r/Documentaries

Presented by Roman historian Dr. Brahm Kleinman, explores the historical context and the dramatic events surrounding Julius Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon river in 49 BCE, effectively sparking a civil war that helped end the Roman Republic.

It talks about the crisis of 49BCE, crossing of Rubicon, and covers popular myths vs reality.

Energy drinks have evolved from niche products associated with gaming, nightlife and extreme sports into a global beverage category that's now embedded into work, fitness and everyday life. This video explores the business strategies behind Red Bull, Monster Energy, Celsius and other major brands competing for space in one of the fastest growing areas of the global beverage market.

RecentIy I fell down a rabbit hole in the digitized archives - the Cincinnati Museum Center and Library of Congress have hundreds of the city engineer's construction photos from 1920–1925, most of which barely circulate online. I ended up making a 14-minute documentary trying to answer the question that bugged me: not that the subway failed, but why.

The Subway That Never Ran a Train

The short version: the $6M bond was approved in 1916, fixed in dollars, then WWI froze construction for four years while inflation roughly doubled the cost. The city started digging anyway in 1920, knowing the math. What got me is the detail I keep coming back to: there's a finished platform edge at the Race Street station, poured to the exact height of a train floor - for a train that was never ordered.

This video investigates Mohammad Fayyaz Khan and the paper empire surrounding GIFDA and BlueRock Asia Africa. Khan is presented as a longtime adviser to Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal and was authorized to sign $40 billion in bond tranches, while GIFDA claims a global portfolio worth $540 billion.

At the same time, BlueRock filed dormant UK accounts for three consecutive years, and whistleblower material alleges that questionable bonds were being repackaged, upgraded and tokenized for sale. The investigation also follows Khan’s documented links to Shah Mathias and Ameri Metro, which is now the subject of a U.S. SEC securities-fraud case involving more than 150 investors.

The video compares those enormous financial claims with the public corporate records, court filings and whistleblower evidence behind them.

Hello! I’ve done quite a few searches here and elsewhere and I’m hoping for your help.

I teach a documentary class at the college level. I’ve taught it for over a decade and over time, I’ve seen the attention spans of my students get shorter and shorter.

So I’m asking for recommendations for short docs you’ve seen and enjoyed.

They do their own project over the 18 week semester, and in all previous classes, I’ve shown feature length films but I’m wondering if showing short docs might be a better approach.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

An anonymous expert sits down to discuss 6 metaphorical vignettes from a range of formers, scholars and activists to explore what we've been getting wrong about extremism.

This documentary details the impact of noise from human activities, including shipping and military sonar, on the lives of whales and dolphins. These species have evolved to rely heavily on their sense of hearing for their survival, thus are particularly sensitive to sound pollution.

Donald Trump pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández, a man convicted of smuggling more than 400 tons of cocaine into the United States.

Here is that story and the pardon stories for Boosie Badazz, Todd & Julie Chrisley, Joseph Schwartz, David Paul Daniel and Andrew Paul Johnson. 

This story follows how Local 4576 from North Carolina got annual cancer screenings in the county budget and non-PFAS gear paid by the county.

A documentary about a summer camp for teens with disabilities in New York, and how its alumni sparked a landmark disability rights movement. It features renown disability rights activists like Judy Huemann.