Historical Friction

Bundle up, it's time to head to the frozen tundra! And be sure to double-check your canned goods before going or you may not like your nutritional options!

In today's episode, Alice, Helen, and Abigail discuss the first season of AMC's The Terror (2018) (an adaptation of the Dan Simmons' supernatural horror novel of the same name), which takes as its focus the lost Franklin Expedition to the Arctic (1845-1848). Starring Jared Harris, Tobias Menzies, Ciaran Hinds, Paul Ready, Nive Nielson, Ian Hart, and Adam Nagaitis, The Terror tells the tale of the 129 men who perished on the expedition's search for the Northwest Passage. As the historical record shows, starvation, scurvy, and even cannibalism have their roles to play, but in this version, so does a violent Inuit spirit known as the Tuunbaq.

So join us for a wide-ranging discussion on Arctic exploration, maritime customs, cultural and naval understandings of cannibalism, Inuit mythology, and why we, as a species, seem so fascinated with historical disaster mysteries.

Historical Friction is a podcast about storytelling, pop culture, the past, and why we reenact it.

Find us on Instagram at @historical_friction, on Bluesky at @historicalfriction, or email us at [email protected].

Bluesky: Alice - @aaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Instagram: Alice - @aliceaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/historicalfriction

Our Heights have been Wuthered! Have yours?

In today's episode, Alice, Helen, and Abigail discuss the brand new Wuthering Heights film directed by Emerald Fennell, starring Margot Robbie, Jacob Elordi, Shazad Latif, Hong Chau, and Alison Oliver, based on Emily Brontë's classic 1847 novel. From eggs to skin wallpaper, from sexy Joseph (?) to Bridgerton-esque carriage sex, from casting controversies to discourse surrounding creative adaptation, from obvious corset metaphors to obvious necklace metaphors, this film... was something, that's for sure. Was it a surface-level flop? Or a brilliant commentary on our own surface-level society?

So join us, and get your Heights Wuthered!

NB: if you're familiar with both the book and film, this episode is largely plot summary until the 20 minute mark, so you can start our analysis there.

This episode contains explicit-ish sexual content, discussion of child and marital abuse, and mention of pregnancy loss.

Historical Friction is a podcast about storytelling, pop culture, the past, and why we reenact it.

Find us on Instagram at @historical_friction, on Bluesky at @historicalfriction, or email us at [email protected].

Bluesky: Alice - @aaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Instagram: Alice - @aliceaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/historicalfriction

A Yuletide treat! This year, we at Historical Friction have plenty of cheeses for you meeces, as Alice, Helen, and Abigail finally discuss The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). Directed by Brian Henson, this film stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit, a few other humans, and the entire Muppet cast!

From how the Muppets alter the original Dickens text, to what they so brilliantly add in, from ectoplasmic spiritualism to embodied cognition and Muppet lore, this episode has a little something to fill everyone's stocking! This movie was such a childhood and Dickensian touchstone for all three of us that we're sure we'll be revisting it and referencing it on many holiday episodes Yet To Come (but that's in the future, like December 2026).

Happy holidays everyone, from us here at Historical Friction!

Historical Friction is a podcast about storytelling, pop culture, the past, and why we reenact it.

Find us on Instagram at @historical_friction, on Bluesky at @historicalfriction, or email us at [email protected].

Bluesky: Alice - @aaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Instagram: Alice - @aliceaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/historicalfriction

Welcome to Historical Friction, Festive Edition! In today's episode, Alice, Helen, and Abigail discuss the 2017 Charles Dickens biopic The Man Who Invented Christmas, directed by Bharat Nalluri, based on a non-fiction book of the same title by Les Standiford. The film follows Charles Dickens during the roughly six weeks in the autumn and winter of 1843 as he composed the now classic novella "A Christmas Carol."

It stars Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens, with Christopher Plummer as the Scrooge in Dickens' mind, Jonathan Pryce as Dickens' father, Morfydd Clark as Catherine Dickens, Simon Callow as the artist John Leech, Miriam Margoyles as Dickens' housekeeper, Anna Murphy as the housemaid Tara, and a whole host of other fun cameos!

But how does this film hold up in terms of Victorian material, visual, and print cultures, and as a depiction of the actual Charles Dickens? And what does it mean to invent Christmas? WHAT ACTUALLY IS CHRISTMAS?

Historical Friction is a podcast about storytelling, pop culture, the past, and why we reenact it.

Find us on Instagram at @historical_friction, on Bluesky at @historicalfriction, or email us at [email protected].

Bluesky: Alice - @aaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Instagram: Alice - @aliceaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/historicalfriction

It's alive!!! Our podcast, that is. After more than three years, we here at Historical Friction have decided to re-start the show! And what better way to kick it off than with a discussion of Guillermo del Toro's take on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein"?

Our unintential hiatus came about due to drastic life changes for all four of us (largely positive ones!), and Sara has bowed out as a regular contributor (though she's still in the group chat and may make an occasional guest appearance). But Alice, Helen, and Abigail are back, and can't wait to start podcasting again on a more regular schedule! Thanks for sticking with us, and if you're just joining, welcome!

Due to the topic at hand, this episode contains discussions of death, corpses, and brief mentions of maternal death and infant/child mortality.

Also, Abigail had to use her back-up voice note recording, so please excuse her audio on this episode.

Historical Friction is a podcast about storytelling, pop culture, the past, and why we reenact it.

Find us on Instagram at @historical_friction, on Bluesky at @historicalfriction, or email us at [email protected].

Bluesky: Alice - @aaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Instagram: Alice - @aliceaprocter, Abigail - @onceuponafine, Helen - @helenvmurray

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/historicalfriction

It's part three of Treasure Island adaptations this Pirate Season! In this episode, Helen gets body slammed onto the analyst's couch, as she introduces Abigail and Sara to her childhood fave, Disney's Treasure Planet (2002). In this ambitiously animated vision of a futuristic 18th century, the familiar characters of Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver and the rest are re-imagined as aliens, cyborgs and solar surfers. We talk Disney conspiracies, transitional animation styles of the early 2000s, transhumanist funny robots, and the questionable addition of The Goo Goo Dolls. Can an adaptation be considered 'historical' when it's set in outer space? Let's talk about it!

Find the podcast on Twitter at @HistoryFriction

We're still in Pirate Season here, and this week Alice, Helen, Sara, and Abigail discuss Muppet Treasure Island (1996). Technically it's based on the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, but with some significant deviations (including a weirdly racist pig tribe, and musical interludes of varying quality). Join us as we try to convince Sara that the Muppets are good, actually, even if this film is not. 

Historical Friction is a podcast about storytelling, pop culture, the past, and why we reenact it.

Find the podcast on Twitter at @HistoryFriction

Find Alice at @aaprocter, Abigail at @onceuponafine, Helen at @HelenVMurray and Sara at @tinyredbook

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/historicalfriction

Arrrr me mateys! Pirate Season is in full swing here at Historical Friction, and today Alice, Helen, Sara, and Abigail discuss Walt Disney's Treasure Island (1950), based on the Robert Louis Stevenson 19th-century novel of the same name. The conversation ranges from behind-the-scenes factoids on the Disney film, to the novel's influence on pirates in popular culture, from Disney's influence on the Hollywood pirate, to navigation tools used by 18th-century sailors. Sources used in today's episode include Colin Woodward's book The Republic of Pirates, and Ryan Sweet's chapter 'Pirates and Prosthetics: Manly Messages for Managing Limb Loss in Victorian and Edwardian Adventure Narratives' in the book The Victorian Male Body, edited by Joanne Ella Parsons and Ruth Heholt. 

Historical Friction is a podcast about storytelling, pop culture, the past, and why we reenact it.

Find the podcast on Twitter at @HistoryFriction

Find Alice at @aaprocter, Abigail at @onceuponafine, Helen at @HelenVMurray and Sara at @tinyredbook

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/historicalfriction

Welcome to Historical Friction: Pirate Season! We're kicking off a series of episodes on pirates in literature and film with The Pirate (1948), a fabulously campy movie musical starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly, directed by Vincente Minnelli. Today, Abigail and special guest Dr. Lisa Duffy discuss Golden Age pirates, Hollywood pirates, mid-century Hollywood musicals, Gene Kelly's short shorts, and where this film fits into all of these categories. 

Historical Friction is a podcast about storytelling, pop culture, the past, and why we reenact it.

Find Lisa on Twitter at @_LisaWithAnS and Abigail at @onceuponafine

Find the podcast on Twitter @HistoryFriction

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/historicalfriction

All agony, no hope. We here at Historical Friction decided that Netflix's new adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Persuasion' was a Historical Emergency, so in this week's episode Alice, Abigail, and Helen watch this film so you don't have to -- or at least, so you have people to commiserate with over it. From jam mustaches to multiple hangovers to almost-outdoor peeing to the whaling industry, we've got you and all of your grievances about this adaptation covered. We didn't even get into the costuming in this episode, there was just too much.

Historical Friction is a podcast about storytelling, pop culture, the past, and why we reenact it.

Find Alice on Twitter at @aaprocter, Helen at @helenvmurray, and Abigail @onceuponafine

Find the podcast on Twitter @historyfriction

Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/historicalfriction