Short History Of...

1,531
History #25

History is full of the extraordinary.

Each week, we'll transport you back in time to witness history's most incredible moments and remarkable people.

New episodes Mondays, or a week early for Noiser+ subscribers.

With Noiser+ you'll also get ad-free listening and exclusive content. For more information, head to noiser.com/subscriptions

For advertising enquiries, email info@adelicious.fm

Hosted by John Hopkins. Production: Katrina Hughes, Kate Simants, Nicole Edmunds, Jacob Booth, Dorry Macaulay, Rob Plummer, Cody Reynolds-Shaw. Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink.

We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/shorthistory for £100 sponsored credit.

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Recent Reviews
  • TedSni
    Good until it went woke at the end
    Good history information up until the end and then talks about how the white man stole the land from natives; then some woke feminist came in to propagate her racism.
  • OnceVOX
    This is a wonderful show.
    Excellent content, outstanding narration. Enriching and entertaining.
  • J_Everett
    The woke history of…
    Mediocre at best. Can’t seem to stop tripping over their own feet with the woke stuff. Real dictators is much better.
  • andersonranchllc
    Thank you!
    I can’t tell you how much I enjoy this podcast. I don’t know how you do it. The production value is spot on and I love the old and the new narrator. Both are amazing. I take away something from each and every podcast. Well done! If you don’t subscribe to this podcast, you are missing out on entertainment and knowledge.
  • Commandant hash
    Ease up on the modern PC look backs
    I like this show and am a liberal, but even I find myself rolling my eyes recently at them horseshoeing modern 2024 sensibilities onto stories from the past. It often feels incredibly forced and like they’re trying to virtue signal at every opportunity. We get it.
  • marketpop
    Rushmore
    Thanks for making this episode truthfully represent the decimation of Native Americans. It’s certainly an embarrassment as far as the US is concerned. Great episode!
  • haplistner
    Thank you
    I am absolutely loving this podcast. I’m learning so much. I mostly listen to history podcast and this is in my top 5. Thank you for all the hard work you put it!
  • IntertMold764500
    AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME
    This podcast is awesome. This is one of the only two podcasts that I can go to sleep too. John Hopkins is the best narrator in the whole wide world. If you like this podcast, you should probably listen to Real Dictators too Paul McGann, who is the narrator of that podcast sounds so much like this guy anyway this is the best podcast in the world
  • plo5150
    THIS one!
    I listen to a lot of historical podcast, but THIS one really keeps your attention. Great stories, great presentation& great direction. Highly recommended!
  • Philadelphia12321
    Awqawe
    Nospadosa!
  • Hhn nth
    The Best
    There is no other history podcast that does it like “A Short History Of..”. Those of of us who love history…love the human story of the past. What was it like to be there? I want to be put in that place, that time, and feel what it was like to be at that point of history. This is the only podcast that does just that. Every week is a beautifully narrated story, that allows you to submerge yourself in a distant place and time. Wonderful.
  • Mirage6
    Bias perspective
    The show makes no attempt to take an objective viewpoint and freely inserts opinion and asserts biased perspective as fact.
  • Norman1995Pit
    Little Context
    If you’re familiar with a topic the episodes can be very interesting but the ground level perspective is limiting and usually boring. The context provided is usually anecdotal and doesn’t enrich the story. The listener hears a lot about one person’s experience without any analysis of its interconnectedness with a broader history. Maybe the story editing could be done by a historian instead of drama/entertainment specialist? There are so many good history podcasts out there, this is not one of them
  • Jodevivre
    Great podcast
    I love this series. I don’t subscribe to Noiser so I still get ads. I really like the narrator and I’ve been making my way through old episodes. Really enjoyed wright brothers, eleanor roosevelt, battle of the somme, and others. A lot of reviews say they inject modern politics or some “woke” agenda into the historical stories, but I haven’t come across any of that. Really appreciate the straightforward stories and not overly dramatized or sensational.
  • becca0434
    Favorite podcast ever
    His voice is absolute velvety bliss, he could just read the phone book and it would sound incredible. Even better the stories are very well researched and accurate. Hands down this is my favorite podcast.
  • andy.rodriiguez
    Makes history come alive!
    I have only recently discovered this podcast so I’ve only listened to the early ones (I understand it’s a different host now) but I’ve loved every episode so far! I find history fascinating but I’ve found it hard to find a podcast about history that I enjoyed. History is often messy, filled with so many different people, rulers, eras and dates that it can sometimes be hard to follow, and it’s also important to me that the material is well researched and updated with the latest findings and theories. The experts that are brought in provide invaluable insight into each topic but it is the narrative quality what standouts to me; it is so powerful it truly manages to transport you back in time and space. I’ve even gotten goosebumps a couple times! Well researched, wonderfully voiced and easy to follow without it feeling “dumbed” down. I’ve learnt something new in each episode and I’m so excited for all the episodes I’ve yet to listen to. Amazing work!
  • childish drivel
    Eleanor Roosevelt Episode
    Absolutely first rate. Wish I could vote for her as POTUS. Wise, visionary leader we need today but is sorely lacking in both political parties.
  • Daisymayhem812
    FDR
    April 12, 1945 died. May 8, 1945. VE Day
  • msbadkittie
    Great Podcast!
    You can only listen to so many podcasts about true crime. If you’re burnt out on shows about serial killers and murder, this is the perfect antidote. The episodes are the perfect length (approx 1 hour each). In that hour, a story is told about an interesting part of history. They use historians, professors and others with great knowledge about their subject to help tell the story. And the narrators do an incredible job. At the end of each episode, you feel like you know just enough about that week’s subject to feel informed.
  • JustAnotherK8
    Keep current politics out please
    I am paying for Noiser Plus but I am getting ads in my feed and the join noiser plus nonsense. I love this podcast and I am a plus member but I get annoyed when the “experts” drag modern politics into the episodes. Any legitimate historical expert will reemphasis that you cannot judge the past with today’s standards, which is a huge cultural issue today.
  • Kcoejznxic
    Woke injections
    It’s unfortunate to listen to a historical podcast with such blatant ideological leanings. Doesn’t take long to spot the virus’ trail in the podcast.
  • ll sd
    Conquistadors
    Not sure I can finish this one. Very PC/woke — of which so many of us are so wearily sick. Please SPARE US this. People love Noiser, and A Short History Of in particular. But we don’t follow you so that you can gratuitously ideologize us. PLEASE STOP!
  • Mark D McK
    Formerly good podcast losing steam
    “Short History of..” is still a worthwhile podcast but is on a downward trajectory. Earliest episodes like the Cuban Missile Crisis (when Paul McGann narrated) brought contributions from multiple varied experts, which gave the story something closer to a balanced consensus. The show seems to be running out of topical material. It seems that in an effort to continue the life of the podcast, an episode is produced and released based on a single book by a university professor, with that author serving as the lone “expert voice.” Additionally, multiple acknowledgements are made to insensitive and errant views held by participants of history. Modern politics and sensibilities make many appearances per episode. Humans are capable of ingenuity and error, kindness and much cruelty. “The past is a different country, sometimes a different planet.” Observe the story empathetically with the realization that you are peering into another world.
  • Fergie V.
    On my favourites list
    One of the best history podcasts, love the writing, content and John Hopkin’s wonderful voice and speaking style. He must be professionally trained, so Good! Would definitely recommend to anyone who’s a history head
  • 3510yogi
    Enthralling
    I’ve learned so much about so many things listening to this immersive podcast. It often inspires me to learn more about the subjects. The narrator is so good at making you feel you’re there experiencing history yourself. I can’t get enough of it.
  • Rolfdenver
    This podcast is never boring and always educational… I love it
    I think this may be my all-time favorite podcast, and I do listen to a lot of podcasts. The subjects are fascinating, the information is extremely well presented, the narrator is superb, production values are top notch, and the information is sound but never boring.
  • Nate06123
    Ok
    Lots of America hate.
  • tswift/book/dog/musiclover
    This podcast is so good!
    I love this podcast. His voice is comforting but not boring. Also the topics are really interesting ! Would recommend to anyone who likes history! (Or even not) he describes things so well. It makes it actually super cool and interesting. Please do some more woman please. Maybe like Anna May Wong, Bessie Colman or Anna Essinger.
  • Thehead74
    Good Not Great
    The narration and story telling is excellent. I would say that the show is accurate the most of the time. However, almost ANY chance the narrator or his guests get to insert their clearly biased and often woke opinions into the story they do so. I have listened to this show for a couple of months now and I tried to just ignore the holier than thou, virtue signaling, woke peddling authors and professors that insert their opinions (not facts) into the show constantly, but unfortunately I can’t do it anymore. Essentially, if your understanding of the history of mankind was based only on listening to this show, you would believe that almost all white people and Europeans from history are the scum of the Earth. You would believe that if only whites and Europeans never existed, the world would be a much better place. Alternatively, if your historical knowledge was only from this podcast you would believe that all black, brown, and native peoples of the other continents (especially Africa and the Americas) were all just frolicking along never engaging in any conflict, slavery, or anything naughty and then the big scary white man showed up and killed them all for no reason. You would also believe that most world religions, especially Christianity, are the cause of most of the world’s problems. If you only got your history from this show you would have no concept of the fact that slavery existed in almost every culture in history and that if it wasn’t for Africans kidnapping each other and selling each other into slavery, the institution would have probably died out before the cotton gin. You would also have no idea that the native peoples of north and South America were engaged in CONSTANT war and were killing each other centuries upon centuries, sometimes for reasons that my 2 year old would come up with. I could go on about the woke garbage that is at least sprinkled into most episodes but anyone we all know the truth. Just keep ignoring it to promote whatever ideology or worldview you hold to. Don’t step out in truth and risk getting cancelled. I get it. This review probably won’t even get published. In essence, I can sum up this show with a few words: WHITE PEOPLE BAD. EVERYONE ELSE GOOD.
  • HLGreen37
    Great podcast!
    The content is thorough, but not drawn out. The editing is great with input from experts. But what really clinches it for me is the superb narration by John Hopkins. I could listen to him read the dictionary.
  • Josherry8
    Seriously awesome!!!
    This is one of the best history shows on any podcast that I have ever heard for sure!!!!
  • App Rover
    Get rid of the “experts”
    I agree with everyone else to get rid of the “experts”, they ruin the vibe, audio quality, and flow of the main host. This would be PERFECT without those experts sprinkled on it like a bad tasting spice - ruins the whole thing.
  • respectdings
    This is some mid
    If you want some mid telling of history this is it. 3 stars at most.
  • congarc11
    Awesome Pod; very relaxing and entertaining
    Only comment is that the guests often have poor microphones/their voices are much louder than the hosts. Would be better if it was the host the whole time or if guests had better tech setups.
  • Lala34678960
    Expand the topics?
    I LOVE this podcast. The narrators voice and the writing is so evocative and really transports you! I would love for the creators to apply their considerable talents to more topics beyond British and European history. There is so much out there! Cheers
  • Matthew1375
    My favorite podcast
    I look forward to this podcast every week. I’ve listen to all the episodes multiple times.
  • Tede Elizabeth
    One of my favorites!
    I can’t wait until each episode drops. Love the narrator’s voice. Interesting and informative.
  • Laura232323
    Best Narrator
    I love John Hopkins narration and voice. Great topics. Interesting story lines that start with an intriguing story that really grabs you. I’ve learned so much about history from across the globe from this podcast. Highly recommend!
  • Horseshoe Ben
    Subscriber
    Well researched and well produced episodes. I’ve found 95% of the subject matter to be interesting. I support those podcasts that have earned support and urge others to do the same.
  • 4Neris
    History for Historians
    Every episode is fascinating, well told, and accurate. I cant wait for each new episode!!
  • Craig P
    Just Right
    My absolute favorite regular podcast. I only thought I knew a lot of history…
  • PL8R
    My favorite pod
    I could listen to this guy read the phone book. He makes everything interesting.
  • dmstock
    Most episodes are excellent
    I've enjoyed listening to nearly all episodes regardless of the topic. That said, one I found particularly insufferable was The Wild West. It spent nearly an hour talking about how the American settlers were really bad and the Native Americans were served a raw deal of broken promises by the white Europeans. I get that this is the narrative currently being crammed down everyone's throat, but it was certainly not what I wanted or expected from an episode titled "The Wild West". Maybe make this content a separate episode named "The Evil Settlers vs The Helpless Natives". I was really looking forward to an actual short history on the wild west.
  • Mybaby06!
    Amazing story-telling.
    He takes you into the past and you can feel like you are there. By far one of the best I’ve ever listened too. Bravo
  • Nellygoat
    Awesome podcast
    Just so we’ll-done. I only wish there were more episodes.
  • jimmyjazz66
    History comes alive!
    The best podcast out there!
  • HStahlly
    Excellent podcast and host
    I love this show. So we’ll done. John Hopkins I’d my absolute favorite host. I would listen to anything he did. Wish he did more than two
  • Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrooooop
    Love it
    I can already tell that I am going to listen to all of these episodes in a week. Love this show. Amazing storytelling.
  • supafan
    So much knowledge
    I love this podcast so much. Hoping they do a short history of the Anglo Zulu war. So great, and such a surprise to see what they do next. Keep ‘me coming
  • LuckyTexas36
    Fantastic History a podcast
    I really enjoy and look forward to every episode!
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