Blog

Razing Liberty Square

Liberty City, Miami, was home to one of the oldest segregated public housing projects in the U.S. Now with rising sea levels, the neighborhood’s higher ground has become something else: real estate gold. Wealthy property owners push inland to higher ground, creating a speculators’ market in the historically Black neighborhood… Read More

Breaking The News

Who decides which stories get told? A scrappy group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists buck the white male-dominated status quo, banding together to launch The 19th*, a digital news startup aiming to combat misinformation. A story of an America in flux, and the voices often left out of the narrative,… Read More

Greener Pastures

There is a mental health crisis happening for many American farmers. A combination of climate change, the pandemic, and the domination of megafarms have contributed to increasing economic uncertainty and isolation. Following four family farms in the Midwest over several years, the documentary Greener Pastures is a story of perseverance… Read More

One With the Whale

Hunting whales is a matter of life or death for the residents of St. Lawrence. When a shy Alaska Native teen becomes the youngest person ever to harpoon a whale for his village, his family is blindsided by thousands of keyboard activists brutally attacking him online—without full perspective on the… Read More

Shutterstock illustration by Malchevska of a woman looking out on to a struggling planet Earth dealing with storms and fire and steam
Beyond the Films

September 05, 2023

Got Climate Anxiety? You’re Not Alone, but Here’s How to Cope

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Jennie Rose With climate-related events bombarding us on a seemingly daily basis, there's naturally a corresponding increase in eco-anxiety, a chronic fear of environmental devastation. The Independent Lens short…...

World Without Oil

On April 30, 2007, the world entered a global oil shock. Or so it seems at World Without Oil, an online ‘alternate reality’ that enlisted the world’s collective imagination to document the oil crisis with blogs, videos, and images. As the simulated crisis unfolded, people all over the U.S. and the… Read More

Jonathan Scott at a solar company in Nevada, with solar panel
Interviews

November 06, 2020

Jonathan Scott Investigates Who Controls Our Power

Craig Phillips in Behind the Films

In some ways Jonathan Scott should need no introduction—or so you'd think as co-host with his brother Drew of the hugely popular HGTV shows Property Brothers and Brother vs. Brother,…...

Jonathan Scott’s Power Trip

Property Brothers co-host and home-renovation expert Jonathan Scott journeys all across the U.S. to uncover why clean, renewable energy isn’t available to all. While traveling to learn both the obstacles and opportunities for achieving energy freedom, Jonathan talks with conservatives fighting for solar freedom; sits down with farmers… Read More

Mama Piru, in Rapa Nui recycling facility
Test Your Knowledge

May 21, 2020

How Much Do You Know About Recycling? ♻️ A Biodegradable Quiz

Independent Lens in Test Your Knowledge

How much do you know about where our waste goes? From cigarette butts to banana peels to plastics, test your expertise on recycling and learn some possibly shocking stats. This…...

Beach cleanup under way on Rapa Nui while the famous statues loom in background
Beyond the Films

May 12, 2020

Rapa Nui and Other Fragile Lands Rally Against Tourism Pollution

Independent Lens in Beyond the Films

By Satu Runa In a story that begins with a heartfelt message to their infant son about the unique character of his ancestral home Rapa Nui (also known as Easter…...