All Episodes
Unsolved Mysteries: the original true-crime series
For nearly 40 years Unsolved Mysteries, that staple of 1990s US television now streaming on Netflix, has been investigating UFO sightings, unsolved murders and unexplained phenomena. The co-creator and producer Terry Dunn Meure discusses Volume 5 and shares the secrets of the series’ longevity and success.
Paul Simon: Faith, Mortality & Music – with Alex Gibney
Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney joins Factual America to discuss his film In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon. The two-part documentary surveys the studio as Paul records his new album Seven Psalms while reflecting on his six-decade career and wrestling with the issues of faith and mortality.
Alex also explains his own creative process, the lessons he’s learned from a career in film, and his upcoming film on Elon Musk. We learn what he looks for when choosing to get involved in a project and the skills you need to be a successful documentary filmmaker.
The 7M TikTok Dance Cult: Dancing for the Devil
A group of prominent TikTok dancers are trapped in a cult masquerading as a management company called 7M. Among them is Miranda Wilking, whose family is desperately trying to help their daughter escape the clutches of the cult’s founder, Robert Shinn. The Wilkings’ efforts ultimately help other dancers realise the dangers they face while former members of the Shekinah Church emerge to tell their heartbreaking stories.
Executive producer Jessica Acevedo and director Derek Doneen, the filmmakers behind Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, join Factual America to discuss this incredible story about faith, fame, family and ultimately fear.
Relationship Hack – Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal is a three-part Netflix docu-series in which director Toby Paton explores the rise and fall of the infamous infidelity dating website.
It started with a simple slogan: “Life is short. Have an affair”. It ended in 2015 with the Ashley Madison website being hacked and the personal details of the company’s millions of users being published on the internet.
What was it like working for Ashley Madison? Who hacked it? Why do people even have affairs? All these questions and more are explored as Toby joins Matthew to discuss the docu-series.
Oklahoma City – An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th
On April 19th 1995, a bomb planted by Timothy McVeigh outside the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City exploded killing 168 people and injuring 680.
In this episode of Factual America, Matthew Sherwood speaks to Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson, director and co-producer of An American Bombing: The Road to April 19th, which follows McVeigh’s journey from war hero to domestic terrorist, placing his life in the context of the evolution of political violence in the US, an evolution that continues to the present day making the film both timely and in this presidential election year, relevant.
A Brief History of the Future: Making the World A Better Place
What does the future hold for humanity? Given the many crises in the world today, it would be easy to give a negative answer. In A Brief History of the Future, however, director Andrew Morgan and presenter Ari Wallach explore the challenges facing humanity and how people are responding to them positively, in big and small ways. Andrew joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss his film and its vision of how the history of the future could be greater than the future of the past.
Against All Enemies: US Veterans Fighting Their Own Country
On January 6th 2020 the US Capitol was attacked by supporters of the outgoing president, Donald Trump. Among them were army vets. Once, these veterans had sworn an oath to protect their country, now the US government was their enemy. Why? This is the question at the heart of Against All Enemies, a new documentary by Charlie Sadoff. Charlie joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss the answers that the film uncovers. They look at the extremist groups behind the violence and their motivations. Charlie thinks this year’s presidential election might lead to further violence, and his film also explores what can be done to help vets transition back to civilian life.
God Save Texas: Life in the Land of Oil and Gas
In God Save Texas acclaimed filmmakers Richard Linklater, Alex Stapleton, and Iliana Sosa return to their home state to explore its past, present, and future. Alex joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss her episode, The Price of Oil, in which she looks at the effect that Texas’ huge oil and gas industry has had both on her family and local communities. Her story is both personal and of national importance, for as she tells Matthew, how it goes with Texas is how it will go with the rest of the US.
The NFL’s Greatest Dynasty: New England Patriots
Between 2001-19, the New England Patriots under head coach Bill Belichick and with quarterback Tom Brady won a record equalling six Super Bowl titles. In The Dynasty: New England Patriots, a ten part docu-series now showing on Apple TV+, director Matthew Hamachek tells the story of the Patriots’ rise to dominance, the scandals that threatened to overshadow the franchise’s success, and its fall at the end of the Brady era. In this episode of Factual America, Matt and Matthew Sherwood discuss the Patriots’ story and the question at the heart of it: what does it take to accomplish greatness?
Amityville: Origins of the Horror Story
In 1979, The Amityville Horror terrified a generation of cinema-goers. In his docu-series, Amityville: An Origin Story, director Jack Riccobono explores the background to the film. Its inspiration was the 1974 murder of the DeFeo family, and the experience of the Lutz family, who moved into the DeFeo’s home not long after, only to flee 28 days later, claiming to have been driven out by paranormal activity. In conversation with Matthew Sherwood, Jack explains how he sought to humanise the Amityville story and place it in the context of the dark, crazy time that was the 1970s. Humans, it turns out, can be just as haunting as ghosts.
Investigating the Octopus Murders: An American Conspiracy
On August 10th 1991, Danny Casolaro was found dead in a hotel bathtub. A journalist, he had been investigating a series of scandals that stemmed, he believed, from the alleged theft by the US Justice Department of a piece of software called PROMIS that could be used to create spyware. Danny was found with his wrists slashed. Did he kill himself or was he murdered? Factual America catches up with Zachary Treitz and Christian Hansen, director and co-executive producer respectively of a new Netflix docu-series, American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders, to discuss how they retraced Danny’s footsteps in an attempt to uncover the truth of what happened to him.
MMA’s Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez | Fighting for her Life in the UFC | Q&A with Cassius Corrigan
Tatiana Suarez was a twelve-time wrestling champion in high school, and bronze medal winner in the World Championships. The Olympic title seemed to be there for the taking until the day she broke her neck. Not long later, doctors discovered she had cancer. The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez, directed by Cassius Corrigan, tells the story of Tatiana’s recovery, and how, with wrestling now closed to her, she chose to take on a new sport: Mixed Martial Arts, at which she has excelled. Cassius joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss Tatiana’s amazing life, from its tumultuous beginnings, seemingly insurmountable setbacks, and ultimate triumphs.
Challenging Zuckerberg’s Metanarrative
In February 2004, Facebook was launched. Twenty years later, what started as a website for American college students is now used by over a billion people worldwide. But what of the man who co-founded and has led it ever since? Mark Zuckerberg is an enigma: he is instantly recognisable but entirely inscrutable. In Zuckerberg: King of the Metaverse, Nick Green goes in search of Facebook’s presiding genius. With Matthew Sherwood, he discusses the difficulties of that search. They look at how perceptions of Zuckerberg have changed over the years, and ask the question: in this year of high-profile elections, can Zuckerberg or Facebook be trusted?
American Nightmare: Unravelling Crimes That Never Were
In 2015, Denise Huskins was kidnapped and sexually assaulted before being freed two days later. Until her return, her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, was accused of her murder. Afterwards, the couple were accused of committing a hoax, in what the media dubbed the “Gone Girl” case. In this episode of Factual America, Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris, co-directors of American Nightmare, a new Netflix docu-series about Denise and Aaron’s experience, discuss what happened both on the night and when the police refused to believe the couple. They reflect on the making of the series, explore the opportunity for change it provides, and make an unexpected connection with another very/not so different documentary.
Inside Lady Bird Johnson’s White House: Recording a Public and Private Life
November 1963. Tragedy has made Lady Bird Johnson the new First Lady of the USA. While at the White House she records her ‘thoughts and experiences’, and by 1969, her archive is 123 hours long. From it comes The Lady Bird Diaries, a new documentary film by Dawn Porter. She joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss Lady Bird, one of America’s ‘most influential and least understood First Ladies’. Among the topics they discuss are her skill as a diarist, her influence over President Johnson, and how Lady Bird changed the role of First Lady. She lived through historical events, recorded them, and made them.
Finding Hope amidst Hate in A Town Called Victoria
January 28th 2017, a mosque in Victoria, Texas is destroyed by an arson attack. Who set fire to it? Why? And what happened next? These are the questions that Li Lu explores in A Town Called Victoria, a new three-part docu-series on PBS. In this episode of Factual America, Li discusses the series, the solidarity and division that came out of and was revealed by the arson attack, and some of the film’s themes, including white supremacy, patriotism, and mental illness, and how a small town in Texas is a microcosm of every American community.
Stamping Out Racist Lies: America’s Truth
Stamped from the Beginning explains and dismantles nine racist lies about black people that Americans have been told since the foundation of the country. Using a mix of interviews, animation, music, VFX and more, Roger Ross Williams brings Dr. Ibram X Kendi’s ground-breaking book of the same name to life in memorable fashion. Among the topics discussed by Roger and Ibram with Matthew Sherwood are the themes of the film, why they decided to use a nearly all female cast, and what they hope the film will achieve. The final result is, as Matthew notes, a truly uplifting documentary.
The Roots of Black Friday: the ‘80s Cabbage Patch Kids Craze
It’s 1983 and the American economy is on the up. Credit cards are becoming increasingly popular, and parents who went through hard times as children are eager to spend. Enter the Cabbage Patch Kids. They were mass produced, lumpy, and awkward looking, but very, very cute and desirable. Dan Goodman, co-executive producer of Billion Dollar Babies, joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss this film about the rise of the iconic doll, the hysteria they generated, and how it all foreshadowed the excesses of Black Friday.
Wisdom in the Shadows of Dementia
What is it like having a mother who is suffering from dementia? The answer, for Rea Tajiri, lies in Wisdom Gone Wild. Her mother, Rose Tajiri, was diagnosed with dementia in 1999. As the years passed and the disease worsened, Rea became her caregiver. At the same time, however, the dementia opened the door to a series of encounters between Rea and her mother that take place both in Rose’s past and the present. In this episode of Factual America, Rea reflects on these encounters, and the ‘wisdoms’ that came from them. She discusses the ups and downs of caring for her mother, and how the film has helped others in similar situations.
Carlos Santana: Discovering the Spirit of the Man.
In a career lasting over fifty years, Carlos Santana has reached the heights of brilliance as a musician, yet still remains thoroughly grounded as a man. In Carlos, director Rudy Valdez finds out how Santana has managed this seemingly impossible feat as he explores Carlos’s life, art, and spiritual journey. Rudy joins Matthew Sherwood to share what it was like making the film and working with a true rock legend.