History with Dad

After years of war and stalled reforms, Ukraine stands at a crossroads. History with Dad explores 2016–2019 — a time of fragile ceasefires, corruption fatigue, and a political earthquake as comedian Volodymyr Zelenskyy becomes president. From visa-free EU travel to the Paris peace talks, discover how hope, humor, and frustration reshaped Ukraine’s path between East and West. Follow for more episod...

In this Dad Tangent , we follow the money — and the leaks. When the Panama Papers dropped in 2016, they exposed how billionaires, politicians, and a few familiar post-Soviet oligarchs tucked away fortunes in sunny offshore havens. History with Dad breaks down what the leaks revealed, why it mattered for Ukraine and Russia, and how the world’s elites turned spreadsheets into treasure maps. Follow f...

Ever seen a billboard so bold it could win a war of words? In this Dad Tangent , we explore how Ukraine’s highways became its loudest frontlines — with slogans, memes, and morale-boosting art aimed straight at Moscow’s propaganda machine. History with Dad explains the power of posters, the humor behind wartime billboards, and how creativity became a weapon. Follow for more tangents and support the...

As the war in the Donbas drags on, President Petro Poroshenko faces the impossible task of stabilizing Ukraine while fighting Russia-backed forces in the east. Volunteer battalions step in, NATO trainers arrive, and a new Ukrainian army begins to take shape. But on the home front, the economy collapses, IMF loans bring austerity, and corruption remains a constant battle despite the creation of NAB...

Some wars end. Others just hit “pause.” In this Dad Tangent , we dig into the world of frozen conflicts — places like Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Donbas — where peace treaties are paperwork and the fighting never really stops. History with Dad explains how these stalemates shape modern geopolitics with the usual mix of dad jokes and clear-eyed history. Follow for m...

In this Dad Tangent , we take a lighthearted look at the 2014 Crimea “referendum” — the vote that offered two choices and neither involved staying with Ukraine. History with Dad breaks down how Russia staged the ballot, why international observers called it illegal, and what the numbers really meant. Turns out democracy gets tricky when all the boxes lead to Moscow. Follow for more historical tang...

When Russia’s so-called “little green men” appeared in Crimea in 2014, the world watched Ukraine lose its peninsula almost overnight. In this episode, History with Dad explains Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the outbreak of war in eastern Ukraine, and the brutal battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve. Discover how a passenger jet was shot down, sanctions reshaped Europe’s response, and the Minsk agree...

When Ukraine’s president Viktor Yanukovych fled in 2014, it wasn’t a graceful exit — it was a slapstick road trip. From Kharkiv to Crimea to Russia, he zigzagged across the map while protesters discovered golden bathrooms, aprivate zoo, and paperwork floating in his pond. Join Dad for the tale of how a “strongman” became history’s most awkward backseat passenger. Support the show at buymeacoffee.c...

In 2014, “little green men” appeared in Crimea — soldiers with shiny gear, armored vehicles, and zero insignia. Russia swore they weren’t theirs… until they were. Join Dad as we unravel how these mystery troops turned denial into a strategy, and why history’s “aliens” sometimes come with tanks. Support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad

From a few hundred students in Kyiv’s Independence Square to the fall of a president and the annexation of Crimea, the Revolution of Dignity changed Ukraine forever. In this episode, we trace how peaceful protests turned intobarricades, how the “Heavenly Hundred” gave their lives, and how Russia seized its chance in Crimea. A story of courage, corruption, and a country choosing its future. Support...

What do Roman emperors, French kings, modern dictators, and Viktor Yanukovych have in common? An obsession with showing off wealth in the weirdest ways possible — and sometimes, that meant gold in the bathroom. In this Dad Tangent, we tour history’s most extravagant homes and bathrooms: from Versailles’ gilded halls with no toilets, to Saddam Hussein’s marble palaces, to Yanukovych’s infamous gold...

In April 2010, Ukraine’s parliament turned into a slapstick comedy show. As lawmakers voted on the controversial Kharkiv Accords, opposition deputies unleashed a barrage of eggs at the Speaker, security guards raised umbrellas asshields, and smoke bombs filled the chamber. Yes — this really happened. In this Dad Tangent, we crack open the story of Ukraine’s most famous egg fight, explore the count...

After the collapse of the Orange Revolution coalition, Viktor Yanukovych made his comeback — and this time, he wasn’t letting go of power. From rewriting the constitution to jailing rivals and cutting deals with oligarchs, Yanukovych turned Ukraine’s fragile democracy into his personal power base. Moscow moved back into the picture with gas discounts and the Kharkiv Accords, while Brussels dangled...

What do Winston Churchill’s cigar, Napoleon’s pose, and Margaret Thatcher’s handbag all have in common? They’re iconic political trademarks. And in Ukraine during the 2000s, that trademark was Yulia Tymoshenko’s braid. In this Dad Tangent, we explore how Tymoshenko turned a traditional Ukrainian crown braid into a powerful political brand. From her “Gas Princess” roots to her rise as a populist fi...

What happens when your neighbor owns the thermostat — and half the continent’s gas supply? In this Dad Tangent, we dive into Ukraine’s infamous gas wars with Russia in the 2000s. From Putin turning off the taps in the dead of winter, to accusations of gas “theft,” to shady middlemen who made Dad’s tangled Christmas lights look organized — it’s a story where energy meets politics, and everyone ends...

The Orange Revolution of 2004 filled Ukraine with hope — a peaceful protest that overturned a rigged election and promised a new era of reform. But what happens after the tents come down and the scarves are put away? In this episode, Dad explores the messy years that followed, when big promises collided with political rivalries, economic shocks, and old habits that refused to die. We’ll look at Vi...

Ukraine’s Orange Revolution wasn’t the only time people used colors to challenge corruption and fraud. In this Dad Tangent, we explore the early 2000s wave of “color revolutions” across the post-Soviet world — from Georgia’s roses, to Kyrgyzstan’s tulips, to Ukraine’s bright orange glow. Think of it as the paint aisle of democracy : roses, oranges,tulips — each one a peaceful but powerful challeng...

In the late 1990s, Ukraine was rocked by a scandal straight out of a spy thriller — except the spy gear was a cassette recorder hidden under the president’s couch. In this Dad Tangent, we dive into Kuchmagate , when secret tapes allegedly captured President Leonid Kuchma discussing shady deals, media crackdowns, and even a journalist’s murder. It’s Ukraine’s own Watergate, only with worse sound qu...

Ukraine entered the 2000s weighed down by corruption scandals, media crackdowns, and the infamous “Kuchmagate” tapes that exposed the dark side of President Leonid Kuchma’s rule. But out of that crisis came a showdown that would shake the country — and the world. In this episode, Dad walks us through the late 1990s and early 2000s: Kuchma’s decline, the rise of two rival Viktors, the shocking pois...

In 1994, Crimea elected its first — and only — president, Yuriy Meshkov. His bold plan? Pull Crimea closer to Russia and loosen Kyiv’s grip. Within a year, Ukraine’s parliament abolished his office entirely, leaving Meshkov as a political one-hit wonder. In this Dad Tangent, Dad tells the quirky story of Crimea’s short-lived presidency — a reminder of how fragile Ukraine’s unity was in the 1990s....

In 1996, Ukraine’s lawmakers pulled the ultimate all-nighter — not for exams, but to write a Constitution. After 23 straight hours of arguments, naps on the parliament floor, and plenty of coffee, Ukraine finally adopted its first modern Constitution. In this Dad Tangent, Dad tells the story of the world’s sleepiest slumber party that somehow produced the rulebook for a nation. Follow History with...

Ukraine entered the mid-1990s with new leadership and big decisions to make. In this episode, Dad explores the country’s second presidential election and peaceful transfer of power, the signing of the Budapest Memorandum, theintroduction of the hryvnia, and the adoption of Ukraine’s first modern constitution. We’ll see oligarchs tighten their grip, Crimea’s autonomy challenged, and President Leoni...

After the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine and Russia weren’t just arguing about borders — they were fighting over an entire navy. Welcome to the Black Sea Fleet squabble, where sailors switched flags, politicians swapped threats, and warships became bargaining chips. It was part comedy, part crisis, and a warning that independence comes with more than just a new flag. Follow History with Dad for m...

When Ukraine’s money collapsed in the 1990s, people didn’t just tighten their belts — they traded them. In this Dad Tangent, we dive into the hilarious and bizarre world of post-Soviet barter: workers paid in refrigerators and bricks, parents coming home with chickens instead of paychecks, and kids running candy-based economies on the schoolyard. It’s funny, it’s strange, and it shows how inventiv...

Ukraine declared independence in 1991 — but freedom didn’t come with a manual. In this episode, Dad takes you through the turbulent first years of sovereignty: a president who once worked for Moscow, inheriting 4,000 nuclear weapons, a collapsing economy, hyperinflation so bad people bartered chickens for shoes, and the rise of oligarchs who shaped politics for decades. Add in battles with Russia...