Up Next
Back to Show
Watch Preview
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?
Support Provided By
1:25:31
Meet Barbara Jordan: a civil rights icon whose powerful voice masked a complex private life.
1:24:45
When her eyesight begins to fade, a film editor reimagines belonging and what it truly means to see.
1:25:43
Librarians across the U.S. examine how restrictions on library content are shaping communities.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:23:41
A filmmaker investigates assisted dying through the lens of disabled voices missing from the debate.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:23:41
A bipartisan coalition continues a century-long fight to add gender equality into the Constitution.
1:24:19
Phil Sharp’s RNA discovery reshaped science, medicine, and the global biotech industry.
Unlock with PBS Passport
41:44
An elusive photographer uses street art tactics to share his previously unknown work with the world.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:23:38
See how the Philippines' tense race for president in 2022 became the nation's fight for its soul.
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:20
Three families are transformed when a loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:24:21
How public libraries shaped a nation and remain a beloved sanctuary for Americans today.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:22:07
The syncopated story of funk music, from its roots to the explosion of '70s urban funk and beyond.
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:24:52
The coming-of-age story and rise of Ashley Chea, a Cambodian American basketball prodigy.