Podcasts about pbs independent lens

The PBS Independent Lens documentary on public libraries premieres Tuesday night on SDPB. We return to our interview with the filmmakers and the South Dakota State Library.

Producer/Hosts: Ron Beard and Liz Graves Production support from Joel Mann and from College of the Atlantic Theme music for Talk of the Towns Theme is a medley from Coronach, on a Balnain House Highland Music recording. Talk of the Towns: Local Community concerns and opportunities This month: Profiles of four community libraries in Northeast Harbor, Bucksport, Bangor and Ellsworth. Their traditional roles, and new roles to bring people together and to respond to new needs as “public help desks” for their communities. The role of the Maine Library Association to support professional development for library staff and to help coordinate library service throughout the state. Challenges, including threats to cut federal funding. What to look for in the PBS Independent Lens program Free for All: the public library. The role of free public libraries in building democracy. Guest/s: Amy Wisehart, Director, Northeast Harbor Library and President, Maine Library Association Lisa Ladd, Director, Buck Memorial Library, Bucksport Ben Treat, Director, Bangor Public Library Sarah Lasko, Director, Ellsworth Public Library FMI: bangorpubliclibrary.org www.bucklibrary.org www.ellsworthlibrary.net nehlibrary.org mainelibraries.org • Whole Person Librarianship. (website about social work / library collaborations) wholepersonlibrarianship.com/ • Bryne, Janicki, and Visser. (2024). “Libraries Stand Ready as Digital Inclusion Comes of Age.” Maine Policy Review 33.2 digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/vol33/iss2/3/ • Clark & Smith. (2024). “What’s Keeping Public Libraries Up at Night?” Maine Policy Review 33.2. digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/vol33/iss2/12/ • Furukawa, Scott, & Treat. (2024). “‘We’re the Town’s Help Desk:’ Social Work Creep in America’s Last Public Space. Maine Policy Review 33:2. digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/vol33/iss2/15/ • Houston. (2024). “Lewiston Public Library Services for New Mainer Population.” Maine Policy Review 33:2. digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/vol33/iss2/22/ • Silka. (2024). “Interview with Hazel Onsrud.” Maine Policy Review 33:2 digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mpr/vol33/iss2/5/ About the hosts: Ron Beard is producer and host of Talk of the Towns, which first aired on WERU in 1993 as part of his community building work as an Extension professor with University of Maine Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant. He took all the journalism courses he could fit in while an undergraduate student in wildlife management and served as an intern with Maine Public Television nightly newscast in the early 1970s. Ron is an adjunct faculty member at College of the Atlantic, teaching courses on community development. Ron served on the Bar Harbor Town Council for six years and is currently board chair for the Jesup Memorial Library in Bar Harbor, where he has lived since 1975. Look for him on the Allagash River in June, and whenever he can get away, in the highlands of Scotland where he was fortunate to spend two sabbaticals. Liz Graves joined Talk of the Towns as co-producer and co-host in July 2022, having long admired public affairs programming on WERU and dreamed of getting involved in community radio. She works as the Town Clerk for the Town of Bar Harbor, and is a former editor of the Mount Desert Islander weekly newspaper. Liz grew up in California and came to Maine as a schooner sailor. The post Talk of the Towns 4/12/25: The Promise of Libraries: their role in communities and democracy first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Caregiving is one of the most profound acts of love—but it can also feel isolating, overwhelming, and uncharted. My guest today is Carlos L. Olivas III, an advocate for Alzheimer's caregivers and mental health awareness. His journey is deeply personal—rooted in the love and care he provides for his father, who is living with Alzheimer's. In this episode, we talk about the meaningful layers of caregiving—the mental toll, the lessons in resilience, and the unexpected ways it changes us. We talk about what it means to find strength in community, navigate this journey as a male caregiver, and how art has given both him and his father a way to process, express, and hold onto something real. Carlos has transformed his experience into a mission, serving on California's Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Advisory Committee, working with organizations like Caring Across Generations and the Alzheimer's Association, and using art as a way to foster connection and healing. As a docent at Artbeat Gallery in Sacramento, he proudly shares his father's artwork. Carlos is also an esteemed member of We Are HFC's Care Squad, bringing raw honesty, empowerment, and deep empathy to the caregiving community. Carlos's story is being shared far and wide—he is featured in Matter of Mind: My Alzheimer's, premiering on PBS Independent Lens on May 5, offering an intimate look at the emotional and physical toll of caregiving while highlighting the resilience and love that define this experience. He is also featured in Well Beings Caregiving, a powerful series produced by Bradley Cooper, that brings attention to the lived realities of caregivers. Through storytelling, advocacy, and art, Carlos is making sure that caregivers everywhere feel seen, heard, and supported.   Thank you to our Sponsors HeroGeneration empowers caregivers and families by providing innovative resources, education, and support to navigate the challenges of aging and caregiving with confidence and connection. It's free to start. Join now HERE.   Zinnia TV is a therapeutic dementia care platform that supports caregivers. creates engaging, dementia-friendly video content to reduce anxiety, spark memories, and provide meaningful moments of connection for individuals living with cognitive challenges and their caregivers. We invite you to use the code GATHER20 for 20% off an annual subscription HERE.   Connect with Carlos via social media, interviews, podcasts and resources:   https://linktr.ee/charlierobot     We are not medical professionals and are not providing any medical advice. If you have any medical questions, we recommend that you talk with a medical professional of your choice. willGather has taken care in selecting its speakers but the opinions of our speakers are theirs alone. Thank you for your continued interest in our podcasts. Please follow for updates, rate & review! For more information about our guest, podcast & sponsorship opportunities, visit www.willgatherpodcast.com    

The new PBS Independent Lens documentary, "Minted," examines the NFT market craze, from its meteoric rise to its dramatic fall and its possible future in another Trump administration. We're joined by the film's director, Nicholas Bruckman and a featured artist in the film, Kina Matahari.

Host Michael Azevedo is joined on this episode by Nicholas Bruckman the writer, producer, and director of a new documentary called Minted, which provides an insider's look at the rise and fall of the NFT (non-fungible token) phenomenon and how technology transformed the traditional art world, for better and worse. Featuring verité footage and candid interviews with groundbreaking artists at the center of this phenomenon, Minted delves into the complex world of the $40 billion NFT digital art market. Minted will have its broadcast premiere as part of the PBS Independent Lens series on January 6 and will be available to stream via the PBS app for 90 days thereafter. Making Media Now is sponsored by Filmmakers Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting media makers from across the creative spectrum. From providing fiscal sponsorship to presenting an array of informative and educational programs, Filmmakers Collaborative supports creatives at every step in their journey. About the host: www.writevoicecreative.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-azevedo/   Sound Engineer: A.J. Kierstead

Byron Hurt wears a lot of hats: filmmaker, journalist, activist, mentor and more. He's also brave, if his 2022 film Hazing is any indication. Hazing takes on the subculture of humiliation and often violence that people endure when they wish to join certain organizations, including college fraternities and sororities. It's taboo to talk about hazing if you've taken part in it, but Byron, a fraternity member who's seen it from both sides, does just that. We talk about the challenges he encountered in making Hazing, including something that could have scuttled the film's release two days before it premiered on the PBS Independent Lens series. We also talk about Byron's evolving philosophy as to how he treats the participants in his films, as well as his influences as inspirations in the documentary business. Byron's other films include 2023's Lee & Liza's Family Tree, for the PBS NOVA series, as well as Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes and Soul Food Junkies. More about Byron here. Films mentioned in this episode:Hazing (2022), Dir. Byron HurtSoul Food Junkies (2012), Dir. Byron HurtHip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes (2006), Dir. Byron HurtTongues Untied (1989), Dir. Marlon RiggsBlack Is… Black Ain't (1995), Dir. Marlon RiggsEthnic Notions (1987), Dir. Marlon RiggsColor Adjustment (1992), Dir. Marlon RiggsOther mentions:Documentary Accountability Working GroupMarlon RiggsStanley NelsonAndrew P. JonesOrlando BagwellMichael MooreBill MoyersFollow us on Instagram! @ThousandRoadsPodSpecial thanks for helping make this series happen: Sara Archambault, Florence Barrau-Adams, Jon Berman, Ben Cuomo (music), Jax Deluca, Pallavi Deshpande, Nancy Gibbs, Kathleen Hughes, Caroline Kracunas, Laura Manley, Alexis Pancrazi, Liz Schwartz, Jeff Seelbach, Lindsay Underwood (logo/graphics)This episode was supported by a fellowship at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.

Sam Harkness opens up about his decades-long journey to find his mother who abandoned the family when he was just 13 years old. His half brother Reed chronicled the entire process in the critically acclaimed documentary Sam Now. Watch SAM NOW Streaming Now on PBS Independent Lens from June 6. For more info visit: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/sam-now/  Watch and Subscribe to our YouTube Channel @NavigatingNarcissismPod Follow me on social:  Instagram - @doctorramani Pod Instagram - @navigatingnarcissismpod Facebook - @doctorramani Twitter - @DoctorRamani YouTube: Dr. Ramani's YT - DoctorRamani I want to hear from you, too. Have a toxic topic you want me to explore? Email me at askdrramani@redtabletalk.com. I just might answer your questions on air. Guest Bio: Reed Harkness, Director  / Producer /  Cinematographer Reed attended film school in his backyard and garage. At age 18, he began making a series of short films starring his younger brother Sam. This was the beginning of a project  two decades in the making: SAM NOW, a coming-of-age film  that follows his brother from age 11 to 36. Reed also directed  the award-winning 30-minute documentary FOREST ON FIRE and the documentary series for Topic, HOUSE ON FIRE. See more at haha.work Sam Harkness  Sam is currently doing independent contract work providing gender based violence prevention presentations to high school health classes, high school sports teams and college classes. The presentations raise awareness and provide info about dating violence, red flags in relationships, bystander intervention, survivor allyship and resources on how to get help if you're experiencing domestic or dating violence. His Meyers Briggs is Ginny Weasly and his enneagram is type Frodo with an Aragorn wing. Guest Information: IMDb - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11742162/  Instagram - @samnowmovie Twitter - @SamNowMovie Facebook - @SamNowMovie YouTube - @samnowmovie Website - samnowmovie.com This podcast should not be used as a substitute for medical or mental health advice. Individuals are advised to seek independent medical advice, counseling, and/or therapy from a healthcare professional with respect to any medical condition, mental health issue, or health inquiry, including matters discussed on this podcast. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Jada Pinkett Smith, Ellen Rakieten, Dr. Ramani Durvasula, Meghan Hoffman, Fallon Jethroe VP PRODUCTION OPERATIONS Martha Chaput CREATIVE DIRECTOR Jason Nguyen LINE PRODUCER Lee Pearce PRODUCER Matthew Jones, Aidan Tanner ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Mara De La Rosa ASSOCIATE CREATIVE PRODUCER Keenon Rush HAIR AND MAKEUP ARTIST Samatha Pack AUDIO ENGINEER Calvin Bailiff EXEC ASST Rachel Miller PRODUCTION OPS ASST Jesse Clayton EDITOR Eugene Gordon POST MEDIA MANAGER Luis E. Ackerman POST PROD ASST Moe Alvarez AUDIO EDITORS & MIXERS Matt Wellentin, Geneva Wellentin, VP, HEAD OF PARTNER STRATEGY Jae Trevits Digital MARKETING DIRECTOR Sophia Hunter VP, POST PRODUCTION Jonathan Goldberg SVP, HEAD OF CONTENT Lukas Kaiser HEAD OF CURRENT Christie Dishner VP, PRODUCTION OPERATIONS Jacob Moncrief EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF PRODUCTION Dawn ManningSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Studio Soundtracks takes listeners behind the scenes of how music is crafted for film and television by hearing directly from composers, songwriters and music professionals in the Entertainment Industry. Listen to inspiring conversations about composition and hear works from Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar-winning film scores on the show. ALLYSON NEWMAN: Allyson Newman earned her Master's degree in Composition from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Her first feature film, Watermark, screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003. She then moved to LA to study film scoring at USC. Allyson has been awarded both an Australia Council for the Arts Grant and an Australian Guild of Screen Composers Award. Allyson scored the multi award winning documentary feature Limited Partnership that premiered on PBS Independent Lens in 2015. In 2016 Allyson scored the Emmy nominated media series Her Story. In July 2017 Allyson participated in the BMI Conducting Workshop and then went on to score Kusama-Infinity which premiered at Sundance and was released theatrically around the world in September 2018. Allyson collaborated with Oscar Winning directors Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein to score State of Pride which opened the SXSW Film Festival 2019. In 2019 Allyson scored Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound which had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. She is a member of the Television Academy and is on the leadership team for the Alliance for Women Film Composers. Most recently Allyson scored the HULU series First Day and is currently in production for Season 3 of The L Word- Generation Q as well as a new Netflix drama series called Partner Track. JASHA KLEBE Jasha Klebe is a composer known for emotive melodies and impactful scores. Most notably, Jasha co-scored the BAFTA and Emmy nominated music of BBC's Planet Earth II, alongside Hans Zimmer and Jacob Shea. He additionally provided music to the follow up series, Blue Planet II, as well as wrote the Emmy nominated music of National Geographic's Challenger Disaster: Lost Tapes. Jasha also composed the score to Netflix's Oscar nominated documentary, Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom and National Geographic's, Diana: In Her Own Words. In 2019, Jasha composed the score to the Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary, The Black Godfather, directed by Reginald Hudlin and produced by Nicole Avant. In 2021 he scored FOX's Malika the Lion Queen narrated by Angela Bassett as well music for Garrett Bradley's Naomi Osaka series. He also wrote the music for Imperative Entertainment's podcast, The Agent, as well as Netflix/Plimsoll's nature documentary series, Animal. His music can be most recently heard on Peacock's upcoming reimagining of Queer As Folk, created by Stephen Dunn and executive produced by Russell T Davies. Jasha began his musical career at the age of 5, singing at his Grandparents' opera house, Cinnabar Theater, in Petaluma, CA. He studied classical piano and trombone for over 15 years before he moved to Los Angeles and started working at Remote Control Productions under Hans Zimmer. Over the 4 years with Hans, Jasha wrote on such films as The Dark Knight Rises, Rush, Man of Steel, and several other notable projects. Jasha was also the music arranger for the 84th Academy Awards, as well as keyboard/ synthesizer player within the event's orchestra. In 2013, Jasha began to serve as one of the headlining composers at Bleeding Fingers Music. Within this role, Jasha contributed countless hours of music to some of the most acclaimed series on television, including shows on ABC, CBS, MTV, Netflix, Lifetime, A&E, The Discovery Channel, The History Channel, National Geographic, BBC, and he performed live
on The Late Show with Colbert alongside Shea and Zimmer. Jasha currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.

Sian-Pierre Regis shares everything he learned on the incredible distribution and impact journey of his first feature film Duty Free, telling the story of his immigrant mother who at the age of 75 was fired from her lifelong job as a hotel housekeeper.  Duty Free premiered on PBS Independent Lens in 2021. It was not only a #1 Apple News story, but one of the most-talked about documentaries of the year, receiving press from CBS Sunday Morning, USA Today, NYT, CNN, and getting an IDA Award nomination for Best Writing in a Feature.   

The PBS Independent Lens documentary film "Apart" profiles three incarcerated mothers as they work to leave prison and rejoin their families. The film's director joins us. And, frontline outreach workers in Chicago try to intervene in disputes and get people off the streets before violence happens. As Patrick Smith of WBEZ reports, a new survey reveals that the work comes with a heavy cost.

Filmmaker Erika Cohn joins the Changing Directions podcast interview series to talk about her game changing documentary Belly of the Beast. You can watch the film for free on PBS Independent Lens through the end of July. Changing Directions is a podcast interview series focused on diverse and emerging filmmakers who are pushing the boundaries of what's possible for women and minorities while creating amazing films.

Today we're traveling back to 1960s/70s Chicago with 2021 Oscar winner Judas and the Black Messiah! Join us for a discussion of the Black Panther Party's breakfast program, the role played by women, the real organization that inspired "The Crowns", William O'Neal, and more! Sources: William O'Neal: "Eyes on the Prize: Interview With William O'Neal," American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Available at https://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-151-x34mk66290 Transcripts of Eyes on the Prize Interviews available at http://digital.wustl.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=eop;cc=eop;rgn=main;view=text;idno=one5427.1047.125 600 F.2d 600, Iberia Hampton et al v. Edward V. Hanrahan et al, Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Available at https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/600/600.F2d.600.77-1370.77-1210.77-1698.html Robert Blau, "Jan 18th 1990: Panther Informant William O'Neal's Death Ruled a Suicide," Chicago Tribune, available at https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1990-01-18-9001050412-story.html The Free Breakfast Program: Joshua Bloom and Waldo E Martin Jr, Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party (Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2016). PBS Independent Lens https://www.pbs.org/video/independent-lens-free-breakfast-program/ Erin Blakemore, "How the Black Panthers’ Breakfast Program Both Inspired and Threatened the Government" History https://www.history.com/news/free-school-breakfast-black-panther-party "Nik Heynen, ""Bending the Bars of Empire from Every Ghetto for Survival: The Black Panther Party's Radical Antihunger Politics of Social Reproduction and Scale"" Pages 406-422 | Received 01 Oct 2005, Accepted 01 Jul 2008, Published online: 01 May 2009 https://doi.org/10.1080/00045600802683767 " The Crowns: Natalie Y. Moore and Lance Williams, The Almighty Black P. Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of an American Gang (Chicago Review Press: 2011). Joshua Bloom and Waldo E Martin Jr, Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party (Oakland, CA: University of California Press, 2016). Film Background: Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/judas_and_the_black_messiah NPR "Director Shaka King On 'Judas And The Black Messiah': 'I See It ... I'm In'" https://www.npr.org/2021/02/10/965362196/director-shaka-kings-journey-from-newlyweeds-to-the-black-messiah https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9784798/ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/movies/judas-and-the-black-messiah-review.html Women in the Black Panther Party: Janelle Harris Dixon, "The Rank and File Women of the Black Panther Party and Their Influence," Smithsonian Magazine, available at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/rank-and-file-women-black-panther-party-their-powerful-influence-180971591/ "Comrade Mama Akua Njeri: Long Live Revolution!" Available at https://youtu.be/T7Wdn2e6kqA Peniel E. Joseph, "The Black Power Movement: The State of the Field," Journal of American History 86, 3 (2009) Lisa Rofel and Jeremy Tai, "A Conversation With Ericka Huggins," Feminist Studies 42, 1 (2016) Rhonda Y. Williams, "Black Women and Black Power," OAH Magazine of History 22, 3 (2008)

Diane talks with Larry Krasner, Philadelphia's district attorney, and author of the new book, "For the People: A Story of Justice and Power." He is also the subject of the new PBS Independent Lens documentary "Philly D.A."

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner joins us to discuss the promise and peril of institutional reform and how he built a coalition of voters who are traditionally overlooked in politics. He spent his career as a civil rights attorney, not a as a prosecutor like his predecessors. He's part of a growing movement of progressive district attorneys who focus on ending mass incarceration, not solely on enforcing law and order. Krasner won in 2017 and increased voter turnout in an off-year election; he is up for re-election this year. He is the subject of the new PBS Independent Lens documentary Philly D.A., which follows his campaign and first three years in office. He is also the author of For the People: A Story of Justice and Power. Both the book and the documentary series will be released April 20.Additional InformationPhilly D.A. from PBS Independent LensFor the People: A Story of Justice and PowerThis week's featured show from The Democracy Group podcast network: Let's Find Common GroundRelated EpisodesWhat Serial taught Sarah Koenig about criminal justiceThe world's most punitive democracy

Nickolas Rossi is a New York City based director & cinematographer. He attended Columbia College in Chicago for fine art photography and graduated from Portland State University with a degree in Sociology. Following university he lived and worked in Montréal, London, Prague and Los Angeles.   With nearly 20 years experience behind the camera, Nickolas has worked extensively across the world shooting narrative, documentary, commercial, and branded content projects. As a DOP / director, his work has screened at top-tier festivals including AFI DOCS, Melbourne International, IDFA, CPH:DOX, SFIFF, Sundance, and DOC NYC, as well as broadcast and VOD platforms such as PBS Independent Lens, The Sundance Channel, IFC, Amazon, Netflix, and MTV/ LOGO.   His non-fiction film work includes the award-winning feature documentaries, “ADJUST YOUR COLOR"(2008) by Loren Mendell, "THE SHERIFF" (2020) by Grace Sweeney, Netflix’s “MERCURY 13” (2018) by David Sington & Heather Walsh, and “THE POWER OF TWO"(2011), the directorial debut of Academy Award® nominated producer, Marc Smolowitz. Nickolas’ cinematography has also been featured in John Maloof's 2013 Oscar nominated documentary, “FINDING VIVIAN MAIER", “THE FEAR OF 13" (2015) by David Sington, “UPSTAIRS INFERNO” (2014) by Robert L. Camina, and Lance Bang’s “INSIDE PORTLANDIA” (2012)for IFC.   His directorial debut 'Heaven Adores You' (2015) about musician Elliott Smith, made its premiere in 2014 and screened at over 40 festivals across 5 continents.

Today, we bring you a different kind of Smart Pill. PBS hosts a documentary series called Independent Lens. The Emerging Leaders Board hosts screenings of these documentaries called Indie Lens Pop-Ups. These pop-ups are a neighborhood series that bring people together for film screenings and community-driven conversations. The screenings draw local residents, leaders and organizations to discuss what matters most, from newsworthy topics and social issues, to family and community relationships. Though this podcast is a panel discussion in response to the PBS Independent Lens film, Mr. SOUL, the panelists discuss poignant topics in African American history and culture. About the film: Mr. SOUL!, is the story of the groundbreaking series SOUL! and its creator, back to its public media roots this February. At a time when the nation was in socio-political upheaval over the Vietnam War, racial injustice, and the assassinations of civil rights activists Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., producer Ellis Haizlip saw a lively cultural renaissance in Black communities across the country. This Black Arts Movement provided the source and substance for the series SOUL! at a time when there were few balanced images of African Americans on television. Produced, developed, and hosted by Haizlip, SOUL! was an important chapter in the story of television and public broadcasting. It was the first variety show series of its kind, and it introduced many Black artists, poets, writers, dancers, and musicians to a national audience. The panel discussing this wonderful documentary includes Jerome Langston, regional arts and culture writer for the Hampton Roads area, Jennifer Chapman, Regional Engagement Coordinator for the Richmond Ballet, and Anthony Stockard, director of the Norfolk State University Theatre Company. The panel is moderated by Tameika Hopkins of the Emerging Leader Board. Mr. SOUL!

The new documentary 'Women in Blue' follows four women who worked for the Minneapolis Police Department. We talk with the director, Deirdre Fishel, as well as Sergeant Alice White, one of the women profiled in the film. Fishel set out to examine how women police differently. "They rely less on physical force, that they possess more effective communication skills, and that they're better at defusing potentially violent confrontations before they turned deadly," she says. 'Women in Blue' is on the PBS Independent Lens series.Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews 'We Run the Tides' by Vendela Vida, which she calls "a wonder of a novel."

The new documentary 'Women in Blue' follows four women who worked for the Minneapolis Police Department. We talk with the director, Deirdre Fishel, as well as Sergeant Alice White, one of the women profiled in the film. Fishel set out to examine how women police differently. "They rely less on physical force, that they possess more effective communication skills, and that they're better at defusing potentially violent confrontations before they turned deadly," she says. 'Women in Blue' is on the PBS Independent Lens series.Also, book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews 'We Run the Tides' by Vendela Vida, which she calls "a wonder of a novel."

Hao Wu and Face2Face host David Peck talk about his beautiful, brilliant and important new film 76 Days, similarity through difference, united healthcare workers and hope, community and commonality that lead to understanding and personal, powerful, human stories.TrailerWebsiteWatch in a Virtual CinemaSynopsis:On January 23rd, 2020, China locked down Wuhan, a city of 11 million, to combat the emerging COVID-19 outbreak. Set deep inside the frontlines of the crisis in four hospitals, 76 DAYS tells indelible human stories at the center of this pandemic—from a woman begging in vain to bid a final farewell to her father, a grandfather with dementia searching for his way home, a couple anxious to meet their newborn, to a nurse determined to return personal items to families of the deceased. These raw and intimate stories bear witness to the death and rebirth of a city under a 76-day lockdown, and to the human resilience that persists in times of profound tragedy.About Hao:Hao Wu’s documentary films have received funding support from The Ford Foundation JustFilms, ITVS, Sundance Institute, Tribeca Film Institute, NYSCA and international broadcasters. His previous feature documentary, People’s Republic of Desire, about China’s live-streaming phenomenon, won the Grand Jury Award at the 2018 SXSW festival, among many other awards. It has screened at over 40 film festivals worldwide and broadcasted nationally on PBS Independent Lens. The New York Times calls the film “hypercharged,” while The Los Angeles Times says it’s “invariably surprising and never less than compelling.” His latest short, All in My Family, is a Netflix Original Documentary and launched globally in May 2019.Born and raised in China, Wu now travels between the US and China. From 2008-2011, he was a fellow at New America, a D.C.-based think tank. His writing has appeared on Time.com, Slate.com, Marketplace Radio, Strait Times, China Newsweek, and China Daily. He is a member of the Documentary branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.Image Copyright and Credit: MTV Films and Hao WuF2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission.For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here.With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The quietly powerful new film from award-winning director Annie Silverstein BULL focuses on a 14-year-old Kris (Amber Havard), who, after trashing her neighbor's house in a fit of youthful defiance, seems destined to follow in her mother's footsteps to the state penitentiary. To make amends, she is forced to help Abe Turner (Rob Morgan), an ex-bull rider scraping by on the Texas rodeo circuit, with errands at home and at his work. While traveling with Abe, she discovers a passion for bull riding.  Yet, as Kris sets out to learn the dangerous sport, bad influences lure her back into delinquent ways. Meanwhile, Abe struggles with the aches and pains of growing older and aging out of the only life he has ever known. Together, Kris and Abe forge an unexpected connection, helping each other see new possibilities and hope for the future before it’s too late. Director and writer Annie Silverstein stops by to talk about the inspiration for BULL and how her experience as a social worker informs her instincts as a filmmaker. About the filmmaker - Annie Silverstein is an award winning filmmaker and media educator based in Austin, Texas. Her films have screened at international festivals including Cannes, SXSW, Silverdocs and on PBS Independent Lens. Her latest film, SKUNK, won first prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival–Cinéfondation. Before attending film school, Annie spent ten years as a youth worker and community media educator. She co-founded and served as Artistic Director at Longhouse Media, an indigenous arts organization based in Seattle. For her work there, Annie received the National Association for Media Literacy Award for outstanding contributions made in the field of media education. Annie is a lecturer at the University of Texas-Austin, where she earned her MFA in Film Production. Annie was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker Magazine and was selected for the Sundance Screenwriters and Directors Labs for Bull, her feature debut. Annie recently premiered Bull at the Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard. For news, screenings and updates go to: samuelgoldwynfilms.com/bull/ For more on Annie Silverstein got to: anniesilverstein.com Social Media facebook.com/samuelgoldwynfilms twitter.com/goldwynfilms instagram.com/goldwynfilms

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark fall head over heels for the PBS Independent Lens series, Blind Love. We discuss what is so attractive to Producer Patty Zagarella about dating while blind, and we speak with Blind Lover Joni Martinez about her quest to find Mr. Right. Blind Love is available with audio description on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/eC7ZLLMHVvY. To learn more about ACB, please visit: www.acb.org.

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark fall head over heels for the PBS Independent Lens series, Blind Love. We discuss what is so attractive to Producer Patty Zagarella about dating while blind, and we speak with Blind Lover Joni Martinez about her quest to find Mr. Right. Blind Love is available with audio description on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/eC7ZLLMHVvY. To learn more about ACB, please visit: www.acb.org.

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark fall head over heels for the PBS Independent Lens series, Blind Love. We discuss what is so attractive to Producer Patty Zagarella about dating while blind, and we speak with Blind Lover Joni Martinez about her quest to find Mr. Right. Blind Love is available with audio description on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/eC7ZLLMHVvY. To learn more about ACB, please visit: www.acb.org.

On this episode of the ACB Advocacy Update, Claire and Clark fall head over heels for the PBS Independent Lens series, Blind Love. We discuss what is so attractive to Producer Patty Zagarella about dating while blind, and we speak with Blind Lover Joni Martinez about her quest to find Mr. Right. Blind Love is available with audio description on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/eC7ZLLMHVvY. To learn more about ACB, please visit: www.acb.org.

Leslie Simmer of Kartemquin Films talks about the journey to edit social justice motivated documentary films and docu-series. Leslie Simmer is Kartemquin's Director of Editing as well as Senior Editor on staff. For over 19 years Leslie has worked at Kartemquin in various capacities. She is currently working on the multi-part series America to Me. Her most recent project before that was Raising Bertie, which she edited and co-wrote, and which premiered at Full Frame in 2016. Leslie edited and co-wrote the Emmy Award-winning film, The Homestretch, which world premiered at Hot Docs 2014 and screened on PBS’s Independent Lens in 2015. She edited and co-wrote the Emmy-nominated feature documentary As Goes Janesville, a co-production between Kartemquin and 371 Productions which screened on PBS Independent Lens in October, 2012. She also edited with Steve James on the ESPN film No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson. She edited the Emmy-nominated In the Family (Best Editing, "Best of the Midwest Awards”). In 2005, Leslie was co-editor with Steve James on The War Tapes. From 2001-2004 she wore dual hats on the seven-part PBS series The New Americans as both Series Story Editor and Post Production Supervisor. Prior to putting on her editing hat full-time, Leslie worked in various different production and post-production roles on a number of Kartemquin Films, including Stevie, Refrigerator Mothers, 5 Girls, and Vietnam: Long Time Coming. Leslie got her BA in Communication/Theater Arts (Phi Beta Kappa) from Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She did graduate work in film at Columbia College, Chicago, where she began her long and passionate relationship with the Avid. When not in the edit room, she enjoys travel, music, good food and liquor, snorkeling (and beaches in general), and helping animals. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/americanfilmmaker/support

Ryan interviews Neil Berkeley. Many people know his work - you can check out Future You Media. He’s a storyteller. That’s his “10,000 hours” skill. He fell in love with storytelling with his first project. He knew this is his place in life. Neil has interviewed artists, comedians, heroes, writers and many interesting and unusual people. He has the ability to figure out what resonates with an audience, and empathy is a huge part of his decision-making process of what stories to tell. Listen to this episode to learn what insatiable curiosity means to him, the two things he desires in anyone who works with him, with his friends. You will not want to miss this conversation filled with inspiring insights and observations. About Neil Berkeley: Neil Berkeley, the owner of Future You Media, is an Emmy nominated documentary filmmaker whose work has focused on telling unexpected and enlightening stories about some of the visual and performing arts' most unique characters. His first film is the critically acclaimed, Beauty Is Embarrassing, which chronicles the life and times of fine artist Wayne White (Pee-wee’s Playhouse). Premiering at SXSW in 2012, it was also featured on PBS Independent Lens. His second feature, Harmontown, is the story of self-destructive television writer Dan Harmon (Community, Rick and Morty) as he tours the country after being famously fired from the sitcom darling he created. In 2017 Berkeley released his third feature, Gilbert: A Gilbert Gottfried Story, an intimate portrait of legendary comedian Gilbert Gottfried. Berkeley’s most recently show-ran Inside Jokes for Amazon, a six-part series that tells the intimate story of a group of young comedians as they prepare for Just For Laughs New Faces Showcase. A graphic designer by trade, Berkeley created the visual identity for shows including Project Runway, Top Chef, Nailed It and more.  ___________________________________________ Road Warrior Radio is hosted by Ryan Ball Vice President of Sales at Lola.com which is a program on the Funnel Radio Channel.     

Documentary Filmmakers, Anna Moot-Levin and Laura Green, photographed at Pier 70 in San Francisco on February 14, 2018. On today's show, an interview with the award-winning filmmakers of the documentary “The Providers” which follows three healthcare professionals in northern New Mexico at El Centro, a group of safety-net clinics that offer care to anyone who walks through the doors, regardless of ability to pay.  “The Providers” debuts tonight at 7pm PDT on PBS Independent Lens. The post An Interview with the Filmmakers of the Documentary “The Providers” appeared first on KPFA.

The Cool Soror Podcast welcomes filmmaker, visionary, producer, content creator Stacey L. Holman. This Cool Soror of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc is doing some outstanding work telling the stories of African American people through film. In her words, this is her story: From Dillard University in the Big Easy to Tisch School of the Arts in the Big Apple, I have honed my passion to write, produce and direct films that speak to matters of the heart, human insecurities, and bring light to treasured sub-cultures. Some of my works that address these themes include: Mirar Mirror, Girl Talk, Lumiette, Surrender (part of the anthology 6 Things I Never Told You) and Dressed Like Kings. My world in film has moved between narrative and documentary. On several projects, I have been able to blend the two genres structurally and visually. I have also brought my experience to several incredible historical films as Producer, Co- Producer, Line Producer, and Associate Producer. My portfolio includes the Peabody Award-winning Freedom Summer and the Emmy Award-winning Freedom Riders produced and directed by Stanley Nelson, the Emmy Award-winning Jesse Owens, andMary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band, which aired on PBS affiliates. Through these projects, I have worked to breathe life into history for new and diverse audiences, to demonstrate its relevance for our present and to preserve it for future generations. My film territory even expanded into the world of philanthropy as a consultant with the JustFilms unit at the Ford Foundation. Recently I was one of the producers on Stanley Nelson's most recent project Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities which airs on PBS’ Independent Lens in February 2018. Currently, I serve as one of four producers/directors on Skip Gates documentary Reconstruction and the Birth of Jim Crow. Stacey is a part of a masterpiece and will continue to create important work for years to come. We should all be glad she’s behind the lens. Social Media: www.blackbutterflyproductions.net#hbcurising

Host Lisa Kiefer interviews Oakland based filmmaker Alix Blair about the challenges of making her first feature documentary FARMER VETERAN premiering on local PBS station KQED May 29 through Independent Lens. The film focuses on veteran Alex Sutton, home from three combat tours in Iraq, suffering from PTSD, and forging a new identity as a farmer.TRANSCRIPTSpeaker 1:Method to the madness is next. You're listening to method to the madness, a weekly public affairs show on k a l x Berkeley Celebrating Bay area innovators. I'm your host, Lisa Kiefer, and today I'm speaking with Oakland based documentary filmmaker Alex Blair Speaker 2:[inaudible]. Speaker 1:[00:00:30] Welcome to the program Alex, and actually this film Speaker 3:armor veteran. Can you just give us a brief synopsis of what's this about? Yes, so it is about a one man who comes back from three tours in Iraq and starts a farm in rural North Carolina with his girlfriend Jessica. And then things are not what they seem to be as the film goes on. What drew you to examining a veteran? Let's talk about your [00:01:00] subject. Yes, Alex. Yes. I actually did a farm program at UC Santa Cruz and I met a veteran who had fought in Iraq down there and he had some amazing things to say about the connection between being a soldier and being a farmer. And so when I was in North Carolina and I met this man, that becomes the main character of our film. My mind was primed to be curious about how can your experience in war translate once you become a civilian again and what are, what are ways we can support [00:01:30] our veterans as they transition back into civilian life and my dad went to Vietnam and never, never, never talked about his experience and I think there was a seed in me that was curious. Speaker 3:Did you grow up in North Carolina? No, I grew up in Chicago. Okay. I grew up in Chicago but I moved to North Carolina for a job in documentary work and then being part of the farm community and I worked for a farming nonprofit and that's how I met our main character was through that work and I thought this is so interesting why he's so perfect. Three tours, three tours in Iraq, [00:02:00] Afghanistan is less clear. That is part of the story that kind of unravels in this film is as we are trying to understand his PTSD and what happened to him in Iraq and what it is to come back from combat, we start learning a lot about how the stories we tell ourselves is a part of coping with trauma. It sounds like it's mostly about the mental health issues. Yes. That this 1.2 million veterans in the United States come home and suffer from. Speaker 3:Right? Absolutely. [00:02:30] And that wasn't our intention. We thought we were making a short film about how great farming is for veterans and the more we gain trust and build relationship with the veteran and his wife, the more we kind of dove deep into the worlds of mental health, especially of these most recent wars. Half of all farmers will retire in the next decade and the biggest number of returning veterans are from agricultural areas where most people are unemployed. So it's this perfect juxtaposition of solving [00:03:00] two of our greatest challenges in the United States. And I still believe in that greatly. What I learned is that you cannot take someone who has no background in farming, give them some land, give them some money and expect that they're going to be okay. Like we have to have community support not only for our veterans but for our farmers. I mean farming is one of the hardest jobs that exist. Speaker 3:That's why the USDA, its beginning farmer qualification is 10 years or less. Like you work 10 years at any other job, [00:03:30] you are going to be an expert but you're still a beginner and farming and like all the things you can't control whether you know the seeds, the insects, the, especially if you're doing it organically, like there's so much that you are up against and if you are not being supported either with mentorship or with community support or with classes, it's another kind of battle. I wanted you to talk about Alex A. Little bit. He got injured and what was the outcome of that? He did get injured, um, in [00:04:00] his first tour in Iraq. And I think it's important to say he was diagnosed with PTSD after his first tour and sent back two more times after being diagnosed as [inaudible] we've learned from making the film. Speaker 3:It is really common and I think it's part of having a volunteer military is that if you are short on people you send people back, that may be shouldn't be going back if they have very severe trauma experience. So I mean we dove into that world with Alex of understanding more deeply [00:04:30] like what is the toll our modern experience with war takes on these young men and women and mostly coming from rural areas mostly, you know, enticed to be able to go to college or serve their country or getting out of the women or have employment. Like if we could support our farmers so that it was like they were level of Rockstar, you know, that's what I always say like we exist because they're growing food. Like nothing is more direct connection than that. And yet the stakes are stacked against farmers in so many ways. Speaker 3:Yes. [00:05:00] This guy that you interviewed, this veteran, he had both of his legs blown off and he has titanium legs. Is that correct? You will need to see the movie to find out if that is true or not. Okay. The reason I'm being cagey is I think the film explores a lot of in experience of trauma and especially in experience of PTSD. The stories that we tell ourselves about what happened to us, whether we're a soldier or a rape victim or someone else in some kind of trauma stories are how we [00:05:30] survive and get through. But then there's a certain point where stories we tell ourselves may be causing harm. Also, if you think of a man like our main character who his whole life has wanted to go to serve and being a soldier is the ultimate thing you can be. And being the perfect soldier, like just think of our mainstream media, like we glorify war and snipers and everything from you know, World War II movies to now. Speaker 3:And so if you are removed from that world, you need to understand [00:06:00] like you need a new story of your self identity. And so stories of like the ultimate strangeness or Massive Event I think are ways that you cope. You did a Kickstarter campaign and get this going. Yup. And you had this intention to tell this story. And so midway through you uncovered a completely different story about this man. And I think this is very true of documentary film. You know, of course the difference from fiction film fiction film, you get to control the entire story, start to finish [00:06:30] and documentary. You're dealing with real human lives over a very long time. Like this is the sixth year since this started. We were filming for about two years. Very, very consistently. Humans have messy, complicated, strange lives. And I think any documentary, you never know when you start what it will be at the end. Speaker 3:But in this one specifically, that was startling. And my team, the team I work with is amazing. They started as dear friends, the other director with me as Jeremy Lang, DL Anderson as the producer, Michael Barton, [00:07:00] associate producer and this amazing editor Nina of Manir. We just held a really safe, terrifying, vulnerable space to think about, oh my God, what, what has just happened? This is totally different than we thought we were going to make. How do we go forward honoring that change and also, which I think is so important, communicating it to the people you're making a film about. Speaker 1:If you're just tuning in, you're listening to method to the madness, a weekly public affairs show on k a l x Berkeley Celebrating Bay [00:07:30] area innovators. Today I'm speaking with Alex flair. She's the director of a documentary film called farmer veteran Erin next week on PBS. It examines the challenges veterans face when they returned to civilian life after Iraq and Afghanistan. I mean it is an enormous privilege and burden to be responsible for someone else's story. So how did you, it must have added time and money on, Speaker 3:yes, yes. Documentary filmmaking is not a glamorous high paying. So [00:08:00] did you have to do, we had the amazing privilege and opportunity to be part of Itvs, which is independent television service, which you applied to them through a grant process and they're a branch of PBS. And then they come on as your co-producer if you get it. So did they come on with your previous story? No, they came on after mom learned the surprises. I mean, and we were all Jeremy and DLR dads. I was in Grad school. We were all working other jobs like this. This was in the most purest [00:08:30] form of labor of love. Like we went out in our free time when we could, we borrowed gear, you know, we use very old technology compared to, you know, what is available nowadays. So it was absolutely a shoe string doing it out of the love of it. Speaker 3:And then once we got itvs, which would be the path to getting on independent lens next week on PBS, they, they gave us the money for all our postproduction. Did you start a production company? Actually it's part of the origin story is I had met Alex Sutton, our [00:09:00] main character through my job outreaching to farms around the same time DL was starting a skill share collective because in that part of North Carolina, like Durham Chapel Hill, there are a lot of documentary makers. So DL DL had the idea to basically trade skills and support each other. I showed up with this idea to make a film about a farmer veteran. Jeremy, the other director with me was working in a, a beautiful photography project about veterans soldiers coming home. [00:09:30] So the three of us hooked up and then to make this story and then out of that DL with Michael founded, um, vittles as a production company. Speaker 3:So you don't have to go to school to make a film. It might make some things easier, but you can definitely learn, learn along the way. But it was a challenge and a challenge. They are dear friends and people I care about deeply. But you have multiple creative ideas. I would say at times that was a challenge of, and that comes with great trust and I think patient [00:10:00] work over time that we could make space that we could hear each other's thoughts challenged when we wanted to challenge or suggest other ideas, especially when the huge twist came in the story that was a deeply emotional and vulnerable place to have invested so much time, so much personal money, deep sacrifice of, you know, social connections and friendships to make this film out of nothing. So there were some very, very hard times of really believing [00:10:30] that we were making something that was worth it because it's easy to be discouraged. Speaker 3:You were also on a bunch of festivals and you got a lot of great accolades and awards. I think one of the lessons learned is it's worth your money to get a publicist because we were pretty much, you know, nobody's, none of us had ever worked on feature films before ever. And we were all coming from backgrounds different than filmmaking and only our producer had taken any classes in film making. So this was kind of diving [00:11:00] off the deep end, not knowing what we were getting into, but we had lots of success, especially in the southeast being a film out of the south, out of North Carolina. And I think that might be part of it is, is having that connection to place and issues of veterans and rural areas is, I mean is across our entire country. But in the southeast is definitely, um, it is a very real issue that I think people face and, and lot of lots of military families, again everywhere, but lots of them in the southeast. Speaker 3:What are some [00:11:30] of those groups or people that you met and what are they saying we need to do? We're um, informally partnering with a lot of groups that look at the trauma side of it and also the side of the burden that comes onto caregivers. Like the people that love the veteran that is suffering from trauma and talking about what it is to live with someone with that kind of trauma. So we had recently an Oakland did a screening and we had um, Dr Broder who works with a group called horse sensing in the bay area that [00:12:00] does Aquinas horse therapy with veterans. There's a lot of groups that do animal therapy, fishing therapy, wilderness therapy. There's a group called vet scape that is started by a veteran that is almost like outdoor adventure for veterans and the VA, the few VA's that we've connected with, there's an amazing man named Dr. Cooper at the Arkansas VA in their mental health department who said that this film is like the film for Understanding PTSD and how it affects the [00:12:30] veterans that are trying to integrate back into society. Speaker 3:There's also the farmer veteran coalition and they do everything from having local chapters in, I don't know if it's every state, but also they do a lot of policy work to try to help veterans. Our biggest hope for this film is to ignite a new conversation the same that there's an urban rural divide and we saw that play out in our election. I think there's also a veterans' civilian divide and I mean I think of my [00:13:00] community and I only know one veteran as a friend. I think there's this massive disconnection between who serves in our wars and who doesn't and then what is the responsibility for those of us that don't serve to understand the experience of those coming back and that it's a very nuanced, complicated, messy experience. I think one thing I learned about PTSD and trauma healing is it's not linear like you don't, there is no pill that you can take that it, things might make you feel a little [00:13:30] better, but it's therapy work. Speaker 3:It's group work. It's agriculture work. Like because trauma is so subjective, you have to find the thing that works for that person. And also like our main character's wife, Jessica in the film, she says it might get better. It might not. If it doesn't, you still have to live with that person and, and love them and support them and understand them. It bothers me that so many people with these issues also have access to a lot of guns. Absolutely. That's, that's in the [00:14:00] film. And I think that's another kind of human messy area is that his guns in Iraq was the single thing that kept him safe in many ways. So we shouldn't blame them for then as they need to seek safety, having a relationship with their guns. But again, it's that line of like is it to their benefit to keep having a relationship with the guns. Speaker 3:And that's one reason why I think agriculture life can be of benefit to veterans. What were some of the challenges you encountered besides the fact [00:14:30] that the plot basically changed in making your first film? I mean, I think you touched on it before Lisa, but I think money is a huge, huge challenge. Being newcomers who you know, makes a big difference. So if you don't know people, it can be, it can be tricky to find, you know, find your way into festivals or things like that. Challenges with them. I mean they, they were so open and so brave. I think it's so brave to let someone make a film about you. [00:15:00] I see it as a courageous, deeply compassionate act to, to have your story, hopefully make other lives better. And, and in our conversations with them, that is what they hoped for by laying themselves bare, including their darkness than their hardness is that their story might make it better for other people. Speaker 3:And though a challenge was continuing to communicate along the way, they got sick of us. Of course. I mean you can't, you're basically living with these basically. Yeah, having a camera in their [00:15:30] face. I mean it would be Jeremy and I out there with, you know, saying ignore us and, but like you can't ignore someone that's right there. I think one thing that frustrates me is when filmmakers say they're a fly on the wall, like you're never ever a fly on the wall. You can do things to become more invisible to your, your people in your story. But you're always changing it because you're there with a camera filming. What's happening? Does he come out to your screenings? He is not come out. He has seen the film. So a lot of people asked that like, have they seen the film? What [00:16:00] do they think? Speaker 3:What do they think? I mean they feel exposed. They feels like very personal things that are revealed to audiences but they maintain them and I still talk to them all the time. I talked to his wife very frequently and I don't know if it made things better or worse. And I think that's again like a cross that the filmmaker has to bear in many cases as not really knowing like was it better that we asked them all these very difficult questions that a therapist might ask when we started, we thought it was going to be a very quick short film. So [00:16:30] negotiating like, okay, a year has passed, we still want to be here, we still want to talk. We think the story's changing. We think it's going to be more about you know, your trauma and, and how it affects you. I mean we did our best to be as transparent and communicative all the way as possible, but you know, and also like I see photographs, I hate what I look like. Speaker 3:Like I think that's a very human experience to like think you look one way. And then see a film and you don't look the way, you know you're not Rambo on film and like, cause that came up [00:17:00] a little bit of like discouragement of even just like the physical, like I don't look like a movie star. And we're like well it's not. This is a Hollywood movie. You talk about the cocktail of drugs that he saw and I have read a lot about veterans, who they're given drugs when they're in service and then when they come back that continued to do drugs. And how does your character, Alex feel about having to be on so many drugs? When men and women are in service, they're under the Department of Defense, [00:17:30] the dod. And when they come back they're under the veterans affairs, the VA and the dod and the VA. Speaker 3:What I've read is that they don't always talk to each other. So the treatment that the men and women are getting under the dod while they're in combat, they are with extremely well intentioned doctors doing the best they can to handle the situation at the time. So you say you can't sleep, you're given sleep meds, you're saying you have anxiety, which who wouldn't in combat, you're given anti-anxiety man, you need to stay [00:18:00] awake and you need to stay awake or you need, I mean whatever's going on, they're doing the best they can to treat them and then they come back. And when you take things to just cope with really stressful circumstances, those aren't necessarily the same things you should be taking when you come back. But, and then you don't really have the departments talking to each other that well and again at the VA for as much press as they've gotten, they are extremely dedicated people working at the VA to try to do their best to take care of veterans on not enough resources. Speaker 3:[00:18:30] And the other thing is most medicine that we have as civilians is tested in like data trials and controlled trials. Veterans as a, as a group don't really want to wait around maybe having a placebo. I know a trial they're doing, they're using psychedelics. Yes. And MTMA for veterans to see if it can reduce and it's been really successful. The other thing too, if you think about so much of the brain when it has to do with like depression or not sleeping or anxiety, it's very subjective. So the [00:19:00] pill that might work for Bob does not necessarily cure PTSD in John, you know, for example. So I think that's one of the battles that we have to treat trauma and PTSD is fine. There's no one size fits all. And that's one thing I learned a lot in making this lesson. It's very expensive to have that kind of individual attention. Speaker 3:Absolutely. And individual therapy and diagnosis. Exactly. And I think for myself, like I use the Benadryl example, but [00:19:30] when I take a Benadryl, I don't feel like myself, you know, it alters the way I feel in my body. In our main character here is a man who for years and years has been on a mix of up to 15 different medications. He doesn't know who he is, like who he is without those drugs. He has not met that person in years. And I think what is common in many veterans that are dependent on medication to wake up, to go to sleep, to not freak out to [00:20:00] whatever is the fear of unknowing what would happen if they stopped or were able to wean off. There's such a dependency. You make a good point there about years of this cause you give the example that he joined up at the age of 17 and how old is he now? Speaker 3:I am making the film. We met him at 33 so lots of years to lie on drugs and Afghanistan and Iraq are the longest wars we've ever had in the United States history [00:20:30] with the least serving with the least serving that. Thus the repeated tours. You said you came out of radio and so my background is in college. I got involved in the student radio station and fell in love with it. And where was this? And this was at Brown University and back in the early two thousands late nineties early two thousands and I had a a teacher I loved that suggested I try my hand at radio and I had listened to it like this. American life was early days and I loved that but I [00:21:00] never thought it was something accessible to me. And then once I got the mic in my hands like this world opened up to access people's stories and I love, I love when you are limited to sound only and how you craft a story when all you have is sound. Speaker 3:I love that and I went on to work as a freelancer making radio stories for different shows. I worked for several years at the Center for Documentary Studies in North Carolina at Duke. It's part of Duke University, so I was a student of theirs for [00:21:30] a couple of years and then I worked for them for a couple of years. There was so much like short film starting online and this is about like 2011 2012 I started really getting curious of pairing images with sound. The nonprofit I was working for, I was making some multimedia stories for them. And I think radio directly set me up to do film. Well, I mean you have to learn new equipment of course, and how to use a camera and lighting and speed and all those technical details. But the act of being an empathetic listener, [00:22:00] learning how to ask good interview questions, learning how to be comfortable in silence, like being able to anticipate your story, all those skills that you learn in audio production that translated pretty easily into film. Speaker 3:And if you mess up your sound, your films ruined. Like you have to have good sound in film also. So I think the radio background helped prepare me. You have a great soundtrack on this film. Can you talk about how you went about getting the music and some of the original pieces? [00:22:30] Yes. Um, so for people that don't make documentary films, uh, getting the licensing rights to music that is owned by other people can be extremely, extremely expensive and prohibitive in the film. When you see or hear that music, it actually falls under what is called fair use law. And so because we did not choose that music, it was music that was happening in the scene. Like Flo rider's Lo is a song that the veteran chose to have at his wedding. So we as filmmakers, [00:23:00] we're not making any aesthetic decisions about it. Speaker 3:It just happens in the life of these people and that falls under fair use ruling. Now, if we had taken that song and we had chosen it and kind of played it over a scene, then we would have to pay for it. The song that is basically the theme song of our film Jubilee, this beautiful, beautiful ballad and sung by three incredible singer, Amelia May 8th who is still Vanessa and Vanessa and you use another [00:23:30] woman who they were both in mountain man. Yes. They were both Alexandria, not man. When I saw, how did you get Alice Gerard to get involved in this? Oh man, this is an incredible, incredible singer. I wish I had something to do with it. I didn't. It was our producer. DL Anderson. Yeah. Speaker 4:[inaudible] Speaker 5:so [inaudible], [inaudible] Speaker 4:[00:24:00] [inaudible] swing again to really to really say, hey, [inaudible], Speaker 3:one of his dear friends is this incredible man, Phil Cook, who is an incredible, incredible, [00:24:30] like a, can't say that word enough musician and composer. He composed all the music in our film. Phil is like this sunshine that is connected to all these amazing musicians. He was an a, still is an abandoned Megafaun. Yeah, Speaker 6:which is incredible man. He also has his own group called Phil Cook, Speaker 7:[inaudible], [inaudible], [00:25:00] [inaudible], [inaudible] [inaudible], Speaker 6:[00:25:30] and he's just the kind of person that brings people in RPD, CTL DL, who is raising his head Speaker 3:with Phil Cook's son like they're best friends, and through that connection, Phil I think had the ideas of who would be the good singers for this. An Amelia of Sylvan is Durham based. When she's not touring her amazing music [00:26:00] and jubilee, the rights. It's so, it's such an old song, this Appalachian valid that it had no copyright on it or we were able to have them sing it. What's coming up for you next? I am working on a new documentary feature film that I began a little while ago. I am very, very privileged to have gotten a California humanities grant for it. So big props to the Neh, want to support them to help it stay exist forever. And I'm a a film House resident through the Program SF [00:26:30] film that supports local filmmakers, both documentary and fiction. So I'm working on a story about 89 year old ex republican congressman Pete mccloskey who was a Republican, um, under Nixon's administration and even ran against Nixon for presidency on an anti war ticket. Speaker 3:And he with his wife who is 30 years younger than him, they live on a farm outside of Davis and they are mounting this very don Quixote in quest to find people to run in [00:27:00] 2018 to challenge politicians that are not being supportive of everything. Pete and Helen belief in Pete was a part of all our modern environmental policy. So he was part of the clean air act, the endangered species act. He Co founded Earth Day like that was his baby. Who would think today. I mean, especially like my generation and younger that it was under Republicans during Nixon that so much of our modern environmental policy and civil rights policy happens. So I'm, I'm using this film to explore [00:27:30] like what it is to be getting older and relevance and, and to watch this thing that you built be taken apart and also the power of love. Speaker 3:Like they've been together almost 40 years. Like how the people we love, who love US influence our identity and our passion, our fights. So I ran pretty early production. I'm right now trying to fundraise. So I am doing it through grants right now. I think one challenge and lesson learned with farmer veteran is that we in hindsight did our Kickstarter way too [00:28:00] early, way too early. We should have waited. We should have waited until we had grown a bigger awareness. We had amazing support and we met our goal. I think we even went beyond our goal, but it was mostly like family and friends that loved us. And I think, which of course is amazing, but I think if we had waited we could have maybe had a bigger splash. And so that's one thing I'm taking with this new film is to maybe hold off a little while there aren't incredible films out there that deserve love and money and attention and it's a huge playing [00:28:30] field and the, the pool of funding is so, so tiny. Speaker 3:So it's, it's um, I mean it's such a privilege to tell other people's stories, but to make a living at it is, is, is pretty tricky. When can local people see this film on PBS? So we are so honored to have this film beyond the show independent Lens, which is an Emmy award winning show on PBS Independent Lens. You should double check your local listings, but I believe it's 7:00 PM on Monday. [00:29:00] Memorial Day KQD. Yes. So kqbd Memorial Day, May 29th, pretty sure it's 7:00 PM Pacific Standard Time. And you will also be able to watch it online on KQ eds channel online for, I believe it's two weeks. It'll be streaming there. If anyone has a question they want to ask, please, please. We have a website. Um, it's the title of the film farmer veteran one word farmer, veteran.com. And if you, you can find out all the information there, but if you click on this screening [00:29:30] button, we actually have set it up so that you can bring, you can host your own screening of farmer veteran in your own community. So we have everything set up and laid out to allow you to do that. So if you want have a party in your backyard Speaker 1:or you are a nonprofit and you want to host it for the veterans in your community, you can do that. Farmer veteran.com. Thank you so much. Thank you so much. You've been listening to method to the madness, to a weekly public affairs show on k a l x burglary celebrating bay area innovators. [00:30:00] You can find all of our podcasts on iTunes university. We'll be back next Friday at noon. Speaker 2:[inaudible] Speaker 7:okay. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week our guest is Ragen Chastain of the Dances with Fat blog. In this episode, we talk about how body policing and body shaming in a religious setting can do spiritual damage. Where does the religious body shaming come from? What is the responsibility of clergy when it comes to the health of their members? What are clergy telling people when they have “Biggest Loser” type contests in their churches? This episode coincides with the online Fat Activism Conference. The conference is completely online and has a sliding scale. Ragen Chastain is a trained researcher, three-time National Champion dancer and marathoner who writes and speaks full-time about self-esteem, body image, and health.  Ragen is the author of the blog DancesWithFat and the book Fat: The Owner's Manual, and her writing has been published in forums including the Huffington Post, Jezebel.com and The Frisky.com.  She has been a guest on programs including Fox News, Alberta Primetime, HuffPost Live, NPR, BBC,  and NBC News, and has been featured as an expert in media including The Associated Press, Bloomberg Businessweek, FITNESS, and the Chicago Tribune. She is the editor of the multi-volume anthology The Politics of Size - Perspectives from the Fat Acceptance Movement, due out for Praeger in late 2014. She is the body image and women’s health blogger for NBCs iVillage and a columnist for Ms. Fit Magazine. Ragen is a feature interviewee in the documentaries “America the Beautiful 2 – The Thin Commandments,” released by Warner Brothers in 2011,  "A Stage for Size" released in 2013 by USC Films, and "Ragen's More Cabaret" released in 2014 by PBS Independent Lens.   Links “Who Would Jesus Body Shame?” on Ms. Fit: http://msfitmag.com/who-would-jesus-body-shame/  Ragen’s blog:  www.danceswithfat.org Ragen’s website:  www.sizedforsuccess.com Rev. Gina’s paper on body size, sexual abuse, and theology: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/33574665/final-gpond-22May13.pdf

Occasionally, there is a movie or a documentary that changes your entire world view. This is not one of those times. The PBS Independent Lens documentary, Wonder Women, reaffirms everything we talk about on Game on Girl. Women (and men!) want strong heroes of both genders. Even better than that, they have a game for you to explore becoming a superhero your self. Give Wonder City a visit. Along with this fascinating show, we talk about the best Tumblr we've ever seen: Little Girls R Better at Designing Superheroes than You. Go look. You're bound to fall in love. As always, we'd love your feedback on our site, www.gameongirl.com. Until next time, game on! Regina & Rhonda --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gameongirl/message

Occasionally, there is a movie or a documentary that changes your entire world view. This is not one of those times. The PBS Independent Lens documentary, Wonder Women, reaffirms everything we talk about on Game on Girl. Women (and men!) want strong heroes of both genders. Even better than that, they have a game for you to explore becoming a superhero your self. Give Wonder City a visit. Along with this fascinating show, we talk about the best Tumblr we've ever seen: Little Girls R Better at Designing Superheroes than You. Go look. You're bound to fall in love. As always, we'd love your feedback on our site, www.gameongirl.com. Until next time, game on! Regina & Rhonda --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/gameongirl/message

In this episode, Matthew Groves interviews Oscar-winner documentary director, Roger Ross Williams, about his film, God Loves Uganda, which tells the story of the influence of conservative Christian missionaries and the dangerous effect they have LGBT Ugandans as well as Ugandan politics and religion at large. Notes: Sorry about some of the fluctuations in audio in the interview. PBS - Independent Lens: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/

Today the plan was to speak to Byron Hurt about his latest film: SOUL FOOD JUNKIES, airing on PBS Independent Lens, Jan. 14, 2013. We'll have to reschedule for another date, so stay tuned. The conversation then shifts to Litha-Aliah “Aliah” Tomlinson, new intern director for the Oakland Interfaith Youth Choir (OIYC) and Terrence Kelly, director of Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, for a discussion about MUSIC FOR THE SOUL.  Just recently OIGC featured OIYC at its annual concert, and this weekend is the Youth Choir's Holiday Concert, Sun., Dec. 16, 7 p.m. at Imani Community Church. Visit http://www.oigc.org/ Aliah has sung alto in OIYC and Imani Community Church choir, under the direction of Terrance Kelly, since 2009. Aliah loves to sing and began doing so at an early age – whether singing with her great-aunt, reciting Oakland Freedom School chants, or singing with her church's children's choir, directed by her mother. She and her sisters share the gift of song each month at Bellaken Gardens Nursing Center, where she has volunteered since she was in the 2nd grade.  For the past two summers, Aliah participated in the Costa Rica Mission trip to Puerto Limon, where she assisted in teaching the art of gospel music to newfoundAfro-Caribbean friends. In addition to singing, Aliah enjoys playing the guitar and piano under the tutelage of Bryan Dyer. Aliah attends KIPP King Collegiate High School where she is co-president of her sophomore class.  She is inspired by the positive women in her family and the positive men in her community. She aspires to study chemistry and music at Howard University, and to make a meaningful impact in her community. Visit

Though PBS'sIndependent Lens aired Brad Lichtenstein's film As Goes Janesville last week, ITVS is hosting a free screening/discussion at the San Francisco Main Library tomorrow, Tues., Oct. 16, 5:30-6:30 PM. Join us this morning in conversation with director and filmmaker to talk about  "Janesville, Wisconsin: Paul Ryan's hometown." President of 371 Productions, a Milwaukee-based independent production company that makes documentaries, commercial work, technology projects and community engagement campaigns, the director has produced for FRONTLINE and Bill Moyers and the PBS series Local News. With New York based Lumiere Productions, he produced With God on Our Side: The History of the Religious Right; André's Lives, a portrait of the "Jewish Schindler"; The Discovery Channel's Safe, about domestic violence; PBS's Caught in the Crossfire, about three Arab New Yorkers after 9/11and the BBC/Court TV co-production of Ghosts of Attica, for which he was awarded a duPont. He made the ITVS film Almost Home, a PBS Independent Lens documentary about people who live and work in a elder-care community.His current projects include What We Got: DJ Spooky's Journey Through the Commons, a documentary/fiction/transmedia enterprise about the over-privatization of what belongs to all of us.Brad has taught documentary film production at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee,where he also founded docUWM, a documentary center that provides students an opportunity to learn by making professional films.he is a father & husband. Before you watch the 2nd Presidential Debate on PBS,share in a riveting Community Cinema experience. Visit http://itvs.org/films/as-goes-janesville Music:Archie Shepp's "Cousin Mary."