Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Scopes Monkey Trial - one of the most famous show trials in U.S. history - began in Dayton, Tennessee on 10th July, 1925. 

Though it centred on John T. Scopes - a high school teacher put on trial for teaching evolution - he was actually a substitute teacher who may never have really taught the textbook concerned, and had put himself in the frame to test the Butler Act, a Tennessee law prohibiting the teaching of any theory that contradicted the biblical account of creation.

The trial transformed Dayton into a chaotic carnival. Spectators and journalists from around the world flocked to the small town, which became a hub of street preachers, revival tents, and vendors selling Bibles and toy monkeys. 

Both sides of the trial brought in heavyweights: William Jennings Bryan, renowned fundamentalist and three-time presidential candidate, volunteered to assist the prosecution, while the famous defence attorney Clarence Darrow, took up Scopes' defence. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the trial came to be heard out on the courthouse lawn; explain what happened to Scopes after receiving his sentence; and reveal which real-life monkeys were harmed in the making of the trial… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Scopes Monkey Trial: The Historic Trial That Began 90 Years Ago’ (TIME, 2015): https://time.com/3952775/scopes-monkey-trial-1925/

• ‘Timeline: Remembering the Scopes Monkey Trial’ (NPR, 2005): https://www.npr.org/2005/07/05/4723956/timeline-remembering-the-scopes-monkey-trial

• ’Inherit the Wind’ (MGM, 1960): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtNdYsoool8

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 2026.

This episode originally aired in 2024.
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One of the BBC’s biggest-ever flops, soap opera ‘Eldorado’, broadcast its final episode on 9th July, 1993 - just one year after it had begun, at a reported cost of £10 million.

Focussing on the glamorous lives of British expats - fusing the elements of ‘EastEnders’ and ‘Neighbours’ - it had seemed destined to be a sure-fire hit. So, a large permanent set for the fictional town of Los Barcos was built from scratch in the Costa Del Sol. These days it is used for paint-balling.

In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion unearth Rupert Murdoch’s alleged attempts to sabotage the soap; consider whether it was actually rather more successful an enterprise than it was given credit for at the time; and reveal which cancelled TV shows they’d resurrect, if only they could...

Further Reading:

• The final scene and closing credits of ‘Eldorado’ (BBC, 1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TfR15KgC6w

• ‘Sun, sea and subtitles - how Eldorado became TV's biggest flop’ (The Guardian, 2018): https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jul/09/eldorado-bbc-one-soap-opera

• Los Barcos - the Unofficial Eldorado Website: http://www.losbarcos.org.uk/

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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 2026.

This episode originally aired in 2021.

#90s #TV #Person #UK 
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Promenades Aériennes, the world’s first modern rollercoaster, opened in Paris on 8th July, 1817. Thrillseekers climbed a towering wooden structure before being sent gliding back down on wheeled carriages attached securely to rails; modest by modern standards, yes, but introducing many of the key features that still define coasters today.

Visitors faced a lengthy climb to the summit before enjoying their gravity-powered descent, with cafés thoughtfully placed along the staircase for those needing a rest. And the journey itself demanded a degree of bravery: there were no seat belts or safety bars, and passengers simply held on as the carriage swept down the track. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly trace the idea of the proto-rollercoaster back to Catherine the Great’s Russia; explain how goldrush-era mining trains inspired the Switchback Railway at Coney Island in 1884; and consider how little about coaster design really changed until Disney brought in tubular steel in 1955… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Object: Promenades Aeriennes Jardin Baujon’ (British Museum) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1899-0713-182

• ‘First Roller Coaster in America Opened at Coney Island’ (The Association of Mature American Citizens, 2026): https://amac.us/newsline/lifestyle/first-roller-coaster-in-america-opens/

• ‘10 Of The Best Roller Coasters in the UK! Front Seat POVs!’ (Theme Park Review, 2025): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU-tmfOQo9E

#France #1800s #Design #NewYork

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Join  🌴CLUB RETROSPECTORS🌴to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode each SUNDAY… 

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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 2026.

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Pinocchio, ‘The Story of a Puppet’, debuted in Giornale per i bambini, an Italian weekly magazine for children, on 7th July, 1881. Its author, Carlo Lorenzini - going by the pseudonym C. Collodi - intended the tale to end with the hanging of Pinocchio, but popular demand led to the character having further, more optimistic adventures.

As a young man, Collodi joined the seminary but left to support the Italian national unification movement through journalism. His children’s writings are cut through with satire and moral lessons specific to Italy in the 1800s, yet resonated internationally almost immediately, having been translated into as many as 260 languages. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider Collodi in the context of other serialised literature of the time, such as Dickens; uncover the darkest moments in the story which Disney sensibly swerved; and explain what that whole weird donkey metaphor is all about…

Further Reading:

• ‘The Real Story of Pinocchio Tells No Lies’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2022): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-real-pinocchio-180980027/

• ‘Pinocchio: The scariest children's story ever written’ (BBC Culture, 2022): https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20221207-pinocchio-the-scariest-childrens-story-ever-written

• ‘The birthplace of Pinocchio’ (CBS, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAkdYYaTzcI&t=9s

Love 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 Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

This episode originally aired in 2023.

#1800s #Italy #Books
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The Quarrymen took to the stage at a parish fête near Liverpool on 6th July, 1957: the event that first brought together the brains behind the Beatles, teenagers John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

John oozed cool with his swagger, sideburns, and low slung guitar. Paul, watching in awe, was struck by Lennon’s confidence and his seeming ability to improvise lyrics to niche doo-wop tunes. The two boys were introduced later that day by a mutual friend, and immediately clicked; Paul performing his Little Richard-style “woo!" to an impressed John. Two weeks later, John offered him a spot in The Quarrymen. Paul said yes—but only after Scout camp and a family holiday to Butlins.

In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explore how the two boys were united in a shared history of grief; explain how they came up with the name "The Beatles”; and reveal why an incident with a condom got them deported from their first stint in Hamburg…

Further Reading:

• ‘When Paul McCartney met John Lennon’ (National Museums Liverpool): https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/when-paul-mccartney-met-john-lennon

• ‘Truth about John Lennon and Paul McCartney's first ever meeting in unlikely venue’ (The Mirror, 2019): https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/truth-john-lennon-paul-mccartneys-17261716

• ‘Nowhere Boy’ (Film4, 2009): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xITuqrVimlE

Love 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 Peart.

Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2026.

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