Despised by the English, mistrusted by the Scottish nobles, and revered by his countrymen, William Wallace is synonymous with the battle for Scottish freedom.

But scratch away at the legend, and even the most basic details are disputed. Where he was born, who he married, and what he did after his famous battle at Stirling Bridge. Thanks to the brutal nature of his death, he doesn’t even have a grave.

What can we really know about the man immortalised by the poets? Was he anything like the warrior depicted in ‘Braveheart’?

And what does his legacy tell us about the people of Scotland who idolize him to this day?

This is a biography of William Wallace.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to Graeme Morton, Professor of Modern History and Director of the Centre for Scottish Culture at the University of Dundee, and author of William Wallace: Man and Myth.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

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No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By the time she died in 2005, Rosa Parks was known around the world as an icon of activism. Her act of defiance one ordinary Thursday afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama catapulted her to the forefront of the battle for racial equality in America.

But what was her story before that fateful moment in 1955? And what course did her life take afterward?

This is a biography of Rosa Parks.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Kate Simants. With thanks to Dr. Danielle McGuire, historian and author of At the Dark End of the Street, and Kim Trent, President of the Rosa Parks Foundation

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the early eighteenth century, one man made his name as the most notorious pirate of all time.

The legend of Edward Thatch, aka "Blackbeard", has spawned television shows, novels, and major motion pictures. Stories abound of his wild eyes striking fear into enemy hearts, of the six pistols strapped to his chest, and of his arrival in battle with his jet-black beard set ablaze.

But how much is fact and how much fiction?

This is a biography of Blackbeard.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by Paul McGann.

Written by Luke Kuhns. With thanks to Colin Woodard, author of The Republic of Pirates.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The so-called “Queen of Crime”, Agatha Christie remains the best-selling novelist of all time, as well as one of the most prolific. Across 66 novels, 14 short-story collections, and 20 stage plays, she depicted the evil lurking in the hearts of ordinary people with forensic precision.

But how did this homeschooled daughter of a privileged English family learn so much about poisons, psychopaths and murder? What in her personal life informed such a sinister view of ordinary people? And how did she manage to trigger a real-life mystery in 1926, which saw the whole country turn amateur detective?

This is a biography of Agatha Christie.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins.

Written by Jo Furniss. With thanks to bestselling crime writer Sophie Hannah.

This episode was originally featured on Short History Of...

Noiser+ members get ad free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started, or visit noiser.com/subscriptions.

No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.