Episódios

  • The Pinkerton Detective Agency

    The Pinkerton Detective Agency
    Nov 17 2025
    ⁠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
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    56 minutos
  • Introducing: A Short History of Ancient Rome (Book)

    Introducing: A Short History of Ancient Rome (Book)
    Nov 13 2025
    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 – narrated by John Hopkins. Head to www.noiser.com/books to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    37 minutos
  • Oscar Wilde

    Oscar Wilde
    Nov 10 2025
    ⁠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. Oscar Wilde is remembered as one of the greatest Victorian writers, with diverse works including comedies, morality tales for children, biblical dramas and even a gothic novel. Wilde was also the originator of any number of witty quotes that can still be found adorning everything from posters, to mugs, to t-shirts. Alongside his literary renown, Wilde is revered as a martyr for LGBTQ+ rights. How did a young man from Dublin become such a famous author in England and beyond? What inspired Wilde's plays and poems? And how did he fall foul of Victorian moral sensibilities – and yet still come to enjoy the legacy he does today? This is a Short History Of Oscar Wilde. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Sos Eltis, Professor of English and Theatre Studies at Oxford University, and a fellow at Brasenose College. Written by Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | 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
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    53 minutos
  • The Vatican

    The Vatican
    Nov 3 2025
    ⁠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. Enclosed within the city of Rome and spanning just 0.2 square miles, Vatican City is the world’s smallest independent state. Yet within its fortified walls lies a history of immense power - a city that became the beating heart of Catholicism, where popes crowned emperors, defied kings, and shaped the course of world events. How did this unassuming patch of land rise to become the centre of global faith and authority? What scandals, schisms, and sacrifices threatened to tear it apart? And why, even today, does this ancient enclave still hold sway over more than a billion lives? This is a Short History Of The Vatican. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Father Michael Collins, author of multiple books on the Vatican and Christianity, including The Vatican – Secrets and Treasures of the Holy City. Written by Olivia Jordan | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | 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
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    1 hora e 1 minuto
  • The Great Smog of London

    The Great Smog of London
    Oct 27 2025
    For five days in early December 1952, a smog descended upon London that brought chaos to the city. By its end, it had claimed the lives of thousands, and seriously impacted the health of many more. But though what became known as the Great Smog was just the latest in a long succession of such phenomena, it also proved to be a tipping point, forcing Britain’s reluctant government to take action. So what were the circumstances that made such a dreadful event possible? How did Londoners cope, and what actions were taken by the authorities? And in a world where poor air quality continues to take the lives of millions across the globe, what lessons does the Great Smog continue to have for us today? This is a Short History Of The Great Smog of London. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Kate Winkler Dawson, a journalism professor at the University of Texas in Austin, podcaster and the author of several books including Death in the Air. Written by Dan Smith | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | 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
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    52 minutos
  • The Cold War

    The Cold War
    Oct 19 2025
    For decades after the Second World War, the Soviet Union and the United States of America were locked in a conflict of ideology that took the planet to the brink of catastrophe. Known as the Cold War, it was an era of paranoia, fear and mutual suspicion, where the contest for supremacy spread across the globe in proxy wars that cost millions of lives. How did allies who came together to defeat the Nazis become sworn enemies for the next half-century? What was life like for the tens of millions of people living through the animosity? And how close did we really come to nuclear apocalypse? A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Fredrik Logevall, a Swedish-American educator at Harvard University and a Pulitzer Prize winning historian and author. Written by Martin McNamara | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | 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
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    58 minutos
  • The London Underground

    The London Underground
    Oct 12 2025
    The London Underground – often known simply as the Tube – is central to the city’s global identity. A pioneering feat of engineering at the time of its construction in the 19th century, on a typical weekday, the network now carries 5 million passengers between 272 stations, on 11 different lines, over a total of 250 miles of track. It’s an emblem of entrepreneurial ambition, cutting-edge technology, and genius design – but has also seen heartbreaking tragedy. Who were the audacious visionaries who built the London Underground from scratch more than 160 years ago? How did it go from being a marvel of transportation to a marketing phenomenon, and one of the most recognisable brands on earth? And, how did the Tube reinvent itself once again as the face of twenty-first century London? A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Christian Wolmar, author of ‘The Subterranean Railway,’ and host of the ‘Calling All Stations’ podcast. Written by Edward White | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | 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
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    54 minutos
  • The White House

    The White House
    Oct 5 2025
    The White House, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., is perhaps the most recognisable home in the world. Built soon after the Americans won their independence from Britain at the end of the 18th century, it has been the stage upon which various seismic moments in the history of America and across the globe have played out. So how did this iconic building come to exist? What monumental events have occurred within its walls? And how does the White House itself reflect America’s ever-changing role in the world? This is a Short History Of The White House A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Kate Andersen Brower, author of The Residence: Inside the Private World of the White House. Written by Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow | Produced by Kate Simants | Assistant Producer: Nicole Edmunds | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer | 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
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    55 minutos