383: The Manhattan Project in Oppenheimer with Alice Lovejoy
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 383) — Did the Oppenheimer movie get the Manhattan Project right? Today, we’ll dig into the film’s portrayal of the project. Learn More of the True Story Tales of Militant Chemistry by Alice Lovejoy Army Film and the Avant Garde Remapping Cold War Media Alice Lovejoy’s Website BOATS: […]
382: Oppenheimer
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 382) — Join me in this throwback style BOATS episode without any guests. It’ll just be you and I learning about the true story behind 2023’s Oppenheimer. Learn More of the True Story Tales of Militant Chemistry by Alice Lovejoy American Prometheus Oppenheimer Official Screenplay 109 East Palace: […]
378: Nuremberg with Jack El-Hai
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 378) — Discover the historical accuracy behind the 2025 film “Nuremberg” which is adapted from Jack El-Hai’s book “The Nazi and the Psychiatrist.” Learn about the real Dr. Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek) and his complex relationship with Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe) during the historic Nuremberg trials. What did […]
376: Project Blue Book
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 376) — This special three-in-one episode is a thorough exploration of the true story behind the U.S. government’s top secret program investigating UFOs called Project Blue Book. In 2019, the History Channel released a dramatized version of Project Blue Book’s reports starring Aidan Gillen as Dr. J. Allen […]
375: Donald Rumsfeld in the Movies with William Cooper
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 375) — Donald Rumsfeld served as the U.S. Secretary of Defense twice in his career, including during the 9/11 attacks. Today, we’ll learn how the movies “Vice”, “W.” bring a fictional portrayal of Rumsfeld. We’ll also look into the accuracy of the documentary “The Unknown Known” which interviews […]
368: Behind the True Story: Not a Real Enemy with Robert Wolf
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 368) — Go behind the true stories shown in Holocaust movies through the experiences of Robert Wolf’s family. Since we’ll be talking about the Holocaust, listener discretion is advised. Get Robert’s Book Not a Real Enemy Find Robert on Social robertjwolfmd.com Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a […]
358: Thirteen Days with Joshua Donohue
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 358) — In 2000’s Thirteen Days, we see a lot of the behind-the-scenes discussions and decisions that took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October of 1962. To help us separate fact from fiction, we’ll get to hear from Joshua Donohue, who is the Adjunct Professor of […]
352: This Week: Napoleon, Thirteen Days, The Patriot, The Last Duel
BOATS THIS WEEK (OCT 14-20, 2024) — This Wednesday is the anniversary of Marie Antoinette’s execution in 1793 that we saw inn the opening sequence of Ridley Scott’s Napoleon (2023). After that, we’ll travel exactly 169 years from 1793 to 1962, because Wednesday is also depicted in Thirteen Days (2000) as it’s showing the start […]
351: This Week: Che!, Eight Men Out, 1492, Captain Phillips
BOATS THIS WEEK (OCT 7-13, 2024) — 57 years ago tomorrow, Che Guevara was captured in Bolivia. Then, two years later, Omar Sharif portrayed him in the movie version of Che’s story that we’ll compare to the true story of this week’s event. Then, we’ll shift to Eight Men Out because as baseball season comes […]
346: This Week: 300: Rise of an Empire, United 93, A Star-Spangled Story, The Exorcism of Emily Rose
BOATS THIS WEEK (SEP 9-15, 2024) — Tuesday this week marks the anniversary of the Battle of Marathon, which we see in the movie 300: Rise of an Empire. Then, of course, we’ll be looking at this week’s anniversary of the 9/11 attacks from the movie United 93. For our third historical event, we’ll learn […]
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 […]