It used to be that making documentary films meant taking a vow of poverty (and obscurity). The streaming revolution changed that. Award-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler talks to Stephen Dubner about capturing Billie Eilish’s musical genius and Martha Stewart’s vulnerability — and why he really, really, really needs to make a film about the New York Mets.
Feb 6
662. If You’re Not Cheating, You’re Not Trying
In sports, the rules are meant to be sacrosanct. But when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs, the slope is super-slippery. (Part one of a two-part series.) SOURCES:April Henning, associate professor of international sport management at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Sc ... Show More
52m 50s
Feb 4
Why Don’t Running Backs Get Paid Anymore? (Update)
They used to be the N.F.L.’s biggest stars, with paychecks to match. Now their salaries are near the bottom, and their careers are shorter than ever. In this updated episode from 2025, we speak with an analytics guru, an agent, an economist, and some former running backs to under ... Show More
58m 19s
Mar 2025
Lights, camera, connection: how film shapes our world
How does film shape global narratives and foster understanding? And how can filmmakers navigate the challenges of representation?Whether it’s an iconic sci-fi opening that transports us to a galaxy far, far away or a documentary that reshapes the way we see the world, storytellin ... Show More
33m 28s
Mar 2020
JON RONSON - THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT: How FREE PORN Ruined The Lives Of Sex-Workers | TRAILER
<p>Jon Ronson, is an award-winning author, screenwriter, and documentary filmmaker.</p> <p>His work includes "The Men Who Stare at Goats", "The Psychopath Test" and "So You've Been Publicly Shamed", with several of these books becoming major Hollywood movies that featured actors ... Show More
1m 51s
Aug 2024
142: How “The Truman Show” Explains Life in 2024
Jon Lovett and Erin Ryan join Max to discuss how “The Truman Show,” predicted our current era of continuous surveillance and content mining. The movie may be from 1998, but its insights are just as applicable 25 years later—from cults of celebrity, to Fox News, to Instagram. Is E ... Show More
1h 15m
May 2022
Introducing HBO Docs Club
HBO presents HBO Docs club, a podcast that pulls back the curtain on a wide variety of titles from the HBO Documentary Films unit. We wanted to give you access to the fourth episode, where hosts Brittany Luse (For Colored Nerds) and Ronald Young, Jr. (Solvable) discuss 'Mommy Dea ... Show More
50m 39s
Jul 2024
Muta’Ali on his documentary ‘MoviePass, MovieCrash’; CNN and Paramount step into the future
<p dir="ltr">Kim Masters and Matt Belloni discuss the Paramount-Skydance merger. They also look at CNN’s digital future after the company lays off 100 employees, and weigh in on Kevin Costner’s sad “Horizon” rollout. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Plus, Masters sp ... Show More
30m 5s
