You Can’t Make This Up

The Netflix documentary film The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson goes beyond the headlines and zooms in on the life of the woman lost in a sensational murder case. We hear Moriah’s family and friends discuss who shaped her life, what motivated her passion for cycling, and how her loss has affected them. It recounts how authorities caught and convicted Kaitlin Armstrong for the murder, but the f...

The Netflix sports documentary series Untold: Chess Mates looks back at the controversy surrounding a disruptive challenger to the Game of Kings. We hear from Hans Niemann and examine the claims he upset the reigning world champion by receiving radio signals in anal beads. It also features interviews with the chess luminaries who accused Niemann of cheating in the ultimate test of cerebral fitness...

The Netflix documentary series Trust Me: The False Prophet follows Dr. Christine Marie as she pivots from confidante and documentarian to investigator, as she helps authorities build a case against fundamentalist cult leader Samuel Bateman. Featuring interviews with FLDS members and exclusive video from inside this insular community, Trust Me: The False Prophet provides a unique view on a story of...

The Netflix documentary film The Plastic Detox explores the many ways microplastics are affecting nature and our wellbeing, and seeks solutions to what has become an international, public health problem. It follows one scientist asking the question: if people reduce their exposure and let their bodies flush out the microplastics, can it reverse the growing global trend of infertility? In this epis...

The Netflix documentary series Dynasty: The Murdochs goes deep inside the succession battle among Rupert Murdoch and his adult children. It shows how Murdoch used a mix of controversy and conservatism to build an empire — but his unwillingness to settle the question of a successor imperiled everything. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews co-directors Liz Garbu...

Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model brings together the stars, producers, and contestants to discuss the show’s success and confront its legacy of problematic segments. The Netflix documentary series explores how the show, envisioned as changing the modeling industry, came to re-enforce its darkest qualities. And it lets Tyra Banks and her co-stars address the criticism that their TV sh...

The Netflix documentary series Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model reexamines the TV show’s impact on a nation’s perception of beauty and the troubling situations it put contestants through in the name of entertainment. It offers behind the scenes stories from Tyra Banks, her co-stars, and her producers, and their thoughts today about the program’s most controversial moments. And it fea...

Today we’re turning things over to our friends at Netflix’s Skip Intro and their conversation with Elizabeth Smart. She reflects on the harrowing experience of being abducted from her bedroom at just 14 years old. In this intimate conversation, Elizabeth opens up about why she wanted to retell her story in more explicit detail in the Netflix film Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, and help other survivor...

The Netflix documentary film Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart goes deep inside the famous crime with the stories of those who were there - including Elizabeth herself. She talks in detail about her abduction, the abuse she suffered, and lengths she went to stay safe in captivity. We also hear from her family about how they kept the search going to have that reunion with their missing loved one. In this...

The Netflix series Sean Combs: The Reckoning uses powerful interviews and behind-the-scenes footage to tell Sean “Puffy” Combs’ story from restless kid to federal defendant. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews former business partner Kirk Burrowes about what it was like to build a record label with Combs and his reaction to the hit documentary. SPOILER ALERT!...

We return to our discussion of the one true crime story you couldn’t get enough of in 2025: the Netflix documentary series Amy Bradley is Missing. Host Rebecca Lavoie revisits her conversation with directors Phil Lott and Ari Mark. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Amy Bradley is Missing yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listening on.  Dig deeper into all of your favorite Netf...

On this episode, we’re revisiting one of the most thought-provoking and conversation-starting films from the past year. We’ll return to our discussion of the Netflix documentary The Perfect Neighbor. Host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Geeta Gandbhir and producer Nikon Kwantu. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched The Perfect Neighbor yet, make sure to add it to your watch-list before listenin...

In our latest look at the Netflix documentary series Sean Combs: The Reckoning, we’ll hear from Combs’s former personal assistant, Capricorn Clark. She talks about her complex working relationship with Combs, the difficulties of coming forward with her story, what it was like to face him in federal court, and her reaction to the jurors who said in the series that she was not a convincing witness....

The Netflix documentary film The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo follows war correspondent Gary Knight as he attempts to learn who actually captured the famous “Napalm Girl” picture. The hunt for the unidentified photographer will take him across the globe and put him at odds with a journalistic community deeply protective of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Nick Út’s legacy. Knight enl...

The four-part Netflix series Sean Combs: The Reckoning is a staggering examination of the media mogul, music legend, and convicted offender. It features never before-seen-videos of Combs in the days before his arrest. It also offers exclusive interviews with those who allege he used violence to succeed in business and exploit women.  In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie i...

The Netflix documentary film The Carman Family Deaths looks into the strange events surrounding Nathan Carman and whether he murdered his mother and grandfather for a multimillion dollar inheritance. It explores whether police misinterpreted the typical behavior of an autistic person as incriminating, and whether the tragedy on the high seas was an accident or a crime. In this episode of You Can't...

The Netflix documentary Being Eddie looks at Eddie Murphy’s remarkable life - from superstardom to career lows and back again. For the first time, he tells his own story about his varied artistic choices, avoiding celebrity pitfalls, and living as a dad and a homebody. It features interviews with legendary comedians who discuss Murphy’s legacy and ponder what it must be like being Eddie Murphy.  I...

The Netflix documentary series Marines follow the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit as they prepare for a high-stakes training exercise that tests their readiness “in the air, on land and sea.” The series follows a group of enlisted men and officers  - snipers, gunners, and pilots - as they push themselves physically and emotionally in order “to claim the title of United States Marine.”  In this epis...

The Netflix documentary film Aileen: Queen of the Serial Killers recounts Aileen Wuornos’s violent childhood, lethal killing spree, and problematic trial. It provides additional context to her story and invites viewers to reconsider her complicated legacy. Featuring never-before-seen footage from death row, Wuornos discusses the trauma she endured, the case against her, and the victims of her crim...

The Netflix documentary film Who Killed the Montreal Expos? revisits the baseball team’s collapse and relocation to Washington. It lets heartbroken fans, beloved players, and vilified owners point fingers at who or what was responsible for the club’s demise. Was it management blunders, labor disputes, political indifference, or basic economics? Or…do all these things share blame for Montréal losin...

The Netflix documentary film The Perfect Neighbor offers a real-time look at the simmering dispute between a white woman and her Black neighbors. Told largely through police body cam footage, it reveals the petty complaints that started the conflict - and the heart-wrenching grief when it ended. It also explores whether Susan Lorincz tried to weaponize police against those living around her and wh...

In the Netflix documentary My Father, the BTK Killer, Kerri Rawson embarks on a personal journey of understanding—confronting childhood trauma and searching for healing. In this bonus from the podcast Monster: BTK from Tenderfoot TV and iHeartPodcasts, Executive Producer Payne Lindsey sits down with Kerri to talk about her early childhood, learning about her dad's true identity when she was an adu...

The Netflix documentary Rebel Royals offers an intimate look at the unlikely romance between Märtha Louise, daughter of the King of Norway, and Shaman Durek Verrett, a mystic from California. The spiritual couple navigates issues of class, race, and national identity as they prepare for a royal wedding among the Scandinavian fjords. They address critics in the press and the public who view their u...

In part two of our look at the Netflix series Love Con Revenge, we talk to the private eye working with The Tinder Swindler’s Cecilie Fjellhøy about the tradecraft of locating other con artists who’ve swindled their partners. She discusses the challenge of uncovering their web of deceit and bringing any measure of justice for victims duped by those who loved their money more than they loved them....

In the Netflix series Love Con Revenge, Cecilie Fjellhøy from The Tinder Swindler teams with a private investigator to track down other swindlers and tell the stories of those left both broke and heartbroken. Faced with limited legal options, the team goes to bat for a group of victims who were ripped off in different ways, but were all victims in elaborate romantic long cons. In this episode of Y...