You Can’t Make This Up

The Netflix documentary film The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson goes beyond the headlines and zooms in on the life of the woman lost in a sensational murder case. We hear Moriah’s family and friends discuss who shaped her life, what motivated her passion for cycling, and how her loss has affected them. It recounts how authorities caught and convicted Kaitlin Armstrong for the murder, but the film always keeps Moriah at its center, portraying her as an inspiration and not a victim.  In this

The Netflix sports documentary series Untold: Chess Mates looks back at the controversy surrounding a disruptive challenger to the Game of Kings. We hear from Hans Niemann and examine the claims he upset the reigning world champion by receiving radio signals in anal beads. It also features interviews with the chess luminaries who accused Niemann of cheating in the ultimate test of cerebral fitness. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews Grandmaster Hans Nieman

The Netflix documentary series Trust Me: The False Prophet follows Dr. Christine Marie as she pivots from confidante and documentarian to investigator, as she helps authorities build a case against fundamentalist cult leader Samuel Bateman. Featuring interviews with FLDS members and exclusive video from inside this insular community, Trust Me: The False Prophet provides a unique view on a story of coercion, abuse, faith, and redemption.  In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca L

The Netflix documentary film The Plastic Detox explores the many ways microplastics are affecting nature and our wellbeing, and seeks solutions to what has become an international, public health problem. It follows one scientist asking the question: if people reduce their exposure and let their bodies flush out the microplastics, can it reverse the growing global trend of infertility? In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews director Louie Psihoyos. SPOILER ALE

The Netflix documentary series Dynasty: The Murdochs goes deep inside the succession battle among Rupert Murdoch and his adult children. It shows how Murdoch used a mix of controversy and conservatism to build an empire — but his unwillingness to settle the question of a successor imperiled everything. In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews co-directors Liz Garbus and Sara Enright. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Dynasty: The Murdochs yet, make sure to

Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model brings together the stars, producers, and contestants to discuss the show’s success and confront its legacy of problematic segments. The Netflix documentary series explores how the show, envisioned as changing the modeling industry, came to re-enforce its darkest qualities. And it lets Tyra Banks and her co-stars address the criticism that their TV show did not age well.  In this episode of You Can't Make This Up, host Rebecca Lavoie interviews  di

The Netflix documentary series Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model reexamines the TV show’s impact on a nation’s perception of beauty and the troubling situations it put contestants through in the name of entertainment. It offers behind the scenes stories from Tyra Banks, her co-stars, and her producers, and their thoughts today about the program’s most controversial moments. And it features emotional interviews with former contestants who ask, if the show was rooting for them, why we

Today we’re turning things over to our friends at Netflix’s Skip Intro and their conversation with Elizabeth Smart. She reflects on the harrowing experience of being abducted from her bedroom at just 14 years old. In this intimate conversation, Elizabeth opens up about why she wanted to retell her story in more explicit detail in the Netflix film Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, and help other survivors not feel alone. SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't watched Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart yet, make sure