Episode notes
With his expressive face and gravity-defying moustache, Salvador Dalí is one of the most recognisable – and influential – artists of the 20th century. Famed for his paintings of melting clocks and his lobster telephone, Dalí also cultivated a larger-than-life character for himself to play, using fashion and performance to blur the boundaries between art and reality. But alongside the deliberately provocative persona lurked a fascination with fascism and a sometimes-violent temper. So what can we be sure of about the life of an artist who loved to self-mythologise? And how did he become the…
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Short History Of...
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 on shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started or…
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S6 · E253 · 13 Sep 2026 · 51 min
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S6 · 2 Sep 2026 · 47 min
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S6 · E251 · 30 Aug 2026 · 55 min
Nina Simone
Nina Simone was not only renowned for her powerful, groundbreaking music; she also became an icon of the civil rights movement at a crucial point in its evolution. And while she lived with the spotlight of fame trained firmly upon her, she struggled to keep her tempestuous personal life out of the public eye. How did she use her bountiful talent to become a champion of political causes? Why did she ultimately spend so much of her life in self-imposed exile? And how much did private struggle impact her role as a public figure and her personal search for happiness? This is a Short History Of…
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S6 · E250 · 23 Aug 2026 · 54 min
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
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S6 · E248 · 9 Aug 2026 · 51 min
Nellie Bly
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S6 · E247 · 2 Aug 2026 · 50 min
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S6 · E246 · 26 Jul 2026 · 55 min
Longitude
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S6 · E245 · 19 Jul 2026 · 54 min
Ireland’s Easter Rising
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S6 · E244 · 12 Jul 2026 · 53 min
The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
In 1986, seven astronauts boarded Space Shuttle Challenger for what was meant to be a routine tenth flight of the orbiter. Seventy-three seconds after lift-off, the shuttle broke apart in front of millions of viewers, in what remains one of the worst disasters in the history of human spaceflight. But how did a craft NASA claimed was as safe as an airliner come to fail in full view of a watching nation? Who knew the risks, and when? And why, seventeen years later, did it happen again? This is a Short History Of the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster. A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John…
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