Today In History with The Retrospectors

Latest Episodes:

One Direction: The Movie Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

‘This Is Us’ premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 20th August, 2013. 10,000 ‘Directioners’, some of whom had slept rough for three nights, were there to catch a glimpse of their favourite boyband.

The documentary, directed by ‘Supersize Me’s Morgan Spurlock, went on to take $18m in its Labor Day opening weekend in the US - but failed to scale the heights of Justin Beiber’s effort, ‘Never Say Never’.

In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion unpick the secret of the boys’ success; explain why X Factor winner Matt Cardle was mysteriously disappeared from the movie; and reveal an unexpected connection between 1D and Osama Bin Laden...

Further Reading:

• One Direction "This Is US" London Premiere Part 1 (Poveelive, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ_Kd4JC0ck

• ‘This Is Us’ on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2515086/

• ‘Morgan Spurlock, Director Of ‘This Is Us,’ Explains Why He Cut One Direction’s Girlfriends Out Of Documentary’ (HuffPo, 2013):

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/this-is-us-girlfriends-cut-morgan-spurlock_n_3839053

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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 2021.

#2010s #Music #Film #UK

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The CIA's Iranian Coup Aug 19, 2026

Show notes

Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown in a coup backed by the CIA and MI6 on 19th August, 1953. He had nationalised Iran's oil industry, threatening the British stake in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP), fuelling American fears of the spread of Communism.

Britain initially responded with an economic blockade, and the Americans initially stayed out, but Cold War fears about Soviet influence eventually persuaded President Eisenhower's administration to get involved.

Following the coup, what had looked like a short-term victory for Britain and America became a much longer-term problem. The Shah’s increasingly authoritarian rule crushed political opposition, helping to create the conditions for the Iranian Revolution of 1979, which finally swept him from power and established the Islamic Republic.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the partisan press coverage of the time; explain the Brits’ ‘biscuit tin strategy’; and reveal how the CIA funded not just the revolution, but also convincing counter-demonstrations…

Further Reading:

• ‘CIA-assisted coup overthrows government of Iran’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/August-19/cia-assisted-coup-overthrows-government-of-iran

• ‘In declassified document, CIA acknowledges role in 1953 Iran coup’ (CNN Politics, 2013): https://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/19/politics/cia-iran-1953-coup/

• ‘Before the Iran War: The Secret CIA Operation to Oust an Iranian Regime’ (PBS American Experience, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xceDBZeolIM

#Iran #Revolution #50s #ColdWar

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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.

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Discovering Helium Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen became the first person to observe helium, an element never before seen on Earth, on August 18th, 1868.

Janssen had been observing a total solar eclipse in Guntur, India when he noticed a bright yellow line with a wavelength of 587.49 nanometers in the spectrum of the chromosphere of the Sun. He initially assumed the line to be sodium, but, upon further investigating his hunch that it might be a new element, concluded he had stumbled upon something hitherto unknown.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly try their damndest to explain how Spectroscopy works; reveal which scientist first detected the presence of helium on Earth; and query the French Academy of Sciences’ impartiality when it came to attributing the discovery…

Further Reading:

• ‘How Scientists Discovered Helium, the First Alien Element, 150 Years Ago’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2018): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-scientists-discovered-helium-first-alien-element-1868-180970057/

• ‘The High-Flying, Death-Defying Discovery of Helium’ (Science History Institute, 2021): https://sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-high-flying-death-defying-discovery-of-helium/

• ‘Helium 101’ (National Geographic, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLUcO26Q7wE

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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.

#Science #Discoveries #France #India #1800s

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The Man Who Invented Seat Belts Aug 17, 2026

Show notes

Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin patented the three-point seatbelt while working for Volvo, on 17th August 1959. Prior to that, cars only had lap belts - basically a single strap across your waist - if they were fitted at all.

Volvo made the patent open to all manufacturers, which boosted global take-up, and enhanced their Safety First brand image.

But manufacturers and governments alike were surprisingly hostile to seatbelts at first... Some car owners in the U.S. even had them removed, claiming they were uncomfortable or might trap them if the car caught fire or sank in water.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Australia led the way with mandatory seatbelt laws, while in Britain Margaret Thatcher and Michael Foot were both opposed; reveal which country has STILL not legislated nationally for compulsory seatbelts; and recall the terrifying impact of public service ads like the infamous “Julie” campaign…

Further Reading:

• ‘How Did Nils Bohlin Change the Auto Industry? (Inventor of the Three-Point Seatbelt)’ (The Collector, 2024): https://www.thecollector.com/inventor-nils-bohlin-change-auto-industry/

• ‘US3043625A - Safety belt’ (Google Patents): https://patents.google.com/patent/US3043625A/en

• ‘How Do Seatbelts Work?’ (Real Engineering, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3ncfcGMo50

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Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY…

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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.

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Inside The Stanford Prison Experiment Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

The Stanford Prison Experiment, created by Philip Zimbardo, began on 14th August, 1971.

24 male college students volunteered to be assigned roles as either ‘guard’ or ‘prisoner’ in a mock jail: the ‘prisoners’ were ‘arrested’ by real cops outside their family homes and marched down to a Police Station before being transferred to their imitation incarceration.

Once inside, they were stripped, deloused, and given smocks and ID numbers; while guards were outfitted with khaki uniforms, mirrored sunglasses, and batons, establishing a stark power divide.

The guards quickly embraced their roles, with some becoming cruel and abusive. They enforced strict, often humiliating regimens on the prisoners, such as roll calls and physical exercises, to instill a sense of powerlessness. But the guards were not aware they were also subjects of the study…

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly interrogate the selection process and context that belies the study’s impact; consider the distress supposedly experienced by the participants; and ask if this controversial experiment should now be scrubbed from the textbooks…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Stanford Prison Experiment: Philip Zimbardo defends his most famous work’ (Vox, 2018):

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/6/28/17509470/stanford-prison-experiment-zimbardo-interview

• ‘Philip Zimbardo Thinks We All Can Be Evil’ (The New York Times, 2015):

• ‘The Stanford Prison Experiment Was One of the Most Disturbing Studies Ever’ (Weird History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRR7CwdHxUE

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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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The Fake King of Albania Aug 13, 2026

Show notes

German circus performer Otto Witte went to his death-bed claiming he had been crowned King of Albania on 13th August, 1913 for a five-day reign which culminated with him being chased out of the country as an imposter.

Generally believed to have been a fantasist who invented the story, Witte was humoured by the German authorities in his life-time, and his tombstone in Hamburg bears the inscription, ‘former King of Albania’.

In this episode, Rebecca, Olly and Arion explore the phenomenon of the German ‘originale’; uncover the legend of ‘Sausage Hans’ and ‘the slag monkey’; and reveal who inspired the story of Baron Munchausen…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Man Who Was King’ (TIME, 1958): http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,868723,00.html

• ‘The legend of Otto Witte, the impostor King of Albania’ (The Balkanista, 2018): http://thebalkanista.com/2018/10/04/the-legend-of-otto-witte-the-impostor-king-of-albania/

• An enterprising man acts out the works of the Cologne 'originales' on German Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsche_Originale

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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.

#1910s #Person #Germany

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Ford Puts The World On Wheels Aug 12, 2026

Show notes

The Ford Model T rolled into production on 12th August, 1908, still hand-assembled in much the same way as its rivals. But Henry Ford’s ambition for the car was bigger: to create a reliable, durable motor that ordinary Americans could realistically afford - a dream he later realised by deploying a moving assembly line.

Built from tough vanadium steel, the car could cope with the rutted, muddy roads of early 20th-century America better than many rivals. It had a 20-horsepower engine which was easy to maintain and could run on petrol, kerosene or ethanol, while a top speed of around 45 miles per hour. Adapted into a bewildering variety of body styles, it became everything from a family runabout to an ambulance, fire engine and military vehicle. By the time production ended in 1927, more than 15 million Model Ts had been sold.

In today's episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discover how Ford’s need for less skilled workers counterintuitively meant doubling his workers’ wages; explain how a trip to a slaughterhouse influenced his Detroit factory; and reveal why customers could have any colour - so long as it was black...

Further Reading:

• ‘Henry Ford - Case Study of an Innovator’ (The Henry Ford Museum, 2021): https://www.thehenryford.org/collections/explore/articles/henry-ford-case-study-of-an-innovator

• ‘US bids farewell to era of Model T’: (Financial Times, 2008): https://www.ft.com/content/36fe2ac2-58f1-11dd-a093-000077b07658

• ‘Driving a Ford Model T Is a Lot Harder Than You'd Think! We Tried It’ (Bloomberg, 2016):

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

#Motoring #Inventions #1900s #US

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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.

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America's Biggest Mall Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

The Mall of America, in Bloomington, Minnesota, opened on 11th August, 1992, with more than 10,000 employees, 330 stores, and a Camp Snoopy theme park.

With a gross area of 4.8 million square feet, the mall remains the largest in the United States; its roughly 40 million annual visitors equal to around eight times the population of the state of Minnesota.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the mall is heated, despite having no central heating system; explain how the modern American shopping mall was, bizarrely, derived from Victor Gruen’s socialist utopia; and consider how it overcame the ‘Megadeath’ label to become one of America’s top tourist attractions…

Further Reading:

• ‘Why You Should Visit Mall of America for Its Experiences Over Shopping’ (Business Insider, 2022): https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-mall-of-america-experiences-better-than-shopping-minneapolis-2022-4?r=US&IR=T#away-from-the-big-attractions-that-make-it-unique-mall-of-america-just-felt-like-any-upscale-mall-35

• ‘The Unofficial Guide to Mall of America - By Beth Blair’ (Unofficial Guides, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Unofficial_Guide_to_Mall_of_America/U4wWDgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=mall+of+america&pg=PA12&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Mall of America Preview’ (WCCO 4 News, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PZcP4A5CkQ

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.

#80s #US #Business #Fashion #Architecture

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Let's Open The Louvre Aug 10, 2026

Show notes

The world’s most famous museum opened to the public for the very first time on 10th August, 1793: exactly one year after France abolished the monarchy. The Louvre, housed in a former royal palace, was redolent with symbolism: treasures once hidden behind the walls of kings and queens were now open to the people.

The collection was already impressive: over 500 paintings, plus sculptures and decorative objects confiscated from the church and nobility. Visitors could finally see masterpieces by Raphael, Rubens, and Michelangelo - works they had only ever heard of. Over time, the Louvre’s collection grew dramatically, especially thanks to Napoleon, who “borrowed” treasures from across Europe and Egypt to fill its halls.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how the museum copes with the overwhelming number of tourists who only want to see the Mona Lisa; reveal why the museum wasn’t ‘complete’ until 1993; and recall possibly its most controversial addition - the glass pyramid entrance designed by I.M. Pei…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Louvre - The Many Lives of the World's Most Famous Museum, By James Gardner’ (Grove Press, 2020): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Louvre/oMfEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+louvre&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Louvre Museum opens | August 10, 1793’ (HISTORY, 2010): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/August-10/louvre-museum-opens

• ‘The Louvre: A Drone Tour of the World's Most Famous Museum’ *(Top Virtual Tours, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ip3Hsz4fcVU

Love the show? Support us!

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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.

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California's Courtroom Siege Aug 07, 2026

Show notes

Jonathan Jackson, teenage brother of imprisoned black power activist George Jackson, entered the Marin County Courthouse concealing three guns under his raincoat on 7th August, 1970.

In the middle of a trial, he took Judge Harold Haley hostage in a bid to secure his brother's release.

The previous year had seen a landmark incident at San Quentin Correctional Facility, when three black inmates were shot dead by white prison guards. George Jackson, Jonathan’s brother, had become a prominent figure, founding a Marxist revolutionary group within the prison and campaigning for justice for the ‘Soledad Brothers’. This context made the courtroom siege an explosive event in the fight against systemic racism.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly detail the brief but deadly shootout that followed in the court’s parking lot; discover why the police opened fire, despite the high-profile hostages; and consider how George Jackson later smuggled a gun into prison…

CONTENT WARNING: violence, murder, racism.

Further Reading:

• ’Marin County Courtroom Shootout’ (Bay Area Television Archive, 1970):

https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/190039

• ‘Bloody Breakout at San Rafael’ (LIFE, 1970): https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=t1UEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31&dq=harold+haley+james+mcclain&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjEnYX1q9aGAxWGWEEAHYg8DBoQuwV6BAgEEAY#v=onepage&q=harold%20haley%20james%20mcclain&f=false

• ‘San Quentin's Bloodiest Riot | The Story of George Jackson’ (19XX, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzDoYNd5xjk

This episode originally aired in 2024.

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