Turkmenistan in Central Asia. Somewhere unremarkable, you might assume. But you’d be wrong. Away from prying eyes, an extraordinary story unfolded here. In the early 1990s, a man called Saparmurat Niyazov creates a brand-new state from the rubble of the Soviet Union. His regime will be a case study in modern tyranny, filled with bizarre pronouncements and barely believable laws. As ‘Turkmenbashy’, or ‘Head of the Turkmen’, Niyazov rules into the 2000s, turning Turkmenistan into a North Korea 2.0...
Jan 14, 2022•56 min•Ep 47•Transcript available on Metacast Four Israeli jets descend on Uganda under cover of night. An audacious commando mission begins. It will spark the beginning of the end for Idi Amin. After a fatally ill-judged war with Tanzania, the tyrant will be ousted. Leaving a grim legacy behind him, he’ll begin a surreal retirement thousands of miles away. A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the...
Dec 22, 2021•59 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast We delve into Amin’s private life, taking in his many marriages, mistresses and children. The President makes a triumphant return to the boxing ring, seemingly in his element. He participates in a barely believable film about his own life. But, away from the limelight, the Ugandan people have had enough. A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+...
Dec 15, 2021•47 min•Ep 45•Transcript available on Metacast In a speech, Amin makes an extraordinary announcement – something he claims came to him in a dream. All Ugandans of Asian origin must leave the country within 90 days. Thousands of citizens scramble to respond. Meanwhile, out in the countryside, supporters of Obote are massacred in their hundreds. An army of exiles prepares to launch the first serious attempt on Big Daddy’s rule. A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episode...
Dec 08, 2021•41 min•Ep 44•Transcript available on Metacast Amin wages war on Buganda’s king. The administration strengthens its grip on power. But after Obote survives an assassination attempt by mere inches, rumours swirl as to the perpetrator’s identity. Brigadier Amin goes on an army recruitment drive. Soon, Obote must depart Uganda to do business abroad. And when he does, who knows what might happen in his absence... A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. ...
Dec 01, 2021•56 min•Ep 43•Transcript available on Metacast The curtain falls on the British Empire in Africa. Uganda is free. Idi Amin becomes the right-hand man of the nation's new leader, Milton Obote. Committing unspeakable atrocities against civilians, Amin dodges the law and sets himself up as a rogue arms dealer. Obote had better watch his back. A Noiser production, written by Jeff Dawson. 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 ...
Nov 24, 2021•45 min•Ep 42•Transcript available on Metacast From 1971 to 1979, President Idi Amin Dada devastated Uganda. The military dictator sank the economy and deported an entire ethnic class. He slaughtered up to half a million of his fellow citizens. All with the persona of 'Big Daddy', the playful joker. His image as a buffoon, however, belied his extraordinary charisma and his mastery of communication. In a continent ravaged by empire, his bloody tale is part of a much larger story. Let's explore the life of Africa's most infamous son. A Noiser ...
Nov 17, 2021•56 min•Ep 41•Transcript available on Metacast On History Daily, we do history, daily. Every weekday beginning November 1st, host Lindsay Graham (American Scandal, American History Tellers) takes you back in time to explore a momentous event that happened on this day in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nov 01, 2021•18 min•Ep 40•Transcript available on Metacast From the creators of Real Dictators comes a brand-new weekly show. Short History Of... gives you a front-row seat as history's most incredible moments play out right before you. In this taster episode, we're in Cuba. It's October 1962. Three men – Kennedy, Khrushchev and Castro – hold the fate of the planet in their hands. A dispute over missiles spirals out of control. All sides brace for war. How did it come to this? And just how close will the world come to nuclear Armageddon? This is a Short...
Aug 10, 2021•57 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast By early 2011, Libya is changing. The Arab Spring is underway. A young lawyer from Benghazi organises a protest. Before long, it will become a full-blown rebellion. Colonel Gaddafi, the man who has dominated Libya for four decades, will become a fugitive, soon to meet one of the grisliest ends of any dictator in history. 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 no...
Aug 03, 2021•49 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast On September 11th, 2001, life in the West is transformed in an instant. Amidst the fall-out, Gaddafi spots an opportunity. To the surprise of many, he makes it his mission to re-join the international fold. The Libyan dictator pitches his Bedouin tent on the front lawns of palaces and parliaments across the world. Muammar Gaddafi - the man of many masks - is transforming into the West’s most eccentric friend. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+...
Jul 27, 2021•46 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast In 1988, Gaddafi takes his terror to the skies, bringing down a passenger flight over Lockerbie, Scotland. Staffers at the Pentagon team up with Hollywood executives to shore up public opinion against the tyrant. Meanwhile, the Colonel himself looks south - across the Sahara - and prepares to be crowned 'King of Kings'. 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 noi...
Jul 20, 2021•44 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast Gaddafi takes his terror onto the streets of London and Berlin. Libyan agents hunt down his opponents across the globe. The Reagan administration launches airstrikes, targeting the dictator and his inner circle. With the stakes higher than ever, Gaddafi's security network works overtime to stamp out dissent. Thousands of schoolchildren bear witness to a gruesome lesson in tyranny. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and...
Jul 13, 2021•49 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast In the summer of 1972, at the Munich Olympic Games, a festival of sport becomes a terrifying nightmare. The Libyan leader tightens his grip on power at home, while exporting terror abroad. Tension with America is reaching breaking point. 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 ...
Jul 06, 2021•42 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast Muammar Gaddafi can’t quite believe his luck. Still in his twenties, he finds himself leader of an oil-rich country. The Colonel wastes no time kicking out the Americans and the Brits. He instigates a 'Vengeance Day' to deal with Libya’s colonial oppressors. Living standards soar for ordinary Libyans. But the cracks are already appearing. Things are about to spin off in a very different direction... For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now avai...
Jun 29, 2021•37 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast In the 1960s, Libya gets rich on oil. But, with the wealth squandered, many question the King’s authority. Among them is young Muammar Gaddafi. Sent to England as a military cadet, Gaddafi roams the streets of Swinging London in flowing Bedouin robes. With his training complete, he readies himself for an audacious seizure of power. 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 ...
Jun 22, 2021•37 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast ‘Brother Leader’, ‘King of Kings’, ‘Falcon of Africa’… ‘The Most Dangerous Man in the World'. Colonel Gaddafi was the Libyan tyrant who abused his people on an industrial scale, until he was murdered by them as they rose up against him. A revolutionary who freed his country from empire, only to squander its riches. Terrorist sponsor one moment, Western ally the next. At the height of World War Two, a Bedouin child is born in Libya’s desert. From these humble origins, Muammar Gaddafi will go on t...
Jun 15, 2021•39 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast The horrors of the past are buried. After 20 years in power, Franco embraces capitalism and declares himself a moderniser. Spain becomes a leading holiday destination. Later, Franco plans his own succession. The ailing Generalissimo headhunts a dashing young heir. But it remains to be seen whether this successor will keep to Franco’s script. 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...
Jun 08, 2021•41 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast The ‘White Terror’ continues. Spain’s strongman assumes power in Madrid, herding his defeated enemies into concentration camps. Franco commissions a movie to tell his own life story. Up in the mountains, die-hard rebels continue to resist. After World War Two, Franco seeks to re-brand. ‘El Caudillo’ sets about seducing a brand-new ally: the United States. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the ...
Jun 01, 2021•35 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast In July 1936, Spain erupts into civil war. But Francisco Franco is marooned far away in the Canary Islands. A devious rescue mission ensues. Back on Spanish soil, Franco begins the process of conquering his homeland, butchering his enemies as he goes. Mussolini and Hitler lend a hand. Closing in on Madrid, Franco lays the groundwork for a decades-long dictatorship. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. ...
May 25, 2021•42 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast In 1917, Franco is posted to northern Spain. He courts a local schoolgirl named Carmen. But soon, a charismatic army superior convinces Franco to return to Africa. In Morocco, he brutalises the local population. Climbing the military ranks, Franco becomes something of a celebrity. Meanwhile, Spain itself spirals towards civil war. 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 o...
May 18, 2021•46 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast Today, Spain is Europe’s holiday capital. But under the sand lie sinister secrets. From 1939 to 1975, Francisco Franco ruled as the nation’s dictator. Despite his bloody reign, the General died peacefully in his bed at a ripe old age. How was he able to get away with such atrocities? The story begins in the 1890s. Francisco Franco is born and raised on Spain’s Atlantic coast. After joining the army, he’s posted to north Africa. Here, his hunger for recognition will nearly cost him his life... Fo...
May 11, 2021•39 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast In the final part of Hitler’s Early Years, the Nazi leader launches his very own assault on power: the Munich Putsch. Under cover of darkness, the SA prepare to storm locations across Munich. Hitler himself prepares to kidnap a senior politician. Will the Nazis take over Germany? Or will they fail and fade back into obscurity? 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...
May 04, 2021•35 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast The Nazis kickstart their media operation. Desperate to be an icon, Hitler pens a secret autobiography, where he compares his own rise to Jesus’s resurrection. French and Belgian troops cross the German border, while the economy goes into meltdown. Amidst the turmoil, the Nazis plot their very own coup d’état. 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/su...
Apr 27, 2021•35 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Hitler decides he needs an army of his own. The Nazis create a new paramilitary unit – the Sturmabteilung, or SA. These hooligans take National Socialism onto the streets. Hitler assembles an executive team of deputies. They include Ernst Röhm - an army insider with a stockpile of weapons. And a celebrity fighter pilot called Hermann Göring... For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the Noiser+ bann...
Apr 20, 2021•41 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Hitler is sent undercover, tasked with spying on a band of extremists. But he soon falls under their spell and breaks cover to join their ranks. They will soon become the Nazi Party, and this new recruit their leader. Under a new mentor, Adolf Hitler finds his voice. His march towards power is grinding into gear. 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...
Apr 13, 2021•39 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast The Great War ends. Hitler despairs. The Kaiser does a runner. Revolutions break out across Germany. Discharged from hospital, Hitler returns home to Munich, desperate to keep his army job. The Allies gather in Paris to settle the tab for the War. Hitler drinks in far-right conspiracy theories. 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 g...
Apr 06, 2021•48 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast June 1914, Sarajevo. An assassination on the street disrupts the entire balance of power in Europe. The First World War explodes into action. Adolf Hitler relocates to Munich. After dodging the draft, he later embraces life as a soldier. But then, serving in Flanders in 1918, a traumatic injury threatens to end his rise to power before it’s even started. For ad-free listening, exclusive content and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Now available for Apple and Android users. Click the N...
Mar 30, 2021•44 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast You may know something of the Hitler story. But there’s a decent chance you don’t know the half of it. We begin a deep dive into the early years of a man who became the very embodiment of evil. Peeling away Hitler’s own myths about his childhood, we explore how he emerged from obscurity. The future German Führer isn’t born in Germany. Growing up in Austria, he clashes with his father but idolises his mother. Abandoning schoolwork, young Adolf dedicates himself to the artistic life, hoping to mak...
Mar 24, 2021•44 min•Ep 19•Transcript available on Metacast From the creators of Real Dictators comes Real Narcos, the show that takes you to the front line of the war on drugs. For Season 2, we're in Mexico. In 1985, Kiki Camarena is a US DEA agent on the trail of Félix Gallardo - the man known as the Mexican Godfather. But Camarena's kidnapping at the hands of the cartel will send shockwaves around the world. Search 'Real Narcos' in your podcast app and hit follow for more episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 26, 2021•40 min•Ep 18•Transcript available on Metacast 
