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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

35:29

Killer Sally

Factual America ·

2022/11/09

Sally McNeil killed her husband, Ray; but was it an act of self-defence or pre-meditated murder? That is the question at the heart of Killer Sally, a new three-part docu-series by Nanette Burstein, now showing on Netflix. Sally and Ray were a power couple in the truest sense of the word – both were bodybuilders. But Ray took his training to extreme levels, using steroids to increase his muscle growth. And according to Sally, it was during a ‘roid rage’ on St. Valentine’s Day in 1995 that he lost

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43:45

Cat Daddies

Factual America ·

2022/11/02

Once, they were gods who had to be placated. Now, they still need placating, but they also help save lives and bring hope in a time of distress. We are, of course, talking about cats. In her new documentary, Cat Daddies, Mye Hoang explores the relationship between a diverse group of American men and their feline friends. At the centre of her film is homeless New Yorker David Giovanni, and his cat, Lucky. It’s 2020. David receives bad news about his health. And then, the pandemic strikes. What will

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41:11

38 At The Garden

Factual America ·

2022/10/26

1 game. 38 points. The birth of a legend. In 2011, no one knew or cared about an NBA player named Jeremy Lin. In early 2012, however, that changed, as Lin stunned opposition teams, fans, and the world alike with a series of brilliant on court performances for the New York Knicks. And chief among them were the 38 points Lin scored against the mighty LA Lakers at Madison Square Garden on 10th February 2012. Success did not come easy for Lin. As Frank Chi, director of new HBO documentary, 38 at the

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41:22

All That Breathes

Factual America ·

2022/10/20

Welcome to the fourth season of Factual America! Today, Matthew Sherwood speaks to Shaunak Sen, director of All That Breathes, an award-winning documentary about two brothers, Mohammad and Nadeem, in Delhi, who have dedicated their lives to helping the Black Kite, a victim of Delhi’s ever worsening air pollution. All That Breathes is both an intimate portrayal of Mohammad’s and Nadeem’s work and, as Shaunak explains, a philosophical documentary that shows how the toxicity of Delhi’s air is reflected

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48:49

Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 - The Perfect Storm

Factual America ·

2022/07/28

Woodstock '99 was supposed to be a millennium defining celebration of peace, love and great music. Instead, the festival degenerated into an epic trainwreck of fires, riots and destruction. Utilizing rare insider footage, and eyewitness interviews with an impressive list of festival staffers, performers and attendees, Netflix docuseries Trainwreck: Woodstock '99, releasing on August 4th, goes behind the scenes to reveal the egos, greed and music that fueled three days of utter chaos. Acclaimed

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50:57

Menudo: Forever Young - The Rise and Fall of the...

Factual America ·

2022/07/21

Menudo was arguably the first international boy band and one of the most successful. Starting from humble roots in 1970s Puerto Rico, the group conquered the pop world in the 1980s and 1990s. As the boys grew older and their voices started changing, they soon discovered that they were easily replaceable – by a steady stream of 12- to 15-year olds waiting in the wings, ready to chase their dreams of stardom. Such success came with an unnecessary price. As revealed by former members, the boys

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42:41

Facing Nolan Ryan, the Baseball Legend

Factual America ·

2022/07/14

Facing Nolan captures the life of Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, arguably one of the greatest pitchers of all time. His 51 records and 27 seasons across four decades are the stuff of lore. It wasn't always so. Even as the Ryan Express was chalking up strikeouts and no-hitters like no one before him, or since, Nolan Ryan was surprisingly undervalued. Oddly enough, he may still be. What better way to understand Ryan's fierce competitive spirit and otherworldly talent than actually asking the Hall

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30:30

Girl in the Picture: A 25-Year Mystery Solved

Factual America ·

2022/07/06

In Netflix's latest true crime documentary Girl in the Picture, a woman named Sharon Marshall is found dying by a road, leaves behind a son, a man claiming to be her husband—and a mystery that unfolds like a nightmare. The film tells an incredibly tragic tale and the incredible story of how the mystery was eventually solved twenty-five years later. Directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker Skye Borgman, Girl in the Picture looks at who Sharon Marshall was, her many different lives and

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37:01

Keep Sweet: The Cult of Warren Jeffs and FLDS

Factual America ·

2022/06/30

The Netflix docuseries Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey tells the chilling story of Warren Jeffs and his rise in the Fundamentalist Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS), an offshoot of the mainstream Mormon church. FLDS members practice polygamy and assign women husbands by divine revelation to the prophet, in this case, Warren Jeffs. The church turned into a cult under Jeffs' leadership, and its practices led to concerns from outsiders about underage marriage and statutory rape. But no one was

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54:44

Scouting for Girls: Fashion's Darkest Secret

Factual America ·

2022/06/23

Three-part docuseries Scouting for Girls: Fashion's Darkest Secret reveals how a group of men behind the world's most successful modelling agencies were involved in a darker side of the industry. It exposes how modelling agents like John Casablancas, Jean-Luc Brunel, Claude Haddad and Gérald Marie, who denies the allegations, created a culture that enabled many of them to indulge in a spectrum of abusive behaviours, ranging from grooming and coercion to the rape of models as young as 15. The film

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43:29

Elon Musk's Crash Course in Self-Driving Technology

Factual America ·

2022/06/09

Based on reporting by New York Times journalists Cade Metz and Neil Boudet, Elon Musk's Crash Course zeroes in on Elon Musk, the world's richest person and CEO of Tesla, and his claims about self-driving cars. The latest in a series of films from The New York Times Presents is directed and produced by Emmy-winning journalist and filmmaker Emma Schwartz, and it reveals the quixotic nature of Musk's pursuit of self-driving technology and its tragic results. Watch the episode at

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47:30

How Fiddler on the Roof Made it to Hollywood

Factual America ·

2022/06/03

Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen (2022) captures a bygone era of early television and blockbuster Hollywood musicals. It also shines a light on the incredible career of fellow filmmaker Norman Jewison. Jewison had critical success over more than three decades, but his crowning achievement might be bringing the famous musical Fiddler on the Roof to the big screen. Legendary film critic Pauline Kael called Fiddler the most powerful movie musical ever made. Award-winning and Oscar nominated

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01:13:32

Deep in the Heart of Texas Wildlife

Factual America ·

2022/05/27

Deep in the Heart (2022) is a visually stunning portrait of Texas, told through the eyes of the wildlife species themselves. Narrated by Texas icon Matthew McConaughey and featuring state of the art cinematography, this documentary brings to life one of the world's most diverse, but possibly lesser known set of ecosystems. Similar in style to Planet Earth, the film shows off some of the most remarkable wildlife spectacles and eco regions in the state of Texas, weaving in the story of our society's

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33:21

Hold Your Fire: A Call for Restorative Justice in the US

Factual America ·

2022/05/11

Documentary film ‘Hold Your Fire’ provides us with a riveting account of a hostage situation in Brooklyn in January 1973, when four young African American men were caught stealing guns in a sporting goods store and took a dozen hostages. The police assumed that they were members of the Black Liberation Army and came down with all the force of the NYPD. The situation snowballed into an event full of miscommunications, misunderstandings and mistaken identity, and it soon became tragically violent

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43:07

The Invisible Pilot: Stranger than Fiction

Factual America ·

2022/05/06

The Invisible Pilot is an HBO Max Docuseries that captures the incredible story of Gary Betzner, an Arkansas crop duster who died under mysterious circumstances. Or did he? The mystery around this man's death would be more than enough for a compelling doc. But that is only the beginning of a story that proves that truth is most definitely stranger than fiction. Given the unlikeliest of events set against the backdrop of 1970s and 80s America and Reagan's war on drugs, the docuseries is Forrest Gump

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01:14:05

In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50

Factual America ·

2022/04/28

Legendary rock band King Crimson has been inspiring generations of musicians for over 50 years. After starting off with great success in 1969 in London, the band effectively split up in the same year, which then started a process of fragmentation and reinvention that has continued for 52 years. Documentary film In the Court of the Crimson King that premiered at this year's SXSW festival, captures life on the road with King Crimson. The group's legendary cult following has long waited for a doc, but

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37:24

Our Great National Parks with Barrack Obama on Netflix

Factual America ·

2022/04/14

Our Great National Parks is a breathtaking Netflix original docuseries, executive produced and narrated by President Barack Obama, who protected more public lands and waters than any other US president in history. Watch the full episode at https://www.alamopictures.co.uk/podcast/our-great-national-parks President Obama takes us on a journey to experience nature in the world's most iconic national parks, spanning five continents. The series brims with wonder, humour and optimism as each episode tells

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23:48

I Am Here: The Most Inspirational Holocaust Survivor

Factual America ·

2022/04/06

Ella Blumenthal is one of the oldest living survivors of the Holocaust. Despite living through one of history's darkest chapters, she brings a joy to life that few can match. On her 98th birthday, however, Ella reveals to close friends and family profound memories of her incredible survival in a way she has never done before. Award-winning documentary I Am Here (2021) celebrates Ella's remarkable life and her magnetic personality and spirit that have remained undimmed. South African filmmaker Jordi

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46:27

The Andy Warhol Diaries on Screen

Factual America ·

2022/03/30

Andy Warhol is arguably the most famous artist of his generation, and his work still resonates today, 35 years after his untimely death. But what do we know about the man behind the cultural icon? Acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Rossi is the writer and director of the Netflix docuseries, The Andy Warhol Diaries. In this 6-part series, Andrew brings Warhol’s diaries brilliantly to life. In the process he helps us learn how Andy Warhol – the talented, sensitive, gay and religious man – was far more complex

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41:34

Oscars Short Documentary Nominees

Factual America ·

2022/03/24

In this special episode three of the five nominees for this year's Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) join us to discuss their films. When We Were Bullies, by the Award-winning director and writer Jay Rosenblatt, follows Jay as he tracks down his fifth-grade class and their teacher to examine their memories of and complicity in a bullying incident over 50 years ago. We are next joined by award-winning director and producer Matthew Ogens. His short documentary Audible, produced by

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191 results

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