Shows
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersMISS AUSTEN: Cassandra's Act of Sisterly Love (Ep. 71)In episode 71 we talk with Gill Hornby, author of the best-selling novel Miss Austen which has been adapted for a 4-part series premiering on MASTERPIECE on PBS May 4, 2025 (check local listings). MISS AUSTEN seeks to unravel the historic literary mystery by reimanging Cassandra Austen’s act of sisterly love in burning the letters of her famous author sister Jane Austen after Jane’s death in 1817. ------TIMESTAMPS0:57- MISS AUSTEN series overview and cast3:14 - Introducing novel writer, Gill Hornby4:06 - Motivation for MISS AUSTEN novel -- Cassandra Austen fan gi...2025-04-2937 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 71 - MISS AUSTEN: Cassandra's Act of Sisterly LoveEpisode 71 preview: In episode 71 we talk with Gill Hornby, author of the best-selling novel Miss Austen which has been adapted for a 4-part series premiering on MASTERPIECE on PBS May 4, 2025 (check local listings). The complete podcast (Episode 71) featuring this conversation with Gill Hornby will be published Tuesday, April 29. MISS AUSTEN seeks to unravel the historic literary mystery by reimanging Cassandra Austen’s act of sisterly love in burning the letters of her famous author sister Jane Austen after Jane’s death in 1817. Subscribe to Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters® on your fav...2025-04-2202 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersCALL THE MIDWIFE: Behind-the-Scenes with Sister Julienne (Ep. 70)In episode 70, we go behind the scenes of CALL THE MIDWIFE with Jenny Agutter who portrays Sister Julienne in the series. Jenny Agutter has been with CALL THE MIDWIFE since the series premiere in 2012. CALL THE MIDWIFE is enjoying its 14th season on PBS.Created and written by Heidi Thomas, CALL THE MIDWIFE is based on the trilogy of memoirs by Jennifer Worth about her experiences as a midwife nurse in London’s East End during the 1950s (Season 14 is set in 1970). The series presents moving and intimate stories that capture the history and work of British mi...2025-04-0842 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 70 - CALL THE MIDWIFE: Behind-the-Scenes with Sister JulienneIn episode 70, we go behind the scenes of the drama series CALL THE MIDWIFE with Jenny Agutter who portrays Sister Julienne. Jenny Agutter has been with CALL THE MIDWIFE since the series's premiere in 2012. CALL THE MIDWIFE is enjoying its 14th season on PBS.Created and written by Heidi Thomas, CALL THE MIDWIFE is based on the trilogy of memoirs by Jennifer Worth about her experiences as a midwife nurse in London’s East End during the 1950s (Season 14 is set in 1970). In the preview for episode 70, Jenny Agutter talks about why CALL THE MIDWIFE is...2025-04-0701 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersWOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT - The Rise and Fall of a Power Player (Ep. 69)In episode 69 we spotlight the PBS Masterpiece series WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT with a behind-the-scenes visit to the Folger Shakespeare Library exhibition, “How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition” with the curator Dr. Heather Wolfe Curator of Manuscripts for the Folger (in Washington, DC), which holds the world’s largest Shakespeare collection. WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT traces the final four years of Thomas Cromwell’s life, completing his journey from self-made man to the most feared, influential figure of his time as a principal advisory to England's King Henry VIII. The serie...2025-03-2741 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 69 - WOLF HALL THE MIRROR & THE LIGHT: The Rise and Fall of a Power PlayerMarch has been a busy month for the Boston Sisters. This is an extended trailer for Episode 69. The complete podcast will be available for download Thursday, March 27th where we spotlight the PBS MASTERPIECE series WOLF HALL: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT and our visit to the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC for the exhibit "How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition."Our guest for Episode 69 is Dr. Heather Wolfe, curator of manuscripts and curator of the exhibition “How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition.” The trailer for Ep. 69 also includes a clip from a...2025-03-2504 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersBLITZ - Challenging Perceptions of Time, Place, Race and Identity (Ep. 68)In episode 68 we explore themes of time, place, race and identity in BLITZ , the 2024 World War II drama written and directed by Academy and BAFTA-Award-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen. BLITZ is told from the unique perspective and epic journey of a 9-year-old biracial boy named George (played by newcomer Elliott Heffernan) whose mother sends him from London to safety in the English countryside. But George doesn’t want to go to the countryside and be separated from his mother and grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller). Defiant and determined George makes his escape to return home to East London. Ou...2025-03-1156 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 68 - BLITZ (2024)In episode 68 of “Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters” we explore World War II from the unique perspective and journey of a 9-year-old biracial boy named George (played by newcomer Elliott Heffernan) in the 2024 film BLITZ. BLITZ is written and directed by Academy and BAFTA Award- winning filmmaker Steve McQueen. Our guest, is Tré Ventour-Griffiths, a multiply-disabled historian, creative writer, and sociologist based in Northampton U.K. The preview features a discussion about a particular scene in the film when George walks inside the "Empire Arcade" in London. Episode 68 is avai...2025-03-1001 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersBOYCOTT (2001) - From the Watchlist (Ep. 67)Boycotts have been a strategy and tactic for advancing social and economic justice, especially when laws, courts, or government are not on the people's side as they were for Black citizens in 1955. In Ep. 67 Michon and Taquiena (aka The Boston Sisters) talk about why they highly recommend the 2001 HBO film BOYCOTT.Directed by Clark Johnsonand based on the book Daybreak of Freedom by Stewart Burns BOYCOTT chronicles the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, where a 26-year old minister named Martin Luther King ,Jr (Jeffrey Wright) was called by the community to lead a local movement that ended segregation on p...2025-02-2536 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 67 - BOYCOTT (2001)The Boston Sisters (Michon and Taquiena) end the month of February -- Black History Month -- with a conversation about an historical drama selected from their watch list: the 2001 HBO film BOYCOTT. BOYCOTT chronicles the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, where a 26-year old minister named Martin Luther King Junior (Jeffrey Wright) was called by the community to lead a local movement that ended segregation on public transportation in Montgomery and throughout the United States.2025-02-2201 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersTHE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT - Hidden Figures of WWII (Ep. 66)In Episode 66, we dive into the feature filmTHE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT withBrenda L. Moore, associate professor of Sociology at the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, and author of “To Serve My Country, To Serve My Race: The Story of the Only African American WACS Stationed Overseas During World War II" (New York University Press). THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT film and Professor Moore’s book tell the story of the 6888th battalion, the first and only Women’s Army Corps (WAC) unit of color to serve overseas in World War II, and the ext...2025-02-111h 05Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 66 - THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT - Hidden Figures of World War IIEnjoy this preview of our podcast spotlighting the 2024 filmTHE SIX TRIPLE EIGHTwritten and directed by Tyler Perry and featuring Kerry Washington as Major Charity Adams about the first and only Women's Army Corps (WAC) unit of color to serve overseas during WWII.The preview features podcast guest, Brenda L. Moore -- professor of Sociology at the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, and author of “To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race: The Story of the Only African American WACS Stationed Overseas during World War II.”Download the full podcast -- available Tues...2025-02-1001 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersA COMPLETE UNKNOWN: The Artist As Historical Witness (Ep. 65)In part two of our conversation about A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, The Boston Sisters (Michon and Taquiena) talk with award winning poet, literary activist and author E. Ethelbert Miller about bringing Bob Dylan's writing into the classroom, and the artist as a witness to history.
A COMPLETE UKNOWN is the recent Academy Award-nominated biopic about musician, songwriter Bob Dylan, based on the book by Elijah Wald “Dylan Goes Electric: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, And The Night That Split The Sixties.” Directed by James Mangold, who co wrote the screenplay with Jay Cox, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, is set against the back...2025-01-2844 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersA COMPLETE UNKNOWN - Bob Dylan Beyond the Lyrics and The Making of a Poet (Ep. 64)In episode 64, The Boston Sisters (Michon and Taquiena) talk about A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, the biopic about musician/songwriter Bob Dylan (portrayed by Timothée Chalamet) inspired by the book “Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties” by Elijah Wald, with award-winning and Grammy-nominated poet, literary activist, and author E. Ethelbert Miller .
The conversation focuses on Miller’s personal connection to Dylan's music and the broader cultural context of the 1960s, in addition to...
The importance of preserving American folk traditions
The role of artists like Dylan in document...2025-01-141h 01
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 64 - "A COMPLETE UNKNOWN"Preview The Boston Sisters's (Michon & Taquiena) conversation with award winning and Grammy-nominated poet, literary activist, and author E. Ethelbert Miller about A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, the Bob Dylan biopic featuring Timothée Chalamet and inspired by the book, “Dylan Goes Electric!: Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties" by Elijah Wald.
The 2-part conversation is available:
January 14, 2025 (Ep. 64 - P1) "Bob Dylan and The Making of a Poet")
January 28, 2025 (Ep. 65 - P2) "The Artist as Historical Witness"
Sign up for our mailing list to stay up-to-date and receive information and res...2025-01-0901 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersDARK WINDS: Inside the Writers Room with Billy Luther (Ep. 63)Episode 63, is a continuation of our talk with filmmaker Billy Luther (Navajo, Hopi, Laguna Pueblo), who takes us inside the writers room for the AMC series DARK WINDS based on the Leaphorn and Chee detective novels by Tony Hillerman. Billy Luther is story editor, writer and director for DARK WINDS. DARK WINDS is set in Navajo country in the 1970s and features tribal police officers Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon).
Billy talks about the impact of having Native Americans in the room to adapt fiction by a non-Native American...2024-12-1026 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 63 - DARK WINDS: Inside the Writers Room with Billy LutherPreview Episode 63, a continuation of our talk with filmmaker Billy Luther, story editor, writer and director for the AMC series DARK WINDS. Based on the Leaphorn and Chee detective novels by Tony Hillerman, DARK WINDS is set in Navajo country in the 1970s and features tribal police officers Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon), Bernadette Manuelito (Jessica Matten), and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon).
Billy Luther takes us inside the writers room in Ep. 63. In the preview Billy talks about the eclipse story in season 2 and why Navajo writers in the writing room are making a difference...2024-12-0501 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersAugust Wilson's Enduring Legacy in THE PIANO LESSON (Ep. 62)The Boston Sisters talk about the film THE PIANO LESSON with Constanza Romero, playwright August Wilson's widow, an executive producer for the THE PIANO LESSON, and executive director of the August Wilson Legacy, LLC.
In this conversation with Constanza Romero we talk about her role in preserving Wilson's legacy. The conversation also highlights:
THE PIANO LESSON film's visual storytelling, contrasting it with the stage play
Themes of legacy, migration, and the American dream in the story
August Wilson's impact on American history and how his plays continue to speak to our current conditions through the lens of hi...2024-11-2648 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 62: THE PIANO LESSON - August's Wilson's Enduring LegacyPREVIEW: In Episode 62 of Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters, we're talking about the recent film adaptation of August Wilson’s Tony Award-winning play THE PIANO LESSON with Constanza Romero, August Wilson’s widow, an executive producer for the film, and executive director of the August Wilson Legacy LLC.
The recent film adaptation of THE PIANO LESSON is directed by Malcolm Washington and adapted for the screen by Virgil Williams and Malcolm Washington.
In the THE PIANO LESSON a family clash over an heirloom piano explodes. The battle is between brother, Boy Willie (John David Washing...2024-11-2101 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersFinding Home in FRYBREADFACE AND ME with Filmmaker Billy Luther (Ep. 61)In this podcast The Boston Sisters are talking with filmmaker Billy Luther (Navajo, Hopi, Laguna Pueblo) about his 2023 feature film FRYBREAD FACE AND ME (available on Netflix). The conversation highlights the film's themes of identity, family, and cultural heritage, and the impact of executive producer Taika Waititi. The conversation also touches on Luther's upcoming TV series adaptation of his 2007 documentary MISS NAVAJO.
Set in 1990 FRYBREAD FACE AND ME follows 11-year-old Benny from San Diego, and his precocious cousin Dawn (aka Frybread Face) as they bond during a summer with their Diné-speaking grandmother at her ranch on th...2024-11-121h 00
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 61 FRYBREAD FACE AND ME a conversation with filmmaker Billy LutherPreview Episode 61 "Finding Home in FRYBREAD FACE AND ME, a Conversation with Filmmaker Billy Luther." FRYBREAD FACE AND ME is a coming of age story set in 1990 before highspeed broadband, streaming, or Netflix (where you can watch the film today). Eleven-year-old Benny of San Diego spends a summer on his Diné-speaking grandmother’s ranch on the Navajo reservation. He meets and bonds with a precocious cousin named Dawn aka “Frybread Face.”
In the preview Billy Luther talks about working with his two young protagonists, Benny and Dawn/Frybread Face or Kier Tallman and Charley Hogan.
Episo...2024-11-0701 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersBehind the MASTERPIECE: A Season Preview (Ep. 60)PBS MASTERPIECE Head of Scripted Content and Executive Producer Susanne Simpson previews the historical dramas for the 2024-2025 season with a spotlight on two new series: THE MIRROR AND THE LIGHT based on the final novel in Dame Hilary Mantel’s (1952-2022) multi award-winning trilogy about Thomas Cromwell and Henry the VIII; and MISS AUSTEN, a series adapted from Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel inspired by the real-life literary mystery involving Cassandra Austen who burned her famous sister Jane Austen’s letters after Jane’s death. 2025 will be the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth.
The iconic awa...2024-10-2252 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 60: Behind the MASTERPIECE with Susanne SimpsonThe new season of PBS MASTERPIECE and MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! is here and so is our annual preview podcast with executive producer Susanne Simpson.
In the preview Susanne describes her executive producer role as an inheritance similar to the legacy estate of the family patriarch, Lord Grantham, in DOWNTON ABBEY, MASTERPIECE's most popular series to date.
In the full podcast Susanne highlights two exciting new historical dramas coming to PBS MASTERPIECE in 2025.
Episode 60 launches Tuesday, October 22.2024-10-1701 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersA Monumental Time for SHIRLEY (Ep. 59)In Ep. 59 our topic is Shirley Chisholm, the first Black Congresswoman, political icon and subject of the 2024 Netflix biopic SHIRLEY featuring Oscar-winning actress Regina King as Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. The special guest for this election year conversation is Dr. Zinga A. Fraser, the historical consultant for the film SHIRLEY, Director of the Shirley Chisholm Project on Brooklyn Women’s Activism, and editor of the recent book "Shirley Chisholm In Her Own Words: Speeches and Writings" (University of California Press).
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TIMESTAMPS
0:01 Introduction to the podcast and historical films with political themes
2:26 Ov...2024-10-0840 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Ep. 59 A Monumental Time for "SHIRLEY" [Chisholm]Coming up on Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters we’re talking about the first Black Congresswoman and poltiical icon Shirley Chisholm and the Netflix biopic SHIRLEY featuring Oscar-winning actress Regina King as Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm. Our special guest is Dr. Zinga A. Fraser, Director of the Shirley Chisholm Project on Brooklyn Women’s Activism and the historical consultant for the film SHIRLEY.
Dr. Fraser's recent book Shirley Chisholm: In her Own Words a Collection of Speeches and Writings published this fall by the University of California Press is can be purchased from our podc...2024-10-0301 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersTHE SYMPATHIZER Thriller Confronts & Subverts Power (Ep. 58)“Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters” kicks off Season 4 with Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Sympathizer which was adapted into an HBO limited series and released in April 2024.
The Sympathizer is described as an espionage thriller and cross-cultural satire about the struggles of its narrator, a half-French half-Vietnamese communist spy or double agent, known only as “the Captain” during the final days of the American war in Vietnam. A “man of two minds,” the Captain arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon. While building a new life with other Vietna...2024-09-2436 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPREVIEW (Ep. 58) The Sympathizer author Viet Thanh NguyenPREVIEW for the season 4 premiere of "Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters." The new season (Ep. 58) kicks off with Viet Thanh Nguyen, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Sympathizer" which was adapted into a limited series that premiered on HBO earlier this year.
The conversation was recorded at the Library of Congress 2024 National Book Festival in DC.2024-09-1700 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersBonus Ep. 9 | (Best Of) Time Capsule ? from Season 3In this bonus episode we’re highlighting the Lightning Round question: “What three items would you put in a time capsule that represent your history and the times you've lived?
The Time Capsule question gives us insight into what our guests want to be remembered for and the memories they’d like to keep about special people, places, and experiences in their lives.
This podcast features responses from 5 guests from the 3rd season of “Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters.”
Yancy Red Corn and Moira (Mora) RedCorn who joined us for a conversation about the Martin Sc...2024-09-1019 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersTHE NEW LOOK Bonus: The Boston Sisters's Paris and Chanel Memories (B8)In this bonus episode, Michon and Taquiena share their impressions and memories of shopping Chanel including Taquiena's visit to the Chanel couturier in Paris. This conversation occurred while recording THE NEW LOOK podcast (episode 53), but saved to create bonus content for "Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters" subscribers during the podcast's summer hiatus and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Update to the parfum story: While cleaning the bathroom Michon's parfum bottle fell and shattered on the floor. But she still has the memories and the scent for a few days :(
2024-08-0606 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersRishi Nair, the New Vicar of GRANTCHESTER (Ep 57)In episode 57, The Boston Sisters talk with actor RISHI NAIR, who portrays Alphy Kottaram, the new vicar in season 9 of the PBS MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! series GRANTCHESTER. Alphy takes over the pulpit from departing vicar Will Davenport (Tom Brittney), and gets off to a rough start with DI Geordie Keating (Robson Green). This conversation with Rishi Nair explores historical drama representation and cultural identity, as well as race and identity in 1960s England through the story of a British-born Indian vicar. Nair shares stories about becoming part of the GRANTCHESTER cast family; and if acting and ministry are "callings," with...2024-07-0235 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPREVIEW Ep. 57 In Conversation with Rishi Nair, The New Vicar of GRANTCHESTERPreview Episode 57. The Boston Sisters talk with Rishi Nair who portrays Alphy Kottaram, the new vicar in season 9 of the PBS MASTERPIECE MYSTERY series GRANTCHESTER. Alphy takes over the pulpit from former vicar Will Davenport, and gets off to a rough start with DI Geordie Keating. But will the locals embrace Alphy as they did the previous 2 vicars?
Episode 57 will be available July 2, 2024. You can watch GRANTCHESTER Sunday nights on PBS MASTERPIECE MYSTERY. Check local listings.2024-06-2701 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersA Conversation with BRIDGERTON's Lady Violet/Ruth Gemmell (Ep. 56)In Episode 56 we talk with actor Ruth Gemmell, who portrays Lady Violet Bridgerton in the Netflix series BRIDGERTON and QUEEN CHARLOTTE: A BRIDGERTON STORY from Shonda Rhimes’s Shondaland, inspired by the stories and characters in Julia Quinn’s romance novels. In the podcast we talk with Gemmell about her nuanced portrayal of Lady Violet Bridgerton, and explore the theme of self-discovery and love in the series through Lady Violet’s motivations and relationships. This conversation with Ruth Gemmell reveals Lady Violet Bridgerton as a multifaceted character who defies simple categorization.
BRIDGERTON has completed its 3rd season. All 3 s...2024-06-2525 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPREVIEW Ep. 56 - Ruth Gemmell/Lady Violet BridgertonEnjoy this preview of Episode 56. We're excited to bring you a conversation with actor Ruth Gemmell, best known as Lady Violet Bridgerton, from the BRIDGERTON series and prequel QUEEN CHARLOTTE: A BRIDGERTON STORY from Shonda Rhimes Shondaland (streaming on Netflix).
The complete podcast (Episode 56) featuring Ruth Gemmell is available Tuesday, June 25, 2024.2024-06-2001 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersBRIDGERTON: What's Jane [Austen] Got to Do With It? (Ep. 55)In episode 55, we talk with DAMIANNE “DAMI” SCOTT, creator of Black Girl Loves Jane, a Facebook group and blog about the Shonda Rhimes Shondaland series BRIDGERTON on Netflix.
BRIDGERTON (now in its 3rd season plus Shonda Rhimes’s prequel/origin story, QUEEN CHARLOTTE: A BRIDGERTON STORY) is based on the characters in Julia Quinn’s series of historical romance novels set in Regency England. The stories center an aristocratic family of 8 siblings and their widowed mother who is navigating the marriage market with and for her children.
One can’t help but wonder how the BRIDGERTON...2024-06-131h 16Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPREVIEW Ep. 55 BRIDGERTON: What's Jane [Austen] Got to Do With It?We're launching Episode 55 on a SPECIAL DATE-- June 13, 2024 -- with the premiere of part 2 of the 3rd season of BRIDGERTON. In the meantime enjoy this preview from our conversation with guest DAMIANNE SCOTT, founder of Black Girl Loves Jane about the BRIDGERTON series and how Jane Austen would react to the social scene of the ton.
And --**Breaking News** -- We've got an extra BRIDGERTON podcast coming up with a star guest from the BRIDGERTON cast.
Sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date and/or follow "Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters" on...2024-06-1101 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPage to Screen: 2024 Summer Reads from the Podcast (Ep. 54)Episode 54 is our 2024 Page to Screen podcast where The Boston Sisters talk about 5 books related to historical drama series and films for summer reading.
This year we’re highlighting books that provide a deeper dive into the films and series featured on the podcast since its launch in November 2021 up to our recent 3rd season.
Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture by Justine Picardie (2023) | THE NEW LOOK (Ep. 53)
The French Chef in America: Julia Child’s Second Act by Alex Prud’homme (2017) | JULIA (Ep. 44)
Passing by Nella Larsen (1929) | PASSING (Ep. 2)2024-05-2850 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersTHE NEW LOOK: A Deep Dive with The Boston Sisters (Ep. 53)In episode 53, Michon and Taquiena aka The Boston Sisters talk about THE NEW LOOK and why they selected the Apple TV+ series as a binge-worthy historical drama.
THE NEW LOOK isn’t a "fashionista" story about designers Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn) and Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche). Created by Todd Kessler and inspired by real events during World War II, THE NEW LOOK focuses on the impact of the 4-year Nazi occupation of France and the early months of Liberation on Paris’s community of haute couture designers, Resistance fighters, business owners, and everyday people all struggling to survi...2024-05-1451 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Episode 53: THE NEW LOOK: A Deep Dive with The Boston SistersPreview episode 53 where The Boston Sisters (Michon and Taquiena) talk about first impressions watching the Apple TV+ series THE NEW LOOK.
THE NEW LOOK surprised us because it isn’t a story about haute couture fashion by Christian Dior (Ben Mendelsohn) and Coco Chanel (Juliette Binoche). Created by Todd Kessler and inspired by real events during World War II,THE NEW LOOK focuses on the impact of the 4-year Nazi occupation of France and the early months of Liberation on Paris’s community of haute couture designers, Resistance fighters, business owners, and everyday people all struggling to surviv...2024-05-1001 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersA GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW: A Room of One's Own, A Heart Full of Others (Ep. 52)In episode 52, we welcome back Ben Vanstone (ALL CREATURES GREAT & SMALL), showrunner, executive producer, and writer for the much-anticipated drama series, A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW (Paramount+ SHOWTIME). The 8-part series is based on author Amor Towles’s internationally bestselling novel of the same name (one of the podcast's recommended 2023 Summer Reads.)
The story centers on the life of Count Alexandre Rostov, played by Ewan McGregor, who, in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, finds that his gilded past has placed him on the wrong side of history. Spared immediate execution, Count Rostov is banished by a Soviet tr...2024-04-2331 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPreview Episode 52: A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW with showrunner Ben VanstoneA GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW, the Amor Towles must-read novel is now a must-stream series on Paramount+ adapted by Ben Vanstone, executive producer, writer, and showrunner .
Listen to a preview of Episode 52 (available April 23, 2024) where Ben talks about casting the A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW series to tell a universal story set in Russia. One doesn’t have to be Russian to connect with Count Alexandre Rostov’s (Ewan McGregor) evolving human story.2024-04-1902 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersBOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE Director Reinaldo Marcus Green (Ep. 51)In this podcast episode we’re talking with Reinaldo Marcus Green who directed Paramount’s BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE, starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the Jamaican Reggae icon Bob Marley and Lashana Lynch as his wife, Rita Marley. BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE premiered February 14 and debuted #1 at the box office. BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE celebrates the life and music of Bob Marley who inspired generations through his message of love and unity. The film chronicles the reggae icon’s powerful story of overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music.
Reinaldo Marcus Green is a writer, director and pro...2024-04-1358 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersTHE GREAT GATSBY (1974) at 50 (Ep. 50)It’s been 50 years since the release of the 1974 film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, THE GREAT GATSBY. Highlighting the 50th anniversary of the 1974 version of THE GREAT GATSBY is another opportunity to talk with author and professor of English Emily Bernard about this 1920s novel adapted for film and the themes that continue to resonate with our own times. Our conversation with Emily about the film adaptation of Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel PASSING in episode 2 of the podcast, remains one of our most popular listens.
Directed by Jack Clayton, and featuring Robert Redford as Jay Ga...2024-04-131h 32
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersUnpacking PACHINKO: A Mother Daughter Conversation (Ep. 49)In Episode 49 we have a mother-daughter talk about season one of the Apple TV+ series PACHINKO, which premiered in 2022. PACHINKO is based on Min Jin Lee’s epic second novel about four generations of a Korean family trying to control their destiny in 20th-century Japan as exiles from their familiar home. PACHINKO was one of our 2023 "Page to Screen" summer book recommendations (Ep. 37).
Our guests for the conversation about PACHINKO, the book and the series, are Kat Turner and her daughter Taylor Turner.
Kat, a Korean-adoptee trying to figure out a way to spend more tim...2024-03-121h 25
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersCharles H. Red Corn's Novel Elevates Osage Culture in KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (Ep. 48)In episode 48 of the podcast we talk about the film KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON with Dr. Moira RedCorn and her brother Yancey Red Corn, members of the Osage Nation. Yancey Red Corn appears in the Martin Scorsese film as Osage Chief Arthur Bonnicastle and Moira Red Corn was an extra in the film’s opening scene.
Yancy and Moira’s father, the late Charles H. Red Corn authored the novel, “A Pipe for February,” published by the University of Oklahoma Press over 10 years before David Grann’s book “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Both books were optioned and ad...2024-02-271h 23
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersRUSTIN: Unveiling Untold Stories, Reclaiming Hidden History (Ep. 47)Colman Domingo is nominated for an Academy Award™ for his portrayal of civil rights activist and strategist Bayard Rustin in the biopic RUSTIN. This film and Bayard Rustin's life are the inspiration for our conversation with Robert Raben around organizing for justice and freedom, and reclaiming the hidden history of the foot soldiers of the movement.
Robert Raben, who grew up in the South, is founder of the March on Washington Film Festival, and the Raben Group, a strategic communications firm based in Washington, DC.
Directed by George C. Wolfe, RUSTIN tells the story of activist...2024-02-131h 16
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersSpecial Anouncement from The Boston SistersWe’re moving this month’s 4th Tues podcast to a LIVE podcast Wed, January 24th 7 pm ET with our reactions and predictions for historical drama Oscar® nominees.
We include a list of eligible historical drama films (1:24 timestamp) from 2023 in this video. Did we miss anything?
JOIN US! January 24th on Zoom Register to receive the link: https://bit.ly/Historical-Drama-Films-20232024-01-2303 min
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersCostumes That Bring History to Life (Ep. 46)In episode 46 we talk with ERIC WINTERLING, founder and creative director for Eric Winterling, Inc. about making costumes for two popular series set in New York City in widely different time periods. THE GILDED AGE (HBO) and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Amazon Studios) have dazzled historical drama watchers and series fans with their show-stopper fashions. Eric’s New York City costume studio is where the period garments are constructed from designs by Kasia Walicka-Maimone for THE GILDED AGE; and Donna Zakowska, Emmy award winning designer for THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL. Eric's dog, Bumpers also joins us for the first hal...2024-01-091h 02Historical Drama with The Boston SistersTHE STING at 50: Reel to Real Cons and Scams (Ep. 45)December 25, 2023 is the 50th anniversary of THE STING’s theatrical release. In episode 45, we talk about THE STING and real-life cons, big and small, with veteran casino operator GENO MUNARI. Geno brings behind-the-scenes connections to the film and stories from his work in the gambling and hospitality business, including 8 years at The Dunes Hotel and Country Club in Las Vegas. Geno Munari is author of The Dunes Hotel and Casino: The Mob, the Connections, the Stories; and Scams, Swindlers & Cheats: What Every Gambler & Casino Operator Should Know, where he reveals the secrets of the gambling underworld.
...2023-12-2651 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersA Culinary Journey with JULIA and Janet Cam (Ep. 44)JULIA, based on the life of the "French Chef" television star and cookbook author Julia Child, is back for a 2nd season on Max. This is our 2nd JULIA podcast conversation with wine expert and culinary strategist JANET CAM. Janet Cam was the co-founder of Washington, DC's storied Le Pavillon restaurant, the first nouvelle cuisine restaurant of its kind in the U.S. In the podcast we talk about the challenges for Julia and her aspirational fans in obtaining the best ingredients to recreate classic French dishes, women in the culinary industry, and Julia and Janet's journeys and adventures...2023-12-1258 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersSeparate and Elite Society in THE GILDED AGE (Ep. 43)In episode 43 we welcome back CARLA L. PETERSON (from Ep. 28), author of the 2011 book “Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City.” Carla takes us inside the parties, pleasures, and fashionable lifestyles of New York's Black middle class of the 19th century, and how the philsophy of "taste" informed the lives of that century's Black American elite. We also talk about how the separate and elite lives of 19th century New York “old money,” “new money,” and the Black elite are interpreted for the HBO series, THE GILDED AGE.
Carla’s book, “Black Gotham,” se...2023-11-281h 08Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters"By Request" THE GREAT - Comedy & Joy of Food (Ep. 42)Episode 42 features THE GREAT “by request” by podcast subscriber MARSHA WEINER and a conversation with SAM DIXON, food stylist for THE GREAT’s 2nd and 3rd seasons for a behind-the-scenes look at food in the satirical comic series about the rise of Catherine the Great.
THE GREAT was created by Tony McNamara and features Elle Fanning as the idealistic future ruler of Russia, Catherine the Great; and Nicholas Hoult as her offensive yet charming foodie husband, Peter III. THE GREAT ran for 3 seasons and is available on Hulu.
Download the TRANSCRIPT for Ep. 42 from this link.2023-11-1438 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersWORLD ON FIRE Sparks a New MASTERPIECE Season (Ep. 41)We welcome back Susanne Simpson, Executive Producer of the PBS drama series MASTERPIECE and MASTERPIECE MYSTERY! for a preview of new and continuing dramas with a special focus on WORLD ON FIRE, now in its second season on PBS MASTERPIECE.
Created by Peter Bowker, WORLD ON FIRE is an adrenalized, emotionally gripping, and resonant World War II drama that follows the intertwining fates of ordinary people in multiple countries as they grapple with the effects of war on their everyday lives. Season 2 picks up in late 1940, taking viewers from the war-torn streets of Britain deep into Nazi Germ...2023-10-2438 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersTHE WAY WE WERE - Romance & Politics 50 Years Later (Ep. 40)Episode 40 features a conversation with ROBERT HOFLER, author of "The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen" (Citadel Press, 2023) about the behind-the-scenes stories about the inspiration and making of the iconic 1973 film THE WAY WE WERE (Columbia Pictures) directed by Sydney Pollack featuring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford, and based on the novel by Arthur Laurents.
Our conversation with Robert Hofler coincides with the 50th anniversary of the film’s release, and focuses on its relevance today.
Podcast notes: (1) There are SPOILERS in this co...2023-10-101h 14Historical Drama with The Boston SistersOPPENHEIMER: Paradox of a "Humanist Scientist" (Ep. 39)In episode 39, we talk with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and journalist Kai Bird about the Christopher Nolan film OPPENHEIMER, based on the 2005 biography "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" co-authored by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. The conversation focuses on the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer's formation and struggles before, during and after the top-secret Manhattan Project. In 1943, Oppenheimer assembled the greatest scientific minds of the time in Los Alamos, New Mexico to create the first atomic bomb. The Manhattan Project achieved that goal with the successful detonation of the atomic bomb, known a...2023-09-261h 07Historical Drama with The Boston SistersSanditon Sisterhood's Fandom Victory (Ep. 38)In Episode 39 we talk about the impact of fandom with JULIET CREESE and MONI SENGUPTA from the Sanditon Sisterhood Strategy Group. SANDITON was supposed to be gone for good when ITV in the U.K. canceled the series in its first season and before its U.S. premiere on PBS MASTERPIECE in 2020. But the Sanditon Sisterhood Strategy Group with the fandom were determined not to let this series, inspired by Jane Austen’s unfinished novel, come to a sad ending. The Sanditon Sisterhood #SaveSanditon campaign helped restore SANDITON for two additional seasons. The 3rd season brought the story to its...2023-09-121h 17Historical Drama with The Boston SistersBONUS Episode 7 | TIME TRAVEL 2023“If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?”
This is our 2nd TIME TRAVEL Bonus episode. We picked 5 guest responses to our time travel question from the 2nd season of the podcast. Go back in time with:
NAHIR OTAÑO GRACIA, Medievalist and scholar who joined us for a conversation about the Netflix series VIKINGS VALHALLA;
PEARL MACKIE who appears in the PBS MASTERPIECE series’s reimagining of British author Henry Fielding’s 18th century comic novel, TOM JONES;
JULIAN LEDFORD, a french literature and language professor w...2023-09-0521 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersFrom Page to Screen (Ep. 37)In Episode 37, the Boston Sisters (Michon and Taquiena) wrap up their second podcast season with 5 great Book/Film recommendations for Summer reading and watch lists. Film and series adaptations premiere this fall through 2024, with a few titles available for streaming now!
DAISY JONES & THE SIX (streaming on Amazon)
PACHINKO (part 1 is streaming on Apple TV+, part 2 in 2024)
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON (coming to theaters in October)
THE COLOR PURPLE movie musical (coming to theaters in December)
A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW (in production, anticipated to stream in 2024)
...2023-06-2754 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersCHEVALIER (Ep. 36)Professor of French and French Studies (University of the South) JULIAN LEDFORD brings to life the historical Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George who is dramatized in the film CHEVALIER by Kelvin Harrison Junior in the title role. CHEVALIER highlights Joseph Bologne’s improbable rise in French society as a celebrated violinist-composer, horseman, and fencer. Saint-George is bestowed the title of Chevalier by the French Royal Court and is a favorite of Marie Antoinette Ledford shines the light on the many accomplishments and provides the social and cultural context in which Chevalier de Saint-George was acclaimed, including his transcendence of Fr...2023-06-1359 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersPearl Mackie Reimagines Honour in TOM JONES (Ep. 35)In episode 35 we’re talking with actor PEARL MACKIE (THE DIPLOMAT, DOCTOR WHO) about the PBS MASTERPIECE mini series TOM JONES. Pearl Mackie plays Honour Newton, the worldly-wise trusted lady’s maid of Sophia Western (Sophie Wilde) in a 4-part reimagining of Henry Fielding’s comic novel, "The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling," published in 1749. We discuss the dynamics of Honour and Sophia’s relationship, the challenge of riding a horse while wearing a corset, and living as two Black women from different social standings in mid-18th century England.
TRANSCRIPT
TIMESTAMPS: 0:08 Historical Drama with The...2023-05-2351 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersTHE HEAD OF JOAQUÍN MURRIETA -- How The West Was Lost (Ep. 34)In episode 34 Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker JOHN VALADEZ joins us for a conversation about THE HEAD OF JOAQUÍN MURRIETA, the Amazon Prime Western action drama series that shares the same title as Valadez’s 2017 PBS documentary. In his film Valadez believes he has the actual head of Joaquín Murrieta, the legendary Mexican outlaw who blazed a trail of revenge across California until he was caught and decapitated in 1853. Valadez talks about the violent untold stories of the Gold Rush years after the U.S. Mexico war which serves as the backdrop for the 8-part drama featuring Juan Manu...2023-05-0958 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersSANDITON Wrap Up! Part 2 (Ep. 33)In Part 2 of our SANDITON Wrap-Up!, we talk about Georgiana Lambe, the heiress from Antigua who, in season 3, must defend and secure her inheritance as well as her reputation. Joining us in this conversation is SHARON D. JOHNSON, depth psychologist and story consultant to SANDITON.
Georgiana has been on a dedicated search for her mother, who was an enslaved African woman sold away by Georgiana’s father, a white wealthy sugar planter separating mother and daughter. The heiress’s search comes to an end in season 3, and Georgiana’s longings for her mother shed new light on where h...2023-04-2537 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersSANDITON Wrap Up! Part 1 (Ep. 32)The Boston Sisters welcome back SHARON D. JOHNSON, script and story consultant for MASTERPIECE and SANDITON. In part 1 of a 2-part conversation, we focus on the themes of Marriage, Love, and Friendship between new and familiar characters over the past 3 seasons of the series based on Jane Austen’s unfinished novel written a few months before her death in 1817. SANDITON is the story of independent-minded women making their way in a world where a woman’s social and economic status centers on making a good match in marriage. The series is available on PBS MASTERPIECE.
TRANSCRIPT LINK
2023-04-1150 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersVIKINGS: VALHALLA Beyond the Unknown Viking World (Ep. 31)In Episode 31 our conversation about VIKINGS VALHALLA continues with NAHIR OTAÑO GRACIA, a medieval scholar whose “Global North Atlantic” extends the Viking story from the North Sea to the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean, and the tip of North Africa. We talk about how the Vikings’s travels and encounters changed their culture and destinies as seen in VIKINGS: VALHALLA.
Nahir Otaño Gracia, is Assistant Professor of English at the University of New Mexico and a Member of the Institute for Advanced Studies located in Princeton, NJ (IAS). Her theoretical frameworks include Critical Race Studies, Translation Theory and Prac...2023-03-2844 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersVIKINGS: VALHALLA Fires Up Viking History (Ep. 30)Ep. 30 gives you a “watchers guide” to Viking dramas available for streaming starting with VIKINGS: VALHALLA now in its second season on Netflix. Alex Chisnall, host of the popular business podcast Screw It Just Do It, is our guest and guide. We met Alex via the Clubhouse social media app where he gave podcasters like us the incentive, courage, and a road map to just do it and launch Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters. Alex, who is close to Viking history in the UK and shares our enthusiasm for history, got us curious about VIKINGS: VALHALLA, and other Viki...2023-03-1432 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersBeale Street Roots in "ELVIS" (Ep. 29)In Ep, 29 we talk about the Baz Luhrmann film ELVIS with GAYLE WALD, George Washington University professor of American Studies and author of Shout, Sister, Shout! The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Our conversation extends to Black musicians and music traditions that shaped Elvis Presley’s music and how that aspect of Elvis’s story is dramatized in this 2022 biopic.
Wald's Rosetta Tharpe biography has been adapted into a musical, "Shout Sister Shout!," with book by Cheryl L. West, premiering at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC in March 2023. You can purchase Wald's "Shout, Sister, Shou...2023-02-2855 minHistorical Drama with The Boston Sisters"Black Gotham" in "THE GILDED AGE" (Ep. 28)Episode 28 features a conversation with CARLA L. PETERSON, author of the 2011 book “Black Gotham: A Family History of African Americans in Nineteenth-Century New York City.” Professor Peterson’s book served as a resource for the creation of the characters, story, and the Black community in HBO’s THE GILDED AGE.
Part detective tale, part social and cultural narrative, "Black Gotham" is Carla Peterson's riveting account of her quest to reconstruct the lives of her nineteenth-century ancestors. As she shares their stories and those of their friends, neighbors, and business associates, she illuminates the greater history of African-American elites in...2023-02-141h 08Historical Drama with The Boston SistersBen Vanstone: ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL (Ep. 27)Episode 27 features a conversation with BEN VANSTONE, showrunner and writer for ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL, about the making of the series currently in its 3rd season on the PBS drama series MASTERPIECE.
ALL CREATURES GREAT & SMALL is the recent adaptation of the books written by veterinarian James Alfred Wight (who wrote under the pen name James Herriot) about a trio of veterinarian surgeons in the Yorkshire Dales in the late 1930s. The series features Nicholas Ralph as James Herriot, Samuel West as Siegfried Farnon, Anna Madeley as Mrs. Hall, Callum Woodhouse as Tristan Farnon, and Rachel S...2023-01-2441 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersMeet The Boston Sisters Part 2 (Ep. 26)In episode 26 Michon and Taquiena look back on the highlights and a-ha’s of the first year of “Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters.” Included are historical dramas The Boston Sisters look forward to watching and talking about in 2023. There will be more opportunities for you to join live conversations with The Boston Sisters, and other historical drama activities when you sign up for the podcast mailing list.
TIMESTAMPS
0:58 Generic Intro + Episode 26 Synopsis
3:21 Year One Impacts and A-ha's
5:25 Summer Book Club highlights, MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS and the House of Dior2023-01-1034 minHistorical Drama with The Boston Sisters"BELLE" by Request (Ep. 25)In episode 25 The Boston Sisters feature Amma Asante’s feature film BELLE by listener request from JOANNE FORT, an attorney living in Atlanta, Georgia. Joanne shares why she wanted the podcast to feature BELLE. We invited London-based figurative painter GLORY SAMJOLLY, to talk about the film and the story behind the portrait of the real-life Dido Elizabeth Belle (with her cousin Elizabeth). As founder of the social media platform Black Aristocrat Art, Glory brings her insights on depictions of Black women and men of the aristocracy in historical European art.
BELLE is based on the true story of...2022-12-2759 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersTHE CROWN - Where Duty Rules (Ep. 24)The Boston Sisters talk with REV. DR. TERASA COOLEY, author of "Transforming Conflict," about leadership portrayals of Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and Princess Diana in the NETFLIX drama series THE CROWN now in its 5th season.THE CROWN is a fictional drama inspired by real events during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II (1926 - 2022) in the last half of the 20th century. The series is created by Peter Morgan based on his play, "The Audience." Morgan also wrote the screenplay for THE QUEEN directed by Stephen Frears.
Ep. 24 TIME STAMPS
0:08 (boilerplate) Podcast O...2022-11-221h 00Historical Drama with The Boston SistersThe Real-Life Home of LITTLE WOMEN (Ep. 23)Orchard House (in Concord, MA) is most notable as the home where Louisa May Alcott wrote and set her iconic novel Little Women in 1868. In this podcast we talk with JAN TURNQUIST, executive director of Orchard House where visitors can go back in time to the world of the Alcott family as well as Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March. Recreations of Orchard House can be seen in recent adaptations of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women the 2017 BBC PBS MASTERPIECE limited series, directed by Vanessa Caswill, and the 2019 film directed by Greta Gerwig.
1:18 - Jan Turnquist, Exe...2022-11-081h 09Historical Drama with The Boston SistersWomen of MYSTERY!: MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE (Ep. 22)SUSANNE SIMPSON, executive producer of the award-winning PBS drama series MASTERPIECE joins us for a conversation about the second season of Miss Scarlet and the Duke and other women of MYSTERY! along with a preview of MASTERPIECE’s 2022-23 season.
Miss Scarlet and the Duke features Kate Phillips as Eliza Scarlet, the headstrong, first-ever female detective in Victorian London, who won’t let any naysayers stop her from keeping her father’s business running. Stuart Martin stars as her childhood friend, professional colleague, and potential love interest, Scotland Yard Detective Inspector William Wellington, a.k.a., The Duke...2022-10-2558 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersSearching for Healing in THE WOMAN KING (Ep. 21)Episode 21 takes a deep dive with Sharon D. Johnson, Ph.D into the feature film THE WOMAN KING. You may remember Dr. Johnson from the podcast “SANDITON Regency Fiction and Racial History” (episode 13)
In this podcast we talk about:
THE WOMAN KING as an example of how historical film offers a form of “medicine” for healing of historical wounds and trauma
The impact of centering “highly melanated” women in the story and on screen
Sisterhood among the Agojie women as depicted in the film
NOTE: Spoilers in this episode (in case you haven't seen the film)
D...2022-10-111h 05Historical Drama with The Boston SistersBONUS Episode | “Bat Her Up: Mom’s Mabley watches Negro women play ball for their supper” by Toni Asante LightfootIn episode 20 of the podcast, we talk with author and poet TONI ASANTE LIGHTFOOT about the Amazon series A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN. In this bonus podcast, Toni talks about and reads her baseball-inspired poem “Bat Her Up: Mom’s Mabley watches Negro women play ball for their supper."
JACKIE “MOMS” MABLEY (1897-1975) African American comedienne Loretta Mary Aiken created the elderly lady persona Jackie “Moms” Mabley. Mabley started out in the all-Black Theater Owners Booking Association or T.O.B.A. vaudeville circuit in the 1920s. She was the first female comedian to perform solo at the Apollo Th...2022-09-2706 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersChosen Family in A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (Ep. 20)In episode 20, we "chat up" the Amazon Prime series A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN with author and poet Toni Asante Lightfoot about the character Max Chapman, her family including her trans uncle Bertie, best friend Clance, and Rockford's African American community as depicted in the series.
In the 1992 "A League of Their Own" feature film on which this series is based, you see the grit and romance of the game with the Rockford Peaches and women baseball teams that were part of the All American Professional Girls Baseball League during WWII. What was not prominent in the 1992...2022-09-2759 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersWhen Couture Goes Global - inspired by MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS (Ep. 19)This episode of Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters is devoted to fashion – past and present – inspired by the film Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. The conversation covers luxury fashion and couture as a global phenomenon influenced by contemporary concerns about sustainability of people and planet, as well as how clothes help us recall special memories and can represent life changing adventures.
Our guest is SHAZIA SALEEM, designer and cofounder of Pop London Boutique with her sister Menissa. Shazia is regarded as an expert in ethical and sustainable fashion. She has represented the UK on international design proj...2022-09-1356 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersBONUS Episode | TIME TRAVELIn each episode of Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters we wrap up our conversations with guests where we ask our LIGHTNING ROUND questions related to the podcast themes.
One of the questions is “If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why?”
We picked 5 guest responses to our time travel question from the 18 past podcasts for this BONUS episode.
In addition to our Boston Sisters answers to the time travel question, we have recorded answers from
JANET CAM, wine, food, and restaurant consultant, speaking in Episode 12, What We L...2022-09-0718 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersBONUS Episode | BRIDESHEAD [RE] REVISITED 40th AnniversaryBRIDESHEAD REVISITED was the DOWNTON ABBEY of its time. The miniseries premiered in the UK in 1981 and the U.S. in 1982 on PBS “Great Performances.”
This bonus podcast, “Brideshead [Re] Revisited,” features the recording from a Clubhouse conversation on January 21, 2022 where friends gathered to talk about Brideshead Revisited and why it resonates 40 years later. In the recording you’ll hear:
Wine recommendations from food, wine, and restaurant consultant Janet Cam to recreate a taste of the Brideshead era (Janet is featured in episode 12 of the podcast, “What We Love About Julia”).
Pop London boutique owner Shazia Saleem talk about...2022-07-2659 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersENDEAVOUR's Hidden Grief (Ep. 18)Created by Russell Lewis, ENDEAVOUR is the prequel to the INSPECTOR MORSE television series inspired by characters in Colin Dexter’s detective novels. In season 8, the year is 1971. We see the impact of events from season 7 where Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) suffered a major loss that sets off a grieving process triggering self-doubt, alcohol abuse, and a cynic’s perspective that puts him at odds with his mentor, Fred Thursday.
In this podcast we talk with preacher, teacher, counselor and activist REV. DR. ROB HARDIES about the challenges of becoming an adult through Endeavour Morse's experiences with:
...2022-07-121h 01
Historical Drama with The Boston SistersMR. SUNSHINE: K-Drama's Binge-Worthy Epic (Ep. 17)The award-winning K-drama MR. SUNSHINE was released in 2018 and became the 6th highest ranking drama in South Korean cable history, and is still trending on Netflix in the United States and around the globe.
What makes MR. SUNSHINE a binge-worthy epic?
Why are audiences outside South Korea connecting with this historical drama of love, revenge, and revolution?
How does MR. SUNSHINE inspire curiosity to learn more about the history behind the story, and at the same time mirrors our present-day realities?
K-Drama blogger KAT TURNER shares some insights on MR. SUNSHINE and today’s K-Drama phenomenon in epi...2022-06-281h 18Historical Drama with The Boston SistersMURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS: Mystery's Moral Compass (Ep. 16)When a murder occurs of an American tycoon on the luxurious Orient Express train on which he’s traveling, detective Hercule Poirot is recruited to solve the case. But does solving the murder really close the case, especially for Poirot’s conscience? It’s been said that murder mysteries satisfy our need to feel that there is justice in the world and a moral order, which is expressed in the character of Agatha Christie’s genius detective Hercule Poirot.
In episode 16 we talk about three film/tv movie adaptations and themes of Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel MURDER ON THE ORI...2022-06-1453 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersBRIDGERTON 2: Marriage, MONEY, and the Sharma Family (Ep. 15)In part 2 (Episode 15) of our BRIDGERTON deep dive, Cornell University history professor Durba Ghosh (author of Sex and the Family in Colonial India: The Making of Empire) and The Boston Sisters look at the questions:
• Where does the Bridgerton family's wealth come from?
• How does money influence the Sharmas's choices in marriage?
• What is the role of colonial capitalism in the fortunes of Bridgerton's Regency?
Plus our RECAP of Bridgerton Season 2 at the top (Spoiler alert if you haven't watched the series)
And finally our️ LIGHTNING ROUND ️with Durba Ghosh
Shon...2022-05-2450 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersBRIDGERTON 2: Marriage, Sex, and the Sharma Family (Ep. 14)Shondaland's BRIDGERTON (Netflix), inspired by Julia Quinn’s novels, presents a Regency Britain where people of diverse colors, races, and cultural backgrounds meet and mate through choreographed matchmaking in grand ballrooms and frolicking country estates of "the ton." In this 2-part podcast DURBA GHOSH, Cornell professor of history and author of “Sex and Family in Colonial India: The Making of Empire,” talks with The Boston Sisters about how the entrance of the Sharma Family, an Indian family from Bombay, into the ton's marriage season brings South Asian words, rituals, costuming elements, and Bollywood into the "What If" world of BRIDGE...2022-05-1059 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersSANDITON Regency Fiction and Racial History (Ep. 13)Part 2/2 of our SANDITON “deep dive” features a conversation with SHARON D. JOHNSON, Ph.D. script and story consultant to PBS MASTERPIECE. Dr. Johnson describes how her experiences as cultural historian, screenwriter, and academic with background in depth psychology contributes to bringing authenticity to the presence and stories of Georgiana Lambe (Sanditon) and other people of color in historical drama. The podcast explores:
1. Racial representation and authenticity in historical drama
2. Facing uncomfortable truths in period adaptations
3. The collaborative process of inclusive storytelling
AUDIO NOTE: There are some audio blips on the gues...2022-04-2657 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersWhat We Love About JULIA (Ep. 12)HBO Max's Julia is inspired by Julia Child's extraordinary life and her long running public television series, The French Chef, which pioneered the modern cooking show.
In this podcast, The Boston Sisters (Michon and Taquiena) riff on impressions of the HBO Max series and Julia Child's impact on American cooks, public television, and our own palates with restaurant consultant and wine expert, Janet Cam (a co-founder of Le Pavillon, the first nouvelle cuisine restaurant in America). This podcast explores food, culture, and identity as examples of the "joie de vivre" that Julia Child inspired through her cooking...2022-04-121h 21Historical Drama with The Boston SistersWomen & Power in THE GILDED AGE (Special Edition part 1)
In January HBO premiered The Gilded Age, a series set in 1882 New York City created and written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.
In this bonus edition of Historical Drama with the Boston Sisters, Michon and Taquiena look at the series through the lens of women and power -- recapping the series and imagining what Season Two could look like in the battle between "Old New York," new money families, and the striving professional and immigrant classes.
This two-part conversation covers how women in the series take control of their lives and des...2022-04-0646 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersWomen & Power in THE GILDED AGE (Special Edition - part 2)In January HBO premiered The Gilded Age, a series set in 1882 New York City created and written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.
In this bonus edition of Historical Drama with the Boston Sisters, Michon and Taquiena look at the series through the lens of women and power -- recapping the series and imagining what Season Two could look like in the battle between "Old New York," new money families, and the striving professional and immigrant classes.
This two-part conversation covers how women in the series take control of their lives and destinies at a...2022-04-0636 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersSANDITON's Crystal Clarke on Becoming Georgiana Lambe (Ep. 11)In Episode 11 [part 1 of a 2-part Sanditon deep dive], Michon and Taquiena Boston talk with American actress Crystal Clarke who portrays Georgiana Lambe, a Black heiress from the West Indies, in Sanditon inspired by Jane Austen’s unfinished novel. The second season of Sanditon is featured on PBS MASTERPIECE starting March 20, 2022. Season 2 of Sanditon continues Jane Austen’s classic quandary of how independent-minded young women can make their way in patriarchal Regency-era England.
Episode 11 Timestamps
1:06 Georgiana Lambe's Sanditon (Recap: Seasons 1 and 2)
2:34 Crystal Clarke Introduction
3:31 Becoming Georgiana Lambe
7:07 Being a Blac...2022-03-2240 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersBONUS "The Godfather" at 50: "Take the Cannoli" with Eater DCThe 1972 Academy Award winning film The Godfather raised the profile of the cannoli in popular culture with one of the film’s most quoted lines, “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.” The line was partially ad-libbed by actor Richard Castellano who portrayed Peter Clemenza, captain of the Corleone family’s enforcers, in Francis Ford Coppola’s film adaptation of Mario Puzo’s best-selling crime novel. Because we call DC “home” The Boston Sisters invited Tierney Plumb, senior associate editor of the online food guide Eater DC, to tell us where we can find the best cannolis in the DC-MD-VA or DMV area. Eat...2022-03-0823 minHistorical Drama with The Boston Sisters"The Godfather" at 50 and Real-Life Mob Stories from Investigative Journalist Dan Moldea (Ep. 10)Episode 10 revisits Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather on its 50 anniversary with Dan Moldea, an investigative journalist and best-selling author who specializes in organized crime. Based on the 1969 novel about a Mob family written by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather is praised for its cinematic artistry, performances and storytelling around an organized crime family at the end of World War II. But does The Godfather romanticize organized crime? The Boston Sisters talk with Dan Moldea about the cultural impact of The Godfather film, and real-life Mob stories including Moldea’s investigation into the murder and...2022-03-0856 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersChickasaw Nation Productions Telling First American Stories (Ep. 9)In Episode 9 of Historical Drama with the Boston Sisters, we talk with Jeannie Barbour, Content Producer for Chickasaw Nation Productions, about Chickasaw films with their focus on First American stories and historical films, as well as the Chickasaw Nation Productions feature films Te Ata and Montford: Chickasaw Rancher [both films are streaming on Netflix]. Founded by Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby in 2009, Chickasaw Nation Productions is an independent film production company based in Oklahoma.
3:05 Chickasaw History
9:05 Chickasaw Films/Chickasaw Nation Productions
18:00 Creating Opportunities in Film for First Americans
25:00 Te Ata
2022-02-221h 16Historical Drama with The Boston SistersJULIE DASH: Women of the Movement and Other Untold Stories (Ep. 8)Filmmaker and award-winning director, Julie Dash who directed the recent ABC limited series Women of the Movement based on the real-life events around Mamie Till-Mobley’s attempts to get justice for the brutal murder of her 14-year old son Emmett Till in the Jim Crow South of 1955. Mamie Till-Mobley’s activism for justice would accelerate the Civil Rights Movement. Julie Dash broke through racial and gender boundaries with her Sundance award-winning film (Best Cinematography) Daughters of the Dust (1991). She became the first African American woman to have a wide theatrical release of her feature film. The Library of Congress plac...2022-02-081h 10Historical Drama with The Boston SistersCHADWICK BOSEMAN: History x Purpose = Destiny (Ep. 7)Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters looks at the artistic journey of Chadwick Boseman, best known for the iconic role T’Challah/Black Panther in the Marvel Universe films. A purpose-driven artist, Chadwick Boseman's creative choices (and willingness to struggle) led to his destiny of creating celebrated portrayals of historical and fictional people.
We talk about "Chad" – as he was known to those closest to him – through the eyes of Howard University Professor emerita Vera J. Katz and Howard classmate and colleague director/playwright Psalmayene 24. The Boston Sisters talk about connections with Chadwick Boseman as student, professional actor...2022-01-2554 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersMary Poppins, the Disruptor (Ep. 6)In this episode we talk about our new-found appreciation for Disney’s 1964 adaptation of P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins, who flew from the London skies into the lives of the Banks family, was the kind of disruption this family needed. Our conversation with coach and speaker Pete Cohen explores how disruptors like Mary Poppins can be motivational and help us grow.
Pete Cohen is a coach, speaker, and best-selling author of over 19 books. Pete is the host of the Mi365 (My-3-6-5) podcast where he inspires others to live life by design. As a moti...2022-01-1139 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersMoving Beyond WEST SIDE STORY (Ep. 5)The release of a new film production of West Side Story (directed by Steven Spielberg with script by Tony Kushner) sparked this conversation with Felix Sanchez, co-founder and chair of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, about representation of Latinos in film and dramatic series. Visit the Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters podcast webpage for more information including the film and series titles mentioned in this podcast episode. 2021-12-281h 05Historical Drama with The Boston SistersA Charles Dickens CHRISTMAS CAROL Reinvented (Ep. 4)Spoiler note: We’re giving an alert for persons who haven’t read or watched an adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
In this episode co-hosts Michon and Taquiena talk about Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, based on the 2019 FX reinterpretation of Dickens’ iconic story about Ebeneezer Scrooge, a resentful miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, to take him on a journey towards transformation. The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017), adapted from Les Standiford’s biographical book of the same title, is the story...2021-12-1452 minHistorical Drama with The Boston Sisters"Passing" (Ep. 2)Emily Bernard (American literature scholar and author) dives into Passing, the Rebecca Hall (Netflix) film based on the 1929 novel by Nella Larsen, and talks about how the characters Clare Kendry’s and Irene Redfield’s struggles for identity and belonging mirror tensions about race, class, and sex that continue today. Passing, starring Ruth Negga (Clare) and Tessa Thompson (Irene), takes place in 1920s New York City where a Black woman finds her world upended when she reconnects by chance with a childhood friend who's passing as white.
Emily Bernard wrote the introduction for the 2018 Penguin Books release of N...2021-11-301h 10Historical Drama with The Boston SistersPBS MASTERPIECE: a conversation with Executive Producer Susanne Simpson (Ep. 3)Susanne Simpson, Executive Producer of the PBS drama series, MASTERPIECE, shares how this 50-year phenom is changing to bring more diversity to the stories, casts, and creative production of historical dramas, fiction adaptations, and mystery series set in the past with UK partners.
Winner of 83 Primetime Emmys® and 18 Peabody Awards, MASTERPIECE has been essential Sunday night viewing for millions of fans since 1971. MASTERPIECE is known for hits such as All Creatures Great and Small, Sherlock, Downton Abbey and Victoria, and beloved classics such as Upstairs Downstairs, Prime Suspect, The Forsyte Saga and Poldark.
Watch MASTERPIECE o...2021-11-3051 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersMeet The Boston SistersGet to know us, The Boston Sisters, Michon and Taquiena, your co-hosts for this podcast, Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters. Hear about upcoming episodes and find out how you can join the conversation on historical drama films and series.
Michon Boston and Taquiena Boston are real-life sisters who grew up surrounded by history in Washington, DC, where their parents introduced them to movies and took them to museums as entertainment.
More information.2021-11-3039 minHistorical Drama with The Boston SistersSeries Trailer - Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters (Ep. 1)Coming soon!2021-11-2001 min