Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film artwork

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

181 episodes - English - Latest episode: 8 days ago - ★★★★ - 211 ratings

If you love documentary films, hear from the top storytellers on Pure Nonfiction. Host Thom Powers is well-connected in this world as a documentary curator for the Toronto International Film Festival, DOC NYC, and SundanceNow Doc Club. He leads conversations that are frank, funny and revealing. Listen to interviews with Oscar-winning filmmakers Barbara Kopple, Alex Gibney, and Roger Ross Williams; as well as the directors of “Making a Murderer,” “Weiner” and “OJ: Made in America.” Often the stories behind the scenes are as dramatic as what’s on the screen. On Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: @purenonfiction. Subscribe now.

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Episodes

179: Alex Gibney on Paul Simon

March 21, 2024 12:29 - 50 minutes - 69.1 MB

"In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon" covers the highs and lows of the musician's career as he goes into the studio to create his most recent album "Seven Psalms" that was released in 2023 to critical acclaim. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed filmmaker Alex Gibney live at the CPH:DOX festival in Copenhagen. Alex describes how he approached sensitive topics including the break up of Simon & Garfunkel, the importance of free association in filmmaking, and hard won lessons...

178: Anand Giridharadas on "The Persuaders"

March 14, 2024 06:00 - 48 minutes - 66.4 MB

In his book "The Persuaders," Anand Giridharadas profiles activists and organizers who seek to change people's minds in a time of divisiveness. Host Thom Powers interviews Anand about how he found optimism in the work of persuaders such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Loretta Ross. They also discuss what replaces the concept of objectivity in journalism, the relationship of social media to constructive dialogue, and more. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

177: Carla Gutierrez on "Frida"

March 07, 2024 06:05 - 48 minutes - 66.9 MB

Carla Gutierrez is a renowned documentary editor, known for films such as "RBG" and "Julia." Now she makes her directorial debut with "Frida" about the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Carla about her bold choices to tell the story mainly through Frida's own words and bring movement to the paintings through animation. "Frida" is streaming on Amazon Prime, starting March 15, 2024. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

176: Alissa Wilkinson at The New York Times

February 29, 2024 08:16 - 54 minutes - 74.9 MB

Alissa Wilkinson stands out amongst film critics for writing extensively about documentaries. She was based at Vox.com for many years, but a few months ago she moved to The New York Times where she launched a column called Documentary Download. This was welcome news to Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers who years ago wrote the wishful post Wanted: Documentary Critics. Thom and Alissa discuss the state of film criticism and what's unique about reviewing nonfiction. For more on Alissa, see Ali...

175: S. Leo Chiang on "Island in Between"

February 15, 2024 18:04 - 40 minutes - 55.7 MB

Filmmaker S. Leo Chiang reflects on the relations between Taiwan and China in the Oscar nominated short "Island in Between" streaming from The New York Times Op-Docs. Leo travels to the Kinmen Islands that belong to Taiwan, but lie near the coast of China on the front lines of geopolitics. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Leo about the film and his career working between the United States, Taiwan and China. Leo discusses his 2019 documentary Our Time Machine, the PBS series Asian...

174: Oscar contenders, part 2

January 12, 2024 05:30 - 43 minutes - 59.5 MB

Fifteen films have been chosen for the Oscars documentary short list, the round that comes before nominations. Pure Nonfiction partnered with The Ankler to spotlight seven of the Oscar contenders at a live event in Los Angeles on January 4, 2024. On this episode, host Thom Powers interviews Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson, Tommy Oliver (Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project), Davis Guggenheim, Michael Harte (Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie), Moses Bwayo and Barbie Kyagulani (Bobi Wine: T...

173: Oscar contenders, part 1

January 11, 2024 05:30 - 53 minutes - 73.7 MB

Fifteen films have been chosen for the Oscars documentary short list, the round that comes before nominations. Pure Nonfiction partnered with The Ankler to spotlight seven of the Oscar contenders at a live event in Los Angeles on January 4, 2024. On this episode, host Thom Powers interviews Luke Lorentzen (A Still Small Voice), Nisha Pahuja (To Kill a Tiger), Lauren Domino (American Symphony), and Maite Alberdi (The Eternal Memory). Photo: The Ankler publisher Janice Min and podcast host T...

172: Nicole Newnham on “The Disappearance of Shere Hite”

November 30, 2023 06:52 - 46 minutes - 67.8 MB

In "The Disappearance of Shere Hite," Oscar-nominated director Nicole Newnham ("Crip Camp") profiles the sex researcher who soared to success in the 1970s, but then faded into obscurity. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers talks to Newnham about navigating Hite's complex personality, how the film team uncovered the author's private writings and brought them to life with the collaboration of Dakota Johnson. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

171: "Every Body" Profiles Intersex Activists

November 22, 2023 08:29 - 43 minutes - 59.2 MB

Filmmaker Julie Cohen ("RBG") profiles three intersex activists in her new film "Every Body," now streaming on Peacock. One of those activists is Alicia Roth Weigel who recently published her memoir "Inverse Cowgirl". Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews them about dispelling misinformation and celebrating intersex lives.

170: Raoul Peck on "Silver Dollar Road"

November 16, 2023 08:55 - 42 minutes - 60.6 MB

In his new film "Silver Dollar Road," Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck ("I Am Not Your Negro") focuses on the Reels family in North Carolina, who fought for decades to protect their waterfront property passed down from generation to generation. The film chronicles how the Reels withstood fraudulent land claims, violence, and having two family members sent to jail for eight years because they refused to vacate their home. Peck builds upon the work of reporter Lizzie Presser who wrote about...

169: Mstyslav Chernov on “20 Days in Mariupol"

October 26, 2023 16:23 - 36 minutes - 52.3 MB

Associated Press videographer Mstyslav Chernov won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of Russia's war against Ukraine. When the war escalated in February 2022, Mstyslav covered the front lines for his documentary "20 Days in Mariupol". The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will begin streaming on PBS Frontline on November 21st. It's been selected for the DOC NYC Short List that's known as a predictor of Oscar contenders.  Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Mstyslav...

168: Vinay Shukla on "While We Watched"

October 05, 2023 06:26 - 40 minutes - 58.8 MB

"While We Watched" profiles the Indian TV journalist Ravish Kumar during a period when he's under extreme pressure including death threats for trying to do his job. The film is a cautionary tale over threats to journalism around the world. Director Vinay Shukla is among a new wave of Indian documentary filmmakers that have gained international recognition. Earlier this year on episode 154, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Shaunak Sen ("All That Breathes") said he marks the rise of this new move...

167: Sébastien Lifshitz on "Casa Susanna"

August 24, 2023 04:15 - 39 minutes - 53.9 MB

"Casa Susanna," playing on PBS Passport, tells the secret history of a Catskills resort in the late 1950s and early 1960s that was a safe haven for transgender expression. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Sébastien Lifshitz on how he won the trust of the film’s participants to share their stories after six decades. Further reading: photo historian Isabelle Bonnet on Casa Susanna.

166: Maite Alberdi on "The Eternal Memory"

August 17, 2023 11:51 - 36 minutes - 50.7 MB

Maite Alberdi has become Chile’s most prominent documentary maker. Her films include "Tea Time," about a monthly salon of women; "The Grown-Ups", about adults with Downs Syndrome; and "The Mole Agent" that’s a comic detective story inside a nursing home. Her new work is "The Eternal Memory." She follows the journalist Augusto Gongora and his wife Paulina Urrutia as they cope with Augusto’s experience with Alzheimer’s syndrome. The film won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sunda...

165: D. Smith on "Kokomo City"

August 10, 2023 09:10 - 39 minutes - 54.3 MB

No shade to Barbie, but our favorite summer film is "Kokomo City" that won audience prizes in Sundance and Berlin for its raw and raucous profile of four black transgender sex workers. First time filmmaker D. Smith had a successful career as a Grammy-nominated music producer. But when she came out as transgender, she was effectively blacklisted from that industry. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Smith in her hometown at the Miami Film Festival about the desperation and inspirat...

164: Asif Kapadia on Highs and Lows

June 22, 2023 05:00 - 37 minutes - 51.7 MB

Asif Kapadia has won renown for his biographical portraits in "Senna", "Diego Maradona" and the Oscar-winning "Amy". In this wide-ranging conversation, he speaks about the setbacks and breakthroughs in his career. The topics include his clash with Harvey Weinstein over his fiction feature "The Warrior" and being plunged into an Oscar campaign with "Amy". Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Asif in March at CPH: DOX in Copenhagen. Asif was there to present "Creature", a dance film...

163: John Leguizamo Does America

June 08, 2023 05:00 - 32 minutes - 46.5 MB

John Leguizamo has a versatile writing and acting career from Broadway to Hollywood. Now he hosts the series "Leguizamo Does America" that explores Latin American communities across the country. He makes stops in New York, Miami, Washington, Chicago, Puerto Rico and Los Angeles interviewing prominent locals on their history, cuisine and culture. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers talks to Leguizamo about what he learned along the way. On Instagram: @johnleguizamo @thompowers1 @purenonfiction

162: Roger Ross Williams on Donna Summer, "The 1619 Project" and "Cassandro"

May 30, 2023 04:01 - 43 minutes - 62.7 MB

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams has a bounty of new releases this year. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Williams at the CPH:DOX festival about three of those works: Love to Love You, Donna Summer on HBO, The 1619 Project on Hulu and his fiction feature debut Cassandro coming this fall from Amazon Studios. Williams also discusses his stint serving on the AMPAS Board of Governors when he led a campaign to increase enrollment of women and BIPOC members. For more on Willi...

161: Elvis Mitchell on "Is That Black Enough for You?!?"

May 18, 2023 04:00 - 36 minutes - 52.3 MB

Elvis Mitchell explores the flourishing of American Black cinema from 1968 to 1978 in the documentary "Is That Black Enough for You?!?" (Netflix). Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers sat down with Elvis in their hometown of Detroit during the Freep Film Festival. The conversation delves into Elvis’s Detroit roots - with local references ranging from the Fox Theater to the Electrifying Mojo. He shares insights from his new film and explains why he left his job as a New York Times film critic. ...

160: Inside "Couples Therapy"

May 11, 2023 11:38 - 33 minutes - 47.7 MB

Showtime's acclaimed series "Couples Therapy" is now in its third season. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers sat down with its star Dr. Orna Guralnik along with co-creators Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg and one of its directors Pax Wasserman. The interview was recorded before a live audience at New York's IFC Center. This week, Pure Nonfiction debuted the email newsletter Producer's Notebook that covers latest developments in documentary producing. You can subscribe for free at PureNonfic...

159: Lisa Cortés on "Little Richard: I Am Everything"

May 04, 2023 12:04 - 41 minutes - 59.9 MB

Lisa Cortés has a multi-faceted career working for Def Jam and executive producing the award-winning fiction film "Precious". Now she's directed the documentary "Little Richard: I Am Everything" that helps to rewrite the history of rock and roll. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Lisa about her background in the Black church, the music business and her move into making documentaries. On Instagram: @misscortes @thompowers1 @purenonfiction

158: Harry Belafonte on "Sing Your Song"

April 27, 2023 07:53 - 34 minutes - 49.8 MB

Harry Belafonte died this week at age 96. Years ago he resolved to leave behind an account of his life in the memoir "My Song" and the documentary "Sing Your Song". Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Belafonte and his daughter Gina in 2013 as part of the Montclair Film Festival. The conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at NJPAC in Newark, New Jersey."Sing Your Song", directed by Susanne Rostock, is available on video on demand.

157: E. Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin on "Wild Life"

April 13, 2023 04:00 - 33 minutes - 48.3 MB

E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin have explored the mentality of risk takers over several films. They won an Oscar for Free Solo. Their latest documentary "Wild Life" tells the love story of Doug and Kris Tompkins who earned a fortune leading the clothing brands North Face and Patagonia, then left their corporate lives to devote themselves to conservation. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Chai and Jimmy in Copenhagen at the CPH:DOX festival where "Wild Life" had its internation...

156: Chase Joynt Explores Transgender History in "Framing Agnes"

April 06, 2023 08:28 - 36 minutes - 53.1 MB

Chase Joynt has explored transgender topics in several films including "No Ordinary Man" about jazz musician Billy Tipton and his latest "Framing Agnes", now available on VOD. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Chase to discuss how trans experience has traditionally been filtered by outsiders across the spectrums of medicine, academia and media. Chase also reflects on what it means to be releasing this film against a backdrop of backlash, violence and anti-trans legislation. "Frami...

155: Daniel Roher on "Navalny"

March 03, 2023 13:11 - 43 minutes - 59.7 MB

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny is profiled in the Oscar-nominated film “Navalny” at a critical stage when he’s trying to uncover the Russian agents who tried to kill him. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Daniel Roher who completed the film in his late 20s. Today, its success may seem preordained, but Daniel explains it was anything but that.

154: Oscar-nominated Shaunak Sen on "All That Breathes"

February 07, 2023 08:11 - 29 minutes - 41.9 MB

"All That Breathes" won top prizes at Sundance and Cannes for its portrayal of two brothers in New Delhi who dedicated themselves to rescuing birds from the hazards of the polluted city. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers talks to director Shaunak Sen about how he scrapped his first year of filming to start over. Shaunak discusses the contributions of cinematographer Benjamin Bernhard ("Aquarela") and editor Charlotte Munch Bengtsen ("The Truffle Hunters") in the creation of one of the year's ...

153: Joyce Chopra on "Lady Director"

January 31, 2023 08:11 - 31 minutes - 45.7 MB

Joyce Chopra broke the glass ceiling for women in film by directing classic works such as the ground-breaking personal documentary "Joyce at 34" and the fiction film "Smooth Talk" that won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize in 1986. Those films and others are now streaming in a collection of her work on the Criterion Channel. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Joyce about her new memoir “Lady Director” where she reflects candidly on the highs and lows of her career, including her documen...

152: Violet Du Feng on "Hidden Letters"

January 10, 2023 08:29 - 34 minutes - 47.5 MB

During China's feudal era, women kept in seclusion developed a secret language called nüshu. Hidden Letters profiles two millennial women in China who are among the very few people keeping the language alive. The film was named to the Oscars' Short List of 15 documentary features that will be narrowed to five nominees later this month.  Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Violet Du Feng about changes for women in China, the effects of capitalism in the country and her goals...

151: Rebeca Huntt on "Beba"

December 05, 2022 09:08 - 32 minutes - 44.4 MB

Rebeca Huntt tells her own coming of age story in her debut documentary "Beba," now streaming on Hulu. She uses the medium of film to explore the personal, political and poetic. The New Yorker critic Richard Brody describes the film as "an intimate story with a grand scope." It's been nominated for the Cinema Eye Honors in three categories including Best Director and was named by Indiewire as one of the Top 25 Films of 2022. On Instagram: @bebafilm @rebecahuntt @purenonfiction @thompowers1

150: “La Madrina” of the South Bronx

April 14, 2022 13:35 - 28 minutes - 68.9 MB

La Madrina: The [Savage] Life of Lorine Padilla profiles the South Bronx “godmother” who transitioned from life in the Savage Skulls street gang to become a beloved community activist. Filmmaker Raquel Cepeda tells a nuanced portrait of Lorine, drawing upon previously unseen footage captured in the 1970s and ‘80s for documentaries such as "80 Blocks from Tiffany’s" and "Flyin’ Cut Sleeves” that focused on Bronx gangs. Raquel wrote about her own New York upbringing in her memoir Bird of Parad...

149: W. Kamau Bell on "We Need to Talk About Cosby"

February 24, 2022 00:30 - 28 minutes - 39.9 MB

W. Kamau Bell has a wide-ranging career in stand-up comedy, TV hosting, podcasting, and more. Now he directs the four-part Showtime series "We Need to Talk About Cosby". It explores the once beloved entertainer who's been accused by over 60 women of rape, sexual assault, and harrassment. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers talks to Kamau about how he navigated the intense emotions around Cosby's legacy. Hear Kamau discussing different aspects of the series on Larry Willmore: Black on the Air a...

148: Abigail Disney & Kathleen Hughes on Disney’s Dark Side

February 17, 2022 07:21 - 25 minutes - 37 MB

Abigail Disney made headlines three years ago when she launched a critique on the labor practices of Walt Disney Company that was co-founded by her grandfather Roy O. Disney. Now she pushes that argument further in the documentary The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales that she directed with Kathleen Hughes. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Disney and Hughes as the film was making its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The film won strong reviews in Variety and The H...

147: Stanley Nelson on "Attica" and a Retrospective

January 29, 2022 00:30 - 32 minutes - 47.2 MB

Stanley Nelson's latest film "Attica" was picked for the Oscar Documentary Short List. It's playing on Showtime and available free for a limited time on YouTube. In February, the Criterion Channel will present a retrospective titled "Black History Rising: Documentaries by Stanley Nelson." The collection covers five films: "The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords" about African-American-owned newspapers; "Freedom Summer" on the 1964 Mississippi voter registration drive; and a deeply personal...

146: Alex Pritz on “The Territory” at Sundance

January 27, 2022 08:43 - 32 minutes - 46.3 MB

The burning of the Amazon rainforest is a global tragedy. Filmmaker Alex Pritz collaborates with members of the Uru-eu-wau-wau indigenous community to document what's happening on the ground in The Territory. Premiering at Sundance, the film has been hailed as "riveting" (Variety), "gorgeously and sometimes ingeniously conceived" (Indiewire). Alex describes the making of the film with host Thom Powers.

145: Joe Hunting on “We Met in Virtual Reality” at Sundance

January 25, 2022 08:24 - 28 minutes - 40.7 MB

We Met in Virtual Reality, premiering in the Sundance World Documentary Competition, profiles several users on the platform VRChat during the pandemic. Director Joe Hunting uses a camera built for VR so he can film people's avatars in their imagined worlds. The film is more about relationships than technology. Joe's previous short films set in VR can be viewed on his website joeahunting.com. Guest host Samah Ali (who studied VR for her master's degree) interviews Joe about what he learned ma...

144: Ramin Bahrani on “2nd Chance” at Sundance

January 23, 2022 01:00 - 27 minutes - 39.7 MB

Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani is best known for his fiction films such as "99 Homes" and "The White Tiger" that was Oscar-nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. Now he directs his first feature documentary "2nd Chance," a complex profile of Richard Davis who invented a lightweight bullet proof vest. Davis called his company 2nd Chance and his products helped save hundreds of lives. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Bahrani about the moral complexities of Davis' legacy that are explored i...

143: Isabel Castro on “Mija” at Sundance

January 21, 2022 07:56 - 30 minutes - 44.2 MB

“Mija,” premiering in the Sundance NEXT section, profiles Doris Muñoz, a young talent manager in the music business as she works with Latinx superstar Cuco and the newcomer Jacks Haupt. Filmmaker Isabel Castro immerses us in Doris’ world, drawing upon eclectic influences. Isabel's early idea of the film was “Almost Famous, but make it Chicano.” Then she had to adapt as the story takes unpredictable twists and turns. Our Pure Nonfiction interview is led by guest host Samah Ali, founder of Sis...

142: Sara Dosa on “Fire of Love” at Sundance

January 19, 2022 08:36 - 28 minutes - 40.7 MB

"Fire of Love" tells the story of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft who spent over two decades filming and studying volcanoes before they died getting too close to one. The documentary makes its world premiere on the opening night of the Sundance Film Festival: January 20, 2022. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews filmmaker Sara Dosa on how she crafted the story of the Kraffts into an essayistic documentary with themes of love and risk, narrated by Miranda July.Pure Nonfiction’...

141: Richard Rowley on “American Insurrection”

January 06, 2022 09:21 - 40 minutes - 59.1 MB

The PBS Frontline documentary “American Insurrection” investigates the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the director Rick Rowley who collaborated on the project with correspondent A.C. Thompson of ProPublica and the Berkley Center for Investigative Journalism. Rowley discusses what he’s learned from studying vigilante groups such as the Proud Boys and the Boogaloo Boys and reflects on the historic link between America’s...

140: Ry Russo-Young on her “Nuclear Family”

December 09, 2021 01:30 - 32 minutes - 46.6 MB

In the three-part series Nuclear Family, filmmaker Ry Russo-Young explores her own family history. She was born in 1981 and grew up with two lesbian moms Russo and Robin and an older sister in Manhattan at at time when gay parenting was still rare. Her sperm donor Tom Steel was a gay lawyer in San Francisco who wound up suing Ry’s moms for paternity rights. From a young age, Ry was active in trying to tell her family’s story and defend her mothers against discrimination in the courts and in ...

139: Sonya Childress & Jesse Wente on Making Change

September 02, 2021 08:28 - 33 minutes - 47.7 MB

Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Childress and Wente in September 2020 by teleconference for a panel titled Creating a Better Documentary Industry at the TIFF Industry Conference. This podcast excerpts the heart of the conversation as they confront questions of capitalism, journalistic objectivity and how to create meaningful change.

138: Nanfu Wang on “In the Same Breath”

August 26, 2021 06:42 - 32 minutes - 47 MB

In the Same Breath is a strikingly original analysis of the early days of the pandemic as it unfolded in China and the United States. Filmmaker Nanfu Wang draws upon multiple sources of footage to study how governments shaped the messaging about coronavirus and how they missed opportunities to limit the virus.

137: Sonia Kennebeck on “Enemies of the State”

August 11, 2021 23:43 - 57 minutes - 82.9 MB

“Enemies of the State” looks at the strange case of Matt DeHart, a member of the hacktivist group Anonymous who was prosecuted for child pornography. He claimed the charges were a cover up to seize his computers containing government secrets. Director Sonia Kennebeck and producer Ines Hoffman Kanna spent years trying to untangle the knotty mysteries of his case.

136: Fran Lebowitz on “Pretend It’s a City”

June 16, 2021 23:30 - 33 minutes - 47.8 MB

Fran Lebowitz is one of New York’s great conversationalists. Martin Scorsese's new Netflix series “Pretend It’s a City” lets her talk at length about her five decades of living in New York City. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews Lebowitz about working with Scorsese and her long friendship with Toni Morrison to whom the series is dedicated. Lebowitz also shares her opinions on the New York mayoral election and discusses her mother Ruth.

135: In Praise of Lewis Erskine @editorsavant

June 09, 2021 07:26 - 32 minutes - 46.5 MB

Documentary editor Lewis Erskine died last week at age 64. He was cherished by colleagues as a storyteller and a teacher. His Twitter handle was @editorsavant and his credits include Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, Freedom Riders and Jackie Robinson. In the days after his death, Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers spoke to three of Lewis' colleagues. Filmmaker Stanley Nelson describes first meeting Lewis when they worked for WNET public television and how they collaborated for over two decades s...

134: Astra Taylor on “You Are Not a Loan"

May 20, 2021 08:17 - 49 minutes - 68.2 MB

“Movements are messy,” says Astra Taylor. She knows this not only from studying activist history, but also from personal experience as a co-founder of the Debt Collective. Their work succeeded in canceling over $2 billion of student debt. Astra’s new short documentary You Are Not a Loan (free on The Intercept) brings together students and professors to discuss changing the cost of education. She’s also published a new book of essays Remake the World. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers talks to ...

133: Remembering Leon Gast & “When We Were Kings”

March 18, 2021 17:20 - 42 minutes - 61.8 MB

“When We Were Kings” director Leon King died on March 8 at age 84. He took over twenty years to make his Oscar-winning documentary about the boxers Muhammad Ali vs George Foreman, filmed in Zaire in 1974 and completed in 1996.

132: Telling the Story of Fred Hampton

March 04, 2021 08:25 - 34 minutes - 49.3 MB

The new Hollywood film “Judas and the Black Messiah” is based on the lives of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton and the person who betrayed him, FBI informant William O’Neal. The film’s director Shaka King has credited documentaries for playing a key role in his research. One of his main influences was “Eyes on the Prize II” (1990) that scored the journalistic feat of interviewing O’Neal after he had gone into a federal witness protection program. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews f...

131: Alex Vitale on Rethinking True Crime

February 26, 2021 13:48 - 30 minutes - 41.4 MB

True crime documentaries are booming. But what do they tell us about criminal justice and what do they leave out? Alex Vitale, the author of the book “The End of Policing,” talks to Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers about the state of the genre.

130: Jean Tsien Goes Outside Her Comfort Zone

February 18, 2021 16:24 - 33 minutes - 44.4 MB

Jean Tsien has worked as a documentary editor for over 30 years with directors such as Orlando Bagwell, Barbara Kopple, and Roger Ross Williams. She’s been a mentor to emerging filmmakers, not only in the U.S. but also in China and Taiwan where she lived until moving to New York at age 11. Now Jean has moved into producing. Her latest project is "76 Days," set in Wuhan, China during the city’s lockdown for Covid-19. DOC NYC recently honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Jean has stor...

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