One With the Whale
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.
Episodes
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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 | The Tuba Thieves
S25 E17 - 30s
What is the role of sound and what does it mean to listen? Hard of hearing filmmaker Alison O’Daniel uses a series of tuba thefts in Los Angeles high schools as a jumping-off point to explore these questions. Through several d/Deaf people telling stories in a unique game of telephone, the central mystery of The Tuba Thieves isn’t about theft of instruments; it’s about the nature of sound itself.
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Watch Space: The Longest Goodbye with PBS Passport
S25 E16 - 30s
Blast off to Space: The Longest Goodbye, as NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission.
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Trailer | Space: The Longest Goodbye
S25 E16 - 30s
NASA's goal to send astronauts to Mars would require a three-year absence from Earth, during which communication in real time would be impossible due to the immense distance. Meet the psychologists whose job is to keep astronauts mentally stable in outer space, as they are caught between their dream of reaching new frontiers and the basic human need to stay connected to home.
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Extended Trailer | Space: The Longest Goodbye
S25 E16 - 1m
NASA's goal to send astronauts to Mars would require a three-year absence from Earth, during which communication in real time would be impossible.
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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.
Schedule
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Independent Lens
One With the Whale
Thursday
Apr 25
1 Hour 30 Minutes
An Alaska native family is blindsided when their son, the youngest ever to harpoon a whale for his village, is targeted by animal activists. -
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Independent Lens
One With the Whale
Thursday
Apr 25
1 Hour 30 Minutes
An Alaska native family is blindsided when their son, the youngest ever to harpoon a whale for his village, is targeted by animal activists. -
Image
Independent Lens
One With the Whale
Saturday
Apr 27
1 Hour 30 Minutes
An Alaska native family is blindsided when their son, the youngest ever to harpoon a whale for his village, is targeted by animal activists. -
Image
Independent Lens
One With the Whale
Saturday
Apr 27
1 Hour 30 Minutes
An Alaska native family is blindsided when their son, the youngest ever to harpoon a whale for his village, is targeted by animal activists. -
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Independent Lens
Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary
Sunday
Apr 28
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Events, passions and experiences that impacted the life and music of jazz artist John Coltrane. -
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Independent Lens
Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary
Tuesday
Apr 30
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Events, passions and experiences that impacted the life and music of jazz artist John Coltrane. -
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Independent Lens
Try Harder!
Thursday
May 2
1 Hour 30 Minutes
At San Francisco's Lowell High School, stressed out seniors chase college dreams. -
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Independent Lens
Soul Food Junkies
Sunday
May 5
1 Hour
Soul food's relevance to black cultural identity. -
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Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Monday
May 6
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Tuesday
May 7
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Wednesday
May 8
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Thursday
May 9
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Thursday
May 9
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission.
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