Today In History with The Retrospectors

O.J. Simpson, wanted for questioning over the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, was followed by both the LAPD and the world’s news cameras on 17th June, 1994, as he sat creeping along the motorway, holding a gun to his head, in a white Ford Bronco driven by his former teammate Al Cowlings.

As the SUV rolled steadily towards Los Angeles, fans gathered on bridges and roadside verges, waving and shouting to the former sports star and actor. The chase lasted about two hours, and TV networks seized on the story with unprecedented intensity, interrupting normal programming across the United States, including the 1994 NBA Finals, with millions watching both events simultaneously.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Simpson’s history of spousal abuse was already known by the public; discover how this moment pre-echoed the racial division and lax treatment that would later form part of the commentary around Simpson’s infamous court case; and reveal why the event was a bumper day for Domino’s Pizza…

Further Reading:

• ‘Revisiting O.J. Simpson's 1994 Bronco Chase — Revisit Shocking, Slow-Moving Car Chase’ (People, 2024): https://people.com/oj-simpson-1994-bronco-car-chase-details-8630083

• ‘Al Cowlings - OJ Simpson's best friend who infamously drove a white Bronco as the accused killer held a gun to his own head during iconic police chase - breaks cover after NFL star's death (and STILL remains loyal to the Ford brand)’ (Mail Online, 2024):  https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-13299503/oj-simpson-death-police-chase-ford-bronco.html

• ‘The O.J. Simpson car chase lasted 45 minutes. Watch it unfold’ (CNN, 1994): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuRD3TQEoeY&rco=1

#Crime #Strange #90s #Celebrity #Black 

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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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The world’s first animal charity, the RSPCA, was set up on June 16th, 1824, by a small group of men who met in Old Slaughter’s Coffee House in St. Martin’s Lane, London.

They had been brought together by Arthur Broome, a vicar and animal-welfare campaigner, but the main member of the group was Irish MP Richard Martin, widely known as “Humanity Dick” who had recently passed the first legislation of its kind against the mistreatment of horses and cattle.  

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly look into why in the 19th century people who were interested in animal rights were seen as faintly ludicrous cranks; explain how one of the driving forces behind the RSPCA ended up in an unmarked grave; and discuss why cloven animals need to have duels fought on their behalf…

Further Reading:

• ‘16 June 1824: The world's oldest animal charity, the RSPCA, is founded’ (Money Week, 2015): https://moneyweek.com/396015/16-june-1824-the-worlds-oldest-animal-charity-the-rspca-is-founded 

• ‘The History of the RSPCA’ (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2017): https://www.animallaw.info/article/history-rspca 

• ‘Draw my life - History of the RSPCA’ (RSPCA, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7yhxxKuSUM 

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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.

#1800s #Victorian #Animals #UK
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Future poetic powerhouse Dante Alighieri was enshrined as one of Florence’s six priors on 15th June, 1300: a top political gig in the city’s complex guild-based government.

But his beloved hometown was a powder keg, split between rival factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines; and the Guelphs themselves were split into “white” and “black” camps. Dante, a White Guelph, soon found himself deep in the messy middle of this feud, helping to exile leaders from both factions after street fights broke out. He was then tried in absentia, on trumped-up charges, and sentenced to death by fire - beginning a long road of exile.

In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca consider how Dante turned his rage and wisdom into one of the greatest literary works of all time, The Divine Comedy; explain what a poet was doing in the Physicians Guild in the first place; and reveal how it wasn’t until 700+ years later that Florence officially pardoned him…

Further Reading:

• ‘Dante Alighieri: his Life, The Divine Comedy & Other Books’:

https://www.museocasadidante.it/en/dante-alighieri/biography/

• ‘Return of Dante: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines’ (The Independent, 2008): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/return-of-dante-the-guelphs-and-the-ghibellines-850012.html

• ‘Why should you read Dante’s “Divine Comedy”? - Sheila Marie Orfano’ (Ted-Ed, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbCEWSip9pQ

Love the show? Support us! 

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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Before McDonalds, there was the Horn & Hardart Automat - a chain restaurant featuring  coin-operated glass windows, which opened its first branch in Philadelphia on 12th June, 1902. The business would grow to serve 800,000 people per day.

Customers exchanged nickels for dishes including meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and cherry pie. Beautifully designed with marble counters, stained glass, and chrome fixtures, the venues had an upscale ambiance, but catered mainly to working people, with a notable cult following among struggling artists.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how union pickets and fast food formats eventually caught up with the enterprise; consider the intense nostalgia still strongly felt by the chain’s former customers; and reveal how the whole concept was inspired by a visit to Berlin Zoo…

Further Reading:

• ‘Meet Me at the Automat’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2001): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/meet-me-at-the-automat-47804151/

• ‘The Automat: Birth of a Fast Food Nation’ (HISTORY, 2012): https://www.history.com/news/the-automat-birth-of-a-fast-food-nation

• ‘Hitchcock's Monologue - The Problem With Automat Diners’ (CBS, 1958): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE9euHvuhYU

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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It was the THIRD time behind bars for legendary rock n’ roller Chuck Berry when he was found to have dodged $110,000 in income tax on 11th June, 1979.

He insisted on being paid cash-in-hand for his sometimes shambolic personal appearances, and his propensity for stashing it was so well-known that in Australia the authorities introduced limits on the amount of cash that could be transited across their border, specifically in response to him once stuffing $50,000 in his guitar case.

In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly dig deeper into some of Chuck Berry’s former convictions; take a disturbing peek into his home video library; and reveal the true origins of the ‘duck walk’...

Content Warning: detail of underage, exploitative and non-consensual sexual acts

Further Reading:

• The New York Post on Berry’s scandalous sex life (2017):

https://nypost.com/2017/03/21/the-dark-past-of-chuck-berrys-scandal-filled-sex-life/

• Inc. on why Berry’s ‘musical genius was also his financial undoing’ (2017):

https://www.inc.com/jay-jay-french/how-chuck-berrys-musical-genius-was-also-his-financial-undoing.html

• Chuck Berry’s duck walk - a compilation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwZcLpYPKoI

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 2021.
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