PODCAST · history
Ancient to Recent
by Joseph Parkinson | Ancient to Recent
Ancient to Recent is a history podcast 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.🎙️ New episodes every week📚 Based on real historical research and books🌍 Covering everything from ancient civilisations to modern eventsWhether you're a casual history fan or a dedicated learner, Ancient to Recent brings you the stories that shaped the world
Episodes
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Napoleon III: France's Last Emperor with Edward Shawcross | Ancient to Recent | Episode 72
As a child he saw his uncles empire collapse, as a young man he was consumed by dreams of glory and as an adult he turned those dreams into reality. This is the story of Louis Napoleon, the last Emperor of France. A story of intrigue and delusion, of ambition and deceit of honour and shame as a…
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The Rise of the Lakota | Part 5 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 71
With peace comes a new policy direction from Washington. President Grant wants to find a new approach to dealing with the native peoples of the West but ambition, greed and dreams of empire drive the United States and the Lakota onto a collision course as promises are broken and different visions...
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The Rise of the Lakota | Part 4 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 70
As the United States descends into civil war the Lakota continue their expansion. But troubling news is brought west by the Lakota’s Sioux cousins the Dakota. The United States government signs treaties forcing the Dakota to give much of their land away in return for a reservation but as more...
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The Rise of the Lakota | Part 3 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 69
In the middle years of the 19th century the Lakota reach ever greater heights of power. They command a vast domain teaming with bison and they project their military might in all direction carried on the back of their powerful war horses. But North America is a land of constant change. The…
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The Rise of the Lakota | Part 2 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 68
Napoleon has a dream of the restoration of French imperial power in the Americas. But his dream is dashed by the collapse of French power in Haiti and France sells Louisiana to the US for pennies. The United States believes it has acquired an empire but soon finds out that the land was not for...
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The Rise of the Lakota | Part 1 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 67
The Lakota are on the rise. For generations, the Sioux had possessed one enormous advantage: numbers. But numbers alone were not enough. The Lakota lacked the horses and firearms necessary to turn their strength into military power. Caught between rival European empires and powerful Indigenous...
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Leon Trotsky: The Last Prophet | Part 6 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 66
The first attempt has failed. Trotsky has survived the machine-gun assault on his home. But Stalin's campaign to destroy his old rival is entering its final stage. In this final episode, we follow Ramón Mercader as he moves deeper into Trotsky's inner circle, slowly gaining the trust of those...
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Leon Trotsky: The Last Prophet | Part 5 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 65
The assassin is already in position. As Leon Trotsky settles into his fortified compound in Mexico, Stalin's campaign to destroy him enters its final and most dangerous phase. In this fifth episode, we follow the NKVD's hunt for Trotsky and the extraordinary operation designed to penetrate his...
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Leon Trotsky: The Last Prophet | Part 4 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 64
Trotsky has finally found refuge. After eight years of exile, the former leader of the Red Army arrives in Mexico, welcomed by President Lázaro Cárdenas and embraced by a circle of artists, intellectuals and revolutionaries. But safety is not the same as peace. In this fourth episode, we follow...
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Leon Trotsky: The Last Prophet | Part 3 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 63
Trotsky has lost his struggle with Stalin for leadership of the Soviet Union But his revolutionary fire still burns bright. The man who helped seize power and build the Red Army is now a political exile, hunted by the regime he helped create. In this third episode, we follow Trotsky from exile in...
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Leon Trotsky: The Last Prophet | Part 2 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 62
Leon Trotsky has helped seize power, built the Red Army, and defeated the enemies of the Bolshevik Revolution. Now he is about to lose everything. By 1927, the man who had once stood beside Lenin at the centre of the Russian Revolution has been transformed from revolutionary hero into Stalin's…
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Leon Trotsky: The Last Prophet | Part 1 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 61
One of history's greatest revolutionaries awaits his assassination. As Leon Trotsky sits inside his heavily guarded villa in Mexico City, he knows that Joseph Stalin has not forgotten him. Once hailed as Lenin's brilliant lieutenant and commander of the Red Army, Trotsky has become the Soviet...
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500 Men vs an Empire: Hernán Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico | Part 4 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 60
The conquest reaches its devastating conclusion. As Hernán Cortés launches his final assault on Tenochtitlan, one of the greatest cities on earth becomes the scene of one of history's most brutal sieges. Thirteen brigantines dominate the waters of Lake Texcoco, while tens of thousands of Spanish...
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500 Men vs an Empire: Hernán Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico | Part 3 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 59
The splendour of Tenochtitlan soon gives way to horror. As the Spaniards settle into the heart of the Mexica capital, they are overwhelmed by its wealth, its markets and its astonishing organisation. Yet beneath the city's beauty lies an uneasy calm. Surrounded by tens of thousands of warriors,...
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500 Men vs an Empire: Hernán Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico | Part 2 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 58
From the mountain passes, the Spaniards finally see it. A vast city shimmering across a great lake. Towering pyramids. Broad causeways. Thousands of canoes. To many of Cortés's hardened veterans, Tenochtitlan appears less like a city than a dream. But before they reach the Aztec capital, they…
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500 Men vs an Empire: Hernán Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico | Part 1 | Ancient to Recent | Episode 57
Out of the eastern horizon, strange white shapes drift across the water. Not canoes. Not trading vessels. Floating mountains. What the peoples of the Americas witness that day will change their world forever, and it begins nearly three decades before Hernán Cortés ever sets foot in Mexico. This...
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The Hunt for Adolf Eichmann | Part 5 | Capture, Trial & Legacy | Ancient to Recent | Episode 56
In the conclusion of Ancient to Recent's Eichmann series, Israeli Mossad agents make their move, seizing Adolf Eichmann on a quiet Buenos Aires street and smuggling him out of Argentina under a forged identity. Inside the Mossad safe house, Eichmann is confronted with the evidence against him and...
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The Hunt for Adolf Eichmann | Part 4 | The Trap is Set | Ancient to Recent | Episode 55
In this episode of Ancient to Recent we continue the story of the hunt for Adolf Eichmann as Mossad agents close in on one of the most wanted fugitives in the world. After years of rumours, false leads and dead ends, investigators finally begin to uncover compelling evidence that Adolf Eichmann…
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The Hunt for Adolf Eichmann | Part 3 | Closing the Net | Ancient to Recent | Episode 54
In this episode of Ancient to Recent we continues the story of the hunt for Adolf Eichmann as a handful of determined investigators begin closing in on one of the most wanted men in the world. As Eichmann settles into life in Argentina under a false identity, survivors, prosecutors and Nazi…
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The Hunt for Adolf Eichmann | Part 2 | Escape to Argentina | Ancient to Recent | Episode 53
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, we continues the story of the hunt for Adolf Eichmann as one of the architects of the Holocaust embarks on a desperate bid to escape justice and disappear from Europe forever. As Allied investigators, Jewish organisations and survivors begin uncovering the…
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The Hunt for Adolf Eichmann | Part 1 | The Hunt Begins | Ancient to Recent | Episode 52
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, we begin the story of one of the most infamous manhunts in modern history: the search for Adolf Eichmann, the Nazi official who played a central role in orchestrating the Holocaust and then vanished into the shadows after the Second World War. The story opens...
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Suez Crisis 1956 | Part 4 | Back From the Brink | Ancient to Recent | Episode 51
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson concludes the story of the 1956 Suez Crisis as Britain, France and Israel press forward with their invasion of Egypt, only to find military victory slipping into political disaster. British and French paratroopers land in Port Said, Israeli...
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Suez Crisis 1956 | Part 3 | Operation Musketeer Begins | Ancient to Recent | Episode 50
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson continues the story of the 1956 Suez Crisis as Britain, France and Israel launch their assault on Egypt. Israeli paratroopers drop into the Sinai, British and French fleets move towards the Suez Canal and Gamal Abdel Nasser prepares Egypt for...
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Suez Crisis 1956 | Part 2 | The Conspiracy at Sevres | Ancient to Recent | Episode 49
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson continues the story of the 1956 Suez Crisis as Britain, France and Israel move ever closer towards war. In secret meetings outside Paris, David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Dayan and Shimon Peres meet with British and French officials to lay out plans…
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Suez Crisis 1956 | Part 1 | The Rise of Nasser | Ancient to Recent | Episode 48
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson begins a new series on the Suez Crisis, exploring the collapse of European imperial power and the rise of a new global order. From the battlefields of the Second World War to the streets of colonial Algeria, the cracks in the old empires…
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Stalin’s Shadow | Part 2 | The Struggle for Power | Ancient to Recent | Episode 47
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson continues the story of the Soviet Union after the death of Stalin, as the struggle for power begins. As the regime stages a grand funeral to preserve the illusion of stability, figures like Georgy Malenkov, Lavrentiy Beria, and Nikita...
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Stalin’s Shadow | Part 1 | The Final Days | Ancient to Recent | Episode 46
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson begins a new series on the final days of Joseph Stalin. At the height of his power, the Soviet dictator who had ruled through fear, purges, and war suddenly lies stricken after a stroke in his dacha. As his inner circle, men like Lavrentyi...
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The Siege of Constantinople | Part 5 | The Fall of an Empire | Ancient to Recent | Episode 45
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson concludes the dramatic siege of Constantinople. After weeks of relentless bombardment and failed assaults, Mehmed II launches his final, all-out attack. Wave after wave crashes against the shattered walls, as the exhausted defenders under...
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The Siege of Constantinople | Part 4 | The Noose Tightens | Ancient to Recent | Episode 44
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson continues the dramatic siege of Constantinople as the struggle enters a final and brutal new phase. With his navy strengthened, Mehmed II seeks to break the city from both land and sea. After a failed assault on the Golden Horn, he executes…
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The Siege of Constantinople | Part 3 | The Gunpowder Age Begins | Ancient to Recent | Episode 43
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson continues the story of the 1453 siege of Constantinople. As Mehmed II brings one of the largest armies of the medieval world to the city’s gates, the legendary Theodosian Walls face their greatest test. For centuries they had held firm but…
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The Siege of Constantinople | Part 2 | The Gathering Storm | Ancient to Recent | Episode 42
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, the stage is set for one of history’s most brutal sieges as the Ottoman Empire and Byzantium move toward their final confrontation. Born into uncertainty and raised in a court shaped by ambition and intrigue, Mehmed II rises to power with a singular vision…
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The Siege of Constantinople | Part 1 | The Queen of Cities | Ancient to Recent | Episode 41
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Joseph Parkinson begins a new series on the long road to the fall of Constantinople. For centuries the great city stood as the heart of the Byzantine Empire, a wealthy, powerful capital that guarded the frontier between Christianity and the rising forces of...
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The Haitian Revolution | Part 5 | Napoleon’s Gamble | Ancient to Recent | Episode 40
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Napoleon Bonaparte launches one of the largest overseas expeditions of the age to crush Toussaint Louverture and restore French control over Saint-Domingue. In 1802, a vast armada carrying tens of thousands of soldiers sails across the Atlantic under General...
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The Haitian Revolution | Part 4 | Shadows of Supremacy | Ancient to Recent | Episode 39
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, Toussaint Louverture crushes rivals and claims unchallenged power in Saint-Domingue, but at the cost of deepening divisions and inviting imperial backlash. From 1797–1800, he expels the British, defies French agents, and wins a savage civil war against André...
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The Haitian Revolution | Part III | Liberty in Chains | Ancient to Recent | Episode 38
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, the Haitian Revolution becomes a global imperial battlefield, and a test of what freedom truly means. Early 1793. The execution of Louis XVI drags Saint-Domingue into the wars of revolutionary Europe. Britain and Spain invade, white planters betray France to...
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The Haitian Revolution | Part II | Fire in the Cane Fields | Ancient to Recent | Episode 37
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, the Haitian Revolution explodes into open war. August 1791. Across the northern plains of Saint-Domingue, plantations burn, masters flee, and thousands of enslaved men and women rise in a coordinated rebellion that shocks the Atlantic world. What had been...
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The Haitian Revolution | Part I | Slavery, Sugar, and the World That Broke | Ancient to Recent | Episode 36
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, we begin one of the most radical and world-changing revolutions in history: the Haitian Revolution. At the end of the eighteenth century, the French colony of Saint-Domingue was the richest place on earth. Powered by sugar, coffee, and the relentless...
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The Shah and the Iranian Revolution | Part 3 | Revolution, Coup and the Flight of the Shah | Ancient to Recent | Episode 35
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, we follow Iran through the decisive year of 1979, the moment when a crisis becomes a collapse, and a monarchy that once looked unshakeable disintegrates in a matter of weeks. As protests intensify and strikes paralyze the economy, the Iranian state begins to...
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The Shah and the Iranian Revolution | Part 2 | Carter, Khomeini and the CIA| Ancient to Recent | Episode 34
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, we follow Iran at the height of its apparent power in the mid-1970s, a country awash in oil money, armed to the teeth, and ruled by a monarch who believed history itself was on his side. Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s Iran looked unstoppable: soaring growth rates,...
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The Shah and the Iranian Revolution | Oil, Power, and the Illusion of Modernity | Ancient to Recent | Episode 33
In this episode of Ancient to Recent, we step into the glittering world of 1960s and 70s Tehran, where nightclubs, foreign visitors, and booming oil revenues gave the impression of a nation racing confidently into the modern age. At the center stood Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, a...
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Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire | Part II | War with China & the Birth of Mongol Warfare | Ancient to Recent | Episode 32
In this history podcast episode of Ancient to Recent, we follow Genghis Khan as his newly united Mongol nation collides with the great settled empires to the south, beginning a cycle of conquest that would change world history forever. Having unified the steppe through blood, loyalty, and merit,...
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Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire | The Early Life of Temüjin | Ancient to Recent | Episode 31
In this history podcast episode of Ancient to Recent, we explore the early life of Genghis Khan, the rise of Temüjin, and the origins of the Mongol Empire on the Eurasian Steppe. Born into violence, betrayal, and extreme poverty, Temüjin’s childhood was defined by abandonment, hunger, and…
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Maximilian of Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire | Part 5 | The Siege of Querétaro, Betrayal and Execution | Ancient to Recent | Episode 30
By early 1867, the Second Mexican Empire was fighting for its life. French troops had gone, Republican armies were closing in from every direction, and Maximilian’s authority barely extended beyond a shrinking patchwork of territory. Yet rather than flee, abdicate, or negotiate, the emperor chose...
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Maximilian of Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire | Part 4 | Napoleon’s Betrayal, Juarez’s Advance and the Fateful Decision | Ancient to Recent | Episode 29
By late 1865, the Second Mexican Empire was beginning to unravel. French support, once the foundation of Maximilian’s throne, was wavering, Republican resistance was intensifying, and pressure from a resurgent United States threatened to turn Mexico into a flashpoint for international conflict.…
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Maximilian of Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire | Part 3 | Juarez, the Catholic Church & the US Civil War | Ancient to Recent I Episode 28
At the height of his power, Emperor Maximilian believed he could reconcile monarchy with liberal reform and heal a nation torn apart by decades of war. By the end of 1864, the Second Mexican Empire stretched to the U.S. border, Republican forces were on the run, and French troops appeared to have...
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Maximilian of Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire | Part 2 | US Civil War, Franz Josef and the Catholic Church |Ancient to Recent I Episode 27
In 1864, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria crossed the Atlantic to claim a crown forged in diplomacy, ambition, and illusion. What awaited him in Mexico was not the enlightened monarchy he imagined but a nation exhausted by war, divided by ideology, and pushed to the breaking point by...
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Maximilian of Mexico: The Rise and Fall of the Second Mexican Empire | Benito Juárez, Napoleon III & Habsburg Mexico | Ancient to Recent I Episode 26
In 1864, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria took the throne as Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, believing he could unite a fractured nation and build a modern empire. Instead, he stepped into one of the most violent political storms of the 19th century. Backed by Napoleon III’s French army,...
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Hermann Goering and the Nazi Mind Part 2 | Nuremberg & The Final Deception | Ancient to Recent | Episode 25
At Nuremberg in 1945, the last leaders of the Third Reich faced judgment before the world. Hermann Goering arrived determined to turn the courtroom into his personal stage, launching a defiant performance that briefly revived the shattered pride of his fellow Nazis, but could not save him from…
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Hermann Goering and the Nazi Mind | How the Nazis Were Captured, Studied & Prepared for Nuremberg | Ancient to Recent | Episode 24
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...
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The Ukrainian Revolution Part 4 | Holodomor: Stalin’s Terror-Famine in Ukraine | Ancient to Recent | Episode 23
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,...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Ancient to Recent is a history podcast 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.🎙️ New episodes every week📚 Based on real historical research and books🌍 Covering everything from ancient civilisations to modern eventsWhether you're a casual history fan or a dedicated learner, Ancient to Recent brings you the stories that shaped the world
HOSTED BY
Joseph Parkinson | Ancient to Recent
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Ancient to Recent have?
Ancient to Recent currently has 71 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Ancient to Recent about?
Ancient to Recent is a history podcast 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.🎙️ New...
How often does Ancient to Recent release new episodes?
Ancient to Recent has 71 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Ancient to Recent?
You can listen to Ancient to Recent on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Ancient to Recent?
Ancient to Recent is created and hosted by Joseph Parkinson | Ancient to Recent.
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