Today In History with The Retrospectors

Switzerland’s most famous archer shot fruit off his own son’s head on 18th November, 1307. Or did he?  ‘Chronicon Helveticum’ by Aegidius Tschudi, from which the date comes, claims to be a serious historical account, but was written roughly 200 years later - and not published until nearly 200 years after that. And the myth bears remarkable similarities with the Danish folklore of Palnatoki, recorded in print centuries earlier.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly recount the improbable beats of Tschudi’s tale; consider the small casting pool for 1950s swashbucklers; and marvel at how the story has come to represent the (genuine) Swiss resistance of the Habsburg army… Further Reading: • ‘A Brief History of the Legend of William Tell’ (The Culture Trip, 2017): https://theculturetrip.com/europe/switzerland/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-legend-of-william-tell/ • ‘Shooting an apple off one's child's head’ (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_an_apple_off_one%27s_child%27s_head#Palnatoki • ‘The Adventures of William Tell: Opening Theme’ (ITC, 1958): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcfykK8Iw7w This episode first aired in 2021 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The bizarre, incoherent ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’ was broadcast only once, on 17th November, 1978. Despite CBS signing up the stars of the original movie - Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, the plot swapped epic battles for a bizarre variety show filled with cameos from Harvey Korman, Bea Arthur, and Jefferson Starship. The story revolves around Chewbacca’s family as celebrate “Life Day” on their home planet, Kashyyyk. George Lucas' initial vision was for a sombre, character-driven tale. But instead, it evolved into a chaotic blend of guest star sketches, dodgy green screens, and musical numbers. Lucas reportedly hated it so much he wished to destroy every copy with a sledgehammer. Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Fisher ended up singing a new song to the tune of John Williams’s Star Wars theme; consider how Disney attempted to scrub the memory of the Special from the Star Wars canon after acquiring Lucasfilm; and contemplate the wisdom of making Wookies - who speak an unintelligible language, with no subtitles - the stars of the show… Further Reading: • ‘The Star Wars Holiday Special: A Retrospective’ (Empire, 2009): https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/star-wars-holiday-special/ • ‘Star Wars Holiday Special: Inside the Confusing Christmas Special’ (Thrillist, 2017): https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/star-wars-holiday-special • ’The Star Wars Holiday Special’ (CBS, 1978): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxtSX1lg8rE 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Workers involved in tomb construction in the Valley of the Kings staged the earliest recorded strike in history on 14th November, 1157 B.C. Having not been paid their ration of food for 18 days, they set about disrupting temple life and rituals, to the shock of Pharaoh Ramses III’s administration. The workers' struggle wasn't solely about wages; it reflected broader discontent, too, as they voiced concerns about alleged corruption, such as barley being replaced with dirt in payments. And the strike indicated a shift in the workers' perceptions, as they realised they couldn't rely solely on the divine authority of the Pharaoh to meet their basic needs. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how Ancient Egypt was financially decimated by the suppression of the ‘Sea Peoples’; explain how an offer of cake was (unsurprisingly) not enough to pacify the protests; and consider whether the workers’ picket-line slogans needed a little workshopping…  Further Reading: • ‘When Was The First Strike In History?’ (HistoryExtra, 2016): https://www.historyextra.com/period/ancient-egypt/when-first-strike-history/ • ‘Red Traces, Part 4: Strikers and Pharaohs in Ancient Egypt’ (Counterfire, 2023): https://www.counterfire.org/article/red-traces-part-4-strikers-and-pharaohs-in-ancient-egypt/ • ’Rameses III Describes Invasion Of Sea Peoples’ (Voices of the Past, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01eyTLfFJqQ This episode first aired in 2023 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Westminer’s most famous landmark, Big Ben, bongggged for the first time on 13th November, 1856, outside the not-yet-finished House of Commons. Londoners gathered to hear what would become Britain’s most iconic sound; a spectacle so loud and unsettling that some spectators literally ran away.  But the first bell didn’t last long: after just eleven months of impressive Saturday tolls, it cracked under the strain of its own colossal hammer. The whole thing was melted down and recast by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry… but the second bell also cracked and broke! But, after a bit more tinkering - rotating the bell slightly and fitting a lighter hammer - Big Ben finally settled into its iconic almost-but-not-quite-E natural tone.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the BBC struggled to adapt its chimes for radio broadcasts; reveal why the Elizabeth Tower leans ever so slightly; and consider a potential Victorian euphemism for pants-pissing… Further Reading: • ‘When Did Big Ben First Bong?’ (Londonist, 2022): https://londonist.com/london/history/when-did-big-ben-first-bong • ‘This History Might Ring a Bell’ (WIRED, 2011): https://www.wired.com/2011/10/1014big-ben-lifted/ • ‘Big Ben - 5 Secrets About London’s Famous Chimes | Most Iconic Buildings’ (DW Euromaxx, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6Jo8hHsFXA #London #Victorian #Design #Mistakes 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jules Leotard first somersaulted off a trapeze at Cirque Napoléon in Paris on 12th November, 1859. His act inspired gymnasts and circus performers the world over - although Leotard is now best remembered as the inventor of the skin-tight outfits he wore on stage. Leotard had abandoned his studies as a lawyer to perfect his circus skills, spurred on by his acrobatic father. He developed his act into a twelve-minute trapeze routine with only a heap of mattresses to break his fall.  In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca perve over old photos of Leotard’s physique; reveal how Alvin and the Chipmunks AND Bruce Springsteen have a connection with this day in history; and consider how the leotard evolved from a ‘strong man’ outfit to a girl’s ballet costume…  Further Reading: • ‘The First Public performance by Jules Leotard’ (Squaducation, 2020): https://www.squaducation.com/blog/first-public-performance-jules-leotard • ‘THE DRESS AND THE LEGEND: HISTORY AND FUNCTIONS OF A LEOTARD’ (The Vistek, 2020): https://thevistek.com/the-dress-and-the-legend-history-and-functions-of-a-leotard/ • ‘Eddie Cantor - The Man On The Flying Trapeze’ (Columbia Years 1922-1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwvqMptS7UA This episode first aired in 2021 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Geoffrey Chaucer’s granddaughter Alice was first married at the age of 11. She was granted a license to marry her third husband on 11th November, 1430; and became defined by her three powerful unions with men she outlived. Having lost her first two husbands in the Hundred Years War, she then settled down with William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk; a marriage that got her closer than ever to the seat of power. At one point, she even filled in for Queen Margaret on a ceremonial parade in France. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly marvel at Chaucer’s ability to climb the social hierarchy via her marriages; explain why ‘jointures’ changed the fortunes of widows in the Middle Ages; and consider the merits of commissioning multiple statues of themselves… Further Reading: • ‘Four Thought: And His Wife’ (BBC Radio 4, 2021) - Olly Mann interviews Jessica Barker about medieval statues of women, including Alice Chaucer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000z0c4 • ‘Historical Figures: Alice Chaucer, Lady of the Garter’ (Just History Posts, 2020): https://justhistoryposts.com/2020/08/11/historical-figures-alice-chaucer-lady-of-the-garter/ • ‘'Till Death Us Do Part? Love and the Medieval Tomb Monument with Dr Jessica Barker’ (The Churches Conservation Trust, 2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH55Vq3tHo0 This episode first aired in 2021 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big Bird, Oscar and Bert & Ernie were first introduced to America’s children on 10th November, 1969, when Sesame Street made its small-screen debut. Designed to resemble a real inner-city street, its set and multicultural cast including African Americans was a groundbreaking concept. Aiming to address educational inequality, its creators Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morissette had been inspired by the idea that TV could help underprivileged kids get a leg-up by learning through engaging skits, songs, and lovable characters. The show became wildly popular, with 7 million children watching daily, and early studies showing viewers scored higher on educational tests.  Over time, the series tackled issues such as racism, death, autism and bullying. Arion, Rebecca and Olly recount how Jim Henson came on-board; reveal how racists in Mississippi refused to screen the series; and explain how this transformational show came about thanks to a dinner party gambit… Further Reading: • ‘How Sesame Street Helps Children Learn for Life’ (PBS, 2017): https://www.pbs.org/education/blogs/pbs-in-the-classroom/how-sesame-street-helps-children-learn-for-life/ •  ‘Mississippi banned Sesame Street for showing Black and White kids playing’ (The Washington Post, 2023): https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2023/02/05/sesame-street-ban-mississippi/ • ‘Sesame Street’ (Children’s Television Workshop, 1969): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9NUiHCr9Cs 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The first meteorite to crash land into Earth - and have its date recorded - impacted the hamlet of Ensisheim (in modern-day France, then Austria) on 7th November, 1492. The stone's descent created a crater in a wheat field, captivating villagers who believed such occurrences were cosmic signs. A striking deafening noise accompanied the meteor's descent; the bright trail it left was blinding. A young boy witnessed the fall and alerted the townsfolk, leading to a frenzy of villagers rushing to collect souvenirs and good luck charms from the impact site. The local magistrate intervened, preserving the meteorite by having it relocated to the church for safekeeping.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reflect on how the villagers reacted to the coming of what they called the Thunderstone, or Firestone; explain how the event was widely interpreted as a divine warning mainly thanks to the invention of the printing press; and reveal why the meteorite was affixed to the wall using iron crampons…  Further Reading: • ‘This Famous 1492 Meteorite Impact Was Interpreted as an Omen from God’ (VICE, 2016): https://www.vice.com/en/article/jpgk47/this-famous-1492-meteorite-impact-was-interpreted-as-an-omen-from-god • ‘The Meteorite of Ensisheim: 1492 to 1992’ (Harvard, 1991): https://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1992Metic..27...28M&db_key=AST&page_ind=0&data_type=GIF&type=SCREEN_VIEW&classic=YES • ‘World’s Largest Meteorite Weights Over 100K Pounds But No One Knows Where It Came From’ (Did You Know?, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lJwXquFpHw This episode first aired in 2023 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Real-time thriller ‘24’, starring Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, debuted on Fox on 6th November, 2001. The show’s use of split screens, constant tension, and ticking clocks became its signature style, and the nerve-shredding pilot went on to win an Emmy for series creators Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran. But, in a post-9/11 climate, its terrorism theme was not a dead cert, and its marketing - featuring a fiery jetliner dropping from the skies - was withdrawn following the tragedy. Yet as America’s mood shifted from grief to a hunger for justice, Sutherland’s anti-hero, breaking the rules to protect his country, became the cathartic character the USA seemed to need.  In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal how the series was nearly a comedy about a shotgun wedding; consider how the writers dealt with the numerous challenges thrown up by the format (e.g. how do you let Jack heal or sleep in real time?); and explain why it was on DVD, not TV, that the show truly left its mark…  Further Reading: • ‘TELEVISION REVIEW; Racing in Real Time to Track Down an Assassin and a Daughter’ (The New York Times, 2001): https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/06/arts/television-review-racing-in-real-time-to-track-down-an-assassin-and-a-daughter.html?searchResultPosition=10 • ‘'24' Executive Producer On How The Series' Run Was Defined By 9/11’ (Deadline, 2021): https://deadline.com/2021/09/24-tv-series-9-11-impact-20-years-later-1234823534/ • ‘Previously on 24’ (Fox, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rJhHWoR0VM #TV #2000s #US  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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Mongols attempted to invade Japan on 5th November, 1274. Despite having a fleet of 900 ships, they failed - in part due to a ‘kamikaze’ typhoon that whooshed their boats back to Korea. Then they tried again - and failed again. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how a gunpowder-armed Army was defeated by the Samurai; reveal the brutal (yet unambiguous) response the Japanese gave to the Chinese diplomats who attempted to talk things through; and unearth the surprising connection between Kublai Khan and Lionel Blair… Further Reading: • ‘Kublai Khan - Biography, Death & Achievements’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/china/kublai-khan • Japan's Kamikaze Winds, the Stuff of Legend, May Have Been Real (National Geographic, 2014): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/141104-kamikaze-kublai-khan-winds-typhoon-japan-invasion • ‘Mongol Invasion of Japan: Maps, Animation and Timelines’ (Past To Future, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpguP8emkYc This episode first aired in 2021 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices