Retrospecticus

Episode 51, and it’s a doozy from the Simpsons side: “Bart The Lover” from 13 February 1992, featuring Woodrow, the swear jar and a world without zinc! Tom then takes us to meet Hugo Chavez and his attempted coup in Venezuela, which reached a crescendo a few days beforehand. Along the way Garreth will try to chat up an 80s pop star who probably isn’t listening, then we’ll get reacquainted with the...

Retrospecticus has reached the big five-oh, so we celebreate by talking about “Homer Alone”, the episode that sees Marge snap through stress and visit Rancho Relaxo, while Homer tries and fails to look after Maggie. The episode was first broastcast the day before the Maastricht treaty was signed, so we tell the story of how it came to be and how it almost brought down John Major’...

This week, Lisa and Homer bet on the Washington Football Team in “Lisa The Greek”, and we take a look at the history of Zaire, plus its bloody history as a colony of Belgium. Somehow we also touch on Pinchy the lobster and the Rumble in the Jungle, plus a king for hire, a genius idea to relaunch an American football team and a look at a very damp band indeed.

As Britain reels from a Cayman Islands-style heatwave, your perspiring hosts take you back to a colder time – January 9, 1992 – to send our love down the well in “Radio Bart” and witness the merciful end of the Salvadoran Civil War. Along the way we’ll castigate pop stars for their charity efforts, negotiate over ice cream and drop in on the Football War, among many,...

So it’s come to this: the end of the Soviet Union, with a suitably nostalgic partner in “I Married Marge”. Along the way we’ll impersonate a world leader, say another goodbye to Freddie Mercury, and visit with a different Crazy Otto. And you’ll never believe who’s advertising Pizza Hut. If you enjoy the show, please listen and share!

We’re back in the USSR – but not for long! This week, we witness the signing of the Belovezha Accords, one of the last nails in the coffin for the USSR, whilst Springfield says a hearty willkommen bei den Deutschen in “Burns Verkaufen Der Kraftwerk”. Along the way we’ll meet the drummer for every band ever, take an unlikely detour to Lee Harvey Oswald and tell you how...

Welcome to the podcast where happiness is just a Flaming Homer away – yes! It’s time for “Flaming Moe’s”, an episode where greed tears a friendship asunder and Aerosmith play nightly. Plus, Tom looks at the life and times of Freddie Mercury, taking in the history of Zanzibar and some horrific behaviour from the UK tabloids along the way. Please listen and share!

This week we’re telling the tale of one Terry Waite, hostage negotiator turned hostage, whose fascinating story we recount along with “Saturdays Of Thunder”, in which Bart and Homer go soapbox derby racing. Along the way we’ll judge the grimness of the North, have a chance encounter with Idi Amin and probably mention that curling episode, AGAIN. Please listen and share!

It’s episode 43, where Homer pulls double duty in “Lisa’s Pony” and we cover the death of Robert Maxwell, with a dive into his fascinating origins. Along the way we’ll discuss “My Ding-A-Ling” (but not our ding-a-lings, mercifully), the north-east’s top light entertainer, football mergers, Tetris and our old favourites, various totalitarian Eastern European regimes! Please listen and share!

Let terror commence as we unleash Treehouse of Horror 2 from Halloween 1991, and the independence of Turkmenistan as declared on October 27, 1991! If you thought the former was bizarre, wait until you hear the latter – how to make a sea disappear! Decree after decree after decree! And – we’re not kidding – the door to hell! Please listen and share!

It’s all about reconciliations this time at Retrospecticus, as we cover Krusty building bridges with his dad in “Like Father Like Clown” and the end of the Cambodia-Vietnam war. Along the way we’ll meet a seemingly never-ending prime minister, see the squarest moat ever and discover the traffic warden who changed 90s pop. Please listen and share!

We’ve made it all the way to episode 40, and we’re taking a look at Homer’s dumb luck in “Homer Defined” and the history of Azerbaijan, in particular its independence, as officially adopted the day after that episode aired! Along the way we’ll eviscerate a Beatle’s son and give you a great reason never to accept the keys to a city. Please listen and share!

We’re back up to speed this time, with a look at arguably the dawn of the classic era of The Simpsons with “Bart The Murderer”, and the controversial appointment of Clarence Thomas as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the USA! We’ll also take a wider look at said court and say hello to Springfield’s legitimate businessmen. If you like the show, please listen and share...

Not even a Covid-19 outbreak can derail Retrospecticus! We’ve gone back to our Skype roots to discuss the opening of the Leftorium in “When Flanders Failed”, first aired as Slick Willie himself, Bill Clinton, announced he was running for the presidency of the USA! We’ll also look at other presidents in The Simpsons, be they good, bad or mediocre, and check in with electroni...

The Simpsons get political this week, as we discuss Mr Lisa Goes to Washington. Along the way we address the correspondence between Barbara Bush and Marge Simpson, have a thumb through Reading Digest (yes, you read that right) and visit the cesspool on the Potomak. For the history, we go over the history of the former Yugoslavia right up to the siege of Dubrovnik, a key event in the Croatian war o...

It’s season three at last, and we’re keeping super cool and staying frosty with Otzi the iceman and then losing said cool over “Stark Raving Dad”. We’ll also tackle Wishbone Ash, mummy ownership and some famous bottoms! Please listen and share! Warning – we discuss the first episode of series three of the Simpsons, and yes, it’s *that* one. We therefore di...

We’ve reached “Blood Feud”, the final episode of Season 2 of The Simpsons! Look forward to watered mail, immortal lines and the genealogy of a big ol’ ugly Olmec head! Alon the way we’ll find out what is and what isn’t a real medical condition, and make at least one terrible pun. For the history we’re back in the USSR, as Tom finally gets to tell the story...

It’s festive fury from a raging Retrospecticus, as we discuss paranoid thriller “Three Men And A Comic Book” and taunt Xenu with the New York Times’ expose on Scientology. Along the way we’ll get disgusted with politics, discuss Flanderization and dump a dead sheep outside the Brit awards. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Things take a turn for the vulgar this week, as we discuss “War of the Simpsons”, an episode written by the non-existent John Schwartzwelder that sees Homer embarrass himself at a party by getting drunk and lecherous, before winding up at a couples retreat where he almost catches a massive catfish. Along the way we meet the Queen of the Harpies and hear a domestic argument drowned out...

We’re looking at easily the best episode of season two, as we tackle Lisa’s Substitute, an episode that sees Dustin Hoffman take on the role of substitute teacher Mr Bergstrom, while Bart runs for class president. For the history, we go over the conflict between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China, otherwise known as Taiwan. Along the way, we’ll visit Q...

The podcast so good, you’ll hang it on your wall… yes! Enter Ringo Starr in “Brush With Greatness”, the Simpsons episode that starts in Mount Splashmore and culminates with Marge Simpsons painting Mr Burns in the nude. For the history bit, we tell the story of the exit (from the USSR) of Georgia, who declared independence in April 1991. You’ll hear some right royal ep...

Episode 30 sees us examine Grampa Simpson’s first on-screen romance in “Old Money”, an episode that sees an unjust surplus of Doctor Marvin Monroe, but it does include the debut of one Professor Frink! Tom tells the tale of the Birmingham Six, the six men wrongly imprisoned for the Birmingham pub bombings of 1974 and released just before the episode aired. Come and enjoy the only...

Political tensions are running high in the Retrospecticus powder keg, as we join the Assassins’ conspiracy in “Bart’s Dog Gets An ‘F'” and some police brutality against Rodney King sparks the LA riots. Along the way we’ll take in number ones from jeans adverts, learn some Korean social mores and celebrate animation’s greatest animal noise artist!

It’s brotherly love and terrorism this week, as we discuss “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?”, the episode of the Simpsons that sees Homer reunited with his long lost half brother Herb Powell, voiced by Danny DeVito. For the history we talk about the bombings of Paddington and Victoria stations by the Provisional IRA, part of the Troubles of Northern Ireland. Along the way Garreth trie...

Love and fury are in the air, as we discuss Valentines Day 1991’s “Principal Charming” and the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization between tirades about the death of British democracy. Along the way we’ll take in sodium bonding conundrums, local tapas restaurants and how to invent fictional herbicides without arousing suspicions. You can thank us later.