Learn me: streaming documentaries

I watch a lot of garbage. Even as background noise not necessarily watching, it's garbage. Old sitcoms, horror movies, kids stuff, I'm not learning anything and I don't find much of it interesting, it's just there to be on.

I would like to change that. I do enjoy watching a good documentary and even if I can't focus on it, the interesting bits that stuck out are always nice. I have prime, hulu, Disney and Netflix, no cable. 

I've had the best luck searching on prime for things I'm interested in, but it seems to be YouTube light, lots of questionable or biased information and little substance. I'll grant some of that is the topic at hand, but it's hard to find anything really good.

Maybe you've seen some good stuff in my interests and have recommendations, maybe you need recommendations too, so let's make this a community style thread, if there's a documentary you recommend or are looking for, post it up.

My interests:

Anything at all about the middle ages, fifedome to battles I don't care, I'm interested.

The Victorian age

Pre civil war wars in the US and Europe

Early African history. 

Anything local. I don't mean local to me either, just unique local stuff someone may have made a good film about. Got something I the old highway stuff like biggest ball of yarn? Awesome. More bizarre or specific, like the chestnut ridge Bigfoot or the kecksburg UFO? Let me know

New Orleans

The Tennessee valley authority

I don't have any recommendations at the moment, I have to do some digging to find exact titles. But what do you have?

Looked into getting PBS's streaming services?  I think its a one time donation.

Many of PBS's American Experience documentaries are also streaming on Amazon.  Also look for their American Masters and Treasures of New York series for docs about interesting people and places.

In reply to Mr_Asa :

I have not, but for $5/month I'll sign up soon enough.

Check out DW TV , it's German tv English service ,

They have great documentaries, 

NHK which is Japanese TV has the same sort of thing

Pluto TV is a streaming app that gives you traditional channels with commercials.  I cant attest to the quality of the documentaries on it, but the wife is usually watching some art thing on there.

Edit: is a free streaming app

I second PBS online for American Experience and Frontline among others.

Theres a streaming service that specializes in air and space documentaries plus one for general knowledge.  I'll try to find the names of them later.

There is a good subreddit for Documentaries on Reddit that you can browse for YouTube and similar content that is free or nearly so.

Hulu, Amazon, Netflix and D+ (Imagineering is awesome,  BTW) all have documentaries as well.  Some are junk and some are good.  Which is true for much of the YT content.

There is a ton of Ken Burns stuff on Netflix. 

I'm with you, I love documentaries. If my fat ass is going to be parked on the couch watching something, I'd like to learn as well.

Prime has an archeology documentary series called "Medieval Dead" that  I have been working my way through. I like it well enough. The episode on Gotland about the battle of Visby was good enough that I am in for all the episodes.

Prime also has quite a few seasons (back to the 90's) of Time Team which is a british TV series where archeologists do minor digs based on viewer mail. Kinda cheesy, kinda good. 

Here's one that might be interesting:

https://curiositystream.com/

They have sales from time to time.

and:

https://aerocinema.com/

If you have a library card you can watch Documentaries on Hoopla and Kanopy, both free.

The History Guy youtube channel is good. Also he had an ad for a documentaries streaming service.

If you have a smart TV, get the PlutoTV app.  There is a whole channel with just documentaries.  It's a live stream, so you're on their schedule, but I have caught some good docs there.

I haven't searched yet, but Filmrise, Vudu, PopcornFlix, Roku, Youtube, and others have dedicated apps for different genres of media.

If you like New Orleans, watch "The Pharmacist" on Netflix.  

If you like NOLA, watch Treme on HBO Now. OMG amazing. Subscribe, binge watch every episode, cancel subscription. OK, it's not a documentary, but it is a window into some other worlds most of us know nothing about.

If you like local, Rick Seback has done a lot of documentaries about Pittsburgh for WQED. He also has a lot of other interesting things like roadside attractions and unique eateries. You can find a lot of them on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj6sbyvCeYDI_UEUk4nz9GKlwxe791ViC) I am from Pittsburgh so they are special to me, but they are some of my favorite things ever. The older ones are quite dated now, but even that is kinda fun, seeing old cars from the 80s and stuff.

Dean Bog is picking up the local documentary vibe with his own web series. Not professionally produced, but someone is going to catch onto this kid and he'll be famous someday. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC88Cq0GO7AZebZh4Z0K3-AA) 

Vice is a streaming show or series or whatever, but they have done some amazing episodes. Boat race through a failed state is what got me hooked.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi on Hulu is awesome, and I hate sushi.  To Funny to Fail was interesting (Dana Carvey) Waiting for Superman will make you angry.

If you have Disney+, the Imagineering series was really good.

A bit off topic, but that's what I have seen lately.

NHK Japan has some really good programming. Actually, I've found some good documentaries on regular YouTube of all places..

I have found a ton of good documentaries on YouTube. Just search whatever you're interested in followed by documentary

I can recommend the Bela Fleck doc "Throw Down Your Heart". Looks like it's on YouTube. 
 

Banjo player goes to Africa to play music where the banjo was invented. 
 

Not recommended if you don't care for the banjo. 

I'm trying to rely less and less on YouTube, and really hoping a competitor steps up soon. Aside from the signal to noise ratio being ridiculous, the constant rule changes, deplatforming, and demonetization of anyone that says something they don't like rubs me the wrong way. Not to mention they think 45 minute television shows no one with half a brain cell would ever watch are ads. 

I did start up the medieval dead today, between tantrums from the child. I like it so far, about an episode and a half in. 

It's not a documentary, but a stylized Hollywood thing, but I really need to recommend the Turing Test. 

I can't find it in my watch history for the title, but I was on a "dinotopia" and "lost world" kick a few months ago and stumbled across a great documentary that followed a group of people on a trail to somewhere in the Amazon. I know that's pretty vague, I can't remember whose path they were following, but it was sort of where "the lost World" idea came from. Some early 1900s explorer that went looking for el dorado.

I found it. Amazonia: a perilous journey.

It follows two Americans who set out to follow Percy Fawcetts trail through the Amazon.