Through his voyages in the eighteenth century, Captain Cook’s work as an explorer contributed to startling advances in scientific knowledge, and mapped swathes of unplotted territory in both hemispheres.

To many, he was regarded as one of the greatest explorers in human history, while for others, his achievements were overshadowed by the violence and oppression that accompanied his voyages.

So, how did a farm-worker’s son rise to become one of the most celebrated explorers in history? Why did his voyages become so legendary? And at what price - to Cook personally, and those whose lands he charted?

This is a Short History Of Captain Cook.

A Noiser Production. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to Katherine Gazzard, Curator of Art at Royal Museums Greenwich.

Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over 400 years ago, a bold commercial venture was established to allow an ambitious group of English merchants to send ships halfway around the world in search of spices, skills, and profit. It was known as The East India Company.

Over the next 250 years, the Company grew into one of the most powerful and controversial enterprises in history. At its height, it had the powers of a sovereign state - fighting wars, extracting wealth, and changing the fate of nations. 

But how could a private company be allowed to wield so much control? What are the consequences when capital rules without conscience? And what does its rise and fall reveal about the economic and political empires that shape our world today?

This is a Short History Of The East India Company.

A Noiser Production, written by Sean Coleman. With thanks to Dr Mark Williams, a Reader in Early Modern History at Cardiff University, who has published widely on the English East India Company. 

Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Shroud of Turin is a length of linen, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus of Nazareth. Its most famous feature is the blurry imprint of a man’s face, which resembles the pictures of Jesus that have passed down to us over the centuries. 

Revered by millions, the Shroud is the most scientifically studied object in the world, but why does its recorded history only reach back to the 1350s? Where did it go in the intervening centuries? And will we ever be able to prove whether it’s a real relic, or medieval forgery?

This is a Short History Of The Shroud of Turin.

A Noiser Production. Written by Nicola Rayner. With thanks to Nora Creech, a Shroud educator and the leader of Othonia in North America, a church-affiliated organisation dedicated to sharing knowledge about the Shroud of Turin.   

Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arthur Conan Doyle, a doctor, war volunteer, campaigner for justice, politician, and believer in the spirit world, created one of literature’s most famous characters. In his lifetime, he wrote ghost stories, political pamphlets, historical novels, and fantastical adventures.

But how did a young medical student from Edinburgh end up transforming crime fiction forever? What drove him to kill off - and then resurrect - the character who made him famous? And why did a man of science and reason spend so many years pursuing the supernatural? 

This is a Short History Of Arthur Conan Doyle.

A Noiser Production. Written by Sean Coleman. With thanks to Richard Pooley, the step-great-grandson of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is a taster episode of the Fidel Castro story. To hear episodes 2-10, head over to Real Dictators and hit follow.

Fidel Castro - a revolutionary turned strongman dictator, beloved by his supporters and loathed by his enemies. The bête noire of the United States who pushed the world to the brink of annihilation. The ultimate political survivor who evaded hundreds of barely believable assassination attempts. We scroll back to the early years of the one they would call El Loco. It all begins on a farm in the east of Cuba - an island paradise with dark undercurrents swirling beneath the surface…

Real Dictators is a Noiser podcast production, narrated by Paul McGann. Find the rest of the Fidel Castro story on the Real Dictators feed.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The influenza pandemic of 1918-20 infected about one-third of the world’s population at the time, killing at least 50 million people. Occurring during the First World War, what became known as the Spanish Flu spread rapidly as soldiers moved across continents. It overwhelmed hospitals, led to mass graves, and disrupted societies worldwide.

But what made the disease so deadly? Was it really Spanish? And what lessons had been learned by the time Covid-19 emerged, a century later?

This is a Short History Of The Spanish Flu.

A Noiser Production. Written by Nicola Rayner. With thanks to Mark Honigsbaum, a medical historian, and author of The Pandemic Century: One Hundred Years of Panic, Hysteria, and Hubris. 

Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to ⁠noiser.com/subscriptions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Manhattan Project was the codename for the US government’s top secret programme to develop the first atomic bomb. At the height of World War Two, America’s top scientists - such as Dr Robert Oppenheimer - raced against Nazi Germany to harness the power of nuclear fission, and ultimately end the war.

But what is the story of the other scientists, soldiers and civilians who brought about the birth of the A-bomb? What role did Albert Einstein play in the project? And what were the consequences when the bomb was finally used?

This is a Short History Of The Manhattan Project.

A Noiser Production, written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Dr Cameron Reed, a physicist, and the author of ‘Manhattan Project, The Story Of The Century.’

Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to ⁠noiser.com/subscriptions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the third century BC, China was a land fractured by war - a patchwork of rival kingdoms struggling for dominance. Out of this chaos rose a single, extraordinary figure who would reshape the course of history: Chin Shrr Hwong, the First Emperor of China.

His achievements were monumental, but his reign was marked by ruthlessness, so how did this teenage king rise to power? What drove him to undertake colossal projects like the Great Wall and the Terracotta Army? And how might his obsession with immortality have led to his mysterious death?

This is a Short History Of The First Emperor of China.

A Noiser Production, written by Sean Coleman. With thanks to John Man, author of The Terracotta Army: China’s First Emperor and the Birth of a Nation. 

Get every episode of Short History Of... a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to ⁠noiser.com/subscriptions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anne Frank is one of the world’s most famous writers, yet she didn’t live long enough to see her work published. At the age of thirteen, Anne was a normal teenager, who poured her heart into a diary. But what made her diary different, was that she created within its pages a snapshot of the darkest events of World War Two, detailing the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands that forced her family to hide in a secret annex.

But what do we know about the real life of this bubbly young girl? How did her precious diary survive the war? And what about the people who protected - and betrayed her?

This is a Short History Of Anne Frank. 

A Noiser Production, written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Karen Bartlett, a journalist and author of The Diary That Changed the World.

Get every episode of Short History Of a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alfred Hitchcock was one of the most celebrated film directors of all time. In a career that spanned six decades, he produced more than 50 films, including Britain’s first successful talking picture. His countless awards and accolades earned him a reputation as the ‘Master of Suspense’, but how did an introverted working class boy come to dominate Hollywood? What was the truth behind the rumours of obsessive ruthless behaviour? And what makes his films so revered still to this day?

This is a Short History Of Alfred Hitchcock. 

A Nosier Production. Written by Olivia Jordan. With thanks to Tony Lee Moral, author of numerous books on Hitchcock, including ‘Alfred Hitchcock: Storyboards’. 

Get every episode of Short History Of a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material, and early access to shows across the Noiser network. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices