
Factual America
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Top 10 Factual America Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Factual America episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Factual America for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Factual America episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

08/09/23 • 37 min
John McEnroe’s volcanic temper on the tennis court is legendary. But there was always more to him than just the explosive outbursts.
In McEnroe, a documentary now available to watch on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW, John McEnroe takes a night time journey through his home town of New York, reflecting on, discussing, and interrogating his life on and off the court.
Joining Matthew Sherwood is the film’s director Barney Douglas. He shares how McEnroe has changed from his wilder, younger self, the triggers that still make him a challenging person to be with, and how McEnroe sees himself in relation to today’s tennis super stars.
Barney also discusses McEnroe’s ‘New Yorker perspective’ as a tennis player, his relationship with his father, and how it influences his relationship with his children.
The picture that Barney builds of John McEnroe is of a complex individual, one for whom connection and communication is important, who was an entertainer as well as a highly strung sportsman, and who is a thinker, not just a slave to his emotions.
In addition to discussing John McEnroe, Barney pulls back the veil on how he made his film: inevitably, Covid looms large, but so do exorbitant fees for archive footage; he had to make sure he asked McEnroe the right questions, and then, there is the use of animations inspired by Tron of all films.
McEnroe is a film that is built different, just like its star. In his short career, Barney Douglas has already made two other accomplished sporting documentaries – Warriors and The Edge – thus showing himself to be the right man to help John McEnroe tell his story.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“[He is] very authentic... there’s nothing Machiavellian about McEnroe. For good or bad, you know he will be very true to how he feels, and that's actually... a very endearing quality.” – Barney Douglas

Reimagine Wildfire: An Elemental Threat That We Can Control
Factual America
05/03/23 • 48 min
In 2018, the Californian town of Paradise was destroyed by a wildfire. How did it happen? Could anything have been done to limit or even stop the inferno?
Global warming has made the risk of wildfires greater than ever before, and there are people who believe that we are doing all that we can to stop them. As Trip Jennings tells Matthew Sherwood, however, he was tired of hearing this message. And so, he spent five years researching wildfires. The result is Elemental, a documentary that reveals there is more that we can do, and in some cases, easily, as well. Paradise could have been saved.
Trip’s research has taken him from a flight over a wildfire to special hangers where scientists burn replicas of homes in order to observe the fire’s behaviour. He has explored how America’s indigenous people have responded to fires, and met fire survivors, as well as many experts who share their knowledge in the film.
It would be easy for Elemental to be a pessimistic film, full of anger about what has happened and is happening, but that is not Trip’s way. He tells Matthew that we need to forgive ourselves and evolve our way of thinking. As part of that, he outlines specific ways in which we can make our homes, and our lives, safer. He also stands up for forests. They may be lethal when set alight, but they also have a critical role to play in the life of planet earth and Mankind.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“... it's things like boring, non-sexy details that we should think of as doing important climate adaptation work... we shouldn't be thinking about, oh it's just drudgery... we should be thinking about these things as how we adapt as a society to climate change, which is the challenge of all of the generations that are present right now on Earth” – Trip Jennings

Phil Spector – Music Legend and Murderer
Factual America
01/19/23 • 50 min
Phil Spector was a musical genius. His brilliance as a producer made him a legend. On February 3rd 2003 he shot Lana Clarkson dead. In 2009, he was convicted of murder, and died in prison on January 16th 2021.
Spector is a four-part Showtime docu-series (available to watch on Sky Documentaries in the U.K.). In it, series co-directors Sheena M. Joyce and Don Argott examine not only Spector’s ‘life and legacy’ but also the person of Lana Clarkson.
As they tell host, Matthew Sherwood, they want to make Lana ‘more than just a footnote in the Phil Spector story’ by bringing ‘her out as a fully fleshed out human being.’
In doing so, they take the viewer on a more challenging but ultimately more rewarding journey. The Phil Spector that they present is no monster. Rather, he is a deeply damaged human being; one whose flaws led ultimately to his downfall.
In this episode of Factual America we learn that in order to present as full a picture of Spector as possible, Sheena and Don spoke to a wide variety of people. Among them, the lead detectives in the Lana Clarkson murder case, as well as others with first-hand knowledge of some of the incredible stories told about Spector during his career. The docu-series even has recordings of Phil Spector speaking on the night of the murder.
With Matthew, Sheena and Don discuss the link between musical genius and mental illness – why it seems to affect artists and not people in other industries; the role of money and power, and whether we can still engage with the work of artists who have done terrible things.
They also shed light on who Lana Clarkson was. As Sheena says, Lana ‘was more than Phil Spector’s victim. She was a successful working actress... a daughter and a sister and a friend who by all accounts brought light and joy into the lives of everyone she met.’
Spector is the story of a tragedy, of a legacy corrupted, and two lives wasted. It is a story that moves in the light, and dark. In Factual America #120, go behind the scenes with Matthew Sherwood, Sheena M. Joyce and Don Argott.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“There have also been people that criticised us for contextualising Phil’s behaviour, as if that's somehow giving him a pass... it was important to us to present him as a multifaceted human being. He was a loving and devoted father to his daughter Nicole... It doesn't negate the fact that he murdered Lana Clarkson.” – Sheena M. Joyce

The Letter
Factual America
11/23/22 • 73 min
Nicolas Brown’s new documentary, The Letter, takes its name from Laudato Si’, Pope Francis’ 2015 letter on the care for ‘our common home’ – the earth.
The film explores the journey of a group of people from different walks of life – some from the margins of society, others closer to the centre – as they make their way to the Vatican, for a meeting with the Pope.
In this special episode of Factual America, Nicolas and host Matthew Sherwood discuss The Letter’s twin themes: the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, as well as the scientific reaction to the making of the film, which was unexpectedly positive. They explore how the Pope became an environmentalist, and how St. Francis of Assisi inspired Arouna, Ridhima, and all those whose journey Nicolas followed.
Nicolas also shares some light-hearted moments from the making of The Letter – such as the day he had to work out whether Pope Francis would turn left or right when entering the room on the day of their meeting – as well as some deeply personal ones from his own career – for example, the day Sir David Attenborough spoke out for the first time to warn the world of the climate crisis.
The Letter is a film about a world in danger. But more than that, it is about people who are rising to meet the threat. Compelled by reality, they find in Laudato Si’ an ally in theology, and in Pope Francis, someone who is prepared to speak at the top of his voice with them, and for them, for the environment, and future generations.
Made by the award-winning Off The Fence production company, The Letter can be watched for free on YouTube (here).
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“... what the film's really about is that the Pope has intuited this moment in time by which science and faith together can work out ... a solution to what arguably could be the biggest existential crisis facing humanity: climate change and biodiversity loss.” – Nicolas Brown

Investigating MH370: The Plane that Disappeared
Factual America
03/08/23 • 40 min
The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 represents one of the greatest mysteries in modern aviation history.
On March 8th 2014 the plane left Kuala Lumpur on a scheduled flight to Beijing. Forty minutes later, the captain and Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control bade each other good night. That was the last communication between MH370 and the outside world. Less than two hours later, having been tracked by military radar, the aeroplane disappeared from sight somewhere over the Andaman Sea.
In MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, a three-part Netflix docu-series, director Louise Malkinson, tells the story of how the plane vanished, and the nine-year aftermath. Louise and her producer, Harry Hewland, join Matthew Sherwood to discuss their new documentary.
At the heart of the MH370 story are the families of the 239 passengers and crew who were on the plane, as well as those who, over the last decade, have sought to find out what happened. MH370: The Plane That Disappeared puts both groups front and centre as it explores what Harry calls, ‘the human story of the impact of MH370 and what this kind of mystery can do to people.’
In order to tell their story as authentically as possible, Louise and Harry were determined not to lead the viewer to any particular conclusion. When they present the various theories regarding MH370’s fate, they provide argument and counter-argument.
The question of what happened to flight MH370 is yet to be solved. The docu-series is, therefore, a story without an end. It is also, however, the story of a ‘strong community’: the next-of-kin who, as Louise tells Matthew, still ‘come together, every year around the anniversary’ to remember their loved ones, and who are still intent on finding the truth about what happened on that dreadful day in 2014.
“I spoke to people in China, we spoke to people in Malaysia, we spoke to people in France... everybody's the same: we all need closure. We all need it. We need to be able to say goodbye, and the fact that they haven't been able to do that...[it’s] an unimaginable torture that they've had to go through, through all this time.” – Louise Malkinson

Are We Alone? UFO Encounters from around the World
Factual America
10/04/23 • 32 min
Welcome to the first episode of the fifth season of Factual America! Joining host Matthew Sherwood is Yon Motskin, the director of Encounters, a new Netflix docu-series about four UFO/alien encounters from around the world.
Encounters tells a story that is both epic and intimate in its range. It not only explores what occurred when a diverse range of witnesses – including school children, hoteliers, law enforcement officials, and rescue workers – came face-to-face with the seemingly impossible, but what happened afterwards to them, and those who investigated their stories. Some were able to move on; others, though, were bullied, faced ridicule, and professional ruin. All, though, have stuck to their stories.
Matthew and Yon discuss what happened to the witnesses, their credibility or otherwise, and the profound differences between the interpretation of UFO sightings in Japan versus the US. They look at the nature of belief, and how what we believe can define our understanding of what UFOs may be. Yon also shares his appreciation for the involvement of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television in the making of the film.
For Yon, Encounters is fundamentally ‘a human story’ with themes such as ‘consciousness and communication’ at its core. Whether you are interested in UFOs, psychology, mysteries, or the workings of the human heart, this is an episode for you.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“I believe that they believe. Now, if whatever they say happened or not, I wasn't there, so, I couldn't tell you, but it's hard to discount... it's not one person in their backyard seeing something. It's dozens, and in many cases, hundreds of people all seeing the same thing, at the same time.” – Yon Motskin

Working: What We Do All Day featuring Barack Obama
Factual America
05/25/23 • 38 min
Working: What We Do All Day is a docu-series that explores both what it means to work and the ways in which the meaning of work is changing.
Presented by former US President Barack Obama, the docu-series focuses on people working in three different industries: technology, hospitality, and home care. Through him, we hear of their dreams, and their reality; their hopes, and their fears.
Joining Matthew Sherwood to discuss Working: What We Do All Day is its director, Caroline Suh. Among other things, she reveals how President Obama became involved in the docu-series, the discoveries that she made in the making of it, and the rationale behind choosing the featured companies.
Working: What We Do All Day is a multi-layered film. As Caroline tells Matthew, it enters the lives of people up and down the corporate ladder and seeks to find points of connection between them. In doing so, the docu-series challenges our tendency to do what Caroline admits she once did; that is, only think about the work she is doing now rather than the deeper meaning of it.
To quote Barack Obama, ‘our work is one of the forces that connects us’ to each other. Working: What We Do All Day helps demystify that force. In doing so, it brings us closer to one another. Find out what he means, learn about some of Matthew’s dirtier jobs (!), and even Richard Scarry on this episode of Factual America!
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“... when someone does something incredibly well, no matter what it is, there’s a beauty to it, and it reaffirms your faith in humanity.” – Caroline Suh

All That Breathes
Factual America
10/20/22 • 41 min
Welcome to the fourth season of Factual America!
Today, Matthew Sherwood speaks to Shaunak Sen, director of All That Breathes, an award-winning documentary about two brothers, Mohammad and Nadeem, in Delhi, who have dedicated their lives to helping the Black Kite, a victim of Delhi’s ever worsening air pollution.
All That Breathes is both an intimate portrayal of Mohammad’s and Nadeem’s work and, as Shaunak explains, a philosophical documentary that shows how the toxicity of Delhi’s air is reflected on the ground.
Above all, though it is a film about miracles: miracles in the air and on the ground, giving hope to a world that seems doomed to disaster.
Join Matthew and Shaunak as they discuss this timely documentary, which has already taken the film festival circuit by storm, winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and the Golden Eye award at Cannes earlier this year. The film is currently on release in the UK and USA and will be available to stream on HBO next year.
“... every bird that flies out of their basement is a miracle.” - Shaunak Sen
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

The Invisible Pilot: Stranger than Fiction
Factual America
05/06/22 • 43 min
The Invisible Pilot is an HBO Max Docuseries that captures the incredible story of Gary Betzner, an Arkansas crop duster who died under mysterious circumstances. Or did he?
The mystery around this man's death would be more than enough for a compelling doc. But that is only the beginning of a story that proves that truth is most definitely stranger than fiction. Given the unlikeliest of events set against the backdrop of 1970s and 80s America and Reagan's war on drugs, the docuseries is Forrest Gump meets American Made meets All the President's Men.
Emmy-winning filmmakers Phil Lott and Ari Mark, co-directors and executive producers of The Invisible Pilot, share how they discovered this amazing story and how their investigative journalism led to the creation of a compelling 3-part documentary.
Watch the full episode at https://factualamerica.com/the-invisible-pilot
"Just because it’s a documentary and not a feature, it doesn’t mean it’s solely educational or intellectual - it can also entertain." - Phil Lott

Gun Violence and Mass Shootings in America
Factual America
01/28/20 • 48 min
America’s love affair with guns is one of its defining attributes, and the number of mass shootings hit an all-time high in 2019. While politicians vow to tackle the problem, a powerful gun lobby stands in the way.
To help us understand why the US struggles with gun violence on such a massive scale, Dr Peter Squires, an expert on the subject, joins the show. He is a sociologist and professor of criminology and public policy at the University of Brighton, who has worked with many different police forces, and is respected globally for his research into firearms and crime.
Peter screens British director Marc Silver’s acclaimed 3 1⁄2 Minutes, 10 Bullets (2015) in his classes. This film focuses on the 2012 shooting of Jordan Russell Davis and the trial, media coverage and public reaction following the event. This particular shooting raised a lot of questions about gun legislation in America, particularly the ‘stand your ground’ law in Florida, while Marc Silver’s observational documentary lets the audience draw its own conclusions.
With Peter’s in-depth knowledge of gun crime, we examine the case and talk about why gun violence is so much more prevalent in America compared with other countries, even those with high rates of gun ownership. We also investigate why America got into this situation and more importantly what steps can be taken to minimize gun violence in the future.
Like Peter’s students, we too can watch Marc Silver’s film and make up our own mind about what is really behind the culture of fear afflicting so many Americans.
“People can become a dark celebrity very quickly by a horrific act against society.” – Peter Squires
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FAQ
How many episodes does Factual America have?
Factual America currently has 167 episodes available.
What topics does Factual America cover?
The podcast is about Film Interviews, Podcasts and Tv & Film.
What is the most popular episode on Factual America?
The episode title 'Wayne Shorter: Visionary, Innovator, Icon and Human Being' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Factual America?
The average episode length on Factual America is 50 minutes.
How often are episodes of Factual America released?
Episodes of Factual America are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Factual America?
The first episode of Factual America was released on Jan 10, 2020.
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