The Curious History of Your Home
Join domestic historian Ruth Goodman as she guides you through the surprising, often epic, stories behind everyday objects in your home. Double-glazed windows? We owe those to a French king’s odd fascination with oranges. The minty fresh toothpaste by your sink? Well, if you lived in Ancient Greece, you’d be washing your teeth with ground-up bones and oyster shells. And wallpaper? It seems innocent enough, but in the Victorian era it was downright deadly. Discover the extraordinary history of the ordinary items all around you, every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started with a 7-day free trial. Or if you’re on Spotify or Android, head to noiser.com/subscriptions For advertising enquiries, email info@adelicious.fm Hosted by Ruth Goodman. Production: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Tom Pink, Addison Nugent, Nicole Edmunds, Lloyd Starr, George Colwey, Miriam Baines, Katrina Hughes. Compositions by Tom Pink, Dorry Macaulay, Oliver Baines.
Episodes
April 9, 2025 • 51 mins
This is a taster episode of a brand-new podcast from the Noiser podcast network. Join host Paul McGann as he explores life and death on the most famous ship in history.
You’ll be right there on board - setting sail from Southampton, chugging across the Atlantic, striking the iceberg and sinking into the icy depths. We’ll hear the harrowing tales of the victims and the testimonies of the lucky survivors. And Paul explores his own f...
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October 21, 2024 • 38 mins
The death of a woolly mammoth provides the building material for a prehistoric storage space. A tsunami in Japan puts a sturdy outbuilding to the test. And an American boy scout assembles parts for the nuclear reactor he’s building in his mother’s shed…
A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris.
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October 14, 2024 • 40 mins
In the Middle Ages, people source ingenious ingredients to tackle stubborn stains. Henry VIII’s laundry risks causing a scandal. The Ancient Romans use questionable substances to clean their clothes. And the first washing machines revolutionise life in the home…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the Noiser+ banner to get s...
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October 7, 2024 • 41 mins
A prehistoric pot from Japan inspires a fingerprinting technique used by modern detectives. A whole city is built from waste in Neolithic Turkey. The Maya celebrate the new year by throwing out everything associated with the old one. And in London’s King’s Cross, an army of scavengers ekes out a precarious living on a mountain of dust…
A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris.
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September 30, 2024 • 43 mins
Vigilantes chase a thief through the streets of medieval Winchester. A French king creates one of the world’s first gated communities. Villagers across Europe turn on each other with dangerous accusations of witchcraft. And the human race meets its very first neighbours - 45,000 years ago…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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September 23, 2024 • 42 mins
The world’s oldest breadcrumbs are discovered in Jordan. Ryebread causes a devastating disease in medieval Germany. In 18th-century France, the rising price of flour sparks popular unrest. And a carbonised sourdough loaf is discovered in Herculaneum, entombed by the Mount Vesuvius eruption…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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September 16, 2024 • 40 mins
In ancient Korea, ingenious underfloor heating is invented. A king in dire financial straits institutes a controversial tax on fireplaces. Young boys are sent up treacherous chimneys in Victorian England. And the Great Smog envelops London, with deadly consequences…
A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris.
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September 9, 2024 • 42 mins
A medieval countess swoons over tales of courtly love. Georgian families amuse themselves by playing ‘bullet pudding’. Victorian writers do their best to crack down on saucy party games. And on a windswept island in the Bristol Channel, radio is born…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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September 2, 2024 • 40 mins
A miniature sundial survives the destruction of Pompeii. The most elaborate clock the world has ever seen is constructed in 11th-century China. In medieval Normandy, mechanical clocks rouse monks in the middle of the night. And an opportunistic Londoner starts a business that literally sells time…
A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris.
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August 26, 2024 • 45 mins
Fleas spell disaster for people living in the Middle Ages. The inhabitants of an ancient Iraqi city hurl scorpions at an invading army. In Victorian London, a rat catcher turns his unsavoury profession into a form of street entertainment. And a miracle new pesticide turns out to have deadly unintended consequences…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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August 19, 2024 • 43 mins
A Roman emperor terrifies his guests with a macabre dining room display. At a feast in Norway, drunk Vikings engage in a rap battle. A teenage Alexander the Great makes a scene at his dad’s dinner party. And partygoers in Victorian London get up close and personal with an unusual guest - an Egyptian mummy…
A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris.
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August 15, 2024 • 55 mins
This taster episode is taken from the Betwixt the Sheets podcast, created by our friends over at History Hit.
Betwixt the Sheets looks into the history of sex, scandal and the weirdest, most fascinating areas of society - from the history of cosmetic surgery, to the Profumo Affair, to Henry VIII’s sex life. It’s hosted by sex historian, Kate Lister - and twice a week, every week, she’s
joined by an expert.
In this taster episode...
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August 12, 2024 • 41 mins
In medieval Ghana, an exhausted traveller stares in wonder at panes of glass glistening in walls. Craftsmen in 15th-century York assemble an intricate work of art, fit for the divine. A tax on windows leads to some interesting architectural solutions. And in World War II, covering your windows becomes a matter of life and death…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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August 5, 2024 • 42 mins
A gaggle of geese stands guard outside a whisky distillery in Scotland. Ninjas tread carefully over creaky floorboards in Japan. A nurse in New York invents a revolutionary surveillance system. And in Ancient Greece, a guard dog’s warning goes unheeded… with disastrous consequences…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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July 29, 2024 • 41 mins
Ruth lifts the lid on the surprising history of toilets. A cesspit proves deadly for a noble assembly in 12th-century Germany. Pigs form an unlikely part of the sewage system in ancient China. And the world’s first flushing toilet is invented… four and a half thousand years ago…
A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris.
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July 22, 2024 • 42 mins
Roman women get creative, and violent, with their hair pins. In the Middle Ages, poison rings are used to covertly contaminate food and drink. A ring seals the deal on a scandalous marriage in 16th century Germany. And in Antwerp, a gang of jewellery thieves pull off the heist of the century…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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July 15, 2024 • 40 mins
Landscape gardening leads to the downfall of a powerful politician in 17th century France. In the 1820s, two Englishmen test their new lawn mowing invention in the middle of the night, much to the displeasure of their neighbours. A camel helps to cut the grass at London Zoo. And in America, a man resorts to an unconventional mode of transport when his brother falls ill hundreds of miles away…
A Noiser production, written by Roger M...
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July 8, 2024 • 43 mins
In Neolithic Croatia, the world’s oldest oven provides around the clock perks to the locals. In Dublin, a celebrity chef sets up an innovative soup kitchen during the Great Irish Famine. And in Mughal India, an emperor just can’t do without his favourite tandoori meals… even during a fight to the death with his own son…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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July 1, 2024 • 42 mins
On the Isle of Lewis, a lost cow unearths the most famous chess pieces in history. An Egyptian king and queen battle it out over the game board. A New York architect lays the foundations of Scrabble. And during World War Two, a Monopoly set is a matter of life or death for British prisoners of war…
A Noiser production, written by Roger Morris.
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June 24, 2024 • 44 mins
In the Italian Alps, the world’s oldest known hat is unearthed. In ancient Rome, a simple head covering separates slaves from freedmen. In Victorian London, hats prove deadly for the men and women who make them. And Napoleon Bonaparte causes a stir, by rotating his bicorne 90 degrees…
A Noiser production, written by Nicole Edmunds.
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