Based on a True Story18 Sep 2025

Donald Rumsfeld in the Movies with William Cooper

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 375) — Donald Rumsfeld served as the U.S. Secretary of Defense twice in his career, including during the 9/11 attacks. Today, we'll learn how the movies "Vice", "W." bring a fictional portrayal of Rumsfeld. We'll also look into the accuracy of the documentary "The Unknown Known" which interviews Rumsfeld himself.

⁠Get William's book⁠

Separating fact from fiction for us today is William Cooper, whose new historical fiction novel "The Trial of Donald H. Rumsfeld" is available now.

⁠Where to watch Vice⁠

⁠Where to watch W.⁠

⁠Where to watch The Unknown Known⁠

Answer this question from the episode: What impact do you think Rumsfeld has had in U.S. politics today?

⁠Share your opinion in the BOATS Discord⁠

Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction

00:00:15 Movie synopsis

00:02:13 Two truths and a lie

00:03:27 Interview

01:09:02 Two truths and a lie answer

Also mentioned in this episode

Support my work

Note: If your podcast app doesn't support clickable links, copy/paste this in your browser to find all the links: ⁠https://links.boatspodcast.com/375

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

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(391)

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings with Ben Railton

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 389) — Are you a baseball fan? Today we're digging into some baseball history as it was depicted in the 1976 movie "The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings." ...

11 Aug 53min

The Odyssey with Neil Laird

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 388) — Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (2026) brings Homer’s epic journey to the screen as we follow Matt Damon’s Odysseus from the Trojan War through monsters, sirens...

31 Jul 1h 8min

Memphis Belle with Joshua Donohue

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 387) — How accurate is the 1990 movie Memphis Belle? Military historian Joshua Donohue returns to Based on a True Story to break down what the movie gets right, where ...

7 Jul 1h 29min

The Terror with Rich Napolitano

What really happened to Sir John Franklin’s doomed Arctic expedition, and how much of AMC’s The Terror is grounded in the historical record? Today we're joined by Rich Napolitano, host of Shipwrecks a...

18 Jun 2h 1min

The Legend of Bagger Vance with Steven Pressfield

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 385) — Have you ever wondered how much of The Legend of Bagger Vance is rooted in history? Steven Pressfield, author of the 1995 novel that inspired the 2000 film, joi...

28 Mai 43min

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with John Barker

BASED ON A TRUE STORY (BOATS EP. 384) — Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tells a tale of alternative history. In this episode, we'll separate the film’s fairy-tale storytelling from t...

6 Apr 44min

The Manhattan Project in Oppenheimer with Alice Lovejoy

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...

17 Feb 55min

Oppenheimer

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 poiso...

30 Jan 43min