Back to Show
Independent Lens
Artist and Activist Ai Weiwei's Muse is His Conscience
Ai Weiwei is arguably the most internationally celebrated Chinese artist of the modern era. But at heart, he is a troublemaker who challenges the government with rebellious and irreverent gestures. This has often cost him his freedom, but he never seems to lose his childlike approach to serious dissidence.
Support Provided By
Season
25:43
With rural hospitals closing, meet the people trying to get help in healthcare deserts.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:24:52
NASA psychologists prepare astronauts for the extreme isolation of a Mars mission.
1:18:04
For Native Alaskans living on a tiny Bering Sea island, if you don’t hunt, you die.
54:41
Three people navigate their lives with determination in the face of Parkinson’s disease.
Earth Month
55:37
A crew of 12 Mexican tree planters travel the United States regrowing America’s forests.
1:24:54
Midwestern families deal with unseen mental health issues affecting farmers in America.
1:24:13
Women and LGBTQ+ journalists launch startup The 19th* to buck a broken news media system.
55:23
A nun with stage IV cancer teaches others that death doesn’t have to be the end.
1:23:30
A public housing community in Miami becomes ground zero for climate gentrification.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:23:49
In Palm Springs, a Black neighborhood fights to remove a divisive wall of trees.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:51:55
The gripping story of families who risk everything escaping North Korea.
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:42
As the trial concludes, the people of Victoria, Texas, grapple with shocking revelations.