Ancient to Recent

In 1945, the Allies seized the top surviving Nazi leaders and locked them inside a secret U.S. prison known as Ashcan. At the center of it all was Hermann Göring, Reichsmarschall, head of the Luftwaffe, Hitler’s chosen successor, and the highest-ranking Nazi to face justice.

Inside Mondorf-les-Bains, a young U.S. Army psychiatrist, Dr. Douglas Kelley, began a groundbreaking mission: to uncover the psychology behind the men responsible for World War II, the Holocaust, and the machinery of genocide.

In this episode, Joseph Parkinson explores: 

Göring’s dramatic capture and delusions of grandeur

Life inside Ashcan: barbed wire, constant surveillance, and collapsed Nazi egos
Kelley’s early interviews, Rorschach tests, and attempts to decode the “Nazi mind”
Shocking revelations about Göring’s drug addiction, vanity, charm and ruthlessness

How the Allies prepared the world for the Nuremberg Trials, the most important trial in modern history

This episode reveals the strange, chilling intimacy between a doctor seeking answers and a criminal convinced of his own greatness.

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#HermannGoering #NurembergTrials #WorldWar2 #WW2History #Nazis #DouglasKelley #NaziLeadership #HolocaustHistory #HistoryPodcast #AncientToRecent

In 1932–33, Ukraine faced one of the deadliest tragedies of the 20th century, the Holodomor. Stalin’s regime seized food, blacklisted entire villages, sealed Ukraine’s borders, and used starvation as a weapon to crush resistance. Millions died as the Soviet state destroyed Ukrainian culture, language, and identity.

In Episode 23, Joseph Parkinson uncovers how the famine was engineered, how the OGPU enforced it, and why the Holodomor stands as a defining crime of the Soviet Union. From grain requisitions to the cultural purges, this episode reveals how Stalin turned Ukraine into a laboratory of terror.

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#Holodomor #UkraineHistory #Stalin #SovietUnion #HistoryPodcast #UkrainianRevolution

By the end of the 1920s, Stalin had a vision, to forge a new Soviet man and break the old peasant world forever. 

Across Ukraine, a war was declared on the countryside. Villages were torn apart, churches destroyed, families deported, and the proud independence of Ukraine’s farmers was crushed beneath the machinery of collectivisation.

Through forced labor, quotas, and terror, millions were driven from their homes as the Soviet dream turned into a nightmare. Stalin’s campaign to “liquidate the kulaks as a class” would not only shatter rural life, it would lay the foundations for the famine to come.

Join Joseph Parkinson as he tells the story of Stalin’s collectivisation, the destruction of Ukraine’s villages, and the ideological madness that reshaped an entire nation.

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In the aftermath of revolution, Ukraine lies in ruins. The Bolsheviks have won the Civil War but for Lenin, victory is not enough. From the brutal terror of the Cheka to forced grain seizures and man-made famine, Ukraine becomes the testing ground for a new kind of tyranny.

As millions starve and resistance is crushed, a new figure rises from the shadows: Joseph Stalin. His plan for collectivization will turn Lenin’s famine into something far darker, the Holodomor.

Join Joseph Parkinson as he continues the story of Ukraine’s struggle for survival under Lenin and Stalin, the birth of Soviet power, and the seeds of one of history’s greatest tragedies.

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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.
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In the spring of 1917, as the Russian Empire collapses under the weight of war and revolution, Ukraine dares to dream of freedom. From the hopeful marches through Kyiv’s sunlit streets to the bitter struggle against Bolshevik armies, this is the story of how Ukraine first tried to forge its own destiny.

But revolution brings chaos. Armies rise and fall, cities burn, and hunger stalks the land. The Rada’s dream of democracy gives way to dictatorship and civil war, as Lenin, Trotsky, and a young Stalin descend on Ukraine to reclaim the empire’s breadbasket at any cost. What began as a national awakening will end in terror, famine, and the iron grip of Soviet rule.

Join Joseph Parkinson as he traces the birth of the modern Ukrainian nation—and the origins of the tragedy that would become the Holodomor.

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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.
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As the smoke of Hastings clears, William the Conqueror’s work has only just begun. From the burning towns of Sussex to the frozen wastes of Northumbria, England descends into chaos. The Godwinsons rise from exile to challenge the Norman invader, rebellions erupt from Devon to York, and the Vikings return one last time to stake their claim.
But William answers rebellion with terror, slaughter, famine, and fire in a campaign so brutal it will be remembered as the Harrying of the North. This is the dark aftermath of 1066, when England’s old world died, and a new one was born in blood.

🎧 New episodes every Friday at 8 PM CET
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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

The stage is set. As Edward the Confessor’s reign falters and his death throws England into crisis, two rivals begin their march toward destiny. In Normandy, Duke William proves himself against France and Anjou, crushing enemies and securing alliances that will one day fuel his claim to the English crown. In England, Harold Godwinson rises in the shadow of his father, steering the Godwin dynasty through rebellion, betrayal, and uneasy power.

From deadly feuds with the Welsh to Harold’s fateful storm-driven arrival in Normandy, this is the story of two men on a collision course. As Halley’s Comet blazes across the sky and England reels from Viking invasion, the crown lies waiting for whoever dares to seize it.

🎧 New episodes every Friday at 8 PM CET

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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 this opening episode of our Norman Conquest series, we trace the story of England before 1066, from the rise of the Anglo-Saxons to the Viking invasions that reshaped the land. We meet Edward the Confessor, a king who never should have worn the crown, yet whose reign set the stage for the greatest turning point in English history. From Alfred the Great’s defiance to the chaos of Ethelred the Unready, and the ruthless ambition of the Godwin family, this is the turbulent world William of Normandy would one day claim as his own.

🎧 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 this opening episode of our Norman Conquest series, we trace the story of England before 1066, from the rise of the Anglo-Saxons to the Viking invasions that reshaped the land. We meet Edward the Confessor, a king who never should have worn the crown, yet whose reign set the stage for the greatest turning point in English history. From Alfred the Great’s defiance to the chaos of Ethelred the Unready, and the ruthless ambition of the Godwin family, this is the turbulent world William of Normandy would one day claim as his own.

🎧 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

The Korean War erupts in a storm of artillery, but Kim Il Sung's plans for a swift victory unravel as UN forces push back the North Korean advance. As the conflict descends into a brutal stalemate, Stalin's death and a changing geopolitical landscape create an opportunity for Kim to solidify his rule. 

This episode takes you through the pivotal battles of the Korean War, the power struggles within the North Korean Communist Party, and Kim's ruthless purges that paved the way for a totalitarian state and a society defined by a strict caste system.

🎧 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