Every week, WNYC tells you about the best documentaries as they become available on screens of any size. Our hosts are Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen, co-founders of the Pure Nonfiction podcast and the DOC NYC festival, the largest non-fiction film festival in the U.S.
WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, Freakonomics Radio, 2 Dope Queens, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.
214 Available Episodes (214 Total)Average duration: 00:01:54
Apr 21, 2023
"Little Richard: I Am Everything" celebrates a rock 'n' roll pioneer
00:02:02
"Little Richard: I Am Everything" brings a fresh perspective on the history of rock 'n' roll with insights from Mick Jagger and Billy Porter. Director Lisa Cortes explores what it meant to be Black and queer when both were subject to intense discrimination and violence.
Apr 14, 2023
From Clothing to Conservation in "Wild Life"
00:01:57
"Wild Life" tells the love story of Doug and Kris Tompkins who gave up careers running North Face and Patagonia to devote themselves to conservation. Oscar-winning filmmaker E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ("Free Solo") chronicle how the Tompkins orchestrated the largest national park land donation in history.
Apr 07, 2023
Van Jones navigates controversy in "The First Step"
00:01:48
In "The First Step," we follow progressive activist Van Jones as forges an unlikely alliance with Jared Kushner in the Trump administration to pass criminal justice reform. The film-making brothers, Brandon and Lance Kramer show how political coalitions are hard to win and easy to lose.
Mar 31, 2023
Revisiting the Iraq War in "The Army We Had"
00:01:44
The American soldiers who were interviewed 20 years ago for the documentary "Gunner Palace" about the war in Iraq, look back on their experiences today in "The Army We Had." While many Americans may want to forget the war, filmmakers Petra Epperlein and Michael Tucker keep the memories of these soldiers alive.
Mar 24, 2023
Who Was Nam June Paik?
00:01:54
"Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV" profiles the ground-breaking video artist whose work in the 1970s and 80s anticipated numerous artistic and technological innovations that came afterward. Filmmaker Amanda Kim interviews Paik's friends and admirers who put his legacy in perspective.
Mar 17, 2023
Nan Goldin vs the Sacklers in "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed"
00:01:52
"All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" profiles the artist Nan Goldin and her fight to have the Sackler family held accountable for the opioid epidemic. Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras explores Goldin's complex history as an artist and activist while chronicling her recent campaign to have art institutions disassociate themselves from the Sacklers as donors.
Mar 10, 2023
"Navalny" is a political thriller about an opponent of Vladimir Putin
00:01:49
"Navalny" follows the Russian dissident Alexei Navalny as he investigates a Kremlin plot to assassinate him. Today, Navalny is in prison, but this film by Daniel Roher keeps his voice alive and is nominated for an Academy Award.
Mar 03, 2023
Documenting trans lives in "Framing Agnes"
00:01:51
"Framing Agnes" brings to life archival interviews with transgender men and women from the 1950s. Filmmaker Chase Joynt leads a team of trans collaborators including Zackary Drucker, Angelica Ross and Max Wolf Valerio to shed light on this earlier generation.
Feb 17, 2023
"The 1619 Project" becomes a six-part series
00:02:01
"The 1619 Project" adapts the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism of Nikole Hannah-Jones into a six-part series on Hulu. Filmmaker Roger Ross Williams teams with The New York Times and Oprah Winfrey to reexamine Black American history.
Feb 10, 2023
"Nothing Lasts Forever" looks at the diamond industry
00:02:04
"Nothing Lasts Forever" explores how the rise of synthetic diamonds is disrupting the longtime monopoly of the company De Beers. Filmmaker Jason Kohn interviews a wide range of industry insiders including jewelry designer and historian Aja Raden.
Apr 21 | 00:02:02
"Little Richard: I Am Everything" celebrates a rock 'n' roll pioneer
Apr 14 | 00:01:57
From Clothing to Conservation in "Wild Life"
Apr 07 | 00:01:48
Van Jones navigates controversy in "The First Step"
Mar 31 | 00:01:44
Revisiting the Iraq War in "The Army We Had"
Mar 24 | 00:01:54
Who Was Nam June Paik?
Mar 17 | 00:01:52
Nan Goldin vs the Sacklers in "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed"
Mar 10 | 00:01:49
"Navalny" is a political thriller about an opponent of Vladimir Putin
Mar 03 | 00:01:51
Documenting trans lives in "Framing Agnes"
Feb 17 | 00:02:01
"The 1619 Project" becomes a six-part series
Feb 10 | 00:02:04
"Nothing Lasts Forever" looks at the diamond industry
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