Advertise on podcast: Short History Of...

This episode will be available to listen to for free on 9th February 2026. You can listen to it right away by subscribing to Noiser Plus. Head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions for more information. For hundreds of years, Rwanda’s Hutu and Tutsi groups had lived in relative harmony. But the arrival of European colonists enforced and exaggerated the differences between them, until, from the mid-twentieth century, resentment began to boil over. By 1994, the two groups were sworn enemies. Over 100 days, violence engulfed the country, as members of the Hutu majority worked systematically to exterminate the Tutsi. Spurred on by government and military officials, neighbour turned against neighbour, friend against friend, until hundreds of thousands lay dead.   But what precipitated this senseless mass killing? Why were so many ordinary people willing to participate? And what responsibility does the international community bear for the bloodshed? This is a Short History Of the Rwandan Genocide. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Allan C. Stam, Professor of Public Policy and Politics at the University of Virginia. 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 by Sean Coleman ⁠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.

⁠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. At the dawn of the twentieth century, Russia was a nation on the brink. Strikes, protests, and brutal uprisings were shaking the empire. Public faith in the monarchy was hanging by a thread. It was into this fragile world that Grigori Rasputin stepped. Whether he was truly a holy man, blessed with healing powers, or a fraud and a drunkard, his closeness to the Tsarina gave him a hold over the Russian court which seemed both inexplicable and irresistible.   But what was it about Rasputin that allowed him to enchant a desperate empress? How did rumours of scandal and corruption turn one man into a symbol of national decay? And why, even after his violent death, does his shadow still hang over the fall of Imperial Russia? This is a Short History Of Rasputin. Take back your personal data with Incogni! Use code shorthistory at the link below and get 60% off annual plans: https://incogni.com/shorthistory A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Francis Welch, a historian and author of Rasputin: A Short Life. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Māori have had a presence in New Zealand for at least 800 years. For much of that time, they lived in imperfect harmony with the natural environment, developing a social and cultural system distinctly their own. But the age of European exploration from the 17th century changed all that. Over the centuries, their traditional claims to lands were eroded, and their population became dwarfed by that of the settlers, until the voices of activists grew loud enough to challenge the new status quo.   So, who were the first Māori? Just how did the arrival of Europeans impact them? What sparked their revival, and what challenges do they still face? This is a Short History Of The Māori. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Dr. Peter Meihana, senior lecturer of history at Massey University in New Zealand, who identifies the Rangitani as his primary Māori tribal group 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 | 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 ⁠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. 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. Nikola Tesla, the visionary inventor, helped shape the modern world. Hailing from what is now Croatia, he arrived in America with just four cents in his pocket and a head full of inventions. Within a few short years, he revolutionised the burgeoning industry of electricity. As well as induction motors that run our appliances and factories to this day, Telsa also invented robots and remote control, developed foundation technology for radio, and dreamed up plans for cell phones, the Internet, death ray weapons, and electric cars. He was also a charismatic showman who drew crowds but couldn’t bear to touch people. A workaholic who made vast sums and lost them.          But what drew this young man from central Europe to physics? What was his path from would-be priest to trailblazing inventor? And as a key figure in the engineering revolution that brought electricity into almost every aspect of modern life, why has he been largely overlooked by history? This is a Short History Of Nikola Tesla. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Richard Munson, author of Tesla: Inventor of the Modern Written by Nicola Rayner | 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 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. During a career spanning half a century, David Bowie constantly reinvented his image and sound, creating the diverse body of work that made him a titan in the history of modern music. From the androgynous alien energy of Ziggy Stardust to the suave, enigmatic Thin White Duke, Bowie’s artistic restlessness became his trademark. Few artists have shaped popular culture with such imagination and fearlessness.   So how did a suburban boy transform himself into a rock superstar? What fuelled his boundless creativity? And how did he change pop music forever? This is a Short History Of David Bowie. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Chris O'Leary, author of two books on the songs of David Bowie, Rebel Rebel and Ashes to Ashes. 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 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. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 point on the planet. To the sherpa people of the Himalayas it is sacred, and to foreign adventurers, it is the holy grail of climbing. But what did it take to reach the summit? Was it expertise and endurance - or simply better equipment? What was sacrificed to plant a flag on top of the world? 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. 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

Short History Of... is taking a short break over the Christmas period. New episodes will continue from the 5th of January. Until then, we hope you enjoy this repeat episode! Happy Christmas from the Short History Of... team.  The British Crown Jewels is a priceless collection of items gathered over eight turbulent centuries. Consisting of 100 objects decorated with 23,000 gemstones, it’s held at the Tower of London, protected by guards and high-tech security. But why did one thief put the crown jewels down his trousers? Which king managed to lose his own crown? And why is one diamond so controversial that it is not invited to the coronation of King Charles III? 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. 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. 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

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