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.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson negotiated the purchase of 820,000 square miles of land from Napoleon, including the modern states of Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Colorado, among many others. At the stroke of a pen, the nation almost doubled in size. But the purchase of Louisiana was only the beginning. Immediately, the American government was forced to reckon with a series of difficult questions – not least about how to incorporate this enormous, multi-ethnic territory into the United States, and what to do about the Indigenous population who had inhabited the Territory for millennia.

But why did Napoleon agree to sell Louisiana in the first place? How did this territory, and its inhabitants, become part of the fledgling United States? And what impact did these monumental events have on the course of American history?

This is a Short History Of the Louisiana Purchase.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Peter Kastor, Professor of History at Washington University in St. Louis, and lead researcher on the Creating a Federal Government project, a digital project reconstructing the careers of America's early federal employees.

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 Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact Check: Sean Coleman

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

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Short History Of... is taking a short break over the Christmas period. New episodes will continue from the 29th of December. Until then, we hope you enjoy this repeat episode! Happy Christmas from the Short History Of... team. 

Standing over 29,000ft above sea level, the peak of Everest is the highest

This is a Short History Of... the Conquest of Everest.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Mick Conefrey, documentary maker and author of Everest, 1922.

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Short History Of... is taking a short break over the Christmas period. New

The British Crown Jewels is a priceless collection of items gathered over

This is a Short History Of... The Crown Jewels.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Anna Keay, author and former curator at the Tower of London.

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⁠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.

Rising from the waters of a shallow, marshy lagoon and built on wooden piles driven into the shifting mud, it’s arguable that Venice should never have existed. One of the most improbable cities in the world, it began as a place of refuge that grew into a magnificent, powerful republic, commanding trade routes, shaping empires, and dazzling visitors with its wealth and beauty. Over the course of a thousand years, its ships carried spices and silk, its artists reshaped European culture, and its masked revellers embodied libertine decadence.

But what difference did a daring relic-heist from Alexandria make to Venice’s identity? How did this small republic of merchants bend crusaders, emperors, and popes to its will? And how will the place sometimes known as the Floating City manage the threats it faces from mass tourism and rising waters?

This is a Short History Of Venice.

A Noiser Podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Thomas Madden, Professor of History at Saint Louis University, and author of “Venice: A New History”.

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 Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw

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

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This is a preview of a brand-new audiobook from the Noiser Podcast Network. Join Sir David Suchet as he reads a selection of Charles Dickens’s most chilling short works, brought to life with sound design and original music.

We’ll encounter dark premonitions of disaster experienced by a lonely railway signalman… A Victorian murder trial cast into chaos when the dead man’s ghost interrupts proceedings… And a sinister haunted hotel, where twelve identical spirits stalk the corridors…

But first, a very special festive gift: Dickens’s most beloved ghost story of all, A Christmas Carol.

You can listen to Part 2 of A Christmas Carol straight after this. Just search for Charles Dickens Ghost Stories in your podcast app or listen at www.noiser.com.

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⁠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.

As the Second World War ended and those who survived the horrors of Hitler’s violence struggled to process what had occurred, a unique response was demanded from the international community. Its form, the victors concluded, should be the criminal prosecution of those most culpable for the worst crimes of the Nazi regime. Known as the Nuremberg Trial, the first of these prosecutions required a redefinition of the law, and was seen as an important step in the prevention of any possible future revival of the Nazi movement.

But how did the Allies work together to establish this unique judicial event? What dramas did the trial itself witness? And what were the consequences for those in the dock, and the world beyond?

This is a Short History Of The Nuremberg Trial.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to James Bulgin, Head of Public History at the Imperial War Museum, and author of Nuremberg, published to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the trial.

Written by Dan Smith | 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 Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw

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

⁠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.

The Ashes, the enduring contest between England and Australia, has survived world wars, diplomatic rifts, scandal, and the fall of empire. As it nears its 150th anniversary, it has produced some of cricket’s most iconic moments.

How did a passing joke in a London newspaper ignite one of sport’s greatest rivalries? What has kept the Ashes alive through generations of change? And why, in today’s world of franchise leagues and faster series, do the Ashes still captivate?

This is a Short History Of The Ashes.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Simon Wilde, cricket correspondent at the Sunday Times and author of “Chasing Jessop: The Mystery of England Cricket’s Oldest Record”

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

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

⁠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.

Charlotte, Anne and Emily Brontë were among the most famous authors of the nineteenth century. Though they wrote at a time when women were systematically discouraged from doing so at all, they managed to produce some of the most beloved, powerful and often challenging literature of the Victorian age.

How did three sisters from the Yorkshire Moors become celebrated writers? Why did they use pseudonyms and live most of their lives in obscurity? And what were the tragedies that whittled their number down in their prime?

This is a Short History Of The Brontës.

A ⁠Noiser⁠ podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Nick Holland, author of three books on the family, including “In Search of Anne Brontë”

Written by Erin Parker | 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 Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: The Soundhouse Studios | Fact Check: Sean Coleman

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

⁠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.

The Private Eye has long been a fixture of popular culture - from Sherlock Holmes, to Philip Marlowe, to Jessica Fletcher. But behind the fictional detectives lies a real figure whose influence shaped the very idea of the private investigator: Allan Pinkerton. After fleeing Scotland for the US under murky circumstances in the mid-1800s, he reinvented himself as a crime fighter and founded America’s first detective agency. Soon, his name was everywhere. His agents guarded trains, infiltrated gangs, and uncovered a plot to kill a president.

But how did a poor Scottish immigrant build a private army more powerful than the police?

How did his methodologies shape surveillance, and influence the foundations of the FBI? And what happened when his agents went head-to-head with legendary outlaws like Jesse James or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?

This is a Short History Of The Pinkerton Detective Agency.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, a historian, and author of Allan Pinkerton, America’s Legendary Detective and the Birth of Private Security.

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 Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: The Soundhouse Studios

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like to listen to the full story of the Baltimore Plot – when the Pinkerton Agency used cunning, guile, and disguise to foil an attempt on Abraham Lincoln’s life as he travelled to his presidential inauguration. You’ll find it as part of the Detectives Don’t Sleep series from the Noiser Network. Follow this link to listen right away: https://www.noiser.com/detectives-dont-sleep/the-baltimore-plot

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

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Exciting news, the Noiser Podcast Network has released a new book. It's called A Short History of Ancient Rome.

The book is everything you love about the podcast, but a deeper dive. 18 chapters - each one following the story of a remarkable person or event that changed Rome's history.

Today, as a special bonus, we're bringing you a sample chapter from the audiobook, narrated by John Hopkins.

This sample chapter follows Hannibal, the legendary Carthaginian military leader. We'll follow him as he takes his mighty army - including a contingent of war elephants- over the snow-capped Alps. His mission? To attack Rome.

If you enjoy this sample chapter, grab a copy of A Short History of Ancient Rome, written by Noiser founder Pascal Hughes – in your local book shop.

A great Christmas gift for family or friends.

Or, you can buy the audiobook on Apple Books and other platforms – narrated by John Hopkins.

Head to www.noiser.com/books to find out more.

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