Biography

Margaret Thatcher was one of the most controversial figures of the 20th Century. Praised by some as a fearless leader and feminist icon, and despised by others as a heartless politician, the Iron Lady caused divisions wherever she went. But why did Britain’s first female Prime Minister inspire such extreme hatred? What policies did she implement, how did they affect the communities of Britain? And what, if anything, is her legacy today? A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Nicole Edmunds. With thanks to Chris Collins, historian, and editor of Margaretthatcher.org. 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…

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? A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Kathryn Harrison, author of Joan of Arc, A Life Transfigured. 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.…

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, sixty years after her death? A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Michelle Morgan, author of Marilyn Monroe – Private and Undisclosed. 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…

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 biography of Charlie Chaplin. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to Lucy Moore, historian and author of Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties. 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…

Thomas Edison was one of history’s greatest inventors, a man 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 anyone had before, and filled over 4,000 notebooks with his work. But how did this ordinary, home-schooled boy from the American mid-West overcome ill-health and hearing loss to change the world? And was he really a lone genius, or did he rely on the work of others? This is a biography of Thomas Edison. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. 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. 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…

Though he ruled for just thirteen years, Alexander the Great casts a long shadow, famed as much 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 biography of Alexander the Great. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Linda Harrison. With thanks to author Philip Freeman, a professor of humanities at Pepperdine University, Malibu. 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…

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 biography of Muhammad Ali. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Jonathan Eig, author of the award-winning biography Ali: A Life. 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…

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 biography of Frida Kahlo. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. 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. 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…

No single writer has shaped the way we speak and think more than William Shakespeare. Whether we’re being cruel to be kind, wearing our hearts on our sleeves, or wrestling with the green eye’d monster — it’s almost impossible to use the English language without quoting him. But who was Shakespeare? And what vaulting ambition drove a young writer from a sleepy town in the West Midlands to stardom in London? Was he born great, or did he have greatness thrust upon him? This is a biography of William Shakespeare. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Dr Anjna Chouhan, Senior Lecturer in Shakespeare Studies at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. 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…

Pocahontas is probably the best known Native American in history. But the true story of her life has been eclipsed by a fictionalised version, played out as a romance between an intrepid English captain and a wild native princess. So what is known about the real Pocahontas, and her life before the arrival of the white colonisers? How did she spearhead a period of truce between her tribe and the Europeans? And did she truly have a say in her own fate, and the fate of her people? This is a biography of Pocahontas. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Lindsay Galvin. With thanks to Camilla Townsend, professor of history at Rutgers University, and author of Pocahontas and the Powhatan Dilemma. 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…

Abraham Lincoln’s life reads like an American folk tale: the story of a boy born into poverty, whose drive and determination saw him become the most powerful man in the nation. But how did he navigate a path for a youthful country so deeply divided over slavery? What was his role in the devastating civil war? And how did one man attract both public adoration and murderous wrath all at the same time? This is a biography of Abraham Lincoln. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to David S Reynolds, Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York, and author of Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times. 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…

Vincent van Gogh was one of the most important and influential figures in the history of art. But though he created thousands of drawings and paintings, his life was one of commercial failure, instability and unhappiness. Who was Van Gogh before he discovered his passion for art? What caused him so much suffering? And who were the people who supported him, right up to his tragic death at the age of just 37? This is a biography of Vincent Van Gogh. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by David Jackson. With thanks to Steven Naifeh, Pulitzer Prize-winning co-author of Van Gogh: The Life and Jackson Pollock: An American Saga. 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…

Albert Einstein overhauled our understanding of the universe—from the sub-atomic level to beyond the edges of the cosmos. Today his ideas are in evidence everywhere, from televisions and GPS systems, to our understanding of black holes and the Big Bang. But who was Einstein as a person? What were his theories that upended established scientific beliefs? And how did his work inadvertently contribute to some of the twentieth century’s most devastating acts of warfare? This is a biography of Albert Einstein. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. Written by Dan Smith. With thanks to David Bodanis, author of Einstein’s Greatest Mistake, and E=mc2: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation. 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…