Episodes
-
"Kylie" with Michael Harte
Michael Harte had never been a guest on Top Docs, but he’s been called out repeatedly by the likes of Davis Guggenheim (Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie and Deaf President Now!) and Fisher Stevens (Beckham) as one of the best editors working in documentaries today. Now Michael finally joins Mike to...
-
“Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie" with Salman Rushdie and Rachel Eliza Griffiths
In August of 2022, author Salman Rushdie, speaking onstage about how to protect writers at the venerable Chautauqua Institution in western New York, was attacked by a 24-year-old man with no prior criminal history who stabbed him 15 times, nearly killing him. Salman (“Midnight's Children”, “The...
-
"American Doctor" with Poh Si Teng
“American Doctor, the searing new documentary by director Poh Si Teng (“St. Louis Superman”) about three American doctors who travel to Gaza to treat Palestinian victims of Israeli airstrikes, is bracing, in-your-face and graphic. In fact, in an early scene, one of the film’s main participants…
more -
2026 TIFF Docs Rundown with Thom Powers
Labor Day weekend is upon us, which means only one thing, well, actually three things: Venice, Telluride and TIFF. Bunched together in the first half of September are three of the biggest film festival highlights of the year. It also means world premieres of dozens of not to be missed...
-
2026 Emmy Breakdown with Scott Feinberg of the Hollywood Reporter
It's that time of year: Emmys are here, and we’ve got you covered. Culminating our “Top Docs” podcasts featuring the leading contenders for in the documentary categories, we talk to The Hollywood Reporter’s Executive Editor of Awards Scott Feinberg who breaks down the 2025 Emmy nominees in all…
more -
"John Candy: I Like Me" with Colin Hanks
Colin Hanks likes John Candy. That much is clear from his Primetime Emmy-nominated documentary “John Candy: I Like Me.” But what drew him to the project was the idea that there had to be something more to the story than the saintly portrait drawn by so many who knew and loved this jovial Canadian...
-
"Ocean with David Attenborough" with Keith Scholey
You will likely, as Mike did, stare on in wonder as directors of “Ocean with David Attenborough”–Toby Nowlan, Colin Butfield, and Keith Scholey, the last of whom joined us on “Top Doc”s–show you the wonders of the deep seas. And you will as well likely fall into shock and despair when they…
more -
"The Librarians" with Kim A. Snyder
“Beware of your local librarian!” The idea that this could be a concern held by some Americans seemed unthinkable to director Kim A. Snyder (“Death By Numbers”, “Newtown”) back in 2021 when she embarked on the project that would end up being her latest documentary “The Librarians.” But as the...
-
"Wild Inside" with Penny Lane
In February 2023, Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl, escaped from the Central Park Zoo through a hole cut in the netting of his enclosure and soon found himself alone on a Manhattan sidewalk. But, as director Penny Lane (“Hail Satan?”, “Our Nixon”) shows in her inquisitive, insightful and irresistible...
-
"Being Eddie" with Angus Wall
It’s clear from the opening shot of “Being Eddie,” director Angus Wall’s (Oscar-winning editor of “The Social Network” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”) enchanting Netflix documentary about comedy superstar Eddie Murphy, that being Eddie is a pretty good gig. The film begins with a thrilling…
more -
"The Yogurt Shop Murders" with Margaret Brown
As Mike tells our guest, director Margaret Brown, when he heard that she had delivered HBO’s “The Yogurt Shop Murders” in the wake of what he considered one of the 21st-Century’s finest documentaries, “Descendant”, his first thought was, “Oh, good for Margaret! She’s doing some true crime, and...
-
"Seen & Heard" with Giselle Bailey & Phil Bertelsen
At the beginning of Giselle Bailey and Phil Bertelsen’s illuminating two-part HBO doc series “Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television,” the directors follow actress Tracee Ellis Ross, one of the leads of the successful sitcom “Black-ish,” to the set of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” where she and...
-
"Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!" with Michael Bonfiglio
Mel Brooks is about to turn 100 years old! When Mel celebrates his upcoming birthday on June 28th, filmmaker Michael Bonfiglio, who has directed (along with Judd Apatow) a joyful and action-packed two-part HBO documentary about the legendary comic and filmmaker, might want to talk to the folks at...
-
"aka Charlie Sheen" with Andrew Renzi
For a time, back in the ‘80s, actor Charlie Sheen was the hottest thing in Hollywood. But it didn’t take long for Sheen’s star turns in “Platoon” and “Wall Street” to morph into tabloid cover stories about his hard partying ways and bad boy exploits. In his highly engaging two-part Netflix series...
-
"Billy Joel: And So It Goes" with Jessica Levin
Billy Joel, one of the most beloved and best-selling pop music artists of all-time, has finally achieved something that, up until now, has always eluded him: the opportunity to tell his side of the story. In their authoritative and insightful two-part HBO documentary “Billy Joel: And So It Goes,”...
-
"Time and Water" with Sara Dosa
For her latest film, “Time and Water,” Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love”, “The Seer & the Unseen”) returns to Iceland, this time to cover the island nation’s other distinctive geologic feature besides its volcanoes: its majestic glaciers. Deeply embedded in Icelandic...
-
"Rafa" with Zach Heinzerling
Of course, we all know who “Rafa” is — the tennis legend and sports icon Rafael Nadal, winner of 22 Grand Slam titles and an unfathomable 14 French Open trophies. But who is Rafael Nadal when the cameras (or, rather, all but one of the cameras...) are turned off? In director Zach Heinzerling’s...
-
“Trust Me: The False Prophet” with Rachel Dretzin
When Warren Jeffs, the “prophet” of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), a Mormon fundamentalist group whose members practice polygamy, stopped communicating regularly from prison where he is serving a life sentence for child sexual assault, his followers were at…
more -
"Sean Combs: The Reckoning" with Alexandria Stapleton
Late in director Alexandria Stapleton’s 4-part Netflix series “Sean Combs: The Reckoning”, one of her subjects lays out what may be the documentary’s thesis: While it may seem like Combs “went bad” well into middle-age, the signs were there well before–”it was a slow build.” Stapleton deftly…
more -
"My Mom Jayne" with Mariska Hargitay
In 1967, 3-year-old Mariska Hargitay — now, an Emmy-winning actor known to millions as Captain Olivia Benson on the long-running TV series “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” — was in a terrible car accident. Her mother — the Hollywood icon Jayne Mansfield — and two others were killed…
more -
Our most popular shows of Season 5
For our 300th episode, we’re bringing you some of our favorite impactful moments from some of our most popular shows of Season 5: "Pee-wee as Himself" with Matt Wolf "Chef's Table: Legends" with David Gelb & Adam Bricker Anatomy of a Scene from "Martha" with R.J. Cutler "CHAOS: The Manson…
more -
“Everybody to Kenmure Street” with Felipe Bustos Sierra
In the early morning hours of a typical spring day, a van marked “Immigration Enforcement” stops on a quiet street in a residential neighborhood; two men of color are snatched up for alleged immigration violations and hustled into the van. No, the location is not the U.S., and this is not 2026......
-
"Ask E. Jean" with Ivy Meeropol
You may only know her from those few minutes in a dressing room where she was assaulted by Donald Trump, who has himself relentlessly lied about what happened there and slandered the woman who, after years of telling only those closest to her of his crime, finally sought justice–and won....
-
"Birds of War" with Janay Boulos & Abd Alkader Habak
What started out as a transactional exchange between Janay Boulos, a BBC journalist, and Abd Alkader Habak, a local activist and cameraperson in Aleppo during the Syrian war, later evolved into a mutual curiosity. Over time, texting, voice memos and phone calls became the currency of a deepening...
-
Academy Awards Breakdown 2026 with Clayton Davis
Joining us for the 5th year in a row, Variety’s Chief Awards Editor Clayton Davis is back on “Top Docs” to break down this year’s Oscar races for Best Documentary Feature and Best Documentary Short and to offer his predictions for who will walk away victorious on March 15th. With another close…
more -
“Children No More: Were and are Gone” with Hilla Medalia
Protestors silently bearing the pictures of children killed in Gaza: they hold no other signs, chant no slogans. Hilla Medalia ("Leftover Women", "Prisoner X") speaks to Mike about her Oscar-nominated short documentary, “Children No More: Were and are Gone”, explaining how this act held weekly in...
-
“Armed Only With a Camera" with Craig Renaud
While covering the devastating effects of the Russian bombing of Ukraine, documentary filmmaker/journalist Brent Renaud was shot and killed by Russian forces on March 22, 2022. He was the first foreign-born journalist killed in the war. Now, Brent’s filmmaking partner and younger brother Craig…
more -
"Perfectly a Strangeness" with Alison McAlpine
”Three donkeys are in an unnamed desert and they discover an abandoned astronomical observatory. And the universe.” That’s how Alison McAlpine (“Second Sight”, “Ghostmen of Skye”, "Cielo") describes her Oscar-nominated short documentary “Perfectly a Strangeness” to Mike. In this wordless film,...
-
"The Devil is Busy" with Christalyn Hampton & Rose Arce
A day in the life of a women’s reproductive healthcare center is unlike any other. In this post-Roe world, potential danger lurks in the dark or right out in the open. In the tense and nuanced Oscar-nominated documentary short “The Devil Is Busy” (directed by Christalyn Hampton and Geeta…
more -
"Jane Elliott Against the World" with Judd Ehrlich
In a special, in-person conversation from the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, director Judd Ehrlich (“Keepers of the Game”) joins Ken in Park City to discuss his new documentary “Jane Elliott Against the World,” which just had its world premiere in the festival’s U.S. Documentary Competition…
more -
"Never Get Busted" with David Anthony Ngo & Erin Williams-Weir
Cop. Drug agent. Preacher. Marijuana activist. Cop buster. Can this really be one man? In their documentary “Never Get Busted”, David Anthony Ngo and Erin Williams-Weir follow the protean Barry Cooper. In this special interview recorded live late last year at the Hot Spring Documentary Film...
-
2026 Sundance Preview with Basil Tsiokos
This is it! The final Sundance Film Festival to be held in Utah is just around the corner. The 2026 Sundance Film Festival — the 42nd edition — runs from January 22 – February 1 in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah (and online from Jan. 29 – Feb 1). Next year, this iconic event moves to Boulder,...
-
"Folktales" with Rachel Grady
The premise of Rachel Grady’s and Heidi Ewing’s (“Jesus Camp”, “Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You,” Endangered) new Oscar-shortlisted documentary, “Folktales” is simple enough: They follow three students at a post-high school program in Norway’s Arctic circle as they learn survival skills...
-
"The Alabama Solution" with Andrew Jarecki
In his new, Oscar-shortlisted “The Alabama Solution”, which he co-directed with Charlotte Kaufman, Andrew Jarecki ("Capturing the Friedmans", "The Jinx") focusses on inmates of the Alabama Department of Corrections who use contraband phones to organize dissent within the system, even sustained...
-
"Seeds" with Brittany Shyne
In her Oscar-shortlisted new documentary, “Seeds”, director Brittany Shyne depicts the lives of Black farmers in the South. In a flexible verité style in which she doesn’t fear breaking the fourth wall, Shyne pays meticulous attention to the workings of farm life, focussing, as she notes to Mike,...
-
“Coexistence, My Ass!” with Amber Fares
You might assume that receiving a fellowship to Harvard University represents the culmination of a burgeoning academic career. But, as director Amber Fares (“Speed Sisters”) shows in the amusing opening scenes of her Sundance award-winning documentary “Coexistence, My Ass!,” when Noam Shuster...
-
"Mistress Dispeller" with Elizabeth Lo
You find out your husband of many years is cheating on you, but you still love him anddesperately want to keep your family together. What do you do? In Elizabeth Lo’s (“Stray”) remarkable documentary “Mistress Dispeller,” we are introduced to a heart broken Mrs. Li, who hires a mistress dispeller...
-
"Come See Me In the Good Light" with Ryan White
When Tig Notaro suggested to filmmaker Ryan White that he make a documentary about Tig’s friend, the poet Andrea Gibson, two words gave Ryan pause: “cancer” and “poetry.” He wondered who would fund (and watch) such a documentary. But, to Ryan’s great surprise, as evident in his deeply moving…
more -
"Yanuni" with Richard Ladkani
There are power couples… and then there is Juma Xipaia and Hugo Loss. As illustrated in Richard Ladkani’s (“Sea of Shadows”) riveting, urgent, and Oscar-shortlisted documentary “Yanuni,” the two are fierce defenders of the Amazon rainforest engaged in a life-and-death struggle against illegal...
-
“Mr. Nobody Against Putin” with David Borenstein
Pavel “Pasha” Talankin may seem like just another primary school events coordinator, but when he is forced by Vladimir Putin’s new dictates to not only implement a pro-war curriculum but to record teachers delivering its absurd, self-contradictory nonsense, he decides to use his camera to…
more -
"Cover-Up" with Mark Obenhaus
It took 20 years of asking by an Oscar-winning filmmaker, but famed investigative reporter Seymour Hersh finally said, “Yes.” The result is "Cover-Up", a revelatory new documentary portrait of Hersh’s fascinating life and career by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (“Citizenfour”) and...
-
98th Academy Awards Shortlist Rundown with Anne Thompson
Welcome once again to our Anne-ual Top Docs Holiday Special featuring the one-and-only Anne Thompson, Editor-at-Large at IndieWire! Anne joins Mike and Ken to tackle this year’s Best Feature Documentary Oscar Shortlist, released on December 16th. One day following the release of the list, Anne is...
-
"My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow" with Julia Loktev & Ksenia Mironova
Sometimes, timing is everything. If Julia Loktev’s 5 hour and 24-minute documentary masterpiece “My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow” can be boiled down to its essence, it may be that, often in life, there is a “before” and an “after,” and nothing can possibly prepare you for what...
-
"Holding Liat" with Brandon and Lance Kramer
When Liat Atzili and her husband Aviv were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, their families were not only devastated by the news but also at a loss of what to do next. In Brandon and Lance Kramer’s (The First Step”) brilliant, nuanced and stirring documentary “Holding...
-
“The New Yorker at 100” with Marshall Curry
In Marshall Curry’s (“Street Fight,” “A Night at the Garden”) new Netflix documentary, “The New Yorker at 100”, the magazine’s editor, David Remnick, calls its very existence “a miracle”: in a typical issue you might find a long profile of a museum, and then a report from Southern Lebanon, all...
-
"Masaka Kids: A Rhythm Within" with David Vieira Lopez & Moses Bwayo
When Suuna Hassan and Madinah Babirah founded Masaka Kids Africana in the Masaka District of Uganda, they hoped to help a handful of orphaned children and other young people living on the streets. They had no way of knowing where their efforts would lead or that one day the whole world would be...
-
"The Stringer" with Bao Nguyen
Who really took the photo widely known as “Napalm Girl”? And does it really matter over a half-century later? In his new Netflix documentary “The Stringer”, Bao Nguyen (“The Greatest Night in Pop”) follows a journalistic team lead by Anglo-American Gary Knight as they seek to show that the real...
-
“The Tale of Silyan” with Tamara Kotevska & Jean Dakar
The main protagonist of Tamara Kotevska’s (“Honeyland”) enchanting new documentary “The Tale of Silyan” is a lovable farmer named Nikola. But as compelling a screen presence as he is, Nikola can’t hold a candle to the film’s real stars, the gorgeous, majestic — and even more lovable — white…
more -
“Selena y Los Dinos” with Isabel Castro
Elvis. The Beatles. Madonna… Selena. Selena Quintanilla was a huge star on the cusp of becoming an international superstar when she was tragically killed in 1995 at just 23 years old. Filmmaker Isabel Castro (“Mija”) explores the life, music and legacy of this incredibly talented and beloved...
-
"Cutting Through Rocks" with Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni
Whether you are a fan of motorcycles or not, it’s hard to dispute that riding one down an open stretch of road delivers an intoxicating sense of freedom. As filmmakers Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni make clear in their extraordinary documentary “Cutting Through Rocks,” the motorcycle can also…
more