Factual America Soho Podcasts

Why would US military veterans take up arms against the country they swore to protect? This is the question at the heart of Against All Enemies, a new documentary by Charlie Sadoff. In it, Charlie explores the role disaffected veterans played in the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. 
In order to better understand what happened on that day, he looks at the history of civil unrest involving veterans, from groups such as the Ku Klux Klan through to modern day extremist organisations like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. His journey takes him not only inside these groups but to the top as he meets their leaders.
In conversation with Matthew Sherwood, Charlie discusses the answers he found to the question of why veterans join extremist groups, and what the aims of those groups are, as well as some of the people involved in them, including former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn. He also considers whether there could be another January 6th attack, and if so, where.
If the picture for veterans looks bleak, Charlie does offer hope. There are groups that help vets transition back to civilian life. But, as he tells Matthew, more needs to be done. Go behind the scenes of the threats and dangers facing America’s veterans in Against All Enemies with Matthew Sherwood and Charlie Sadoff on Factual America.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“Jason Crow was a congressman... barricaded inside the floor of the chamber of the House... he asked this question, How did I a veteran end up on one side of this door, and other veterans who swore the same oath I did end up on the other side of this door? That to me was a very provocative question. And the fact that it was coming from him made it all the more powerful.” – Charlie Sadoff
 

God Save Texas is a three-part docu-series inspired by Lawrence Wright’s book of the same name. In each episode, an acclaimed filmmaker explores the past, present, and future of the Lone Star State. 
Episode One is directed by Richard Linklater, Episode Three by Iliana Sosa. Episode Two is directed by Alex Stapleton, and she joins Matthew Sherwood to discuss what it was like returning to her hometown of Houston to explore the effect of Texas’ oil and gas industry on her family and local communities. 
That effect has been vast, for though the energy industry has brought a lot of prosperity to Texas, the cost it has charged has been equally high. Nevertheless, Alex explains that she has hope in the future. That hope rests firmly on the local communities. And it is so strong that Alex has now returned to live in Houston permanently.
Among the other topics that Alex and Matthew discuss are mythbusting, the industrial world that lies below Houston, how Lawrence Wright’s book helped Alex to articulate her mixed feelings towards Texas, and the absence and erasure of Alex’s community in Texas’ history.
The main thesis of God Save Texas is that what starts in the Lone Star State will in time be experienced by the rest of the US. The series, therefore, can be seen as being both an epic and intimate drama. Go behind the scenes of Alex’s part in it on Factual America.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“I think that the biggest lesson that I got out of making this film is that community is so important. And it's what makes Texas so unique... Texas has always had this wild wild west identity, but we find community, we build communities...the people of this state are pretty incredible.” – Alex Stapleton

Between 2001-19, head coach Bill Belichick created one of the most successful dynasties ever seen in American football. Under his leadership, the New England Patriots won a record equalling six Super Bowl titles. Guided by quarterback Tom Brady, the team also set a host of other NFL records, including most wins over a ten year period, longest regular season/play-off winning streak, and most consecutive divisional titles.
But this era of nearly unprecedented success did not come without a cost, and the franchise was rocked by a number of controversies. Chief among them were the Spygate and Deflategate scandals. Through it all, however, the team kept winning. Could no-one stop the Patriots? As it happened, only the Patriots themselves could, and that is exactly what happened.
In The Dynasty: New England Patriots, a ten-part docu-series now showing on Apple TV+, director Matthew Hamachek explores the rise and fall of the Belichick-Brady Patriot dynasty. How did it achieve greatness? This question is at the heart of the docu-series and opens Matt’s discussion with Matthew Sherwood. They discuss are what it was like interviewing Brady and the famously reserved Belichick, particularly when it came to asking them questions they would rather not answer. Other topics include the comparison to be drawn between the Patriots and Oscar winner Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight, and how you make a compelling documentary about a team whose success made them incredibly unpopular.
The Dynasty: New England Patriots is the fruit of 35,000 hours of archive footage and over 70 interviews with Patriot players and coaches from Bill Belichick and Tom Brady onwards. In this podcast, discover the ruthlessness, maniacal nature, and utter determination to succeed that made and maybe marred the New England Patriots’ dynasty.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“... everything about this story surprised me... you hear about the cheating scandals... you get the caricature of what these people are supposed to be, and then as you dig deeper and deeper and deeper, you realise that behind all the headlines, there's just so much more, and these people are so complex and nuanced.” – Matt Hamachek

On November 13th 1974, Ronald DeFeo shot his family dead in Amityville, New York. Not long after he was convicted of the killings, the Lutz family moved into the DeFeos’ former home. They did not stay long. After just 28 days, they fled, claiming to have been driven out by paranormal activity.
The Lutz family’s experience formed the basis of The Amityville Horror. Released in 1979, it went on to spawn a seemingly endless number of sequels, prequels, and derivatives: over 40 to date.
In his docu-series, Amityville: An Origin Story, director Jack Riccobono explores what happened to both the DeFeo and Lutz families. Matthew Sherwood discovers in conversation with Jack that what took place did not happen in isolation. As Jack says, the 1970s was a dark time in America. There was fear in the air, abuse behind closed doors, an increase in drug addiction, and strange new belief systems sprouting up.
Jack takes Matthew through the mystery of the silent rifle used in the murders, and the question of why the Lutz family moved into the DeFeo home: did they do it for commercial gain? Was it a hoax? He and Matthew look at the question marks over George Lutz’s character as well as George’s role in the perpetuation of the Amityville story: he never stopped pushing it.
Greed, family dysfunction, sensationalism, the truth vs media misrepresentation. The origin of the Amityville horror is much closer to us than we realise.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“I was drawn to this possibility of sort of this cross-genre exploration, and I really felt like there was something unique about this series...you had this true crime component, but then you also had this paranormal story, and then you had this sort of larger cultural landscape that we could explore.” – Jack Riccobono

The 1980s were a time of allegation and scandal in America. From the 1980 October Surprise, 1985-87 Iran-Contra Affair, and 1986-91 BCCI scandal, the decade seemed only to be going downhill. And in the midst of it all, the US Justice Department was accused of stealing PROMIS, a piece of software that could be used to create a programme that would allow the US government to spy on whomever used it.
Danny Casolaro was a writer, poet, and investigative journalist. At the start of the 1990s, he began exploring what had happened to PROMIS, and it led him to see the theft of this software as being at the heart of America’s other major scandals. Before he could finish his investigation, however, Danny was found dead in a hotel bathtub, with both his wrists slashed.
Did he kill himself, as the police believed, or was he murdered?
That is the question at the heart of American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders, a new docu-series on Netflix, directed by Zachary Treitz. He and co-executive producer Christian Hansen are Matthew Sherwood’s guests in this episode of Factual America. Together, they discuss what they found as they retraced Danny Casolaro’s footsteps in the last days of his life and what it was like for Zachary watching Christian disappear down a conspiracy rabbit hole before he himself followed him. 
In the process Zachary and Christian uncover a murky web of scandal at the heart of American government. Or do they? Which of the incredible stories of Michael Riconosciuto, one of Danny’s major sources, and others can ultimately be believed? The filmmakers race around the country to interview subjects and get to the root of the story – all with the support and patience given to them by Netflix in the making of the series.
American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders takes a deep dive into the darkest corners of American business and politics. Make sense of it with Zachary and Christian in conversation with Matthew Sherwood.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“Once you dip your toes into [this story] it's almost like a tar... some sort of magic ooze that kind of gets into you, as soon as you touch it. It's like what they say about the abyss... you stare into it and it stares back. This is that story. You touch it and it touches you and it kind of consumes you.” – Zachary Treitz
 

Tatiana Suarez was born into poverty, endured a “tumultuous [and] traumatic childhood”, and at school chose to compete in a sport – wrestling – that led to her being relentlessly bullied. She overcame every obstacle that life and people put in front of her and became a champion. And not just once, but multiple times. Finally, the greatest prize of all, Olympic glory, lay within her grasp.
And then, she broke her neck.
And as that was being treated, doctors discovered that Tatiana had cancer.
In The Unbreakable Tatiana Suarez, Cassius Corrigan tells the story of how Tatiana overcame these seemingly insurmountable setbacks to achieve even greater success than before: with her neck injury meaning that Tatiana could no longer wrestle, she became instead a Mixed Martial Arts fighter. And with the absolute determination and drive to succeed that has characterised her life’s journey so far, she has beaten the hardest opponents, and won the toughest competitions.
In this episode of Factual America, Matthew Sherwood discusses with Cassius Tatiana’s incredible life. We meet Tatiana the wrestling pioneer for both girls and Latinas, Tatiana the inheritor of a strong mindedness that will not brook denial, and Tatiana who remains the great “What If” of wrestling and MMA despite her achievements. Cassius also explores Tatiana’s family background and extraordinary work ethic. It has made her an icon of one of the most dangerous sports in the world.
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
“... look at what Tatiana is risking every day... this is one of the greatest stories I've ever encountered in sport. I was willing to do whatever it took to bring it to life.” – Cassius Corrigan