Today In History with The Retrospectors

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Meet Lemuel Gulliver Oct 28, 2024

Show notes

Jonathan Swift’s enduring satire Gulliver’s Travels was first published on October 28, 1726 - though the true identity of the book’s author was concealed from readers.

A spoof of Daniel Defoe’s popular Robinson Crusoe, the novel bleakly satirised British society, colonialism, and the monarchy, shocking as many readers as it entertained.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the tale’s rebellious origins in Swift’s social oeuvre; consider why children still relate to (abridged versions of) this highly specific political satire; and explain why Swift’s creation lead directly to Yahoo! Mail…

Further Reading:

• ‘Why Jonathan Swift wanted to ‘vex the world’ with Gulliver’s Travels’ (The Conversation): https://theconversation.com/why-jonathan-swift-wanted-to-vex-the-world-with-gullivers-travels-94972

• 'Letter to Jonathan Swift' (John Gay, 1726): https://walleahpress.com.au/communion8-John-Gay.html

• ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ (Paramount, 1939): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rehNT9wIjUg

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How To Bribe A Senator Oct 25, 2024

Show notes

Rerun: The ‘Teapot Dome scandal’ reached its climax when Senator Albert Fall was found guilty of bribery, fined $100,000 and sent to jail on 25th October, 1929.

During the Presidency of Warren G Harding, Fall had been offering private companies the chance to drill for oil on state land, without competitive bidding, in return for bags cash. And some farm animals.

In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal the unheroic role of newspapers in suppressing the scandal; pick apart the realism of ‘There Will Be Blood’; and ask whether American politics has ever lost its penchant for ‘kickbacks’...

Further Reading:

• ‘Secretary Fall resigns in Teapot Dome scandal’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/secretary-fall-resigns-in-teapot-dome-scandal

• ‘History Brief: The Ohio Gang and the Teapot Dome Scandal’ (Reading Through History, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjL-uE4lSvI

• ‘The Mystery Behind the Greystone Mansion Murder-Suicide’ (Scare Street, 2019): https://scarestreet.com/greystone-mansion/

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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Meet Mr Blobby Oct 24, 2024

Show notes

rerun: Mr Blobby made his anarchic television debut on 24th October, 1992, in a new segment called “Gotcha” on the hugely popular BBC show Noel’s House Party.

The googly eyed, perma-grinning, yellow and pink character was an immediate hit, selling masses of merchandise to British kids and adults alike. At the height of Blobbymania, Mr Blobby released a No. 1 UK single and spawned four theme parks around the country.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly defend Mr Blobby against the haters; speculate on how he became an inadvertent victim of his own success; and marvel at what can be achieved with a lot of alcohol and just five minute of doodling...

Further Reading:

• ‘'A Loveable Anarchist': The Oral History of Mr Blobby’ (Vice, 2021): https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj85mq/mr-blobby-oral-history-television

• 'A decade of Crinkley Bottom: Noel’s House Party remembered' (BBC, 1991): https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/november/noels-house-party/

• ‘Noel’s House Party: Season 2, Episode 1’ (BBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b53wCwecec

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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

1,000 Songs In Your Pocket Oct 23, 2024

Show notes

When Steve Jobs took to the stage in Cupertino on 23rd October, 2001, he unveiled Apple’s first portable device: the iPod. As ever, his pitch was simple and on-point: "1,000 songs in your pocket."

But the iPod wasn't Jobs’s creation. Its concept came from Tony Fadell, an amateur DJ who’d grown frustrated by lugging his music collection to gigs. Apple saw the potential for a hardware system that could work as an entry-point to iTunes. By the time the iPod was eventually discontinued in 2022, over 450 million products had been sold, forever changing how people consume music.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recall a world of "skip protection", CDs and FireWire cables; reveal how Jobs’ showmanship was just the tip of his deep involvement with the product; and explain how Apple delicately danced around concerns of music piracy…

Further Reading:

• ‘Apple’s ‘Breakthrough’ iPod’ (Wired, 2001): https://www.wired.com/2001/10/apples-breakthrough-ipod/

• ‘Apple Presents iPod’ (Apple Press Release, 2001): https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2001/10/23Apple-Presents-iPod/

• ‘iPod Launch Event’ (Apple, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0SVBCJqLs

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 ❤️

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

The Body in the Cellar Oct 22, 2024

Show notes

Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate the story of Dr. Hawley Crippen, convicted of murdering his wife, music hall performer Cora Crippen, on 22nd October, 1910.

Cora’s corpse had been discovered in their Holloway cellar - but homoeopath Crippen had fled to America with his lover Ethel Lenev dressed as a boy. However, the Captain of the SS Montrose became suspicious of their behaviour, and wirelessly telegraphed Scotland Yard to arrest the pair upon arrival in Canada.

In this episode, the Retrospectors explore how it was Lenev’s love for Cora’s jewellery that initially raised suspicion; consider how technology enabled the media to closely cover the case, turning it into a sensational story as it unfolded in real-time; and question the description of the couple piously parroted in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography…

Further Reading:

• ‘Editorial: the Dr Crippen murder trial’ (The Guardian, 1910): https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/24/editorial-the-dr-crippen-trial-archive-1910

• ‘The Execution of Dr Crippen’ (History Today, 2010): https://www.historytoday.com/archive/execution-dr-crippen

• ‘The Dark & Disturbing Case of Dr. Crippen’ (Brief Case, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQb1rFZjDxc

This episode first premiered in 2023, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 100 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast. Join now via Apple Podcasts or Patreon. Thanks!

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: Ollie Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2024.

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

The Greatest Samurai Battle ⚔️ Oct 21, 2024

Show notes

The Battle of Sekigahara, on 21st October, 1600, was the largest in Japanese feudal history, with over 160,000 troops involved. And stakes were high: the victor, Tokugawa Ieyasu, became the Shōgun of Japan, initiating the Edo period; whilst the leader of the losing Western army, Ishida Mitsunari, was beheaded.

The battle itself was chaotic, partly due to defections, with several commanders secretly switching sides, leading to confusion and collapse. But, despite the battle’s inclusion of modern firearms introduced by the Portuguese, the aftermath saw a return to the cult of the sword!

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca, and Olly discover how the morning fog caused a clumsy start to the fighting; explain how Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s succession struggles lead to a powerful power vacuum; and reveal how Ieyasu matched his superiority in battle with some seriously savvy backstairs politicking…

Further Reading:

• ’Shōgun: The Incredible True Story of the Battle of Sekigahara’ (Esquire, 2024): https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a60382366/shogun-battle-of-sekigahara-true-story/

• ‘Battle of Sekigahara - Gettysburg National Military Park’ (U.S. National Park Service, 2022): https://www.nps.gov/gett/learn/historyculture/battle-of-sekigahara.htm

• ‘Masterpiece: Lord Toranaga Fights And Wins The Battle Of Sekigahara Against Ishido And Becomes Shogun’ (NBC, 1980): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGYI6NVtzAg

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 ❤️

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

Calling Andrew Sachs Oct 18, 2024

Show notes

Rerun: When Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross failed to reach their celebrity guest, 78 year-old ‘Fawlty Towers’ star Andrew Sachs, they instead left him a series of answerphone messages, joking about sexual encounters with Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie. The segment aired on Brand’s Radio 2 show on 18th October, 2008, and became the third most-complained about programme in recent BBC history.

The presenters were suspended, the station controller resigned, and the BBC was fined £150,000. The event, which became known as ‘Sachsgate’, kick-started an era of ‘compliance’ at Britain’s national broadcaster, and was an early example of tabloid-generated ‘cancel culture’.

In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca ask whether the presenters would still be in their old jobs, were it not for the Mail On Sunday; discover a parallel between one of Sachs’ greatest comic moments and the voicemails that brought him back to national attention; and speculate whether ‘Sachsgate’ lead to the boom in comedy podcasts…

Further Reading:

• ‘Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross Abuse Andrew Sachs via Phone’ (BBC, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7IHJ66wj9g&t=476s

• ‘Sachsgate: The obscene prank calls from Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross that 'haunted' Andrew Sachs before his death’ (Daily Mirror, 2016): https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/sachsgate-obscene-prank-calls-russell-9376380

• ‘BBC apologises over Brand prank’ (BBC, 2008): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7692911.stm

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

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

The Exploding Tank of Beer Oct 17, 2024

Show notes

Rerun: The London Beer Flood, which created a 15ft-high wave of booze, and claimed the lives of eight people, began on 17th October, 1814 - when an iron hoop came loose on a giant barrel at Meux’s famous Horse Shoe Brewery.

The barrel, in which over a million pints of fermenting porter were brewing, exploded - triggering a chain reaction that effectively blew up the factory and caused bricks to rain down over a nearby slum area.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the only surviving eyewitness account of the tragedy; explain how Daddy issues might have caused Meux to construct such giant barrels of beer in the first place; and weigh up whether anyone made merry with the opportunities offered by a cascading river of ale…

Further Reading:

• ‘This 1814 Beer Flood Killed Eight People’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1814-beer-flood-killed-eight-people-180964256/

• ‘The Lost Beers & Breweries of Britain by Brian Glover’ (Amberley Publishing, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Lost_Beers_Breweries_of_Britain/R1GoAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=horseshoe+brewery&pg=PA49-IA44&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Strange Stories: The London Beer Flood of 1814’ (Simple History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96OMuA65goo

‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’

Each Thursday and Friday we repeat stories from our archive of 800+ episodes, so we can maintain the quality of our independent podcast and bring you fresh, free content every Monday-Wednesday…

… But 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴members get an additional full-length episode each Sunday! 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: Emma Corsham.

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

Crown The Concubine Oct 16, 2024

Show notes

Wu Zetian became China's first and only female Emperor on 16th October, 655 - cementing an extraordinary rise from Concubine to Secretary to Consort to Queen. On the day of her coronation in 690, a massive earthquake rocked China, a supposed sign of divine disapproval. But Wu flipped the narrative, declaring that the upheaval was a blessing, a symbol of Buddhist paradise manifesting on earth.

Her path to power was unconventional, defying deeply entrenched Confucian ideals that regarded female rulers as unnatural, even catastrophic. It was a rise marked by brutal rivalries, during which she allegedly orchestrated the downfall of enemies, including her rival Empress Wang, and even faced accusations of murdering her own daughter to frame a competitor to the throne.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly weigh up the sexist commentary of the time with the genuine ruthlessness Wu seemed to display; explain how her all-male hareem helped bring about her downfall; and consider how, even as recently as 2014, she remains a controversial, sexualised and divisive figure in China…

Further Reading:

• ‘The First and Only Woman Emperor of China’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-first-and-only-woman-emperor-of-china/PQWR-NRltC6QFA?hl=en

• ’Empress Wu Zetian: The Only Woman To Rule China’ (HistoryExtra, 2023): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/empress-wu-zetian-china-rule-life-reputation/

• ‘Wu Zetian: China's First & Only Female Emperor | Empress Who Ruled The World’ (Timeline, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeZ7esmQcm4

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

Journey To Monkey Island Oct 15, 2024

Show notes

The Secret of Monkey Island, one of the best loved video games of the point-and-click era, was released on the 15th October, 1990, without, it must be said, a great deal of fanfare.

Inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland and the novel On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, the game was a swashbuckling piratical adventure which – unusually for gaming of the time – put laughs above thrills. Despite its initially mixed reaction, it went on to become a sleeper hit that a generation of gamers took to their hearts.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly investigate why George Lucas wasn't putting his new video games division to work publishing loads of Star Wars games; explain why it was important to Monkey Island's creators that their main character couldn't die; and find out whether the jokes Olly found hilarious as a ten-year-old are still as side-splittingly funny today…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Complete History Of Monkey Island’ (Time Extension, 2022): https://www.timeextension.com/features/the-complete-history-of-monkey-island

• ‘What Is The Secret Of Monkey Island?’ (The Gamer, 2022): https://www.thegamer.com/monkey-island-secret-origins-mystery-answer/

• ‘The Secret of Monkey Island Longplay’ (AL82 Retrogaming Longplays, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgRIXntFhww&t=633s

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: Ollie Peart.

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

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