Factual America

Factual America meets The Lone Star Plate for the second time. We are wrapping up Season 2 of Factual America, and our sister podcast The Lone Star Plate, which features interviews with famous Texans and explores compelling Texas stories, has just closed Season 3.    

Two fellow Texans, hosts Matthew Sherwood and Patrick Scott Armstrong, discuss the highlights of the last season, celebrating the most challenging year of our lives, and what episodes, guests and topics left a particular impression on them. Each host has chosen three episodes to talk about and to recommend to the audience to revisit.    

This is not exactly a top list. The hosts give shoutouts a lot of episodes that they enjoyed during the last season, and at the end of the episode, they introduce the teams behind both shows.   

In 1979 The Beatles producer Sir George Martin turned a Caribbean paradise into a 1980s hit making crucible for the likes of Paul McCartney, Elton John, and such acts as the Rolling Stones, The Police, and Dire Straits. His vision was to create a studio where artists could come and be free to express their creativity and record albums. 

After a decade of hits, and at the peak of its popularity, AIR Studios Montserrat was destroyed when hurricane Hugo hit the island in 1989, followed by the eruption of the Soufrière Hills volcano in 1995. 

Acclaimed filmmaker Gracie Otto wrote and directed Under the Volcano (2021), in which she documented this incredible story. She shares how she tracked down all those who were involved with AIR Studios Montserrat in the 1980s and how she obtained the rights for the amazing soundtrack for the film ("Money for Nothing", "Every Breath You Take"). 

Under the Volcano came out on digital platforms in the UK on July 26th and releases in the US on August 17th, and Australia and New Zealand on September 1st.

“AIR Studios Montserrat was such a representation of the time, of the music industry, of what was allowed, and how big the budgets were.” - Gracie Otto

Award-winning documentary Echoes of the Invisible (2020) looks at timelessness, the origins of the universe, and what it means to be one of the almost 8 billion inhabitants of Planet Earth.

The film follows the explorers who are pushing the human body and technology beyond known limits in the most extreme environments on Earth. One of them is Paul Salopek, a journalist walking across the world in the footsteps of the earliest human migrations. Others include scientists like Joe Incandela, building machines to look back nearly to the beginning of time.

Joining us is the award-winning director, cinematographer, and editor Steve Elkins, and two other participants in this film – particle physicist Joe Incandela, and Julia Payne, who is the project manager for Paul Salopek at the Out of Eden project. 

Echoes of the Invisible took almost 7 years to make, as Steve travelled the globe interviewing scientists, monks, and athletes. We discuss the journey of making this film, and the great wealth of human experiences on this marvellous planet.

“I take a whole bunch of stories that absolutely deserve their own documentaries, but I try to see what sparks fly off when you collide these different stories together.” - Steve Elkins

After covering The State of Texas vs. Melissa (2021), once again we are talking on Factual America about the death penalty in the state of Texas.

The recently released documentary The Phantom (2021) shines a light on a capital murder case, but probably in ways that most of us have never experienced before. The film follows Carlos DeLuna, who was arrested in 1983 for the murder of a woman service station attendant, but protested his innocence until he was executed, stating another Carlos had committed the crime.

Through interviews with eyewitnesses, Carlos DeLuna's family members, and legal experts, the film examines if the judicial system executed an innocent man, and whether or not there could be another Carlos that the prosecution called 'the phantom'. 

We’re joined by award-winning director, Patrick Forbes, to discuss how he found out about the case of Carlos DeLuna and how he got involved with making the film. We also talk about the death penalty in Texas and the art of storytelling that Patrick deploys in this documentary. 

“Humans are endlessly interesting and curious. You don’t do this job to get rich, you do this job because you like stories and you like people.” - Patrick Forbes

Acclaimed producer Fernando Sulichin has built his career by working with film giants such as Spike Lee, David Lynch, Sean Penn, and Oliver Stone. Now Fernando has two films debuting at the Cannes Film Festival.

Flag Day is directed by and stars Sean Penn, while JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass is the latest documentary from director Oliver Stone.

JFK Revisited is the follow-up to Stone's political thriller JFK (1991) about the John F Kennedy assassination. Using recently declassified archives – part of a congressional review sparked by the 1991 film – JFK Revisited sheds new light onto this seminal event in American history. 

Fernando talks about his partnership with Stone and how he has gained the trust of high-profile figures such as Fidel Castro, Nelson Mandela and Vladimir Putin. Fernando's strong passion for film comes through loud and clear and has him contemplating stepping behind the camera himself. 

“It’s not about judgment, it’s about discovery.” - Fernando Sulichin

Melissa Lucio is the only Hispanic woman to ever be sentenced to death in the state of Texas. She is currently facing her last appeal, having spent 13 years on death row. 

Her case, as well as the problems with the American justice system and the death penalty, are captured in the documentary The State of Texas vs. Melissa (2020). 

Having made its festival debut, the film has received great reviews and won multiple audience choice awards. Joining us is French-American journalist and filmmaker Sabrina Van Tassel, who directed, wrote and produced the film.

This is also a joint episode with Factual America's sister podcast, The Lone Star Plate, hosted by Patrick Scott Armstrong, who interviews famous Texans and explores compelling Texas stories. 

“I believe Melissa would already have been executed if I hadn’t made this film.” - Sabrina Van Tassel

Mary J Blige is a multi-platinum R&B and Hip Hop recording artist, a 9-time Grammy award-winner, and celebrated actress.

She is also the subject of a new Amazon Studios documentary that releases on June 25th, Mary J Blige’s My Life, that marked the 25th anniversary of the artist's acclaimed 1994 album, propelling her to international stardom.

Joining us to talk about Mary J Blige and the making of this documentary is the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Vanessa Roth, best known for her short documentary Freeheld (2007) and Netflix series Daughters of Destiny (2017).

She tells us about how Mary’s life inspired and influenced the My Life album and her music career, about the challenges of making music documentaries, as well as what it was like working with Amazon Studios. 

“Once you’re given the opportunity, you need to do the work.” - Vanessa Roth

The Tony and Pulitzer-Prize winning musical Rent celebrates the 25th anniversary of its Broadway premiere on June 15th.

The musical's message still resonates today, as captured by the HBO documentary Revolution Rent about the first commercial American production staged in Havana, Cuba in over 50 years.

Stage director and filmmaker Andy Señor, Jr played Angel in the Broadway play, directed the Havana production, and co-directed Revolution Rent with Victor Patrick Alvarez.

Both join us to recall the experience of staging Rent in Cuba in 2014. They also discuss the intentions behind making Revolution Rent and the challenges they faced bringing the film to a worldwide audience.

Revolution Rent is debuting on HBO and HBO Max on June 15th.

"I've always told Andy that this is a sacred experience. As someone who's known a lot about the culture in Cuba, I could have went there and stirred the pot, but that's not why I was there. It was Broadway, it was Rent, it was Jonathan Larson's play, Andy was there, it was America and Cuba working together." - Victor Patrick Alvarez

Five years after the legendary Texas singer and songwriter Guy Clark passed away, his life and legacy is celebrated in a new documentary. Without Getting Killed or Caught brings Guy's colourful life and career to the big screen. 

The film is the brainchild of Grammy award-winning music producer, award-winning author, and documentary filmmaker Tamara Saviano. She and her partner in life Paul Whitfield are the co-directors and co-producers.

The film looks at Guy Clark’s life as he struggles to write poetic songs, while balancing a complicated marriage with his wife Susanna. It is also a story of Guy's friendship with another legendary Texas singer-songwriter, Townes Van Zandt, on whom Susanna forged a passionate dependence.

Tamara and Paul talk about what led them to make the documentary, how they gained access to Susanna’s diary and audio tapes, and which other films inspired them the most in their filmmaking. 

“They are so good at what they do, yet they remain so grounded and humble, and that attracts people to them.” - Tamara Saviano

Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight champion, is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time. Unfortunately, he is just as famous for his exploits outside of the ring as he is for his many knockouts.

The new docuseries Mike Tyson: The Knockout is currently streaming on ABC and Hulu. Senior Executive Producer for original non-fiction content at ABC News, Roxanna Sherwood, joins us to discuss the film. 

Roxanna shares how she collaborated with the Oscar-winning screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher and Grammy-winning composer Terence Blanchard to create a new approach to Mike Tyson's story.  She explains what it was like for Mike growing up, how he ended up in so many scandals, and why this story is relevant now more than ever.

“We are prone these days to shuffle things under the black and white. The grey has disappeared, but the truth is in the middle, the truth is grey.” - Roxanna Sherwood

00:14 - The trailer for Mike Tyson: The Knockout.
05:21 - The new context the documentary gives to Mike’s life.
08:54 - What it was like for Mike growing up in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
11:26 - First clip showing Brownsville in the 1970s and '80s.
13:40 - The difficulties Mike Tyson had as a boy.
16:48 - Second clip revealing the fortune Mike gained in a short period of time.
19:34 - The misguided trust Mike had in Robin Givens.
25:22 - Third clip looking at how Mike's lavish lifestyle turned self-destructive.
28:29 - Which knockout the title refers to.
30:43 - The rape committed by Mike Tyson and the subsequent trial.
37:36 - The importance of understanding unconscious bias and racism.
44:43 - Why this documentary is so relevant at the moment.
47:14 - How Geoffrey Fletcher and Terence Blanchard became involved with the film.
50:53 - The type of content ABC News will be making in the future.
53:30 - How to be a successful documentary filmmaker.
55:18 - What’s next for Roxanna.