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Reel History

Welcome to Reel History! On this podcast we talk about historical movies and television shows, anything that claims to be based on a true story, and we check – how bad did they mess it up? What was life actually like during that time period? That’s why we’re here – to separate the real history from the Reel History!

Hosted by two Irish history buffs and a Swede who doesn’t know anything about history. Part of the Shows What You Know podcast network. Follow us @Reel_History and don’t forget to rate and review on Apple Podcasts!

Pirates of the Caribbean (2003) | Golden Age of Piracy (1650–1730)

Ahoy and welcome to the highly anticipated Season 4 premiere of Reel History! We’re back with another 10-episode season, releasing biweekly on Thursdays. Beyond our usual eps you’ll find bonus discussions delving deeper into these topics on the Reel History Patreon – thank you to our Patrons for bringing this season to life! Join now…

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Feed Drop: The Podcast About the Podcasts About Television

Hey history fans! My name is Jakob Burrows and, as you know, I don’t know anything about history, but I do know that production on Season 4 is in full swing and until it we’re able to launch it you’ll be able to find additional episodes at patreon.com/reelhistorypodcast where we’ve most recently been putting out…

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Reel History Season 3 Finale

** Visit PATREON.COM/REELHISTORYPODCAST for exclusive bonus podcasts between seasons *** Welcome to the finale of Season 3 of Reel History! In this episode we look back at our past season, answering listener questions and handing out the Mel Gibson Awards to the least historically accurate films. Michael and Jakob also face off in a historical…

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Apocalypse Now II | The Smell of Napalm (1955 – 1975)

Do you love the smell of napalm in the morning? It’s episode 9 of season 3 of Reel History and much like the Americans we have been bogged down in the dense jungles of Vietnam! Last episode Michael gave you a whistle-stop tour of Vietnamese history, leading all the way up to the period that…

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Apocalypse Now I | The Fall and Rise of Vietnam (111 BC – 1954)

This ain’t no USO show so hold on to your cavalry hat and jump onboard a Huey for episode 8 of Season 3 of Reel History! In a new departure, we’re delivering up our first double-barrelled episode in honour of Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam war masterpiece ‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979). There really was was just too…

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Wolfwalkers (2020) | Cromwellian Conquest (1649–1653)

Fáilte go dtí Reel History! We’re finally going local – this week we dive into the wild forests of Irish history with Wolfwalkers, our first Irish feature film and first animated film. Come along on a mythical romp thorugh oppressed Cromwellian Ireland and learn how puritanical Christianity clashed with Irish mythology and tradition! Wolfwalkers concludes…

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Vikings III | The End of the Viking Age (1066)

Oh, you want more Vikings? We’ve got more Vikings. In this third (and final) installment about the History Channel’s drama series Vikings, we’re talking about the main characters and their real-life counterparts… er… if they in fact existed. Join as we discuss the man, the myth, the legend – Ragnar Lodbrok! Was he a simple…

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Vikings II | A Timeline of the Viking Age (794 – 1065)

We’re halfway through season 3 of Reel History! This week we’re taking a deeper look at Vikings, using the TV show as a basis to explore the real history of the Viking age. In this second installment (out of three) we zoom through a rapid fire timeline, dropping in on key events that shaped the…

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Vikings I | Life During the Viking Age (793)

Today we start a trilogy; three episodes tackling the smash-hit historical drama Vikings! The show features historical (?) characters such as Ragnar Lothbrok, Rollo, the first ruler of Normandy, and the easily pronounced Hrafna-Flóki Vilgerðarson. These friendly travellers traipse across the entire Viking age so we thought we might do the same and take a…

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Alexander (2004) | The Great (323 BC)

It seemed so perfect. We had Oliver Stone, the filmmaker behind JFK & Nixon; the auteur director of Wall Street, Platoon and the Doors. We had a monstrous budget, a huge cast and locations from India to Morocco. We had one of history’s most interesting characters. We even had an excellent historical consultant on hand…

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