{"podcast":{"title":"The Ancients","slug":"the-ancients-6975722","podcast_index_feed_id":6975722,"rss_url":"https://access.acast.com/rss/f2925f7a-eb08-471a-9958-387cb5ee6353/default","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/the-ancients/episodes/alexander-the-greats-biggest-battles","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6215f9e74b795a6299fd3b58/1688118301033-5d81dbbb93ddec91bc01fee4bb292511.jpeg","author":"History Hit","episode_count":642,"summary":"A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from antiquity. From Neolithic Britain to the Fall of Rome. Hosted by Tristan Hughes. New episodes every Sunday and Thursday. From History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, Gone Medieval, and Betwixt the Sheets. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T12:17:09.355963+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722"},"episode":{"title":"Ancient China: The Warring States","slug":"ancient-china-the-warring-states","published_at":"2026-05-07T02:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722/ancient-china-the-warring-states","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722","url":"https://shows.acast.com/the-ancients/episodes/ancient-china-the-warring-states","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/the-ancients/e/69fa0d1cef972868d6679d2a/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=4G1V-kFfFkEMZUwIuWdqoQRt8nTSziQd9_aF4hVEkt0","summary":"How did ancient China plunge into 261 years of chaos, and how did that turmoil forge an empire? Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Andrew Seth Meyer to explore the Warring States period, from collapsing Zhou power and ruthless coups to mass armies, crossbows, and battlefield slaughter. They trace the rise of Confucian ideas, the seven great states, and the brutal climb of Qin toward China’s first emperor To find out more about Andrew's new book To Rule All Under Heaven, head to his website: https://www.andrewsethmeyer.com/ MORE The Romans and China Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify The Terracotta Army: Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Presented by Tristan Hughes. The producer and audio editor is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff. All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds The Ancients is a History Hit podcast. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe .   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"How did ancient China plunge into 261 years of chaos, and how did that turmoil forge an empire? Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Andrew Seth Meyer to…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3585,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ancients-6975722/episodes/ancient-china-the-warring-states/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722/ancient-china-the-warring-states.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}