Liz Garbus

Liz Garbus? She’s one of those names you might not know right off the bat, but man, her work has probably smacked you in the feelings before. Born back in April '70—yeah, that makes her a proper Gen Xer—she’s been out here making documentaries that actually matter. Not just fluff pieces, real, gritty stuff. What Happened, Miss Simone?—that’s her, digging into the wild, complicated life of Nina Simone, peeling back layers most folks wouldn’t even dare to touch. The Farm: Angola, USA? That’s not some snoozy history lesson; it’s raw, haunting, about life inside one of America’s most notorious prisons. You watch that and it just sits with you, doesn’t really let go. And then there’s Becoming Cousteau, which, let’s be honest, isn’t just another “ooh, look at the ocean” flick. Garbus gets into the head of Jacques Cousteau, exploring why he mattered—not just the hat and the accent, but the real guy, and why he cared about the planet before it was cool. She’s not flying solo, either. Married to Dan Cogan, who’s a heavy hitter in the doc world too, they’re basically a power couple for people who love truth bombs and deep dives. Two kids in the mix—imagine those family dinners, right? Bet the conversations are wild. Garbus’s style is all in—she’s not here for shiny surface stuff. She wants you to feel uncomfortable, inspired, maybe even a bit angry. That’s her thing. And honestly? We need more of that.