Noise: A Human History

What if history had a sound track? What would it tell us about ourselves? This thirty-part BBC Radio series explores the human dramas that have revolved around sound at various points in the last 100,000 years, allowing us to think in fresh ways about the meaning of our collective past.

In this, the first narrative history of sound and listening that puts humans at its center, acclaimed historian David Hendy reveals the fascinating changes in how we have understood both our fellow humans and the world around us.

Recorded on location around the world and featuring treasures from the British Library's Sound Archive, it takes us from prehistory to the present, encompassing the shamanistic music of our cave-dwelling ancestors, the babel of ancient Rome, the massacre of noisy cats in pre-revolutionary Paris, the nerve-destroying din of trench warfare, right through to the cacophony of the modern metropolis.

David Hendy talks eloquently about the series on WNYC's Soundcheck 2 minutes into this programme:

http://soundcheck.wnyc.org/2013/apr/30/human-noise/ Hide full description

What if history had a sound track? What would it tell us about ourselves? This thirty-part BBC Radio series explores the human dramas that have revolved around sound at various points in the last 100,000 years, allowing us to think in fresh ways about the meaning of our collective past.In this, the first narrative history of sound and listening that puts humans at its center, acclaimed historian David Hendy reveals the fascinating changes in how we have understood both our fellow humans and the world around us.Recorded on location around the world and featuring treasures from the British Library's Sound Archive, it takes us from prehistory to the present, encompassing the shamanistic music of our cave-dwelling ancestors, the babel of ancient Rome, the massacre of noisy cats in... Show full description