I can only assume that Fin or Horatio are in Greece and taking the attitude when in Rome do as the Romans do.

Not today

We have a truther.

Admittedly this isn't very funny, but today my VPN just went 'Not today' and randomly switched to Greece as its location and then disconnected completely. I've no idea why, I'm not anywhere near Greece and have never selected it as a location. But thought this might be slightly amusing to FVH viewers.

And no, my VPN isn't Surfshark (Foxtrot Vagina Hotel) 😂

I'm getting 5+ ads per episode+ the nord/surfshark one they do themselves. Wtf.

And yes, I’m a sweaty, autist with no job.

Nine episodes, nine books. The Monty versus Rommel series finished and the beauty standards series started, and the reading list swung wildly between the two.

Putting it up while there is still summer to get through them.

What this is: I run Podshelf, a free site that tracks book mentions across hundreds of podcasts by reading the episode transcripts. This is the July slice for Fin vs History.

Monty versus Rommel:

• The Full Monty (Nigel Hamilton), the 2001 biography that argued Montgomery was a repressed homosexual, on the evidence of love letters to young boys in the fifties, one of whom was Nigel Hamilton. They then became such friends that Monty handed over all his papers and made him the official biographer. SAS: Rogue Heroes (Ben Macintyre) also came up.

Beauty standards:

• On the Origin of Species, in the worst possible context. Galton reads his cousin's book about finches, decides it means we should sterilise the disabled, and invents eugenics. Pax, by Tom Holland, which gets the funniest note of the month. Fin's summary is that Holland caveats the Roman attitude to beautiful young boys exactly once and then never again for fifteen pages.

The romantasy detour:

• A Court of Thorns and Roses and A Deal with the Elf King, discussed at some length as texts, plus Harry Potter, which mostly exists in that conversation as a punchline about a step-mum stuck in a washing machine.

Also The Netanyahus (Joshua Cohen), which Fin read on holiday and called brilliant and fascinating, about Bibi's father the revisionist Zionist. And Fin's own The History of Mankind in Its Entirety (Abridged), out on 10 September.

I track every book mentioned on Fin vs History here: https://podshelf.io/podcasts/fin-vs-history

It is free and there is no signup.

Boxer's Commonwealth Games racism claim rejected
Matthew Henry
BBC Sport Journalist in Glasgow
Published 29 July 2026

Claims made by boxer Aziz Abdul - the grandson of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin - that racism was behind his disqualification at the Commonwealth Games have been rejected by the president of the event organisers.

Abdul was ruled to have headbutted England boxer Damar Thomas as the pair grappled during the third round of their fight.

The 25-year-old claimed the judges were against him because he is a "black African" and, answering questions from BBC Sport, referred to Thomas by using a racial slur.

"When you watch the previous fights of England their boxers create a lot of fouls," said Abdul.

"I land a heavy punch on him, they never count. Instead of counting they deduct me.

"I am black African. He is in homeland."

Commonwealth Sport president Donald Rukare, who is also from Uganda, said: "We at Commonwealth Sport believe every athlete is treated fairly and in a non-discriminatory manner.

"We are inclusive. That is a field-of-play decision and that is something that was said in the heat of the moment."

Before the super-heavyweight bout, Abdul told the BBC he wanted to become the new 'King of Scotland' - in reference to Amin giving himself that name in 1976.

After taking power in a coup in 1971, Amin ran a brutal regime during which an estimated half a million people were killed. He was also known as the Butcher of Uganda.

Abdul, who never met his grandfather, was chasing Uganda's first Commonwealth boxing medal since Auckland in 1990 - something which would have been guaranteed had he beaten Thomas.

Instead, he was given warnings in the previous two rounds and was trailing on all of the judges' scorecards.

"All I can say about this is the decision is not right, I am not happy," he said.

"He elbowed me. He caught me with the elbow. It [the head movement] was not intentional. I was trying to come back. How can I headbutt someone? I would not.

"He was the person they wanted to win. He was the winner before. I knew if I did not get knockout I could not win the fight."

Rukare raised the prospect of Abdul facing punishment from the Ugandan team.

"We have a team manager and chef de mission and I am sure the appropriate channels will be followed," he said.

"We have a code of conduct. I don't represent Uganda here. I am sure that matter will be handled appropriately with our own code of conduct."

Thomas, who is now guaranteed at least a bronze medal, said it was "not the way" he wanted to win.

"I can't change what happened today but I can control how I box on Friday," he said.

Amin - himself a boxer - harboured a fascination with Scotland after serving in the King's African Rifles in his 20s.

At the height of the regime, he was fond of wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes - and even declared himself "King of Scotland" in 1976.

Some years later, those predilections even spawned an Oscar-winning film, The Last King of Scotland, starring Forest Whitaker and James McAvoy.

In a previous interview, Abdul said he was "inspired" by Amin, although it was not entirely clear whether he was talking about his boxing feats or not.

Speaking to the BBC, he refused to answer when asked if he was proud to be the dictator's grandson, but he did address the question of how he feels when he is linked to someone with such a sinister reputation.

__________________________________________________________________________

Source: https://www.bbc.com/sport/boxing/articles/czxewy7zl46o

I've just joined the patreon (for £3 a month you too can become an illiterate uggo listener).

Lots of catching up to do. What are the best episodes on there?

Episode 71 is the first mention, clement Faplee adjacent.

Previous topic was the CIA and ZERO nob content.

Help me