Short History Of...

This is a preview of a brand-new show from the Noiser Podcast Network. Hosted by Clarke Peters (The Wire, The Boroughs), 'Founding Fathers: An American Dream' tells the epic story of the birth of the United States of America, 250 years ago.

Follow George Washington into bloody battles, sit alongside Thomas Jefferson as he crafts the Declaration of Independence, hear Alexander Hamilton debate the future of the new nation. And discover things you may never have known about this world-changing fight for liberty.

But it all begins in Boston...a young, unruly city where the first stirrings of rebellion emerge...and where, in 1706, a baby boy named Benjamin Franklin is about to be born...

For more episodes, search 'Founding Fathers: An American Dream' in your podcast app and hit follow. You can listen to Episode 2 straight after this.
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By the mid-1970s, many young British people felt locked out of life. The country was struggling, the future uncertain, and for a generation coming of age, there was a growing sense that no one was listening. In cities across the nation, and in parallel scenes in America and beyond, young people decided to make themselves heard. Picking up instruments with little training and forming bands with no expectation of success, they created something raw, fast and confrontational. Punk was a movement that burned brightly, fractured quickly, and left a legacy that far outlived its brief, explosive heyday. 

 

But why did Punk resonate so powerfully with a generation that felt shut out? Who were the artists and activists who drove it, and the fans who embraced it? And how did something so chaotic and short-lived go on to reshape music, culture and identity for decades to come?

This is a Short History Of Punk.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Matthew Worley, a British academic and author of No Future: Punk, Politics and British Youth Culture.

Written by Sean Coleman | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Mirianna Pitman-Latham and Matthew Peaty | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw

Unlock the next two episodes of Short History Of… right now by subscribing to Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network, including Real Survival Stories and Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Just click the subscription banner at the top of the feed, or head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions to get started.
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Co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung, Captain Jacques Cousteau opened the ocean to the public like no one before. An explorer, filmmaker and environmentalist, he led groundbreaking underwater expeditions, and pioneered techniques for filming beneath the waves. Through his documentaries and television series, he brought the mysteries of the sea into millions of homes, becoming known the world over for his trademark red knitted hat and his beloved ship, the Calypso.

But why did the ocean mean so much to him? How did a French naval officer come to invent a device that would change humanity’s relationship with the sea? And what were the tragedies and controversies that marked the life of this charismatic adventurer?

This is a Short History Of Jacques Cousteau.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Doug Allan, an underwater cameraman for series such as Blue Planet, Planet Earth and Frozen Planet. Doug sadly passed in April 2026, and we dedicate this episode to his memory.

Written by Nicola Raynor | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact check: Sean Coleman

Unlock the next two episodes of Short History Of… right now by subscribing to Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network, including Real Survival Stories and Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Just click the subscription banner at the top of the feed, or head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions to get started.
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Charlemagne remains one of the towering figures of European history. He created for himself a vast territory that covered most of modern-day France and Germany, encompassing the Low Countries, areas in northern Spain, and parts of Italy. His imperial coronation on Christmas Day 800AD was the culmination of his life’s work.  

 

But alongside his sometimes brutal military campaigning, Charlemagne was a devout and cultured leader. He sponsored educational reforms, brought leading scholars from across Europe to his court at Aachen, and pursued diplomatic ties with far-flung Christian and Muslims kingdoms alike.

 

But how was Charlemagne able to conquer such an enormous swathe of Europe? Why was this famous warrior so interested in spiritual and intellectual matters? And what fate befell his mighty empire after his death?

This is a Short History Of Charlemagne.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Matthew Gabriele, professor of medieval studies and the co-author of the recent book on the Carolingian dynasty, Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers that Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe. He also hosts the podcast “American Medieval".

Written by Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact check: Sean Coleman

Unlock the next two episodes of Short History Of… right now by subscribing to Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network, including Real Survival Stories and Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Just click the subscription banner at the top of the feed, or head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions to get started.
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In the early nineteenth century, engineers discovered that steam power and iron rails could be combined to move people and goods faster than any horse or ox could. Within a few decades, railways had spread across every continent. Cities were reorganised around stations, clocks were synchronised, leisure and luxury were redefined, and entire economies began to run according to railway timetables. This was the Golden Age of the railways — a period when steam and steel transformed landscapes and fundamentally altered the way the world worked. 

But how did a strange experimental machine become the backbone of modern life? How did railways reshape everything from holidays, to warfare, to time itself? And why, long after the steam age ended, does so much of modern life still run on railway logic?

This is a Short History Of the Golden Age of Railways.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Christian Wolmar, a writer and broadcaster specialising in transport, and author of several books on the history of the railways.

Written by Sean Coleman | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw

Unlock the next two episodes of Short History Of… right now by subscribing to Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network, including Real Survival Stories and Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Just click the subscription banner at the top of the feed, or head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions to get started.

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.
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