“Stay-At-Home” Streaming Media and Podcasts

We hope you managed to get your hands on some of our recently posted “stay-at-home reading” recommendations. We didn’t want to stop there! After all, we are filling our time with much more than just reading books. Following is a list of legal and general interest films, TV shows, and podcasts we at the Washington State Law Library have been enjoying during Governor Inslee’s Stay Home — Stay Healthy order. With the extension of the order, you will have plenty of time to check these out. Some movies here can be viewed using Kanopy, a free streaming service available through many universities and public libraries.

Legal Interest Films

Woman in Gold

Based on a true-life story, this film follows the David vs. Goliath battle of one woman’s battle to reclaim her family property taken during WWII. While focusing on the human cost of war and oppression, the movie also shows an interesting legal case that goes all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. This film will also appeal to art historian fans, so maybe we will see a Getty Museum Challenge for the Woman in Gold! Available for free on Vudu or for rent at Prime Video or iTunes.

Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution

This documentary follows the trajectory of a group of disability rights activists, from their discovery of freedom and empowerment at a summer camp for teens, to their later successes in breaking down barriers for the disabled. The audience is introduced to the film’s major players through reminiscences and original camera footage from Camp Jened, a hippie era summer camp where counselors engage closely with disabled teen campers to create a sort of utopia. Through their bonds of friendship and collective strength, many of the campers go on to become leading figures in the disability rights movement and join with others in a 28 day occupation of the San Francisco federal building to pressure the federal government to implement Section 504 regulations. This film is deeply moving and brings much needed recognition to those who worked tirelessly for a better life for the disabled. Available on Netflix.

The Children Act

“Smart, elegant, and deeply moving, The Children Act stars two-time Academy Award-winner Emma Thompson in a riveting performance as Fiona Maye, a British High Court judge who, in the midst of a marital crisis, must rule on a life-changing legal case concerning the survival of a teenage boy. At issue whether to order a blood transfusion on the boy (Dunkirk’s Fionn Whitehead), a Jehovah’s Witness who, just months short of his eighteenth birthday, is refusing on religious grounds the procedure that would save his life. Adapted by Ian McEwan from his own novel, and directed by Richard Eyre (Notes on a Scandal; Iris), The Children Act is a deeply affecting portrait of strength, devotion, and love, with the incomparable Emma Thompson giving one of the very best performances of her career.” — thechildrenact.film

Available for free on Kanopy or for rent from multiple streaming services.

The Definition of Insanity

“The Miami-Dade Criminal Mental Health Project (CMHP) comes to life in this documentary, following a team of dedicated public servants working through the courts to steer people with mental illness — as their court cases hang in the balance — on a path from incarceration to recovery.” — PBS

Available at PBS.org

Legal Interest Television

Trial & Error

If you are a looking for a good laugh then I thoroughly recommend both seasons of the true-crime mockumentary television show, Trial & Error that aired on NBC a few years ago. Each season follows a murder trial in a small southern town. The defendants were played by John Lithgow in the first season and Kristin Chenoweth in the second, both represented by a New York lawyer and his hilarious cast of support staff. Available for rent from multiple streaming services.

Legal Interest Podcasts

Bundyville- Oregon Public Broadcasting and Longreads

Bundyville is a two-season examination of Cliven Bundy, the famed figure in anti-government uprisings in the West, and others who have taken up similar fights. The podcast is well researched and provides a balanced in-depth look into Bundy’s past, the history of Western land-owners’ fraught relationship with government, the standoffs themselves and their legacy. Named one of Apple’s Best of 2018, listen to the first season to learn more about the Bundys, but continue on to season two to learn about movements elsewhere, even right here in Washington State.

Somebody Somewhere- RainStream Media

Of particular interest to the Pacific Northwest legal community, season one of Somebody Somewhere finds host David Payne and producer Jody Gottlieb taking a deep dive into the evidence surrounding one of Seattle’s biggest mysteries — who is responsible for the 2001 murder of Assistant United States Attorney Tom Wales. Season two is equally compelling as Payne and Gottlieb venture into Seattle’s homeless encampment, The Jungle, to investigate a 2016 mass shooting in hopes of determining whether the courts are prosecuting the real perpetrators.

Court Junkie- PodcastOne

Fans of Serial and Netflix true crime documentaries might be interested in Court Junkie, a podcast that goes behind the scenes of famous trials from the past couple of decades. This series includes a lot of testimony recording and police interview material and asks you to think about what decision you would have made if you were sitting in the jury box. Additional side discussions about topics such as forensic psychology are included.

General Interest Films

Force Majeure

Recently adapted for U.S. audiences as Downhill (2020), this Swedish source material is an excellent examination of relationships and moral dilemmas. Its unflinching look into the strained cracks of the characters is both hilarious and anxiety inducing. Fair warning, the barely whispered arguments and tight quarters may strike a little close to home during this time. Available for free on Kanopy or for rent from multiple streaming services.

Thunder Road

An expansion of an excellent short (screened at the Seattle International Film Festival), this feature length film follows the personal devastation and aftermath for a police officer after his mother’s death. It is an intimate look at how (or how not) to face the pressures of life. One could describe it as watching a slow personal meltdown, but the film ultimately shows how resilient we can all be with some support. Available for free on Kanopy or for rent from multiple streaming services.

Honeyland

In this award winning documentary feature, Hatidze Muratova lives a solitary existence in Macedonia with her elderly and ailing mother. She earns a living by selling honey that she harvests using ancient beekeeping practices. When a nomadic family of nine arrives in the abandoned village, she shares her beekeeping knowledge with patriarch Hussein, only to find her bee colony destroyed because of his exploitative beekeeping practices. With beautiful sweeping scenes of the Macedonian countryside, Honeyland is a story told visually. It is a meditation on connection, both human connection and connection with the natural world. Available on Hulu or for rent from multiple streaming services.

General Interest Television

Vera

Starring Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope. The show is set in Northumberland, between desolate moors, mining towns, hardworking farms, and the sea. There is no sense of the polished, educated elite here, as is typical with other British mysteries. Instead, DCI Stanhope is a local, a product of her hard upbringing. She and her colleagues come from, and sound like, the working class that they are. The script is rife with local vernacular, which when combined with the setting, make you feel like you have truly been dropped in the northernmost county in England. Airing Saturdays on PBS and available from multiple subscription and streaming services.

General Interest Podcasts

All My Relations

All My Relations explores various topics facing Native Americans from the perspective of their relationships to their history, culture, geography, and family. The hosts are photographer Matika Wilbur (Swinomish & Tulalip tribes) and Professor of American Studies and Ethnic Studies Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation). All My Relations is recorded at Tacoma Art Museum.

The Allusionist- a member of Radiotopia

“Adventures in language” — Helen Zaltzman explores many facets of language from puns to describing dance, from emojis to indefinite hyperbolic numerals. It is recommended that you start The Allusionist with the earliest episodes as the current episodes are a bit off-norm.

Ologies with Alie Ward

“Asking smart people stupid questions” — Alie Ward’s experience in audio and video science education provides a foundation for an in-depth exploration of a wide variety of studies. Ologies features high science for the educated masses with good production values, but which never takes itself too seriously. Swear words are included but the word ‘mucous’ is bleeped out of several episodes.

The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry- BBC Radio 4

Answering listener questions using the power of science. And occasionally the Curious Cases hosts torment each other by making the other endure extreme temperatures, frights, and embarrassments.

The Bitter Southerner- Georgia Public Broadcasting

While the COVID shutdown has not been easy, I have been thankful for the chance to get caught up on podcasts that I’ve had sitting on the back burner. My current favorite is the second season of The Bitter Southerner. It’s a collaboration between Georgia Public Broadcasting and The Bitter Southerner magazine. Hosted by Chuck Reece (and his amazing accent), episodes include a look at the best of old and new blues music, a history of southern cooking, a rebuke of the bestseller Hillbilly Elegy and a delightful and thought-provoking look at The Waffle House restaurant chain. The best episode of the season is an interview with Congressman John Lewis, Peggy Wallace Kennedy (the daughter of notorious Governor George Wallace) and Freedom Rider Sala Udin, entitled Can the South be Redeemed? It’s a fascinating discussion of slavery, racism and white supremacy that is both horrifying and hopeful.

Heavyweight- Gimlet Media

“Jonathan Goldstein goes back to the moment everything changed.” — With its fourth season complete and the fifth in the works, Heavyweight continues to take listeners on a splendid journey with every episode. In this podcast, Goldstein (This American Life, CBC Radio) goes back in time with each episode’s subject to set something right from their past, whether it’s discovering the reason for a perceived wrong, understanding why a beloved babysitter vanished without explanation, or helping someone fulfill their father’s dying wish.

Heavyweight episodes well worth a listen:

#2 Gregor: “20 years ago, Gregor lent some CDs to a musician friend [Moby]. The CDs helped make him a famous rockstar. Now, Gregor would like some recognition. But mostly, he wants his CDs back.”

#10 Rose: “Over a decade ago, Rose was kicked out of her college sorority. ‘You know what you did,’ was the only explanation she was ever given. All these years later, Rose still wants to know what it is she did.”

#24 Jimmy and Mark: “When he was only 10 years old, Jonathan Marshall was sent on a 240 mile bicycle trip. 3 days. Across 2 states. With no adult supervision. 45 years later, Jonathan can’t stop thinking about the trip. Or the little boys he made it with.” (SC)