Longitude

This episode will be available to listen to for free on 27th July 2026. You can listen to it right away by subscribing to Noiser+. Head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions for more information.

It was once one of the great unsolved problems of the early modern world: the calculation of exactly how far east or west a given point was on the surface of the Earth. Longitude was a challenge that sat at the intersection of science, navigation, empire and time itself.

For centuries, sailors had been able to determine latitude, or their position north or south, with reasonable confidence. But its counterpart remained dangerously elusive, leaving those traversing the oceans vulnerable to error, shipwreck and disaster. In the search for a solution, astronomers, inventors, statesmen, and seafarers all played their part.

But why was Longitude so hard to figure out reliably? Who really solved the problem? And what changed when sailors could finally measure their position at sea with precision?

This is a Short History Of Longitude.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Dr Emily Akkermans, Curator of Time at Royal Museums Greenwich.

Written by Sean Coleman | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by George Colwey | Assembly edit by Dorry Macaulay | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw