American Glass Factory

"You guys could do whatever you want after your presidency. Why did you decide to do this?" – Julia Reichert to Barack and Michelle Obama.    What does the US Democratic Party share in common with observational documentary? The promise and the problem of transparency. This episode explores the sixty-year long relationship between Direct Cinema and Democratic Party politics, from Robert Drew’s pioneering 1960 portrait of the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary contest between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey, Primary, to Michelle and Barack Obama’s Higher Ground Productions and the Oscar winning documentary, American Factory. Featuring: Josiah McElheny, Joshua Glick, Julia Reichert, David Roediger, and Julia Lesage.