The 10 Best Streaming Documentaries on Netflix Right Now

 

The 10 Best Streaming Documentaries on Netflix Right Now
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Use your Netflix addiction to actually learn something new by watching these streaming documentaries available right now.

Let’s face it, we are all addicted to Netflix (or the streaming service of our choice). But all that time spent streaming in front of screen doesn’t have to be such a waste. While you may still want to catch up on the latest Bravo melodrama, add a documentary or two to your queue so you have something else to talk about at the next office party besides the “Real Housewives of Whatever.”

Whether your tastes run more to true crime, pop culture stories, politics, or getting woke, these streaming documentaries will keep you from having nothing to talk with the cool kids at the party.

10 Streaming Documentaries on Netflix to Watch Now

1. “Sour Grapes” (2016)

A lighthearted true crime documentary that chronicles a fine-wine scammer who bilked wine collectors out of millions. Even one of the Koch brothers makes an appearance–and he even got scammed.

2. “Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press” (2017)

President Trump isn’t the only one attacking the Fourth Estate. In this documentary that outlines the battle between wrestler Hulk Hogan and Gawker media, the future of a free and open press is called into question.

3. “Cosmos: a Spacetime Odyssey” (2014)

While this documentary series with Neil DeGrasse Tyson came out a few years ago, it’s worth a rewatch or if you haven’t yet seen it. Bonus points if you have watched the original “Cosmos” series with Carl Sagan.

4. “The Keepers” (2017)

A riveting a disturbing docu-series that examines a decades old murder of a nun and the suspected link to a priest accused of abuse. Riveting and disturbing.

5. “GLOW: The Story of the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling” (2012)

If you’ve already seen the original Netflix series “Glow,” this documentary is a must-see. It chronicles the real life story of The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling phenomenon from the 1980s.

6. “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things” (2016)

Anyone interested in the concept of less is more needs to watch this compelling documentary. It features Americans who reject the notion that things bring happiness.

7. “13th” (2016)

Named after the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, this documentary chronicles the “intersection of race, justice and mass incarceration in the United States.”

8. “Small is Beautiful: A Tiny House Documentary” (2014)

Intrigued by the concept of tiny houses? Follow along with four people who bucked the housing crisis by joining the tiny house movement to create cozy and affordable homes.

9. “Requiem for the American Dream” (2015)

According to Noam Chomsky the American Dream is dead. He lays  all out about the how the bulk of America’s wealth and influence is in the hands of hands of a few and how that has changed everything.

10. “What the Health” (2017)

If “Cowspiracy” wowed you, get ready to never look at food the same again. The same filmmakers are back, examining this time the link between diet and disease, and the billions of dollars at stake in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and food industries.

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Jen Wallace

Jen Wallace shares her indie life by writing about making, creating, cooking, learning, playing, decorating, and pretty much anything else that strikes her fancy from indie biz tips to the modern history of the American hemline.