215: Being the Ricardos with Michael Karol
The 2021 Amazon Original Movie Being the Ricardos tells us the story behind the scenes of the husband/wife team behind I Love Lucy, Dezi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) and Lucille Ball (Nicole Kidman). To help us separate fact from fiction in the movie, we’ll learn from Michael Karol, author of the book Lucy A to Z: […]
212: Pearl Harbor with Marty Morgan
Released in 2001, Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor is often criticized as being entirely inaccurate as it attempts to tell the story of the surprise attack on December 7th, 1941 that led to the United States entering World War II. Today we’ll be joined by historian and author Marty Morgan to take a deep dive into […]
211: The X-Files with Rob Kristoffersen
The classic TV series The X-Files is fiction, but there are some true stories and UFO cases that inspired episodes of the series. To help us learn more about them, we’ll chat with UFO researcher and host of Our Strange Skies, Rob Kristoffersen. Listen to Our Strange Skies Raechel’s Eyes episode Rob mentions Did you […]
210: Dolemite Is My Name with Mark Jason Murray
Dolemite Is My Name is the 2019 biopic about Rudy Ray Moore, the comedian, singer, actor, and film producer who has often been given the nickname the “godfather of rap.” We’ll chat with Mark Jason Murray, who was the Research Consultant on the film and author of Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself: The […]
209: W.E. with Andrew Lownie
The movie’s title W.E. stands for Wallis and Edward. Was the movie correct to suggest King Edward VIII’s reason for abdicating the throne in 1936 was so he could marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson? We’ll chat with author Andrew Lownie about the true story to find out more. Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of […]
200: Worth with Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros
The 2020 movie Worth shows how Kenneth Feinberg (played by Michael Keaton) and Camille Biros (played by Amy Ryan) tackled the impossible task of determining the worth of life to help families affected by the September 11th attacks. Kenneth and Camille join us today to chat about what the movie got right, what it got […]
197: Frances with Jack El-Hai
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. The Lobotomist The Nazi and the Psychiatrist See all of Jack’s work Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based […]
189: Defiance with Roland Tec
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. Get Defiance the book Find Roland’s work Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True […]
187: Harriet with Dr. Kate Clifford Larson
Today we’ll hear from Dr. Larson, the historical consultant on the 2019 movie Harriet about the life of Harriet Tubman. Get Dr. Larson’s book Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through our links on this page. Did you enjoy this episode? Help support the next one! […]
186: 1492: Conquest of Paradise with Patrick Wyman
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. Get Patrick’s book Listen to Patrick’s podcast Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through […]
185: J. Edgar with Paul Letersky
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. Get Paul’s book Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through our […]