Episodes
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Breaking The News
S25 E11 - 1h 24m
Who decides which stories get told? A scrappy group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists buck the white male-dominated status quo, banding together to launch The 19th*, a digital news startup aiming to combat misinformation. A story of an America in flux, and the voices often left out of the narrative, the documentary Breaking the News shows change doesn’t come easy.
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Sister Úna Lived a Good Death
S25 E10 - 55m 23s
Following a cancer diagnosis, Sister Úna—a mischievous, rule-breaking Catholic nun dedicated to social justice—chooses to live as she’s dying. In this touching end-of-life documentary, the self-proclaimed “leader of the misfits” plans her funeral in her last nine months to live.
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Razing Liberty Square
S25 E9 - 1h 23m
Liberty City, Miami, is home to one of the oldest segregated public housing projects in the U.S. Now with rising sea levels, the neighborhood’s higher ground has become something else: real estate gold. Wealthy property owners push inland to higher ground, creating a speculators’ market in the historically Black neighborhood previously ignored by developers and policy-makers alike.
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Racist Trees
S25 E8 - 1h 23m
Were trees intentionally planted to exclude and segregate a Black neighborhood?
Racial tensions ignite in this documentary, when a historically Black neighborhood in Palm Springs, California, fights to remove a towering wall of tamarisk trees. The trees form a barrier, believed by some to segregate the community, frustrating residents who regard them as an enduring symbol of racism. -
If Dreams Were Lightning: Rural Healthcare Crisis
S25 E18 - 25m 43s
Rural hospitals around America are closing at alarming rates, leaving communities without care. Oscar and Emmy-nominated director Ramin Bahrani visits Appalachia, where American communities are left with limited or no access to healthcare. Explore the rural healthcare crisis in the South through the eyes of those struggling in it and the dedicated doctors trying to reach them.
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Beyond Utopia
S25 E7 - 1h 51m
They grew up believing their land was paradise. Now, they risk everything in escaping it. In an unforgettable documentary, follow families on a treacherous journey to defect from their homeland of North Korea, as the threat of severe punishment and possible execution looms over their passage, revealing a world many have never seen.
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A Town Called Victoria | Episode 3
S25 E6 - 54m 42s
The prosecution presents shocking evidence. As the trial concludes, the engaged citizens of Victoria seek a way to build a more inclusive community.
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A Town Called Victoria | Episode 2
S25 E5 - 54m 12s
With the arson trial near, the suspect’s family argues his innocence. Meanwhile, facets of Victoria reveal the ingredients that might have turned him to hate and support for the town’s Muslim community begins to wane.
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A Town Called Victoria | Episode 1
S25 E4 - 54m 41s
A south Texas town is thrown into the national spotlight when a local mosque is burned down in an apparent hate crime. After the media moves on, the community is left to reflect on its complex history with racism.
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Three Chaplains
S25 E3 - 55m 43s
Muslim chaplains uphold the First Amendment and vow to protect service members' right to practice their faith freely, despite facing long-held prejudice and disapproval from their own communities. The Muslim chaplains work hard to ensure that all service members have access to religious materials, services, and resources regardless of the religious beliefs they hold.
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El Equipo
S25 E2 - 1h 25m
Legendary U.S. anthropologist Dr. Clyde Snow sets out to train a new group of Latin American students in the use of forensic anthropology. Their goal: to investigate disappearances in Argentina during the “dirty war”. The group expands its horizons, traveling to El Salvador, Bolivia and Mexico, doggedly working behind the scenes to establish the facts for the families of the victims.
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Sansón and Me
S25 E1 - 1h 25m
Filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes wants to document Sansón's story, an immigrant serving life in prison. Unable to film Sansón, the documentary creatively shares his narrative through reenactments of his letters, featuring his own family as actors.
Extras + Features
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Trailer | One With the Whale
S25 E15 - 30s
Hunting whales is a matter of life or death for the residents of St. Lawrence. When a shy Alaska Native teen becomes the youngest person ever to harpoon a whale for his village, his family is blindsided by thousands of keyboard activists brutally attacking him online—without full perspective on the importance of the hunt to his community's well-being.
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Trailer | Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s
S25 E14 - 30s
In Matter of Mind: My Parkinson's, three people navigate their lives with resourcefulness and determination in the face of a degenerative illness, Parkinson’s disease. An optician pursues deep brain stimulation surgery; a mother raising a pre-teen daughter becomes a boxing coach and an advocate for exercise; and a cartoonist contemplates how he will continue to draw as his motor control declines.
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Trailer | A Thousand Pines
S25 E13 - 30s
Over the course of a grueling eight months, a crew of Oaxacan guest workers plant trees throughout the United States. This intimate portrait shows how hard it is to balance the physical demands of reforestation and extreme isolation while staying connected to the family back home.
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Trailer | Greener Pastures
S25 E12 - 30s
Following four multigenerational family farms in the Midwest over several years, Greener Pastures is a story of perseverance and survival within the farming industry in the heartland.
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RIP Local News
S25 E11 - 9m 3s
Some of the biggest news stories in our country were revealed by local journalists; from early 20th century lynchings to the Rodney King beating to the murder of Breonna Taylor, local news was there first. But as budgets drop and outlets disappear, this type of coverage is in jeopardy.
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Spring Season Trailer 2024 | Coming to Independent Lens
S25 - 1m
We’re blooming this spring with a lineup of docs, including Matter of Mind: My Parkinson's, Space: The Longest Goodbye, One With The Whale, and The Tuba Thieves. Stream Independent Lens with the PBS App.
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How Did Opinions Get In Our News?
S25 E11 - 7m 44s
Even though objectivity is seen as the gold standard for news coverage, OpEds and commentary have been part of the news landscape since the early days of America – and it's not always easy to spot the difference between facts and opinion.
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Has Journalism Always Been This Stressful?
S25 E11 - 8m 52s
As news evolved over the last 40 years from a single daily paper or nightly news show to something that's pushed 24/7, a mental health crisis has taken shape in our newsrooms as journalists race to cover traumatic events and get the most views.
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How Did This Women-Owned Newspaper Revolutionize Journalism?
S25 E11 - 7m 8s
In 1850s America, one women-led newsroom blazed a trail for women's rights, shifting the media landscape and ultimately affecting how we see and cover "women's" issues today.
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Trailer | Breaking The News
S25 E11 - 30s
A scrappy group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists buck the white male-dominated status quo to launch news startup The 19th*.
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Trailer | Sister Úna Lived a Good Death
S25 E10 - 30s
Following a stage IV cancer diagnosis, wisecracking Sister Úna chooses to live as she’s dying.
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Trailer | Razing Liberty Square
S25 E9 - 30s
Liberty City, Miami, is home to one of the oldest segregated public housing projects in the United States. Now with rising sea levels, the neighborhood’s higher ground has become something else: real estate gold.
Schedule
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Independent Lens
Storming Caesars Palace
Saturday
Mar 23
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Activist Ruby Duncan's grassroots movement of mothers fighting for a universal basic income. -
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Independent Lens
Mama Bears
Saturday
Mar 23
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Although conservative, Christian beliefs have defined their lives, mothers fight for the rights of their LGBTQ+ children. -
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Independent Lens
Storming Caesars Palace
Sunday
Mar 24
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Activist Ruby Duncan's grassroots movement of mothers fighting for a universal basic income. -
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Independent Lens
Storming Caesars Palace
Monday
Mar 25
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Activist Ruby Duncan's grassroots movement of mothers fighting for a universal basic income. -
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Independent Lens
Greener Pastures
Monday
Mar 25
2 Hours
A look at American farming through the stories of Midwestern farmers facing increased economic uncertainty. -
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Independent Lens
Greener Pastures
Tuesday
Mar 26
2 Hours
A look at American farming through the stories of Midwestern farmers facing increased economic uncertainty. -
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Independent Lens
Greener Pastures
Tuesday
Mar 26
2 Hours
A look at American farming through the stories of Midwestern farmers facing increased economic uncertainty. -
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Independent Lens
Greener Pastures
Wednesday
Mar 27
2 Hours
A look at American farming through the stories of Midwestern farmers facing increased economic uncertainty. -
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Independent Lens
Greener Pastures
Thursday
Mar 28
2 Hours
A look at American farming through the stories of Midwestern farmers facing increased economic uncertainty. -
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Independent Lens
Greener Pastures
Thursday
Mar 28
2 Hours
A look at American farming through the stories of Midwestern farmers facing increased economic uncertainty. -
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Independent Lens
Move Me
Friday
Mar 29
1 Hour 30 Minutes
A woman's quest to redefine who she is after a dive into Lake Superior results in a life-altering injury. -
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Independent Lens
Move Me
Saturday
Mar 30
1 Hour 30 Minutes
A woman's quest to redefine who she is after a dive into Lake Superior results in a life-altering injury. -
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Independent Lens
Move Me
Saturday
Mar 30
1 Hour 30 Minutes
A woman's quest to redefine who she is after a dive into Lake Superior results in a life-altering injury. -
Image
Independent Lens
Greener Pastures
Saturday
Mar 30
2 Hours
A look at American farming through the stories of Midwestern farmers facing increased economic uncertainty. -
Image
Independent Lens
Move Me
Saturday
Mar 30
1 Hour 30 Minutes
A woman's quest to redefine who she is after a dive into Lake Superior results in a life-altering injury. -
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Independent Lens
Tuesday
Apr 2
1 Hour 30 Minutes
As the title suggests, a series of documentaries resembles an independent film festival in its diversity of subject matter, from hula dancing to crossword mania as captured by a roster of edgy and creative filmmakers. -
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Independent Lens
A Thousand Pines
Wednesday
Apr 3
1 Hour
Over eight months, a crew of Oaxacan guest workers plant trees across America, showing how hard it is to balance the physical demands of reforestation and extreme isolation while staying connected to family back home. -
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Independent Lens
A Thousand Pines
Thursday
Apr 4
1 Hour
Over eight months, a crew of Oaxacan guest workers plant trees across America, showing how hard it is to balance the physical demands of reforestation and extreme isolation while staying connected to family back home. -
Image
Independent Lens
A Thousand Pines
Thursday
Apr 4
1 Hour
Over eight months, a crew of Oaxacan guest workers plant trees across America, showing how hard it is to balance the physical demands of reforestation and extreme isolation while staying connected to family back home.
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