Need a quick catch-up? This TL;DR Dad! episode races through History with Dad Episodes 11–20 — from Stalingrad’s turning point to Zelenskyy’s rise. In five funny minutes, Dad recaps Ukraine’s survival through war, revolution, and hope on the eve of invasion. Smart, fast, and family-friendly history. Support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
Between 2019 and 2022, Ukraine balanced hope and danger:Zelenskyy’s new presidency, the Trump phone-call scandal, COVID-19, and Russia’s growing military threat. Discover how optimism turned to urgency as Ukraine — and the world — stood on the edge of war.
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From Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s sitcom presidency to Reagan’s Hollywood roots, this Dad Tangent explores what happens when TV stars swap scripts for statecraft. History with Dad takes a witty look at celebrity politics — featuring chimps, comedians, and even Iceland’s towel-promising mayor — to show why voters sometimes pick the familiar face over the practiced politician.
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Every country wants to get in shape after a revolution — but Ukraine learned that reform is a lot like a gym membership: easy to start, hard to stick with. In this Dad Tangent, History with Dad flexes its funny bone as we look at Petro Poroshenko’s reform drive, IMF workouts, and why political crunches hurt more than leg day. Light, witty, and relatable — proof that even nations struggle to stay on the treadmill. Support at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
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.
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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 for more tangents and support the show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
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 show at buymeacoffee.com/historywithdad.
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 NABU.
Civil society and investigative journalists push back — exposing scandals like the Panama Papers — while activists risk everything to keep reform alive. Language and culture become acts of resistance, music and media embraceUkrainian identity, and the Orthodox Church divide deepens as Kyiv challenges Moscow’s spiritual influence. Meanwhile, everyday life at the front is marked by mud, trenches, and endurance.
By 2016, Ukraine is battered but moving forward — building a stronger army, reshaping its identity, and edging closer to Europe with EU integration and visa-free travel. This is the story of a country holding on, reforming under fire, and choosing its direction toward the West.
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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.
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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.
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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 agreements failed to stop the Donbas conflict.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 golden commode at Mezhyhirya. Along the way,we’ll discover why toilets became symbols of excess — and how one shiny seat came to represent corruption in Ukraine.
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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 country’s wild tradition of parliamentary brawls, and show how a messy protest became a symbol of the country’s high-stakes politics.
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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 the EU Association Agreement — and Ukrainians found themselves pulled between two worlds.
But in November 2013, Yanukovych made his choice. He walked away from Europe, cut a deal with Moscow, and lit the fuse for the protests that would become Euromaidan.
Join History with Dad as we trace Ukraine’s path fromcautious hope to explosive betrayal — and set the stage for the uprising tocome.
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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 firebrand, her hairstyle became both a nod to folk tradition and a symbol of modern leadership. Along the way, we’ll compare Ukraine’s political battles to a clash of hairstyles — Tymoshenko’s braid, Yushchenko’s scars, and Yanukovych’s… well, comb-over.
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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 up cold.
Discover how Ukraine’s struggle to keep warm in 2006 and 2009 turned into a wake-up call for Europe — and why pipelines aren’t just about fuel, but about power.
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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 Viktor Yushchenko’s early reform efforts, Yulia Tymoshenko’s fiery charisma (and rivalry), the infamous “gas wars” with Russia, and how infighting within the Orange camp eroded public trust. Add in the 2008 globalfinancial crisis, plummeting approval ratings, and the political comeback of Viktor Yanukovych — and Ukraine’s bright Orange glow dimmed into widespread disillusionment.
By 2010, the Orange Revolution’s hero was sidelined, and the man it once defeated, Yanukovych, had reclaimed the presidency. Ukraine had learned the hard way that winning a revolution is one thing — but building lasting change is another.
Follow History with Dad for more stories of Ukraine’s long and complicated path through history.
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