365: Black Hawk Down with Joshua Donohue

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 365) — Discover the behind-the-scenes story of Black Hawk Down, as historian Josh Donohue shares insights on the chaotic 1993 mission in Mogadishu. Learn what truly happened versus what Hollywood depicted. Follow Josh on YouTube The Freelance Historian on YouTube Also mentioned in this episode Heroic Fight for […]

364: The Bridge on the River Kwai with Jon Parshall

The Bridge on the River Kwai with Jon Parshall

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 364) — Acclaimed historian Jon Parshall separates fact from fiction in the classic film “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and the brutal realities of the Thai-Burma Railway during World War II, also known as the Death Railway. We’ll contrast the film’s fictional Colonel Nicholson with his real-life […]

355: Tora! Tora! Tora! with Jon Parshall

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 355) — Today is the 83rd anniversary of the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor that was depicted in the 1970 movie Tora! Tora! Tora! Often praised for its accuracy, Tora! Tora! Tora! has also perpetrated some myths about what really happened. To help us separate fact from fiction, […]

345: Today: The Great Fire and the Extinguishment of the Great Fire of London

BOATS TODAY (SEPT 5, 2024) — After four days of fighting the flames, the Great Fire of London was finally extinguished on this day in 1666 so today we’ll learn more about how the events from exactly 358 years ago today were shown in the TV miniseries called The Great Fire. Until next time, here’s […]

342: This Week: Saving Mr Banks, Krakatoa East of Java, From Hell

BOATS THIS WEEK (AUG 26-SEPT 1, 2024) — Tomorrow marks the 60th anniversary of Disney’s Mary Poppins premiered, and that event is shown in the 2013 movie called Saving Mr. Banks about the making of Mary Poppins. If that’s too confusing, give the episode a listen to unravel it all. From there, we’ll travel to […]

341: This Week: The Crucible, Sweet Dreams, Pompeii

BOATS THIS WEEK (AUG 19-25,2024) — Historical events from the movies start with The Crucible and how it depicts the Salem witch trials from this week in 1692. Then, we’ll learn a bit about Patsy Cline’s hit song “Crazy” because it was this week in 1961 that she started recording it in the studio, and […]

337: This Week: USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, Rush, Patton

BOATS THIS WEEK (JUL 29-AUG 4,2024) — There were two major disaster this week in history. The first we’ll learn about is an event many consider the worst shark attack in history, which began on July 30th, 1945, and is shown in the movie USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage.  Our next historical disaster marks its […]

322: This Week: Sink the Bismark, Harriet, Watchmen

In this episode, we’ll learn about historical events that happened this week in history as they were depicted in these movies: Sink the Bismark, Harriet, and Watchmen. Events from This Week in History Monday: Sink the Bismark or watch it on YouTube Saturday: Harriet | BOATS #187 Saturday: Watchmen Birthdays from This Week in History Walt […]

318: This Week: The Hindenburg, Band of Brothers, Operation Finale

In this episode, we’ll learn about historical events that happened this week in history as they were depicted in these movies: The Hindenburg, Band of Brothers, and Operation Finale. Events from This Week in History The Hindenburg | BOATS #91 Band of Brothers | BOATS Miniseries Operation Finale | BOATS #162   Birthdays from This Week […]