History · Since June 2025
Ancient
to Recent
Joseph Parkinson on how forgotten empires, overlooked revolutions and ordinary lives still shape the present.
New episodes every week
#74
Latest episode · 50 min
Why Western Sanctions Have Failed to Stop Putin
How did the West help create Vladimir Putin's Russia, and why has it struggled to stop him? Award-winning Bloomberg journalist and author Stephanie Baker joins Joseph Parkinson to explore the rise of the Russian oligarchs…
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Recent episodes
Full archive →Told in Chapters
The bigger subjects run across several episodes.
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- Leon Trotsky: The Last Prophet6 episodes
- 500 Men vs an Empire: Hernán Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico4 episodes
- The Hunt for Adolf Eichmann5 episodes
- Suez Crisis 19564 episodes
- Stalin’s Shadow2 episodes
- The Siege of Constantinople5 episodes
- The Haitian Revolution5 episodes
- The Shah and the Iranian Revolution3 episodes
- Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire2 episodes
- Maximilian of Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire5 episodes
- Hermann Goering and the Nazi Mind2 episodes
- The Ukrainian Revolution4 episodes
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- Kim Il Sung: The Still Birth of North Korea2 episodes
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- Navalny vs. Putin3 episodes
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About the show
The story behind it
200,000+
followers across platforms
Ancient to Recent is a history podcast hosted by Joseph Parkinson that explores how the past continues to shape our world today. From forgotten empires and overlooked revolutions to the hidden lives of historical figures, each episode takes a deep dive into the moments that mattered and the ones that should have.
The research habit carries off the podcast: Joseph curates non-fiction by subject and reviews books in short-form videos.
- Built on real historical research, primary accounts and books
- From ancient civilisations to events within living memory
Whether you are a casual history listener or a serious reader, Ancient to Recent tells the stories that shaped our world.
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Bite-size history clips and non-fiction book reviews.
- Who is Joseph Parkinson?
- Joseph Parkinson is a history podcaster from the UK and the host of Ancient to Recent, which he has produced since June 2025. He researches and narrates long-form episodes on empires, revolutions and political history, and is also a book curator, recommending non-fiction by subject and reviewing in short-form videos.
- What is Ancient to Recent about?
- Subjects range from Genghis Khan and the siege of Constantinople to the Haitian Revolution, the Suez Crisis and the assasination of Leon Trotsky. Each subject is explored in depth, often across several chapters.
- How often are new episodes released?
- New episodes are released every week.
- Where can I listen to Ancient to Recent?
- Ancient to Recent is on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.