Today In History with The Retrospectors

Hanna-Barbera’s classic cat-and-mouse cartoon series Tom and Jerry kicked off when their debut short, ‘Puss Gets The Boot’, was released by MGM on 10th February, 1940. But, at that time, the stars of the film were known as ‘Jasper and Jinx’. And studio bosses very nearly canned the whole concept - until the audience feedback, and awards nominations, started rolling in…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why the chase-based slapstick of this hilariously violent double act empowered MGM to rival the might of Disney and Warner Bros; reveal how Tom and Jerry got their names; and explain how the racist depiction of ‘Mammy Two Shoes’ evolved from an African-American caricature into an Irish one… Further Reading:• ‘The 50 MGM Films that Transformed Hollywood - Triumphs, Blockbusters, and Fiascos, By Steven Bingen’ (Lyons Press, 2022):https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_50_MGM_Films_that_Transformed_Hollyw/bYh0EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Puss+Gets+the+Boot&pg=PA87&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Untold Truth Of Tom And Jerry’ (Looper, 2020): https://www.looper.com/196800/the-untold-truth-of-tom-and-jerry/• ‘Puss Gets the Boot’ (MGM, 1940): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiHulAQmdqI#40s #Hollywood #Animation #racismLove 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: Sophie King.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. Chester Racecourse hosted Britain’s first ever recorded horse-racing meet on 9th February, 1539. The winner received a set of silver bells to hang from their bridal.Mayor Henry Gee had come up with the idea as a replacement for the traditional Shrove Tuesday football match - which he’d banned for being too riotous and violent.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly debate the folk etymology of ‘Gee Gees’; explain why the Royals were responsible for robbing the North of its equestrian edge; and reveal why Oliver Cromwell took objection to a day at the races… Further Reading:• ‘History - Chester Racecourse’ (chester-races.com): https://www.chester-races.com/about/history/• ‘Shrove Tuesday football: “No quarter asked nor given”' (BBC News, 2020): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-51445310• ‘Horrible Histories, HHTV Tudor Horse Racing’ (CBBC, 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S53q_Cij3XY‘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

Right Said Fred’s novelty single ‘I’m Too Sexy’ reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on 8th February, 1992. The playful earworm, which had been rejected by all major record labels, topped the charts in 32 countries.The success of the song propelled Richard and Fred Fairbrass, two bald brothers from East Grinstead who had worked as session musicians for a number of years, into the limelight - along with their bulging muscles and string vests.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the lyrics anticipated George Michael’s ‘Too Funky’ and have been sampled by Beyonce and Drake; reveal how the trio had a close shave with the estate of Jimi Hendrix; and consider whether the camp appeal of the video was a parody of gay culture, or an anthemic celebration of it… Further Reading:• ‘‘I’m Too Sexy’: Oral History of Right Said Fred’s Hit Song’ (Rolling Stone, 2017): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/im-too-sexy-the-oral-history-of-right-said-freds-snarky-dance-pop-smash-122921/‘How we made Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy’ (The Guardian, 2017): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/apr/04/how-we-made-right-said-fred-im-too-sexy-interview • ’Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy’ (Gut Records, 1991): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5mtclwloEQ#90s #music #LGBT #funnyLove 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: Sophie King.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

Controversial friar Girolamo Savonarola supervised the mass destruction of Renaissance art, literature and other priceless items he deemed as ‘fripperies’ on 7th February, 1497 - an event that became known as ‘The Bonfire of the Vanities’.The Dominican cleric - eventually ex-communicated by the Pope for calling the Catholic Church ‘a whore’ - commandeered a large following of adolescents, who went door-to-door in Florence demanding items to be chucked on to the pyre. Ironically, Savonarola was ultimately executed the following year… by being chucked into a fire.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly ask whether Savonarola’s objections to Renaissance-era portraiture had any legitimacy; explain how he leveraged his ‘prophecies’ to give him greater control of the City; and consider why he selected Shrove Tuesday, of all days, to build his famous bonfire… Further Reading:‘A big day in history: Florence's bonfire of the vanities’ (HistoryExtra, 2012): https://www.historyextra.com/period/renaissance/a-big-day-in-history-florences-bonfire-of-the-vanities/ • ‘The friar who ignited the first bonfire of vanities in Florence’ (The Washington Post, 2006): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/entertainment/books/2006/04/02/the-friar-who-ignited-the-first-bonfire-of-vanities-in-florence-span-classbankheadthe-friar-who-ignited-the-first-bonfire-of-vanities-in-florence-span/f2de7781-44e6-4a86-a076-6d7f5b2e9854/• ‘Who was Savonarola?’ (Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMS_JEQgSrY#1400s #Arts #Religion #ItalyLove 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: Sophie King.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

Blackface performers The Virginia Minstrels - replete with white clown mouths, oversized tailcoats, and bookended by tambourine and bones players - first appeared on 6th February, 1843, at the New York Bowery Amphitheatre. They were an instant hit, but it wasn’t the first time a blackface act had been making (white) crowds laugh.American minstrelsy originated some 12 years earlier, when white performer Thomas ‘Daddy’ Rice first appeared as ‘Jim Crow’ - a comic parody of an elderly, disabled, enslaved African-American. His act proved so wildly popular the Boston Post reported that only Queen Victoria was a more crowd-pleasing character.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal why it wasn’t only white performers who performed in blackface; examine how Hollywood kept this racist tradition alive long after it had fallen from favour in theatres; and discover that, over the decades, blackface became such an established and celebrated entertainment that it was performed at The White House…CONTENT WARNING: historical racist language, discussion of racially offensive tropesFurther Reading:• ‘Blackface: The Birth of An American Stereotype’ (National Museum of African American History and Culture): https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/blackface-birth-american-stereotype• ‘Burnt Cork: Traditions and Legacies of Blackface Minstrelsy - Ed. Stephen Burge Johnson’ (University of Massachusetts Press, 2012): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Burnt_Cork/yxupgt6nNFMC?hl=en&gbpv=0• ‘Blackface: A cultural history of a racist art form’ (CBS Sunday Morning, 2018): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqlD-eZm1ck#Racism #Theatre 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: Sophie King.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

On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army. In this episode from our friends at History Daily, host Lindsay Graham (American Scandal, American History Tellers) reveals what happened next.History Daily is a brilliant companion to our own show, taking you back in time to explore a momentous event that happened ‘on this day’ in history. Whether it’s to remember the tragedy of December 7th, 1941, the day “that will live in infamy,” or to celebrate that 20th day in July, 1969, when mankind reached the moon, History Daily is there to tell you the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world—one day at a time.Hear more episodes every weekday at podfollow.com/history-daily Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With a cast of over 800, and a budget equivalent to £3 million, James Shirley’s extravagant masque ‘The Triumph of Peace’ was performed on 3rd February, 1634. Unusually, it was such a popular show that, despite the enormous cost of staging it, King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria requested that it be repeated.Though replete with all the arse-kissing allegorical tableaux that typified these celebrations of the monarchy - and requisite set designs by Inigo Jones - this spectacular was also markedly different from its predecessors in that it was especially designed to appease Henrietta, who had been slurred by polemicist William Prynne.   In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly come to terms with the ‘17th century immersive theatre’ experience; explain why legendary playwright Ben Jonson WASN’T involved in this one; and reveal how a masque was once responsible for the destruction of Shakespeare’s Globe… Further Reading:• ‘Masque and music at the Stuart court’ (Royal Museums Greenwich): https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/masque-music-stuart-court• ‘Inigo Jones designs for masque costumes’ (The British Library): https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/inigo-jones-designs-for-masque-costumes•  ‘The History of the British Masque’ (Heidi Kobara, 2013):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G22UED2yJ_Q#1600s #Theatre #RoyalsWe'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: Sophie King.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. TMZ posted leaked footage of Christian Bale’s infamous meltdown on the set of ‘Terminator Salvation’ on 2nd February, 2009.Triggered by the film's Director Of Photography, Shane Hurlbut, repeatedly walking past his eyeline, Bale launched into an expletive-laden tirade that lasted more than three minutes, during which he threatened to smash up the lights, and have Hurlbut fired from the set.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly dissect how Bale’s star power immunized him against reasonable pushback; compare his defense with Prince Andrew’s declarations of honour; and rank the rant against other notorious on-set ‘freakouts’ from the likes of Tom Cruise and David O. Russell…Further Reading: ‘Christian Bale apologises 'unreservedly' for Terminator set rant’ (The Guardian, 2009):https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/feb/09/christian-bale-apologises-for-onset-rant ‘Film stars' most shocking on-set meltdowns - from Tom Cruise's Covid rant to Christian Bale’s foul-mouthed outburst’ (The Sun, 2020): https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/13492481/film-star-meltdown-tom-cruise-christian-bale/‘Christian Bale Freaks Out on Set w/ SUBTITLES OF CREW in background’ (jenndouglas1, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0auwpvAU2YA … AND there is over seven minutes of extra content from Arion, Rebecca and Olly on this subject available to our show supporters! In our bonus episode, ‘Loose Lips Sink Starships’ our trio investigate how Hollywood reacted to the leaking of the tape, and inspired smartphone restrictions on the 'Star Wars' set, embarrassing moments on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live', and even the #MeToo movement that killed so many careers. To hear it - and a bonus bit of content every single week - support our show on Patreon (patreon.com/Retrospectors) or click ‘Subscribe’ on Apple Podcasts.‘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

The only Portuguese monarch to be assassinated, King Carlos I, was shot through the neck by Republican activists on 1st February, 1908, as his open carriage rode through Lisbon. His elder son Luis Filipe was also killed, leaving 18 year-old Manuel to become the last King of Portugal.The murder followed Portugal’s former colony Brazil deposing its emperor; a politically disastrous agreement with the British over African expansion; and the appointment of the dictatorial João Franco as Portuguese Prime Minister.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly pore over the gossip about Carlos’s lavish lifestyle and Parisian mistress; explain how the event was foreshadowed by the famous ‘Elevator Coup’; and reveal how Carlos’s sea-faring knowledge made for an ill-advised epithet… Further Reading:• ‘Historical Dictionary of Portugal - By Douglas L. Wheeler & Walter C. Opello’ (Scarecrow Press, 2010): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Historical_Dictionary_of_Portugal/e-3kxBySncsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=king+carlos+i+february+1908&pg=PA71&printsec=frontcover• ‘The Portuguese: A Portrait of a People - By Barry Hatton (Signal Books, 2016): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Portuguese/kL6_BAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=king+carlos+portugal+assassination&pg=PT118&printsec=frontcover• ‘O Regicídio’ (Dir. Fernando Vendrell, 2008): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gYphMUSvG4#Portugal #Royals #CrimeLove 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: Sophie King.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

Before Yuri Gagarin, before Alan Shepard… a chimp called Ham was blasted into space for six-and-a-half minutes of weightlessness on 31st January, 1961. He successfully returned to Earth without serious physical injury, albeit over 100 miles away from NASA’s intended splashdown location.Travelling at 5,857 m.p.h, Ham was seated in a special chair called a ‘biopack’, which administered electric shocks to the soles of his feet if he failed to complete basic tasks in orbit.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Ham’s schooling had striking parallels with the training undertaken by human astronauts; reveal just how much of him is actually ‘buried’ at the International Space Hall of Fame; and explain the fate of the SECOND chimp in space, Enos, who wasn’t quite so lucky… CONTENT WARNING: animal cruelty, animal experimentation and dissectionFurther Reading:• Meet Ham The Chimp, The Animal Astronaut Who Changed History (All That’s Interesting, 2021): https://allthatsinteresting.com/ham-the-chimp• ‘Ham the astrochimp: hero or victim?’ (The Guardian, 2013): https://www.theguardian.com/science/animal-magic/2013/dec/16/ham-chimpanzee-hero-or-victim• ‘NASA's First Chimp in Space’ (Smithsonian Channel, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wdbV4SBGYo#60s #space #scienceLove 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: Sophie King.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