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Factual America
Soho Podcasts
Recent Episodes
Unsolved murders, paranormal activity, and UFOs. Unsolved Mysteries, the iconic docu-series that was a staple of TV in the 80s and 90s is back on Netflix with Volume 5.
Joining Matthew Sherwood on Factual America is multiple Emmy nominated filmmaker Terry Dunn Meurer, the co-creator and producer of Unsolved Mysteries. She shares the secrets of Unsolved Mysteries’ success and why we have such a fascination with true crime and the unexplained.
The filmmaker also describes the different cases the new series investigates, how many cases on Unsolved Mysteries have been solved, and what it’s like working with law enforcement.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“Nobody knows what these body parts are used for or who is doing this, it’s the most unexplainable case I’ve ever seen.” – Terry Dunn Meurer
“Our focus is let’s solve this. Our job isn’t to judge law enforcement, our job is to help law enforcement solve these cases.” – Terry Dunn Meurer
Stopping the Steal gives an inside account of Donald Trump's challenge to the 2020 presidential election results and how an unsung group of Republican politicians, staffers, and election officials prevented the election from being stolen.
Joining Matthew Sherwood on Factual America is Emmy and Bafta-winning director and producer Dan Reed. He discusses why he decided to interview pro-Trump Republicans about the election and the benefits he experienced being a British reporter.
Dan explains what caused the January 6th riots and why previous Trump loyalists spoke out against him. He also reveals Trump's true thoughts about the election results.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“They’re all loyal conservative pro-Trump Republicans and these are the people who give the inside story of the attempt to steal the 2020 election.” – Dan Reed
“What many people don’t realise is January 6th is the end. It’s like switching on the TV and seeing the last 2 minutes of the film but the movie started a long time before that.” – Dan Reed
In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon surveys the studio as Paul records his new album Seven Psalms while reflecting on his six-decade career and wrestling with the issues of faith and mortality.
Joining Matthew Sherwood on Factual America is Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney, who discusses the impact Paul Simon had on American culture and music, the inspiration behind Paul’s album Seven Psalms, and the challenges of making a documentary about a musical icon.
Alex explains his own creative process, the lessons he’s learned from a career in film, and his upcoming film on Elon Musk. We learn what he looks for when choosing to get involved in a project and the skills you need to be a successful documentary filmmaker.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“He’s one of the greatest songwriters ever in terms of rock music. He’s always been driven to the sounds at the limit of what he can hear, intriguing sounds that are completely different to his tradition or experience.” – Alex Gibney
“I started out making documentaries that I thought I knew what was important early on and I discovered that was a terrible way to make films, because if you weren’t exploring and open to the things in front of you that you didn't expect then you were making a boring film. So you have to be open to the idea that things are going to explode.” – Alex Gibney
“It’s a magical part of the movie because it’s rare in a set that an audience loves a song so much that they make you play it again right away.” – Alex Gibney
Dancing For The Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult explores the experiences of a group of prominent TikTok dancers who are trapped in a cult masquerading as a management company. In the process the film uncovers disturbing truths about the agenda of Robert Shinn, the cult’s founder and pastor of the Shekinah Church.
Joining Matthew Sherwood on Factual America are executive producers Jessica Acevedo and director Derek Doneen, who discuss the making of the film and the challenges of interviewing people who are still in the depths of an abusive and traumatic environment.
The filmmakers explain how it takes a long time to recover from leaving a cult, how to build trust with the people you are documenting, and how the cult responded to the wave of criticism and bad publicity. In the end their film reveals so much about the lure of fame, the importance of faith and the bond of family.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“Nobody sets out to join a cult. Cult leaders don't come at you full blast with their manipulations on display, it’s little by little slowly inching you in over time so you’re not realising what’s happening.” – Derek Doneen
“Financial abuse and control happened there. It wasn’t until they started sharing some of those experiences that they realised that it was happening to them too and unravelled what they thought was a faith-based positive environment and showed it was really quite sinister.” – Jessica Acevedo
“The assumption is that people are fine and okay, but continue to dig deeper, ask the questions, have patience and meet people where they’re at because you never really know what someone’s going through. What you see on social media can be one thing but it’s worth asking how they’re doing.” – Jessica Acevedo