The Tuba Thieves
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.
Episodes
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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.
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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.
Extras + Features
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Trailer | Hidden Letters
S24 E11 - 30s
The bonds of sisterhood, and the parallels of struggles among generations of women in China, are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nüshu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women.
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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?
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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?
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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.
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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
This Spring Independent Lens, your go-to destination for documentaries, offers a captivating slate of films including Free Chol Soo Lee, Matter of Mind: My ALS, Sam Now, and Mama Bears. These highly acclaimed films can be viewed live or streamed anytime on the PBS 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.
Schedule
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Independent Lens
The Big Payback
Wednesday
Jun 19
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Robin Rue Simmons and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) pressure the government to deliver monetary justice for Blacks harmed by chattel slavery, systemic injustice and corporate exploitation. -
Image
Independent Lens
The Big Payback
Thursday
Jun 20
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Robin Rue Simmons and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) pressure the government to deliver monetary justice for Blacks harmed by chattel slavery, systemic injustice and corporate exploitation. -
Image
Independent Lens
The Big Payback
Thursday
Jun 20
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Robin Rue Simmons and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) pressure the government to deliver monetary justice for Blacks harmed by chattel slavery, systemic injustice and corporate exploitation. -
Image
Independent Lens
The Big Payback
Saturday
Jun 22
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Robin Rue Simmons and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) pressure the government to deliver monetary justice for Blacks harmed by chattel slavery, systemic injustice and corporate exploitation. -
Image
Independent Lens
No Straight Lines
Wednesday
Jun 26
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Cartoonists provide a window into LGBTQ lives from the 1970s onward. -
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Independent Lens
No Straight Lines
Thursday
Jun 27
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Cartoonists provide a window into LGBTQ lives from the 1970s onward. -
Image
Independent Lens
No Straight Lines
Thursday
Jun 27
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Cartoonists provide a window into LGBTQ lives from the 1970s onward. -
Image
Independent Lens
Breaking the News
Saturday
Jun 29
1 Hour 30 Minutes
A group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists unites to launch The 19th, a digital news startup aiming to combat misinformation and empower underserved and underrepresented women. -
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Independent Lens
Breaking the News
Sunday
Jun 30
1 Hour 30 Minutes
A group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists unites to launch The 19th, a digital news startup aiming to combat misinformation and empower underserved and underrepresented women.
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