Help quench my insatiable appetite for scandal

April 14, 2008 10:41 AM

Investigative TV journalism : I'm obsessed and now I want more.

I've been a big fan of Canadian shows like the Passionate Eye and the Fifth estate, and I've just recently started watching British shows like Dispatches. But, I can't seem to get enough! And now I want more, and am eager to see your suggestions.

I don't care about the country of origine, and I don't really care about which language it's in, although if it's not in English, French or German, I'd definitely need subtitles. I'm primarily looking for shows that I can stream online. The Fifth estate website allows you to stream most of their past episodes online, so suggestions of sites that stream their own programming would be great, but slightly-less-than-legal online streaming would also be fine.

I'm mostly interested in really in depth documentation of events. For example, I saw a Dateline NBC episode on TV last night, and was annoyed at the fact that they repeated the same information every five minutes, while not really going into the depth that some of the above mentioned shows do.

Also, I watch everything from politics to lifestyles to religion to home-grown controversy.

So, what do you recommend? Where can I watch it online?

posted by Planet F to media & arts (7 comments total)

Panorama
posted by fire&wings at 10:44 AM on April 14

It might be niche, but some of Jon Ronson's documentaries are available on Google Video - use keyword "Jon Ronson" in quotes.

The niche in question is skeptical but not closed-minded reporting on conspiracy theories and those who believe them. Runs the gamut from radical Muslims to David Icke to the Ku Klux Klan.

His reportorial voice is comic and intelligent, and it's nice to not have to get torrents of this stuff from whacko websites anymore.
posted by snoe at 10:51 AM on April 14

Frontline.
posted by box at 10:51 AM on April 14

Seconding Frontline.
posted by desjardins at 11:47 AM on April 14

"The Power of Nightmares" is very good. It's about how governments exaggerate and manipulate the threat of terrorism to achieve short-term political goals. I believe it's all on Youtube; but in bits that you may have to piece together. BBC pages parts 1 2 3. Wikipedia page. Youtube results.

You may also enjoy the films of Nick Broomfield, who is brilliant.
posted by WPW at 12:34 PM on April 14 [1 favorite]

Bill Moyers Journal. Link goes to "Buying the War," which is an excellent investigation on the Iraq-9/11 (non) connection. There are other videos available, too, as well as a podcast.
posted by landedjentry at 2:00 PM on April 14

Exposé: America's Investigative Reports is another investigative show on PBS.
posted by ALongDecember at 10:25 PM on April 14