News & Analysis

Director Penny Lane's "Nellie Bly Makes the News" headlines an episode of Reveal showcasing animated documentaries and innovative, groundbreaking storytelling. Using diverse stylistic approaches, the hour covers a wide range of topics, from the story of a muckraking journalist who changed the game for women in reporting before women even had the right to vote to the surprising origin story of the humble strawberry.

Reveal takes a look at the ways the U.S. has reacted to terrorism. In "The Terrorist Hunter," director Ann Shin profiles a controversial spy, lauded by some for fighting terrorism and derided by others who claim she finds terror plots where none exist. The episode also explores the challenges that survivors of mass shootings face and uncovers the secret history of American surveillance.

"Reveal" features two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's short documentary "Freedom Fighters," which profiles three remarkable women battling for equal rights in one of the world's most dangerous countries for women. In addition, the episode delves into the potential dangers women face when they donate eggs to fertility clinics and the story of two women who gave up everything to help those at risk of deportation.

Reveal examines what the Justice Department has called "the nation's silent mass disaster." For decades, there was no way to link the lists of missing persons around the country with the unidentified John and Jane Does in morgues and cemeteries, leaving many families in the dark about their loved ones' fate. Director Michael I Schiller's "The Dead Unknown" follows investigators in real time over the course of a year as they attempt to find the identity of one 50-year-old cold case.