Episodes

In "The Disappearance of Shere Hite," Oscar-nominated director Nicole Newnham ("Crip Camp") profiles the sex researcher who soared to success in the 1970s, but then faded into obscurity. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers talks to Newnham about navigating Hite's complex personality, how the film team uncovered the author's private writings and brought them to life with the collaboration of Dakota Johnson. On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1

Filmmaker Julie Cohen ("RBG") profiles three intersex activists in her new film "Every Body," now streaming on Peacock. One of those activists is Alicia Roth Weigel who recently published her memoir "Inverse Cowgirl". Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews them about dispelling misinformation and celebrating intersex lives.

In his new film "Silver Dollar Road," Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck ("I Am Not Your Negro") focuses on the Reels family in North Carolina, who fought for decades to protect their waterfront property passed down from generation to generation. The film chronicles how the Reels withstood fraudulent land claims, violence, and having two family members sent to jail for eight years because they refused to vacate their home. Peck builds upon the work of reporter Lizzie Presser who wrote about the...

Associated Press videographer Mstyslav Chernov won the Pulitzer Prize for his coverage of Russia's war against Ukraine. When the war escalated in February 2022, Mstyslav covered the front lines for his documentary "20 Days in Mariupol". The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and will begin streaming on PBS Frontline on November 21st. It's been selected for the DOC NYC Short List that's known as a predictor of Oscar contenders. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Mstyslav in f...

"While We Watched" profiles the Indian TV journalist Ravish Kumar during a period when he's under extreme pressure including death threats for trying to do his job. The film is a cautionary tale over threats to journalism around the world. Director Vinay Shukla is among a new wave of Indian documentary filmmakers that have gained international recognition. Earlier this year on episode 154, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker Shaunak Sen ("All That Breathes") said he marks the rise of this new movement...

"Casa Susanna," playing on PBS Passport, tells the secret history of a Catskills resort in the late 1950s and early 1960s that was a safe haven for transgender expression. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Sébastien Lifshitz on how he won the trust of the film’s participants to share their stories after six decades. Further reading: photo historian Isabelle Bonnet on Casa Susanna.

Maite Alberdi's new work is "The Eternal Memory." She follows the journalist Augusto Gongora and his wife Paulina Urrutia as they cope with Augusto’s experience with Alzheimer’s syndrome.

No shade to Barbie, but our favorite summer film is "Kokomo City" that won audience prizes in Sundance and Berlin for its raw and raucous profile of four black transgender sex workers. First time filmmaker D. Smith had a successful career as a Grammy-nominated music producer. But when she came out as transgender, she was effectively blacklisted from that industry. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Smith in her hometown at the Miami Film Festival about the desperation and inspiration ...

In this wide-ranging conversation, Asif Kapadia speaks about the setbacks and breakthroughs in his career.

Actor and writer John Leguizamo now hosts the series "Leguizamo Does America" that explores Latin American communities across the country.

Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams has a bounty of new releases this year. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Williams at the CPH:DOX festival about three of those works: Love to Love You, Donna Summer on HBO, The 1619 Project on Hulu and his fiction feature debut Cassandro coming this fall from Amazon Studios. Williams also discusses his stint serving on the AMPAS Board of Governors when he led a campaign to increase enrollment of women and BIPOC members. For more on Williams'...

Elvis Mitchell on his ocumentary "Is That Black Enough for You?!?", Detroit and why he left his job as a New York Times film critic.

Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews "Couples Therapy" star Dr. Orna Guralnik along with co-creators Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg and one of its directors Pax Wasserman.

Lisa Cortés' documentary "Little Richard: I Am Everything" that helps to rewrite the history of rock and roll.

Harry Belafonte died this week at age 96. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Belafonte and his daughter Gina in 2013 as part of the Montclair Film Festival.

E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin discuss their latest documentary "Wild Life".

"Framing Agnes" premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Audience Award in the Next section. It draws upon a rare archive of interviews with trans and gender non-conforming people conducted in the 1950s.

Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews "Navalny" director Daniel Roher .

"All That Breathes" won top prizes at Sundance and Cannes for its portrayal of two brothers in New Delhi who dedicated themselves to rescuing birds from the hazards of the polluted city. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers talks to director Shaunak Sen about how he scrapped his first year of filming to start over. Shaunak discusses the contributions of cinematographer Benjamin Bernhard ("Aquarela") and editor Charlotte Munch Bengtsen ("The Truffle Hunters") in the creation of one of the year's most...

Joyce Chopra broke the glass ceiling for women in film by directing classic works such as the ground-breaking personal documentary "Joyce at 34". Those films and others are now streaming in a collection of her work on the Criterion Channel.

During China's feudal era, women kept in seclusion developed a secret language called nüshu. Hidden Letters profiles two millennial women in China who are among the very few people keeping the language alive. The film was named to the Oscars' Short List of 15 documentary features that will be narrowed to five nominees later this month. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews director Violet Du Feng about changes for women in China, the effects of capitalism in the country and her goals to r...