It's been a long time coming, but it's finally here. Douglas and Hugh have finally decided to tackle those vicious, bloodthirsty Nordic warriors. But were they really vicious and bloodthirsty? Time to pillage truth from the village of myth.
We've also compiled a run down of the top ten most iconic vikings who ever lived. And some who probably didn't. What a treat. So pull up a longship, sup on your horns of mead and prepare yourself for sagas untold!
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a spoof comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
https://tinyurl.com/History4UInstagram
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
War! Europe is crumbling under attacks by the ruthless Kaiser Wilhelm. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere.
But whither, you may ask, is WINSTON CHURCHILL?
Well, that's what Douglas and Hugh reveal as they continue their informed and unbiased account of the man some believe to be BRITAIN'S GREATEST BRITISH PERSON.
This thrilling episode follows the political and military career of Winnie during the First World War. And what a tale it is. One of astonishing highs and catastrophic lows...
You'll also discover if there's ben any fallout between Hugh and his violent shed-dumping neighbour Mr Rasberry. So strap in.
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a spoof comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
https://tinyurl.com/History4UInstagram
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
Many consider Winston Churchill to be the greatest British human who ever lived. But was he, when it comes down to it, a massive bellend? Come with us brave time traveller, and join Douglas and Hugh on the first part of an epic journey as they debate the life, deeds, beliefs, politics and legacy of the man who helped shape the twentieth century. Also, Douglas has some very exciting news. Very exciting indeed...
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a spoof comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
In this episode, Douglas and Hugh take the Hyundai over to Italy where you'll meet the original Godfathers of crime, corruption, extortion, murder and much much more: The Medicis.
For centuries, this extravagant gangsta dynasty kept a vicelike grip over Italy -vice being the operative word. Experience their rise and fall, as well as the Humanist world in which they lived and died, better known as The Renaissance.
You'll also discover why chafing has forced Hugh to wear short shorts out of season and why Douglas has a real beef with his local florist.
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a spoof comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is:
Lights! Camera! Silence on the set! Tape rolling...3,2,1 ACTION!!
This episode follows the unique life of a true titan of cinema: the mighty Orson Welles. Join Douglas and Hugh as they explore this remarkable filmmaker, actor, wit, intellect, lover, bon vivant and consumer of many many pies. From the precocious cinematic genius that changed the medium, to the frustrated raconteur who became an extra large, we leave no stone unturned.
Discover how Welles convinced a nation that the martians were coming all over them, how he annoyed media mogul William Randolph Hearst and why Douglas never got over his childhood crush on a boy called Pickles...
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a spoof comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
Imagine a time when wealthy, privileged bullies controlled the minds of millions by making up stories to publish in their rotten newspapers. A time when rich old men married young aspiring Hollywood starlets and wild zebras roamed the hills of California....
STOP THE PRESS!! We're back! In the first episode of 2025, Douglas and Hugh present the rise and fall of the world's first notorious international media mogul, American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Discover how Hearst built his name during the final years of the nineteenth century, fought a bitter newspaper war with rival Joseph Pulitzer, and created a media empire so vast and powerful it would make even Rupert Murdoch soil himself more than he already does. WARNING: this episode contains poo.
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a spoof comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
As is now tradition (i.e. we did it once before, last year), here's a bonus Christmas present: five minutes of us failing to keep it together.
A MASSIVE THANK YOU to all of you who have listened to our silly little show throughout the year. We don't run ads, we don't make a penny on these shows, we do it for the love of history, sending up history and sending up those history podcast presenters a bit too keen on the sound of their own voices. You know who you are.
So wherever you are, we hope you're having a fabulous holiday and we'll be back in 2025 with more History for You. In the meantime, please like, share, subscribe and drop us a five star review as it helps other people find us...
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a spoof comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
Season's greetings! For our third and final Christmas compilation - and the last full-length episode of 2024 - Douglas and Hugh unwrap the gift of truth from under the Christmas tree of lies.
In this slice of historical Yule log, you'll discover the erotic side of XXXmas, the REAL reason we have a dying pine tree in the corner of our living room ever December, how Queen Victoria's bareknuckle prowess gave Boxing Day its name and the origins of that horrific festive tradition: panto. Warning. This episode contains nuts.
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a spoof comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
Season's greetings! Welcome to the second of our Holy Trinity of festive specials, where we take our collected Christmas mini episodes from the archive and smush them together into full-length episodes to get you through the Yuletide period.
In this episode Douglas and Hugh tuck in to the history of Christmas food and drink throughout the ages, the world's weirdest Christmas rituals, the truth behind the Nativity and iconic Victorian Christmas traditions.
You'll finally discover the real difference between a current and a raisin, why egg nog is actually called egg nog and why there was rabid anti Ewok sentiment during much of the nineteenth century. Enjoy!
------
History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
Last Christmas we gave you our hearts. We recorded twelve mini-episodes all about different aspects of the festive period - and they were incredible.
So this year, because we're both going on holiday (separately, you understand), Hugh has asked his nephew Gavin to cut these episodes together into a trio of full-length episodes for your ears. And this is the first.
In this episode, expect a staggeringly incisive analysis of Christmas carols, the Roman origins of Christmas and everything we know - and don't know - about the big man himself: Father Christmas (or Santa Claus if you're a colonial).
Enjoy!
TRIGGER WARNING: If you don't like Christmas, this episode WILL offend. But if you don't like Christmas, there's obviously something wrong with you.
------
History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
In 1851, Prince Albert, Royal Consort to Queen Victoria, held a magnificent celebration of his adopted homeland. Think Cool Britannia only less cocaine and more things stolen from other countries. To house this Great Exhibition, he had built an enormous Crystal Palace, a marvel of Victorian architecture and a shrine to Empire, excess and elephants.
Today, not a single shard of glass from this vast building remains. Why? What happened? And what exactly was inside its shimmering walls? Don't get upset. Douglas and Hugh are about to open the doors and lead you inside this enormous nineteenth century monument dedicated to a decadent past. And you don't even need a ticket...
TRIGGER WARNING: fans of hedgehogs might find a part of this episode disturbing.
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
https://tinyurl.com/History4UBlueSky
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
Grab your pickaxe, we're going digging! Let Douglas and Hugh take you back to Egypt, at once thousands of years, and then just over a century ago, as we expose the life of the most famous Egyptian king Tutankhamen - a life tragically cut short. We then flash forward to Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon uncovering King Tut's majestic tomb in the Valley of the Kings, which came with all the mod cons you expect from a royal burial chamber - and a terrible TERRIBLE curse. Or so they say...
Talking of dangerous mummies, Douglas also reveals what happened when he confronted that oik Shenkley about whether or not their parents had enjoyed an illicit affair. It's monstrously exciting.
------
History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
We're back for another Halloween special episode for the Spooky Season and Douglas and Hugh are delving into the mucky and grim history of witchcraft in Europe. Why were so many men so scared of women? Which King of England wrote arguably the definitive book on witches, warlocks, demons, goblins and imps? And what terrible secret has Douglas unearthed in his loft? All will be revealed if you lend us your ears...
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
This episode has divided Douglas and Hugh. The former believes it to be a Halloween special, the latter insists that it isn't. As ever, you be the judge!
Prepare for an unforgettable trip back to Tudor England as we guide you inside Hampton Court, arguably the most famous British royal palace that doesn't have an actual royal currently living in it.
We invite you to tiptoe nervously through its grand arches, mind-boggling maze, candlelit chapels, bustling kitchens and decadent chambers, you might just experience the odd ghostly apparition, mysterious sound and unexplained phenomenon. Listen. If you dare...
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
The term "genius" is banded around all too casually these days. Very few deserve the title. But this man definitely does. Artist. Anatomist. Engineer. Aviator. Gardener. There was nothing Leonardo da Vinci couldn't do. If he were alive today, he'd probably also be an excellent podcaster. But he isn't, so you're going to have to make do with Douglas and Hugh.
In this episode, we examine the world of Leonardo da Vinci. The Mona Lisa. The Last Supper. The helicopter. All singular creations, all from the same massive brain. Come join us as we probe into the life and works of one of the greatest ever-living humans. And talking of visionaries, you can also find out what happened when Hugh came back from the opticians with the wrong glasses. It doesn't end well.
------
History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
In this obscenely violent episode, Douglas and Hugh become a pair of American wise guys as they blow the lid off bootlegging on the streets of New York and Chicago during the 1920s and 30s. A time where crime most definitely DID pay. A time of Prohibition.
Discover how Al Capone rose through the ranks of street hoodlums to become the most notorious gangster who ever lived, how Hugh managed a forty a day smoking habit before he was twelve, why Douglas has cancelled al plans for an extension to his extension, and why that man fell off the roof of the village hall.
------
History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
We've all seen one. We've all been in one. Doulgas frequently crashes one. But who actually invented the car? And how the hell did we manage without them? From donkeys to horsepower, from Henry Ford's Model T to where all self-driving cars go to die, Douglas and Hugh take you on a crash course through the complete history of the car. So buckle up, it's a bumpy road ahead!
------
History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
As it's still the summer holidays, brace yourself. These are your captains speaking. Douglas and his co-pilot Hugh will now take your ears through the many thrilling attempts by humanity to take to the skies.
From trying to harness owls and heated air to the sheer misery of your average budget airline, strap yourself in for the flight of your life as we leave nothing behind in the terminal.
Oh and you'll never guess what Douglas found in the compost heap. The horror...the horror...
------
History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
She was the last Tudor monarch who ushered in a Golden Age for her country - without even needing to score any goals in a major international tournament. In fact, she was actually able to defeat the Spanish.
Join Douglas and Hugh as they unravel the extraordinary life of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Discover the plots on her life, the pretenders to her throne and whether or not she could be a convincing TV weather presenter. It's all here - and more - in another action-packed listener-requested episode of the greatest pod in the universe! You're very welcome.
------
History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
Adrian and James also write books:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
https://amzn.eu/d/0gk3Qiq
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
https://linktr.ee/stanleebook
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
In this episode of the BEST HISTORY PODCAST EVER MADE, Douglas and Hugh cross oceans to time to find you, and boldly become vampire hunters!
Join them as they dig up the myths and legends that gave rise to belief in vampires and the undead. They will debunk vampire lore (garlic, crucifixes, sunlight, holy water). They will also introduce the real life historical figure that inspired Irish novelist Bram Stoker to write Dracula: fifteenth century voivoide of Wallachia, Vlad Tepes, AKA Vlad the Impaler. National hero or bloodthirsty monster? You decide!
Continue, brave listener - if you dare - but consider this pod a warning to the curious: you will also discover what happened when Hugh overdid it at an all-you-can-eat buffet. The horror... the horror...
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History for You with Douglas and Hugh is a comedy podcast about history written, performed and produced by Adrian Mackinder and James Devonshire, with music by Mike Jones.
Let us know your thoughts and suggestions for future episodes.
Connect with us here:
https://tinyurl.com/History4UTwitter
https://tinyurl.com/History4UFacebook
Adrian and James are also published authors:
The Wonder 1: Blood Red
https://amzn.eu/d/0gk3Qiq
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World
https://linktr.ee/stanleebook
Death and the Victorians
https://linktr.ee/deathandthevictorians
Adrian is also a stand-up comedian and improvisor. Here he is: https://linktr.ee/AdrianMackinder
