Pastmaster Podcast: A Time-Traveling & Role-Playing Show

History is one of the most popular genres in the podcasting universe. 
Its success is understandable because history podcasts are narrative-driven, perform well in audio, and mix the perfect ingredients for a swig of the past, a taste of the present, and a sip of the future.

Pastmaster stretches its historical thematic hypothesis to its breaking point, making for a rousing, informative, whimsical, sometimes absurd, and often bizarre show that blends AI with game theory, historical context, and the banality of modern humanity.

Here's the central premise: "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!"

We are asked to join our hosts Ryan, Tan and Keon in PastMaster – the time-travelling, history-bending, role-playing show. 

The co-hosts explain: "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."

The show began in late April 2023 and slowly built a worldwide fanbase. But it was in February of this year that Pastmaster became part of the brand new Mercury Podcast Network. 

Mercury is designed to support the unique needs of independent creators looking to grow and monetize their podcasts.

“We’re going toe to toe with the big networks… and we’re winning!” insists Liam Heffernan, Mercury’s Founder.

Mercury is founded by Liam Heffernan, an award-winning independent podcaster from the UK, whose own shows include America: A History. He has previously worked for companies
including Auddy and The Podcast Boutique, and was featured on Podpod’s 30 Faces to Watch list, touted as a future industry leader.

“As an independent podcaster myself, I know that the biggest challenge facing creators isn’t content; it’s time and resource,” says Liam. 

Pastmaster, along with Verbal Diorama, 40k Lorecraft, and America: A History, were the first podcasts to become part of Mercury, with more shows now onboarded.

The hosts of the podcast PastMaster: Reshaping History With AI are Ryan Mulchrone, Tan Parsons, and Keon Dadgostar.

The co-hosts explain: "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."
 
The premise of the show has fascinated people because we all want to know how we would survive in a specific historical period. The proof is in the number of TV shows with that similar theme, such as The Time Tunnel from the 1960s, Quantum Leap from the 1990s and again in 2025, and Timeless from circa 2017. 

Their very first episode -- Kentucky Fried Western [1865 CE] -- the podcast takes its maiden voyage back in time, heading to the Wild West to make a name for themselves among the cowboys with a fast food franchise that promises to be finger lickin’ good.

In this episode, meeting up to play PastMaster together for the first time, Ryan, Keon and Tan discuss whether AI is ‘good or bad’, where PastMaster sits among the pantheon of role-playing games (RPGs) and how the idea for this game sprang out of a pub chat. Professing to know ‘nothing’ about either history or RPGs, the group’s AI-sceptic Keon dives into the adventure, heading straight for the nearest saloon (typical).

Teaming up with a mysterious criminal known as Jesse Blackridge, Keon sets his sights on creating the world’s first fast food chicken franchise. Will he succeed or shoot himself in the foot?

 One of my favorite episodes was the April 14, 2025, show that asks: What if the Trojan Horse...wasn't a horse at all? In this epic battle of wits, co-hosts Tan and Keon competed to design history's greatest deception at the walls of Troy.

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.

The siege of Troy has dragged on for a decade when the 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.

The show's sound design is exquisite and well-balanced. The format is solid, with an intro that introduces a clip that acts as a trailer for the episode. The intro music is upbeat and unobtrusive, and the co-hosts quickly explain the show's premise as a way to ground new listeners in the show. 

Pastmaster illustrates that the History genre has the malleability of Silly Putty. It can be pulled and stretched into something unrecognizable, but still be loads of fun. 

This time-traveling, role-playing show turns the entirety of history (and then some) into an interactive adventure game. Each week, the co-hosts navigate to a different era and find out if they've got what it takes to reshape history. With AI acting as their sometimes benevolent, sometimes evil game master and guide.

Pastmaster is a brilliantly creative show that bends, smashes, and blends genres into something we've not heard before.