Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Italian poet Petrarch hiked up Mont Ventoux in Provence on 26th April, 1332 - an event claimed for centuries to be the first time mountaineering for pleasure had been attempted. 

His celebrated letter to Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro was the source, revealing Petrarch's contemplations on spirituality and the human condition amidst the breathtaking views. However, debate persists over the letter's authenticity and whether Petrarch's climb was literal or allegorical.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how, centuries later, Romantic poets revived Petrarch's tale, interpreting his ascent as a metaphor for spiritual enlightenment and intellectual curiosity; consider how mountaineering in its present form evolved into a mainstream leisure activity; and reveal that climbing Mont Ventoux has become a competitive sport...

Further Reading:

Rerun: Freda Payne’s banger ‘Band Of Gold’ sounds like a Motown record, but actually isn’t. Although written by Berry Gordy’s hit-making trio Holland-Dozier-Holland, it was released on their breakaway label, Invictus, on 25th April, 1970.

Ever since, fans have speculated as to the meaning of its lyrics and the nature of the crumbled relationship within. “That night on our honeymoon / We stayed in separate rooms,” Payne sings. Was her betrothed a closeted homosexual? Impotent? Frigid?

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explore how this ‘proto-disco’ classic has been embraced as a gay anthem; explain why Payne originally felt ill-equipped to sing the song that made her name; and credit the extraordinary track record of Detroit’s Hutchins Middle School… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Band of Gold by Freda Payne’ (Songfacts): https://www.songfacts.com/facts/freda-payne/band-of-gold

• ‘Holland-Dozier-Holland (1962-1970)’ (Black Past, 2021): https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/groups-organizations-african-american-history/holland-dozier-holland-1962-1970/

• ‘Freda Payne - Band Of Gold’ (Soul Train, 1970): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF9Q3hnAr88

Two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda expanded her repertoire beyond acting and activism into exercise videos on 24th April, 1982, with the release of her bestselling aerobics VHS, "Workout." 

What seemed like a small venture at the time swiftly captivated the nation, revolutionising fitness trends and catapulting household VCR ownership. Extraordinarily, all profits from the enterprise went to her and her husband’s leftist pressure group, the Campaign for Economic Democracy.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly consider how Fonda’s brand of fun, DIY fitness appealed to a generation of women who felt unwelcome in the male environment of 80’s gyms; reveal why filming the classic video was an arduous and exhausting process; and explain why Fonda’s foray into fitness was actually inspired by a broken ankle…

Further Reading:

On 23 April 2005, software engineer Jawed Karim posted an 18-second clip of himself standing in front of some elephants at the San Diego Zoo – a video which is largely unremarkable, except for the fact it was the first ever clip uploaded to the site Karim cofounded: YouTube.

The video has since received 260 million views, 13 million likes, and 11 million comments. Not bad for a clip whose only interesting feature is the innuendo about elephants having “really, really long, um… trunks.”

Further Reading:

• ‘The First YouTube Video Was Uploaded 9 Years Ago Today’ (Time Magazine, 2014): https://time.com/72892/the-first-youtube-video-was-uploaded-9-years-ago-today/ 

• ‘YouTube's History and Its Impact on the Internet’ (Interesting Engineering, 2020): https://interestingengineering.com/culture/youtubes-history-and-its-impact-on-the-internet

• ‘Me At The Zoo’ (Jawed Karim, 2005): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNQXAC9IVRw 

Extracts from Adolf Hitler's long-lost diaries were brought to the world’s attention on 22nd April, 1983, provoking an international sensation - until they were quickly exposed for being a hoax. 

Respected World War Two historian Hugh Trevor Roper had authenticated the diaries, leading Rupert Murdoch to personally negotiate a $1.2 million serialisation in The Sunday Times, which went to press as Roper changed his mind.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly reveal the true author of the ‘diaries’; explain why Murdoch was unrepentant, despite having splashed on perhaps the biggest fake news of the century; and appraise the chaotic atmosphere at the Stern magazine press conference, where punches were thrown, and David Irving started shouting about ink…

Further Reading: