Pope John Paul II was shot in St. Peter’s Square on 13th May 1981, in front of thousands of pilgrims attending his weekly general audience. Struck multiple times at close range, he collapsed in his Fiat Popemobile, as panic swept through the square.

The gunman was Mehmet Ali Ağca, a 23-year-old Turkish national with a history of political violence (an accomplice was reportedly meant to have triggered an explosion to aid his escape, but this plan failed). Ağca was immediately overpowered by bystanders, including security personnel and a nun, while the Pope was rushed to hospital, where he underwent hours of emergency surgery after life-threatening internal injuries and massive blood loss.

Prior to the attack, Ağca had escaped from prison in Turkey, where he had been convicted of murdering journalist Abdi İpekçi. He left behind threats explicitly targeting the Pope, yet after his arrest offered shifting and often conflicting explanations for his actions - variously blaming Western imperialism, the Soviet Union, or other global actors. 

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the likelihood the attack was ordered by an extremist group such as the Grey Wolves; marvel at the Pope’s response, including  visiting Ağca in prison and persuading the Italian President to pardon him; and explain how the date of the attempted assasination coinciding with the earlier Our Lady of Fátima apparitions added a divine dimension to the story… 

Further Reading:

• ‘May 13, 1981: Pope John Paul II shot in St. Peter's square’ (CBS News, 2016): https://www.cbsnews.com/news/on-this-day-may-13-1981-pope-john-paul-ii-shot-in-st-peters-square/

• ‘Mehmet Ali Ağca, The Man Who Tried To Kill Pope John Paul II’ (All That’s Interesting, 2026): https://allthatsinteresting.com/mehmet-ali-agca

• ‘On this day: Pope John Paul II shot outside the Vatican’ (CBS News, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26JPN4Qh7gs

#Catholic #80s #Shocking #ColdWar

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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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Richard the Lionheart was a bachelor into his thirties, but finally got hitched on May 12th, 1191, at the Chapel of St. George at Limassol, Cyprus. His Bride? Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of King Sancho VI - a key ally in extending his Kingdom across Europe. 

Sure, he may have already slept with her brother, but hey, that’s less awkward than marrying his original betrothed princess, his father’s mistress. The marriage was indifferent and potentially unconsummated; Berengaria becoming the only English Queen in history never to set foot in England.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how the happy couple came to be wed in Cyprus in the first place; investigate whether it really is sacrilegious to get married over Lent; and consider historians’ claims that Richard’s proclivity for sharing a bed with the King of France was purely symbolic...

Further Reading:

• 8 Surprising Facts About Medieval King Richard the Lionheart (HistoryExtra, 2020): https://www.historyextra.com/period/medieval/8-things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-richard-the-lionheart/

• ‘Berengaria of Navarre: Queen Consort to Richard I’ (ThoughtCo, 2020): https://www.thoughtco.com/berengaria-of-navarre-3529619

• ‘LGBTQ Kings & Queen of England’ (History Tea Time with Lindsay Holiday, 2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eeJqrJ84Xs

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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 2023.

#Royals #1100s #Cyprus #LGBT

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With big hair, big drama, and even bigger shoulder pads, Aaron Spelling’s primetime soap-opera ‘Dynasty’ defined the 1980s. But, by May 11th, 1989, the show’s popularity was waning - and, even though the showrunners didn’t know it, ABC broadcast what was to be its final episode.

The nine-season saga chronicled the jaw-dropping lives of the fabulously wealthy Carringtons. Known for its ludicrously dramatic storylines — from amnesia to surprise murders — the show wrapped up in spectacularly unresolved fashion, with gunshots, people falling off balconies, and characters locked in bank vaults.

Created as a glitzy response to Dallas, Dynasty began modestly, but all that changed with the arrival of Joan Collins as the delightfully vicious Alexis Carrington. Her catfights with her rival Krystle — often conducted in designer gowns and usually ending in ponds or fountains — became the stuff of television legend.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the show’s weekly wardrobe budget; revisit a shocking terrorist storyline; and reveal which famous executive was responsible for the series’ demise…

Further Reading:

• ‘End of the reign for ''Dynasty'’ (Entertainment Weekly, 1997): https://ew.com/article/1997/05/09/end-reign-dynasty/

• ‘Return to 'Dynasty' : Those Loose Ends? They're Tying Them Up Now’ (Los Angeles Times, 1991): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-16-ca-2527-story.html

• ’Dynasty’ (ABC, 1989): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK1f4KtCwzk

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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 2025.

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John Pemberton launched Coca-Cola from a pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, on 8th May, 1886. Legend has it that a serendipitous mishap had led to the addition of carbonated water, transforming the medicinal tonic into a fizzy beverage that would capture the public's imagination.

But in fact, Pemberton's original formula - Pemberton's French Wine Coca - had already been attracting a following; but it had to be relaunched to the market in a non-alcoholic formula, because it boasted wine among its ingredients, at the onset of temperance legislation in Atlanta. Nobody seemed bothered that it contained cocaine, however...

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Coke’s origins lay in curing morphine addiction; consider how strategic marketing, aggressive advertising, and a stroke of luck in a bottling deal pushed Coca-Cola’s proliferation across the globe; and reveal why their iconic logo is written in handwritten script… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Vin Mariani: The Cocaine Wine Beloved by Popes and Presidents’ (Mental Floss, 2021): ⁠https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/644226/vin-mariani-cocaine-wine-history⁠

• ’John Pemberton And The Quiet Tragedy Behind Coca-Cola's Invention’ (All That’s Interesting, 2017): ⁠https://allthatsinteresting.com/john-pemberton⁠

• ‘John Pemberton and the invention of Coca-Cola (The Coca-Cola Company, 2017): ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxrIgUGfJ8c⁠

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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The theft of Edvard Munch’s iconic painting ‘The Scream’ sullied the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer - but, on 7th May, 1994, the iconic work was recovered.

The painting, which has been stolen multiple times, was returned on this occasion thanks to the involvement of Britain’s Metropolitan Police - and the comic ineptitude of the thieves.

In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion explore the bizarre career of professional footballer turned art thief Pal Enger; consider what Munch had in common with modern-day artists like Damien Hirst; and reveal whether Macaulay Culkin’s ‘scream’ on the poster for Home Alone was a deliberate tribute...

Further reading:

• When ‘The Scream’ was stolen AGAIN - in 2005: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2005/jun/13/art.arttheft

• Conservator Gry Landro talks about what happened to the painting after the robbery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm45OPVxoCc

• The Athletic profiles Pal Enger: https://theathletic.co.uk/2445693/2021/03/16/the-footballer-turned-art-thief-who-stole-the-scream/

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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 #Arts #Crime #UK

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A View To A Kill by Duran Duran was released on 6th May, 1985. It remains the only James Bond theme to reach Number One on the Billboard Hot 100. 

To get the gig, bassist John Taylor reportedly approached Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli at a party and bluntly asked him why the series had not enlisted a “decent band” for a theme. At the time, Duran Duran were at the height of their fame, and Simon Le Bon’s ‘Dance! Into the Fire’ vocal performance certainly embraced the assignment with appropriate theatrical commitment.

The film it accompanied, however - Roger Moore’s last expedition as Bond, A View to a Kill - received a more mixed reception, critics frequently remarking on Moore’s age: at 57, he was the oldest actor to portray Bond in an official movie. But the song endured beyond the film’s reputation. Its accompanying music video, featuring the band members separately filmed atop the Eiffel Tower (as the band had just split!), became emblematic of the MTV era.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider the song’s place in the James Bond canon; reveal which Bond film was the first to avoid its title song lyrically echoing the actual title of the film; and marvel at the delights of Duran Duran’s detonating Walkman… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The ten best Bond songs: https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list/profile/article/the-ten-best-bond-songs-gz9x56wxdzx

• ‘Why 'A View to a Kill' Remains a Perfect James Bond Song’ (Men's Journal, 2025): https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/a-view-to-a-kill-james-bond-song-movie

• ‘Duran Duran - A View To A Kill’ (Capitol Records, 1985): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fp4CR2HcHLQ

#Music #80s #Film #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.

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The Magna Carta would not have become law unless a group of Barons had first renounced their allegiance to King John on 5th May, 1215. Primarily protecting their own interests, they were keen to prevent John burdening them with ever-higher taxes to fund his seemingly endless Wars. 

Even once agreed, the now-revered document contained some surprising clauses: for example a law preventing members of a particular family ever serving as a Royal officer; and another stating that, ‘no one should be arrested or imprisoned on the appeal of a woman, for the death of any person except her husband.’

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly uncover the legal loopholes John had previously exploited to enforce his tax hikes; consider the tricky business of trying to get a rapid response from the Pope; and reveal the Magna Carta’s original title… 

Further Reading:

• ‘King John and the Magna Carta - The Magna Carta’ (BBC Bitesize): https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zcyx2v4/articles/zcg66g8

• ‘Magna Carta - The True Story Behind the Charter - By David Starkey’ (Hodder & Stoughton, 2015): https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Magna_Carta/JtCVBgAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=article+of+the+barons&printsec=frontcover

• ‘Horrible Histories Song - Magna Carta 800 Years’ (CBBC, 2015): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTWQzF1027I

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 2026.

This episode originally aired in 2023.

#1200s #Royals #UK

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Eleven year-old Johnny Clem formally became part of the Union Army on 1st May, 1863 - though he had already been participating as a Drummer Boy for the 22nd Michigan Infantry in the American Civil War for two years.

Clem's youthful determination and bravery propelled him into the spotlight of national fame - but he was far from the only child soldier in this tumultuous American era.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly peruse Clem’s memoir, ‘From Nursery To Battlefield’; reveal how President Ulysses S. Grant personally intervened to assist Clem’s further career; and consider how Clem’s image was used for powerful propagandistic purposes… 

Further Reading:

• ‘The Boys of War’ (The New York Times, 2011): https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/04/the-boys-of-war/?searchResultPosition=3

• ‘Why the Union Army Had So Many Boy Soldiers’ (Smithsonian Magazine, 2023): https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-the-union-army-had-so-many-boy-soldiers-180981458/

• ‘Early Accounts of Drummer Boy Johnny Clem’ (Life on the Civil War Research Trail, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k2dDVnSO2U

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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The Day the Clown Cried, Jerry Lewis’s notorious, unreleased Holocaust movie, faced a crisis on 30th April, 1972, when the American actor-director found himself in an extraordinary predicament: the financing for his deeply personal film project had collapsed mid-shoot.

Faced with abandoning the production or funding it himself, Lewis chose to press on, investing his own money despite mounting practical and artistic difficulties, and the risky undertaking of the film’s subject matter itself: a Holocaust drama centred on a disgraced clown. 

The project had been years in the making. The script, originally written by Joan O’Brien and Charles Denton, had circulated in Hollywood since the early 1960s without being produced.  Lewis substantially rewrote the script, softening the central character and reshaping the tone into a blend of pathos and sentiment that many later viewed as ill-judged.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly examine what survives of this never-seen film; consider the near-mythical status Lewis’s rough cut achieved; and consider whether it could REALLY be as bad as everyone assumes… 

Further Reading:

• ‘‘The Day the Clown Cried’: Why Jerry Lewis’s Lost Holocaust Film Is Still Lost’ (The New York Times, 2018): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/movies/jerry-lewis-day-the-clown-cried.html

• ‘‘Ashamed. Embarrassed’: Jerry Lewis’s infamous Holocaust clown film that never was | Film’ (The Guardian, 2024): https://www.theguardian.com/film/article/2024/aug/30/ashamed-embarrassed-jerry-lewis-infamous-holocaust-clown-film-that-never-was

• ‘The Story Of The Day The Clown Cried’ (BBC South Today, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbZIyXNRxos

#Film #Jewish #Mistakes #70s #Sweden

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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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Peter Mark Roget waited until retirement to compile his personal collection of synonyms into a book for publication: the first edition of Roget’s Thesaurus, released on 29th April, 1852. 

Despite initial scepticism from critics, who couldn't grasp its practical brilliance, the public embraced the new format - despite its unconventional organisation, in which synonyms were categorised by conceptual threads, rather than in alphabetical order.

In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca explain how Roget drew inspiration from the systematic brilliance of Carl Linnaeus; discover literary references to the book in J.M. Barrie and Sylvia Plath; and question whether Roget’s work was an entirely positive development for journalism…

Further Reading:

• ‘Roget and His Thesaurus’ (The Saturday Evening Post, 2023): https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2023/01/roget-and-his-thesaurus/

• ‘Peter Mark Roget, the Keeper (See: Steward, Caretaker) of Synonyms’ (The New York Times, 2008): https://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/books/18book.html

• ’Eulogy at a Roget's Thesaurus Funeral - Johnny Carson’ (NBC): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSYzLJiSZzM

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 2026.

This episode originally aired in 2024.

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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown dealt his party’s reelection campaign a massive blow on 28th April 2010, when during a meet-and-greet in the marginal constituency of Rochdale, he was caught on microphone calling one of his own supporters, Gillian Duffy, a bigot.

Duffy had engaged the PM in a long conversation about many things, including local concerns about the influx of migrants to the area and the strain that the increased population was having on the local economy. After he finished speaking with her, Brown was ushered into his car where a microphone picked up his now immortal quote: “That was a disaster... should never have put me with that woman. She was just a sort of bigoted woman who said she used to be Labour.”

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Brown probably wasn’t going to win the 2010 election anyway; speculate on why a relatively harmless exchange got under the PM’s skin; and recall another spectacularly cringeworthy moment when Brown was unable to name any songs by his favourite band… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Bigotgate’ 10 years on: The full exchange between Gordon Brown and Gillian Duffy’ (The Independent, 2020): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/bigotgate-gordon-brown-anniversary-gillian-duffy-transcript-full-read-1957274.html 

• ‘Gordon Brown still hasn’t learned his lesson from Bigotgate’ (The Spectator, 2017): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/gordon-brown-still-hasn-t-learned-his-lesson-from-bigotgate/ 

• ‘Gordon Brown calls Labour supporter a "bigoted woman"’ (Sky News, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEReCN9gO14 

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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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.

#2010s #UK #politics

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