Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class, a production
Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. So, Tracy,
Speaker 1: I am sure that regular listeners to our show probably
Speaker 1: recall our episode on Mamie Till Mobley, the mother of
Speaker 1: him at Till that came out and I knew that
Speaker 1: was one that you researched and is an episode I love,
Speaker 1: although it is of course difficult, but if you keep
Speaker 1: an eye on entertainment, you are also probably aware of
Speaker 1: the movie Till, which is out now, uh in limited release,
Speaker 1: and it tells that whole story, but like our episode,
Speaker 1: it mostly tells Mamie story. Right, So we've both seen
Speaker 1: the film, and then Holly was also able to chat
Speaker 1: with a couple of people involved with it. One is
Speaker 1: actor Jalen Hall and the director. First up is the
Speaker 1: converse station that I had with Jaln Hall, who is,
Speaker 1: as Tracy just said, um an actor. He plays Emmett
Speaker 1: Till in the film. If you're a TV person, you
Speaker 1: may know him from the TV series All American. Let
Speaker 1: me just lay this out for you. Jalen is an
Speaker 1: incredibly charming young man. He is really a delight to
Speaker 1: speak with, and he talked to me about the history
Speaker 1: research that was involved in this film, his relationship with
Speaker 1: his own mother, as well as the parallels that he
Speaker 1: sees between himself and Emmett. So the first thing I
Speaker 1: want to ask you about is this is obviously a
Speaker 1: project and a role that has a lot of weight
Speaker 1: and a lot of importance to it. And I know
Speaker 1: from having spoken with your director that you kind of
Speaker 1: had to do a little bit of a history boot camp.
Speaker 1: Will you talk about that preparation process to play Emmett
Speaker 1: till Oh, for sure, that the process itself was just
Speaker 1: it was so information first. I did, Uh, I did
Speaker 1: a lot of like researching myself and like things I
Speaker 1: could find on Google and things that were at my
Speaker 1: own disposal. And then along with everything that chinoya Um
Speaker 1: was sending me and the studio and Keith Beauchamp his
Speaker 1: first hand information, all that stuff was just given to
Speaker 1: me and retained. And I'm so grateful to have had
Speaker 1: that because it enabled me to be able to embody
Speaker 1: him as the human being that he was. And it's
Speaker 1: worth noting like, obviously you are playing a young man,
Speaker 1: you are I don't want to say only fifteen, but
Speaker 1: you're fifteen, so you're still young, but you are also
Speaker 1: not a rookie. You've had a lot of acting jobs.
Speaker 1: But I wonder if you think about how important a
Speaker 1: role in a project like this is, and the fact
Speaker 1: that years from now, when you are well into adulthood
Speaker 1: and everyone who has seen it has aged up, this
Speaker 1: is still going to have been an important film in
Speaker 1: a very important story. Do you think about it in
Speaker 1: those terms? Oh? Yes, course, I think that this is
Speaker 1: just something that is so like, it's so close to
Speaker 1: me as an actor, not only as an actor, but
Speaker 1: as a young man, a young black man in America.
Speaker 1: I'm just doing my part to show the world things
Speaker 1: that it needs to be shown and telling stories that
Speaker 1: need to be told. I didn't tell you at the top,
Speaker 1: but I feel like I should thank you for that,
Speaker 1: because it's really, really quite spectacular. Thank you. I have
Speaker 1: watched other interviews that you've done in the past, and
Speaker 1: I know that you and your mom are very close,
Speaker 1: just as maybe and him it were. And I wonder
Speaker 1: how much your relationship with your mom informed your performance
Speaker 1: in this film. Oh my god, so much going into
Speaker 1: this film me and my mom had talked so much
Speaker 1: about you know, are my mental state, her mental state
Speaker 1: going into it. Um, just a lot of communication because
Speaker 1: like when going into something as heavy as this, you know,
Speaker 1: you you have to have those conversations with your loved ones.
Speaker 1: You have to make sure everybody's in a a good headspace.
Speaker 1: And luckily, UM, me and my mom we just we
Speaker 1: just fell into this and gave it are all collectively.
Speaker 1: And I wouldn't have been able to do this without her.
Speaker 1: I am curious for you, it's not a surprise. That's
Speaker 1: something that has been talked about in the press, that
Speaker 1: the violence of this is is not something that happens
Speaker 1: on screen. But I still know that there had to
Speaker 1: have been some challenges here. So I'm wondering what the
Speaker 1: most challenging part of this role was for you. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: I think the most challenging part of this role is
Speaker 1: the realization that Imman and I were not unlike we
Speaker 1: would have been the same person. Um, we were the
Speaker 1: same aide. We had some of the same interests like
Speaker 1: dancing and singing and love of song, love of dance
Speaker 1: with uh as as you'll see dancing with his mom.
Speaker 1: The relationship so just that realization. It was just mind
Speaker 1: boggling to me, you know, because it's like you have
Speaker 1: to put yourself in those shoes. You don't want to,
Speaker 1: you don't want to think about it. But that's just
Speaker 1: you know, the truth, that's just you know the reality
Speaker 1: of it. I also just want to ask you. I know,
Speaker 1: this last week has been probably a little bit wild, right,
Speaker 1: you had New York Film Festival where the movie debut.
Speaker 1: What has this whole thing been like? Because You've been
Speaker 1: in a lot of other projects, but I feel like
Speaker 1: this is high profile in a way that maybe some
Speaker 1: of your other work hasn't been. What has that experience
Speaker 1: been like for you? Oh, it's just a whole different atmosphere,
Speaker 1: a lot of like you said, a lot of the
Speaker 1: projects that I've done that have been entertaining for most people. Um,
Speaker 1: it's a great joy for me to be able to
Speaker 1: do that, but it's also even bigger joy for me
Speaker 1: to be able to tell a story that is so
Speaker 1: crucial and and impactual to our community, to our world.
Speaker 1: So it's it's definitely a different vibe UM that I enjoy. Uh.
Speaker 1: Now you are on a history podcast, so I am
Speaker 1: curious to know if you yourself have historically been into history. UM,
Speaker 1: it's fine if you say no, I wasn't into it
Speaker 1: before I was well into adulthood. UM. Is that something
Speaker 1: that you like. Do you enjoy studying history or was
Speaker 1: this kind of your entree into really deep dives in
Speaker 1: historical information and research. Yes? So, Um, I've I've always
Speaker 1: been in well, I don't want to say like a
Speaker 1: connoisseur like yourself, but I've I've been into history. I've
Speaker 1: really been into like Greek mythology and you know, learning
Speaker 1: about that, you know, just when I can't. But this
Speaker 1: sort of time and and meticulous details that I had
Speaker 1: noticed while preparing for this role wasn't like no other
Speaker 1: research that I've done before, no other history that I've
Speaker 1: read before. And because of this, I think I want,
Speaker 1: I know, I want to learn more and more, not
Speaker 1: only about our black community and activists that have come before, um,
Speaker 1: but about our world in general. You know, it's it's
Speaker 1: it's origin and yeah, this is this definitely sparked the
Speaker 1: historian in me. I love it. Well, You've come to
Speaker 1: the right place. You can always reach out if you
Speaker 1: need help with research. Um, Jalen, I really do want
Speaker 1: to thank you for bringing what you bring to this role.
Speaker 1: I feel like you know you can read about it
Speaker 1: as much as you want, but seeing your portrayal of
Speaker 1: Emmett or Beau, whichever you prefer, and how joyous a
Speaker 1: young man he was is really important to the story
Speaker 1: and not something we always get. So I hope you
Speaker 1: you realize what a great service you have done and
Speaker 1: I can't wait to see what you do next. You
Speaker 1: have such a career ahead of you. Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: I appreciate that. Yeah, thank you for spending this time
Speaker 1: with me. You have a beautiful day you too. Thanks.
Speaker 1: Coming up, we'll have another interview, but first we are
Speaker 1: going to take a quick sponsor break. As we mentioned
Speaker 1: in the chat with Jalen, I also got to speak
Speaker 1: with the film's director and co writer, Chinoya Uku, and
Speaker 1: she is really amazing. While we spoke, she talked about
Speaker 1: making the film, about Mamie's story and about the love
Speaker 1: between Mamie and Emmett as mother and child, as well
Speaker 1: as just her intentionality in her work. Holly also couldn't
Speaker 1: help but ask a couple of technical questions about filmmaking.
Speaker 1: Holly and I were chatting about the interviews ahead of time,
Speaker 1: and Holly mentioned something she was going to ask about
Speaker 1: and I was like, I don't know what that means.
Speaker 1: So Holly was a much better suited person for these questions.
Speaker 1: So not all of this is history related. There is
Speaker 1: also some about how the visual medium is being used
Speaker 1: to tell the story. This film had a very long
Speaker 1: journey before it made it to screen, and you are
Speaker 1: not only the director, but you are also co writer
Speaker 1: on it. Can you tell us a little bit about
Speaker 1: that journey in your part in it? Yeah? So, Um.
Speaker 1: One of the producers on the film, Keith beau Schamp,
Speaker 1: was a mentee of Mayne before she passed, and Um
Speaker 1: had a friendship with Gean Mobile before he passed, and
Speaker 1: Uh friendships with various members of the Tailed family and
Speaker 1: was really um moved and inspired and committed to as
Speaker 1: much research about this story as possible. And then he
Speaker 1: helped to reopen the case. And so he had this
Speaker 1: treasure trove of information UM and research and case files
Speaker 1: that he shared with all the other producers of the film.
Speaker 1: And so for the last twenty years they've been trying
Speaker 1: to get this movie made. Three years ago they approached
Speaker 1: me and Keith and another producer Michael Riley had written
Speaker 1: a script many years ago, and those producers reached out
Speaker 1: to be and and wanted to know if I be
Speaker 1: interested in telling the story in whatever way that I
Speaker 1: wanted rooting it in the research and information that Keith
Speaker 1: had provided. They were really supportive of my artistry and
Speaker 1: I when I came to them, I said, listen, the
Speaker 1: only way that I would be interested in making this
Speaker 1: film is if I completely rewrite, rework the scripts, completely
Speaker 1: rewrite it so that this is a story about Mamie's
Speaker 1: journey and and in her fight for justice and her
Speaker 1: emotional journey as a human being, so she is more
Speaker 1: than just breathing mother. And I also told the producers
Speaker 1: I also only want to tell the story if we
Speaker 1: don't see any physical violence inflicted upon black bodies, because
Speaker 1: that is not critical to telling and understanding Mamie's own
Speaker 1: journey that I want to communicate in my version of
Speaker 1: the script. And so all of that the producers are
Speaker 1: completely on board with, you know. And I told them also,
Speaker 1: I want to begin and then the story with joy
Speaker 1: and love, because the story I want to tell is
Speaker 1: also a love story between many and her child. And
Speaker 1: so once they gave me full creative rain to go
Speaker 1: in that direction. Um, I got to work and in
Speaker 1: really understanding and delving into all of the research and
Speaker 1: the work that had been done for the last couple
Speaker 1: of decades, and going to Mississippi and going to Chicago
Speaker 1: and talking to members of Patil family, and then writing
Speaker 1: scripts and directing it amazing. I want to build on
Speaker 1: that because you almost in the way you have have
Speaker 1: told this story give the viewer of the film a
Speaker 1: parallel experience to what the public would have experienced in
Speaker 1: learning about the brutality of Emmett's murder. As you said,
Speaker 1: you you don't show the violence being perpetrated, you show
Speaker 1: the aftermath, um, and this movie so deftly handles that
Speaker 1: very difficult subject matter, particularly at a time when, as
Speaker 1: you said, we see a lot of violence against black bodies,
Speaker 1: particularly black men, and you were so deliberate about what
Speaker 1: you did and did not choose to show. Will you
Speaker 1: talk about those decisions and when you decide to make
Speaker 1: that shift and show us what what had happened? Yeah,
Speaker 1: so I and I'm I'm I'm so happy that you
Speaker 1: were able to point that intention out because that was
Speaker 1: my intention. And when we do fully see and it's
Speaker 1: face and whole body and stay on it. It is
Speaker 1: trying to be an extension of the experience that the
Speaker 1: world would have had those ten thousands of people who
Speaker 1: came to the church in nineteen fifty five to view
Speaker 1: the body. We see audiences watching the film see it
Speaker 1: with them. And so that was definitely a creative decision
Speaker 1: that I wanted to make, And I knew I wanted
Speaker 1: to make UM in pre production when I was planning
Speaker 1: shots with my cinematographer Bobby Dukowski. And also I knew
Speaker 1: that we had to see the body. That is an
Speaker 1: extension of Mamie's decision, and it is honoring her decision
Speaker 1: and a critical part of her story in her fight
Speaker 1: for justice that was also catalyst for the modern civil
Speaker 1: rights movement. But I knew that I needed to do
Speaker 1: it wringly, yes, effectively. I'm glad you mentioned Bobby Bukowski
Speaker 1: because I want to ask a couple of technical questions.
Speaker 1: This movie feels so completely thoughtful in every single frame,
Speaker 1: which isn't surprising if anyone saw clemency in your other work. UM.
Speaker 1: Even the day, the one that jumped out to me
Speaker 1: is the day that Mami says goodbye to Emma at
Speaker 1: the train station, and there's this subtle but very beautiful
Speaker 1: and effective rack focus that shifts from the train to
Speaker 1: Mami and suddenly we are in her story. How carefully
Speaker 1: did you map all of that out ahead of time?
Speaker 1: And those kinds of choices versus letting things shift and
Speaker 1: developed during filming, and you know, through collaborating with Bobby,
Speaker 1: I am so glad you mentioned that. I'm like, okay,
Speaker 1: you are you are noticing my creative choice. Well, they're
Speaker 1: so good. Thank you. Well, I was like, Okay, that
Speaker 1: is what I want. That's why I wanted that rack
Speaker 1: focus right there. Well done. But I am I am
Speaker 1: very intentional with my choices. I'm a meticulous planner. I
Speaker 1: usually think, I really it's story first. So I'm like,
Speaker 1: what is the story that I'm telling? Who's perspective is this?
Speaker 1: Whose story is it? What are the what is going
Speaker 1: on underneath the words? And you know, I'm part of
Speaker 1: my job as a director to bring out the subtexts,
Speaker 1: and so how can what is the visual language that
Speaker 1: I can create to communicate that subtext? What are gonna
Speaker 1: be my visual kind of rules or visual palette for
Speaker 1: this film? And so I take some time with myself
Speaker 1: to really be clear about that and develop framing compositional
Speaker 1: intentions and also camera movement intentions and motifs as well.
Speaker 1: And then I share I talked with Bobby about all
Speaker 1: of this, and and I, like I said, I am
Speaker 1: a meticulous planner, Bobby, and I will really go in
Speaker 1: with such a concrete plan about how we want what
Speaker 1: is the first what is it that this scene is about,
Speaker 1: and how does that tide to the visual language that
Speaker 1: we are want to shoot. So and that meticulous as
Speaker 1: a planner, so I can let it all go when
Speaker 1: we are on set because as I'm sure you know,
Speaker 1: a million things go wrong day to day when you're
Speaker 1: shooting a film and so um, but what I get
Speaker 1: so clear with myself about what it is I'm trying
Speaker 1: to communicate, so then when I need to pivot, it's
Speaker 1: still rooted in the story that I'm trying to tell
Speaker 1: and the general kind of visual rules that I or
Speaker 1: visual palette that I'm setting for the film. So a
Speaker 1: classic example of being prepared but letting it go is
Speaker 1: when we shot the scene where Mamie testifies the original
Speaker 1: plan was to have eight or nine shots eight or
Speaker 1: nine setups excuse me, eight or nine setups, and all
Speaker 1: of those setups were to communicate what I believed was
Speaker 1: what what what communicate Mamie's emotional experience testifying, to communicate
Speaker 1: all of the gazes that are pressed upon her and
Speaker 1: become more and more almost kind of suffocating, and also
Speaker 1: to communicate her evolution of emotional moments and complexities in
Speaker 1: real time. And so I had eight or nine setup
Speaker 1: plans for that. The first set up was generally the
Speaker 1: shot that was in the film UM, and and we
Speaker 1: shot that will take of it and I was like,
Speaker 1: oh damn. Not only was the performance incredible, um, but
Speaker 1: it was also on the spot. I was like, Okay,
Speaker 1: if we adjust the camera movement here, if we build
Speaker 1: in the wrath focus, if we move around her here
Speaker 1: at this moment of the of the of what she's say,
Speaker 1: and if we if we bring in the hands, the ring,
Speaker 1: the photos of the lawyers into the phrase, so that
Speaker 1: we are clear about spatial relationships and the world that
Speaker 1: exists beyond the frame, this one or can communicate all
Speaker 1: of the things that Bobby and I wanted to communicate
Speaker 1: through those eight or nine setups. And so we did
Speaker 1: six takes, so we can continue to adjust the adjust
Speaker 1: the camera work and build the wrath focus and the
Speaker 1: framing and the composition and really get it right. And
Speaker 1: six take was what was in the film. It's incredibly powerful,
Speaker 1: So hats off to you for seeing that. So we
Speaker 1: have more of my chat with Chinoya, but first we
Speaker 1: will pause to hear from the sponsors who keep stuff
Speaker 1: you missed in history class. Going jumping back into Holly's
Speaker 1: conversation with Genoa. First, she's going to talk about the
Speaker 1: visual motif of reflections in this film, and also about
Speaker 1: portraying the civil rights movement as well as Mamie's story.
Speaker 1: There is one of their little technical storytelling thing at
Speaker 1: play in your motifs that I want to ask about,
Speaker 1: in part for my own curiosity. You use reflections and
Speaker 1: mirrors at so many key moments in this film, and
Speaker 1: I would love for you to talk about this idea
Speaker 1: of reflection and seeing people from different angles simultaneously and
Speaker 1: how you're using that in the narrative. Yes, well, I
Speaker 1: use in a different ways. I mean, it has it
Speaker 1: has different meanings, but it's definitely a consistent visual motif.
Speaker 1: Fet Bobby and I we're intentional about using and part
Speaker 1: of it is exploring this idea of you know, when
Speaker 1: we're looking at the scene between Mamie and Gene, when
Speaker 1: Mami's visits Gene and the barber shop, she is actively
Speaker 1: um suppressing or avoiding what her real anxieties are, and
Speaker 1: she's using the trip as a way to as a
Speaker 1: way to try to avoid that. And so there's an
Speaker 1: there's an inauthenticity that she's presenting to Gene in that moment,
Speaker 1: and so that's part of what's informed what informed the
Speaker 1: decision that Bobby and I made to use reflections there
Speaker 1: where they're talking to each other, but they're not really
Speaker 1: in an in an authentic space until the camera moves
Speaker 1: off of the mirror and we go to their actual
Speaker 1: faces and Mamie it's is finally it comes clean and
Speaker 1: admits what her truth is, what her emotional truth is
Speaker 1: in that moment. So it's sometimes reflections are too, are
Speaker 1: used to communicate the preventational self versus the real self.
Speaker 1: You know, um and you know and so, and there
Speaker 1: are other times where we use reflections as parallels between
Speaker 1: many and Emmett. It's so effective and it it's um
Speaker 1: to me like being able to see someone speaking their
Speaker 1: line with two very different shots of them going on simultaneously. Essentially,
Speaker 1: it was so good. I want to also just talk
Speaker 1: about the fact that you are I mean, we're a
Speaker 1: history podcast, but you're you're building a piece of media
Speaker 1: that is centered around history that is really well documented
Speaker 1: and has been certainly discussed a lot, at least in
Speaker 1: history circles. I my understanding is that if you remember
Speaker 1: the black community, you know this story, but growing up
Speaker 1: as a white kid, I didn't hear it until I
Speaker 1: was an adult. Um, but there is so much, like
Speaker 1: I said, history and documentation here. What was your biggest
Speaker 1: challenge or the this part in adapting all of that
Speaker 1: material into script form to tell this narrative in a
Speaker 1: pretty tight and clean story. Well, once I made the
Speaker 1: decision to tell the story from Mamie's point of view
Speaker 1: and her you know, her emotional and narrative point of view,
Speaker 1: then it became easier for me to start to make
Speaker 1: the decision about what information to keep in and what
Speaker 1: to keep out because we either need Mayne either need
Speaker 1: to know about it or we need to discover it
Speaker 1: with her, you know, in order to keep the story
Speaker 1: focused on our protagonists. And so that was a creative
Speaker 1: challenge that was very that was very welcoming because it
Speaker 1: really helps me focus the story that I wanted to tell.
Speaker 1: But there is so much information, you know, and I
Speaker 1: knew that, Okay, this is going to be a film
Speaker 1: that will I mean, people think that they know the story,
Speaker 1: but they really don't, you know. I think that there
Speaker 1: are people who know in general what happened to Emmit Till,
Speaker 1: but I don't think people really know and understand who
Speaker 1: made me Till Mowgli was on the journey that she
Speaker 1: went on. And so I hope that this film can
Speaker 1: begin to provide that understanding and that information and then
Speaker 1: and then people can go and further their their education
Speaker 1: about this story and discover more some some information that
Speaker 1: I did not include in the film, because there's so
Speaker 1: much to this story. There's so much you can learn,
Speaker 1: so so much more. You can learn about Dr t
Speaker 1: R and Howard and Medger Evers and merely Evers exceptally etcetera, etcetera.
Speaker 1: You know, and I'm glad you mentioned them because this
Speaker 1: is also really even though it is primarily a film
Speaker 1: about maybe, we see so many kind of key figures
Speaker 1: in the civil rights movement at a time before they
Speaker 1: were really known as that. How careful did you have
Speaker 1: to be with including those very important figures and and
Speaker 1: these you know, kind of key moments without it clouding
Speaker 1: mamie story. The key for me was as long as
Speaker 1: it ties to Mamie's journey in the narrative, you know,
Speaker 1: So we the audience are introduced at med Girth, when me,
Speaker 1: when Mamie is introduced to med Girth and and Merley
Speaker 1: and dr To, like, we are meeting these people as
Speaker 1: Mamie is meeting them, you know, and learning more about
Speaker 1: them as Mamie is learning more about them. So I
Speaker 1: knew from a narrative perspective, as long as we are
Speaker 1: discovering or learning or receiving these different people in the
Speaker 1: lives that they're living with many than that, Keith. I
Speaker 1: want to ask you also in terms of preparation, I
Speaker 1: know you did a boatload of research. Um, what was
Speaker 1: your expectation of your actors going in, Like, how how
Speaker 1: much did you guide their research process versus letting them
Speaker 1: discover things for themselves? How much of this was a
Speaker 1: school event for them as well? Because even if you
Speaker 1: know the story as you said, there are so many
Speaker 1: pieces of nuance and and details that aren't always told.
Speaker 1: So I'm really wondering what that process is like. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean everybody needed to get an education. And so
Speaker 1: starting with Danielle, we were able. We spent months of
Speaker 1: you know, her learning a lot of you know, the
Speaker 1: decades of research that has already been done by the producers,
Speaker 1: you know, and her catching up on that information and
Speaker 1: absorbing everything. And then we really went through every single
Speaker 1: beak of the script, every single emotional beat of the script,
Speaker 1: multiple times, and then we discussed everything as it relates
Speaker 1: to the historical facts and information and go so as
Speaker 1: as she would research and I would continue to research,
Speaker 1: will always tie that research back to the script and
Speaker 1: I and and so with Danielle, because she is the
Speaker 1: center of the film, that process took months, right and
Speaker 1: then the other actors it was it was a more
Speaker 1: truncated time, but everybody, including Jalen, including all of the
Speaker 1: boys and everybody had it was it was mandatory that
Speaker 1: they are provided with the research and the information and
Speaker 1: that we can I pushed them towards discovering things on
Speaker 1: their own. So and there was actually um I had
Speaker 1: a database of research and information UM and and books
Speaker 1: and videos and transcripts and interview transcripts and court transcripts.
Speaker 1: I had a database of that that I provided for
Speaker 1: every single cast member and crew member. You're like a
Speaker 1: professor of history. Well, I've been a film processor for
Speaker 1: ten years, so now you can expand to them your
Speaker 1: multidimensional You have many many curriculum options available. Thank you
Speaker 1: so much for spending time with me, but also for
Speaker 1: telling this incredible story with just such incredible air and nuance.
Speaker 1: It's really quite something you've accomplished, and I can't thank
Speaker 1: you enough. Thank you so much. I appreciate talking with you.
Speaker 1: It was truly, truly such a delight talking with Jalen
Speaker 1: and Sinoia, and it was so much fun to talk
Speaker 1: to creative people about how they tell this important story
Speaker 1: from history. I am sure you enjoyed those chats as
Speaker 1: much as I did, uh, particularly hearing Chinoya talk about
Speaker 1: how important it is to also include joy in the film.
Speaker 1: I'm sure we will be talking some more about our
Speaker 1: personal thoughts on Friday in our behind scenes. Until then,
Speaker 1: Till is now playing in select theaters and it will
Speaker 1: be opening widely in the US on October. I hope
Speaker 1: you see it in the meantime, Do you like to
Speaker 1: talk about listener mail? Sure? And I picked this one
Speaker 1: because it actually kind of dove tails nicely on something
Speaker 1: that Chinoia was talking about, where you know she you
Speaker 1: mentioned in her interview how thoroughly she essentially laid out
Speaker 1: a curriculum for the people that were working on the movie,
Speaker 1: and how she had a database of, like basically every
Speaker 1: resource they could possibly need or want to turn to
Speaker 1: to get more information about their characters in the context
Speaker 1: of the film. Uh. And so I thought it would
Speaker 1: be also fun to talk about another person doing a
Speaker 1: similar thing. This is from our listener Lindsay, who is
Speaker 1: writing about how she put together a history curriculum for
Speaker 1: her daughter. She says, although I have listened to the
Speaker 1: podcast for years, I have never had occasion to write
Speaker 1: in until now. I homeschool my three kids, and my
Speaker 1: ninth grade daughter is not enjoying the curriculum I chose
Speaker 1: for American History this year. Since she enjoys learning through listening,
Speaker 1: I decided to design my own curriculum based on your podcast.
Speaker 1: I assembled the list chronologically, listing the episodes based on
Speaker 1: the timeline of events, and I found it so interesting
Speaker 1: to review the progression of history simply by looking at
Speaker 1: the episode title. While I rounded out the list with
Speaker 1: a few other podcasts, stuff you missed in history makes
Speaker 1: the bulk of the list. And since I know from
Speaker 1: experience that you both present a straightforward, unbiased presentation of history,
Speaker 1: I'm confident my daughter will gain a fairly comprehensive look
Speaker 1: at American history. Thank you both for the time and
Speaker 1: research you put into filling each episode with interesting and
Speaker 1: illuminating facts and information. Your voices weekly enter our home,
Speaker 1: and we all enjoy the history you present. I know
Speaker 1: you both have a love of cats, and I thought
Speaker 1: I would introduce you to the joy kittens and pigmy goats.
Speaker 1: We raise and sell goats and we find their personalities hilarious.
Speaker 1: This spring, a goat with a disability was born. We
Speaker 1: thought we would keep him comfortable until he passed, but
Speaker 1: lo and behold, at twelve hours of age, he stood
Speaker 1: up and then he walked. Since he was only able
Speaker 1: to turn right in the first days learning how to walk,
Speaker 1: he earned the Moniker r T Right turn. Ralph Urt
Speaker 1: traveled to all the spring baseball games and lived in
Speaker 1: the house until he was big enough to go to
Speaker 1: the barn. He will never be fully capable, as his
Speaker 1: twisted little body prevents him from participate hating in regular
Speaker 1: goat activities. But he's sweet and we love him. I
Speaker 1: hope you enjoy the pictures. I think there's nothing cuter
Speaker 1: than a kitten with a goat. I think you may
Speaker 1: be correct. There's one picture of these two gorgeous kittens
Speaker 1: with this adorable the listen. Ralph's little face is a
Speaker 1: danger to me, like I will think about his little
Speaker 1: face all the time in a good way. When I
Speaker 1: say it's a danger, I mean I'm obsessed with him.
Speaker 1: Uh so cute. So thank you, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1: This is just a beautiful thing. And um, thank you
Speaker 1: for uh you know, letting us be part of your
Speaker 1: kid's education. That's a huge honor. And I hope we
Speaker 1: do justice. I wouldn't say I'm always unbiased, though. If
Speaker 1: you would like to write to us you can also
Speaker 1: do so. You can do that at History Podcast at
Speaker 1: i heeart radio dot com. You can also find us
Speaker 1: on social media as missed in History, And if you'd
Speaker 1: like to subscribe and have not yet, you can do
Speaker 1: that on the I heart Radio app, or wherever you
Speaker 1: listen to podcasts. M Stuff you Missed in History Class
Speaker 1: is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts
Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app,
Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Speaker 1: H