BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 383) — Did the Oppenheimer movie get the Manhattan Project right? Today, we'll dig into the film's portrayal of the project. From the Los Alamos we see in the movie to what we don't see in the movie such as Oak Ridge's massive factories, Hanford's plutonium production, and more that you don't ever see in the movie.

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Alice Lovejoy is the author of Tales of Militant Chemistry, film scholar, and a professor at the University of Minnesota. She'll join us today to unravel the true story behind the Manhattan Project in the movie.

Find more of Alice's work

• Army Film and the Avant Garde
• Remapping Cold War Media
• Visit Alice's website
• Follow Alice on Bluesky
• Follow Alice on Instagram

Listen to the other BOATS episode on Oppenheimer

Chapters

00:00 Manhattan Project Overview

04:50 Uranium vs. Plutonium Bombs

09:45 Scale of the Project

15:28 Einstein's Role

20:42 Trinity Test Depiction

25:04 Radiation Concerns

30:51 Project's End & Legacy

33:52 Post-War Impacts

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BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 382) — Join me in this throwback style BOATS episode without any guests. It'll just be you and I learning about the true story behind 2023's Oppenheimer. Was the poisoned apple scene real? How well was the Trinity Test portrayed on screen? What does the movie leave out from Oppenheimer's life? If you've seen the movie and wondered what really happened, this episode is your guided tour through the history behind the film.

Chapters

0:00 Intro, synopsis & Two Truths and a Lie

3:30 Prometheus myth and poisoned apple story

10:15 Oppenheimer’s education in Europe and early career

18:40 Relationships with Jean Tatlock and Kitty Oppenheimer

28:20 FBI surveillance, communism fears, and the Manhattan Project scale

39:10 Trinity Test, “I am become Death,” and bombing Japan

51:00 Meeting President Truman and the Strauss feud

1:01:30 Oppenheimer’s fall, later life, and modern reevaluation

1:08:00 Two Truths and a Lie answers & closing

Resources

• American Prometheus
• Tales of Militant Chemistry
• 109 East Palace
• Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center
• J. Robert Oppenheimer: A Life
• An Atomic Love Story: The Extraordinary Women in Robert Oppenheimer's Life
• The Ruin of J. Robert Oppenheimer

If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, you can also find all the links at https://links.boatspodcast.com/382

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• Support my sponsors
• Become a BOATS Producer (name in credits + ad-free episodes)
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See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 381) — My love of history started with the legend of King Arthur. While there are many King Arthur movies to pick from, today we'll learn about the one that marketed itself as being more historically accurate than the others.

Dorsey Armstrong on The Great Courses Plus

Historian Dorsey Armstrong breaks down the historical accuracy of the 2004 film King Arthur. Learn the true story behind the legends of Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, the Round Table, and more.

Chapters

0:00 Intro

2:30 Movie's Historical Claims

5:10 Sarmatians and Lancelot

10:45 Merlin's Real History

15:20 Woads, Picts, and Round Table

22:00 Christianity and Pelagius

28:15 Final Mission and Freedom

34:50 Guinevere and Ice Battle

40:30 Battle of Badon Hill

45:15 Sword in the Stone

49:00 Legend Surprises

53:30 BOATS Update for 2026 and Outro

Support My Work

• Support my sponsors
• Become a BOATS Producer (name in credits + ad-free episodes)
• Join the BOATS Discord
• Get the BOATS email newsletter
• Email me: dan@basedonatruestorypodcast.com

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.