Episodes

Rebecca’s favourite episode of 2025 is “The ‘Ten Cent Beer Night’ Riot”. Twice the usual crowd turned up to see the Cleveland Indians take on the Texas Rangers on June 4th, 1974 – drawn in not by the baseball match, but by an innovative promotion: for just 10 cents, fans could grab 10 ounces of […]

Arion’s favourite episode of 2025 was “Land Rover’s Rugged Beginnings” A British motoring icon made its debut at the Amsterdam Motor Show on 30th April, 1948: the Land Rover. The UK’s first off-road vehicle (that wasn’t a tractor!) had been sketched in sand by its creator, Maurice Wilks.  Heavily inspired by the American Willys Jeep,

Happy New Year, Retrospectors! We’ll return with new episodes from Monday 5th January, but in the meantime the team have been choosing their favourite episodes from 2025 that are worthy of a second listen. First up, Olly has selected our conversation about ‘New Coke’. Coca-Cola was approaching its 100th birthday on 23rd April, 1985, when

How much have YOU learned from this year’s show? It’s time for our annual trivia test, as Arion and Rebecca face Olly’s fiendishly difficult questions for 2025.  And, for the first time, this year you can PLAY ALONG! Just click the link here 👇 https://forms.gle/ytZpWTei392F7YvCA Have an amazing festive season, and thanks so much for

Mistletoe and Wine became the UK’s Christmas Number One on 18th December, 1988; the first of three singles Cliff Richard would take to the top of the festive charts. What makes its triumph so curious is that the song began life as a sardonic showtune written in 1976 for a small musical based on The

The debut episode of the world’s longest-running animated sitcom – ‘Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire’ – aired in the U.S. on 17th December, 1989; attracting the Fox network’s highest ever Sunday night ratings. It was an instant sensation, with many contemporary critics remarking that the ‘dysfunctionality’ of The Simpsons was in-keeping with other 90s

The Hideaway Club, now part of London’s Chinatown, opened on 16th December, 1964. Ronnie and Reggie Kray didn’t turn up for the big night, even though they had booked a table. It was an opening gambit in a war of intimidation against the manager of the club, Huw Cargill McCowan – to whom the gangsters

The world’s most famous bandleader, Glenn Miller, was last seen on December 15th, 1944 – after hitching a ride on a small plane to Paris. Desperate to ensure his band could perform for Allied troops, Miller had flown from Britain against advice, his early death shocking fans around the world. Glenn Miller wasn’t just a

‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ underwhelmed at the box office when it was first released on 11th December, 1992 – but found its audience on video and DVD in the decades later, becoming a gold-plated Christmas classic, re-watched by families, year after year.  There was darkness behind the scenes – from the sudden death of Muppets

19 year-old singer Frank Sinatra, Jr was snatched from his casino dressing room on 10th December, 1962. His famous father was willing to pay the kidnappers a $1 million ransom – but they insisted they only required $240,000.  When the case went to trial, the defence suggested that the Sinatras may have been in on