Mick Jagger, Madonna, and David Bowie were amongst the megastars who participated in the ‘I Want My MTV!’ campaign which debuted on 1st March, 1982; credited for getting music television to a sustainable number of cable providers and thereby kickstarting a whole genre: the music video. Ad guru George Lois had come up with the slogan, inspired by an earlier cereal commercial he’d worked on. The promotion hit such a nerve with Generation X that it even made it into a hit single, when Dire Straits and Sting sang ‘I Want My MTV’ in ‘Money For Nothing’. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the music and cable industry both needed persuading of the merits of taking the new channel; consider why adopting the segregated playlists approach of American popular radio was a mis-step for the originators of the network; and reveal why so many British artists played a role in the early days of the playlist…Further Reading: ‘How MTV changed pop music and TV forever - but it all began in cramped room above deli’ (Mirror, 2021): https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/how-mtv-changed-pop-music-24659108 ‘George Lois Dead: Icon of Ads & Magazines Popularized ‘I Want My MTV’’ (The Hollywood Reporter, 2022): https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/lifestyle-news/george-lois-dead-icon-ads-magazine-i-want-my-mtv-1235266407/#! ‘I Want My MTV’ (MTV, 1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGZSWdh17l0 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 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The strange behaviour of two young girls, Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Parris, sparked the  infamous Salem Witch Trials on February 29th, 1692, when a Doctor pronounced that they were possessed by Satan.Accusations of witchcraft snowballed in the Puritan community, leading to a frenzy of trials and hangings. Suspicions fell upon those who deviated from the norm, such as Sarah Goode and Sarah Osborne, viewed as societal outcasts, and Parris slave, Tituba.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how even animals fell victim to the hysteria that ensued; uncover the centuries-long wait to clear the name of the accused women; and reveal how the real cause of the panic might simply have been a Reverend’s embarrassment…Further Reading:• ‘History of the Salem Witch Trials’ (History of Massachusetts Blog, 2011): https://historyofmassachusetts.org/the-salem-witch-trials/• ‘The Mysterious Enslaved Woman Who Sparked Salem’s Witch Hunt’ (HISTORY, 2018): https://www.history.com/news/salem-witch-trials-first-accused-woman-slave• ‘What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials - Brian A. Pavlac’ (Ted-Ed, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVd8kuufBhMLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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/RetrospectorsThe 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 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rerun: Webster’s New International Dictionary (Second Edition) was the largest book to be mass produced, but - as was revealed on 28th February, 1939 - it contained an embarrassing error: on page 771, between the entries for Dorcopsis (a type of small kangaroo) and doré (golden in colour), was the word ‘dord’. Which doesn’t exist. The mistake had arisen from a note submitted by the dictionary’s Chemistry Editor, Austin M. Patterson, who had intended to include ‘D or d’ as an abbreviation for ‘density’. It became the most celebrated example of a ‘ghost word’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether the time is right to re-introduce ‘dord’ to the dictionary; reveal how the word ‘ghost’ itself contains a ‘ghost letter’; and explain why the the 1975 edition of the New Columbia Dictionary deliberately included an entry on fictitious photographer Lillian Virginia Mountweazel…Further Reading:•‘The Curious Case of “Dord,” the Dictionary-Defined Word That Doesn’t Exist’ (MindBounce, 2020): https://www.mindbounce.com/446502/the-curious-case-of-dord-the-dictionary-defined-word-that-doesnt-exist/•‘What Are Ghost Words?’ (Grammarly): https://www.grammarly.com/blog/ghost-words/•‘Ask The Editor: Ghost Word’ (Merriam-Webster, 2011):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3sDiH3FhnYThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New Orleans witnessed its first modern Mardi Gras procession - kick-started by a group of students eager to revive the traditional masquerade, banned for six decades - on 27th February, 1827. The city’s parades and revelry can trace their origins back to ancient pagan festivals and European traditions, cemented by the arrival of French-Canadian explorer (and MASSIVE ‘Fat Tuesday’ fan) Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville into Louisiana in 1699. In this episode, The Retrospectors Krewe dig into the celebration’s impact on revenue and refuse; consider the discriminatory practices that accompanied the festivities until the late 20th century; and get angry about the British equivalent: Pancake Day… Further Reading: ‘Here's a Brief History of Mardi Gras and How It All Started’ (The Manual, 2024): https://www.themanual.com/culture/history-of-madi-gras/ ‘Unmasking the History of Mardi Gras in New Orleans’ (The Crescent Magazine, 2022): https://tulanemagazine.com/unmasking-the-history-of-mardi-gras-in-new-orleans/ ‘Mardi Gras New Orleans Louisiana 4K’ (Dan Usher Films, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bv1mFl9SI4 Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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/RetrospectorsThe 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 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Woodrow Wilson finally signed into law a bill establishing The Grand Canyon as the USA's 15th National Park on this day in 1919.Although preservation orders had given the Canyon some protection prior to this moment, it had been 37 years since Benjamin Harrison had first attempted to enshrine its special status more specifically. The first white American known to traverse the Colorado River, Joseph C Ives, had proclaimed the Canyon to be ‘valueless’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ponder whether full protection would ever have arrived, were it not for the assassination of President McKinley; explain what tourism to the Canyon entailed in the days before the Railroad; and explain why, since 1979, officially sanctioned souvenir rocks have had greater appeal to visitors… Further Reading:• ‘The Grand Canyon turns 100: rare photos of life and adventure’ (The Guardian, 2019): https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2019/feb/26/the-grand-canyon-turns-100-rare-photos-of-life-and-adventure• ‘The Grand Canyon - By Byron Augustin, Jake Kubena’ (Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2010):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Grand_Canyon/K8XI63dLTXkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=woodrow+wilson+grand+canyon&pg=PA53&printsec=frontcover• ‘How Was the Grand Canyon Formed?’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6IBg4Srb6EThis episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cato Street Conspiracy - a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Lord Liverpool and the entire Cabinet as they attended a private dinner party - was foiled on February 23rd, 1820.  Thwarted by an informant within their ranks, the conspirators were exposed, and either deported or executed.Arthur Thistlewood and his cohorts had planned a ruthless assault, complete with grenades, firearms, and symbolic decapitations. Their ideology fused Marxist principles with revolutionary fervour, aiming to redistribute land and provoke a proletarian uprising. Yet their vision faltered, as their violent ambitions clashed with the realities of British governance.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the turbulent period of British radicalism after the Napoleonic Wars; explain why the Coldstream Guards were considerably less effective at the scene of the crime bust than they might have been; and discover one of Thistlewood’s prior Dick Dastardly-style schemes to destabilise the government…Further Reading:  ‘History Matters - The Cato Street Conspiracy, 1820’ (University of Sheffield, 2020): https://historymatters.sites.sheffield.ac.uk/blog-archive/2020/the-cato-street-conspiracy-1820 ‘The Cato Street Conspiracy - Plotting, Counter-intelligence and the Revolutionary Tradition in Britain and Ireland, eds. Jason McElligott, Martin Conboy’ (Manchester University Press, 2019): https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Cato_Street_Conspiracy.html?id=E7zEDwAAQBAJ ‘Cato Street Conspiracy: the rebel and the spy’ (Museum of London, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-apjYCejsacWe'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 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

RERUN: Dolly The Sheep, the first ever successfully cloned mammal, was introduced to the world’s press at the Roslin Institute in Scotland on 22nd February, 1997.Born seven months earlier, with the comparatively unremarkable name ‘Lamb Number 6LL3’, news of her birth had been leaked by The Observer before the scientific paper about her genesis could be published, sparking an international frenzy. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask why the international media (and Bill Clinton) took the opportunity to drum up panic about human cloning, rather than engage with the remarkable breakthrough she actually represented; reveal why Dolly developed a snack habit; and identify a missed opportunity for Dolly’s Tea Rooms in Roslin…Further Reading:• ‘Dolly the sheep’ (National Museum of Scotland): https://www.nms.ac.uk/dolly• ‘Dolly the Sheep and the human cloning debate - twenty years later’ (The Conversation, 2016): https://theconversation.com/dolly-the-sheep-and-the-human-cloning-debate-twenty-years-later-63712• ‘Retro Report: The Story of Dolly the Cloned Sheep’ (The New York Times, 2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tELZEPcgKkE‘Why am I hearing a rerun?’ Every Thursday is 'Throwback Thursday' on Today in History with the Retrospectors: running one repeat per week means we can keep up the quality of our independent podcast. Daily shows like this require a lot of work! But as ever we'll have something new for you tomorrow, so follow us wherever you get your podcasts: podfollow.com/RetrospectorsLove the show? Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content 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: Emma Corsham.Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Edwin Land unveiled the world's first instant camera to the Optical Society of America on 21st February, 1947.Snapping a quick black-and-white selfie, Land astonished onlookers as the image emerged within 60 seconds. Despite its initial high price and complex development process, Polaroid cameras became a sensation, selling out on their first day of release in 1948. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Land's inspiration came during a family vacation; consider why Steve Jobs and other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have looked to Land for inspiration ever since; and recall Polaroid’s disastrous pivot into ‘instant movies’, Polavision, in 1977…Further Reading:• ‘Inside the company that gave the world instant photography’ (FT, 2017): https://www.ft.com/content/d76d5f44-5088-11e7-bfb8-997009366969• ‘Instant - The Story of Polaroid, By Christopher Bonanos’ (Princeton Architectural Press, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Instant/VgyuGmMZ7iIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Instant:+A+Cultural+History+of+Polaroid+by+Christopher+Bonanos&printsec=frontcover• ‘Apple & Polaroid's Intertwined Legacy’ (In An Instant, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOzdMkMMpR0Love the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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/RetrospectorsThe 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 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Departing from Puerto Rico with grand plans to establish a new colony, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León set out on his ill-fated second expedition to Florida on February 15th, 1521. Ponce de León's reputation as a conquistador preceded him, with tales of his brutal conquests in Hispaniola preceding his quest for new lands. Despite being ousted from power by his rival Diego Columbus, Ponce de León received a charter from King Ferdinand to explore and govern distant territories.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why de León named his ‘discovery’ "Florida"; explain why the ‘tree of death’ played a pivotal part in his downfall; and discover where those ‘Fountain of Youth’ rumours came from… Further Reading:  ‘Ponce de Leon: Florida & Fountain of Youth’ (HISTORY, 2009): https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/juan-ponce-de-leon ‘Ponce De Leon Never Searched for the Fountain of Youth’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2013): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/ponce-de-leon-never-searched-for-the-fountain-of-youth-72629888/ ‘Juan Ponce de León: Meet the Spanish explorer who discovered Florida’ (10 Tampa Bay, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-BjLdHerRkLove the show? Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!Plus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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/RetrospectorsThe 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 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The frontman of Pulp, Jarvis Cocker, infamously crashed the stage of the Brit Awards while Michael Jackson was performing Earth Song at the 1996 Brit Awards on this day in London. The incident has gone down in history as one of the most controversial musical moments of the 1990s, not least because immediately after he stepped off the stage Cocker was promptly arrested and taken into custody.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the Brit Awards had invented an award, Artist of a Generation Award, just for Michael Jackson; reveal why the Daily Mail declared the evening the “Night Our Dreams Were Pulped”; and discuss why if he had his time over Cocker wouldn’t do it again… Further Reading:• ‘Jarvis Cocker's on-stage mooning of Michael Jackson at the BRITs turns 25’ (The Daily Mirror, 2021): https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/jarvis-cockers-stage-mooning-michael-23527875 • ‘Bum rush the show! Jarvis Cocker’s Britpop celebrity moment’ (The Guardian, 2021): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/19/bum-rush-the-show-jarvis-cockers-britpop-celebrity-moment • ‘Jarvis Cocker - 1996 Brit Awards Michael Jackson’ (BBC South East, 1996): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymCQyq-9APw This episode first premiered in 2022, for members of 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴 - where you can also DITCH THE ADS and get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 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 2023. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices