The Picture Taker
The vibrant life of Ernest Withers—civil rights photographer, and FBI informant—was anything but black and white. From his Memphis studio, Withers' nearly 2 million images were a treasured record of Black history but his legacy was complicated by decades of secret FBI service revealed only after his death. Was he a friend of the civil rights community, or enemy—or both?
Episodes
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The Picture Taker
S24 E7 - 1h 25m
The vibrant life of Ernest Withers—civil rights photographer, and FBI informant—was anything but black and white. From his Memphis studio, Withers' nearly 2 million images were a treasured record of Black history but his legacy was complicated by decades of secret FBI service revealed only after his death. Was he a friend of the civil rights community, or enemy—or both?
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No Straight Lines
S24 E6 - 1h 25m
When Alison Bechdel received a coveted MacArthur Award for her best-selling graphic memoir Fun Home, it heralded the acceptance of LGBTQ+ comics in American culture. From DIY underground comix scene to mainstream acceptance, meet five smart and funny queer comics artists whose uncensored commentary left no topic untouched and explored art as a tool for social change.
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The Big Payback
S24 E5 - 1h 25m
An Evanston, Illinois rookie alderwoman led the passage of the first tax-funded reparations bill for Black Americans. While she and her community struggle with the burden to make restitution for its citizens, a national racial crisis engulfs the country. Will the debt ever be addressed, or is it too late for a reparations movement to finally get the big payback?
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Children of Las Brisas
S24 E4 - 1h 22m
In Venezuela, amidst a backdrop of poverty, murder, and corruption, the El Sistema youth orchestra offers children hope and the opportunity to pursue a life of art in spite of the harshness of the society around them. Yet the country’s spiraling collapse and political repression threatens the musicians’ dreams of a better life.
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Move Me
S24 E3 - 1h 22m
At 27, Kelsey Peterson dove into Lake Superior as a dancer and emerged paralyzed. But within the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) community, she found allies in her quest to discover who she is now and to dance with disability. When a cutting-edge trial surfaces, it tests her expectations of a possible cure. She finds herself both scared it might not work—and scared that it might.
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TikTok, Boom.
S24 E2 - 1h 24m
What does it mean to be a digital native? TikTok, Boom. dissects the platform along myriad cross-sections—algorithmic, socio-political, economic, and cultural—to explore the impact of the history-making app. Balancing a genuine interest with healthy skepticism, delve into the security issues, global political challenges, and racial biases behind the platform.
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Hazing
S24 E1 - 1h 43m
Hazing is a widespread, far-reaching practice fueled by tradition, secrecy, groupthink, power, and the desire to belong in fraternities and sororities on college campuses across the U.S. Filmmaker Byron Hurt embarks on a deeply personal journey to understand the underground rituals of hazing, revealing the abuse and the lengths college students will go to fit in.
Extras + Features
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Trailer | Storming Caesars Palace
S24 E10 - 30s
After losing her job as a hotel worker in Las Vegas, Ruby Duncan joined a welfare rights group of mothers who defied notions of the “welfare queen.” In a fight for guaranteed income, Ruby and other equality activists took on the Nevada mob in organizing a massive protest that shut down Caesars Palace.
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Trailer | Outta the Muck
S24 E8 - 30s
Wade into the rich soil of Pahokee, Florida, a town on the banks of Lake Okeechobee. Beyond its football legacy, including sending over a dozen players to the NFL (like Anquan Boldin, Fred Taylor, and Rickey Jackson), the fiercely self-determined community tells their stories of Black achievement and resilience in the face of tragic storms and personal trauma.
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Trailer | Love in the Time of Fentanyl
S24 E9 - 30s
As fentanyl overdose deaths in Vancouver, Canada reach an all-time high, the Overdose Prevention Society opens its doors—a renegade safe injection site that employs current or former drug users. Its staff and volunteers save lives and give hope to a marginalized community, doing whatever it takes to remain open in this intimate documentary that looks beyond the stigma of injection drug users.
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Trailer | The Picture Taker
S24 E7 - 30s
The vibrant life of Ernest Withers—civil rights photographer, and FBI informant—was anything but black and white. From his Memphis studio, Withers' nearly 2 million images were a treasured record of Black history but his legacy was complicated by decades of secret FBI service revealed only after his death. Was he a friend of the civil rights community, or enemy—or both?
-
Trailer | The Big Payback
S24 E5 - 30s
An Evanston, Illinois rookie alderwoman led the passage of the first tax-funded reparations bill for Black Americans. While she and her community struggle with the burden to make restitution for its citizens, a national racial crisis engulfs the country. Will the debt ever be addressed, or is it too late for a reparations movement to finally get the big payback?
-
Trailer | No Straight Lines
S24 E6 - 30s
When Alison Bechdel received a coveted MacArthur Award for her best-selling graphic memoir Fun Home, it heralded the acceptance of LGBTQ+ comics in American culture. From DIY underground comix scene to mainstream acceptance, meet five smart and funny queer comics artists whose uncensored commentary left no topic untouched and explored art as a tool for social change.
-
Trailer | Children of Las Brisas
S24 E4 - 30s
In Venezuela, amidst a backdrop of poverty, murder, and corruption, the El Sistema youth orchestra offers children hope and the opportunity to pursue a life of art in spite of the harshness of the society around them. Yet the country’s spiraling collapse and political repression threatens the musicians’ dreams of a better life.
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Trailer | This Winter on Independent Lens
S24 - 1m
Independent Lens, America’s home for documentaries, is keeping you entertained this winter with Children of Las Brisas, The Big Payback, and No Straight Lines. Watch these powerful, acclaimed new films live or stream anytime on the PBS Video app.
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Trailer | Stream the Best Docs on the PBS Video App
S24 - 1m
Groundbreaking documentaries. Award-winning docuseries. Stream the best docs on the PBS Video app.
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Hazing | George Desdunes
S24 E1 - 8m 5s
The tragic story of student George Desdunes is revisited from the perspective of his mother, a Haitian immigrant who made sacrifices to help her son go to college.
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Hazing | Ryan Abele
S24 E1 - 7m 18s
Ryan Abele's parents thought his frat brothers would look out for him. Instead, alleged hazing led to his death.
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Trailer | This Fall on Independent Lens
S24 - 1m
Independent Lens, America’s home for documentaries, returns Monday, September 12, with Hazing, followed by TikTok, Boom., and Move Me. Watch these powerful, acclaimed new films live or stream anytime on the PBS Video app.
Schedule
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Image
Independent Lens
Outta the Muck
Monday
Feb 6
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Besides sending more than a dozen players to the NFL, Pahokee, Fla., boasts a legacy of resilience and achievement despite great storms and personal trauma. -
Image
Independent Lens
Outta the Muck
Tuesday
Feb 7
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Besides sending more than a dozen players to the NFL, Pahokee, Fla., boasts a legacy of resilience and achievement despite great storms and personal trauma. -
Image
Independent Lens
Outta the Muck
Wednesday
Feb 8
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Besides sending more than a dozen players to the NFL, Pahokee, Fla., boasts a legacy of resilience and achievement despite great storms and personal trauma. -
Image
Independent Lens
Outta the Muck
Thursday
Feb 9
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Besides sending more than a dozen players to the NFL, Pahokee, Fla., boasts a legacy of resilience and achievement despite great storms and personal trauma. -
Image
Independent Lens
Outta the Muck
Thursday
Feb 9
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Besides sending more than a dozen players to the NFL, Pahokee, Fla., boasts a legacy of resilience and achievement despite great storms and personal trauma. -
Image
Independent Lens
The Trials of Muhammad Ali
Thursday
Feb 9
1 Hour 30 Minutes
From 1967 to 1970, Muhammad Ali is stripped of his heavyweight title and banned from boxing after he refuses U.S. military service. -
Image
Independent Lens
Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary
Thursday
Feb 9
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Events, passions and experiences that impacted the life and music of jazz artist John Coltrane. -
Image
Independent Lens
The Trials of Muhammad Ali
Friday
Feb 10
1 Hour 30 Minutes
From 1967 to 1970, Muhammad Ali is stripped of his heavyweight title and banned from boxing after he refuses U.S. military service. -
Image
Independent Lens
Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary
Friday
Feb 10
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Events, passions and experiences that impacted the life and music of jazz artist John Coltrane. -
Image
Independent Lens
Outta the Muck
Saturday
Feb 11
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Besides sending more than a dozen players to the NFL, Pahokee, Fla., boasts a legacy of resilience and achievement despite great storms and personal trauma. -
Image
Independent Lens
Owned: A Tale of Two Americas
Saturday
Feb 11
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Exploring the promise of U.S. housing policies. -
Image
Independent Lens
Owned: A Tale of Two Americas
Sunday
Feb 12
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Exploring the promise of U.S. housing policies. -
Image
Independent Lens
When Claude Got Shot
Monday
Feb 13
1 Hour 30 Minutes
After getting shot in the face by a 15-year-old, Claude's path to recovery leads to forgiveness. -
Image
Independent Lens
Love in the Time of Fentanyl
Monday
Feb 13
1 Hour 30 Minutes
The Overdose Prevention Society gives hope to a community as deaths in Vancouver reach an all-time high. -
Image
Independent Lens
When Claude Got Shot
Tuesday
Feb 14
1 Hour 30 Minutes
After getting shot in the face by a 15-year-old, Claude's path to recovery leads to forgiveness. -
Image
Independent Lens
When Claude Got Shot
Tuesday
Feb 14
1 Hour 30 Minutes
After getting shot in the face by a 15-year-old, Claude's path to recovery leads to forgiveness. -
Image
Independent Lens
Love in the Time of Fentanyl
Wednesday
Feb 15
1 Hour 30 Minutes
The Overdose Prevention Society gives hope to a community as deaths in Vancouver reach an all-time high. -
Image
Independent Lens
Love in the Time of Fentanyl
Thursday
Feb 16
1 Hour 30 Minutes
The Overdose Prevention Society gives hope to a community as deaths in Vancouver reach an all-time high. -
Image
Independent Lens
Love in the Time of Fentanyl
Thursday
Feb 16
1 Hour 30 Minutes
The Overdose Prevention Society gives hope to a community as deaths in Vancouver reach an all-time high. -
Image
Independent Lens
Ferguson Rises
Thursday
Feb 16
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Michael Brown Sr. seeks justice and healing after his son is killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo.
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