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History

Biography

History is shaped by extraordinary people.

Visionary writers like Agatha Christie. Fearless pioneers such as Amelia Earhart. Ruthless rulers including Henry VIII and Cleopatra. Groundbreaking musicians, inventors, revolutionaries, explorers and leaders whose ambition, talent and influence transformed the course of history.

Welcome to Noiser’s Biography series, where immersive storytelling, powerful narration and richly crafted sound transport you into the lives, rivalries, triumphs and downfalls of the figures who shaped our world, one story at a time.

A Noiser production, narrated by Paul McGann and John Hopkins.

As featured on Short History Of….

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No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest Episodes:

Cleopatra Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

The last of the Ptolemaic Pharoahs, Cleopatra has captivated our imaginations for centuries.

Though some write her off as a manipulative femme fatale, her competence as a ruler restored her country to superpower status.

But what were the early experiences that shaped her? How did she form both political and personal alliances with two great Roman generals?

And what is the true story of her dramatic death?

This is a biography of Cleopatra.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Lindsay Galvin. With thanks to Joyce Tyldesley, archaeologist and author of Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amelia Earhart Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

As one of the great pioneers of air travel, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.

She pushed aviation technology to its limits, broke countless records, and became famous throughout the world for her skill, bravery and determination.

But what prompted her to take to the skies, despite the overwhelming risks?

And what really happened on her mysteriuos final flight—an enduring puzzle that has spawned countless conspiracy theories?

This is a biography of Amelia Earhart.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Susan Butler, author of East to the Dawn: the Life of Amelia Earhart.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queen Elizabeth the Second, Part 2 of 2 Jul 08, 2026

Show notes

As the Queen’s family life grew more complex, the relationship between palace and press intensified.

But balancing the need for security and privacy against her very public responsibilities was never simple.

So who was the real woman beneath the crown? How did she deal with the darkest years of her reign, and the grief of losing her beloved husband?

And how will history remember her extraordinary seven-decade reign?

This is the second in a special two-part biography of Queen Elizabeth II.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Dr. Tracy Borman, author of Crown and Sceptre; and Dr. Tessa Dunlop, author of Elizabeth and Phillip.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Queen Elizabeth the Second, Part 1 of 2 Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

Spanning seventy years, Queen Elizabeth II’s reign saw the world change beyond recognition.

From her earliest public appearances, representing her father King George VI, to her roles as sister, wife, mother, and mother-in-law, she was never far from the headlines.

But what was life like for the young princess, who dreamed of a baby brother who might take the throne instead?

How did she modernize an ancient role to fit a changing world, while managing a family so often overshadowed by scandal?

This is the first in a special two-part biography of Queen Elizabeth the Second.

This is a biography of Queen Elizabeth II.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Dr. Tracy Borman, author of Crown and Sceptre; and Dr. Tessa Dunlop, author of Elizabeth and Phillip.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Henry VIII Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

In 1509, at just seventeen years old, Henry VIII was crowned King of England. Over the next four decades, he would burn through six marriages, bankrupt the nation, and vandalise his country’s cultural heritage in his quest for supreme power.

But how did England’s most eligible bachelor degenerate into a bloated despot, and one of the worst husbands in history?

Was Henry simply a psychopath, or a complex man who dragged Britain from the Dark Ages into the modern era?

This is a biography of Henry VIII.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Dr Tracy Borman, historian and author of Crown and Sceptre.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonnie and Clyde Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

Forged by the Great Depression, Bonnie and Clyde became icons of lawlessness, thrilling and shocking America with their crime sprees and doomed romance.

But what drove them to lives of such violence? How did they evade the full might of the police for so long? And what finally brought their adventure to an end?

This is a biography of Bonnie and Clyde.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Danny Marshall, with thanks to Paul Schneider, journalist and author of Bonnie and Clyde – The Lives Behind The Legend.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

William Wallace Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

Despised by the English, mistrusted by the Scottish nobles, and revered by his countrymen, William Wallace is synonymous with the battle for Scottish freedom.

But scratch away at the legend, and even the most basic details are disputed. Where he was born, who he married, and what he did after his famous battle at Stirling Bridge. Thanks to the brutal nature of his death, he doesn’t even have a grave.

What can we really know about the man immortalised by the poets? Was he anything like the warrior depicted in ‘Braveheart’?

And what does his legacy tell us about the people of Scotland who idolize him to this day?

This is a biography of William Wallace.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Graeme Morton, Professor of Modern History and Director of the Centre for Scottish Culture at the University of Dundee, and author of William Wallace: Man and Myth.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rosa Parks Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

By the time she died in 2005, Rosa Parks was known around the world as an icon of activism. Her act of defiance one ordinary Thursday afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama catapulted her to the forefront of the battle for racial equality in America.

But what was her story before that fateful moment in 1955? And what course did her life take afterward?

This is a biography of Rosa Parks.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Kate Simants. With thanks to Dr. Danielle McGuire, historian and author of At the Dark End of the Street, and Kim Trent, President of the Rosa Parks Foundation

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Blackbeard May 27, 2026

Show notes

In the early eighteenth century, one man made his name as the most notorious pirate of all time.

The legend of Edward Thatch, aka "Blackbeard", has spawned television shows, novels, and major motion pictures. Stories abound of his wild eyes striking fear into enemy hearts, of the six pistols strapped to his chest, and of his arrival in battle with his jet-black beard set ablaze.

But how much is fact and how much fiction?

This is a biography of Blackbeard.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Luke Kuhns. With thanks to Colin Woodard, author of The Republic of Pirates.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Agatha Christie May 20, 2026

Show notes

The so-called “Queen of Crime”, Agatha Christie remains the best-selling novelist of all time, as well as one of the most prolific. Across 66 novels, 14 short-story collections, and 20 stage plays, she depicted the evil lurking in the hearts of ordinary people with forensic precision.

But how did this homeschooled daughter of a privileged English family learn so much about poisons, psychopaths and murder? What in her personal life informed such a sinister view of ordinary people? And how did she manage to trigger a real-life mystery in 1926, which saw the whole country turn amateur detective?

This is a biography of Agatha Christie.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to bestselling crime writer Sophie Hannah.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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