Best Isabel Lopez Podcasts (2025)

1
98th Academy Awards Shortlist Rundown with Anne Thompson 27:00

1h ago27:00

27:00

Welcome once again to our Anne-ual Top Docs Holiday Special featuring the one-and-only Anne Thompson, Editor-at-Large at IndieWire! Anne joins Mike and Ken to tackle this year’s Best Feature Documentary Oscar Shortlist, released on December 16th. One day following the release of the list, Anne is already fired up and ready to go. How competitive is…

1
"My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow" with Julia Loktev & Ksenia Mironova 41:35

1d ago41:35

41:35

Sometimes, timing is everything. If Julia Loktev’s 5 hour and 24-minute documentary masterpiece “My Undesirable Friends: Part 1 — Last Air in Moscow” can be boiled down to its essence, it may be that, often in life, there is a “before” and an “after,” and nothing can possibly prepare you for what comes after. In this case, the event that changes ev…

1
"Holding Liat" with Brandon and Lance Kramer 52:10

13d ago52:10

52:10

When Liat Atzili and her husband Aviv were kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, their families were not only devastated by the news but also at a loss of what to do next. In Brandon and Lance Kramer’s (The First Step”) brilliant, nuanced and stirring documentary “Holding Liat,” each member of the family must decide what he o…

1
Dealing With Teen Pregnancy, a Toxic Parent, and a BD… One WTF at a Time 41:56

13d ago41:56

41:56

Becca joins me today to talk about the parts of teen pregnancy nobody prepares you for — especially when you’re navigating a toxic parent, a chaotic BD, and trying to grow up while raising a whole human. We get into the guilt, the survival mode, the patterns we inherit, and the WTF moments that break you and build you at the same time. If you’ve ev…

1
“The New Yorker at 100” with Marshall Curry 27:20

17d ago27:20

27:20

In Marshall Curry’s (“Street Fight,” “A Night at the Garden”) new Netflix documentary, “The New Yorker at 100”, the magazine’s editor, David Remnick, calls its very existence “a miracle”: in a typical issue you might find a long profile of a museum, and then a report from Southern Lebanon, all interspersed with gag cartoons Curry’s documentary refl…

1
"Masaka Kids: A Rhythm Within" with David Vieira Lopez & Moses Bwayo 25:26

21d ago25:26

25:26

When Suuna Hassan and Madinah Babirah founded Masaka Kids Africana in the Masaka District of Uganda, they hoped to help a handful of orphaned children and other young people living on the streets. They had no way of knowing where their efforts would lead or that one day the whole world would be watching. Directors David Vieira Lopez and Oscar-nomin…

1
Parenting With a Ghost 36:09

23d ago36:09

36:09

Some parents don’t leave… they just stop showing up. In this episode, we break down what it really feels like to co-parent with someone who is physically alive but emotionally, mentally, or consistently gone — a ghost in your child’s life and yours. We talk about: ✨ The heartbreak and exhaustion of raising kids with an inconsistent parent ✨ How dis…

1
"The Stringer" with Bao Nguyen 25:46

25d ago25:46

25:46

Who really took the photo widely known as “Napalm Girl”? And does it really matter over a half-century later? In his new Netflix documentary “The Stringer”, Bao Nguyen (“The Greatest Night in Pop”) follows a journalistic team lead by Anglo-American Gary Knight as they seek to show that the real photographer on that day in 1972 in Trang Bang was not…

1
“The Tale of Silyan” with Tamara Kotevska & Jean Dakar 35:35

27d ago35:35

35:35

The main protagonist of Tamara Kotevska’s (“Honeyland”) enchanting new documentary “The Tale of Silyan” is a lovable farmer named Nikola. But as compelling a screen presence as he is, Nikola can’t hold a candle to the film’s real stars, the gorgeous, majestic — and even more lovable — white storks who steal the show. Producer/Director Tamara Kotevs…

1
“Selena y Los Dinos” with Isabel Castro 39:36

29d ago39:36

39:36

Elvis. The Beatles. Madonna… Selena. Selena Quintanilla was a huge star on the cusp of becoming an international superstar when she was tragically killed in 1995 at just 23 years old. Filmmaker Isabel Castro (“Mija”) explores the life, music and legacy of this incredibly talented and beloved musician in her exceptional Netflix documentary portrait …

1
"Cutting Through Rocks" with Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni 45:41

1M ago45:41

45:41

Whether you are a fan of motorcycles or not, it’s hard to dispute that riding one down an open stretch of road delivers an intoxicating sense of freedom. As filmmakers Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni make clear in their extraordinary documentary “Cutting Through Rocks,” the motorcycle can also be a powerful — and threatening — symbol of female emp…

1
Healing from the Mom You Needed but Didn’t Get 28:41

1M ago28:41

28:41

Parenting hits different when the woman who raised you was toxic, chaotic, or emotionally unavailable. This episode dives into what it’s really like to raise kids while still healing from the mother who left wounds you’re now trying to break. We talk about: • Mother wounds and the anger, grief, and guilt they create • Parenting when you were never …

1
"Apocalypse in the Tropics" with Petra Costa 35:36

1M ago35:36

35:36

For filmmaker Petra Costa, democracy in her native country of Brazil is personal. Two years after Petra was born, the country returned to democratic rule after more than twenty years of military dictatorship. As Petra grew up, so, too, did the country’s democracy. But, in more recent years, as she has meticulously documented in two densely layered …

1
"The American Revolution" with Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein 55:07

1M ago55:07

55:07

The version of the American Revolution many of us were taught was focussed on the ideals and principles of the revolution: Independence, democracy, liberty guaranteed by enumerated rights. And if we were taught about the actual conflict, we maybe heard of a few battles in New England and the mid-Atlantic– maybe there was a setback here and there. B…

1
Dating a Parent: The Reality No One Warns You About 31:26

1M ago31:26

31:26

What happens when you fall for someone who already has kids? In this episode, we’re talking about what it’s really like to date a parent when you don’t have kids of your own — the patience it takes, the boundaries you learn the hard way, the moments where you feel left out, and the emotional growth that hits you out of nowhere. We dig into the part…

1
Dancing With The Ancestors 21:04

1M ago21:04

21:04

Dancing With The Ancestors by The Music CenterBy The Music Center

1
Palace Of The People 24:38

1M ago24:38

24:38

Palace Of The People by The Music CenterBy The Music Center

1
Hot Springs Live 2025: "All the Empty Rooms" with Joshua Seftel 36:40

2M ago36:40

36:40

Today we feature a live event that Top Docs held a few weeks ago at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (where our co-host Ken Jacobson serves as Executive Director). After Ken and Mike talk about the origins of Top Docs and some of the memorable moments over the years, Joshua Seftel, who has previously appeared on the pod for his Oscar-nomin…

1
The Traveling Mom Life: Work Trips, Mom Guilt & Midnight Snuggles 33:10

2M ago33:10

33:10

Ever wonder what it feels like to be a new mom while your job keeps you living out of a suitcase? This week, I sit down with a traveling professional who’s learning how to balance flights, work deadlines, and motherhood — all while trying not to lose herself in the process. We talk about what no one really prepares you for: the guilt, the exhaustio…

1
"Mr. Scorsese" with Rebecca Miller 29:26

2M ago29:26

29:26

Mr. Scorsese is “Marty” to his friends and “Legend” to admirers and imitators. But he’s also still that kid, the "minuscule asthmatic”--as lovingly described by his ex-wife, Isabella Rossellini--who fervently loved both the movies he watched in Times Square as well as the characters that populated the Little Italy of his youth. The results were "Me…

1
Breaking Machismo: We Refuse to Raise Emotionally Broken Men 38:43

2M ago38:43

38:43

We were raised in homes where feelings were weaknesses, boys were told to “man up,” and daughters were taught to serve future kings who never learned how to love. Machismo wasn’t just an attitude, it was the family heirloom nobody asked for. In this first episode, two Latina moms go raw about growing up around emotionally unavailable men, watching …

1
“Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5” with Raoul Peck 34:37

2M ago34:37

34:37

It’s easy to glibly identify what’s happening as “Orwellian”: that we live in an era of “newspeak,” that we have reached the point at which the depths of the surveillance state of 1984 seems all too possible, maybe even already here. But in his new “Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5”, Raoul Peck (“I am Not Your Negro”, “Exterminate All the Brutes”, “Ernest Cole: L…

1
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2025 13:13

3M ago13:13

13:13

It’s that time of the year! The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2025 runs from October 10-18th. Ken, who, in addition to his Top Docs duties serves as the Executive Director of the Festival, joins Mike to talk about some of his picks for the Festival including: “Lost Wolves of Yellowstone” “The Cowboy” “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House” “Arme…

1
"Predators" with David Osit 31:54

3M ago31:54

31:54

As director David Osit describes his new film, “ ’Predators’ peels back the story of the TV show ‘To Catch a Predator’, which ensnared potential sex predators in a television hidden-camera sting operation and explores the fallout from the show and the legacy of journalism as entertainment that it helped create.” “Predators” (MTV Documentary Films) …

1
Emmy Winner Matt Wolf: "Pee-wee as Himself" (Re-release) 19:10

4M ago19:10

19:10

In honor of Matt Wolf's big wins at the Emmys this year--not only for "Pee-wee as Himself" as Best Documentary Feature, but for his own win as director of that documentary as well as picture editing for Damian Rodriguez--we are re-releasing our interview with him at Sundance earlier this year. As Director Matt Wolf shows in his insightful and fun 2…

1
2025 Emmys Rundown with Scott Feinberg 33:35

4M ago33:35

33:35

It’s Primetime. Yes, the Primetime Emmys are here, and we’ve got you covered. Culminating our “Top Docs” podcasts featuring the leading contenders for in the documentary categories, we talk to The Hollywood Reporter’s Executive Editor of Awards Scott Feinberg who breaks down the 2025 Emmy nominees in all the major documentary categories, including …

1
2025 TIFF Doc Lineup Rundown with Thom Powers 36:09

4M ago36:09

36:09

Welcome to the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (September 4 – 14), home of the big anniversary! This year’s edition of one of the world’s great film festivals marks TIFF’s landmark 50th anniversary. In addition, renowned curator and all-around documentary powerhouse Thom Powers (host of the Pure Nonfiction podcast) celebrates 20 years as t…

1
Classic: "Sugarcane" with Julian Brave Noisecat & Emily Kassie 25:41

4M ago25:41

25:41

Today we are repeating one of our favorite conversations. Mike spoke with the filmmakers of "Sugarcane" at Sundance 2024. They would go on to win the Grand Jury award for Directing at that festival, and then would be nominated for the 97th Academy Awards last year. If you enjoy this conversation, you may want to check out our "Anatomy of a scene fr…

1
"Social Studies" with Lauren Greenfield 46:40

4M ago46:40

46:40

Acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Lauren Greenfield (“The Queen of Versailles”) is drawn time and again to overlapping and powerful themes like addiction, wealth, consumerism and celebrity culture. Now, with her first doc series “Social Studies” — a fascinating 5-part exploration of the tight grip that social media has over Generation Z — Lauren…

1
"Sly Lives!" with Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson & Joseph Patel 37:32

4M ago37:32

37:32

Did Sly blow it? As part of continuing Emmys coverage, we are joined by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Joseph Patel, the director and producer of “Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius)” (as well as the same for the 2022 Oscar Winner “Summer of Soul”) to discuss the life and career of Sly Stone, whose interracial and multigendered band drew up…

1
"Super/Man" with Peter Ettedgui & Ian Bonhôte 40:22

4M ago40:22

40:22

Continuing our coverage of the 2025 Emmy Awards, Mike is joined by Peter Ettedgui and Ian Bonhôte, directors of "Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story" and nominees for Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program (the film received three other Emmy nominations as well ). In sketching their portrait of Christopher Reeve, who embodied…

1
"100 Foot Wave, Season 3" with Joe Lewis 34:41

4M ago34:41

34:41

In order to catch a really great wave, 100 foot or otherwise, you need to be extremely patient, waiting for that next great “set” (group of waves) that’s going to put you in position for the ride of the day — or ride of your life. It’s also true for those making films about surfing, including director Chris Smith (“American Movie”) and the massivel…

1
"Patrice: The Movie" with Ted Passon 42:41

5M ago42:41

42:41

There’s no place quite like “P-Town,” the remarkable world of wonder created by Patrice Jetter, the star of Peabody award-winning director Ted Passon’s (“Philly D.A.”) enchanting and heavy hitting documentary “Patrice: The Movie.” Over the last 20 years, Patrice’s scale model town has become a source of endless fantasy and fun, but also an escape f…

1
"I Am: Celine Dion" with Irene Taylor 48:05

5M ago48:05

48:05

I Am: Celine Dion In a world dominated by constant pitching and fundraising, once in a long while, filmmakers get “The Call.” “The Call” is when a producer calls and asks if you are interested in a project, fully funded and with the main participant ready to go. Such was the case for Academy Award®-nominated director Irene Taylor (“Moonlight Sonata…

1
"It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley" with Amy Berg 31:02

5M ago31:02

31:02

Acclaimed director Amy Berg (“West of Memphis,” “Janis: Little Girl Blue”) set her sights on making a documentary about the beloved singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley some 15 years ago. Now, with her finely crafted new documentary, “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley,” Amy delivers a fresh take on Buckley’s remarkable music and a thoughtful look at his life…

1
"Heightened Scrutiny" with Sam Feder & Amy Scholder 43:02

5M ago43:02

43:02

With intense scrutiny of the trans community comes threats to the personal safety, healthcare and civil rights of trans people. Just ask Sam Feder (“Disclosure”), director of the timely new documentary “Heightened Scrutiny” that follows ACLU attorney Chase Strangio on his journey all the way to the Supreme Court to fight for the rights of transgend…

1
"Nobu" with Matt Tyrnauer 43:08

6M ago43:08

43:08

It all starts with the fish. In director Matt Tyrnauer’s (“Carville, Winning is Everything, Stupid”) delectable and insightful new documentary “Nobu,” we are reminded of this fact when Nobu himself, the man behind the restaurant empire that shares his name, reels in a fish, skins, slices and serves it right on the boat to friends and family. It is …

1
"Prime Minister" with Michelle Walshe & Lindsay Utz 40:39

6M ago40:39

40:39

During Jacinda Ardern’s historic run as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 - 2023, she became a worldwide phenomenon and icon of the Left. From the pandemic to a horrific mass shooting in NZ, Jacinda faced a series of major crises, as well as a media crush that followed her everywhere. But during those tumultuous times, one thing remained unkn…

1
"Sally" with Cristina Costantini 36:06

6M ago36:06

36:06

In elementary school, Emmy Award-winning director Cristina Costantini (“Science Fair”) was a science nerd who idolized astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. Cristina even painted a mural of Sally on one of her elementary school’s walls. Fast forward to today and National Geographic Documentary Films has just released Cristina’s t…

1
"Simone Biles Rising" with Katie Walsh 45:57

7M ago45:57

45:57

It makes sense that Simone Biles, winner of 11 Olympic medals, and considered by many to be the greatest gymnast of all time, would stick to a consistent pre-competition ritual to prepare for battle. But, as filmmaker Katie Walsh shows in one of the more intimate scenes in her exceptional four-part Netflix docuseries, “Simone Biles Rising,” the big…

1
Anatomy of a Scene from "Will & Harper" with Josh Greenbaum 46:30

7M ago46:30

46:30

Director Josh Greenbaum returns to “Top Docs” to discuss the poignant and culminating closing sequence in his deeply moving documentary “Will & Harper.” In the film, close friends Will Farrell and Harper Steele embark on a road trip across America to get everything out in the open about Harper’s recent transition and to support her new life as a tr…

1
Anatomy of a Scene from "Martha" with R.J. Cutler 37:26

7M ago37:26

37:26

R.J. Cutler returns to the pod to dig in deeper to his Netflix documentary on Martha Stewart, “Martha”. R.J. and Mike turn their eyes to a few minutes early on (starting about minute 15 if you want to watch along), when a young Martha Stewart pursues motherhood, Wall Street, and ultimately Turkey Hill to become “Martha”. R.J. explains how every ele…

1
“Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band" with Thom Zimny 52:35

7M ago52:35

52:35

Thom Zimny (“Springsteen on Broadway”, “Springsteen: Letter to You”) can tell you a lot about Bruce Springsteen. Through the course of Thom’s many documentaries featuring Bruce and the E Street Band, including his latest film, “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” Thom has delved deeply into the music, personalities, and rollicking…

1
"Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer" with Liz Garbus 27:19

7M ago27:19

27:19

As explained by director Liz Garbus ( Bobby Fisher Against the World), ”Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer is, “A documentary series that follows the case of young women who went missing from New York City and Long Island. Ultimately, it's a story about what victims are valued and how when justice fails, people have to step up and demand it…

1
"CHAOS: The Manson Murders" with Errol Morris 42:23

7M ago42:23

42:23

More than 50 years after the conviction of Charles Manson and members of the Manson Family for the shocking Tate-LaBianca murders, acclaimed filmmaker Errol Morris takes aim at the case. Inspired by author Tom O’Neill, whose book (“CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties”) attempts to debunk the thesis of famed prosecu…

1
"Pee-wee as Himself" with Matt Wolf 19:17

7M ago19:17

19:17

As Director Matt Wolf shows in his insightful and fun 2-part HBO series “Pee-wee as Himself”, in Pee-wee, Paul Rubens found a persona that allowed him to both reveal and yet hide some core truths about who he was. Fascinated with television and show business since he was a boy, Rubens combined elements of his childhood’s pop culture with the art wo…

1
"American Murder: Gabby Petito" with Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro 33:11

7M ago33:11

33:11

On the pod today, Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro return to discuss their latest for Netflix, American Murder: Gabby Petito. Mike previously had Julia and Michael on to talk about Murdaugh Murders, and like that effort, this series both fulfills the expectations of the true crime genre, while finding deeper themes to explore. While in M…

1
"Deaf President Now!" with Nyle DiMarco & Davis Guggenheim 36:08

8M ago36:08

36:08

In March 1988, when the Board Chair of Gallaudet University, the world’s only Deaf university, announced Gallaudet’s new president, she had no idea what was about to happen. As chronicled in Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim’s riveting new documentary, “Deaf President Now!”, the students revolted against the decision to hire yet another hearing per…

1
"Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary" with Garret Price 26:59

8M ago26:59

26:59

Our guest today is Garret Price, who Mike speaks to about his HBO Series “Yacht Rock: A DOCKumentary.” In addition to editing dozens of narrative and documentary series and films, Garret directed “Love, Antosha”. This is his second directorial effort for “Music Box”, the previous being, “Woodstock 99: Peace Love and Rage.” In “Yacht Rock”, Garret n…

1
"Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos" with Alex Gibney 22:29

8M ago22:29

22:29

As we continue Season 5, Mike speaks with Alex Gibney (Agents of Chaos, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, Taxi to the Dark Side) about his documentary series for HBO Max, “Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos”. If you are familiar with Gibney’s work, you will know that his documentaries often have a political topic or a political…

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