Top Documentary Podcasts

“Surviving Bob Jones University: A Christian Cult” is a limited podcast by Andrew Pledger. The show is a thought-provoking podcast that explores the fundamentalist Christian college BJU, which is located in Greenville, SC. The series covers the history of BJU, the psychology of fundamentalism, the criteria for cults, and survivors experiences. This limited series also features cult experts who offer their opinions on the university. Listen to more stories from BJU on my bi-weekly podcast "Beyond BJU: Exposing Fundamentalism."

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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1 podcast, 2 versions:

🇺🇸 Aline, 34, has never been attracted to anyone - neither sexually nor romantically. They retrace their steps through the trials and tribulations of an adolescence steeped in supercharged pop culture messaging and explore how accepting their asexuality and aromantism allowed them to redefine what love, relationship and family mean to them.

🇫🇷 Pendant des années, Aline s'est dit « ça finira bien par arriver ». Elle s'est même mise dans des situations inconfortables pour forcer le destin. Ca n'a jamais fonctionné.

Elle se sentait isolée, exclue et honteuse. Qu'est-ce que la vie sans l'expérience du désir sexuel ou romantique - de l'aventure d'un soir à la relation de couple ?

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« En explorant sa propre absence de désir, elle pousse chacun et chacune à interroger le sien : pas besoin d’être asexuel pour apprécier de réinvestir l’amitié, désacraliser le couple, et s’écouter soi-même », Télérama

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“This compelling personal story has lessons and insights for anyone with a body”, Tribeca Festival

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"Though Free From Desire provides plenty of answers, its success isn’t rooted in being educational—accompanying Aline as they pursue agency and happiness, regardless of who understands it, fuels the show’s magic", The Atlantic

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Free from Desire is a podcast originally published in France, where it made the cover of magazines.

It has been Tribeca Festival's best Audio Storytelling and Signal Awards' best Diversity, Equity & Inclusion podcast in 2023, and was one of the 25 best podcasts of 2023 for The Atlantic.

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Follow Aline on Instagram @YallahAline!

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The untold tale of the woman who broke one of the biggest scandals in U.S. history.

The true story of Courtney “Cookie” Hood, former model and ex-wife of a Colombian drug cartel kingpin, hired to manage the CBS/60 Minutes field office in Managua, Nicaragua during the civil war in the ‘80s.  What starts as another big party for her, ends up being the history making adventure of a lifetime, blowing the lid off the Iran-Contra scandal and almost taking down the Reagan presidency.

Award winning filmmaker, Steven Esteb, takes us into the dangerous and improbable lives of Cookie and her team of courageous wartime journalists covering the civil wars, revolutions, and US missteps in Central America.  

JOURNALISTA is dangerous, irreverent, insatiable, and hilarious.  An inside look at the insane world of combat journalism.  They worked hard, and they partied harder.

Stephen Kinzer (former bureau chief of the New York Times) writes: “During the 1980s and 1990s, Cookie Hood was the driving force behind the most successful television coverage of Central America that appeared anywhere in the United States.”

Cookie uses her unique mix of charm, balls, and passion for social justice, to get through checkpoints, into jungle military camps, and the highest levels of government.  She's also a clear and present danger to the shadow U.S. government that is using Central America as a right-wing terror experiment in their fight against communism.

Cookie and her cohorts are brilliant trainwrecks speeding down a path to self- destruction. At the same time, they might just change the world.

Hosted and Created by Steven Esteb

Produced by Sean J. Donnelly  

Executive Producers: Jason Waggenspack, Ellen K & Roy Laughlin

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4x nominee ​and WINNER at the 2024 Ambie Awards​. Host Simon Kent Fung explores the life of Alana Chen, a 24-year-old woman who disappeared from Boulder, Colorado in 2019. Alana left behind two dozen journals chronicling a deep faith, love of fashion, and dream of becoming a nun. She also harbored a secret. At 14, she confessed to her priest that she was attracted to women and was instructed not to tell her parents. Over the next seven years, Alana covertly received conversion therapy which her family believes played a role in her fate. Simon, who sought to change his sexual orientation through conversion therapy for nearly a decade in his efforts to become a priest, is compelled to understand the truth of what happened to Alana—and finally face what happened to him. “Dear Alana,” is an unraveling mystery and a poignant spiritual memoir about teenage rebellion and spiritual manipulation, the price we pay to belong and the systems that pay no price at all. ****Named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by Apple, KQED, and Lifehacker, and critically acclaimed by The Guardian, the CBC, and ​People Magazine. Explore more at www.dearalana.com Read More

It’s March 2012 in a region of Afghanistan known as the birthplace of the Taliban. Staff Sergeant Robert Bales leaves his base–in the dead of the night–and lays siege to two villages, killing a reported sixteen innocent Afghan civilians. The reaction from the American government is swift and severe; provoking universal condemnation and a life sentence in Fort Leavenworth military prison.

Over a decade later, the lingering question about what became known as the Kandahar Massacre remains. Why did it happen? Anchored by 18 hours of exclusive interviews from America's most notorious war criminal and complemented by a chorus of people central to this polarizing case, THE WAR WITHIN: THE ROBERT BALES STORY is a 12-episode investigative podcast that will shed new light on the inner sanctum of the military. Throughout, the series will contain explosive revelations that run the gamut, from brain injuries, to potentially toxic drugs, to possible cover-ups by the nation Robert Bales swore to protect.

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This podcast tells the remarkable stories of political prisoners around the world risking it all for something bigger than themselves: a better future for all of us.
 
With Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine dominating headlines, Season One brings you the story of another Vladimir who's standing up to Putin despite two poisonings and a current 25-year prison (virtual death) sentence.
 
To confront the global  challenges of our time and build hope for the future, we shouldn’t hear out regimes who rule by force.
 
We should listen to the voices of conviction.

Visit www.priceofconviction.com to learn more.

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“The past is never dead. It's not even past.” Silicon Valley is an espionage innovator—it has been since its inception. During the dawn of the high-tech age, an engineer named James Harper begins his industrious climb. But as Silicon Valley blossoms into what it is today, so too does the dark side of all this newfound wealth and ambition—right as the cold war reaches its final crescendo. As Harper works to build his fortune, his ambition endangers his nation’s safety. He sells nuclear secrets to the Soviet Bloc—intelligence that might still help Moscow in a nuclear exchange today. It would become the chase of a lifetime for San Francisco’s FBI spy hunters. In this series, we’ll walk you through a maze. One of nuclear spying, technology theft, and double agents, and the too wild-to-be-believed events that placed James Harper at the center of this story. And you’ll hear that story from James Harper–the Soviet Bloc spy–himself. Spy Valley is a Project Brazen production. For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds. Don’t stay in the dark. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Spy Valley and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts. For the latest from Brazen delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters at brazen.fm/newsletters. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/ Read More

Vassilis Paleokostas, aka “Greece’s Robin Hood,” has been on the lam for 14 years. In his absence, legends of his generosity have grown. But no one knows where he is, or if the stories are even true. 

Here’s what we do know: there’s a million Euro bounty out for Vassilis, and a 24-hour task force trying to track him down. When he robs banks, he shares the money with the poor. When he kidnaps industrialists -- and he only kidnaps those who are known for unfair labor practices -- they give baffling interviews showing how he opened their minds. And when he escapes heavily reinforced prisons, as he’s done ... by helicopter ... twice, he does it without harming a guard. 

Join host Miles Gray and our team of Greek reporters as we follow Vassilis’ trail from Athens to tiny islands to remote mountain hideouts. Along the way, we’ll meet Vassilis’s inner circle, chat with police chiefs and prime ministers, and work to understand how this thief managed to steal the country’s heart. 

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Tim Ballard, Author, Historian, and founder of Operation Underground Railroad, shares an inside view on his years of experience in rescuing children from the horrors of human trafficking, insights into the American Covenant and History, and more.

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Innocent people are getting murdered. Lawyers live in safehouses, and a princess is in hiding. This is Europe today—it just might be the world’s next narco-state. Over the past decade, the historic European ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp have turned into global gateways for cocaine. Think Miami in the 1980s — but with even more drugs, and much shittier weather. In this six-part podcast series from Brazen, host Mitchell Prothero explores Europe’s cocaine crisis through the dramatic stories of cartel leaders, cops, journalists, and the victims caught in the middle. From RPG attacks on newspaper offices to the slaughter of entire families, the war on drugs has arrived on Europe’s shores. And a lot of people are making a lot of dirty money. Reporting from Antwerp and Amsterdam, Brazen goes deep inside this crazy under-reported story. Gateway is a Project Brazen production. For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds. Don’t stay in the dark. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new shows. For the latest from Brazen delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters at brazen.fm/newsletters. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/ Read More

*** Named one of the best podcasts of 2023 by The New Yorker, Time, The Atlantic, Apple, Vogue, the CBC, and Lifehacker. ***Classy is a collection of surprising stories, juicy and uncomfortable interviews, and engaging segments that explore the ways that class infiltrates our day-to-day lives. In the host seat is Jonathan Menjivar – a working-class Latino kid who started working in media and became someone who likes oysters, wears cashmere socks, and is very conflicted about all of it. Read More

Leon Neyfakh is a journalist and podcaster best known as the co-creator and host of Slow Burn, Fiascom>, and Backfired. He has been a reporter for Slate, The Boston Globe, and The New York Observer and is the author of the book The Next Next Level. Listen to his newest podcasts here.

Season 3: OnlyFantasy

In this provocative investigation into OnlyFans— the adult platform where subscribers around the world spent more than $7 billion in 2024— journalist Leon Neyfakh teams up with comedian and OnlyFans creator Gracie Canaan for a one-of-a-kind exploration into the current state of human connection.

Throughout, they discover that the site originally built for spicy adult content has quietly and surprisingly become something more complicated— an emotional marketplace where desire, performance, care, fantasy, and vulnerability seemingly blur together.

As Neyfakh and Canaan navigate timely questions about autonomy, performance, and profit, a question emerges: is connection mediated by a screen still authentic? To find the answer, they meet creators building lucrative businesses, subscribers who believe they’ve found something real, professional “chatters” who are paid to simulate affection, and pioneers who have helped engineer intimacy at scale.

Captivating and tender, <i>OnlyFantasy</i> is ultimately about the cost of loneliness, the seductive power of desire, and how the rules of human intimacy are being rewritten online.

Is what’s happening on OnlyFans real? Or is it only a fantasy? 

Season 2: Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer

Jerry Springer wasn’t supposed to become the host of The Jerry Springer Show. Before the chairs started flying and the fights became a daytime TV staple, the man then known as Gerald Springer was an idealistic rising star in Democratic politics, with ambitions to one day be elected governor of Ohio. 

From Leon Neyfakh and Prologue Projects — the team behind Slow Burn, Fiasco, Backfired, and Think Twice: Michael Jackson — comes Final Thoughts: Jerry Springer.

You may think you know Springer, the notorious ringmaster of what TV Guide once called “the worst show in television history.” But long before Springer’s name became synonymous with outrageous guests, taboo confessions, and vicious on-stage brawls, he was the mayor of Cincinnati — a serious and popular politician who many believed was the future of the Democratic Party. So, what happened?

This series traces Springer’s unlikely transformation — from the son of Jewish refugees who fled Nazi Germany, to a respected public servant, to the face of a show many called a symptom of cultural decline. Through intimate interviews with the people who knew him best — family, political insiders, and the producers who helped shape his show — Final Thoughts will bring you closer than ever to the man behind the spectacle, and maybe even cause you to rethink some of your own life choices.

Final Thoughts isn’t just a story about one man’s improbable career path. It’s about how far someone can go for success and what they’re willing to trade to stay on top. Was Springer pulled into the gutter, or did he just understand it better than anyone else? 

Season 1: Think Twice: Michael Jackson

More than a decade since Michael Jackson’s death, his legacy remains complicated and unresolved. Think Twice: Michael Jackson is an exploration of the King of Pop’s life and impact — and an investigation into why his global influence continues to endure, despite the disturbing allegations against him. In this ten-part series, journalists Leon Neyfakh and Jay Smooth bring you a new perspective on the Michael Jackson story, based on dozens of original interviews with people who watched it unfold from up close. 

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