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PODCAST

Factual America

Factual America examines America through the lens of documentary filmmaking. Guests include Academy Award, Emmy and Grammy-winning documentary filmmakers and producers, their subjects, as well as experts on the American experience. Find out more about the current and upcoming documentaries on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Sky Documentaries and other platforms directly from the creators. Whether we discuss true crime, music, burning social and political topics, history, or arts,

tv & film film interviews

All Episodes

01:14:01

RBG: The Iconic American Supreme Court Justice

Factual America ·

2020/10/06

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away on September 18, 2020. She had a long and illustrious career as an advocate for gender equality, a jurist and most famously as an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court. Joining us to pay tribute to this true American icon is Julie Cohen, together with Betsy West, the co-director and co-producer of RBG. RBG is a documentary that beautifully captures the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The film itself premiered in 2018 at the Sundance Film

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57:27

Class Action Park: America’s Most Dangerous Amusement...

Factual America ·

2020/09/29

Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey was straight out of a Gen X teenager’s dream. The R-rated version of a John Hughes film, or as Jason Bailey at the New York Times puts it, “a rule-free stew of dangerous rides, teen guests, teen employees, raging hormones, 80s-style machismo, and booze”. But for all the nostalgia, the place comes with bad memories for those whose loved ones were seriously injured, and in some cases killed by the reckless actions of Gene Mulvihill, the fallen Wall Street mogul who

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01:09:47

Good Ol Girl: Cowgirls in Modern Ranching

Factual America ·

2020/09/22

When we think of Texas, we think of wide open spaces, ranches, rugged individualism, the Wild West, and invariably cowboys. But where do women fit into this mix? In their film Good Ol Girl, Sarah Brennan Kolb and Kyle Kelley put this question into the context of present-day Texas. The film tells the stories of three young modern-day Texan cowgirls, and explores the role of women in cowboy culture. Women are increasingly taking a larger role in the traditionally male dominated industry of ranching

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01:08:21

Imagining the Indian: De-Mascoting Native Americans...

Factual America ·

2020/09/15

America is famous for its sports franchises and rabid fans. However, there is one group of Americans for whom sports raise painful memories. These are the Native Americans. At least some people are trying to put an end to racial stereotyping in US sports. And they have already succeeded in changing the name of the Washington Football Team. Aviva Kempner is the award-winning director of successful docs like “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg”. Kevin Blackistone is an award-winning national sports

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01:20:11

Air Jordan: A Cultural Phenomenon

Factual America ·

2020/09/08

Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. He may also be America’s first black cultural icon, blazing a trail for other African American athletes like LeBron James. Besides his performance on the court, Jordan rocketed to fame on the back of a clever and innovative marketing campaign to sell sneakers, and a shrewd business model that made him a billionaire. However, has success come with a price? Well, Nike and Jordan have made billions of dollars. They have also created a shoe

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01:00:24

They’re Trying to Kill Us: Diet, Poverty and Racism

Factual America ·

2020/08/11

In our final episode of Season One, we’re joined by John Lewis, aka Badass Vegan. John’s upcoming documentary, They’re Trying to Kill Us, touches on so many of the issues that we’ve looked at this year on the podcast – factory farming, race and Big Pharma, just to name a few – but this time through the unique lens of hip hop. They’re Trying to Kill Us explores the connections between diet, poverty and systemic racism. As well as looking at veganism, we discuss Big Pharma and the link between mind

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01:03:21

Uprooted: American History Through Jazz Dance

Factual America ·

2020/08/04

The history of jazz dance is the history of America. That history is not well documented, however, especially when it comes to the leading role played by African Americans. In Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance, filmmakers Khadifa Wong and Zak Nemorin trace jazz dance back to its roots in Africa, and follow its evolution up to the present. Along the way Khadifa and Zack address difficult subjects such as appropriation, racism and sexism within this quintessential American art form, and in the

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56:21

Insert Coin: The Arcade Video Game Revolution

Factual America ·

2020/07/28

For those of us who grew up in the 1980s and 90s, the arcade was a home away from home. And most likely we were playing a video game that was the creative genius of a scrappy group of renegade designers in Chicago. In his film Insert Coin (2020), director Josh Tsui captures what it was like for the fellows at Midway Games to revolutionize the video game industry. And along the way, Josh perfectly captures 1990s pop culture. Insert Coin is an interesting take on the arcade gaming world, showing us

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01:15:35

Closed For Storm: The Abandoned Six Flags Theme Park

Factual America ·

2020/07/21

What is it about old abandoned buildings that can be so compelling and alluring? We find out today as we welcome filmmakers Jake Williams and John Shaw to the podcast. Their film Closed For Storm is about a theme park left for ruin in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago. Closed For Storm shows Six Flags New Orleans in its glory days and current state of abject dereliction. Along the way, the film also captures the broken dreams and fleeting aspirations of a community still looking for

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51:42

Hamtramck, USA: A Multicultural Landscape

Factual America ·

2020/07/14

The US is a nation of immigrants. And there’s no better example of this than Hamtramck, Michigan, America’s first Muslim-majority city. No bigger than two square miles, Hamtramck is home to a myriad of nationalities and ethnic groups. Over 30 different languages can be heard on its streets. Using a city government election as a backdrop, producers and directors Justin Feltman and Razi Jafri eloquently capture the dynamism stemming from successive waves of immigration. Is America a melting pot or a

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53:03

Becoming Rocky: How Sylvester Stallone Became a Star

Factual America ·

2020/07/07

In 1976, Sylvester Stallone was a struggling actor with a big dream and the courage of his convictions. That dream became Rocky, one of the most iconic films of all time. Using home movies shot mostly by the director John Avildsen, director and producer Derek Wayne Johnson perfectly captures the moment when Sylvester Stallone became a superstar. 40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic, as it is known in the USA and Canada, or Becoming Rocky: The Birth of a Classic, as it is known everywhere else,

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53:22

Streetlight Harmonies: The Lasting Legacy of Doo-Wop

Factual America ·

2020/06/30

In the late 1950s, doo-wop music took America by storm. And its legacy lasts to this day in the music of such recording artists as Bruno Mars and Meghan Trainor. Award-winning director and producer Brent Wilson is shining a light on this genre of pop music. Using original interviews with doo-wop recording artists, and those they influenced, Brent’s documentary Streetlight Harmonies perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the 50s and early 60s. Doo-wop originated with African-American teenagers on the

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50:38

Crip Camp: Cradle of the Disability Rights Movement

Factual America ·

2020/06/23

In the 1970s Camp Jened was not just any old summer camp in the Catskills. Hippy values, the Grateful Dead and pot smoking shaped this utopia for teens with disabilities. Before long, a generation of summer campers with disabilities became a social movement that soon changed the world. We welcome Jim LeBrecht and Nicole Newnham, co-directors of the Netflix documentary Crip Camp, to the podcast. Jim and Nicole share their experiences making a documentary about one of the most compelling, previously

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58:15

Stewart Brand: America’s Last Great Optimist

Factual America ·

2020/06/16

Stewart Brand has been at the forefront of multiple societal trends since the 1960s, and now he’s trying to bring back the woolly mammoth and other species from extinction. Is this folly or is he once again ahead of the curve? Stewart might just be one of the most influential people that none of us have heard of. He traveled around with the novelist Ken Kesey and his Merry Pranksters. Afterwards, he kick-started the modern environmental movement, by pressuring NASA to release a satellite image of

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01:12:20

Baywatch: The American Dream

Factual America ·

2020/06/09

Baywatch was a 1990s phenomenon well ahead of its time, going ‘viral’ long before there was something called social media. Director and producer Matt Felker is an acclaimed observer of pop culture and social media trends. As a result, Matt is making a documentary that takes a serious look at Baywatch – a show that still resonates with a global audience 20 years later. Recently, Factual America caught up with Matt, producer Nicole Eggert, who played Summer Quinn on the show, and Jeremy Jackson, who

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01:01:09

Natalie Wood: Cinema Icon

Factual America ·

2020/06/02

Natalie Wood was an iconic American actress, featuring in many influential Hollywood movies in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Her life was tragically cut short when she drowned at the age of 43. Today we talk with Laurent Bouzereau, the director and producer of the recently released HBO documentary Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind (2020). The film explores Natalie’s life and career through the unique perspective of her daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, and others who knew her best. Had she lived,

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50:53

The Hart Family Tragedy

Factual America ·

2020/05/26

The Hart Family had the perfect American life. At least, that is what their social media accounts showed the world. But the reality was very different. A Thread of Deceit: The Hart Family Tragedy documents a family’s spiral into abuse and despair. Ultimately, Jennifer and Sarah Hart decided to drive their family SUV off a cliff, killing them and their six adopted children. How could this happen? The Harts’ social media accounts were full of beautiful images – playing in the garden with the kids,

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01:02:28

The Life of Modern-Day American Cowboys

Factual America ·

2020/05/19

Cowboys are as American as hot dogs and apple pie. But what is life like for the modern-day American cowboy? Filmed on eight of the nation’s largest cattle ranches across ten states in the American West, Cowboys: A Documentary Portrait (2019) provides an intimate look at life in the modern world for this most American of icons. A cowboy’s life has always been one of solitude and hard work. This is still the case. Even as they adapt to modernity, the modern-day cowpoke provides us with lessons in

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42:35

I Am Not Your Negro: Racism in the US

Factual America ·

2020/05/12

Narrated by Samuel L Jackson, I Am Not Your Negro (2016) uses James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript to tell the horrific history of racism in America. Following the lives of three slain civil rights leaders, Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr, Baldwin’s words still resonate today. Since the beginning, race has defined America and racism permeates its politics to this day. To discuss the issue, Dr Richard Johnson, lecturer in US politics and international relations at Lancaster

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52:22

Opioid Addiction: This Drug May Kill You

Factual America ·

2020/05/05

Warning: This Drug May Kill You (2017) by broadcast journalist Perri Peltz is a heart-wrenching account of opioid addiction in the US. Before the coronavirus, a different epidemic plagued America. Medical researchers will hopefully develop a vaccine for Covid-19 in the near future. But more than 2 million Americans remain addicted to opioids. Is there any hope in sight? Norman Stone, award-winning director, producer and screenwriter, joins Factual America to discuss Peltz’s film. Norman has

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191 results

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