Today In History with The Retrospectors

Running a remote Yorkshire farm, with no flushing toilet and no electricity is an unlikely route to TV stardom, but 46 year-old spinster Hannah Hauxwell managed it on 30th January, 1973, when ITV aired the landmark documentary ‘Too Long A Winter’.Speaking lyrically about her singlehood, how she braved the bitter Winter, and how she survived on a grocery budget of just £5 per month, Hauxwell’s story inspired thousands of viewers to send her food parcels and arrange for her homestead to be modernised. In a series of follow-up films, Hauxwell travelled to America, met the Pope and Queen Mother, and became arguably the UK’s first ‘reality TV star’.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Hauxwell came to be featured on the programme that made her name; revel in an era where it was possible to be a TV personality without ever having even seen a television; and wonder if such a career trajectory would be possible today… Further Reading:• ‘Hannah Hauxwell: the lasting legacy of the daughter of the Yorkshire Dales’ (Yorkshire Post): https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/interactive/hannah-hauxwell-yorkshire-dales-legacy• ‘Hannah Hauxwell: 'She didn't ask to be filmed, but her natural personality made her a star' (The Northern Echo, 2018): https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/15913703.hannah-hauxwell-she-didnt-ask-filmed-natural-personality-made-star/• ‘Too Long A Winter’ (Yorkshire TV, 1973): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC5WeuLHUdU#70s #TV #CelebrityThere’s an extra FIVE MINUTES of Hauxwell chat exclusively for  🌴 CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴members today - and more than 80 bonus bits to unlock when you sign up to support our show! 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

The corpse of Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, was placed on display in Moscow's Red Square on 27th January, 1924 - where, astonishingly, he remains viewable to this day. He’d wanted to be buried next to his mother in Saint Petersburg, but after he suffered a series of strokes, the Soviet government instead secretly planned to build a mausoleum for his body, in part to deify him as a quasi-religious figure.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how pioneering embalming techniques were created by ‘The Lenin Lab’ to look after the cadaver; ponder how mausoleum architect Alexey Shchusev contented with the January freeze; and consider whether an embalmed Queen Victoria would be just as popular a tourist attraction…Further Reading:• ‘Death of Lenin’ (The Guardian, 1924): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/23/death-of-lenin-archive-1924• ‘Lenin's Body Improves with Age’ (Scientific American, 2015): https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lenin-s-body-improves-with-age1/• ‘Russia: 100 Years on from Revolution’ (BBC News, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPmlX4kWgjs#Macabre #Russia #RevolutionWe'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. Sometimes termed ‘The Diaper Run’ due to the large number of babies on-board, the S.S. Argentina set sail from Southampton to New York City on 26th January, 1946 – transporting 456 ‘War Brides’ and their 170 children from Britain to the USA.Each was permitted to bring 200lb of luggage, and faced an uncertain future on arrival in the States – some reuniting with their one true love; others finding themselves shacked up with in-laws who resented their existence.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how this historic crossing triggered a change in U.S. immigration policy; examine the appeal of clean-cut American servicemen to working-class British women; and recall the much-forgotten additional passenger – ‘the War Groom’…Further Reading:G.I. Brides Sail (Pathe 1946): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wiUotiD9HI‘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

Pioneering journalist Nellie Bly returned from her 72-day trip around the world on 25th January, 1890. The final leg of the journey was upon a chartered train to New Jersey, nicknamed ‘the Nellie Bly Express’, and Bly was greeted by adoring fans as she traversed the country.Inspired by Jules Verne’s novel, Bly had a year earlier pitched to her editors at The World that she should be given the opportunity to try and travel the globe in under 80 days - but they’d felt it was a journey only a man could undertake.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how - unbeknownst to Bly - the challenge had actually become a RACE against Cosmopolitan writer Elizabeth Bisland; trace the origins of Bly’s inspirational ‘stunt girl’ reporting; and pry into the contents of Bly’s well-traveled suitcase… Further Reading:• ‘Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Trip Around the World Was, to Her Surprise, A Race’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2016): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nellie-blys-record-breaking-trip-around-world-was-to-her-surprise-race-180957910/• ‘Around the World in Seventy-Two Days, by Nellie Bly’ (THE PICTORIAL WEEKLIES COMPANY, 1890): http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bly/world/world.html• ‘Journalist Nellie Bly begins her trip around the world in 80 days’ (WUSA9news, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndm38_0ZCSc#Person #Explorer #1800sLove 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

Japanese ‘holdout’ Shoichi Yokoi had been hiding out in the jungles of Guam since the Second World War when he was discovered by hunters on 24th January, 1972, dressed in clothes woven from tree fibre.The 57 year-old soldier had endured 27 years living in an underground shelter he dug himself, eating toads, river eels and rats. Although he had heard the War was over, he believed it would be a disgrace to surrender to the Americans.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Yokoi survived so much longer than his comrades; consider what life was like for him when returned home and saw his own gravestone; and reveal that, despite him becoming a household name in Japan, he wasn’t in fact the last holdout to be discovered… Further Reading:• ‘Shoichi Yokoi, the Japanese soldier who held out in Guam’ (BBC News Magazine, 2012): https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-16681636• ‘Shoichi Yokoi Was the Last Japanese World War II Soldier to Surrender’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2022): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-japanese-wwii-soldier-who-refused-to-surrender-for-27-years-180979431/• ’SOLDIER RETURNS HOME TO JAPAN AFTER 28 YEARS IN HIDING’ (Associated Press, 1972): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcUcBbf6PRg#WW2 #Japan #MysteryLove 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

The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame welcomed its first inductees in a star-studded event at the Waldorf Astoria, New York on 23rd January, 1986. But the ceremony was not the glamorous HBO spectacular we have come to expect today: the audience was mostly music executives, and it was not filmed for television.Conceived by Atlantic Records chairman Ahmet Ertegun, the nonprofit foundation initially had lofty ambitions of recognising unsung heroes of the genre, and redressing racial injustice.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the Rock Hall came to be located in Cleveland, of all places; investigate the claims of sexism that have plagued the institution; and recall the phenomenal rejection issued by Axl Rose following an invitation to perform… Further Reading:• ‘The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame: From An Idea, To  A Labor Of Love, To A Spectacular Event’ (Billboard, 2004): https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0A8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA17&dq=ertegun+rock+and+roll+hall+of+fame&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3os-Fr7r8AhWQaMAKHZc8AzoQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=ertegun%20rock%20and%20roll%20hall%20of%20fame&f=false• ‘Why the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame should be put out of its misery’ (The Guardian, 2016): https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/apr/04/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-should-be-destroyed• ‘Chuck Berry, Keith Richards, Jerry Lee Lewis, Neil Young – "Roll Over Beethoven"’ (Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, 1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM_1eDzWYzI&list=PLuYH1Vrzl1TMtAjBPm80j0EGOT0FL8Uc4&index=2#80s #Music #NewYorkBut wait! There’s more: discover SIX MINUTES+ of bonus content, cut-for-time from today's episode, when you Join 🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS 🌴 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!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

Lalli, a legendary figure in Finnish folklore, is notorious for his tragic confrontation with Bishop Henry in 1156, which ended in murder on a frozen lake. The discussion unpacks the mythology surrounding both characters, revealing how Lalli's legacy intertwines with themes of resistance and deceit. Surprisingly, they also delve into the odd fate of a pseudo-saint who met his end by choking on a chicken bone. The episode also highlights quirky superstitions and notable Finns, making it a delightful mix of history and folklore.

Rerun. Research In Motion were once the world’s most popular maker of smartphones, but when they launched the BlackBerry 850 on 19th January, 1999, the device had no phone functionality: it was marketed as a two-way pager.However, the gadget’s ability to bounce emails from a desktop server to its users on the move, and its bespoke instant messaging service, BBM, ensured it soon became an essential tool in the executive businessperson’s arsenal. Until the iPhone came along, anyway…In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly revisit the ‘CrackBerry’ phenomenon; unpick the role of Al Gore and Barack Obama as ultimate celebrity influencers for the brand; and wonder whether anyone will still be using one, after the company’s recent announcement that their handsets will no longer be supported…Further Reading:• ‘The one reason why I’ll always miss the BlackBerry’ (Slate, 2013): https://slate.com/technology/2013/10/the-one-reason-why-ill-always-miss-the-blackberry.html• ‘The rise and fall of the BlackBerry in popular culture’ (BBC Newsbeat, 2016): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-37500230• ‘Classic BlackBerry Devices To Officially Stop Working After Decades Of Popularity’ (NBC Today, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWhuVEfDPv8‘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 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of earliest recorded UFO sightings in America happened on 18th January, 1644 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony when lights rose out of the water near Boston, zoomed across the sky and vanished over the horizon.The events, as documented by the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony John Winthrop in his journal, took place a good 300 years before Roswell, contradicting the idea that UFO sightings in the US are an exclusively 20th Century phenomenon.In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain that the most common explanation for what was witnessed was an “ignis fatuus” (a type of gas combustion); investigate what other UFO sightings took place between 1644 and today; and speculate why aliens didn’t seem to have any interest in abducting humans until the 1960s.Further Reading:• ‘America’s First UFO Sighting’ (History.com, 2016): https://www.history.com/news/americas-first-ufo-sighting• ‘A pilgrim UFO sighting came long before Roswell’ (Ripleys, 2018): https://www.ripleys.com/weird-news/pilgrim-ufo/• ‘Top 5 shocking UFO sightings in the USA’ (History, 2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR4mDKwagAA#Strange #1600s #US   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 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On January 17, 1893, Hawaii’s monarchy was overthrown when a group of businessmen and sugar planters forced Queen Liliuokalani to abdicate, the first step towards the islands’ annexation as a US territory and eventual admission as the 50th state in the union.Interest in Hawaii began in America as early as the 1820s, when New England missionaries tried in earnest to spread their faith there, but only really became serious in 1880s when Queen Liliuokalani began trying to return power to the indigenous Hawaiian people. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly discuss the contemporary US efforts to make amends for the past; look at Queen Liliuokalani’s many talents, including composition; and speculate that Parents’ Day at the Hawaiian Chief’s Children’s School must have been an awkward affair…Further Reading:• ‘Five Things To Know About Liliʻuokalani, the Last Queen of Hawaiʻi’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2017): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/five-things-know-about-liliuokalani-last-queen-hawaii-180967155/• ‘Queen Lili‘uokalani - The First and Last Queen of Hawai‘i’ (PBS, 2020): https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/queen-liliuokalani-the-first-and-last-queen-of-hawaii-kx2oc7/15032/• ‘Aloha Dying - A Hawaii Documentary’ (Cody Brooks, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhMa-NHZRCA&t=2115s #US #Black #PersonLove 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 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices