Reel History
by Shows What You Know
Welcome to Reel History! On this podcast we talk about historical movies and TV, 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 Swedish guy who doesn’t know anything about history. Part of the Shows What You Know network; find all our podcasts at ShowsWhatYouKnow.com. Cover art by Kim Boland. Follow us @Reel_History and don’t forget to rate and review!
Episodes
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Life of Brian (1979) | Jesus Christ (33 CE) – 2/2
Welcome back to the messiah mill! This week, we are tackling a nice, easy, totally non controversial topic: the historical Jesus. Simple, right? What could possibly go wrong? We are peeling back two millennia of church doctrine, fan art, and bad translations to look at what the early sources...
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Life of Brian (1979) | ROMANI ITE DOMUM (1 CE) – 1/2
Is he the Messiah, or is he just a very naughty boy? This week, the lads dive headfirst into Monty Python’s 1979 masterpiece, Life of Brian. Does the satire still hold up over forty years later? Is it the towering work of comedic genius the Pythons claim, or is it just an excuse to write... The...
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The Odyssey (2026) | Bronze Age Collapse (1200 BCE)
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey has finally arrived and we’ve got a lot to say about it. We start with the film itself — what works, what doesn’t, and how this new adaptation compares with Homer’s epic poem. Then we get into the good stuff, like how a simple concept like hospitality helped spread...
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Marie Antoinette (2006) | Vive la Révolution (1789) – 2/2
(This is part two of a double episode – listen to part one here. We also just released our Guillotine Special bonus episode at patreon.com/reelhistorypodcast Join for as little as 2.5 EUR and get access to dozens of bonus eps!) The powdered parties are over, the pastry crumbs swept aside, and the...
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Marie Antoinette (2006) | Versailles Vibes (1770) – 1/2
(This is part one of a two-part episode. Join patreon.com/reelhistorypodcast to support the show and access part two immediately!) Powder your wig, lace-up your corset and try not to lose your head as we cordially invite you to dine at Versailles and feast on Sofia Coppola ‘Marie Antoinette’...
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House of Guinness (2025) | Brewing Rebellion (1868)
Come with us down the pub. This is our longest episode ever – which probably isn’t surprising given that we live in Ireland, the subject matter is close to home, and, yes, a few pints of Guinness helped lubricate proceedings. In this episode of Reel History, we use Netflix’s House of Guinness as…
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Gangs of New York (2002) | The Five Points (1863)
‘Mulberry Street… and Worth… Cross and Orange… and Little Water. Each of the Five Points is a finger. When I close my hand it becomes a fist. And, if I wish, I can turn it against you.’ – Bill ‘The Butcher’ Cutting Jeeez…chill Bill, we were only asking for directions. We’re all friends here…
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The Greatest Knight | William Marshal 2/2
William Marshal returns from crusade older, wiser, and with silk burial cloths from Jerusalem tucked under his arm. But death is still a long way off. In part two of our special, we trace Marshal’s rise to power across three reigns — Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, and finally King John —…
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The Angevin Empire | William Marshal 1/2
Before he was called “the greatest knight,” William Marshal was nearly used as a human catapult projectile. In the first of our two-part special, we follow the astonishing early life of William Marshal – a man who rose from near-execution as a child hostage during the Anarchy to become a knight…
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Reel History Season 5 Announcement
Hey Reelists! You might be wondering what’s going on with Season 5 of Reel History. Well, wonder no more – we’re here to fill you in! For our first four seasons, we spent a year recording ten episodes, then released them on a bi-weekly schedule in one big history blitz. It built hype and gave......
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The Battle of Clontarf | Brian Boru 2/2
In part two of our special on Brian Boru, we chart the extraordinary reign of the most ambitious king in Irish history — from regional warlord to the first ruler with real, island-wide power. (Listen to part one at showswhatyouknow.com or scroll back in the podcast feed!) Brian’s ascent didn’t…
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Gladiator II (2024) | Geta, Caracalla, Macrinus (200)
Surprise! A rogue Reel History appears like a fistful of sand to the eyes! We covered Gladiator in our second episode, almost exactly 5 years ago. Ridley Scott took 24 years to return with Gladiator II and while the Reel History HQ usually operates at a similar glacial pace, we have – thanks to...
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The Rise of the Dál gCais | Brian Boru 1/2
Today, we dive into the rise of one of Ireland’s most iconic and celebrated leaders—Brian Boru, the High King. In the popular psyche, Brian Boru is known as the King who would unite the Irish clans and stand against the Viking invaders. But was this really true? What is the Real History of...
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Reel History Season 4 Finale
Welcome to the finale of Season 4 of Reel History! In this episode we look back at our past season, answer listener questions and hand out the Mel Gibson Awards to the least historically accurate films. With the assistance of some colourful buzzers, Mark and Jakob face off in a film/history quiz...
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Napoleon III | FALL (1806-1815)
‘What a pity the man wasn’t lazy ’ remarked the wily French diplomat Talleyrand as he later lamented on how Napoleon’s restless energy had led him to dominate Europe and the age against all odds. But of course, you know all this dear listener as you’ve already accompanied us on the first two...
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Napoleon II | REIGN (1799-1805)
“The revolution is over… I AM the revolution!” proclaimed Mark dramatically as we recently sat down to record this second sortie into our trilogy on the man behind the myth – Napoleon! No, but seriously, these were the confidently spoken words of a 30-year-old 1st Consul Bonaparte in 1800 as he...
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Napoleon I | RISE (1769-1798)
Load the canon, survey the battlefield and hold onto your bicorne as we take aim at Ridley Scott’s ‘Napoleon’ (2023)! Much like Napoleon’s Grande Armée in Russia, we’ve bitten off more than we can chew (in just one episode) so will be delivering up a thrilling trilogy to do justice to the…
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Robin Hood (1991) | A Thief & Two Kings (1194)
“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves” catapults audiences into the heart of medieval England, where the legendary outlaw Robin Hood leads a band of merry men in a daring revolt against tyranny and injustice. Directed by Kevin Reynolds and starring Kevin Costner in the titular role, this epic adventure...
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Malcolm X (1992) | American Civil Rights (1965)
“That’s too much power for one man to have,” said police Captain Green when, with a mere wave of his hand, Malcolm X dispersed an entire crowd of the Nation of Islam. It’s time we took in a Spike Lee joint! “Malcolm X” tells the gripping story of one of the most influential figures in... The post...
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King Arthur (2004) | Dark Age Britain (410 CE)
In episode 4 of Season 4 we’re diving into the 2004 film adaptation of King Arthur, marketed as the epitome of historical accuracy but leaving much to be desired. With a star-studded cast led by Clive Owen and Keira Knightley, the film aimed to elevate the Arthurian legend to new heights but...
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Bonus Episode: The Rasputin Special
This is a Patreon preview – find the full Rasputin Special at patreon.com/reelhistorypodcast We delve deep into the world of Grigori Rasputin, the Siberian mystic whose influence over the last Tsar of Russia and his family altered the course of history. Adding onto our Anastasia episode on the…
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Anastasia (1997) | Fall of the House of Romanov (1917)
This is our PATREON’S CHOICE of Season 4 – a vote was put to our Patrons and Anastasia was the top pick! If you want to influence future topic selection, and get a Fabergé egg’s worth of bonus episodes for a mere 3 rubels, head to patreon.com/reelhistorypodcast Step into the fantastical world of...
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Bonus Episode: The Discovery of Troy
Welcome to another Reel History Patreon Preview! You can find the full 1 hour bonus show at patreon.com/reelhistorypodcast, along with a dozen additional bonus shows, all available for merely 3 drachmas per month! This time we’re exploring the rediscovery of the ancient city of Troy by amateur...
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Troy (2004) | The Rage of Achilles (1175 BCE)
What awaits you on this episode? GLORY! TAKE IT! ITS YOURS! Yes, we are paraphrasing the awful dialogue delivered haplessly by Brad Pitt in the 2004 Wolfgang Petersen epic, Troy. Loosely (very loosely) based on the Homeric poem, the Iliad, the movie explores the legendary Trojan War, a conflict...
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Bonus Episode: Pirate Mythbusting!
Parrots, peg legs, jolly rogers and rum! Join us for a Patreon Preview that explains which of these tropes have a basis in reality and which are utter parrot’s guano. This is a preview and you can find the full bonus episode at patreon.com/reelhistorypodcast Our Patreon has bonus episodes to go...
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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...
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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...
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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....
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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...
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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…
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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 –…
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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…
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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…
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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...
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The Last Duel (2021) | The Death of Trial by Combat (1386)
Lances at the ready for episode 2 of season 3 of Reel History! In this week’s journey into the mists of time, Michael struggles with his French pronunciation and hopes no one will notice as we muster our forces to give battle to 2021’s ‘The Last Duel’ (now streaming on Disney +). With Ridley...
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Braveheart (1995) | William Wallace (1297)
Welcome to Season 3 of Reel History! We’ll be releasing 10 new episodes, aiming for a bi-weekly releases on Thursdays. Follow @reel_history on Twitter to find out what historical films/shows we’re covering in advance so that you can watch along with us. We’re back, and it seems that nobody is…
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History Top 5 – Schemers
What’s this?! A Reel History spin off? A special feature? Well, whatever we’re calling it, we’re dropping one or two experimental episodes between seasons. We’ve been busy cooking up season 3 and it’s creeping closer by the day, so it’s well past time to start releasing these! First off is a...
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The Last Duel (2021) | Trailer Reaction
“What’s this! I thought season 2 was over!” It is but we’re going to sneak out some content between seasons, starting with this quick take on the trailer for Ridley Scott’s new The Last Duel, coming out in October! We will most likely do a full episode on this film but since we’re between...
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Reel History Season 2 Finale
If this is your first episode, you might want to pick a film you like and listen to that ep first – this is a special one, the finale of season 2! We’re answering listener questions, taking on a musical challenge and giving a sneak peak of what’s coming next in the history of Reel... The post…
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ROME IV | Rise of the Empire (42-27 BC)
Ave, citizen! It’s Episode 4 of our Roman epic and the ailing Republic is divided in two. It’s East vs. West, brains vs. brawn and man vs. woman (okay that’s a stretch) as Gaius Octavius steps into the limelight to face off against Mark Antony and his Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. It’s been a long...
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ROME III | And Brutus is an Honourable Man (44-42 BC)
Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Lend me your ears! I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. It’s episode 3 of our coverage of HBO’s ROME, starting in on the second season – and the Republic hangs by a thread. The Great Julius Caesar is dead, the city is in shock. What next? War… obviously.…
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ROME II | The Die is Cast (49 BC – 44 BC)
You’ve heard of Julius Caesar right? Sure you have, you don’t live under a rock. That’s a good start as our second episode on Rome covers the First Triumvirate. Caesar and his pals – history’s richest man Crassus and the swashbuckling Pompey the Great – came together to run roughshod over the...
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ROME I | Rise of the Republic (753 BC – 49 BC)
Join us for the first episode of our deep dive on the history that inspired the BBC/HBO series Rome (2005-2017). Oh you say you know nothing about the Roman Empire? Perfect, this is the pod for you, citizen. There’s plenty of melodrama as we discuss how the familial feuds and incestuous...
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Inglourious Basterds (2009) | Vive La Résistance! (1940)
Greetings, partisans, to episode 5 of Reel History Season 2! 🇫🇷 Join us as we focus our lens on a bombastic and brilliant tale of ‘a bushwhacking gorilla army doing one thing and one thing only – killing Nazis’. These memorable opening lines are spoken in the southern drawl of Brad Pitt’s...
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Master and Commander (2003) | The Napoleonic Wars (1805)
Welcome aboard for episode 4 of Reel History Season 2! To quote Jakob – “this week we’ve gone nautical, lads” ⚓️ so all hands on deck as we man the canons and survey the horizon for dark sails 🏴☠️ in the epic period war drama “ Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”... The post Master...
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Seven Samurai (1954) | Sengoku Jidai (1586)
Akira Kurosawa has stood the test of time as one of the most influential filmmakers ever, and his 1954 big-budget historical film Seven Samurai is a huge part of that legacy. A t the time, Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai was the most expensive film ever made in Japan, and you can certainly see that…
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Apocalypto (2006) | Mesoamerica Meets Cortés (1519)
Welcome to episode 2 of season 2 of Reel History! 🎤 This week we dust off our mics, clear our throats and try not to choke as we digest the 2006 smash hit ‘Apocalypto’. Mel Gibson delivers a heart thumping tropical jungle chase that is one part Rambo, one part Predator with a double serving...…
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A Knight’s Tale (2001) | Feudal Europe (1372)
Season 2 of Reel History starts today! We’re aiming to release episodes every other week so please subscribe, leave us a review and tweet your history puns at us @reel_history. A Knight’s Tale from 2001 is a sport films about jousting and while it has a tenuous connection to any real history it...
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Reel History Season 1 FINALE
With 10 episodes we’re closing out season 1 of Reel History! In this finale episode we follow a more loose structure, having general chats about history and answering listener questions that have cropped up throughout the season. If you have any questions for us to answer in future episodes…
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Topics in this show
About this show
Welcome to Reel History! On this podcast we talk about historical movies and TV, 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 Swedish guy who doesn’t know anything about history. Part of the Shows What You Know network; find all our podcasts at ShowsWhatYouKnow.com. Cover art by Kim Boland. Follow us @Reel_History and don’t forget to rate and review!
Hosted by
Shows What You Know