How do you attempt to document an event as complex and inexplicable as the Vietnam War? Filmmaker Lynn Novick says it helped to prioritize Vietnamese voices as well as people with a flair for speaking. "There's a poetry in just how people express themselves that we look for," said Novick. She and Ken Burns co-directed The Vietnam War, airing now on PBS. In ... Show More
Aug 10
Larry Wilmore: "I have pushed for the ability to suck in anything, rather than just racial content."
Today on The Gist, guest host Bryan Green shares a classic 2019 interview with comedian, writer, and host Larry Wilmore. Wilmore reflects on his podcast Black on the Air, the reality of the medium, and the freedom of moving beyond narrowly defined racial content. He and Mike Pesc ... Show More
24m 13s
Aug 7
Kelsey Snelling: "Anytime there is a scale, you can't do so ethically."
Today on The Gist, guest host Vanessa Quirk steps in to share Mike Pesca's 2024 interview with Kelsey Snelling, creator of the investigative podcast Camp Shame. Snelling outlines the history of Camp Shane (one of America's longest running youth weight loss retreats) and details h ... Show More
45m 14s
Sep 2017
Preview: 'The American War,' a podcast guide to the new PBS documentary 'The Vietnam War'
Over 10 episodes, host Alyssa Rosenberg will be joined by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and other collaborators on the film to discuss how America lost its way in Vietnam and how this documentary tries to help us find our way back.
3m 3s
Apr 2022
[BEST OF] The Vietnam War
<em>[Orginally released Nov 2018]</em> <p>Historian David Parsons joins Breht to talk about the Vietnam War, Ho Chi Minh, American Imperial War Crimes, Historical Memory, and much more!<br /> <br /> David Parsons is an author, historian, and leftist podcast host of The Nostalgia ... Show More
2h 7m
Jun 2025
How ICE raids echo US wars abroad, with Viet Thanh Nguyen
What does it mean to be the “other”? Viet Thanh Nguyen, a South Vietnamese-born American writer links his personal story to US actions abroad and at home, discussing ICE raids, protests, and the war on Gaza, showing how these issues are deeply connected. In this episode: Viet Tha ... Show More
25m 22s
<p>The vast ambition of Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's PBS documentary <em>The Vietnam War</em> has precedents, but most of them are other Burns and Novick documentaries. The two directors' collaborations -- including 1994's <em>Baseball</em> and 2007's <em>The War</em>, about WW2 - ... Show More