You Cant Make This Up

Netflix has a new podcast called The Human Algorithm, and we think you might like it! On Human Algorithm, we feature different people, from actors and directors to Netflix employees, recommending their latest Netflix obsession. Each episode focuses on a different genre, and this time we're bringing you Crime Docs. Adrienne C. Moore (Orange Is the New Black) is a fan of The Staircase, Triple Frontier's Adria Arjona wants you to watch Abducted in Plain Sight, and OITNB's Taryn Manning recommends the series Evil Genius.Subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast.

This month, we’re covering Abducted in Plain Sight. This 90-minute documentary follows the unpredictable tale of a girl who gets kidnapped right under family’s nose, not once. But twice. We have the director Skye Borgman speaking with this month’s interviewers, Rebecca Lavoie and Kevin Flynn. You might know Kevin and Rebecca from their podcast Crime Writers On, or from our episode on The Innocent Man. They are here to walk us through this shocking documentary. 

We thought You Can't Make This Up listeners might enjoy a new podcast from Netflix called I'm Obsessed With This. On IOWT, host Bobby Finger invites guests — fans, critics, friends — to gab about the most-discussed titles of the moment. What are people saying? Why do they love it, hate it, or need to scream about it on Twitter? Ranging from meme-y chatter to in-depth analysis, this is the entire range of popular conversation around the newest Netflix titles distilled into a half hour show. In the episode we're sharing with you, Bobby and friends talk about Russian Doll, Velvet Buzzsaw and true crime film, Abducted In Plain Sight. Subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast.

This week, we’re getting into Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. This four-part docuseries follows the crimes of one of America’s most notorious killers, Ted Bundy. From 1974-1978, Bundy committed a multitude of crimes, including murdering over 30 women in 7 states.  The series is based on the book of the same name, written by journalist and author Stephen Michaud. Stephen recorded over 100 hours of his interviews with Ted Bundy, which the series features heavily. We brought in journalist Taylor Crumpton, who has written about Ted Bundy for Teen Vogue and covers social justice in publications like Paper Mag and Glamour, to interview Stephen. 

This week, we’re diving into the new Netflix Original, The Innocent Man. This six part docu-series follows the life of Ron Williamson, who sat on Oklahoma's death row for 11 years for a crime he didn't commit. It’s based on John Grisham’s best-selling true crime book of the same name.  Here to talk about it are the series director Clay Tweel and true crime authors, podcasters and real-life married couple Rebecca Lavoie and Kevin Flynn. They host the popular true crime podcast, Crime Writers On.

With 2018 coming to a close, we couldn’t help but think back on what a crazy year it’s been in the world of Netflix True Crime. We brought in two true crime fans to break down their favorite docuseries of 2018. Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara, co-hosts of BuzzFeed’s Unsolved, talk about the most memorable characters, scenes, and plot twists of Evil Genius, Making A Murderer Part Two, and The Staircase. After that, we get a phone call from Ma Anand Sheela. We met Sheela earlier this year in the hit docuseries, Wild Wild Country. Sheela fills us in on her relationship with the series, her family’s reaction, how she feels about Rajneeshpuram and more.

This week is a true cinephile’s delight. We’re diving into They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead, a new documentary directed by Academy Award Winning filmmaker Morgan Neville. They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead chronicles the making of Orson Welles’s previously unfinished final film, The Other Side Of The Wind. Today on the podcast we have Karina Longworth interviewing director Morgan Neville about all things Orson Welles. Karina hosts the beloved Hollywood history podcast, You Must Remember This, and recently released her first book, Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood. Karina and Morgan talk about the making of They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, Orson Welles' impact and why they went with that title. Spoiler alert: it's a great title! While this interview is not actually spoiler heavy, both films are available on Netflix if you want to watch either before listening.

Samin Nosrat is a cook, teacher, author and now star of the new Netflix Original series, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. Based on her James Beard Award-Winning New York Times Bestselling cookbook of the same name, each episode dives into one of the four main elements of Samin’s cooking ethos. It's part cooking show, part travel show, and entirely Samin Nosrat. In Salt, Samin cooks soy-braised short ribs with New York Times Magazine Associate Editor, Jazmine Hughes. So we thought it'd be fun for Jazmine to interview Samin and the series' director, Caroline Suh. They talk about how the show came to be, the parts that didn't make it in, and what it's like to see yourself on a Times Square billboard.   

Now that you've had some time to dive into Part Two of Making A Murderer, we wanted to keep the conversation going! Dan Taberski, host of Missing Richard Simmons and the upcoming Headlong series, leads a roundtable discussion with Criminal host Phoebe Judge and attorney David Rudolf. If you're a true crime documentary fan, you'll recognize David from the Netflix Original docuseries The Staircase. He represented Michael Peterson and brings the unique perspective of having been in a true crime documentary to this studio table. They talk about what draws them into this story, the power of the true crime genre, what they hope happens next, and more. 

Viewers have been anxiously awaiting the return of Making A Murderer since the first ten episodes came out in 2015. And on Friday, October 19th, Part Two is finally launching on Netflix. In anticipation of the new episodes, we sat down with Making A Murderer creators and directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. They discuss how the series impact Manitowoc County, new developments in Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey's cases, and so much more.   You Can’t Make This Up will be back next week to continue the conversation (once you’ve had a chance to catch up on Part Two). Dan Taberski, host of Missing Richard Simmons and the upcoming Headlong series, is leading a roundtable discussion with Criminal host Phoebe Judge and attorney David Rudolf. If you're a true crime documentary fan, you'll recognize David from the Netflix Original docu-series The Staircase. He represented Michael Peterson and brings the unique perspective of having been in a true crime documentary to the table. So check back next week for that sp

Follow This is a new pop doc series from BuzzFeed and Netflix. When you read about doomsday preppers, or watch any films about them, you're most often seeing white survivalists. But BuzzFeed senior culture writer Bim Adewunmi was interested in finding out more about preppers who look like her. Bim also co-hosts the podcast Thirst Aid Kit with writer and poet Nichole Perkins. So today on the show, we brought in Nichole to interview Bim about her experience reporting this story and how long she thinks she'd last in a post-apocalypse world. 

This week we're discussing the incredible true story behind the new Netflix Original film, The Angel. The Angel is a spy thriller based on the real life of Ashraf Marwan. Ashraf was the son-in-law of Egyptian President Nasser, a special adviser to Anwar Sadat, and one of Israel's most important informants.  Claudia Puig, president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn., sits down with director Ariel Vromen to talk about how he brought this story to the screen.

The second season of American Vandal just launched on Netflix. To celebrate, we have an exclusive interview with documentary wunderkids Peter Maldonado and Sam Ecklund. In their sophomore year of high school, Peter and Sam followed the aftermath of a massive phallic vandalism at Hanover High in Oceanside, California. The school wrongly accused and expelled senior Dylan Maxwell, but ultimately, Sam and Peter's docu-series brought national attention to the school, and justice for Dylan.  This season, they're taking their cameras all the way to St, Bernadine High School in Burlington, Washington. Journalist Lauren Lopez sits down with Peter and Sam to discuss the end of season one, what Ming Zhang's been up to, and the new serial vandal, The Turd Burglar. 

This week we're revisiting the Netflix Original documentary film, Amanda Knox. Eric Eddings, co-host of Gimlet's The Nod, chats with Amanda Knox director Brian McGinn about the making of the documentary.  If you haven't yet seen this film, or aren't familiar with the Amanda Knox story, here's a brief recap. In 2007, Amanda Knox was studying abroad in Italy when she was arrested for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. She spent almost four years in an Italian prison, while she became a household name across the world. This documentary takes a deeper look into the murder and convictions, the international obsession with the case, and the eventual acquittals, by talking to the people who were directly impacted by it all. 

This week we're talking about the Emmy nominated documentary film, Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton. (Yes, that is the real full-length title.) The film documents Jim Carrey's transformation into Andy Kaufman by using over 100 hours of behind the scenes footage from the set of Man On The Moon. And here to discuss that transformation and the making of this film are comedian Michael Ian Black and the film's director, Chris Smith. 

Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, the Academy Award nominated team behind The Hunting Ground and The Invisible War, sit down with Joan Lunden to discuss their new Netflix Original documentary film, The Bleeding Edge. As a journalist, author, TV Host, and breast cancer survivor, Joan brings her own experience with, and knowledge of, the medical device and health industry to the conversation. The Bleeding Edge investigates the medical device industry; from its innovations to its regulation. What you don’t know about the devices doctors use or implant in people every day will shock you, or at least will influence your next doctor’s appointment. It's available to stream on Netflix now.

The third season of Emmy nominated docuseries Last Chance U dropped July 20th, and we can't stop thinking about it. So we brought in sports writer Rembert Browne to interview Last Chance U director Greg Whiteley and Coach Jason Brown about filming the season. 

Max Linsky, co-host of the Longform podcast, interviews director Bryan Fogel about his Academy Award Winning documentary, Icarus. They discuss how the film has changed Byran and Grigory's lives, how it's impacted the world of sports, and the world at large. In the Netflix Original film, filmmaker Bryan Fogel sets out to make a documentary about how athletes were getting away with doping by doping himself. He gets Grigory Rodchenkov, then director of Russia's national anti-doping laboratory, to help him figure out how. What unfolds, however, is an international doping scandal that shifts the worldwide dialogue for everything from the Olympics to the world cup, and beyond. 

We've got the hosts of Death, Sex & Money, Food 4 Thot, and Call Your Girlfriend on the show to watch and talk about three new episodes of Explained. Anna Sale wrestles with the ethical issues surrounding Designer DNA. Fran Tirado and Joseph Osmundson dissect Monogamy. And Aminatou Sow tries to figure out Cryptocurrency (so we don't have to). Plus, we brought back Sean Rameswaram to host the episode! Explained is a new pop doc series from Vox and Netflix. Each episode is a mini 15 minute documentary covering pop culture, tech, science, and beyond. All the pop docs discussed in this episode are out on Netflix now. 

Erin Gibson and Bryan Safi (Throwing Shade) take us deep down The Staircase rabbit hole. They debate Michael’s innocence, critique sexuality as evidence, put on their best Southern accents for Freda Black's iconic closing arguments, and so much more! The Staircase comes from Academy-Award winning Director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. The docuseries about the mysterious death of North Carolina business executive, Kathleen Peterson and the trial of her husband Michael, comes to Netflix with 3 never-before-seen episodes. These new episodes bring a conclusion to the story told over 15 plus years. Warning, there are spoilers ahead! But lucky for you, The Staircase is available to watch on Netflix right now.