Episodes

Today we'll be learning about George Armstrong Custer as he was depicted in the classic 1941 film They Died with Their Boots On. To help us separate fact from fiction in the movie, we’ll be chatting with Professor Gregory J. W. Urwin from Temple University. Gregory is a military historian and author of Custer Victorious: The Civil War Battles of General George Armstrong Custer. Learn more about the true story Get your copy of Gregory's book: https://links.boatspodcast.com/198book Find Gregory...

The 1982 movie Frances tells the story of Hollywood actress Frances Farmer and how her struggles with mental health issues affected her career. We'll be joined by writer and author Jack El-Hai to learn about the film's historical accuracy. Learn more about the true story with Jack's books The Lobotomist: A Maverick Medical Genius and His Tragic Quest to Rid the World of Mental Illness: https://links.boatspodcast.com/197book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist: Hermann Göring, Dr. Douglas M. Kelley,...

Moneyball tells the story of sabermetrics and the Oakland Athletics' 2002 season and joining us to separate fact from fiction is attorney Will Cooper, who worked in the A's clubhouse during the timeline of the movie. Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/1fdcc2b4-4204-4a10-b326-791a36f33b93 Find the transcript and full show notes: https://links.boatspodcast.com/196 Support our sponsors: https://links.boatspodcast.com/advertisers Remove the ads by supporting the ...

Historian and author John Neal Phillips joins the show to chat about the historical accuracy of the 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde. Learn more about the true story with John's books Running With Bonnie and Clyde: The Fast Yen Years of Ralph Fults: https://links.boatspodcast.com/195running My Life with Bonnie and Clyde: https://links.boatspodcast.com/195mylife Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/d826124a-0353-4d19-af91-8fed0f1d5714 Find the transcript and full ...

Today we'll be chatting with the Creator and Showrunner of the History Channel's Project Blue Book about what it takes to create a TV show that is inspired by true events. Sign the Save Blue Book Petition Learn more about the campaign to save Season 3 of Project Blue Book on http://savebluebook.com Sign the official petition at http://change.org/savebluebook. Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/1158c2d8-9fec-41e7-9e4e-77a84bb5d53c Find the transcript and ful...

Steven Naifeh is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who has a new book out called Van Gogh and the Artists He Loved. He'll be joining us today to learn about the 2018 movie At Eternity's Gate. Learn more about the true story with Steven's books Van Gogh and the Artists He Loved: https://links.boatspodcast.com/193book Van Gogh: A Life: https://links.boatspodcast.com/193vangogh Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/ce9bb205-5dbc-49fb-b0d3-982650ec6cf4 Find the tra...

Our three-part series covering HBO's The Pacific wraps up today with the last three episodes. Episodes we're covering today: 8. Iwo Jima 9. Okinawa 10. Home Learn more about Marty's work D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion: https://links.boatspodcast.com/192ddayphoto Down to Earth: The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Normandy: https://links.boatspodcast.com/192the507th Watch Marty on What on Earth? https://links.boatspodcast.com/192whatonearth Find Strange Evidence...

We're continuing our look at the HBO miniseries The Pacific by looking at the three episodes that cover Peleliu. Episodes we're covering today: 5. Peleliu Landing 6. Peleliu Airfield 7. Peleliu Hills Learn more about Marty's work D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion: https://links.boatspodcast.com/191ddayphoto Down to Earth: The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Normandy: https://links.boatspodcast.com/191the507th Get Call of Duty Vanguard: https://links.boatspodcast....

Today we're kicking off a three-part series on the HBO miniseries The Pacific by looking at the first four episodes. Episodes we're covering today: 1. Guadalcanal/Leckie 2. Basilone 3. Melbourne 4. Gloucester/Pavuvu/Banika Learn more about Marty's work D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion: https://links.boatspodcast.com/190ddayphoto Down to Earth: The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Normandy: https://links.boatspodcast.com/190the507th Get Call of Duty Vanguard: htt...

Roland Tec's mother, Nechama, wrote the book that 2008's Defiance was based on. He was also a co-producer on the movie, so we'll get to hear some stories from the set as well as the historical accuracy of the movie. Learn more about the true story Get Nechama Tec's book the movie was based on: https://links.boatspodcast.com/189book Find Roland's work: https://links.boatspodcast.com/189guest Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/b7b4f1f7-4e0f-4450-9462-572c3b3...

The Marquis de Lafayette is a historical figure who has been largely left out of the cultural spotlight. So, instead of looking at a single movie, we'll instead look at a few different depictions of Lafayette with podcaster, historian and author Mike Duncan. Learn more about the true story Get Mike's book about Lafayette: https://links.boatspodcast.com/188book Follow Mike's podcast Revolutions: https://links.boatspodcast.com/188guest Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas...

Today we'll hear from Dr. Larson, the historical consultant on the 2019 movie Harriet about the life of Harriet Tubman. Learn more about the true story Get Dr. Larson's book Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero: https://links.boatspodcast.com/187book Find more of Dr. Larson's work: https://links.boatspodcast.com/187guest Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/731babde-794a-4d75-9826-98287dde371b Find the transcript and full ...

Patrick Wyman is a historian, host of the Tides of History podcast and author of The Verge. He joins us today to dive into the historical accuracy of Ridley Scott's 1992 movie 1492. Learn more about Marty's work Get Patrick's book, The Verge: https://links.boatspodcast.com/186book Listen to Patrick's podcast, Tides of History: https://links.boatspodcast.com/186guest Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/94fa2ea7-2005-412a-8bf8-02b8fcd70676 Find the transcript ...

The 2011 biopic from Clint Eastwood offers a look into the life of J. Edgar Hoover. Today we'll be talking to author and former FBI agent Paul Letersky, who was Hoover's assistant in the FBI. Learn more about the true story Get Paul's book The Director: My Years Assisting J. Edgar Hoover: https://links.boatspodcast.com/185book Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/e6a424d9-c529-453d-9e42-86e62f123dc2 Find the transcript and full show notes: https://links.boatsp...

We're wrapping our series on Band of Brothers today as we look as the last three episodes of the HBO miniseries. Episodes we're covering today: 8. The Last Patrol 9. Why We Fight 10. Points Learn more about Marty's work D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion: https://links.boatspodcast.com/184ddayphoto Down to Earth: The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Normandy: https://links.boatspodcast.com/184the507th Watch Marty on What on Earth? https://links.boatspodcast.com/184...

Today we're continuing our look at the historical accuracy of Band of Brothers as we cover episodes six and seven while Easy Company is in Bastogne. We'll wrap up the series in our next episode of Based on a True Story. Episodes we're covering today: 6. Bastogne 7. The Breaking Point Learn more about Marty's work D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion: https://links.boatspodcast.com/183ddayphoto Down to Earth: The 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Normandy: https://links...

June 6th, 2021 is the 77th anniversary of D-Day. This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers. So, today we'll kick off a 3-part miniseries of our own where we cover Band of Brothers with World War II historian and author Marty Morgan. Episodes we're covering today: 1. Currahee 2. Day of Days 3. Carentan 4. Replacements 5. Crossroads Learn more about Marty's work D-Day: A Photographic History of the Normandy Invasion: https://links.boatspodcast.com/182...

Today we'll learn about the historical accuracy of 2003's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Helping us separate fact from fiction is Gordon Laco, who was the Lead Technical Advisor and Historical Consultant for the movie. Learn more about Gordon's work: https://links.boatspodcast.com/181guest Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/dddda3a6-a986-4dc7-b8fb-f05413186bdb Find the transcript and full show notes: https://links.boatspodcast.com/181 Suppo...

In 2003's The Last Samurai we learn the story of Captain Nathan Algren, an American soldier who travels to Japan to train the early Imperial Japanese Army to fight off a rebellion against the Emperor. How much of it actually happened? That's what we'll look at in this episode. Dr. Brian Dirck joins us again to separate fact from fiction in the film. Dr. Dirck is a Professor of History at Anderson University. Learn more about the true story with Brian's books The Black Heavens: Abraham Lincoln ...

In Christianity, Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Today we're going to learn about the depiction of that event on screen as we saw in 2004's The Passion of The Christ. To help us learn more, we'll be joined by the Professor of New Testament and Archaeology at Covenant Theological Seminary, Dr. David Chapman. Learn more about the true story with David's books The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus: Ancient Texts and Modern Commentary: https://links.boatspodcast.com/179book ...

On this episode of Based on a True Story, we'll learn from the research consultant on The Highwaymen about the historical accuracy of the film. John Neal Phillips is a historian and author of Running With Bonnie and Clyde: The Fast Yen Years of Ralph Fults and editor of Blanche Barrow's memoir, My Life with Bonnie and Clyde. Learn more about the true story with John's books Running with Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years of Ralph Fults: https://links.boatspodcast.com/178book My Life with Bo...

We're going back to 1977 and Ridley Scott's feature film directorial debut, The Duellists. The movie tells the tale of two soldiers in Napoleon's army who duel with each other for over a decade. Historian and professor at Louisiana State University, Alexander Mikaberidze, returns to help us separate fact from fiction in the movie. Learn more about the true story with Alexander's books The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History: https://links.boatspodcast.com/177globalhistory The Battle of the Bere...

Released in 2020, Greyhound was written by Tom Hanks, who also starred in the lead role. The movie was based on a novel by C.S. Forester called The Good Shepherd. Today, we'll be joined by the Naval Consultant on the film, Gordon Laco, to discuss its historical accuracy. Learn more about Gordon's work Find Gordon on the web: https://links.boatspodcast.com/176guest Did you enjoy this episode? Leave a comment: https://galas.fm/episode/b9127e55-9d9c-4eef-a655-bce565013295 Find the transcript and...

2010's The Conspirator tells the story of Mary Surratt and her alleged involvement in Lincoln's assassination. Dr. Brian Dirck joins us again to separate fact from fiction in the film. Dr. Dirck is a Professor of History at Anderson University and author of multiple books on President Lincoln, including Lincoln and the Constitution, The Black Heavens: Abraham Lincoln and Death and Lincoln the Lawyer. Learn more about the true story with Brian's books The Black Heavens: Abraham Lincoln and Deat...