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 BRIDGERTON (Season 2).

Episode 14 (part 1) looks at casting and culture in Season 2 of the series. Professor Ghosh gives cultural insights into South Asian audiences' reception of Indian characters in Bridgerton, particularly casting darker-skinned women as Kate Sharma (Ashley Simpson) and Edwina Sharma (Charithra Chandron), and speculates on how these casting choices could influence Indian film and television narratives.

Time Stamps

1:31 Professor Ghosh/speaker background

06:06 East India Company History

9:32 Bridgerton, Sharma Family, and British Colonial History

14:06 Marriage Plot (Bridgerton, Regency Fantasy and Historical Accuracy)

19:37 Bracelets Motif -- Indian Rituals and Cultural References in Bridgerton

28:06 Significance of Casting Dark-skinned Actresses as Sharmas

33:17 Music break point

34:52 U.S. and India Relations (and Globalization)

37:48 Globalization in Bridgerton

39:58 Love, Marriage and Social Status

46:42 Kate Sharma -- competitive woman

50:33 Bridgerton's Impact on Bombay Filmmaking

55:31 Preview: Episode 15/Part 2 BRIDGERTON 2 and the Sharmas

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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 guest speaker’s track due to a weak WiFi connection. There’s also soft jingling sounds (jewelry). There’s still much of our fascinating conversation with Dr. Johnson included in the podcast for the enjoyment of our listeners.

TIME STAMPS:

:58 Recap of SANDITON Seasons 1 and 2

2:30 Sharon Johnson, Ph.D. bio

3:52 MASTERPIECE -- combining literature, film, depth psychology culture, race

5:34 Diversity and Representation in MASTERPIECE (historical drama)

6:46 Georgiana Lambe (and the Slave Trade) -- Keeping the Story Honest

8:11 Cowrie Shells, Sons of Africa, Abolition (Cultural Authenticity)

12:00 Psychology and Storytelling

12:48 Diversity and Uncomfortable Truths

15:42 Jane Austen, Abolitionism, and Georgiana Lambe

19:35 Sugar Boycott

21:23 Impact and Authenticity (Working with MASTERPIECE executive producer Susanne Simpson)

25:14 Black Women's Hair and Historical Drama

28:00 Music

28:34 Regency England, Race, Womanhood, Wealth and Society

33:50 Sugar Boycott and Sons of Africa

44:03 Lightning Round

Part 1/2 of our PBS MASTERPIECE Sanditon “deep dive” features a conversation with actress Crystal Clarke who portrays Georgiana Lambe in the series. More information and podcast link available here.

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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 shows and cook books as well as how her life demonstrates that it's never too late to become who you are meant to be.

1:10  Episode Introduction (Julia description)

3:44   Introducing Janet Cam

5:00   First Impressions of Julia, HBO Max Series

9:56   Personal Julie Child Stories

26:25  What Julia Teaches About Persevering

34:08  Coq Au Vin and Classical French Cooking (Or Coq Au Vin and Julia's French Cooking Influences)

46:45  Julia's Passion and Reinvention (Or Julia Child on Being Relevant)

54:14  Julia Succeeding in a Man's World

1:00:54 Sharing Food and Joie de Vivre

1:09:20 Lightning Round Questions

Sign up for The Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters mailing list to stay up-to-date on future podcasts, recommended resources to dive deeper, bonus episodes, and live events (plans are underway).

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 time when women were not allowed to vote, Jim Crow laws and practices were impeding progress for Black Americans, immigrant labor got exploited, and the gap between rich and poor widened.

Part 2 - Bonus episode

How women exercise power through...

What The Gilded Age women would be in our social circle? What The Boston Sisters would like to see in Season 2 of The Gilded Age

Sign up for The Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters mailing list to stay up-to-date on future podcasts, bonus episodes,  recommended resources to dive deeper, and future live events.

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 time when women were not allowed to vote, Jim Crow laws and practices were impeding progress for Black Americans, immigrant labor got exploited, and the gap between rich and poor widened.

Part 1 - Bonus episode

Recap of Season 1

How women exercise power through...

SIGN UP for The Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters mailing list to stay up-to-date on future podcasts, bonus episodes,  recommended resources to dive deeper, and future live events. 

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 Black heiress from the West Indies in Regency England

11:16 A Sanditon Hair Story

25:56 The friendship between Georgiana Lambe and Charlotte Heywood

31:51 Lightning Round - 4 questions all guests answer

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STAY ENGAGED WITH HISTORICAL DRAMA WITH THE BOSTON SISTERS®

ENJOY⁠ past podcasts and bonus episodes

⁠SIGN UP⁠ for our mailing list

SUPPORT this podcast ⁠ SHOP THE PODCAST⁠ on our affiliate bookstore

Buy us a Coffee! You can support by buying a coffee ☕ here — ⁠buymeacoffee.com/historicaldramasisters⁠

Thank you for listening!

The 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. Eater DC’s Cannoli map was created in 2019 and is updated regularly. 

This Special Edition podcast is a companion to episode 10 where we revisit The Godfather on its 50th anniversary.

2:58 Tierney Plumb's impressions of The Godfather

3:41 Introduction to the cannoli

7:07 What makes a great cannoli?

8:40 Top Cannolis in the DMV

13:43 Eater DC Cannoli Map

15:10 Lightning Round

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 disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. (Recorded February 28, 2022)

Advisory: This episode contains spoilers and some descriptions of violent true crime stories. 

5:00  Dan Moldea's Organized Crime Reporting Journey

13:47  Impact of The Godfather and mafia culture

16:16  Joe Colombo and the Italian American Civil Rights League/The Godfather and Italian American representation

22:19  Romanticizing the image of organized crime

24:27  Gianni Russo demands respect (a Marlon Brando story)

26:55  47 years investigating and reporting on Jimmy Hoffa’s murder and the location of his body

36:00  Organized Crime: How life imitates art

36:48  Martin Scorcese’s Goodfellas and meeting Robert DeNiro to talk about The Irishman

43:56 Godfather II (and III)

45:00 Assassinations including President John F. Kennedy’s assassination

47:27 Lightning Round Questions (all podcast guests answer)

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

54:00 Montford: The Chickasaw Rancher

1:08:00 Lightning Round Questions

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 placed Daughters of the Dust and her UCLA Master of Fine Arts senior thesis Illusions (1982) in the National Film Registry.

We talk with Julie Dash about: Her film and television work in historical drama, including Women of the Movement; the influence of Black women writers and cultural workers in her creative work; and the impact of bringing untold stories from history to the screen, particularly how we believe and remember history