Passionate voter engagement, followed by the fury of those who spread and believed “the big lie” were dominant narratives of the U.S. elections of 2020. Ahead of the 2024 election cycle, in this installment of the Turning Point series, Battleground Georgia became the lens through which to view the history of racist voter suppression, the power of grass roots organizing and the tension between old institutions and new ways of thinking about what a vibrant democracy could be. 

The notion of Cancel Culture, which grew out of a mostly progressive move to hold people accountable for bad behavior (especially racist or misogynistic language), has been co-opted by conservatives who–in equal measure–bemoan its “woke” goals, cast themselves as its victims, and attempt to use it themselves as a political powerplay, while seeking to deplatform opponents with similar strategies. But is Cancel Culture really new? Or really that powerful? Or really that bad? 

In September 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis used an undercover recruiter to lure 49 Venezuelan migrants onto the island of Martha’s Vineyard with a false promise of jobs and housing — a stunt which fueled a political and media firestorm. “Martha’s Vineyard v. DeSantis” tells this story through the personal lens of four migrant cousins who now live on the Vineyard, and the lead attorneys and Texas sheriff who are aggressively fighting back against DeSantis and his cronies.

In 1970, Tom Carpenter graduated from the Naval Academy ready to follow his family’s lineage in the military as a U.S. Marine Corps attack pilot. Then he met Courtland Hirschi. Tom and Court fell deeply in love, keeping their relationship hidden at a time when being gay in the military could lead to a dishonorable discharge, a court martial, jail time—or worse. Their story would be no exception. 

Both cautionary tale and rallying cry,
Shouting Down Midnight recounts how the Wendy Davis filibuster of 2013 galvanized a new generation of activists and reveals what is at stake for us all in the struggle for reproductive freedom.

Sitting members of Congress aiding and abetting a plot to overthrow the government. Insurrectionists criminally charged with plotting to end American democracy for good. Justice Department prosecutors under crushing political pressure. Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra is the all-but-forgotten true story of good, old-fashioned American extremism getting supercharged by proximity to power. When extremist elected officials get caught plotting against America with the violent ultra right, this is the story of the lengths they will go to… to cover their tracks.

The 2020 U.S. presidential election culminated in a razor’s edge standoff where results were contested for days, and the nation was deeply divided. That division ultimately escalated into violence during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In the thick of growing political polarization, assertions of voter fraud and questions of the election’s integrity were amplified by some news media outlets and social media accounts invested in overturning election results.

‘Guerrilla Habeas’ provides an intimate view into the work of two intrepid lawyers fighting to restore human rights and dignity of immigrant populations in the United States. As deportations in the dead of night and violations of civil liberties tear families apart, this searing documentary lays bare the shortage of legal representation for immigrants desperately attempting to navigate a complicated, overburdened, and broken system.

For a generation of Afghan women, education and opportunities were a given. Growing up post-Taliban meant they enjoyed a freedom their mothers never did. But that all changed in August 2021, when the Taliban regained power in Kabul. One group of women saw what was coming and made the difficult decision to leave their home and their families and, in the dark of night, escape for the security of a better life anywhere but there.