Today In History with The Retrospectors

Latest Episodes:

How To Paint the Sistine Chapel May 10, 2022

Show notes

Michelangelo was a sculptor, not a painter, when on 10th May, 1508, he embarked upon the biggest gig of his career: painting the roof of the Sistine chapel in the Vatican.

Outwardly reluctant, and doubtful he could complete the project, he nonetheless took the opportunity to suggest that rather than portraying the twelve apostles requested by the Pope, he should instead depict 300 different characters.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how he set about this Herculean task (no, he didn’t paint lying down); reveal how he channeled his frustrations into black humour; and discover the artful way in which he treated his harshest critics…

Further Reading:

• ‘Book Extract: Michelangelo And The Sistine Chapel by Andrew Graham-Dixon’ (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2008): https://www.andrewgrahamdixon.com/extract/michelangelo-and-the-sistine-chapel.html#

• ‘"The Last Judgement" Michelangelo - The Sistine Chapel Masterpiece’ (Art In Context, 2021): https://artincontext.org/the-last-judgement-michelangelo/

• ‘Art, Explained: Deconstructing Michelangelo's process from a Sistine Chapel study’ (The Met, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICQCUTiC0mI

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

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: Alexa Weissman.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Captain Blood and the Crown Jewels May 09, 2022

Show notes

Fugitive Thomas Blood sneaked his way into the Tower of London’s jewel room on 9th May, 1671 - bludgeoning the 77 year-old Keeper of the Jewels, Talbot Edwards, in the process.

Disguised as a parson, the Irish adventurer had cat-fished Edwards in an audacious and complex heist that involved multiple pairs of white gloves, a fake nephew and stuffing an orb down his trousers.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Blood failed to steal the jewels, but got away with a Royal pardon from Charles II; recall his earlier escapades as a fake doctor and a mock executioner; and ask why, after all that planning, the criminal gang didn’t BRING A BIGGER BAG…

Further Reading:

• ‘Attempt to steal the Crown Jewels’ (The National Archives): https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/significant-events/attempt-to-steal-the-crown-jewels/

• ‘Thomas Blood and the Theft of the Crown Jewels’ (Historia Magazine, 2017): https://www.historiamag.com/thomas-blood/

• ‘The Crown Jewels Thief - Colonel Blood’ (Historic Royal Palaces, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRmBE6B8F7I

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

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: Alexa Weissman.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bonjour, Eiffel May 06, 2022

Show notes

The lifts weren’t operational, so there weren’t any visitors, but the commemorative coins had already been minted - so it was 6th May, 1889 that went down in history as the official opening of the Eiffel Tower, at that time the world’s tallest man-made structure.

Erected for the World’s Fair to commemorate 100 years since the French Revolution, it was designed to be dismantled after a few years - not least because there was significant opposition to it from some of Paris’s best known artists - yet it remains an iconic part of the Paris skyline to this day.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the committee came to choose this unusual structure for their centennial celebrations; compare Gustav Eiffel’s elevated office space to Donald Trump’s; and explain how radio transmissions saved the Tower from its intended fate…

Further Reading:

• ‘The artists who protested the Eiffel Tower’ (Tour Eiffel Official Website): https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/news/130-years/artists-who-protested-eiffel-tower

• ‘Gustave Eiffel's Secret Apartment – Paris, France’ (Atlas Obscura, 2006): https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gustave-eiffels-secret-apartment

• ‘Deconstructing History: Eiffel Tower’ (History, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqHa1XJWODI

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Coco Chanel's Iconic Scent May 05, 2022

Show notes

Chanel No 5, the legendary perfume still said to shift one bottle every thirty seconds, was first released in Paris on 5th May, 1921.

Created by Ernest Beaux, its innovative mixture of jasmine, sandalwood, orange blossomand aldehydes gave it a freshness and fizz that turned heads - and its simple, masculine bottle bucked the trend for ornate designs crafted by renowned glass-houses.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Coco Chanel savvily put herself at the centre of the brand’s marketing; reveal how she collaborated with the Nazis to attempt to regain control of the company; and consider what she had in common with Colonel Sanders…

Further Reading:

• ‘How Its Made: The Iconic Chanel No. 5’ (Fashion.Luxury): https://fashion.luxury/beauty/how-its-made-the-iconic-chanel-no-5/

• ‘Coco Chanel's Secret Life as a Nazi Agent’ (Biography, 2019): https://www.biography.com/news/coco-chanel-nazi-agent

• ‘CHANEL N°5 - For the first time’ (Inside CHANEL, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRQa33dqyxI

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

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: Alexa Weissman.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Debut of the Daily Mail May 04, 2022

Show notes

As British literacy rates surged to a new high of 97%, the time was right to launch a simpler, shorter, more readable newspaper - and Alfred Harmsworth’s Daily Mail caught the zeitgeist when it hit the news-stands (at the eye-catching price of just half a penny) on 4th May, 1896.

The new paper attracted half a million daily readers by the end of the century, drawn in by its American-inspired mix of provocative political commentary, human interest and sentiment.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Mail innovated faster national and international distribution; chart Harmsworth (later Lord Northcliffe)’s progress to becoming the Rupert Murdoch of his day; and explain how, by the 1930s, this very British institution was championing Hitler…

Further Reading:

• The Daily Mail - First Edition (Associated Newspapers, 1896):

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oYc4qln-cac/Tz_TRp8hfFI/AAAAAAAAAhM/iM-U3hiquB4/s1600/P1000838.JPG

• ‘Lord Northcliffe – The Press baron at the heart of World War One’ (Cardiff University, 2016): https://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/musicresearch/lord-northcliffe-the-press-baron-at-the-heart-of-world-war-one/

• ‘Prime Ministers and Press Barons: Lord Northcliffe’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHmImZhYK4w

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

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: Alexa Weissman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Wu-Tang Scamster May 03, 2022

Show notes

Martin Shkreli, ‘the most hated man in America’, purchased the one extant copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s concept album ‘Once Upon A Time In Shaolin’ for $2 million on 3rd May, 2015.

In seeking to sell their record in an auction, the hip-hop collective had been inspired by the concept of wealthy patrons funding Renaissance artists - but hadn’t counted on the winning bidder being the ‘pharma bro’ notorious for raising the price of toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim by a factor of 56.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider whether Shkreli’s ‘price gouging’ antics made him an (in)appropriate buyer; ask whether it can really be true that the multimillionaire didn’t even bother listening to his purchase; and explain what happened to the CD after Shkreli was imprisoned for fraud…

Further Reading:

• Everything I Know About the Wu-Tang Album from Hanging Out with Martin Shkreli (VICE, 2016): https://www.vice.com/en/article/3bjmq9/everything-i-know-about-the-wu-tang-clan-album-from-hanging-out-with-martin-shkreli

• ‘Wu-Tang clap back, dissing Martin Shkreli on new track’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/22/wu-tang-clan-martin-shkreli-track

• ‘Martin Shkreli on Drug Price Hikes and Playing the World’s Villain’ (VICE, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PCb9mnrU1g

For bonus material and to support the show, visitPatreon.com/Retrospectors

We'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:podfollow.com/Retrospectors

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: Alexa Weissman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Swedish Meatballs Controversy Apr 29, 2022

Show notes

Where are meatballs from, and why does it matter? Social media users frenziedly grappled with these very questions on 29th April, 2018, when Sweden’s official Twitter account proclaimed: “Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King Charles XII brought home from Turkey in the early 18th century. Let's stick to the facts!”

Does this tale about the Royal family bringing meatballs back from the Ottoman Empire check out? And doesn’t every culture in the world have some form of meatballs? You’d think these would be innocent questions - but they ended up overhauling Sweden’s social media strategy for good…

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the origins of IKEA’s best-selling product; reveal the world-record for meatball consumption; and investigate a Finnish hack for soupy balls…

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Today In History with The Retrospectors

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected