during filming, including scorching Texas heat and foul-smelling props like rotting animal bones; and consider whether the piece can be considered a (very black) comedy…

Further Reading:

• ‘Tobe Hooper: the director who took a chainsaw to wholesome family life’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/27/tobe-hooper-appreciation-texas-chainsaw-massacre-american-family

• ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ (BBFC Education): https://www.bbfc.co.uk/education/case-studies/the-texas-chain-saw-massacre

• ‘ The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Original Trailer (Tobe Hooper, 1974): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKn9QIaMgtQ

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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.

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Thunderbirds Are Go! Sep 30, 2026

Show notes

The first ever episode of Thunderbirds, the revolutionary British TV show starring puppets, aired on September 30th, 1965. It was instantly a hit in Britain, and elsewhere in the world, but its failure to captivate a US audience led to its untimely demise after just two seasons.

The show used a system, coined by its creators as “Supermarionation” which involved pre-recording the voices, which would then be played back during filming. Each marionette’s head contained filters which converted the dialogue into pulses, which in turn travelled to solenoids in the puppet’s lips.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss why each marionette needed three heads; look at how the Mercury Seven – the first batch of Nadi astronauts – were honoured by the show; and reveal which of the three of us still has Thunderbirds merch from when they were a kid.

Further Reading:

• ‘30 September 1965: Thunderbirds Are Go!’ (Money Week, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/409685/30-september-1965-thunderbirds-are-go

• ‘Thunderbirds (Series One)’ (Fanderson, 2022): https://fanderson.org.uk/productions/thunderbirds-series-one/

• Thunderbirds - Trapped in the sky (Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, 1965) https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x28x1gu

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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 2022.

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The Inquiry Office Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

Henry Robinson opened the Office of Addresses and Encounters on Threadneedle Street, London on 29th September, 1650. The centre provided a forward-looking, unusual mix of services ranging from job placements, money lending, and property dealings… to (shhh) match-making.

Robinson's inspiration came from a broader philosophical concept of creating a place where people of all classes could access information, regardless of their status in society. He accordingly charged a minimal fee for answers to queries, and offered an array of services, from buying and selling land to language tuition and finding ‘travel companions’.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore why euphemistic wording was so often used in these very first ‘classifieds’; reveal the first documented example of a ‘Lonely Hearts’ advertisement; and consider what Robinson’s upselling model had in common with Costco…

Further Reading:

• ‘Heretic, Rebel, a Thing to Flout: They Found Answers at the Office of Addresses and Encounters’ (Patrick Murfin, 2016): https://patrickmurfin.blogspot.com/2016/09/they-found-answers-at-office-of.html

• ‘The Secret History of Domesticity - Public, Private, and the Division of Knowledge -

By Michael McKeon’ (John Hopkins University Press, 2006): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Secret_History_of_Domesticity/8VrwIKiAefkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=henry+robinson+office+of+encounters&pg=PA28&printsec=frontcover

• ‘HISTORY OF IDEAS - Dating’ (The School of Life, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ob14PcHtazQ

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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.

#1600s #UK #Romantic #Business

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Philadelphia's Deadly Parade Sep 28, 2026

Show notes

The Liberty Loan Parade on 28th September, 1918 was the biggest party Philadelphia had ever seen: floats, marching bands, and miles of cheering crowds. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a deadly super-spreader event.

The Spanish flu had first killed a Philadelphian just nine days earlier, and cases were already popping up in the Navy Yard. Doctors warned the city to cancel the parade, but officials waved them off. Within days, Philadelphia was a disaster zone. Hospitals overflowed, schools and bars closed, and the city morgue piled up with bodies.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly marvel at how medical students and retired doctors volunteered to care for the sick and bury the dead; consider whether the city’s health director, Dr. Wilmer Krusen, a political appointee with zero public health experience, was to blame for the pandemic that followed; and consider the merits of the resultant public health campaign, “Spit Spreads Death”...

Further Reading:

• ‘The flu can kill millions. In 1918, a pandemic was fueled by World War I’ (The Washington Post, 2018): https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2018/02/03/a-killer-flu-was-raging-but-in-1918-u-s-officials-ignored-the-crisis-to-fight-a-war/

• ‘Philadelphia Threw a WWI Parade That Gave Thousands of Onlookers the Flu’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/philadelphia-threw-wwi-parade-gave-thousands-onlookers-flu-180970372/

• ‘The 1918 Spanish Flu—A Conspiracy of Silence | Part 1 of 3’ (The Great Courses Plus, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MHT5xTkL2g

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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.

#Health #Philadelphia #Mistakes #WW1

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Praise The Lord, It's Billy Graham Sep 25, 2026

Show notes

Billy Graham’s Los Angeles Crusade started modestly on 25th September, 1949. But after newspaper giant William Randolph Hearst told his editors to "puff Graham", the nightly revival meetings exploded in popularity, becoming a ‘sin-smashing sensation’, and Graham soon became America’s favourite preacher.

His style was perfect for the Hollywood backdrop. At just 30 years old, Graham had a youthful, energetic presence, dashing good looks, and a flair for the dramatic. His sermons, packed with urgency and fast-paced delivery, connected worldly threats like communism with personal struggles, and always offered a strikingly simple answer: Jesus. By the end of this first eight-week crusade, 350,000 people had attended, with 3,000 recorded conversions.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the skills that set Graham apart from other evangelists; consider his global influence, including a record-breaking run at London’s Haringey Arena; and recall how a singing cowboy transformed Graham’s fortunes…

Further Reading:

• ‘Billy Graham's star was born at his 1949 revival in Los Angeles’ (Los Angeles Times, 2007): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-sep-02-me-then2-story.html

• ‘How Billy Graham became the most famous preacher in America’ (CNN, 2018): https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/21/us/how-billy-graham-became-famous/index.html

• ‘WEMBLEY: BILLY GRAHAM IN LONDON’ (Gaumont, 1955): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGPQpQb_dDM

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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.

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Sexing Up Jane Austen Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

The ‘Austenmania’ craze of the mid-90s kicked off with the BBC’s production of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, which first aired on 24th September, 1995.

Now primarily remembered for Colin Firth’s ‘wet shirt’ scene, Andrew Davies’s ‘sexed up’ adaptation also starred Firth’s real-life squeeze Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet, and was the first serialisation of the novel to be filmed on location, with picturesque country estates providing a ‘property porn’ backdrop to the plot’s central romance.

In this episode, the Retrospectors reveal how Firth later tried to distance himself from the fetishisation of his role as Mr Darcy; explain the part rat urine played in filming the iconic bathing scene; and discover how this sensationally popular miniseries sparked interest in erotic adaptations of Austen's work…

Further Reading:

‘Pride and Prejudice at 20: The scene that changed everything’ (BBC Culture, 2015): https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20150922-pride-and-prejudice-at-20-the-scene-that-changed-everything

‘Books, Bras and Bridget Jones: reading adaptations of Pride and Prejudice - by Olivia Murphy’ (University of Sydney): https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/229392346.pdf

‘The Lake Scene (Colin Firth Strips Off)’ (BBC, 1995): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hasKmDr1yrA

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.

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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.

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Here Comes Nintendo Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

Nintendo was world-famous by the 1980s but the origins of the company go back a century earlier - to September 23rd, 1889, when Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo Koppai, a maker of brightly-coloured ‘Hanafuda’ cards.

The hand-painted playing cards, made of mulberry bark, were produced for decades and were a favourite of Yakuza gangsters for use in illegal gambling.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into the bizarre businesses with which Nintendo experimented before their pivot into video games; explain how a plastic concertina hand changed the fortunes of the company’s toy division; and reveal how the inventor of the Game Boy, Gunpei Yokoi, was on a quest for love…

Further Reading:

• ‘23 September 1889: Nintendo starts making playing cards’ (MoneyWeek, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/349214/23-september-1889-nintendo-starts-making-playing-cards

• ‘Nintendo's erotic playing cards’ (CNET, 2012): https://www.cnet.com/culture/nintendos-erotic-playing-cards/

• ‘Nintendo Hanafuda Playing Cards Deck Review - Let's open some packs’ (Diggo Decks, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI7u0_sVxTU

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.

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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.

This episode originally aired in 2022.

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Welcome to Downing St Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Robert Walpole, first Lord of the Treasury, moved into 10 Downing Street on 22nd September, 1735, after three years of renovations. Although initially given to him as a personal gift from the King, the house became the official residence for all future Prime Ministers.

Despite its central location in London, Downing Street wasn't fashionable at the time, and the house already had a long history of structural issues due to soft ground, leading to constant repairs. Over time, the original yellow bricks designed by Sir Christopher Wren turned black because of pollution from smog and smut.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly review the negative opinions of generations of PMs towards the nation’s primary grace and favour apartment; explain why Ramsay MacDonald dispatched his daughter down to the January sales; and reveal how Margaret Thatcher's very 80s aesthetic choices resonate with international visitors to this day...

Further Reading:

• ‘The Surprising History of 10 Downing Street’ (HISTORY, 2016): https://www.history.com/news/the-surprising-history-of-10-downing-street

• ‘Sir Robert Walpole moved into Downing Street today in 1735’ (The Oldie, 2021): https://www.theoldie.co.uk/blog/sir-robert-walpole-became-the-first-pm-300-years-ago-today-david-horspool

• ‘Inside Downing Street: A brief history of No.10’ (The Times Red Box, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwfHqQqImcc

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.

This episode originally aired in 2023.

#1700s #UK #Politics #Architecture

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The Man Who Bought Stonehenge Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

Barrister Cecil Chubb attended a Salisbury auction on September 21st, 1915 intending to buy curtains or chairs, but impulsively bought… Stonehenge. Yes, that Stonehenge.

Built by Neolithic and Bronze Age communities for purposes still debated today - ceremonial? religious? - for centuries the site had been treated less like a sacred monument and more like an inconvenient field ornament. Sheep grazed around it, tourists scratched their names into it, and the Aristocratic family who owned it had begun to charge entry to pay for fences and security guards to keep vandals away. But then their only heir died in the War, and Stonehenge was put up for sale.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Chubb selflessly gave up the monument to the nation (though did effectively earn himself a knighthood in return); ask whatever happened to Chubb’s condition that ticket prices (now up to £70) would not exceed one shilling; and reveal what guests get to do in the ‘stone-circle experience’...

Further Reading:

• ‘The Man Who Bought Stonehenge And Gave it Away’ (Amusing Planet, 2022): https://www.amusingplanet.com/2022/08/the-man-who-bought-stonehenge-and-gave.html

• ‘Stonehenge Sold for £6,600 A Hundred Years Ago Today’ (English Heritage, 2015): https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/search-news/stonehenge-sold-100-years-ago/

• ‘Stonehenge Secrets: What Lies Beneath? | Holy Marvels’ (History, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJOmC4vMuxI

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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.

#1910s #BC #Strange #UK

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How the Paralympics Began Sep 18, 2026

Show notes

The first Paralympic Games - hosting 400 athletes from 23 countries - took place in Rome on 18th September, 1960.

But it was only known by this name retrospectively: the day it took place, this festival of disabled sport was called The Ninth Annual International Stoke Mandeville Games.

Sprung from a competition held at a hospital in Buckinghamshire, and pioneered by German-Jewish neurosurgeon Dr. Ludwig Guttman, the Games began as part of a physiotherapy programme for soldiers and civilians with spinal cord injuries. As the Stoke Mandeville Games expanded, so did the variety of sports and the level of competition.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal Russia’s initial refusal to participate; uncover the controversial use of performance-enhancing drugs; and celebrate Dr. Guttman’s vision of what was possible for athletes with disabilities...

Further Reading:

• Paralympians still hold a flame for Stoke Mandeville pioneer (The Times, 2023): https://www.thetimes.com/sport/cricket/article/paralympians-still-hold-a-flame-for-stoke-mandeville-pioneer-653kbqjx5

• ‘Celebrating 60 years since Rome 1960 - the first Paralympic Games!’ (Paralympic Games, 2020): https://www.paralympic.org/feature/celebrating-60-years-rome-1960-first-paralympic-games

• ’How the Paralympics Began’ (The Retrospectors, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1cA22GsmBE

This episode originally aired in 2024.

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