Reel Fiction

Emily reaches out during COVID. 01:02 Jaws11:16 The Warriors27:19 Goodfellas, Casino, The Irishman44:48 Ekaterina 55:50 Cool Runnings Fact-checking by Kevin March

On the season finale, Emily is joined by her friend and Disney afficionado Emma Stillings to dive into the animated classic, Pocahontas. Love it or hate it, this is a historical story that's been retold, analyzed, and nitpicked for almost its entire controverisal existence. Which parts of the Pocahontas legend were made up by Disney? How much of *that* climactic moment is real? And, the question on all our minds: why are Disney sequels so bonkers? [TW: This episode contains racist langua...

This week we're taking on Tudormania, and one of the most re-told stories in historical fiction. Joined by her friend and unofficial-period-costume-enthusiast Marina di Marzo, Emily looks into the Anne Boleyn story as portrayed in the dramatic 2008 film The Other Boleyn Girl. Join us as we reveal which shocking moments were completely made up, discuss the nightmare that was pregnancy in 16th century England, and research that infamous "B" necklace in real-time.

Emily and Zoë dive into the world of code-breaking and espionage in the Alan Turing biopic, The Imitation Game. As we uncover Turing's life and work at Bletchley Park, we discuss why the Polish are the unsung heroes of this story, what Snow White may have had to do with Turing's death, and how Benedict Cumberbatch can't seem to escape playing Sherlock.

An immigrant does pretty well for himself, until he goes to Jersey. We're heading to Broadway! Emily is joined by her friend Polly to talk all things Hamilton, the most famous historical musical on the planet. We share some fun production trivia, insane dueling stories, and check out how the show compares to the other 'American Musical,' 1776. And Emily shares the only fact she's found that was so surprising, the writers actually chose not include it since audiences wouldn't believe it.