You Can’t Make This Up

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 special discussion all about Making A Murderer Part Two and true crime.

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.

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. So on this week's You Can't Make This Up, we borrowed one of Vox's own to host today's episode. Sean Rameswaram hosts the hit podcast, Today, Explained. He's joined by Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, the hilarious comedy duo and co-hosts of the pop culture podcast, Las Culturistas. Matt and Bowen watched K-POP, Explained, and are here to discuss the South Korean music phenomenon. There may or may not be singing.

Comedian Matt Bellassai talks with the team behind Evil Genius, Trey Borzillieri, executive producer/co-director, and Barbara Shroeder, writer/co-director. Evil Genius: The True Story of America’s Most Diabolical Bank Heist is a four part Netflix docuseries about a man who goes to deliver a pizza, but gets a bomb strapped to his neck and sent on a scavenger hunt to rob a bank. Trey and Barbara discuss what it was like to open a cold case, interview conspirators in the crime, and find out details no one else has. Plus, Trey and Barbara reveal what they're watching on Netflix.