Factual America

This week on Factual America, Matthew Sherwood is joined by Miles Coleman, writer and co-producer of Netflix docu-series, FIFA Uncovered.  When the Fédération Internationale de Football Association – more popularly known as FIFA – was founded in 1904, its remit was simple: to oversee a competition between various footballing nations.  Today, however, it is a multi-billion dollar organisa...

Every summer, a horde of professional Santas, Mrs. Clauses and elves descend on a campsite in the New Hampshire woods to learn the tricks of their trade. But this year is different. As Santas adapt to a modern world and embrace inclusivity, they are met with a lot of love but a lot of hate too. Filmmakers Nick Sweeney and Stacey Reiss join us to talk about how they got such an unprecedented insigh...

Disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, was an infamous sexual predator, using his money and influence to hide is secret life preying on young girls. But he did not act alone. Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and daughter of privilege was just as much a monster as Epstein, as revealed by the new Netflix documentary, Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich .  Join Matth...

In 1996 a Pepsi giveaway competition inspired John Leonard, a young mountain guide from Seattle, to do everything he could to claim the top prize – a Harrier jet. Realising that it was physically impossible to drink enough cans of cola to earn the necessary 7,000,000 points, John hatched a plan that soon had him facing off against a team of corporate lawyers.  A David versus Goliath story for...

Nicolas Brown’s new documentary, The Letter , takes its name from Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ 2015 letter on the care for ‘our common home’ – the earth. The film explores the journey of a group of people from different walks of life – some from the margins of society, others closer to the centre – as they make their way to the Vatican, for a meeting with the Pope. In this special episode of Factual...

Who is Stan Smith? A tennis legend, humanitarian, and... a shoe! Before Djokovic or Federer, McEnroe or Borg, there was Stan Smith. A brilliant player, his success on the tennis court in the ‘70s led to Adidas naming its now iconic tennis shoe after him.  But there is much more to Stan Smith than tennis success and shoes. For though he set out to be the best, in the end that wasn’t enough. He...

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 incr...

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,...

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 10 th...

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,...

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 behi...

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 dr...

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 w...

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-...

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...

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...

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...

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 Pau...

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 rema...

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...

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...

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, cap...

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...

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 remar...

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 h...