PastMaster: Reshaping History With AI

PastMaster
PastMaster: Reshaping History With AI

Could you survive and thrive if you were sent back in time? Would you invent electricity in ancient Rome, or perhaps teach Napoleon rock & roll? Well now you can find out! Join our hosts Ryan, Tan and Keon in PastMaster – the time-travelling, history-bending, role-playing show. It’s simple. We've given an AI the rules of the game and it acts as our narrator and guide. Each week we navigate to a different era and find out if we've got what it takes to reshape history. Will it be historically accurate? Will any of it make sense? Will we master the past? Tune in and find out!

  1. 6 DAYS AGO

    S4E16: The Arkham Investigation PART 1 (ft The Apocalypse Players Podcast)

    Dan Wheeler and Joseph Chance from the award-winning Apocalypse Players podcast bring their Call of Cthulhu expertise to 1920s Arkham, Massachusetts. When businessman Ezra Whitmarsh vanishes from a locked room, leaving only the scent of ozone and whispers of 'the Syndicate,' our investigators must navigate a world where reality itself becomes unreliable. As electrical tinkerer T.G. Fells and the deceptive Gert of the Well delve deeper into the mystery, they discover that some doors should never be opened, and some eyes should never be met. Set during the height of Prohibition in 1926, the episode explores H.P. Lovecraft's fictional city of Arkham - a New England town where ancient secrets lurk beneath the veneer of Jazz Age prosperity. The investigation touches on period-appropriate elements, including Model T Fords, speakeasies, and the social dynamics of 1920s Massachusetts, all while introducing otherworldly horrors that transcend time and space. For an introduction to The Apocalypse Players, try their Bleak Prospect series. Find out more about The Apocalypse Players over at https://www.apocalypseplayers.com/ - - - - -  GET IN TOUCH WITH US Sign up to our newsletter 👉 ⁠www.pastmaster.ai  Instagram 👉 ⁠@PastMasterPod⁠  TikTok 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI⁠ X 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI⁠ Email us  👉 ⁠pastmasterpod@gmail.com⁠ - - - - -  EXPLORE THE PASTMASTER INTERACTIVE MAP  The perfect companion for keeping track of our increasingly chaotic attempts to meddle with history. - - - - -  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    41 min
  2. S4E15: Red Dead Sensation – Stopping a War in the Wild West (with the power of music)

    7 JUL

    S4E15: Red Dead Sensation – Stopping a War in the Wild West (with the power of music)

    Nick Horseman returns to PastMaster, becoming refined English gentleman Thorne Jackson-Reynolds. He arrived in the lawless Dakota Territory with an impossible mission: establish a cattle ranch while preventing war between gold-hungry miners and the Sioux tribe. What follows is pure PastMaster chaos as modern pop songs collide with the Old West, featuring piano performances of Spice Girls hits, interpretive dance routines, and the world's first combination cattle ranch/cheese factory/dance studio. Watch as our hero navigates saloon standoffs with November Rain, brokers peace through promised monthly dance shows, and somehow convinces hardened outlaws to consider careers in artisanal cheese-making. Set in 1875 Deadwood during the Dakota gold rush, a period of intense conflict over land rights that historically led to the Great Sioux War of 1876. The game explores what might have happened if entrepreneurship and entertainment replaced violence as the primary means of settling disputes. - - - - -  GET IN TOUCH Sign up to our newsletter 👉 ⁠www.pastmaster.ai  Instagram 👉 ⁠@PastMasterPod⁠  TikTok 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI⁠ X 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI⁠ Email us  👉 ⁠pastmasterpod@gmail.com⁠ - - - - -  EXPLORE THE PASTMASTER INTERACTIVE MAP  The perfect companion for keeping track of our increasingly chaotic attempts to meddle with history. - - - - - Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    55 min
  3. S4E13: The Medieval African Billionaire space program – Mansa Musa and the Golden Rocket

    5 MAY

    S4E13: The Medieval African Billionaire space program – Mansa Musa and the Golden Rocket

    Step back to 1330 and meet the richest person who ever lived - Mansa Musa, with a net worth of $700 billion in today's money! Can Ryan convince this golden emperor to fund humanity's first space mission? In this wild historical adventure, Ryan transports himself to the heart of the Mali Empire during its golden age. Armed with pocket watches and eyeglasses, he must impress the notoriously wealthy Mansa Musa without getting executed as a witch. But when introducing simple technology succeeds, Ryan gets ambitious: could medieval trebuchet technology launch humans into space? Join us for a hilarious journey through medieval Africa to discover the best way of spending a billionaire's money. The Mali Empire reached unprecedented wealth under Mansa Musa (1312-1337), controlling West Africa's gold production. His famous hajj pilgrimage to Mecca with 60,000 people caused economic inflation in Egypt that lasted a decade. Timbuktu, the empire's intellectual center, housed the world's largest medieval library with over 700,000 manuscripts. This episode humorously explores what might have happened if modern technological ideas met medieval Mali's vast resources. Get in touch with us: Instagram 👉 ⁠@PastMasterPod⁠  Twitter 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI⁠ TikTok 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI⁠ Gmail 👉 ⁠⁠pastmasterpod@gmail.com⁠⁠ Sign up to our newsletter 👉 ⁠⁠https://www.pastmaster.ai/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 1m
  4. S4E12: Battle Magic – Cocaine Diplomacy in 55 BCE

    28 APR

    S4E12: Battle Magic – Cocaine Diplomacy in 55 BCE

    What happens when you replace Asterix's magic potion with cocaine? Risky Dave finds out the hard way when he tries to help a Gallic tribe resist Julius Caesar's invasion in 55 BCE Inspired by the beloved Asterix and Obelix comics, Tan creates a character named 'Risky Dave' who attempts to help a Gallic village resist Roman occupation. But instead of magic potion, he brings cocaine as 'battle magic.' The results are predictably disastrous as the drug-fueled warriors charge into battle with plenty of energy but zero strategy. When captured by Julius Caesar himself, Risky Dave's increasingly desperate escape attempts involve more drugs. This episode hilariously explores what happens when modern solutions meet ancient problems. In 55 BCE, Julius Caesar was in the midst of his conquest of Gaul (modern-day France), systematically subduing the Celtic tribes who inhabited the region. His disciplined Roman legions, with their tight formations and superior tactics, proved extremely effective against the often disorganised Gallic resistance. These campaigns would eventually lead to Roman control of the entire region, forever changing the cultural and political landscape of Western Europe. Get in touch with us: Instagram 👉 ⁠@PastMasterPod⁠  Twitter 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI⁠ TikTok 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI⁠ Gmail 👉 ⁠pastmasterpod@gmail.com⁠ Sign up to our newsletter 👉 ⁠https://www.pastmaster.ai/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    40 min
  5. S4E10: Who can build the best Trojan Horse?

    14 APR

    S4E10: Who can build the best Trojan Horse?

    What if the Trojan Horse...wasn't a horse at all? In this epic battle of wits, Tan and Keon compete to design history's greatest deception at the walls of Troy. The siege of Troy has dragged on for a decade when our contestants arrive with modern minds but Bronze Age materials. Under the watchful eye of a science-obsessed Game Master (channeling Bill Nye), Tan and Keon's increasingly desperate attempts to create the perfect Trojan deception face the harsh scrutiny of historical accuracy. From titanosaurs that shoot bats to poisonous chocolate fountains, their creative proposals are systematically rejected until they're forced to work within strict Bronze Age limitations. When the final designs are presented—Tan's reluctantly traditional horse versus Keon's unexpected 'Tree of Peace'—the Trojans make their choice, leading to a surprise conclusion that rewrites the legendary deception we thought we knew. Set during the legendary Trojan War (around 1200 BCE), this episode explores one of history's most famous military deceptions. After ten years of unsuccessful siege, the Greeks famously constructed a wooden horse to trick the Trojans into bringing armed soldiers within their impenetrable walls. While the historical accuracy of Homer's account remains debated by scholars, the Trojan Horse has become synonymous with the concept of deception throughout Western culture. Get in touch with us: Instagram 👉 ⁠@PastMasterPod⁠ (check out our AI-generated art illustrating what our adventures might have looked like) Twitter 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI TikTok 👉 ⁠@PastMasterAI Gmail 👉 ⁠pastmasterpod@gmail.com Sign up to our newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    55 min
4.9
out of 5
18 Ratings

About

Could you survive and thrive if you were sent back in time? Would you invent electricity in ancient Rome, or perhaps teach Napoleon rock & roll? Well now you can find out! Join our hosts Ryan, Tan and Keon in PastMaster – the time-travelling, history-bending, role-playing show. It’s simple. We've given an AI the rules of the game and it acts as our narrator and guide. Each week we navigate to a different era and find out if we've got what it takes to reshape history. Will it be historically accurate? Will any of it make sense? Will we master the past? Tune in and find out!

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada