In 2011, Japan was hit by the worst earthquake in the country’s history. Enormous tremors caused devastation all throughout Japan, and the tsunami that followed wreaked further havoc. But the damage didn’t end there. 200 km north of Tokyo, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was in danger. It had been so severely damaged that there were fears of a full-scale, global, nuclear melt-down…. But how close did the world really come to nuclear disaster? Whose brave actions ensured even greater devastation was avoided? And have the lessons of Fukushima been learned? This is a Short History Of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster.  Written by Danny Marshall. With thanks to Dr Edwin Lyman, Director of Nuclear Power Safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joan of Arc is a historical superstar, a peasant who rose above her rank and gender to help free France from foreign occupation. Claiming to be acting under the orders of saints and angels, she became a symbol of national freedom. But how did a near-illiterate teenage girl win the hearts and minds of soldiers and citizens alike? What was behind her angelic visions? And why was she abandoned to a brutal fate at the age of just nineteen? This is a Short History of Joan of Arc. Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Kathryn Harrison, author of Joan of Arc, A Life Transfigured.  For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Suez Canal is one of the world’s most famous waterways - connecting the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, and opening up trade between the East and the West. But ever since its legendary construction in 1869, the Suez Canal has been at the centre of conflict and controversy. Why does a ditch in a desert spark years of political crises? Who helped turn a pharaoh’s dream into a reality? And how does a 19th Century waterway still hold the key to global trade almost 2,000 years later? This is a Short History Of The Suez Canal. Written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Sal Mercogliano, former merchant mariner and professor of history at Campbell University. And Alex Von Tunzelmann, author of ‘Blood and Sand: Suez, Hungary, And The Crisis That Shook The World’. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marilyn Monroe was one of the most famous screen actors of all time. Known for her charisma and beauty, her private life and turbulent health made headlines throughout her career, and her early death cemented her iconic status.  But how was she shaped by her disrupted childhood? Did she change Hollywood – or did it destroy her? And why does her legend still inspire and exert such power, 60 years after her death?  This is a Short History of Marilyn Monroe. Written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Michelle Morgan, author of Marilyn Monroe – Private and Undisclosed. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The discovery at Sutton Hoo of the ship burial of an Anglo-Saxon king and his lavish treasure is one of the greatest archaeological finds on English soil.  But who was the man considered worthy of such a splendid burial? Why was there no trace of human remains? What lies beneath the other mounds on the site? And why bury a body in a ship?  This is a Short History of the Sutton Hoo Ship Burial. Written by Nicola Rayner. With thanks to Gareth Williams, curator at the British Museum and author of Treasures From Sutton Hoo. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first truly global celebrity, Charlie Chaplin was once the most famous man in the world. The king of the silent movie, over the course of 82 films his wistful slapstick saw him light up the silver screen like no one else. But how did he leave behind the extreme poverty of his London childhood? What’s the truth about his complicated love life? And how did personal and political conflict threaten to derail one of the most celebrated careers in entertainment history? This is a Short History of Charlie Chaplin. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to Lucy Moore, historian and author of Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Football is the most popular sport in the world, and is played anywhere from pitches marked out in desert dust, to warzones with helmets for goalposts. But it’s still predominantly a male sport. So what about the roots of women’s football in the UK? How did social change in the First World War contribute to its sudden growth? And after a catastrophic ban from the FA in 1921, how did the women’s game rise from the ashes? This is a Short History of Women’s Football. Written by Lindsay Galvin. With thanks to Jean Williams, author and professor of sports history. EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/shorthistory Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Noiser presents a brand-new podcast: Real Survival Stories. Hosted by John Hopkins, the show brings you astonishing tales of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary survival situations. In this taster episode, we meet Matt Lewis - a rookie sailor who goes looking for adventure... and finds it. Joining the crew of a deep sea fishing trawler, Matt is on board as the vessel sails out of Cape Town. But far out in the South Atlantic, a polar storm will catch them all unawares. Battered by giant swells, before they know what's hit them they're taking on water. The ship is going down... If you enjoy this taster episode, search 'Real Survival Stories' in your podcast app and hit follow for weekly episodes - including Part 2 of Matt Lewis's tale. Short History Of... will be back as normal from next week. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the summer of 1940, the Battle of Britain saw 3,000 airmen risk their lives to defend British shores from the Nazis. But as the pilots battled overhead, what was life like for those supporting them on the ground, and the people of Britain they sought to protect? What was Hitler’s objective, and how did the British react? And what was the secret to defeating the formidable Luftwaffe? This is a Short History of the Battle of Britain. Written by Linda Harrison. With thanks to Patrick Tootal, Honorary Secretary of the Battle of Britain Memorial. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Great Depression was the worst and deepest peacetime economic shock of the twentieth century. It affected millions of lives, redefined global trade, and contributed to the drift towards the Second World War.But how were the seeds of this financial disaster sown in the First World War? What was the cost to ordinary people? And how did America and the wider world dig itself out of its financial hole? This is a Short History of the Great Depression. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to John Moser, author and chair of the Department of History and Political Science at Ashland University. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During the dark years of the Nazi occupation, many French and Allied citizens risked and sacrificed their lives fighting against their oppressors. Their networks undermined the Nazis through intelligence, sabotage and guerilla tactics, and eventually grew into a huge clandestine force ready to help liberate their own country. But who were these activists? How much damage did they inflict on the occupiers? And what happened to those who fought – and those who collaborated – when the war was finally over? This is a Short History of the French Resistance. Written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Hanna Diamond, Professor of French History at Cardiff University. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard the Third was the last English king to die in battle. A key figure in the Wars of the Roses, he is also prime suspect in the enduring mystery of the Princes in the Tower. Shakespeare’s classic villain, he is immortalized as an anti-hero, cunning and monstrous. But is his reputation fair? What was his route to the throne, and what led to his famous demise on the battlefield? And how did the excavation of an unassuming car park in Leicester see him return to the spotlight after more than 500 years? This is a Short History of Richard the Third. Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Matt Lewis, mediaeval historian and author of Richard the Third, Loyalty Binds Me. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nineteen hundred years ago, Hadrian’s Wall was built to defend against the northern tribes, and mark the extent of the Roman empire in Britain. But it also performed functions of trade and communication. Entire communities, of people from all over the Roman Empire, lived and worked in its shadow. But how did the Romans undertake such an extraordinary feat of architecture? What was life like for those who built it? And once the Romans finally decided to abandon it, what role did it play for those who came next? This is a Short History of Hadrian’s Wall. Written by David Jackson. With thanks to archaeologist and museum professional, Lindsay Allason-Jones. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As long as humans have observed creatures in flight, we have dreamed of taking to the skies ourselves. But Wilbur and Orville Wright were determined to be the ones to turn the dream into reality. So what did they need to learn from the early aviation pioneers who preceded them? And how did these two bicycle makers with no college education succeed where others had failed? This is a Short History of The Wright Brothers. Written by Linda Harrison. With thanks to Alexander Rose, author of Empire of the Sky: Zeppelins, Aeroplanes, and Two Men’s Epic Duel to Rule the World.  For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the Roman Republic was still in its infancy, the Greek city-state of Athens rose from the ruins of war with the Persians to become the most beautiful and powerful in the region. During this Golden Age, many Athenian citizens enjoyed unprecedented freedoms in the world’s first democracy. Architects and engineers designed buildings of unparalleled sophistication, while writers, philosophers and scientists created works that still resonate today. And after shining so brightly, Athens’ rapid decline is a lesson in how great civilisations rise and fall. This is a Short History of the Golden Age of Athens. Written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Thomas Martin, Professor of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross, and the author of Ancient Greece from Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During World War Two, dozens of British-trained women were deployed as spies and saboteurs, to infiltrate behind enemy lines in Nazi-controlled France. Ranging from housewives to countesses, they were trained as secret agents, and played critical roles to aid the war effort. But who were these women, and how did they find their way into espionage? What did they do undercover, and what were the consequences of capture? And how did those who made it home adjust to life when the war was won?  This is a Short History of the Female Spies of World War Two. Written by Lindsay Galvin. With thanks to Clare Mulley, award-winning historian and broadcaster, and author of The Spy Who Loved. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centuries was a time of rediscovery. With Florence as its epicentre, it saw a revival of the art, culture and philosophy of ancient Greek and Rome, triggering huge shifts in creativity and thought. But what prompted such a hugely influential movement? Who drove its development, and how did its ideas spread with such unprecedented speed? And, if it weren’t for the great thinkers, artists and inventors of the Renaissance, would we still be living in the Dark Ages?  This is a Short History of the Renaissance. Written by Emma Christie. With thanks to Catherine Fletcher, Professor of History at Manchester Metropolitan University and author of The Beauty and the Terror: an Alternative History of the Italian Renaissance.  For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas Edison was one of history’s greatest inventors, who gave the world not only electric light but other landmark innovations in sound recording and moving pictures. He accumulated more patents in his lifetime than any other, and filled over 4000 notebooks with his work. So, how did this ordinary, home-schooled boy from the American mid-West overcome ill-health and hearing loss to change the world? To what extent was he a lone genius, and how much did he rely on the work of others?  This is A Short History of Thomas Edison. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to Paul Israel, director and general editor of the Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers University and author of Edison: A Life of Invention. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Built by the Khmer kings centuries ago, Angkor in modern Cambodia had a footprint bigger than present-day New York. But after it fell into ruin, much of its unique architecture and intricate carvings were swallowed by the jungle. So, who raised this vast city, and why? What caused their civilisation to fall? And how were parts of it maintained, right up to the present day?  This is a Short History Of Angkor. Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Michael Falser, architectural historian and author of Angkor Wat, a Transcultural History of Heritage. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite its troubled infancy and the hardship faced during World War 2, in the second half of the 20th century the USSR became one of the world’s two superpowers. How did it manage this turn-around? What did its rise mean for its people and the rest of the world? And how did the young nation that shaped so much of the 20th century’s geopolitics eventually come crashing down? This is the second in a special 2 part Short History of… the Soviet Union. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to historian and author Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick of the Australian Catholic University and the University of Sydney. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From its initial creation in 1922, the Soviet Union was perhaps the most ambitious political experiment in human history. But how did this superpower come about? And in its first decades, how did its founding principles of equality transform to fit a nation that became synonymous with tragedy, poverty, suppression and terror?  This is the first in a special 2-part Short History of the Soviet Union. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to historian and author Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick of the Australian Catholic University and the University of Sydney. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though he ruled for just 13 years, Alexander the Great is as famed for his hedonistic lifestyle as his military genius. But how did he become one of the best known military leaders in history? What inspired such loyalty among his troops? And what drove this young man in his endless quest to conquer the known world? This is a Short History of Alexander the Great.  Written by Linda Harrison. With thanks to author Philip Freeman, a professor of humanities at Pepperdine University, Malibu. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From September 1940, Germany’s Luftwaffe subjected Britain to an intense bombing campaign lasting more than eight months. Around 43,000 civilians were killed, with many more injured or made homeless. But what led to the onslaught, and why could it not be stopped? How effective was Hitler’s campaign in achieving his aims? And how did the people of Britain react to this massive disruption to their daily lives and to the ever-present threat of death?  This is a Short History of the Blitz. Written by David Jackson. With thanks to Joshua Levine, historian and author of several books including The Secret History of the Blitz. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Think of the Wild West, and you’ll imagine cowboys, shootouts, bank robberies and saloons. But it was also a time of massive resettlement, new technology and communications. But what the white settlers’ westward migration mean for the native people who had lived on the land for centuries? What inspired so many to move west in the first place? And if the era only lasted a few decades, what makes it so iconic to Americans and the rest of the world?  This is a Short History of…The Wild West Written by Emma Christie. With thanks to Chris Wimmer, host and creator of the Legends of the Old West podcast. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For over 600 years, castles played a leading role in the story of Britain. From the Norman Conquest to the English Civil War, they are woven into the tapestry of British history. But when did they start to be built, and why? How did their architecture evolve? And why did they fall out of fashion, leaving a landscape littered with crumbling ruins?  This is A Short History Of… British Castles.  Written by Joe Viner. With thanks to Marc Morris, historian and author of Castles: A History of the Buildings that Shaped Medieval Britain. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the day he burst onto the scene, Muhammad Ali changed boxing history. But he also influenced the American civil rights movement, the perception of Islam, the view of the war in Vietnam, and the self-branding of athletes themselves. So how did his beliefs affect his career? What drove him to keep fighting for so long – even when boxing itself was taking away the gifts that made him famous? And was he really the greatest of all time? This is a Short History of Muhammad Ali. Written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Jonathan Eig, writer of award-winning biography, Ali: A Life. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From Noiser, comes the brand-new podcast Detectives Don’t Sleep. The show takes you beyond the police tape to shadow the real detectives who worked history’s most intriguing cases. In this taster episode, we’re in the Bahamas in 1943. One of the wealthiest men in the islands, Sir Harry Oakes, has been murdered - bludgeoned and burned in his mansion. The prime suspect is Oakes’ son-in-law, Count Alfred de Marigny. But Oakes’ daughter Nancy refuses to believe in her husband’s guilt and hires New York-based PI Ray Schindler to clear de Marigny’s name. Ray flies to the paradise island of New Providence and gets straight down to work - interviewing witnesses, following up clues, and piecing together the circumstances of Oakes’ death. Before long, he finds himself drawn into a complex mystery straight from the pages of a classic whodunnit. If you enjoy this taster episode, search ‘Detectives Don’t Sleep’ in your podcast app and hit follow to get new episodes every Tuesday. Part 2 of Murder in Paradise is live now on the Detectives Don’t Sleep podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Edward Cope and OC Marsh began their race to identify and name new species of dinosaur in the 1870s, palaeontology was still a new discipline. Before these two wealthy men entered the field, just eight species had been identified in North America. In two decades, between them they added 136 more. But how did they manage to produce such a vast body of research? And why was their earlier friendship replaced by a bitter professional feud?  This is a Short History of the Dinosaur Rush. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to Lukas Rieppel, historian of science at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Frida Kahlo is as much a modern icon for her personal flair as she is for her paintings. But how did her style develop, and what did she intend it to communicate? What was so subversive about her work, and the subjects she chose to portray? And why is she such an enduring figurehead for feminists, women with fertility issues, the queer community, and those living with disabilities and chronic pain? This is a Short History of Frida Kahlo. Written by Lindsay Galvin. With thanks to Circe Henestrosa, co-author of Frida Khalo: Making herself up and curator of a Frida Kahlo exhibition at London’s V&A museum. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ banner on Apple or go to noiser.com/subscriptions to get started with a 7-day free trial. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices