Factual America

On November 13th 1974, Ronald DeFeo shot his family dead in Amityville, New York. Not long after he was convicted of the killings, the Lutz family moved into the DeFeos’ former home. They did not stay long. After just 28 days, they fled, claiming to have been driven out by paranormal activity.

The Lutz family’s experience formed the basis of The Amityville Horror. Released in 1979, it went on to spawn a seemingly endless number of sequels, prequels, and derivatives: over 40 to date.

In his docu-series, Amityville: An Origin Story, director Jack Riccobono explores what happened to both the DeFeo and Lutz families. Matthew Sherwood discovers in conversation with Jack that what took place did not happen in isolation. As Jack says, the 1970s was a dark time in America. There was fear in the air, abuse behind closed doors, an increase in drug addiction, and strange new belief systems sprouting up.

Jack takes Matthew through the mystery of the silent rifle used in the murders, and the question of why the Lutz family moved into the DeFeo home: did they do it for commercial gain? Was it a hoax? He and Matthew look at the question marks over George Lutz’s character as well as George’s role in the perpetuation of the Amityville story: he never stopped pushing it.

Greed, family dysfunction, sensationalism, the truth vs media misrepresentation. The origin of the Amityville horror is much closer to us than we realise.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“I was drawn to this possibility of sort of this cross-genre exploration, and I really felt like there was something unique about this series...you had this true crime component, but then you also had this paranormal story, and then you had this sort of larger cultural landscape that we could explore.” – Jack Riccobono

The 1980s were a time of allegation and scandal in America. From the 1980 October Surprise, 1985-87 Iran-Contra Affair, and 1986-91 BCCI scandal, the decade seemed only to be going downhill. And in the midst of it all, the US Justice Department was accused of stealing PROMIS, a piece of software that could be used to create a programme that would allow the US government to spy on whomever used it.

Danny Casolaro was a writer, poet, and investigative journalist. At the start of the 1990s, he began exploring what had happened to PROMIS, and it led him to see the theft of this software as being at the heart of America’s other major scandals. Before he could finish his investigation, however, Danny was found dead in a hotel bathtub, with both his wrists slashed.

Did he kill himself, as the police believed, or was he murdered?

That is the question at the heart of American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders, a new docu-series on Netflix, directed by Zachary Treitz. He and co-executive producer Christian Hansen are Matthew Sherwood’s guests in this episode of Factual America. Together, they discuss what they found as they retraced Danny Casolaro’s footsteps in the last days of his life and what it was like for Zachary watching Christian disappear down a conspiracy rabbit hole before he himself followed him. 

In the process Zachary and Christian uncover a murky web of scandal at the heart of American government. Or do they? Which of the incredible stories of Michael Riconosciuto, one of Danny’s major sources, and others can ultimately be believed? The filmmakers race around the country to interview subjects and get to the root of the story – all with the support and patience given to them by Netflix in the making of the series.

American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders takes a deep dive into the darkest corners of American business and politics. Make sense of it with Zachary and Christian in conversation with Matthew Sherwood.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“Once you dip your toes into [this story] it's almost like a tar... some sort of magic ooze that kind of gets into you, as soon as you touch it. It's like what they say about the abyss... you stare into it and it stares back. This is that story. You touch it and it touches you and it kind of consumes you.” – Zachary Treitz

Tatiana Suarez was born into poverty, endured a “tumultuous [and] traumatic childhood”, and at school chose to compete in a sport – wrestling – that led to her being relentlessly bullied. She overcame every obstacle that life and people put in front of her and became a champion. And not just once, but multiple times. Finally, the greatest prize of all, Olympic glory, lay within her grasp.

And then, she broke her neck.

And as that was being treated, doctors discovered that Tatiana had cancer.

In The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez, Cassius Corrigan tells the story of how Tatiana overcame these seemingly insurmountable setbacks to achieve even greater success than before: with her neck injury meaning that Tatiana could no longer wrestle, she became instead a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. And with the absolute determination and drive to succeed that has characterised her life’s journey so far, she has beaten the hardest opponents, and won the toughest competitions.

In this episode of Factual America, Matthew Sherwood discusses with Cassius Tatiana’s incredible life. We meet Tatiana the wrestling pioneer for both girls and Latinas, Tatiana the inheritor of a strong mindedness that will not brook denial, and Tatiana who remains the great “What If” of wrestling and MMA despite her achievements. Cassius also explores Tatiana’s family background and extraordinary work ethic. It has made her an icon of one of the most dangerous sports in the world.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“... look at what Tatiana is risking every day... this is one of the greatest stories I've ever encountered in sport. I was willing to do whatever it took to bring it to life.” – Cassius Corrigan

Who is Mark Zuckerberg? That is the question at the heart of Nick Green’s new Sky documentary, Zuckerberg: King of the Metaverse. 

We all know how Zuckerberg took Facebook from being a website accessible to just a few American college students in 2004 to one that is used by over a billion people worldwide in 2024. Along the way, he has acquired Instagram and WhatsApp making him one of the most wide reaching and influential men in the world today.

But what are his thoughts? His views? What does he believe in? As Nick Green tells Matthew Sherwood, uncovering the man behind the avatar and update was hard. Unlike his social media rival, Elon Musk, Zuckerberg speaks only guardedly.

The importance of his position, however, makes it worth taking time to unravel Zuckerberg’s life. As Matthew notes, he has gone from being a hero, to villain, and is now a survivor. For Nick Green, he has been a disrupter, someone willing to “move fast, [and] break things” in the pursuit of money. In doing so, Zuckerberg has had to navigate serious legal challenges and also the attention of American politicians, all of which, he has overcome. 

In this year of important elections, a film about the man who could influence them by his actions or inaction could not be more timely. Especially since, as Nick points out, we can only hope that Zuckerberg is up to the challenge of what lies ahead. 

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

On Facebook’s algorithm:

“Curating what people see and curating what they are exposed to from a business perspective is extraordinary. But... it’s just caused the most horrendous problems.” – Nick Green

On the night of March 23rd 2015, Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn were drugged and bound by a mystery assailant who had broken into their home. Denise was then kidnapped. When Aaron called the police the next day, they believed he had murdered her. Two days later, however, Denise – who had been sexually assaulted by her kidnapper - was freed. Now the police believed no crime had been committed at all, and that Aaron and Denise were hoaxers. The psychological thriller Gone Girl had been released just six months before.

In American Nightmare, co-directors Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris explore both what happened and, as host Matthew Sherwood puts it, ‘the consequences of our cultural rush to judgement and the damage done when law enforcement and the media decide the truth can’t possibly be true’.

The result is a three-part series that twists and turns and upends your expectations with every passing minute. In American Nightmare, light becomes dark, and dark turns into light.

On this episode of Factual America, Bernadette and Felicity guide Matthew through Denise and Aaron’s story as well as the making of their series. Among the topics they discuss are how the unfair treatment of women who are victims of sexual crime motivated them to make American Nightmare, the true crime documentary that inspired and shaped the series, the extensive research that went into the making of it, and how American Nightmare offers the opportunity to get viewers to ask questions of themselves and others about how they treat other people.

They discuss the betrayal of trust, self-doubt, and even out-of-body experiences that Denise and Aaron went through. Perhaps most surprising of all, however, is the point of connection that they find between American Nightmare and Pamela: A Love Story, the 2023 documentary about Pamela Anderson. 

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“This happened, and it happens a lot, and if it can happen to Denise and Aaron, it can happen to anyone.” – Bernadette Higgins

Lady Bird Johnson is best known today as the wife of Lyndon Baines Johnson, 36th President of the USA between 1963-69. However, there was much more to her life than simply the role of ‘First Lady’.

In this episode of Factual America, Matthew Sherwood takes a deep dive into Lady Bird Johnson’s life with Dawn Porter, director of new documentary film, The Lady Bird Diaries. 

It’s 1963. Liz Carpenter, Lady Bird’s Press Secretary, suggests that she records her ‘thoughts and experiences’ on a tape recorder. Lady Bird agrees and borrows one from Carpenter’s son. She never looks back. Over the next six years she will record 123 hours-worth of material about her day-to-day life.

As Dawn tells Matthew, Lady Bird’s entries are ‘detailed and meticulous’: she had a degree in journalism and was a very good note taker. She was also, Dawn says, very disciplined, observant, and conscious of her place in history.

This consciousness made Lady Bird an invaluable counsellor for her husband. So much so that in an age where there was no line of presidential succession, Lady Bird was even referred to as ‘Mrs Vice President’.

The Lady Bird Diaries describe Lady Bird as ‘one of the most influential and least understood First Ladies in [American] history’. Matthew and Dawn discuss the detail of why that is so. They also explore her abilities as a strategist, how Lady Bird changed the way the White House works, and her political and public independence even from her husband.

The picture they draw is of a woman who was more than equal to the challenge of the difficult age in which she lived, and which she so carefully recorded. For a fuller picture of Lady Bird, the Johnson White House and 60s America, this episode is a must listen.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“She both did and didn’t accept the limit on her authority that society was giving her. She didn’t demand credit for her contributions but didn’t stop making them... her priority was getting things done.” – Dawn Porter

On January 28th 2017, a mosque in Victoria, Texas was burnt to the ground by an arsonist. In the aftermath, Victorians stood side-by-side with their Muslim neighbours. In A Town Called Victoria, Li Lu – who grew up in nearby Sugar Land, Texas – explores what happened next: to the town, its Islamic community, and to the arsonist, who was soon apprehended.

Li joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss her series, its themes, which include white supremacy, patriotism and mental illness, as well as the limits of healing. Li looks back at her own upbringing, and shares how she discovered the arson attack had happened and its effect on her. She also discusses the role played in the making of the film by her DP, Halyna Hutchins, who was tragically killed on the set of Rust in 2021.

Victoria’s story is a bittersweet one. For while there is solidarity and shared prayer, understanding and a determination to repair damage done, the arson attack also exposes deep and profound divisions: racial, political, and economic. And what’s more, this is not a story relevant to Texas alone. As Li puts it, Victoria is a ‘microcosm’ of every American community.

A Town Called Victoria needed to be a sensitively made film. It could not have found a better and more informed director than Li Lu. Enter the heart of Texas and America with Li and Matthew Sherwood.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“In terms of really reaching people, be brave and have a conversation that’s hard with someone that could use a conversation to be had with.” – Li Lu

Racism is a blight upon the United States of America, and has been all through the country’s history. 

In Stamped from the Beginning, a documentary film featuring and based on the book of the same name by Dr. Ibram X Kendi, director Roger Ross Williams explores the history of racist ideas in the US.

Using an innovative array of methods, including VFX, animation, and music, he explores how the Trans-Atlantic slave trade gave birth to racist ideas, and how racist myths regarding black hypersexuality and criminality still impact society today.

Roger and Ibram join Matthew Sherwood to discuss their film, its themes, and the role of black women, both in terms of studying racism and as the interviewees of Stamped from the Beginning. Roger also notes the reason why he uses pop culture to tell the story of racist ideas in the US. It isn’t despite the fact that it has been used over the years to perpetuate racist ideas but because of it.

Roger admits that making the documentary was hard. Fortunately, he liked the challenge! The result is a film that, as Matthew says, is both stimulating and uplifting. Racism may be a big part of the US’s story, but it is not the last word.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“We hope that people – through the film – can begin the process of unlearning any racist ideas about black people that they have internalised...and that they would also begin to learn anti-racist ideas of racial equality.” – Ibram X Kendi

In 1983 America was overwhelmed by a disaster, the likes of which it had never seen before. Hysteria led to riots; mayhem became the norm. And the reason? Chubby, potato faced toys: the Cabbage Patch Kids.

In this episode of Factual America, Matthew Sherwood meets Dan Goodman, co-executive producer of Billion Dollar Babies, a documentary about the rise and rise of the awkward looking but homely and utterly desirable Cabbage Patch Kids. 

They discuss the origin of the Cabbage Patch Kids’ success, which can be traced back to the Post-Depression era but also owes a great deal to the improving economy of the early ‘80s and the increasing availability of credit. 

But none of that would have mattered had the Cabbage Patch Kids not had that certain something that made them so special. Despite being mass produced, improved manufacturing techniques gave each doll a seemingly unique appearance. Each one could be ‘adopted’. And, most simply, they looked cute: cute enough to go through hell and high water at the local shopping mall for.

Dan shares how he managed to get the man behind the dolls’ success, Xavier Roberts, onto the doc, while he and Matthew also discuss the roles played in the film by legendary news anchor Connie Chung, and actor Neil Patrick Harris.

The Cabbage Patch Kids represent 80s excess at its best or worst, depending on your point-of-view. Step back in time to enjoy the good, the bad, and the immensely cute of it all with Matthew and Dan!

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“You think about these Cabbage Patch Kid riots... and it’s not like we looked at that and thought, ‘Boy, that was a terrible idea!’... Instead, we go the opposite direction... and that’s where we got to this Black Friday mentality.” – Dan Goodman

In 1999, Rose Tajiri, a second-generation Japanese-American, was diagnosed with dementia. She was 76. Over the following years, as her condition worsened, her daughter, filmmaker Rea Tajiri, became her caregiver. 

In Wisdom Gone Wild Rea documents the journey that she and her mother took together, a journey that sees them navigate both the now of life with dementia and the past as Rose recalls memories from her early years, including the time she spent in an internment camp during the Second World War.

The result is, as Matthew Sherwood describes it, a film that is ‘tender, bittersweet, [and] poignant’. Rea calls the film a ‘cinematic poem’, which follows the lines of her mother’s thought process, her ‘dream logic’. 

As Rea makes clear, caring for her mother brought highs and lows, sometimes in unexpected places; Rose’s condition brought danger, but also the opportunity to explore, to find meaning. Most of all, it brought wisdom, not just in one area, but several: beauty, beauty in art, and in spiritual matters among others.

Rea discusses her family’s accepting response to her filming her and her mother’s journey, the influence of her late father – a professional photographer – on this project, and offers advice born of her own experience to anyone who might be in the same situation: surrender, connect, enjoy. Living with dementia can be hard, but also meaningful, and even profound.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“It was important to me to centre the film around how [my mother] communicated. I wanted to maybe have the viewer adjust a little bit of how they experience dementia.” – Rea Tajiri

Carlos is a documentary that takes the viewer from legendary guitarist Carlos Santana’s beginnings in Mexico to concerts across the world in a musical career that has lasted over fifty years. It goes off-stage as well, exploring his spiritual journey and life with his family, from mother and father, to siblings, and children.

In this episode of Factual America, Matthew Sherwood meets Carlos’ director, Rudy Valdez, to discuss Santana’s storied life. Their conversation reveals Carlos as an innovative and laser-focused musician, a story teller with a brilliant memory, and a man always seeking to go further, deeper and higher, whether in his music or life beyond.

In addition, Rudy shares how he came to direct Carlos almost despite himself, the intimate nature of the documentary’s production, and his determination to create a film that felt just like you were hanging out with Carlos himself, something that for Matthew made the film very cool, indeed!

From fame to family, stardom to spirituality, mysterious tapes and revealing videos of walls, this episode of Factual America takes you from the past, into the present, and maybe even to the future. Plus at the end of the episode Matthew and Rudy have a conversation about the Golden Age of documentary: how Rudy defines it, its duration, and where he believes documentary film making finds itself now.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“... what we always tried to do throughout this process is show the music, show it in relation to spirituality, show spirituality and the relation to family. And... come back to music, come back to spirituality, come back to family... all of those things were part of this collective consciousness for Carlos and they were always equally driving his journey and his life...” – Rudy Valdez

To call Sylvester Stallone a film star is only the beginning of any conversation about him. Movies such as Rocky and Rambo have made him an American icon. But even that barely scrapes the surface of who he really is. 

In Sly, a new documentary film available to watch now on Netflix, director Thom Zimny takes a deep dive into Sylvester Stallone’s story. He starts with the actor we all know before introducing us to the man behind the persona: Stallone the writer, director, and even, painter. He goes further still, in fact, right to the heart of Stallone’s life: his relationship with his father, a relationship that for Thom redefined how he saw Stallone’s films.

In this episode of Factual America, Thom joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss Sly, both man and film. Their conversation takes them from the beginning of Thom’s relationship with Stallone to its full flowering. Thom describes his approach to interviewing Stallone, and the energy that the latter brought to their conversation. He reveals how his work with Bruce Springsteen helped him navigate Sly, and the great trust that Stallone put in him, made real with a significant gift. Along the way, Thom shares some of the surprises that came out of making Sly, and even Stallone’s musicality.

Join Matthew as he and Thom Zimny pull the curtain back on the real Sylvester Stallone – Sly by name, but open hearted by nature.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“Sly went beyond a biopic for me because I felt like there was a chance to show an artist that gets lost with just a shorthand version of their life... I love the details that get lost, that make a film universal.” – Thom Zimny

In The Enfield Poltergeist, Jerry Rothwell uses over 250 hours of audio recordings made by paranormal investigator Maurice Grosse to revisit the case of 284 Green Street in Enfield, North London. There, for a period of eighteen months starting in August 1977, the Hodgson family witnessed furniture move of its own accord, objects get thrown across rooms, and heard disembodied voices speak.

Or did they?

Some investigators were convinced, others were not. In The Enfield Poltergeist, Jerry builds a replica of the Hodgson family’s house in order to recreate what – is alleged to have – happened, and he joins Matthew Sherwood to go behind-the-scenes of his film. They explore the mystery of poltergeists, disruptive activity that often centres on young people, the effect of the supposed hauntings on the Hodgson children, and how the Green Street case captured the imagination of the British press.

Jerry reflects on his own background and how it might have influenced his decision to make The Enfield Poltergeist. He and Matthew also discuss the high-level background of the British Society for Psychical Research, of which Maurice Grosse was a member.

Was 284 Green Street haunted? Is the question even relevant? Whatever your view, enter into the spirit of the season with The Enfield Poltergeist.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“I think what's interesting is... how and why do a people - a group of people in a house come to believe something. [This] for me says a lot about all kinds of things in our modern world... why do we believe what we believe?... the evidence for those things is as much in the stories we tell, and are told, as in, you know, the hard scientific phenomena.” – Jerry Rothwell

Welcome to the first episode of the fifth season of Factual America! Joining host Matthew Sherwood is Yon Motskin, the director of Encounters, a new Netflix docu-series about four UFO/alien encounters from around the world.

Encounters tells a story that is both epic and intimate in its range. It not only explores what occurred when a diverse range of witnesses – including school children, hoteliers, law enforcement officials, and rescue workers – came face-to-face with the seemingly impossible, but what happened afterwards to them, and those who investigated their stories. Some were able to move on; others, though, were bullied, faced ridicule, and professional ruin. All, though, have stuck to their stories.

Matthew and Yon discuss what happened to the witnesses, their credibility or otherwise, and the profound differences between the interpretation of UFO sightings in Japan versus the US. They look at the nature of belief, and how what we believe can define our understanding of what UFOs may be. Yon also shares his appreciation for the involvement of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television in the making of the film.

For Yon, Encounters is fundamentally ‘a human story’ with themes such as ‘consciousness and communication’ at its core. Whether you are interested in UFOs, psychology, mysteries, or the workings of the human heart, this is an episode for you.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“I believe that they believe. Now, if whatever they say happened or not, I wasn't there, so, I couldn't tell you, but it's hard to discount... it's not one person in their backyard seeing something. It's dozens, and in many cases, hundreds of people all seeing the same thing, at the same time.” – Yon Motskin

Wayne Shorter has long been considered one of the greatest modern composers and musicians of American music. His career reads like a Who’s Who of the genre, starting with Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers, then the Miles Davis Quintet, followed by solo fame and the founding of fusion super group Weather Report. His collaborations extend beyond jazz greats such as Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter to include Carlos Santana, Joni Mitchel, Milton Nascimento and Steely Dan, just to name a few. 

In Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity, acclaimed producer and director Dorsay Alavi moves beyond typical music doc territory to capture the essence of the man who touched so many lives, including her own. As Shorter’s long-time friend and music-video collaborator, Dorsay paints an intimate portrait and cinematic ode to a truly American visionary, innovator and icon. 

Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity is a three-part docu-series streaming on Amazon Prime from August 25th 2023, which would have been Shorter’s 90th birthday. 

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

"There's so many layers to Wayne, but I would say mostly, he's a very, very principled person. And I believe that he has always been very authentic and true to what he has always done on an artistic level, [and] in life as well." - Dorsay Alavi

John McEnroe’s volcanic temper on the tennis court is legendary. But there was always more to him than just the explosive outbursts. 

In McEnroe, a documentary now available to watch on Sky Documentaries and streaming service NOW, John McEnroe takes a night time journey through his home town of New York, reflecting on, discussing, and interrogating his life on and off the court.

Joining Matthew Sherwood is the film’s director Barney Douglas. He shares how McEnroe has changed from his wilder, younger self, the triggers that still make him a challenging person to be with, and how McEnroe sees himself in relation to today’s tennis super stars.

Barney also discusses McEnroe’s ‘New Yorker perspective’ as a tennis player, his relationship with his father, and how it influences his relationship with his children.  

The picture that Barney builds of John McEnroe is of a complex individual, one for whom connection and communication is important, who was an entertainer as well as a highly strung sportsman, and who is a thinker, not just a slave to his emotions.

In addition to discussing John McEnroe, Barney pulls back the veil on how he made his film: inevitably, Covid looms large, but so do exorbitant fees for archive footage; he had to make sure he asked McEnroe the right questions, and then, there is the use of animations inspired by Tron of all films.

McEnroe is a film that is built different, just like its star. In his short career, Barney Douglas has already made two other accomplished sporting documentaries – Warriors and The Edge – thus showing himself to be the right man to help John McEnroe tell his story.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“[He is] very authentic... there’s nothing Machiavellian about McEnroe. For good or bad, you know he will be very true to how he feels, and that's actually... a very endearing quality.” – Barney Douglas

For 200 years, the people of central Appalachia in the US have lived off the industry of coal. Now, though, times are changing, and the coal industry is dying. One day, it will become no more than a memory. 

Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon describes King Coal as “part documentary, part fable”, and the film aims to not only tell the story of Appalachia and its coal, but also to preserve Appalachians’ memory of it. 

And that is not all. Through Lanie and Gabby, two young Appalachian girls, Elaine looks to the future, to the new world that is now coming into being. In doing so, she is able to say truthfully that far from now ending, Appalachia’s story is just beginning.

In the course of their conversation, Elaine discusses her own intimate connection to Appalachia, the surprising origin of one mark of deep respect given to miners, and how she broke her filmmaking rules in order to make the documentary.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

 “... if this was just a story about facts and figures, it would make no sense. But this film is really about the psyche and soul... I think that King Coal dominates a time when work, and pride in work, of belonging was a huge part of our identity.” – Elaine McMillion Sheldon

Humanity is the master of the world. But how did we achieve this? And what do our actions say about us as a people? These are the questions at the heart of Human Footprint, a new PBS docu-series directed by Nate Dappen and Neil Losin. They join Matthew Sherwood to discuss the programme, which they describe as ‘a science show that explores human history and culture’. 

Human Footprint starts with an exploration of invasive species. Nate and Neil discuss our response to this problem, which we created. It has led to the rise of some unusual jobs: would you like to be a python hunter?

Through Nate and Neil, we discover some more sedate occupations, for example, duck calling and hunting. This brings them to Ramsey Russell, who, in addition to being a duck hunter, is also ‘a poet [and] philosopher’.

If humanity has transformed the world, some animals have transformed humans. Dogs are one of them. According to Nate, dogs’ relationship with humans has been ‘symbiotic’, and he describes visiting Resolute Bay in the Arctic Circle where dogs and Inuits help each other to survive. 

Fast evolving lizards, dancing dogs, and city ecosystems also come under discussion. However, a series like Human Footprint is not easy to make. As Neil says, ‘you have to pre-produce everything... to a really... high degree’. Despite that, however, not everything is planned out, and they did still manage to be surprised by some ‘unexpected gems’ they found during filming, and afterwards.

In a conversation that ranges from evolutionary biology, how Shane Campbell-Staton came on board as presenter, to the role of rap music in the making of Human Footprint, Nate and Neil take Matthew Sherwood on a journey across the world and even through time.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“... what the series reveals to me [is] that we have an enormous capacity for messing things up if we're not careful. But we also have an amazing capacity for good as a species, and it's really just a matter of what we decide to do collectively.” – Neil Losin

Eli Timoner lived a life founded on love. As a result, long after an accidental stroke forced him into retirement, he was celebrated by his former workers. And when he died aged 92, on 3rd March 2021, he did so, surrounded by his family.

Last Flight Home, a documentary by Eli’s daughter Ondi, tells the story of his last days. But more than that, it relates how Eli chose the date of his passing, something he was able to do through California’s End of Life Option Act. In this moving and poignant episode of Factual America, Ondi joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss the film, her father, family, and how her experience of his dying and death has made her an activist in support of the right to end one’s own life.

Ondi speaks frankly about her fears when Eli told her that he wished to die, and how filming him – something she did with his blessing – helped her come to terms with what was happening. She reflects on the differences of opinion that existed within her family over Eli’s decision before they came together to see the world anew. She also shares how she believes Eli continues to watch over his family today.

Eli’s story is not an easy one. But neither is it one sided. As Matthew and Ondi’s conversation makes clear, loss is accompanied by grace, beauty, and good memory.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“[Dad] said to me... Ondi, would you rather know the day I'm going to die? Or would you rather get a call in the middle of the night? And it's true, it really allowed us all to prepare, and to plan, and to have closure, and to be able to celebrate, even, his life. And for him, it was like wind in a sail.” – Ondi Timoner

Once upon a time, to be the conductor of an orchestra was to be a man. No longer. Female conductors, however, are still very much a rarity. The Paris based La Maestra Competition aims to break down the barriers that women still face in becoming conductors by giving them a space to showcase their skills.

In Maestra, Maggie Contreras follows five women as they prepare to take part in the 2022 La Maestra Competition. Among them are Mélisse, a Parisian from Iowa, Zoe, a single mother who juggles her preparation with looking after her young twins, and Ustina, a Ukrainian whose country was invaded by Russia just a week before La Maestra started.

Maggie joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss these women and more: the physicality of being a conductor, the loneliness of preparation, and extreme limits of time that the women have in competition with their orchestra. 

Maggie explains why she chose Maestra’s unlikely opening scene, how she ensured that the film would be accessible to viewers with no experience of conducting, and how her own background as an actor helped her to direct the film. 

As with all films, Maestra could not have been made without its financial backers. These include David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants production company, and Jamie Wolf’s Foothill Productions. Maggie reflects on their contribution as well as that of the Northern Irish companies that handled the film’s editing.

Maggie takes Matthew back to her own musical childhood before discussing the challenge of making Maestra, both in the shadow of Covid and by being an outsider in Paris. Together, she and Matthew look at the bond that draws her diverse range of films together. It’s all about making them entertaining.

Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com

“... you always have to have an idea of what it is you're getting into, but then the magic and joy and fun and danger is you take a step back and let it blossom into what it needs to be.” – Maggie Contreras