Today In History with The Retrospectors

Explore the chaotic origins of the St Scholastica’s Day Riot in 1355, ignited by a wine dispute at Swindlestock Tavern. Nearly 100 people lost their lives in this violent clash between Oxford students and locals. The podcast reveals the deep-rooted tensions between town and gown, tracing their legacy through the centuries. From legal complexities to contemporary parallels, this tale of rivalry showcases how a simple complaint turned deadly and influenced the founding of Cambridge University.

Inventing the internet and pioneering satellite navigation, U.S. government agency DARPA has had an illustrious history since being founded by President Eisenhower (as the Advanced Research Projects Agency) on February 7th, 1958. Created in response to the Soviets launching Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, its mission, which continues to this day, is ‘to prevent technological surprise.’In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover how DARPA helped create the humble computer mouse; explain how former Nazi Wernher von Braun found his way to the head of this supposedly All-American organisation; and look forward to a world of self-sustaining surveillance robots eating us out of house and home…Further Reading: • ‘Fifty years of DARPA: A surprising history’ (New Scientist, 2008): https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13908-fifty-years-of-darpa-a-surprising-history/ • ‘The Nazi Science That Fed the Apollo 11 Moon Landing’ (Time, 2019): https://time.com/5627637/nasa-nazi-von-braun/ • ‘3 of the strangest projects DARPA has worked on’ (Tech Insider, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hSs0S5FVx8Love 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 PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. 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-eZm1ckLove 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 PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The podcast dives into King George III's struggles with mental illness and how it led to his son becoming Prince Regent. It highlights the challenges of defining madness in a royal context and explores the cruel medical treatments of the time, including arsenic blisters and leech therapy. The hosts discuss George III's complex relationship with his son and the public's affection for him, despite his declining health. This tumultuous period in British history reveals the intersection of mental health, family dynamics, and societal perceptions.

The debut of ‘The Sims’ happened on this day, February 4th, 2000.Will Wright (‘Sim City’) developed an initial concept which revolved around architecture - but soon the Sims themselves proved to be the most captivating aspect of the gameplay. Unlike other avatars, The Sims lived full lives with jobs, hobbies, relationships, and even their own language, Simlish. Despite initial scepticism from publisher EA (due to the game’s perceived mundanity and lack of interest to boys) The Sims sold 8 million copies, and millions more in Extension Packs; and, beyond its success, was praised for its humour, soundtrack, and commitment to self-expression.In this episode, The Retrospectors reveal how same-sex relationships have always been part of the Sims appeal; explain how the game’s sequels pulled off the ultimate in-game meta twist; and uncover how its predecessor Sim City evolved from conventional game design… Further Reading:• ‘The Way We Live Now: Questions for Will Wright; How to Win at Life’ (The New York Times, 1999): https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/31/magazine/the-way-we-live-now-10-31-99-questions-for-will-wright-how-to-win-at-life.html?searchResultPosition=5• ‘Sex and the Sim city: welcome to a whole new world’ (The Times, 2004); https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sex-and-the-sim-city-welcome-to-a-whole-new-world-nt27s3t6tf8• ‘The History Of The Sims’ (GameSpot, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7HwKKyUecsJoin  🌴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 PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dive into the turbulent life of Belle Starr, the infamous 'Bandit Queen' of the Wild West. Discover how the Civil War sculpted her legacy and the shocking details of her unsolved murder. Explore the contrasts between her legendary outlaw image and the harsh reality she faced. The discussion also touches on bizarre fashion trends from the era and surprising connections between Starr's gang and modern pop culture icons. It's a captivating look at a woman who defied the norms of her time while navigating a perilous world.

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=9wdbV4SBGYoLove 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 ❤️Go to proton.me/todayinhistory to receive a 38% discount on Proton Mail 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 PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.This episode originally aired in 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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=lC5WeuLHUdULove 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 PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025.This episode originally aired in 2023 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Discover the origins of Burns Night, celebrated for over 200 years despite an initial date mix-up. Robert Burns, Scotland's beloved poet, resonated with everyone from the working class to scholars. Explore the evolving menu of haggis and the significance of traditional toasts like the Selkirk grace. Learn how the celebration blends literary homage with lively festivities, including unique events in Vancouver that merge Burns Night with Chinese New Year. Dive into the cultural impact of Burns and critique the outdated male-only customs of initial gatherings.

General John J. Pershing’s mission to capture the guerrilla leader Pancho Villa in Mexico was quietly withdrawn on 28th January, 1917Initiated in response to Villa's cross-border raid on Columbus, New Mexico, the mission was ordered by President Woodrow Wilson but proved embarrassing and ineffective for the U.S, Army, with Villa remarking that Pershing ‘came in like an eagle, but left like a wet chicken’.In this episode, The Retrospectors track Villa’s career from highway thief to general in the revolutionary army; discover his unusual approach to finding a spouse; and reveal what happened to his head after he was assassinated… Further Reading:• ‘General Pershing's Mexican Expedition to capture Pancho Villa predates his World War I career’ (National Museum of American History, 2016): https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/general-pershings-mexican-expedition-capture-pancho-villa-predates-his-world-war-i• ‘Pancho Villa’s Last Gasp’ (Texas Monthly, 1983): https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/pancho-villas-last-gasp/• ‘UNITED STATES VS. MEXICO - THE PURSUIT OF PANCHO VILLA’ (Historic Films Stock Footage, 1916): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byL6QIDRY6oLove 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 PeartCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices