224: This Week: El Chapo, La Révolution française, Zulu

For the week between January 16th to January 22nd, we’ll be learning about historical events that were depicted in El Chapo, La Révolution française and Zulu. Did you enjoy this episode? Help support the next one! Buy me a coffee Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases […]

223: This Week: Roman Empire, Walk the Line, Sully

For the week between January 9th to January 15th, we’ll be learning about historical events that were depicted in Netflix’s Roman Empire, Walk the Line and Sully. Did you enjoy this episode? Help support the next one! Buy me a coffee Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying […]

221: Spartacus with Barry Strauss

Today we’re learning about the 1960 movie Spartacus that was directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier and Jean Simmons. We’ll learn about the real history from Barry Strauss, author of The Spartacus War, an authoritative account of the true story. Get The Spartacus War Did you enjoy this episode? Help support […]

219: History Daily Presents The Signing of the World War One Armistice

Today we’ll learn about the World War One armistice from our friends at the History Daily podcast. Listen to History Daily Did you enjoy this episode? Help support the next one! Buy me a coffee Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases through our links on this […]

218: All Quiet on the Western Front with Dr. Christopher Warren

All Quiet on the Western Front has been adapted to the screen multiple times since World War I veteran Erich Maria Remarque published his novel of the same name in 1929. Today we’ll learn about the newest adaptation that was released on Netflix on October 28, 2022. Helping us separate fact from fiction in the movie […]

216: Pirates of the Caribbean with Colin Woodard

Disney has released five movies in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, and while they’re clearly fictional movies they pull from and have influenced our views of what the real pirates of history were like. New York Times Bestselling and Pulitzer Prize Finalist author Colin Woodard has a fantastic book called The Republic of Pirates […]

212: Pearl Harbor with Marty Morgan

Pearl Harbor

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 […]

208: Zero Dark Thirty with Peter Bergen

Zero Dark Thirty shows the decade-long search for Osama bin Laden. Peter Bergen is the author of The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden and he joins us today to dig into the true story behind the movie. The Rise and Fall of Osama bin Laden Manhunt Peter’s website Did you enjoy this episode? […]

204: Dunkirk with Joshua Levine

Operation Dynamo, also known as the Miracle at Dunkirk, was an event that many believe kept Britain in World War II before the United States even joined the fight as it took place between May 26 – June 4, 1940. Today we’ll be chatting with Joshua Levine, who was the historical consultant on the 2017 […]

203: The Conqueror with Ryan Uytdewilligen

Today we’ll be talking about the 1956 movie The Conqueror with author Ryan Uytdewilligen. Killing John Wayne: The Making of the Conqueror Find Ryan’s other books Did you enjoy this episode? Help support the next one! Buy me a coffee Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based on a True Story may earn commissions from qualifying purchases […]

199: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter with Dr. Brian Dirck

Dr. Brian Dirck is a Professor of History at Anderson University and author of multiple books on President Lincoln. He joins us today to chat about the real history behind the fantasy/horror movie Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The Black Heavens: Abraham Lincoln and Death Lincoln and the Constitution Lincoln the Lawyer Disclaimer: Dan LeFebvre and/or Based […]