In the decades since the United States declared their independence from Britain, the question of slavery had become increasingly divisive. As the nation expanded, fragile political agreements over the issue failed, and the frontier became a battleground. When Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, seven Southern states chose secession from the Union over accepting limits on slavery. War followed. Eventually, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and transformed the war from a fight to preserve the Union into a struggle over freedom itself. But far from being the end of the story, emancipation marked the beginning of a new and far more dangerous phase of the war.

So what happened when Black Americans were finally allowed to fight for the Union? What would it take to resolve the bloodiest conflict ever fought on American soil?

This is a Short History Of the American Civil War, Part Two of Two.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Caroline Janney, Professor of History of the American Civil War and Director of the John L. Nau Centre for Civil War History.

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

Unlock the next two episodes of Short History Of… right now by subscribing to Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network, including Real Survival Stories and Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Just click the subscription banner at the top of the feed, or head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions to get started.

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.

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The American Civil War started with a single, explosive question: could a nation built on slavery survive without it? Several Southern states chose to protect the institution that underpinned their economy and social order, at any cost. But when that necessitated their leaving the Union, the conflict that followed did not unfold along a single front. It tore across the continent, from dusty towns in the far West to river ports along the Mississippi, and from quiet New England villages to the cotton fields of the Deep South. Millions were drawn into it, and hundreds of thousands would die.

How did a democratic republic fracture so completely? Why did the question of slavery push the country beyond compromise and into catastrophe? And how did a war that began over the survival of the Union become a revolution for freedom itself?

This is a Short History Of the American Civil War, Part One of Two.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Caroline Janney, Professor of History of the American Civil War and Director of the John L. Nau Centre for Civil War History.

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

Unlock the next two episodes of Short History Of… right now by subscribing to Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network, including Real Survival Stories and Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Just click the subscription banner at the top of the feed, or head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions to get started.

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.

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In 1914, Europe was dominated by four great empires — the British, the French, the Russian, and the vast, uneasy realm of Austria-Hungary, stretching from the Alps to the Balkans. While international treaties bound the continent together under a veneer of peace, beneath the surface, the balance was increasingly fragile. As this tension bubbled, the visit of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his beloved wife Sophie to Sarajevo was meant to assert imperial authority. But waiting in the shadows, a group of young conspirators, inspired by Serbian nationalism, were convinced that killing the Archduke could free their people from his empire. What followed took only moments, but the consequences echo throughout history.

So who were the handful of young nationalists who sparked war in Europe? How did the deaths of one loving couple come to carry such enormous weight? And why, in 1914, was Europe so fragile that a single shooting could tear it apart?

This is a Short History Of the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Sue Woolmans, royal historian, writer, and co-author of The Assassination of the Archduke.

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

Go to https://surfshark.com/shorthistory or use code SHORTHISTORY at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!

Unlock the next two episodes of Short History Of… right now by subscribing to Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network, including Real Survival Stories and Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Just click the subscription banner at the top of the feed, or head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions to get started.

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.

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One of the most famous writers of the 20th century, C. S. Lewis was a scholar of medieval literature, an influential Christian thinker and a supremely gifted storyteller. A professor at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Lewis is perhaps best known for his Chronicles of Narnia – stories which captured the imagination of millions with their blend of spiritual depth and swashbuckling adventure.

But how were the seeds of the magical world of Narnia first planted? How did Lewis’ unconventional personal life, and the writers and scholars with whom he spent his days, influence his work? And what part did his complex relationship with faith play in the stories that still enchant adults and children around the world?

This is a Short History Of C.S. Lewis.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Dr Michael Ward from the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oxford, and author of Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S. Lewis.

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

Unlock the next two episodes of Short History Of… right now by subscribing to Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network, including Real Survival Stories and Sherlock Holmes Short Stories. Just click the subscription banner at the top of the feed, or head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions to get started.

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.

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This is a preview of a brand-new show from the Noiser podcast network. Hosted by Iain Glen (Game of Thrones, Silo), Real Vikings takes you on a deep dive into the Viking age.

You’ll board longboats bound for new lands, follow mighty warlords, meet master navigators, and uncover the real figures behind the legends of the sagas.

But we begin on a quiet beach in the south of England, where a cold-blooded murder on the shingle sends shockwaves reverberating throughout Europe…

For more episodes, search ‘Real Vikings’ in your podcast app and hit follow. You can listen to Episode 2 straight after this.

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At the dawn of the twentieth century, a writer emerged who learned his craft not in a classroom, but in battlefields, bullrings, and bars. To some, Ernest Hemingway was the greatest writer of his generation. A Nobel laureate whose sparse, muscular prose changed literature forever. But to others, he was a swaggering egotist, a man addicted to danger and performance, obsessed with his own legend. His own life fuelled his work, just as his work in turn fed his own myth. But behind the mask he forged through his writing lay a man haunted by fear, violence, and the tyranny of bravery.

But why, more than sixty years after his death, does Hemingway remain a symbol of masculinity and modernism? Who were the people whose lives were swept up in the hurricane of his own? And how did the same passions that made Hemingway great also destroy him in the end?

This is a Short History Of Ernest Hemingway.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Paul Hendrickson, author, journalist, professor, and the writer of Hemingway’s Boat: Everything He Loved in Life, and Lost.

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

Get every episode of Short History Of… a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.

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Although the Middle Ages were an undeniably turbulent period in the history of Europe, characterised in part by endemic violence, hardship and inequality, the latter half of the era was also a time of great change and discovery. What historians call the High and Late Middle Ages saw a proliferation of philosophical and scientific enquiry, and economic advancement. This was a time of intense literary and artistic production, religious dynamism, and global trade and travel. An age of contradictions and complexities.

So what drove the immense changes of the later medieval period? What dark currents swirled beneath this apparent progress? And how did the latter half of the Middle Ages ultimately lay the foundation for our modern world?

This is a Short History Of The European Middle Ages, Part 2 of 2.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Martyn Whittock, author of many books on the medieval period, including A Brief History of Life in the Middle Ages.

Written by Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact Check: Sean Coleman

Get every episode of Short History Of… a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.

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The period known as the Middle Ages was defined by more than knights and warfare. It began centuries before the First Crusade was called, in the confusion that followed the end of Roman rule in western Europe. And it persisted for a thousand years, until the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the discovery of the so-called New World ushered in the beginnings of modernity.

But just how important was the fall of Rome for people across the continent? What political and religious institutions sprang up to fill the power vacuum left behind? And who were the leaders who strengthened Europe sufficiently to once again launch armed expeditions across the sea?

This is a Short History Of The European Middle Ages, Part 1 of 2.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Martyn Whittock, author of many books on the medieval period, including A Brief History of Life in the Middle Ages.

Written by Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow | Produced by Kate Simants | Production Assistant: Chris McDonald | Exec produced by Katrina Hughes | Sound supervisor: Tom Pink | Sound design by Oliver Sanders | Assembly edit by Anisha Deva | Compositions by Oliver Baines, Dorry Macaulay, Tom Pink | Mix & mastering: Cody Reynolds-Shaw | Fact Check: Sean Coleman

Get every episode of Short History Of… a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.

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From the deserts of Central Asia to the gates of ancient China, from the bazaars of Persia to the harbours of the Mediterranean, the Silk Roads were never just one route. A living network of paths, mountain passes, and caravan trails, they carried not only silk and spices, but stories, beliefs, technologies, and ideas that would reshape entire civilisations. For more than a thousand years, they connected worlds that might otherwise never have met, and, in doing so, transformed them. The Silk Roads have witnessed empires rise and crumble, faiths spread and evolve, and cultures meet, merge, and create anew.

But what drove people to risk their lives travelling them? How did they impact the disparate worlds they joined together? And why, even today, do the Silk Roads still matter?

This is a Short History Of The Silk Roads.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History at Oxford University, and author of The Silk Roads.

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

Get every episode of Short History Of… a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.

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The sinking of the General Belgrano on May 2nd 1982 by a British submarine was one of the most controversial events of the Falklands War. The strike resulted in the deaths of 323 Argentine sailors, nearly half of Argentina’s total casualties during the conflict. But though the escalation over the preceding months was swift, in some ways, the Falklands War had been simmering for centuries. Argentina, the closest mainland nation to the islands, saw them as a part of its territory and national identity, while Britain defended its historical claim, citing the wishes of the islanders. In April 1982, decades of tension exploded into war, leaving nearly 1,000 dead.

But how did the islands fall under British control in the first place? Why did the war break out after so many years of diplomacy? And how did the political situations in both countries contribute to one of the strangest conflicts in modern British history?

This is a Short History Of The Falklands War.

A Noiser podcast production. Hosted by John Hopkins. With thanks to Sir Lawrence Freedman, official historian of the Falklands Campaign.

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

Get every episode of Short History Of… a week early with Noiser+. You’ll also get ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to shows across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions

Go to https://surfshark.com/shorthistory or use code SHORTHISTORY at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN!

⁠A Short History of Ancient Rome⁠ - the debut book from the Noiser Network is out now! Discover the epic rise and fall of Rome like never before. Pick up your copy now at your local bookstore or visit ⁠⁠noiser.com/books⁠⁠ to learn more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices