Independent Lens

The Wondrous T-Cell | Jim Allison: Breakthrough

In this excerpt from Jim Allison: Breakthrough, while young medical student Allison was meeting his future wife at the University of Texas in Austin, he was also becoming fascinated by an important new discovery: T-cells. The center of the human immune system, they are "cells that go all over your body and manage to protect you and not kill you," Allison said, "to me, it’s just wondrous."

The Wondrous T-Cell | Jim Allison: Breakthrough

1m 44s

  • Ann Williams | The History of White People in America, Episode 5: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Ann Williams | The History of White People in America, Episode 5

    4m 15s

    In this moving, animated short, poet Ashley M. Jones offers a lyrical historical account of Ann Williams, an enslaved Black woman who won her freedom in the 1830s. When faced with the torturous fate of being separated from her family and sold into Southern slavery, Williams took a literal leap of faith to avoid the dreadful mandate.

  • The Diary of Afong Moy | The History of White People in America, Episode 4: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Diary of Afong Moy | The History of White People in America, Episode 4

    4m 52s

    Acclaimed poet Sally Wen Mao narrates the animated history of Afong Moy, America’s first recorded Chinese woman. She was brought to America by merchants and was exhibited as a circus oddity in 1830s New York City. She was eventually managed and exploited by circus showman P.T. Barnum as a sideshow attraction.

  • One Person, One Vote?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    One Person, One Vote?

    S26 E1 - 1h 16m

    At a time when many Americans question democratic institutions, One Person, One Vote? unveils the complexities of the Electoral College, the uniquely American and often misunderstood mechanism for electing a president. The documentary follows four presidential electors representing different parties in Colorado during the intense 2020 election.

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