In the early days of the 20th century, Korea was under the grip of Japanese imperial rule, a period that reshaped the peninsula forever. Out of this turmoil emerged Kim Il Sung, a partisan fighter who would go on to become the founding leader of North Korea.

In this episode of Ancient To Recent, Joseph Parkinson takes you through Kim’s early life, the struggles of Korean nationalism, the Japanese occupation, and the Soviet-backed rise of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Discover how colonial rule, war, and ideology combined to shape one of the most secretive and repressive regimes in history.

🎧 New episodes every Friday at 8 PM CET
📲 Follow on Spotify, YouTube & Instagram @AncientToRecent

Sponsored by World of Whisky – Some things only get better with age. With World of Whisky, you can own a share of Scotland’s most iconic export. You must be over 18. Investing carries risks. Drink responsibly. Invest responsibly. This is not financial advice.
👉 Learn more: https://tr.ee/ZaBoYD

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In the 1980s, Father Patrick Ryan stood at the heart of the IRA’s international network, funding operations, brokering weapons, and evading capture across borders. Part Three follows his role in daring attacks and the high-stakes chase to bring him to justice. Inspired by Jennifer O’Leary’s The Padre.

 New episodes every Friday at 8 PM CET
 Follow on Spotify, YouTube & Instagram @AncientToRecent

Sponsored by World of Whisky – Some things only get better with age. With World of Whisky, you can own a share of Scotland’s most iconic export. You must be over 18. Investing carries risks. Drink responsibly. Invest responsibly. This is not financial advice.  Learn more: https://tr.ee/ZaBoYD

In the 1980s, Father Patrick Ryan became one of the IRA’s most valuable allies. From secret Libyan arms deals to the Brighton bombing that nearly killed Margaret Thatcher, his story is one of faith, firepower, and the deadly politics of the Troubles.

In Part Two, we follow his journey from rural Ireland to the heart of an international struggle, uncovering how belief and rebellion collided in Britain’s bloodiest conflict.

Inspired by Jennifer O’Leary’s The Padre.

🎧 New episodes every Friday at 8 PM CET
📲 Follow on Spotify, YouTube & Instagram @AncientToRecent

Sponsored by World of Whisky – Some things only get better with age. With World of Whisky, you can own a share of Scotland’s most iconic export. You must be over 18. Investing carries risks. Drink responsibly. Invest responsibly. This is not financial advice.
👉 Learn more: https://tr.ee/ZaBoYD
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In the 1980s, a Catholic priest became one of the IRA’s most valuable allies. From secret Libyan arms deals to the Brighton bombing that nearly killed Margaret Thatcher, Father Patrick Ryan’s story is one of faith, firepower, and the deadly politics of the Troubles. We follow his journey from rural Ireland to the heart of an international struggle, uncovering how belief and rebellion collided in Britain’s bloodiest conflict.

Inspired by Jennifer O’Leary, The Padre.

🎧 New episodes every Friday, 8 PM CET
📲 Follow on Spotify, YouTube & Instagram @AncientToRecent

Sponsored by World of Whisky – Some things only get better with age. With World of Whisky, you can own a share of Scotland’s most iconic export. You must be over 18. Investing carries risks. Drink responsibly. Invest responsibly. This is not financial advice.

👉 Learn more: https://tr.ee/ZaBoYD

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In this powerful final chapter of our Alexei Navalny series, we follow Russia’s most prominent opposition leader from the 2017 acid attack that scarred him, to his poisoning with Novichok, his defiant return to Moscow, and his slow death inside Putin’s prisons. Through corruption exposés, political trials, and the relentless brutality of the Russian state, Navalny’s life became a test of whether truth could survive in a country built on fear. From investigative breakthroughs to the Wagner mutiny, we explore the forces shaping Putin’s Russia and the enduring flame of the Russian democratic tradition.

🎧 New episodes every Friday, 8 PM CET
📲 Follow on Spotify, YouTube & Instagram @AncientToRecent

Sponsored by World of Whisky. Some things only get better with age. With World of Whisky, you can own a share of Scotland’s most iconic export. You must be over 18. Investing carries risks. Drink responsibly. Invest responsibly. This is not financial advice.

👉 Learn more: https://tr.ee/ZaBoYD

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In Part II of Ancient to Recent’s deep dive, Alexei Navalny takes his fight against Vladimir Putin to the streets, the courts, and the ballot box. From rigged Moscow elections to uncovering multi-million dollar corruption at the Kremlin’s core, discover how Navalny became Putin’s most dangerous opponent and the ruthless tactics used to bring him down.
🎧 New episodes every Friday, 8PM CET

📲 Follow on Spotify, YouTube & Instagram @AncientToRecent

Sponsored by World of Whisky – Some things only get better with age. With World of Whisky, you can own a share of Scotland’s most iconic export. You must be over 18. Investing carries risks. Drink responsibly. Invest responsibly. This is not financial advice.

Want to check out World of Whiskey? Click here, https://tr.ee/ZaBoYD

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There was no warning. Just radioactive rain and the beginning of a story that shaped modern Russia. In this premiere episode of Ancient to Recent, we explore how the Chernobyl disaster, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the chaos of the 1990s led to the rise of Vladimir Putin and the emergence of his most dangerous opponent: Alexei Navalny.

Follow the origin story of a man who dared to speak the truth in a country where that can cost you your life.

📍Part 1 of Navalny vs. Putin - A Tale of Two Tsars
🎧 New episodes every Friday, 8PM CET
📲 Follow on Spotify, YouTube & Instagram @AncientToRecent
This episode is sponsored by World of Whiskey – the UK’s leading platform for collectible and investment-grade whisky. Want to check out World of Whiskey? Click here!

This is not financial advice. Whisky investments are not regulated and carry risks. Must be 18+ to invest. Drink and invest responsibly. Terms & conditions apply.

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In this epic episode of Ancient to Recent, we unpack the tragic and complex chain of events that dragged Germany and the world into the First World War. From the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo to the infamous "blank cheque" to Austria, we explore how imperial ambition, strategic paranoia, and domestic turmoil pushed Germany into a devastating global conflict.

We examine Germany’s war plans, the myth of the “defensive war,” the Schlieffen Plan’s failure, and the haunting cost of four years of trench warfare. Discover how WWI shattered the Second German Reich, transformed German society, and sowed the seeds of future catastrophe.

📆 New episodes every Friday, 8:00 a.m. CET
🎧 Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

In this episode of Ancient to Recent, we unpack the turbulent reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the dramatic transformation of Germany from 1890 to 1914. 

From Bismarck’s calculated power structures to Wilhelm’s impulsive foreign policy and volatile personality, we explore the roots of Germany’s growing isolation and instability. Learn how economic booms, social upheaval, colonial ambitions, and a series of scandals pushed the German Empire toward the brink of war,  and how a single man’s ego may have helped light the match.

New episodes every Friday at 8:00 CET. Available on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

Follow @ancienttorecent on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube

Bismarck’s Empire: Building Germany, Crushing Enemies, and Creating a Nation

After unification, the real challenge began. In this episode, we explore how Otto von Bismarck governed the new German Empire from 1871 to 1890 navigating class tension, religious conflict, rapid industrialization, and the rise of socialism.

From Kulturkampf and anti-socialist laws to revolutionary social reforms and colonial tensions, this is the story of how Bismarck tried to forge a single national identity from a patchwork of kingdoms, faiths, and cultures until a young, ambitious Kaiser ended his reign.

📚 Based on Iron and Blood by Katja Hoyer
📅 Episode 3 coming next Friday, 20:00 CEST
🎧 Listen now on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts