Today In History with The Retrospectors

• When Sinéad Shocked America

  Irish popstar Sinéad O’Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during her performance of Bob Marley’s ‘War’ on NBC’s TV show ‘Saturday Night Live’ on 3rd October, 1992. The unexpected act was meticulously planned by O'Connor; a protest against child abuse within the Catholic Church.  The performance left the audience almost silent, and, although she faced significant backlash, O'Connor remained unapologetic, writing in her memoirs that it was one of her proudest achievements. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how a Top of the Pops performance by Bob Geldof first inspired the stunt; reveal where precisely O’Connor got the photo of the Pope from; and ask if, when it comes to this divisive moment, SNL have fallen on the right side of history… Further Reading: • ‘The day Sinead O’Connor tore up a photo of the Pope on Saturday Night Live’ (The Independent, 2022): https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/sinead-oconnor-snl-pope-photo-b2191296.html • ‘Sinead O’Connor’s Legacy With Sex Abuse Survivors in Catholic Church’ (Rolling Stone, 2023): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/sinead-oconnor-catholic-church-abuse-legacy-1234797102/ • ‘Sinéad O'Connor rips up picture of Pope John Paul II’ (NBC, 1992): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGFj1WClin4 #90s #Religion #Protest #TV #Irish #Catholic CONTENT WARNING: child abuse This episode first aired in 2023 Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer:  Ollie Peart Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Meet Charlie Brown

  Happy 75th birthday, ‘Peanuts’! Charles Shulz’ iconic comic strip made its debut (although Snoopy had yet to appear) on 2nd October, 1950.  Peanuts would grow into a global phenomenon, running in 2,600 papers across 75 countries. At its peak, it was translated into 21 languages - but never lost its bittersweet mix of humour, disappointment, and charm, making Charlie Brown and the gang cultural touchstones for decades. The first words of the strip? “Here comes good ol’ Charlie Brown… How I hate him.” This tone was a notable departure from the loud, chaotic, adventure stories that dominated ‘the funny pages’ at the time. Schulz’ characters weren’t fighting villains or chasing treasure: they were kids, wrestling with life’s quiet frustrations, hopes, and existential questions. It was postwar suburban America in miniature, disguised as a children’s comic, but also aimed at the grown-ups reading the paper over their morning coffee. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider why the strip became such a hit; reveal how Schulz’s own childhood got reflected in his characters; and marvel at how, despite his IP becoming a massive merchandising juggernaut, the cartoonist kept control over his creations until the day he died…  Further Reading: • ‘Peanuts Comic Strip Debut October 2 1950’ (TIME, 2014): https://time.com/3445127/peanuts/ • ‘Peanuts' Creator Charles Schulz Dies’ (The Washington Post, 2000): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/02/14/peanuts-creator-charles-schulz-dies/f742958c-dffe-4cef-a481-b9d2cd2749c2/ • ‘Charles M. Schulz on CHARLIE BROWN | Everyman’ (BBC, 1977): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzu8aLpzIKw #Comics #50s #Publishing #US 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• Postcards - The Poor Man's Telephone

  A 12 x 8.5cm ‘Correspondenzkarte’, the earliest progenitor of the modern-day postcard, was created by the Austrian Post on 1st October, 1869. Cheaper and more practical than sending long-form letters, the new medium was an instant sensation with the public - with three million postcards being sent in the first three months. But cultural conservatives felt it would lead to poor grammar, a capitulation of individuality, and a brash new form of self-expression... In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal the indomitability of the Isle of Man’s postcard censorship committee; revisit the career of the ‘King of the Saucy Seaside’, Donald McGill; and  unearth the frustrated adventures of ‘the wronged true inventor of the postcard’, Dr. Heinrich Von Stephan. Further Reading: • ‘The Story of the Postcard’ (Postimuseo Finland, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjFTxJi66e8 • ‘Tweeting by mail: The postcard's stormy birth’(LA Times, 2013): https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2013-jun-22-la-oe-cure-postcards-twitter-20130623-story.html • ‘History of the Saucy Postcard’ (Donald McGill Museum, 2020): https://saucyseasidepostcards.com/?page_id=89 This episode first aired in 2021 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• The Shipwrecked Mr. Crusoe

  Literature’s most famous castaway, Robinson Crusoe, was washed up on a desert island - where he would remain for 28 years - on 30th September, 1659. By selecting this date, author Daniel Defoe ensured that his fictional protagonist’s fate pre-dated the real-life estrangement of Royal Navy man Alexander Selkirk, who was stranded some 46 years later: 14 years prior to Defoe writing his novel. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how his story pioneered not only the English novel, but also the movie trailer; ask whether Crusoe’s narrative voice sounds like an authentic young man of the period, or betrays the fact that Defoe was nearly sixty when he created him; and dig around in the writer’s early career (including, but not limited to, creating perfume from civets)... Further Reading: • Daniel Defoe profile (The British Library): https://www.bl.uk/people/daniel-defoe • ‘Debunking the Myth of the ‘Real’ Robinson Crusoe’ (National Geographic, 2016): https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/robinson-crusoe-alexander-selkirk-history • The Shipwreck scene from ‘Robinson Crusoe’ (1927): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCaYAD1ZGuM This episode first aired in 2021Love 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 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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• What Happened To Couto Misto?

  A tiny microstate nestled between Spain and Portugal, Couto Misto existed for centuries until its dissolution on 29th September, 1864. The final act of the Portuguese Restoration War, a treaty in Lisbon saw Spain claim the lion’s share of the land, while Portugal reclaimed its independence after 60 years of Spanish rule. The Misto people were something special. They didn’t fully identify as either Spanish or Portuguese, but rather Galician, speaking a dialect that wasn’t quite one or the other. Despite it’s size, Misto had its own legal system, its own customs, and even a chest of important state documents protected by three locks, opened by senior politicians from each of the nation’s three major villages. Arion, Rebecca and Olly agonise about whether to carve a “P” for Portugal or a “G” for Galicia on their own homes; explain how traders and smugglers thrived on ‘the Privileged Path’ through the tiny country; and reveal how its people’s split loyalties would manifest at weddings… Further Reading: • ‘The Couto Misto - A nearly forgotten story’ (European Heritage Days): https://www.europeanheritagedays.com/Story/The-Couto-Misto-A-nearly-forgotten-story • ’Princely Tongues: The Languages of Europe’s Five Smallest Countries’ (Macro Neves, 2022): https://marconeves.substack.com/p/princely-tongues-the-languages-of • ’Little Europe: Five Micro-Countries’ (Rick Steves’ Europe, 2013): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6sz8ysrNJU This episode was first published in 2024 Thanks so much for supporting the show! We massively appreciate it. The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill. Edit producer:  Ollie Peart Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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