Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film


Latest Episodes

72: Jed Rothstein on “The China Hustle”
April 05, 2018

Could China be responsible for the next Wall Street crash? Filmmaker Jed Rothstein explores that question in “The China Hustle.” After the 2008 market crash, American investors started paying close attention to the growth in Chinese companies.

71: Amanda Micheli on “Vegas Baby” & IVF Treatment
March 22, 2018

In “Vegas Baby,” filmmaker Amanda Micheli follows several wannabe parents who enter a contest for free IVF treatment at a Las Vegas fertility clinic – ranging from a Midwestern couple to a Lady Gaga impersonator.

70: Mark Duplass, Chapman & Maclain Way on “Wild Wild Country”
March 15, 2018

Netflix’s new true crime series “Wild Wild Country” explores the 1980s case of the so-called sex guru Bhagwan Rajneesh whose followers established a city near the small town of Antelope, Oregon and raised fears among locals.

PN 69: Remembering Chris Hondros
March 08, 2018

The documentary “Hondros” tells the story of war photographer Chris Hondros who was killed alongside Tim Hetherington in Libya in 2011. Hondros is known for iconic photos that were published all over the world: a jubilant warrior in Liberia; an Iraqi g...

PN 68: Policing in “Flint Town”
March 01, 2018

Netflix’s new 8-part series “Flint Town”  follows the city’s police department as they cope with a depressed economy, high crime and a water crisis over the course of 2016. Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews the three directors of “Flint Town”...

PN 67: “Control Room” Revisited with Josh Rushing
February 22, 2018

Fifteen years ago as America prepared to make war on Iraq, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim embedded herself at the U.S. military’s CENTCOM media headquarters in Doha, Qatar. She and cinematographer Hani Salama focused on how the rising network Al Jazeera cove...

PN 67: “Control Room” Revisited with Josh Rushing
February 22, 2018

Fifteen years ago as America prepared to make war on Iraq, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim embedded herself at the U.S. military’s CENTCOM media headquarters in Doha, Qatar. She and cinematographer Hani Salama focused on how the rising network Al Jazeera cove...

PN 66: Attorney Gloria Allred on “Seeing Allred”
February 15, 2018

The lawsuit “Summer Zervos v. Donald Trump” is among the high profile cases handled by attorney Gloria Allred. The Netflix film “Seeing Allred,” directed by Sophie Sartain and Roberta Grossman, explores the history of the 76-year-old lawyer,

PN 66: Attorney Gloria Allred on “Seeing Allred”
February 15, 2018

The lawsuit “Summer Zervos v. Donald Trump” is among the high profile cases handled by attorney Gloria Allred. The Netflix film “Seeing Allred,” directed by Sophie Sartain and Roberta Grossman, explores the history of the 76-year-old lawyer,

PN 65: Sam Pollard on Sammy Davis Jr, Spike Lee & St. Clair Bourne
February 08, 2018

Sam Pollard reflects on collaborating with Spike Lee, Henry Hampton and St. Claire Bourne; and on directing his latest film “Sammy Davis Jr: I Gotta Be Me.” Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviewed Pollard at TIFF Doc Conference in September 2017.