Hidden Letters
The bonds of sisterhood, and the parallels of struggles among generations of women in China, are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nüshu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women.
Episodes
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Hidden Letters
S24 E11 - 1h 25m
The bonds of sisterhood, and the parallels of struggles among generations of women in China, are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nüshu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women.
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Storming Caesars Palace
S24 E10 - 1h 24m
After losing her job as a hotel worker in Las Vegas, Ruby Duncan joined a welfare rights group of mothers who defied notions of the “welfare queen.” In a fight for guaranteed income, Ruby and other equality activists took on the Nevada mob in organizing a massive protest that shut down Caesars Palace.
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Love in the Time of Fentanyl
S24 E9 - 1h 25m
As fentanyl overdose deaths in Vancouver, Canada reach an all-time high, the Overdose Prevention Society opens its doors—a renegade safe injection site that employs current or former drug users. Its staff and volunteers save lives and give hope to a marginalized community, doing whatever it takes to remain open in this intimate documentary that looks beyond the stigma of injection drug users.
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Outta the Muck
S24 E8 - 1h 25m
Wade into the rich soil of Pahokee, Florida, a town on the banks of Lake Okeechobee. Beyond its football legacy, including sending over a dozen players to the NFL (like Anquan Boldin, Fred Taylor, and Rickey Jackson), the fiercely self-determined community tells their stories of Black achievement and resilience in the face of tragic storms and personal trauma.
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The Picture Taker
S24 E7 - 1h 25m
The vibrant life of Ernest Withers—civil rights photographer, and FBI informant—was anything but black and white. From his Memphis studio, Withers' nearly 2 million images were a treasured record of Black history but his legacy was complicated by decades of secret FBI service revealed only after his death. Was he a friend of the civil rights community, or enemy—or both?
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No Straight Lines
S24 E6 - 1h 25m
When Alison Bechdel received a coveted MacArthur Award for her best-selling graphic memoir Fun Home, it heralded the acceptance of LGBTQ+ comics in American culture. From DIY underground comix scene to mainstream acceptance, meet five smart and funny queer comics artists whose uncensored commentary left no topic untouched and explored art as a tool for social change.
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The Big Payback
S24 E5 - 1h 25m
An Evanston, Illinois rookie alderwoman led the passage of the first tax-funded reparations bill for Black Americans. While she and her community struggle with the burden to make restitution for its citizens, a national racial crisis engulfs the country. Will the debt ever be addressed, or is it too late for a reparations movement to finally get the big payback?
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Moving soon to WETA Passport
Children of Las Brisas
S24 E4 - 1h 22m
In Venezuela, amidst a backdrop of poverty, murder, and corruption, the El Sistema youth orchestra offers children hope and the opportunity to pursue a life of art in spite of the harshness of the society around them. Yet the country’s spiraling collapse and political repression threatens the musicians’ dreams of a better life.
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Move Me
S24 E3 - 1h 22m
At 27, Kelsey Peterson dove into Lake Superior as a dancer and emerged paralyzed. But within the Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) community, she found allies in her quest to discover who she is now and to dance with disability. When a cutting-edge trial surfaces, it tests her expectations of a possible cure. She finds herself both scared it might not work—and scared that it might.
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TikTok, Boom.
S24 E2 - 1h 24m
What does it mean to be a digital native? TikTok, Boom. dissects the platform along myriad cross-sections—algorithmic, socio-political, economic, and cultural—to explore the impact of the history-making app. Balancing a genuine interest with healthy skepticism, delve into the security issues, global political challenges, and racial biases behind the platform.
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Hazing
S24 E1 - 1h 43m
Hazing is a widespread, far-reaching practice fueled by tradition, secrecy, groupthink, power, and the desire to belong in fraternities and sororities on college campuses across the U.S. Filmmaker Byron Hurt embarks on a deeply personal journey to understand the underground rituals of hazing, revealing the abuse and the lengths college students will go to fit in.
Extras + Features
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Trailer | Free Chol Soo Lee
S24 E12 - 30s
Sentenced to life for a 1973 San Francisco murder, Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee was set free after a pan-Asian solidarity movement, which included Korean, Japanese, and Chinese Americans, helped to overturn his conviction. After 10 years of fighting for his life inside California state prisons, Lee found himself in a new fight to rise to the expectations of the people who believed in him.
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Trailer | Hidden Letters
S24 E11 - 30s
The bonds of sisterhood, and the parallels of struggles among generations of women in China, are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nüshu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women.
-
Trailer | Storming Caesars Palace
S24 E10 - 30s
After losing her job as a hotel worker in Las Vegas, Ruby Duncan joined a welfare rights group of mothers who defied notions of the “welfare queen.” In a fight for guaranteed income, Ruby and other equality activists took on the Nevada mob in organizing a massive protest that shut down Caesars Palace.
-
Trailer | Outta the Muck
S24 E8 - 30s
Wade into the rich soil of Pahokee, Florida, a town on the banks of Lake Okeechobee. Beyond its football legacy, including sending over a dozen players to the NFL (like Anquan Boldin, Fred Taylor, and Rickey Jackson), the fiercely self-determined community tells their stories of Black achievement and resilience in the face of tragic storms and personal trauma.
-
Trailer | Love in the Time of Fentanyl
S24 E9 - 30s
As fentanyl overdose deaths in Vancouver, Canada reach an all-time high, the Overdose Prevention Society opens its doors—a renegade safe injection site that employs current or former drug users. Its staff and volunteers save lives and give hope to a marginalized community, doing whatever it takes to remain open in this intimate documentary that looks beyond the stigma of injection drug users.
-
Trailer | The Picture Taker
S24 E7 - 30s
The vibrant life of Ernest Withers—civil rights photographer, and FBI informant—was anything but black and white. From his Memphis studio, Withers' nearly 2 million images were a treasured record of Black history but his legacy was complicated by decades of secret FBI service revealed only after his death. Was he a friend of the civil rights community, or enemy—or both?
-
Trailer | The Big Payback
S24 E5 - 30s
An Evanston, Illinois rookie alderwoman led the passage of the first tax-funded reparations bill for Black Americans. While she and her community struggle with the burden to make restitution for its citizens, a national racial crisis engulfs the country. Will the debt ever be addressed, or is it too late for a reparations movement to finally get the big payback?
-
Trailer | No Straight Lines
S24 E6 - 30s
When Alison Bechdel received a coveted MacArthur Award for her best-selling graphic memoir Fun Home, it heralded the acceptance of LGBTQ+ comics in American culture. From DIY underground comix scene to mainstream acceptance, meet five smart and funny queer comics artists whose uncensored commentary left no topic untouched and explored art as a tool for social change.
-
Trailer | Children of Las Brisas
S24 E4 - 30s
In Venezuela, amidst a backdrop of poverty, murder, and corruption, the El Sistema youth orchestra offers children hope and the opportunity to pursue a life of art in spite of the harshness of the society around them. Yet the country’s spiraling collapse and political repression threatens the musicians’ dreams of a better life.
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Trailer | This Winter on Independent Lens
S24 - 1m
Independent Lens, America’s home for documentaries, is keeping you entertained this winter with Children of Las Brisas, The Big Payback, and No Straight Lines. Watch these powerful, acclaimed new films live or stream anytime on the PBS Video app.
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Trailer | Stream the Best Docs on the PBS Video App
S24 - 1m
Groundbreaking documentaries. Award-winning docuseries. Stream the best docs on the PBS Video app.
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Hazing | George Desdunes
S24 E1 - 8m 5s
The tragic story of student George Desdunes is revisited from the perspective of his mother, a Haitian immigrant who made sacrifices to help her son go to college.
Schedule
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Image
Independent Lens
Storming Caesars Palace
Friday
Mar 31
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Activist Ruby Duncan's grassroots movement of mothers fighting for a universal basic income. -
Image
Independent Lens
Hidden Letters
Saturday
Apr 1
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Modern women in China are drawn together by the once-secret written language of Nushu, the only script designed and used exclusively by women. -
Image
Independent Lens
Represent
Sunday
Apr 2
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Three women take on local political networks in a bid to reshape politics leading up to the 2018 midterm elections in the Midwest. -
Image
Independent Lens
TikTok, Boom.
Sunday
Apr 2
1 Hour
Dissecting TikTok, one of the most influential platforms of the social media landscape. -
Image
Independent Lens
TikTok, Boom.
Monday
Apr 3
1 Hour
Dissecting TikTok, one of the most influential platforms of the social media landscape. -
Image
Independent Lens
TikTok, Boom.
Monday
Apr 3
1 Hour
Dissecting TikTok, one of the most influential platforms of the social media landscape. -
Image
Independent Lens
Bedlam
Wednesday
Apr 5
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Psychiatrist Kenneth Rosenberg visits emergency rooms, jails, and homeless camps, to investigate the national health crisis of mental illness. -
Image
Independent Lens
Children of Las Brisas
Wednesday
Apr 5
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Young musicians in a youth orchestra in Venezuela's Las Brisas district strive for a better life through classical music. -
Image
Independent Lens
Children of Las Brisas
Thursday
Apr 6
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Young musicians in a youth orchestra in Venezuela's Las Brisas district strive for a better life through classical music. -
Image
Independent Lens
Children of Las Brisas
Thursday
Apr 6
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Young musicians in a youth orchestra in Venezuela's Las Brisas district strive for a better life through classical music. -
Image
Independent Lens
Storm Lake
Thursday
Apr 6
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Editor Art Cullen and his family keep local journalism alive with the Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper "The Storm Lake Times." -
Image
Independent Lens
Children of Las Brisas
Saturday
Apr 8
1 Hour 30 Minutes
Young musicians in a youth orchestra in Venezuela's Las Brisas district strive for a better life through classical music.
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