Sup Doc: A Documentary Film Podcast

Today we cover the docuseries THE VOW on HBO, the story of the whistleblowers who left the cult group NXIVM, started by “the smartest man in the world” Keith Raniere.After a decade as a leader in NXIVM, Sarah Edmondson finds herself blindfolded and branded as part of an inner ring of women called DOS. Grooming women and controlling their weight Sarah is blackmailed with "collateral" and is desperate to take back her life. Along with Mark Vicente, their spouses, and actress Catherine Oxenberg, the small group of defectors sets about dismantling NXIVM with all the information they share.Directed by Jehane Noujaim (Control Room, The Square) and Karim Amer (The Square, The Great Hack), this film relies on insiders revealing their own stories along with hours of archival footage. We are covering episodes 1 through 5, which are wild, and there will be spoilers in our conversation.Johnny Pemberton is a comedian, actor, writer, mildly knowledgeable gardener, reggae enthusiast, and friend to both insects and mamm

Today we recap an all-time classic, Capturing The Friedmans, and get into a lively debate about how this documentary stacks up in today’s world. Was director Andrew Jarecki irresponsible in how he handled the footage and information he had? Was there a bias towards helping Jesse? Will our guest Curtis Cook and Paco ever see eye-to-eye on this doc? Listen to find out!The true crime documentary Capturing The Friedmans was directed by Andrew Jarecki. Released in 2003, this was Jarecki’s first film and was subsequently nominated for an Academy Award. While preparing a documentary about children’s birthday party entertainers, Jarecki learned that professional clown David Friedman, was the son and brother of two men who had been convicted of child sexual abuse in a high-profile 1980s criminal trial. Using home videos made by the Friedman family before and during the trial, Jarecki explores the conflicting stories of the accused, the alleged victims and the investigators as this modern day Greek tragedy unfolds

Paco and George are pleased to have on today’s guest Tylor Norwood the director of Robin’s Wish. This documentary centers around the final years of Robin Williams and the confusion around why this comedy icon killed himself in 2014.After his death, the media narrative skewed the facts surrounding why Williams died. It wasn’t until a coroner’s report that the complexity of his situation was better understood: he had a severe case of Lewy Body Syndrome.Williams’ widow, Susan Schneider Williams, has become a championing voice for the little-known form of dementia with Lewy Bodies. Showing the frailty of a suffering genius in his last months, Robins Wish is the first time the public is seeing this side of Williams’ life.This story is lovingly crafted by director Tylor Norwood, who has been a guest on Sup Doc for his previous documentary, The United States of Detroit. Tylor was approached by Susan to tell this story, and his team tracked down friends and neighbors while laying out the details of a fairly

Today Paco and George are joined by Dakin Hardwick to recap the new Showtime documentary The Go Go’s. Notably the first all-femme band to write their own songs, play their own instruments, and snag a #1 US album. Directed by Allison Ellwood, this straightforward music documentary looks at the LA group's rise, reign and breakup, along with youthful ambition, firings, drugs, rehab, money squabbles, breakup, and inevitable reunions.Dakin Hardwick is the one of the founders of Spinning Platters, a website started by a small group of Bay Area based music fans. He was not a writer before starting this blog, and honed my craft in the public eye. The blog is still alive and well after a decade on the internet, even managing to continue to put out content during the COVID crisis. In addition to managing the blog, Dakin has managed to work in music his entire adult life, starting out as a clerk at Wherehouse Music, interning for both Universal Music Distribution and Six Degrees records, and then working at Ticketf

Paco and George are excited to have Rachel Mason, the director of Circus of Books, as their guest on the podcast.Rachel’s parents, Barry and Karen, ran a gay bookstore and porn distribution company out of Los Angeles for over three decades, all while maintaining their tight-knit family, battling the FBI, and living through the AIDS crisis.Her film is surprising, funny, and heartfelt. It also has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is streaming on Netflix.Rachel Mason is an artist, songwriter, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. Her debut documentary, Circus Of Books was just nominated for an Outstanding Non Fiction Writing Emmy.Follow Rachel on:Twitter: @rachelmasonartInstagram: @futureclownFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We look at the 2016 documentary A Genuine Forger (Un Vrai Faussaire) directed by Jean-Luc Leon. Available on Amazon Prime. Our guest is comedian and podcaster Scott Simpson.This doc profiles Guy Ribes, one of the world's most notorious art forgers. For over three decades Ribes scored major deals selling works by Picasso, Matisse, and other legends, with a twist: He painted the works himself. Fake heirs, ruthless dealers, and more - it's all here in this documentary.We also talk about the current state of comedy, Paco being conned when he first moved to San Francisco, and how we want our con-men to be part Robin Hood. As our guest stated “I love art, fakes, and con men. Great forgers are all three”. Scott Simpson is a comedian based in San Francisco, but his career started in the corporate world. He helped create and run the Apple iTunes podcast store and later did the same with iBooks. Now,, he's a full time comedian and performer. His show "You Look Nice Today" received the Podcast Award for Best Comedy

Episode 150! We’re commemorating by taking a look back at one of our favorite documentaries, the 2010 Jeff Malmstein documentary Marwencol. After recovering from a brutal attack that left him in a coma, Mark Hogancamp builds a miniature World War II-era town in his backyard and creates photographic stories of its intrigues.This is a story about hate crimes, art therapy, and time-traveling witches!Marwencol has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes while its biopic adaptation starring Steve Carell has only 35%.Follow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Paco and George recap the 2008 documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil directed by Sacha Gervasi, who was a teenage Anvil fan and roadie in the '80s. This doc is tragic brilliant and hilarious and is as close to the real life Spinal Tap as possible (and even involves a player named Robb Reiner). Canadian heavy-metal band Anvil delivered an influential 1982 album that inspired the likes of Anthrax and Metallica. Then they dropped off the map and spent decades of toiling in obscurity. The doc centers around guitarist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner as they stumble through a European tour and reflect on failure, friendship, resilience, and following an impossible dream. It's like the opposite of Some Kind of Monster? Along the way we find out this movie's connection to the Spice Girls, what to watch out for when touring the Czech Republic, telemarketing, and life after this doc.Anvil: The Story of Anvil has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and should be on everyone’s Best Of documentary list. It’s

Paco and George look back at one of our favorite docs, Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man (2005).Pieced together from Timothy Treadwell's own video footage, this is a remarkable examination of the calling that drove Treadwell to live among a pack of wild grizzly bears in Alaska. A devoted conservationist with a passion for adventure, Treadwell believed he had bridged the gap between human and beast. When one of the bears he loved tragically turns on him, the footage he shot serves as a window into our understanding of nature. Narrated and directed as only Werner Herzog can, Grizzly Man is a perfect blend of funny, personal, and harrowing. With a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes, Grizzly Man is a classic documentary about devotion, nature, and its grim realities. Along the way we ponder "Chekhov’s Bear", if Hollywood auditions are worse than living in The Maze, Alaskan Tinder settings, Tiger Kings vs. Grizzly men, and the dope-ass Richard Thompson soundtrack.Follow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastIn

Hosts Paco and George review the 1989 Michael Moore debut Roger & Me. Foundational to modern American documentary, this is a biting, vital, and angry film that is sadly still relevant today.Michael Moore demands answers when General Motors suddenly closes the doors of all its auto plants in the Flint, Michigan, the city where he grew up. With over 30,000 people out of work, Flint is economically devastated, and Moore aims to track down GM CEO Roger Smith to make him answer for his actions. While on the search, Moore also chronicles the emotional effect the closings have had on his family and friends, while violent crimes begin to skyrocket in Flint. As Moore pokes around what has been described by one magazine as "the worst place to live in America", he finds out how the local populace is coping with GM's betrayal of the American Dream. Among those visited are a family who is evicted just before Christmas, and an enterprising middle-aged woman who set up a thriving business slaughtering and skinning rabbi

This episode we watched Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich a four-part Netflix docuseries directed by Lisa Bryant. Based on James Patterson’s 2016 book, Filthy Rich takes a look at the stories of Epstein’s abuse survivors, so - Trigger Warning! Our guest is Haley Hoffmeister an actor and comic from Eugene, Oregon currently living in Los Angeles. She can be seen on Amazon Prime’s “My First Comedy Special.” She also has a very funny TEDX talk entitled “Being a Woman is Not That Hard”. Follow Haley on:Twitter: @mynameishaleyInstagram: @haleyhoffmeisterFollow us on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listAnd you can show your support to Sup Doc by donating on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To conclude our Munchie May series on food documentaries we watched FAT: A Documentary by Peter Curtis Pardini (2019). Trainer-to-the-stars Vinnie Tortorich exposes the history behind widespread myths regarding healthy eating, fat, and weight loss. Is the American Obesity epidemic a product of culture, government intervention, corporate greed, or lack of will?And helping us pick through the layers is our medical and comedic guest, Dr. Priyanka Wali, who schools George and Paco on the science behind the doc. Priyanka Wali is a board-certified Internal Medicine and Obesity Medicine physician who graduated from the University of Southern California cum laude as an undergraduate in Los Angeles and continued her training there for medical school. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco She is also a nationally recognized expert on the ketogenic diet and has lectured about the impact of insulin resistance and sexual dysfunction at conferences

We roll on with our fifth anniversary and Munchie May, our food documentary theme month.Our guest is the director of one of our favorite ever food documentaries, City of Gold. Filmmaker Laura Gabbert joins the show to talk about the film and the legacy of the late Jonathan Gold. Jonathan Gold was the Pulitzer Prize winning food critic who came up through The LA Weekly, music journalism, and being a cellist in noise bands. City of Gold chronicles his career, life as a family man, and his love for the diverse cultures and flavors of Los Angeles.Documentary director Laura Gabbert’s critically acclaimed films deploy full measures of humor and drama to unflinchingly put a human face on a range of social and cultural issues. NO IMPACT MAN (Sundance ’09), which the LA Times called “terrifically entertaining, compelling and extremely funny,” played theatrically in over 30 cities. Her previous film SUNSET STORY (PBS) won prizes at Tribeca and LAFF. About it, the New York Times wrote, “Sunset Story may break your heart

This is our Munchie May series on food documentaries. We watched Les Blank’s 1980 classic film Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers. Blank celebrates the virtues of garlic from Berkeley's Chez Panisse to the Gilroy Garlic festival. It’s a short but thorough look at the cultural stereotypes and medicinal qualities of the stinking rose, down the supply chain of farm workers. You can watch the film on the Criterion Channel.This doc was picked by our guest, Richard Parks the Third, a James Beard Award-nominated writer, filmmaker, cookbook author, and the host of Richard’s Famous Food Podcast.Richard is the co-author of the Guerrilla Tacos cookbook and The Boba Book. He’s written for Lucky Peach, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and produced radio stories for Snap Judgement, KCRW’s Lost Notes, and McSweeney’s, where he collaborated with The Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne.Richard also teaches us how to Spatchcock a chicken!This episode we shout out our friends at Hoppin Hot Sauce! Follow Richard on:

May 2020 is the five-year anniversary of Sup Doc.To celebrate we’re talking food documentaries all month long for Munchie May, our brand new theme series.We talk to comedian Derek Sheen about his pick, NOMA: MY PERFECT STORM (Pierre Deschamps 2015). For three years running, Noma in Copenhagen was voted the "Best restaurant in the world." This puts an immense amount of pressure on René Redzepi, the driven chef who has up-ended the food world and put Nordic cuisine on the map. He has an attitude and brilliance that is undeniable but he starts questioning his own motivations and ideas about success. Along the way we meet the foragers, suppliers, staff, and critics who all have their lives changed by Noma.Our guest Derek Sheen is a cuddly mess of insecurities and a gifted, one-of-a-kind storyteller. His dark humor has made Derek a cult favorite of comedy nerds everywhere. He has amassed a loyal fan base touring with comedy legends Brian Posehn, Patton Oswalt, and Janeane Garofalo. Derek has released fou

What were you doing in 2007? Mike Ott was starting his first teaching job as a film professor at a community college in Southern California. There he meets a bafflingly confident 18 year old Leigh Harkrider, who thinks his student film, “Enslavence” is going to send him to stardom. What feels like a fictional sitcom is filled with unforgettable characters and youthful hubris, but there is some redemption for Leigh. Kid Icarus is like a spiritual sequel to American Movie for the MySpace generation. You can watch it on Amazon Prime and Kanopy.Mike Ott studied under Thom Andersen at Cal Arts where he received his MFA degree in Film/Video. His latest film, California Dreams (2017), premiered at Berlin Critics Week and in the US at SXSW. Mike's films have won numerous awards including, an Audience Award at AFI Fest, a Gotham Award and an Independent Spirit Award. Mike lives part time between Los Angeles and Berlin with his wife Isolda Dychauk.Follow Mike Ott on:Instagram: @ott_mikeFol

In this TIGER KING aftershow, Joel McHale talks with Jeff, Saff, Erik and more to get their reactions to the series, their portrayals and their new fame. Did we need this 8th episode? Did Joel McHale need this? Paco and George are joined by super-producer and Oklahoma native Will Scovill.Plus doc pitches, what we've been watching, and next episode info on Kid Icarus (George interviews director Mike Ott)*Infant Jesus of Prague, OK*Three Amigos controversy from Paco*Flo and Kay savant twins*Sayde Price*Kid Icarus*Also Will drops his latest podcast on the world Cathode Ray Mission!We are an affiliate marketer for CrowdCow.Follow Sup Doc on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listYou can support Sup Doc on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

George Chen spoke with directors Puloma Basu and Rob Hatch-Miller about their 2019 film, Other Music.Other Music was a record store in New York for twenty years and a played a central role in the life of the city’s music scene. The store closed in 2016 and this documentary captures the last month and a half of the store’s activity, with former employees, fans, and musicians all showing up to pay their respects. There are interviews and guest appearances from Martin Gore of Depeche Mode, Jason Schwartzmann, Regina Spektor, William Basinski, Tunde Adebimpe, Cornelius, and Benicio Del Toro. More than the famous talking heads, this feels like a vital reminder of the before-times, a celebration of community. The film's release plans had to be altered with the COVID19 quarantine, so instead Other Music has a special online release for a limited time starting April 17th. A "Virtual Cinema release" through Factory25, part of the profitsare being channeled to record stores, book stores, movie

TIGER KING: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.This is the show that is getting us through quarantine. Director Eric Goode stumbles on a story that is well-known in weirdo Americana true crime circles, but there are more than 7 hours worth of conflicting stories in this feud between big cat lovers. So many mysteries remain. Who do you trust, and who can play Joe Exotic in the eventual biopic version?Hosts Paco and George delve into all theories, play Cast This Doc and follow up with updated news! SPECIAL THANKS for Outro music by King Cyrus King - from his quarantine project of Joe Exotic covers, King Tiger KingHere's the Carole Baskin essay refuting the claims of the docuseries.Follow Sup Doc on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInstagram: @supdocpodcastFacebook: @supdocpodcastsign up for our mailing listYou can support $up Doc on Patreon.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Like most great capers this one also started with a Post-it note. The note simply read: “McDonald’s Monopoly Fraud?" This is when we are introduced to the breakout “star” of the series, FBI agent Doug Mathews. He was bored and snatched the Post-it off a senior agent’s desk, an investigation began that would eventually lead to greed, deceit and the theft of millions of dollars from McDonalds. The story behind that investigation is the basis for McMillion$, an extremely entertaining six-part doc series on HBO. Like the best true crime, the central narrative of McMillions takes some surprising detours and delivers plenty of “you’ve gotta be kidding me” details. What do you get when you mix The Colombo crime family, millions of dollars, McDonalds, the FBI, and greed? McMillion$.Comedians and doc-heads Paco Romane and George Chen pair other fast food chains with board games, compare Cast-This-Doc castings for Doug Matthews, and rate the series.Follow Sup Doc on:Twitter: @supdocpodcastInsta