Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll.
From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes!
Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee).
Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
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Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll.
From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes!
Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee).
Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
Peyo’s comic album ‘Johan and Peewit’ provided the platform for The Smurfs’ debut on 23rd October, 1958 - a cameo that their Belgian creator considered an unremarkable side-hustle. But the tiny blue creatures (“Schtroumpfs”, in the original text) went on to become a global cultural phenomenon.
Within a year, the Smurfs got their own stories, and by 1959 were starring in dedicated comics. Then came the merch: first as plastic figurines in cereal boxes, then as collectible cuddly toys. When NBC’s Fred Silverman saw his daughter playing with a Smurf doll, he commissioned Hanna-Barbera to turn them into a Saturday morning TV sensation.
In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain how Peyo took inspiration from Disney, dwarves and medieval fantasy; consider the origin story of ‘the female smurf’, Smurfette; and explain why Hollywood keeps rebooting their Smurfy adventures…
Further Reading:
• ‘PIERRE CULLIFORD, CREATOR OF THE SMURFS, DIES AT 64’ (The Washington Post, 1992): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/12/25/pierre-culliford-creator-of-the-smurfs-dies-at-64/c9cf93c8-3896-4253-9448-f09f7cc49e82/
• ‘The inside story of the little blue tribe that conquered the world’ (Brussels Times, 2023):
https://www.brusselstimes.com/499686/empire-of-the-smurfs
• ‘Can the Smurfs save Smurfette from the wicked witch Hogatha, who wants to steal her golden hair?’ (The Smurfs, 2025): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf-RJq4O_tM
#Comics #Belgium #Toys #Sexism
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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 2025.
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Today In History with The Retrospectors
Curious, funny, surprising daily history - with Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina and Arion McNicoll.
From the invention of the Game Boy to the Mancunian beer-poisoning of 1900, from Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain to America's Nazi summer schools... each day we uncover an unexpected story for the ages. In just ten minutes!
Best Daily Podcast (British Podcast Awards 2023 nominee).
Get early access and ad-free listening at Patreon.com/Retrospectors or subscribe on Apple Podcasts.
