Factual America

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 a...

Once the pride of American technological know-how, Boeing took a wrong turn toward achieving the bottom line at all costs, even if it meant keeping pilots in the dark and putting passengers' lives at risk. In the end, two Boeing 737 MAX airliners crashed, killing 346 people. Boeing's PR campaign immediately went into action to disparage and cast aspersions on the flight crews and their countries....

Ivete Lucas and Patrick Bresnan are award-winning filmmakers. Their documentary films have premiered at Sundance and won multiple awards including the Directors Fortnight best short film prize at Cannes. Patrick and Ivete's body of work focuses on the seldom seen and forgotten parts of American society. Their most recent short Happiness is a Journey, produced by the Guardian , captures a nigh...

Brian Wilson was the co-founder of the seminal 60s rock group The Beach Boys, as the leader and creative genius behind the band’s many hits. Brian Wilson has influenced generations of pop stars, including Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Taylor Hawkins and other pop royalty.  Award-winning documentary filmmaker Brent Wilson joins us for the second time to discuss his new film, Brian Wilson: Lon...

Marilyn Monroe almost requires no introduction. The iconic star of the silver screen still resonates with the viewing public even 60 years after her untimely death. But do we need to rethink her legacy or how she's been portrayed? Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Karen McGann certainly thinks so. Her new docu-series Reframed: Marilyn Monroe rethinks the legacy of one of the greatest icons of the 20...

Secrets of Playboy (2021)  documents the lived experiences of Playboy playmates, the Playboy Bunnies, and employees of the Playboy empire, and the abuse they went through at the hands of its founder Hugh Hefner.  Award-winning filmmaker Alexandra Dean joins us to discuss the making of this 10-part series currently streaming on A&E, and what it was like to uncover the abuses that occurred...

Writing with Fire (2021) is an inspiring story about India's only newspaper run by Dalit, low-caste women. Armed with smartphones and tenacity, chief reporter Meera Devi and her journalists break traditions as they break stories and tackle India's biggest issues. In the process, they are redefining what it means to be powerful socially.  Writing with Fire  is one of this year's Academy A...

Neymar: The Perfect Chaos, currently streaming on Netflix,   tells the story of the beloved but often criticised footballer Neymar, the highs and lows of his personal life, and his brilliant football career. Award-winning filmmaker David Charles Rodrigues joins us to discuss the film and reveals how he gained almost full access to Neymar’s life.   During filming of this documentary, Davi...

HBO's original documentary Dear Rider tells the inspirational story of Jake Burton Carpenter, who pioneered the sport of snowboarding.  Fernando Villena, award-winning filmmaker and the director of Dear Rider, discusses Jake’s life as a snowboarding legend. The film shows how Jake took his favourite childhood toy and turned it into a global cultural phenomenon.  Fernando not only talks a...

Hell or High Seas (2021) follows U.S. Navy veteran Taylor Grieger and writer Stephen O’Shea on their two-year adventure sailing around Cape Horn, in some of the world’s most treacherous waters. The purpose of this extreme journey was to raise awareness about PTSD and the challenges facing veterans as they return to civilian life. Taylor Grieger, director Glenn Holsten and producer Chayne Gregg joi...

Joining us is Vicky Ward, a New York Times bestselling author, investigative journalist and the host and co-producer of Chasing Ghislaine . In 2002 Vicky conducted one of the few interviews ever given by Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender.   Vicky has now turned her sights on Epstein's former confidante, Ghislaine Maxwell. The British socialite is current...

The National Geographic documentary The First Wave captures the harrowing first four months of the Covid-19 pandemic as it played out in one of New York City’s hardest-hit hospital systems.  Joining us is Matthew Heineman, an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker who directed and produced this film.  The incredible footage he obtained and shaped into The First Wave represent...

Kenny G is the best-selling instrumentalist of all time, but why does he elicit such heartfelt, negative criticism from some listeners? Penny Lane’s new HBO documentary Listening to Kenny G shows the world-famous saxophonist speaking candidly about his musical background, his stringent work ethic, and his controversial standing in the jazz world. Penny joins us to discuss the making of the film an...

On September 5th 1981 a group of women came together to change the world. These women marched from Wales to Berkshire to protest nuclear weapons being kept at RAF Greenham Common, a British airbase. Feature-length documentary Mothers of the Revolution (2021) tells the true story of the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp and how it helped to bring the Cold War to an end. B etween 1981 and 2000, in...

The National Geographic documentary Becoming Cousteau explores the life of legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, a man well ahead of his time in bringing climate change and environmental devastation to the world’s attention.  Mridu Chandra, award-winning filmmaker and one of the producers of Becoming Cousteau, joins us to discuss Cousteau's remarkable life and passion for the environment...

The Discovery+ docuseries Curse of the Chippendales chronicles the dark side of the 1980s all-male striptease dance troupe. The muscular men of the Chippendales captured the hearts, minds, and dollars of the 1980s in their iconic cuffs and collars, but what started out as a first in women’s entertainment soon turned into a story of greed, jealousy and murder for hire. Executive producer Suzanne La...

Hawking: Can You Hear Me? is a Sky Original documentary that explores the remarkable human story of Stephen Hawking, through candid interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues. The film brings to life the man behind the persona of legendary theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking and in the process shows the impact fame and disability had on those closest to him. Joining Fact...

The Rescue explores the story of the dramatic Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018, when twelve boys and their soccer coach were saved from deep inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand. But like all great documentaries, it is about so much more – bravery, cave diving, the human spirit and ultimately, generosity.  The Rescue is the latest masterpiece by the Oscar-winning director Chai Vasrahelyi,...

A young man from the San Francisco suburbs journeys to the Middle East and soon finds himself as the face of Islamist extremism in post-9/11 America. This is the story of John Walker Lindh, as explored in the recent Showtime hit documentary Detainee 001 . Emmy-winning director Greg Barker joins us to discuss this unlikeliest of stories.  The film shows how America grapples with justice in the...

International Space Station and international co-operation in space has outlived presidents, regimes, current events, 9/11, and it has been carrying on for several decades now. It is fascinating how many people it takes to get someone into space. This is what inspired director and producer Clare Lewins in her new documentary  The Wonderful: Stories From the Space Station. The Wonderful is a s...

Factual America meets The Lone Star Plate for the second time. We are wrapping up Season 2 of Factual America, and our sister podcast The Lone Star Plate, which features interviews with famous Texans and explores compelling Texas stories, has just closed Season 3.     Two fellow Texans, hosts Matthew Sherwood and Patrick Scott Armstrong, discuss the highlights of the last season, ce...

In 1979 The Beatles producer Sir George Martin turned a Caribbean paradise into a 1980s hit making crucible for the likes of Paul McCartney, Elton John, and such acts as the Rolling Stones, The Police, and Dire Straits. His vision was to create a studio where artists could come and be free to express their creativity and record albums.  After a decade of hits, and at the peak of its popularit...

Award-winning documentary Echoes of the Invisible (2020) looks at timelessness, the origins of the universe, and what it means to be one of the almost 8 billion inhabitants of Planet Earth. The film follows the explorers who are pushing the human body and technology beyond known limits in the most extreme environments on Earth. One of them is Paul Salopek, a journalist walking across the world in...

After covering The State of Texas vs. Melissa (2021), once again we are talking on Factual America about the death penalty in the state of Texas. The recently released documentary The Phantom (2021) shines a light on a capital murder case, but probably in ways that most of us have never experienced before. The film follows Carlos DeLuna, who was arrested in 1983 for the murder of a woman service s...

Acclaimed producer Fernando Sulichin has built his career by working with film giants such as Spike Lee, David Lynch, Sean Penn, and Oliver Stone. Now Fernando has two films debuting at the Cannes Film Festival. Flag Day is directed by and stars Sean Penn, while JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass is the latest documentary from director Oliver Stone. JFK Revisited is the follow-up to Stone's...