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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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 | Mama Bears
S24 E16 - 30s
They call one another “mama bears” because of the ferocity with which they fight for their children’s rights. Although they grew up as fundamentalist, evangelical Christians praying for the souls of LGBTQ+ people, these mothers are now willing to risk losing friends, family, and faith communities to champion their kids—even if it challenges their belief systems and rips apart their worlds.
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Trailer | Sam Now
S24 E14 - 30s
In this coming-of-age documentary about generational trauma, follow Sam Harkness from age 11 to 36 as his middle-class Seattle family is heartbroken and unsure of what to do after his mother suddenly leaves them. Woven together with home movies lovingly crafted by Sam’s half brother, director Reed Harkness, witness a boy grow up grappling with the ripple effects of a singular traumatic event.
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Trailer | Matter of Mind: My ALS
S24 E13 - 30s
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neuromuscular disease with an average survival time of 2-5 years from diagnosis. In this intimate exploration, three people with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, bravely face different paths as they live with this progressively debilitating illness.
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The Misrepresentation of Chol Soo Lee
S24 E12 - 5m 34s
Remember 1989’s True Believer, starring James Woods and Robert Downey, Jr.? Was it a prime example of Hollywood’s White Savior Complex? Dolly Li examines how the flick centered a white lawyer in a story based on Chol Soo Lee’s arrest. Stream Free Chol Soo Lee now on YouTube or the PBS App.
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Teaser | Free Chol Soo Lee
S24 E12 - 1m
Through his journey from an inspiring icon to a swing-shift janitor, Chol Soo Lee personifies the ravages of America’s prison industrial complex.
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Trailer | Free Chol Soo Lee
S24 E12 - 30s
Sentenced to life for a 1973 San Francisco murder, Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee was set free after a pan-Asian solidarity movement, which included Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Americans, helped to overturn his conviction. After 10 years of fighting for his life inside California state prisons, Lee found himself in a new fight to rise to the expectations of the people who believed in him.
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A Short History of Korean American Immigration
S24 E12 - 4m 53s
Korean culture has long been a part of the fabric of American culture. But what was that journey like? The three most significant waves all happened in relation to geopolitical tensions and trends in both America and Korea. Dolly Li dives deeper. Stream Free Chol Soo Lee now on YouTube or the PBS App.
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The Ballad of Chol Soo Lee
S24 E12 - 4m 49s
Did a song help free an incarcerated man? Dolly Li breaks down how UC Berkeley college students wrote a track about Chol Soo Lee, a wrongfully convicted Korean immigrant sentenced to life in prison. Stream Free Chol Soo Lee now on the PBS App.
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Dinner And a Doc | Free Chol Soo Lee
S24 E12 - 1m 50s
Free Chol Soo Lee co-directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi share mouthwatering lunch with activists Ranko Yamada and Gail Whang in L.A.'s Koreatown.
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Inside Look | Free Chol Soo Lee
S24 E12 - 1m 30s
Get an inside look at Free Chol Soo Lee from Independent Lens. After 10 years of fighting for his life inside California state prisons, Lee found himself in a new fight to rise to the expectations of the people who believed in him.
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Trailer | Silent Beauty
S24 E15 - 30s
In this autobiographical exploration of survivorship, New Orleans journalist and filmmaker Jasmín Mara López unabashedly shares her process of healing from childhood sexual abuse. After Jasmin discloses to her family she'd been abused by her grandfather, she liberates others to come forward in a story of confronting a culture of silence over generational trauma.
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Trailer | This Spring on Independent Lens
S24 - 1m
This Spring, 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.
Schedule
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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. -
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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. -
Image
Independent Lens
Hidden Letters
Friday
May 10
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Modern women in China are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nushu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women. -
Image
Independent Lens
Hidden Letters
Saturday
May 11
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Modern women in China are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nushu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women. -
Image
Independent Lens
Hidden Letters
Saturday
May 11
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Modern women in China are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nushu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women. -
Image
Independent Lens
Hidden Letters
Saturday
May 11
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Modern women in China are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nushu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women. -
Image
Independent Lens
Hidden Letters
Saturday
May 11
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Modern women in China are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nushu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Saturday
May 11
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
AWARE: Glimpses of Consciousness
Saturday
May 11
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Researchers approach consciousness from different perspectives, investigating the mysteries of consciousness and connecting the dots between spirit and body. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Sunday
May 12
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Sunday
May 12
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
AWARE: Glimpses of Consciousness
Sunday
May 12
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Researchers approach consciousness from different perspectives, investigating the mysteries of consciousness and connecting the dots between spirit and body. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Sunday
May 12
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Monday
May 13
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
Space: The Longest Goodbye
Monday
May 13
1 Hour 30 Minutes
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation required by a Mars mission. -
Image
Independent Lens
The Donut King
Monday
May 13
1 Hour 30 Minutes
The life story of Christy's Donuts founder Ted Ngoy, who built a multimillion-dollar company in the U.S. after fleeing Cambodia. -
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Independent Lens
The Donut King
Tuesday
May 14
1 Hour 30 Minutes
The life story of Christy's Donuts founder Ted Ngoy, who built a multimillion-dollar company in the U.S. after fleeing Cambodia.
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