Beste The Retrospectors Podcasts (2025)

1
The Birth of Fast Fashion 11:18

13h ago11:18

11:18

The craze for paper dresses was the huge and unexpected impact of a viral marketing campaign for the Scott Paper Company that debuted in TIME magazine on 18th March, 1966. For $1.25, readers could send off for a red bandana print or a black and white pop art dress made of cellulose. It was intended as a press stunt to promote durable napkins, but, …

1
Marie Stopes' "Mother's Clinic" 12:15

1d ago12:15

12:15

Marie Stopes’ “Mother’s Clinic” opened its doors in Holloway, on March 17th, 1826. Stopes was a trailblazer, her birth control clinic providing working-class women with access to contraception and advice for the first time. However, her organisation's full name - "The Society for Constructive Birth Control and Racial Progress" - reveals her disturb…

1
Making The Mikado 11:28

5d ago11:28

11:28

The Mikado opened on March 14, 1885 to immediate acclaim, and went on to become W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s most famous and best-loved operetta, despite its tortured genesis. Due to growing creative tensions and their previous show flopping, Gilbert and Sullivan’s partnership was on the rocks, so The Mikado’s success took both completely by…

1
Mata Hari: Showgirl, Seductress, Spy 11:55

6d ago11:55

11:55

Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod, better known to the world as Mata Hari, set the Paris stage ablaze on March 13, 1905, with a scandalous dance routine that turned her into an overnight success. Sporting a gold jeweled breastplate and bracelets, Mata Hari’s performance was a striptease that left little to the imagination. But even the wildest imaginat…

1
When The Dixie Chicks Got Cancelled 12:05

7d ago12:05

12:05

As the Dixie Chicks’ lead singer, Natalie Maines, made an off-the-cuff remark at a London concert on 12th March, 2003, she could not have known the comments would haunt her band (now known as ‘The Chicks’) for decades. Just days before the US invasion of Iraq, and to cheers from the British crowd, she said from the stage: “We’re ashamed the Preside…

1
COPS Hits TV 12:05

8d ago12:05

12:05

Producer John Langley had been pitching a no-frills, fly-on-the-wall documentary series following US Police Officers for six years when, in the midst of a writer’s strike, Fox finally bit. COPS made its debut on 11th March, 1989, becoming one of the longest-running shows in TV history. Langley called it ‘video vérité’; the New York Times called it …

1
Birth of the Book Club 11:15

9d ago11:15

11:15

The ‘Book of the Month Club’ was first launched, on March 10th, 1926. Its inaugural selection, ‘Lolly Willowes’ by feminist Bloomsbury author Sylvia Townsend Warner, underscores the transformative power that such clubs would go on to have (via celebrity endorsements such as Oprah and Richard & Judy): Warner leveraged her selection as a springboard …

1
Abducting Ellen Turner 11:13

12d ago11:13

11:13

Kidnapped from her prestigious Liverpool boarding school on March 7, 1827, 15-year-old Ellen Turner was led to believe her family would be financially ruined if she didn’t marry her 30 year-old abductor, Edward Gibbon Wakefield. Before she was able to deduce that his story was a sham, Turner was whisked off to Gretna Green and inadvertently passed …

1
The Real Captain Birdseye 12:05

13d ago12:05

12:05

Birdseye Frosted Foods launched its first range of flash-frozen foods at a ‘test kitchen’ in Springfield, Massachusetts on 6th March, 1930 - and at the helm was Clarence ‘Bob’ Birdseye, an American entrepreneur of great ambition and insight. Like Captain Birdseye, the bearded, fictional mascot of the brand dreamt up for the British market, Bob had …

1
Vietnam's Singing Soldier 11:53

14d ago11:53

11:53

Barry Sadler’s "Ballad of the Green Berets" reached number one in the Billboard Hot 100 on 5th March, 1966 - the only pro-Vietnam War hit to ever top the charts. Before it even hit radio stations, Sadler had been performing the song at military bases and patriotic events, setting the stage for its massive success. RCA pushed it hard, knowing that i…

1
Trashing The White House 11:44

15d ago11:44

11:44

When Andrew Jackson was inaugurated on 4th March, 1829, large crowds of recently emancipated, enthusiastic voters turned up to the Capitol to watch the former Army commander become President. But the event soon spiraled out of control, descending into, at best, chaos; and, at worst, a brawl. Eyewitness Margaret Bayard Smith wrote: “No arrangements …

1
Serfdom's Up! 12:12

16d ago12:12

12:12

The Emancipation Statute was unveiled by Emperor Alexander II: March 3rd, 1861, liberating the serfs of Russia. The culmination of years of bureaucratic efforts and peasant uprisings, the legislation marked a decisive break from the past and aimed to align Russia with European norms - whilst The United States still relied anachronistically on slave…

1
The Double Helix Quartet 11:59

19d ago11:59

11:59

Deciphering the structure of DNA was as complex as the double helix itself. On 28th February, 1953, Dr. James Watson and Dr. Francis Crick rushed to the pub and announced to their fellow drinkers in The Eagle, Cambridge that they had just found “the secret of life”. But their work would not have been possible without the uncredited contribution of …

1
Pokémon Hegemon 12:08

20d ago12:08

12:08

The first Pokémon videogames, ‘Red’ and ‘Green’ were launched in Japan on 27th February, 1996. The franchise went on to be the most successful ever video game to TV adaptation, and the highest selling trading card game in history of cards. Created by Satoshi Tajiri, the gameplay recalled his childhood obsession for bug-hunting, and made use of Nint…

1
The Shoe That Made Nike 11:54

21d ago11:54

11:54

Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike, was on a quest for the perfect running shoe grip when he found inspiration in his wife’s waffle iron. Pouring polyurethane directly onto their wedding gift, he began to develop the prototype that would eventually become Nike’s legendary waffle sole trainer, and which received its patent on 26th February, 1974. But…

1
Britain's Backyard Bunkers 12:33

22d ago12:33

12:33

The Anderson Shelter, the pop-up sheds distributed to millions of Londoners during the Blitz was first erected on February 25th, 1939 - in the garden of Mrs. Spong, in Carlsbad Street, Islington. Devised to protect civilians from Nazi air raids, and handed out free to those who earned under £5 per week, the shelters were dug four metres into the gr…

1
How Not To Invade Britain 12:05

24d ago12:05

12:05

The ‘Last Invasion’ of Britain was not, as most people assume, The Battle of Hastings - but actually a farcical French attempt to conquer the Pembrokeshire town of Fishguard on 24th February, 1797. Windy weather had already scuppered the first two prongs of this failed three-pronged attack, which was ultimately overthrown by a rag-bag militia of vo…

1
The First Hijack 11:44

26d ago11:44

11:44

Pan-Am pilot Byron Rickards was surrounded by soldiers and told he had become the prisoner of a revolutionary organisation shortly after landing in Arequipa, Peru on 21 February 1931 - the first recorded aircraft hijack in history. Rickards refused to drop pro-rebel propaganda, leading to a stand-off - although, astonishingly, it wasn’t the only ti…

1
How Orkney Became Scottish 11:39

27d ago11:39

11:39

On 20 February, 1472, Orkney and Shetland officially became part of Scotland having been offered up as security for the dowry of the daughter of King Christian of Norway and Denmark. The marriage was aimed at quelling a long-standing tax-related feud between the two powers. But as time wore on, it began to feel as though the Scandinavians just didn…

1
Mexico's 45 Minute President 12:08

28d ago12:08

12:08

Pedro Lascuráin set an unbeatable record in presidential speedrunning—serving as Mexico’s president for a paltry 45 minutes on 19th February, 1913. His one achievement? To hold the title just long enough to hand it over to the real mastermind behind the coup, General Victoriano Huerta. Huerta didn’t last too long either - and eventually even the U.…

1
I Discovered Pluto 12:26

29d ago12:26

12:26

Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto - 84 years after star-spotters first began their hunt for a ninth planet in our solar system, the elusive ‘Planet X’ on 18th February 1930. The 24-year-old made the groundbreaking discovery at the Lowell Observatory, Arizona, just one week into a task that had mired other researchers for decades. That said, it was la…

1
Britain Goes To School 11:52

30d ago11:52

11:52

The 1870 Education Act was the first to deal specifically with the provision of British schools. Speaking in the House of Commons, William Edward Forster MP proposed: "I believe that the country demands from us that we should… cover the country with good schools, and get parents to send their children to those schools.” But there was opposition: fr…

1
The Night of 206 Stars 11:42

1M ago11:42

11:42

The Rockettes kicked off a celebrity line-up including Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minelli, Jimmy Stewart, Al Pacino and Miss Piggy at ‘The Night of 100 Stars’, a benefit for the Actors Fund of America recorded on 14th February, 1982 at Radio City Music Hall, New York. A night of sheer glitz and excess, the true tally of stars on-stage totalled 206 - bu…

1
The 500,000 Year-Old Spark Plug 12:13

1M ago12:13

12:13

The Coso Artifact - a man-made, cylindrical object apparently encased in a geode - was discovered by Wallace Lane, Virginia Maxey and Mike Mikesell while prospecting for gems in Olancha, California on February 13th, 1961. The OOPArt (or ‘out-of-place artifact’) caused a sensation amongst Creationists, Forteans and conspiracists, who believed it mig…

1
The Forbidden City's Final Emperor 13:07

1M ago13:07

13:07

Henry Puyi, the six-year old Emperor of China, abdicated the throne on 12th February, 1912 —but of course it was his adoptive mother, Empress Dowager Longyu, who did the paperwork. With tears in her eyes, she dramatically whispered, “I am the sinner of a thousand years.” Meanwhile, young Puyi had only pressing question: “Does that mean I don’t have…

Podcasts, die es wert sind, gehört zu werden

The Retrospectors Podcasts

Podcasts, die es wert sind, gehört zu werden

1
Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

1
The Birth of Fast Fashion 11:18

1
Marie Stopes' "Mother's Clinic" 12:15

1
Making The Mikado 11:28

1
Mata Hari: Showgirl, Seductress, Spy 11:55

1
When The Dixie Chicks Got Cancelled 12:05

1
COPS Hits TV 12:05

1
Birth of the Book Club 11:15

1
Abducting Ellen Turner 11:13

1
The Real Captain Birdseye 12:05

1
Vietnam's Singing Soldier 11:53

1
Trashing The White House 11:44

1
Serfdom's Up! 12:12

1
The Double Helix Quartet 11:59

1
Pokémon Hegemon 12:08

1
The Shoe That Made Nike 11:54

1
Britain's Backyard Bunkers 12:33

1
How Not To Invade Britain 12:05

1
The First Hijack 11:44

1
How Orkney Became Scottish 11:39

1
Mexico's 45 Minute President 12:08

1
I Discovered Pluto 12:26

1
Britain Goes To School 11:52

1
The Night of 206 Stars 11:42

1
The 500,000 Year-Old Spark Plug 12:13

1
The Forbidden City's Final Emperor 13:07

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