What to Watch | History in Movies Part IV

What to Watch | History in Movies Part IV

"Based on a true story." "Inspired by actual events." "The following actually happened."


These five words might be Hollywood's greatest magic trick, transforming entertainment into education, fiction into fact, and Brad Pitt's abs into ancient Greek warfare. More Americans learn their history from movies than from any other source. Think about that for a moment. Our understanding of the past - of who we were, what we've done, and where we're going - can be shaped more by screenwriters than scholars, more by CGI than citations.


So what happens when Hollywood gets it wrong? When the decade-long siege of Troy gets compressed into a long weekend? When a president's decision to invade Iraq gets reduced to daddy issues?


And yet - what about when they get it right? When a film captures not just the facts but the feeling of a moment? When Colin Firth's king reminds us that history turns on personal struggles as much as grand strategies? When Spielberg refuses to look away from humanity's darkest hour and finds light anyway?


Join Jon, Dan, and Joe as they wade through Hollywood's version of history - celebrating the films that honor the past and calling out the ones that butcher it for a buck. From newsrooms to royal courts, from Warsaw ghettos to Trojan beaches, we're asking the question that matters: in an age where movies are our history teachers, what exactly are we teaching ourselves? And more importantly - who gets to decide what's worth remembering?

Episoder(477)

Pop Quiz | Crashes, Recoveries, and the Welfare State

Pop Quiz | Crashes, Recoveries, and the Welfare State

It's time for a Pop Quiz! Join us as Joe and I compare the Great Depression to the COVID-19 lockdowns, how the country recovered from each, and the role of the welfare state in modern America.

21 Nov 20247min

Espionage | Kim Philby and The Cambridge Five

Espionage | Kim Philby and The Cambridge Five

Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross—passed almost 17,000 classified documents to the Soviet Union for 30+ years. The information was so extensive and the volume...

18 Nov 202417min

Pop Quiz | The Printing Press and the Internet

Pop Quiz | The Printing Press and the Internet

It's time for a Pop Quiz! Join us as Joe and I discuss the marvels of the printed word and the "skills gap" that seemed to happen during the Internet revolution.

14 Nov 20247min

The Diadochi Successors | A Discussion

The Diadochi Successors | A Discussion

Join us as we discuss the ideas of unity and disunity among the Diadochi successors and the relative merits and detriments of cultural blending.

11 Nov 202445min

Pop Quiz | The 2024 Election

Pop Quiz | The 2024 Election

It's time for a Pop Quiz! Joe and I take some time to discuss the results of the 2024 presidential election in the United States and some long-term implications for the two parties.

7 Nov 202421min

Unity and Disunity | The Diadochi Successors

Unity and Disunity | The Diadochi Successors

Hubris, an excessive pride in oneself, is a common trait among history's greatest figures. In the decades that followed the death of Alexander the Great, the Diadochi "successors" fought each other fo...

4 Nov 202417min

Pop Quiz | A Second Look at Historical Figures

Pop Quiz | A Second Look at Historical Figures

It's time for a pop quiz! Every Thursday, one of the hosts will ask the other a question about history they must answer. Have an idea for a topic? Send it to us at 15minutehistory@gmail.com or submit ...

31 Okt 20245min

The Roman Empire | A Discussion

The Roman Empire | A Discussion

Join us as we discuss six Roman emperors, highlighting how they either helped the empire grow through innovation and scalability, or through corruption and greed, contributed to its downfall.

28 Okt 202435min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
med-egne-oyne
historier-som-endret-norge
rss-benadet
henrettelsespodden
historier-som-endret-verden
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
aftenposten-historie
sektledere
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
rss-frontkjemperne
rss-bisarr-historie
rss-katastrofe
taakeprat
liberal-halvtime
historiepodden
vare-historier
rss-politisk-preik
rss-historiepodden-ww2
rss-historiske-romanser-svik-drap-og-kjarlighet