Episodes

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 the west of Java to the movie incorrectly titled Krakatoa, East of Java. It got the geography wrong in the title, but we'll find out how well it shows the eruption of Krakatoa from August 28...

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 that's shown in the 1985 biopic about her life called Sweet Dreams. For our third event, we'll learn about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius as it was shown in the movie Pompeii. Editor's note: The fi...

The Mummy (1999) is packed with supernatural powers, Hollywood magic, and...maybe some truth? After all, mummies were a real thing. We'll chat with acclaimed Egyptologist Dr. Aidan Dodson to find out how much of the movie is based in history. Where to start learning more of the true story Monarchs of the Nile Sethy I, King of Egypt: His Life and Afterlife More from Aidan's Lives and Afterlives series Nefertiti, Queen and Pharaoh of Egypt: Her Life and Afterlife The First Pharaohs: Their Lives ...

BOATS THIS WEEK (AUG 12-18,2024) — Today is the 81st anniversary of the conspiracy theory from the 1984 movie The Philadelphia Experiment. Or is it? Tune in to find out. After that, we'll move into the Shakespearean classic-turned-modern movie Macbeth (2015) because this Wednesday is the 984th anniversary (1040 CE) of King Duncan I of Scotland's death. This week also marks the 79th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day, so our third event will come from the HBO miniseries The Pacific. Until nex...

BOATS THIS WEEK (AUG 5-11,2024) — This week's events from historical movies starts with Monday's 719th anniversary (August 5th, 1305) of William Wallace's (Mel Gibson) capture shown in the movie 'Braveheart.' In the History Channel's dramatic miniseries "Hatfields & McCoys", we'll see how it portrays the feud between their two families turning to bloodshed for the first time on August 7th, 1882. It was also on August 7th, but in the year 1974, that Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) became th...

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 48th anniversary on Thursday this week, and we'll watch the racing movie starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl called Rush, because it was on August 1st, 1976, that Daniel Brühl's chara...

BOATS TODAY (JULY 24, 1969/2024) — Apollo 11 splashed down exactly 55 years ago, so today we'll wrap up our 3-part miniseries with the end of Apollo 11 mission. Need to catch up? Apollo 11 Launch: https://links.boatspodcast.com/333 Apollo 11 Lunar Landing: https://links.boatspodcast.com/334 Apollo 11 Splashdown: https://links.boatspodcast.com/336* Watch the Movie Movie: Find where First Man is streaming True Story: Watch historical coverage Apollo 11's splashdown Did you enjoy this episode? G...

Today we'll delve into Dick Cheney’s political rise in the Nixon and Ford administrations and his role in post-9/11 policies as they were shown in the 2018 political satire comedy-drama "Vice" from director Adam McKay. Get William's book How America Works . . . and Why It Doesn’t: A Brief Guide to the US Political System: https://links.boatspodcast.com/335book Did you enjoy this episode? Join the BOATS Discord community: https://links.boatspodcast.com/discord Find the transcript and full show...

BOATS THIS WEEK (JULY 22-28,2024) — Events from this week in history include Jeffrey Dahmer's confession on July 22nd, 1991. We'll learn how well Netflix's 2022 smash hit series Monster shows that happening. This week also marks the end of the Apollo 11 mission on July 24th, 1969, but we'll have a special minisode coming out on Wednesday for that, so today we'll back up a couple days to compare the movie First Man's depiction of the lunar landing from a couple days ago on July 20th, 1969. Our fi...

BOATS TODAY (JULY 16, 1969/2024) — We'll introduce the concept of BOATS Today while we learn about Apollo 11's launch sequence from today in history as it was shown in the movie Men in Black 3. Until next time, here's where you can continue the story. Mentioned in this episode Movie: Find where Men in Black is streaming True Story: Watch NASA's footage of Apollo 11's launch Did you enjoy this episode? Get the BOATS email newsletter Leave a comment Support our sponsors Unlock ad-free episodes ...

BOATS THIS WEEK (JULY 15-21,2024) — Events from this week in history include Napoleon’s surrender aboard HMS Bellerophon that happened on July 15th, 1815, and we'll learn how it was shown in the 2023 biopic. Then, we'll learn about the Apollo 11 miniseries that we’ll launch tomorrow on the exact anniversary of the launch from July 16th, 1969, before finishing up in the animated classic Anastasia for the murder of the Romanovs on July 17th, 1918. In the birthday segment, “Machine Gun” Kelly, Liz...

In this episode, we'll learn about historical events between July 8th and July 14th as they're shown in the movies. We'll also learn about birthdays from historical figures who have been portrayed in the movies, along with a recommendation for a movie that was released this week in history. Events from This Week in History Wednesday: The Battle of Britain Thursday: Hamilton Sunday: One Nation, One King Birthdays from This Week in History Wednesday: Nikola Tesla in Tesla | BOATS #201 Thursday...

In this episode, we'll learn about historical events between July 1st and July 7th as they're shown in the movies. We'll also learn about birthdays from historical figures who have been portrayed in the movies, along with a recommendation for a movie that was released this week in history. Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this into your browser: https://links.boatspodcast.com/330 Events from This Week in History Monday: The Trench Wednesday/Thursday: 1776 ...

The Starz TV series Black Sails is a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's famous novel "Treasure Island." It's a story filled with squashbuckling pirates who dare to wage war against self-described civilized nations. Are you ready to travel back to the Golden Age of Piracy? We'll be joined today by Colin Woodard, the acclaimed author of the New York Times bestseller The Republic of Pirates. Get Colin's book: The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates a...

In this episode, we'll learn about historical events between June 24th and June 30th as they're shown in the movies. We'll also learn about birthdays from historical figures who have been portrayed in the movies, along with a recommendation for a movie that was released this week in history. Events from This Week in History Tuesday: They Died with Their Boots On | BOATS #198 Friday: 37 Days Sunday: Gettysburg | BOATS #280 Birthdays from This Week in History Monday: General Kitchener | Young ...

In this episode, we'll learn about historical events between June 17th and June 23rd as they're shown in the movies. We'll also learn about birthdays from historical figures who have been portrayed in the movies, along with a recommendation for a movie that was released this week in history. Events from This Week in History Monday: Amelia Monday: All the President's Men | BOATS #122 Thursday: Lizzie Saturday: The Hobbit | BOATS LoTR Series Birthdays from This Week in History Wednesday: Lou G...

In this episode, we'll learn about historical events between June 10th and June 16th as they're shown in the movies. We'll also learn about birthdays from historical figures who have been portrayed in the movies as well as recommendations for a movie that was released this week in history. Events from This Week in History Wednesday: Loving | BOATS #76 Saturday: Waterloo | BOATS #174 Saturday: J. Edgar | BOATS #185 Birthdays from This Week in History Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank | BO...

On this, the anniversary of the Battle of Midway, we'll bring Jon Parshall back on the podcast to provide a historical commentary on the 1976 movie. Watch the video version here: https://links.boatspodcast.com/325 Get Jon's book: Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway: https://links.boatspodcast.com/325book Did you enjoy this episode? Find the transcript and full show notes: https://links.boatspodcast.com/325 Get the BOATS email newsletter: https://links.boatspodcast.com/ne...

In this episode, we'll learn about historical events between June 3rd and June 9th as they're shown in the movies. We'll also learn about birthdays from historical figures who have been portrayed in the movies as well as recommendations for a movie that was released this week in history. Events from This Week in History Tuesday: The Longest Day | BOATS #134 Thursday: The Longest Day | BOATS #134 Thursday: Saving Private Ryan | BOATS #159 Birthdays from This Week in History Nathan Hale in Tur...

Roland Emmerich's 2019 movie simply called "Midway" shows a lot more than the Battle of Midway. We'll be joined today by one of the historical consultants on the movie who is also the co-author of Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Get Jon's book: Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway: https://links.boatspodcast.com/323book Did you enjoy this episode? Find the transcript and full show notes: https://links.boatspodcast.com/323 Get the BOATS email ne...

In this episode, we'll learn about historical events between May 27th and June 2nd as they're shown in the movies. We'll also learn about birthdays from historical figures who have been portrayed in the movies as well as recommendations for a movie that was released this week in history. 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 Whitman in Beautiful Dreamers Brigh...

Historians weren't there, but that doesn't mean they don't know the true story about one of the most documented people in all of human history. Let's put Napoleon's new film to the test with Louis Sarkozy, historian and author of "Napoleon's Library." Join us as we dissect the movie's portrayal, separate fact from fiction, and uncover the real Napoleon. Get Louis' new book: Napoleon's Library: The Emperor, His Books and Their Influence on the Napoleonic Era https://links.boatspodcast.com/321bo...

In this episode, we'll learn about historical events between May 20th and May 26th as they're shown in the movies. We'll also learn about birthdays from historical figures who have been portrayed in the movies as well as recommendations for a movie that was released this week in history. Events from This Week in History The Spirit of St. Louis Amelia The Messenger Birthdays from This Week in History Monster | BOATS #217 Houdini & Doyle Victoria A Historical Movie Released This Week in Histo...

In this episode, we'll learn about historical events between May 13th and May 19th as they're shown in the movies. We'll also learn about birthdays from historical figures who have been portrayed in the movies as well as recommendations for a movie that was released this week in history. Events from This Week in History Darkest Hour | BOATS #299 The New World The Other Boleyn Girl | BOATS #92 Birthdays from This Week in History American Gangster Behind the Candelabra The Perfect Game Histo...