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Independent Lens
The Big Payback
Season 24
Episode 5
An Evanston, Illinois rookie alderwoman led the passage of the first tax-funded reparations bill for Black Americans. While she and her community struggle with the burden to make restitution for its citizens, a national racial crisis engulfs the country. Will the debt ever be addressed, or is it too late for a reparations movement to finally get the big payback?
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Behind the Kentucky Derby's glamour, unseen workers keep racing’s biggest stage running.
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A filmmaker seeks belonging in the little people community and explores dwarfism within her family.
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An Amish sexual assault survivor breaks her silence, sparking a movement for justice and reform.
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Meet Barbara Jordan: a civil rights icon whose powerful voice masked a complex private life.
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When her eyesight begins to fade, a film editor reimagines belonging and what it truly means to see.
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Librarians across the U.S. examine how restrictions on library content are shaping communities.
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A filmmaker investigates assisted dying through the lens of disabled voices missing from the debate.
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1:23:41
A bipartisan coalition continues a century-long fight to add gender equality into the Constitution.
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Phil Sharp’s RNA discovery reshaped science, medicine, and the global biotech industry.
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41:44
An elusive photographer uses street art tactics to share his previously unknown work with the world.
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1:23:38
See how the Philippines' tense race for president in 2022 became the nation's fight for its soul.
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54:20
Three families are transformed when a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.