Podcast · 134 episodes

Fin vs History

by Fin Taylor & Horatio Gould · English

For people who like history but don't care what actually happened. Join comedians Fin Taylor and Horatio Gould as they guess/explain every event in human history, from Neanderthals to 9/11. Guaranteed to give you an entirely new and incorrect perspective on world events. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/fintaylor

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Latest episodes

Has There Ever Been A Better Advert For Anusol? | The Battle of Waterloo (9/10)The Battle of Waterloo (1815) and the lead-up to Napoleon’s “100 days,” focusing on coalition politics, the campaign in Belgium, and key tactical moments (Ligny, Quatre Bras, Hougoumont, the…28 Sep 2026 · 57 min

I Don’t Beef Wellington Someone Unless I Really Love Them | The Napoleonic Wars (Part 8/10)This episode (Napoleonic Wars Part 8/10) covers Napoleon’s retreat after the catastrophic Russian campaign, Wellington’s defensive strategy in the Peninsular War, the rise of the Sixth/“Trachenberg”…24 Sep 2026 · 1 h 2 min

Neigh Their Neighm | Napoleon Invades Russia (Part 7/10)Episode 7 (Part 7/10) of “Napoleon Invades Russia” covers Napoleon’s 1807 zenith after the Treaty of Tilsit, then the lead-up to and early stages of the 1812 invasion of Russia: the Battle of Eylau,…21 Sep 2026 · 58 min

All episodes

Napoleonic Warfare is Rock Paper Scissors | Austerlitz & The Peninsular War (Part 6/10)Napoleonic land warfare as “rock-paper-scissors” (cavalry, infantry, artillery), then the Ulm campaign and culminating in the Battle of Austerlitz (Dec 2, 1805), plus the Continental System and the…17 Sep 2026 · 1 h 1 min · 27 chapters

9/11 at 3 miles an hour | The Battle of Trafalgar (Part 5/10)Fin versus History (Part 5/10) covers Napoleon’s 1805 invasion ambitions leading to the Battle of Trafalgar, ending with Nelson’s tactics and death.14 Sep 2026 · 56 min · 29 chapters

We’re All Cucks, But Some Of Us Never Found the Right Chair | The Napoleonic Wars (Part 4/10)The episode covers Lord Nelson’s aftermath of the Battle of the Nile and his Mediterranean/Italian entanglements, especially his relationship with Emma Hamilton and the resulting scandal, then pivots…10 Sep 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 29 chapters

When Phone-Tapping Was Honourable | The Battle of The Nile (Part 3/10)The 1798 French expedition to Egypt and the British hunt that leads to the Battle of the Nile (Part 3/10), including Napoleon’s Egyptology ambitions, the French capture of Alexandria, the Battle of…7 Sep 2026 · 56 min · 28 chapters

A JackAss-ian Figure | Horatio Nelson (Part 2/10)Part 2 of a 10-part series on Horatio Nelson, framed as a “JackAss-ian” romantic hero: his early life, naval rise, repeated illnesses/injuries, and key battles that build his legend against the…3 Sep 2026 · 50 min · 15 chapters

History To Corner Women To | The Napoleonic Wars (Part 1/10)The podcast begins a 10-part series on the Napoleonic Wars, framing them as understandable “tactics like sport,” and setting up Napoleon’s rise from Corsican origins through early Revolutionary-era…31 Aug 2026 · 1 h 4 min · 36 chapters

Feminist Destroyed By Truth and Logic (and a Horse) | The Suffragettes (Part 2)This episode (Part 2 of The Suffragettes) covers the WSPU’s shift from campaigning to militant “outrages” and the resulting public backlash, culminating in Emily Wilding Davison’s 1913 Epsom Derby…27 Aug 2026 · 55 min · 21 chapters

Weaponised Girl Dinner | The Suffragettes (Part 1)The Edwardian campaign for women’s suffrage, focusing on early milestones and the WSPU’s shift to militant tactics (“deeds not words”), including hunger strikes and force-feeding, plus key opponents…24 Aug 2026 · 1 h 6 min · 31 chapters

A Beached Lager Whale | Henry VIII (Part 4/4)Part 4/4 of a Henry VIII series, focusing on his late-life illness (gout, extreme obesity, constipation), the downfall and execution of Catherine Howard, and Henry’s naval reforms culminating in the…20 Aug 2026 · 45 min · 17 chapters

The Jacamo King With a Food Bin For A Leg | Henry VIII (Part 3/4)Henry VIII’s worsening health after a horse fall, his extreme diet and “food bin” leg infection, the execution of Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour’s marriage and death, and Henry’s later marriage to Anne of…17 Aug 2026 · 54 min · 17 chapters

Anne Boleyn, Sexual Terrorist (with Jamie Hutchinson!) | Henry VIII (Part 2/4)Henry VIII’s break with Rome and the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn—driven by Henry’s desire for a male heir—plus the political/legal machinery that followed (Wolsey’s fall, Cromwell’s Reformation, the…13 Aug 2026 · 54 min · 23 chapters

England’s Own African Dictator | Henry VIII (Part 1/4)This episode (Part 1 of 4) launches a four-part series arguing that Henry VIII is England’s defining “tyrant,” shaping everything from Protestantism and the Royal Navy to “Euroscepticism” and English…10 Aug 2026 · 59 min · 27 chapters

Can You Separate The Fart From The Fartist? (With Bebe Cave) | Great Artists: PicassoThe hosts discuss whether you can separate “the art from the artist,” using Pablo Picasso as the case study, while also riffing on intimate, gross anecdotes (including a fart/smell incident) and how…6 Aug 2026 · 1 h 7 min · 33 chapters

An Upskirt Caricaturist | Great Artists: Van GoghThe episode is a banter-heavy discussion of Vincent van Gogh framed through the rise of Impressionism and what made it radical: rejecting photorealism and the Paris Salon’s traditional, bible-myth…3 Aug 2026 · 1 h · 31 chapters

The Hiroshima That Turned Vikings Into Latté-Papas | The Great Northern WarThe episode covers the Great Northern War (late 1690s–early 1720s), focusing on how Sweden’s King Charles XII and Russia’s Peter the Great collided, and how a coalition (Denmark-Norway, the…30 Jul 2026 · 59 min · 23 chapters

The Timeless Comedy of Baking Dwarves Into Pies | Peter The GreatThe episode is about Peter the Great’s childhood trauma and how it shaped his drive to “modernize” Russia, plus the violent power struggles that put him on the throne.27 Jul 2026 · 56 min · 28 chapters

Let the Rabbit See The Dog (with Ania Magliano!) | The History of Beauty Standards (Part 2)“The History of Beauty Standards (Part 2)”—a comedic, debate-style tour of how male beauty ideals shift from ancient to Victorian eras, plus how “male vs female” attraction is framed as vibes,…23 Jul 2026 · 1 h 6 min · 23 chapters

Big Botticelli Gyal (with Paddy Young!) | The History of Beauty Standards (Part 1)A comedic, history-of-beauty-standards “pendulum” from prehistoric ideals to ancient Greece/Rome, medieval Christianity, Islamic practices, East Asia (foot binding), Renaissance/Baroque, and…20 Jul 2026 · 1 h 8 min · 33 chapters

Brazilian Dignitas | The Berlin WallPart two of an East Germany series focused on the Berlin Wall—its construction (Operation Rose), major Cold War flashpoints (Checkpoint Charlie), escape attempts, and daily life under the GDR,…16 Jul 2026 · 59 min · 28 chapters

What You Do In Your Own Home Is All Of My Business | East Germany & The StasiEast Germany (GDR) after WWII—how the Allies split Germany, how the GDR formed in 1949, and how the Stasi built a surveillance state.13 Jul 2026 · 1 h 3 min · 33 chapters

Captain Tom, Garden Fox (with Pierre Novellie) | Monty vs Rommel (Part 4/4)Part 4/4 of “Monty vs Rommel,” covering the Allied pursuit after the Second Battle of El Alamein, the North Africa campaign culminating in Rommel’s retreat and surrender in Tunisia, then the shift to…9 Jul 2026 · 1 h 10 min · 29 chapters