Based on a True Story

<p>What really happened to Sir John Franklin’s doomed Arctic expedition, and how much of AMC’s <em>The Terror</em> is grounded in the historical record? Today we're joined by Rich Napolitano, host of <em>Shipwrecks and Sea Dogs</em>, to compare the TV series with the real story of HMS <em>Erebus</em> and HMS <em>Terror</em>, from the search for the Northwest Passage to the evidence historians have uncovered about the crew’s fate.</p><p><strong>Links</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://links.boa

<p>BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 385) —&nbsp;Have you ever wondered how much of <em>The Legend of Bagger Vance</em> is rooted in history? Steven Pressfield, author of the 1995 novel that inspired the 2000 film, joins Based on a True Story to unpack the story’s connections to the <em>Bhagavad Gita</em>, the real-life golfing legends Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, and the choices Hollywood made when bringing the book to the screen. They also explore Steven’s approach to writing historical fictio

<p>BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 384) — Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tells a tale of alternative history. In this episode, we'll separate the film’s fairy-tale storytelling from the real history behind the Manson murders, Sharon Tate, Bruce Lee, Steve McQueen, and the Hollywood of 1969.</p><p><a href="https://links.boatspodcast.com/384guest" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Listen to All the Right Movies</a></p><p>John's podcast breaks down the history of Hollywo

<p>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. From the Los Alamos we see in the movie to what we don't see in the movie such as Oak Ridge's massive factories, Hanford's plutonium production, and more that you don't ever see in the movie.</p><p><a href="https://links.boatspodcast.com/383guest" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Get Alice's book</a></p><p>Alice Lovejoy is the a

<p>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 <em>Oppenheimer</em>. Was the poisoned apple scene real? How well was the Trinity Test portrayed on screen? What does the movie leave out from Oppenheimer's life? If you've seen the movie and wondered what really happened, this episode is your guided tour through the history behind the film.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Chapt

<p>BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 381) — My love of history started with the legend of King Arthur. While there are many King Arthur movies to pick from, today we'll learn about the one that marketed itself as being more historically accurate than the others.</p><p><a href="https://links.boatspodcast.com/381guest" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dorsey Armstrong on The Great Courses Plus</a></p><p>Historian Dorsey Armstrong breaks down the historical accuracy of the 2004 film&nbsp;<e

<p>BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 380) — Today we dive into the 2013 film Captain Phillips directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks—and discover how much of Hollywood's version actually matches the true story of the Maersk Alabama hijacking. Trial attorney Brian Beckcom, who represented the crew of the container ship after the Somali pirate attack, shares accounts of what really happened during this dramatic rescue operation and reveals the major inaccuracies that made it to the scre

<p>BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 379) — Most movies focus on the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, but the true story of December 7th, 1941, involves a coordinated global offensive across the Pacific. In this episode, history professor Joshua Donohue returns to explore what the movies miss—including attacks on Wake Island, the Philippines, and military installations across Oahu that extended far beyond the harbor itself. From civilian casualties to pilot heroics to the international scope of J