During the last few years of political, social, economic and even spiritual unrest, documentaries have become a key way to understand how we’ve gotten to where we are. The best documentaries are the ones that leave you silent at the end of it, whether it’s from jaw-dropping moments or unbelievably true stories. We’ve curated a list that take a closer look at the past, present and future to help us better understand the world we live in today. 1. Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids’ TV Available on Max Investigation Discovery’s jaw-dropping documentary uncovers the sinister side of Nickel ..read more

Long-time Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson is advocating for more accountability from his former employer, Nickelodeon.  The kid’s entertainment studio is currently under scrutiny following the release of the bombshell docuseries Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which takes a closer look at what Nickelodeon did and didn’t do to protect young child stars and cast and crew members during its golden age of the ’90s and 2000s. At the center of the conversation was Dan Schneider, the creator of beloved Nickelodeon series like All That, The Amanda Show, iCarly, Drake & ..read more

Last night, Jason Isbell opened up to The Daily Show guest host Desi Lydic about his song “Save the World,” which was inspired by the deadly 2022 Uvalde, Texas school shooting. The Americana artist said the song came from the fear he has as the father of a young daughter and his worry about keeping her safe. “When I’m writing about something that heavy, I find the best way to do it, for me, is to go from my own personal perspective,” Isbell said. “I don’t have any experience in a mass shooting situation, so I’m not going to write a song about that. But what I will write about is being at the g ..read more

The housing crisis has taken a bitter turn, reaching a level not seen since the 2008 financial crisis.  The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released its annual homelessness count, reporting 653,100 people experienced homelessness in 2023 — a 12% increase from last year.  The alarming rise, according to HUD, can be attributed to the expiration of pandemic-era safety net expansions, such as eviction moratoria and rental assistance. The American Rescue Plan had temporarily calmed the tide between 2020 and 2022, but with its resources now expired, the pre-pandem ..read more

HBO has released Savior Complex, a three-part docuseries on Renée Bach, a Christian missionary who started a charity in Uganda and practiced medicine without a license, which resulted in the death of over 100 children. Savior Complex traces Bach’s story, exploring how a high school graduate with no formal medical training established a charity, “Serving His Children” in 2009. At the time, Bach said she was “called by God” to start a clinic to help treat malnourished children. However, the clinic lacked any licensed medical professionals for years after it got started. Eyewitness accounts ..read more

Tim Ballard, the subject of the summer blockbuster hit Sound Of Freedom, has been accused of sexual misconduct within his own anti-sex trafficking organization, Operation Underground Railroad. In July, Vice News reported that Ballard had taken a leave of absence from O.U.R. amid an undisclosed internal investigation. Now, Vice has confirmed that seven female employees of O.U.R. have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against Ballard. The allegations against Ballard paint a disturbing picture of his behavior within the organization. He is accused of inviting women to pose ..read more

Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historic Black church in downtown Washington, D.C., has emerged victorious in a lawsuit against the Proud Boys, a far-right activist group. The church took legal action after the Proud Boys tore down and burned a Black Lives Matter banner during a rally in 2020. In a landmark ruling, Superior Court Associate Judge Neal A. Kravitz not only awarded the church more than $1 million in damages, but also issued a five-year restraining order against the Proud Boys, preventing them from approaching the church or its pastor. Rev. William H. Lamar IV, t ..read more

America has had a long struggle with gentrification, and numerous instances over the last few years have brought it further into the spotlight. But for many, there’s still a confusion about what gentrification actually is and why we can or should do to address it. Dr. David Docusen is a speaker and teacher who’s keenly interested in a Christian perspective on gentrification. For him, gentrifying is about neighbors, and neighbors are near and dear to the heart of the Gospel. His book Neighborliness: Finding the Beauty of God Across Dividing Lines addresses all the ways America has oft ..read more

Every year, as a journalist, I work the holidays most people have off. Even during my radio days, on Christmas, Memorial Day, New Year’s Day or Thanksgiving, someone would say to me as they ran out the door, “Happy holidays! Enjoy the long weekend!” And while it’s not likely it occurs to them, a long weekend for others has always meant very little for me. On whatever holiday is in question, my alarm will still go off at 3 a.m. I will still drag myself out of bed, yawn halfway through my shift, and look forward to my lunch break. I’m not necessarily sad about it. After all, this does mean I’m e ..read more

Instagram, one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide with over two billion monthly active users, is facing allegations that its recommendation algorithms have facilitated a “vast pedophile network.” Researchers from Stanford University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst shared their findings with the Wall Street Journal, claiming that Instagram’s algorithms have promoted the sale of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by allowing users to seek out illicit content using specific hashtags. The researchers discovered that accounts using hashtags like #pedowhore, #preteensex ..read more