All Episodes
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.