Today In History with The Retrospectors

Latest Episodes:

The Horse Bus Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

Blaise Pascal created the first organised public transport system: the carrosses à cinq sols (“five-sou carriages”), which had its first full day of service in Paris on 19th March, 1662.

Like a modern bus, the horse-drawn carriages followed fixed routes and scheduled departures, running whether or not they were full; a scheme authorised by royal patent under the reign of Louis XIV, granting Pascal’s partners exclusive rights to operate the service.

Each vehicle carried around eight passengers, linking areas such as the vicinity of the Porte Saint-Antoine with the Luxembourg district. Fares were standardised and the system introduced ideas familiar in modern public transport, including regular intervals between vehicles, defined routes, and points where passengers could transfer between lines.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover just whom the municipal authorities barred from riding the fledgling buses; examine why the operation initially fizzled out after making a huge splash at launch; and ask if, as with his novel early calculator, Pascal’s invention was simply two centuries too early…

Further Reading:

• ‘The French Father of Public Transport’ (France Today, 2026): https://francetoday.com/learn/the-french-father-of-public-transport/

• ‘The Horse Bus 1662-1932’ (Local Transport History): https://localtransporthistory.co.uk/generalhistory/horsebus/

• ‘What Was The First Ever Bus Route?’ (The Tim Traveller, 2025):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsNEVRosKzM

#France #1600s #Inventions #Design

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

Braille For Your Feet Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

Tenji blocks (点字ブロック) - small raised shapes in the pavement to assist visually impaired people in crossing the road - were first installed near the Okayama School for the Blind in Japan on March 18th, 1967.

Designed by Seiichi Miyake (三宅精一), the innovation gained traction in urban areas like Tokyo and Osaka, gradually spreading nationwide, particularly in bustling cities where safety for visually impaired individuals was paramount. But Miyake died before witnessing the global implementation of his invention.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why frosted-up number plates play their part in the Tenji design story; consider future enhancements, such as embedding QR codes into pavements; and reveal why retrofitting wasn’t always a straightforward solution…

Further Reading:

• ‘How Japanese Inventor of Tenji Blocks Changed the Lives of Millions Around the World’ (JAPAN Forward, 2019): https://japan-forward.com/how-japanese-inventor-of-tenji-blocks-changed-the-lives-of-millions-around-the-world/

• ‘Seiichi Miyake: His tactile blocks impacted railway platforms and streets’ (CNN, 2019): https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/18/world/seiichi-miyake-tactile-blocks-impact-trnd/index.html

• ‘Tactile paving slab | Object in Focus’ (V&A, 2020):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKMm-hccQqc

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 2024.

#Design #Japan #Disability #60s

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

Parading for St Paddy Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

The first ever St. Patrick’s Day parade took place not in Ireland, as many people might expect, but in Spanish Florida, on March 17, 1601. It wasn’t until about 100 years later that the world famous parades got going in Boston and New York City.

Historian J. Michael Francis made the discovery of this unexpectedly early celebration of Ireland’s patron saint while investigating the Spanish imperial history of the Floridian city of St. Augustine.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why for around 50 years up until the 1970s all pubs in Ireland were closed on St. Patrick’s Day; discuss what gunpowder had to do with the first St. Patrick’s Day parade; and reveal where corned beef and cabbage really come from…

Further Reading:

• ‘Where the first St. Patrick's Day parade REALLY took place’ (Daily Mail, 2018): https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5511205/First-St-Paddys-parade-took-place-FLORIDA-century-NYs.html

• ‘First St. Patrick’s Day parade’ (History.com, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-st-patricks-day-parade

• ‘A Brief History of St. Patrick's Day’ (ABC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40BlVzjxu-I

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.

#1600s #US #Strange

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

Burn The Heretics! Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

Over 200 people were burned at the stake on 16th March, 1244, throwing themselves on to the pyre in their refusal to accept the Catholic church.

These ‘Cathars’ reportedly followed a radical dualist belief system, seeing the material world as the creation of an evil force, with salvation lying in renouncing earthly pleasures. After years of persecution, on this day they found themselves trapped in Montségur Castle, perched atop a dramatic limestone peak.

But many historians now believe the Cathars, as a distinct heretical movement, never actually existed. The term “Cathar” wasn’t even used at the time. Instead, the Church may have lumped various groups together under the label of heresy, as an excuse for persecution and territorial control. Much like the "War on Terror" centuries later, branding a broad, nebulous enemy gave the authorities free rein to wage war against anyone they considered a threat…

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly visit “Cathar Country,”; consider if putting women in positions of power put the Cathars under threat; and discover the chilling words of commander Arnold Amalric, who told his soldiers to kill everyone, because “God will know His own”...

Further Reading:

• ‘Your Guide To The Cathars And The Albigensian Crusade’ (BBC History Magazine, 2017): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/who-were-cathars-what-was-catharism-what-religion-albesignian-crusade/

• ‘Consolation for the Cathars’ (The Irish Times, 2002): https://www.irishtimes.com/news/consolation-for-the-cathars-1.1127552

• ‘Cathar Massacre Unveiled - Medieval Dead - S02 EP06’ (Banijay History, 2024): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbKZwjIDGIA

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.

#Medieval #France #Catholic #War

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

Fall of the Maya Mar 13, 2026

Show notes

The Guatemalan island of Flores, once known as Nojpetén, witnessed the final clash between Spanish conquistadors and the last independent Maya kingdom on March 13th, 1697.

The Itza warriors, equipped with ornate spears and swords, fought valiantly to defend their homeland; but Spanish firepower ultimately overwhelmed them, leading to heavy casualties and the retreat of many defenders.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the fall of Nojpetén marked the end of an era for the Maya people, but not their actual end; consider how foreign diseases like smallpox and typhoid were imported by the Spanish; and reveal how many languages still spoken today stem from this ancient civilisation…

Further Reading:

• ‘Who were the Maya? Decoding the ancient civilization's secrets’ (National Geographic, 2022): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/who-were-the-maya

• ‘Ancient History in depth: The Fall of the Mayan Civilisation’ (BBC History, 2011): https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/cultures/maya_01.shtml

‘The Maya People’ (SmithsonianNMAI, 2012): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86F10IrvVus

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

Yes, We Canberra Mar 12, 2026

Show notes

What is Australia’s capital city? Not Sydney. Nor Melbourne. It’s Canberra: so named at an official ceremony on 12th March, 1913 - when the site was little more than grazing land for sheep.

But for this newly-federated nation, Canberra’s remote, inland location was a deliberate compromise to offset the rivalry between the country’s two largest cities. Sydney had long been the principal colonial centre, but Melbourne’s rapid expansion during the nineteenth-century gold rush made it an equally powerful contender. To avoid favouring either, Parliament decided their new capital was to be located in New South Wales, but at least one hundred miles from Sydney, and not on the coast.

Designing was entrusted to the winner of an international planning competition, the American architect Walter Burley Griffin. His plan emphasised grand geometry, sweeping avenues, and harmony with the surrounding landscape, producing a city organised around lakes, vistas, and circular roadways. But development proceeded slowly, especially after the disruptions of two world wars.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why the town has never quite won the heart of most Australians; compare its construction to that other purpose-built capital, Washington DC; and reveal how the sex industry revived one of its suburbs…

Further Reading:

• ‘Founding of Canberra’ (National Museum of Australia): https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/founding-of-canberra

• ‘Marion Mahony Griffin: architect, environmentalist, visionary’ (MHNSW, 2022): https://mhnsw.au/stories/general/marion-mahony-griffin-architect-environmentalist-visionary/

• ‘Tony Robinson's Time Walks | S2E4 | Canberra’ (Time Walks, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kww18KmF4fc

#Architecture #Design #Australia #1910s

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

Meet The Luddites Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

Disgruntled textile workers stormed a factory near Nottingham on March 11th, 1811, kickstarting the political movement famously known as Luddism.

Their protest was not anti-technology per se; instead it stemmed from a desire for better work opportunities and wages, amidst economic hardships exacerbated by the Napoleonic Wars. As tensions escalated, the British government deployed troops to safeguard factories and enacted laws making machine destruction a capital offence.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the fictional ‘King Lud’ became the group’s figurehead; consider how the meaning of the word ‘Luddite’ has morphed over centuries; and explain why, despite their proclivity for machine-smashing, luddites were keen WFH-ers…

Further Reading:

• ‘What the Luddites Really Fought Against’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2011): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/what-the-luddites-really-fought-against-264412/

• ‘The Luddites: Your Guide To The Violent Industrial Revolution Movement’ (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/industrial-revolution/who-were-luddites-facts-what-happened/

• ‘Almanac: The Luddites’ (CBS Sunday Morning, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqUezvo6oRA

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 2024.

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

The Foreigners Fighting For France Mar 10, 2026

Show notes

The infamous French Foreign Legion was formed by King Louis Philippe on March 10, 1831, to help the French control Algeria using mercenaries who were more expendable than native young Frenchmen.

To this day a magnet for men who want a clean break from their past, the Legion famously did not ask many questions about where their recruits came from - or if they had a criminal record.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover if they could meet the tests to join this notorious fighting force; expose the bloody history of the legion’s ill-fated battles in Mexico; and reveal the deadly games Russian Legionnaires played in their downtime…

Further Reading:

• ‘Why young men queue up to die in the French Foreign Legion’ (Aeon):

https://aeon.co/essays/why-young-men-queue-up-to-die-in-the-french-foreign-legion

• ‘The Expendables’ (Vanity Fair, 2012): https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/12/french-foreign-legion-expendables

• ‘French Foreign Legion: A Soldier’s Story’ (POVCAST, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC2EYK2qbnk

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.

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

Hula Hoop Mania! Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

The hip-swivelling Hula Hoop craze swept through America within months of its 1958 debut - yet Wham-O didn’t receive a patent for it until 5th March, 1963.

The toy had first come to the attention of Arthur K. 'Spud' Melin, the company’s co-founder, when Australian swimsuit model Joan Anderson demonstrated it in California. Appending the ‘hula’ name to it tapped into the zeitgeist for Hawaiian imagery, but manufacturing it out of inexpensive plastic tubing was a masterstroke.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain the innovative business model of Melin and his partner, Richard Knerr, which also begat Frisbee, Hackey-Sack and Slip n’Slide; discover how demonstrations in school playgrounds accelerated the trend’s virality; and learn about the novelty songs inspired by the craze…

Further Reading:

• ‘History of the Hula Hoop - Trivia and More’ (ThoughtCo, 2019): https://www.thoughtco.com/hula-hoop-history-1991893

• ‘Unsung hero behind hula hoop invention dies aged 101’ (BBC News, 2025): https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70x4w4z138o

• ‘Wham-O Frisbee & Hula Hoop Commercial’ (Wham-O, 1960s): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsJ9fwhFzE8

#Toys #Business #50s #US

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.

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

Stalin's Daughter Mar 09, 2026

Show notes

Svetlana Aleluyeva walked into the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi on 9th March, 1967, and asked for political asylum. As the only daughter of Joseph Stalin, she was an unknown figure outside the USSR; panicking American diplomats: how could they grant her asylum, without warming up the Cold War?

The U.S. tried to keep her defection under wraps, but upon arriving in New York in April 1967, she held a press conference where she denounced her father as a "moral and spiritual monster" and renounced her Soviet citizenship. Her life in the West soon took a turn for the surreal: she briefly lived with the widow of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who believed Svetlana was the reincarnation of her dead daughter and arranged for her to marry her late daughter's widower. In a shocking move, she decided to return to the Soviet Union in 1984, denouncing the U.S. as materialistic and empty.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall Svetlana’s childhood as Soviet Royalty; take a whistlestop tour through her various truncated marriages; and question just how efficient KGB minders were at their jobs…

Further Reading:

• ’The Day Stalin’s Daughter Asked for Asylum in the U.S.’ (Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training, 2013): https://adst.org/2013/02/the-day-stalins-daughter-asked-for-asylum-in-the-u-s/

• ’Lana Peters: Stalin's daughter whose defection to the West did not bring peace of mind’ (The Independent, 2011): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/lana-peters-stalin-s-daughter-whose-defection-to-the-west-did-not-bring-peace-of-mind-6269631.html

• ‘USSR | Joseph Stalin | Svetlana Alliluyeva interview | 1980's’ (Thames TV): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZw3sN4XeNo

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.

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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Today In History with The Retrospectors

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected