Shows / Reel History
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…
Episodes
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
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…
- Reel History
Outlaw King (2018) | Robert the Bruce at War (1304)
Welcome to episode nine of Reel History: Shows What You Know About Braveheart! Join us as we delve into 14th Century Britain and come to terms with the feudal…
- Reel History
The Irishman (2019) | The American Mafia (1975)
Welcome to Cut to Black: A Reel History Special. This is a crossover between two of our Shows What You Know podcasts! On Cut to Black we discuss The Sopranos…
- Reel History
Hamilton (2015) | American Revolution (1776)
Welcome to episode 7 of Reel History ! Well this week we were eager to find out “how does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower- Somehow defeat a…
- Reel History
300 (2007) | This is Sparta (480 BC)
Are you prepared for glory? Well you better get prepared because this week we’re discussing King Leonidas and the brave 300! Frank Miller’s famous comic book…
- Reel History
Darkest Hour (2017) | Winston Churchill (1940)
Welcome to episode five of Reel History! This week we (well mainly Mark to be honest) take a critical sledgehammer to Joe Wright’s 2017 semi-historical…
- Reel History
Kingdom of Heaven (2005) | The Crusades (1187)
This week we tackle Michael’s favourite subject – the Crusades. Yes, we’re discussing Ridley Scott’s flawed epic “Kingdom of Heaven.” from 2005. Join us as we…
- Reel History
The Death of Stalin (2017) | From Gangster to Red Tzar (1953)
Welcome to episode three of Reel History! This week we delve head first into the paranoid pressure cooker of Stalin’s Soviet Union as we feast our eyes on the…
- Reel History
Gladiator (2000) | Colosseum of Carnage (180)
Welcome to episode two of 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-…
- Reel History
The King (2019) | The Hundred Year War (1415)
Welcome to the first episode of Reel History! On this podcast we talk about historical movies and TV, anything that claims to be based on a true story, and we…