Thom Zimny (“Springsteen on Broadway”, “Springsteen: Letter to You”) can tell you a lot about Bruce Springsteen. Through the course of Thom’s many documentaries featuring Bruce and the E Street Band, including his latest film, “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band,” Thom has delved deeply into the music, personalities, and rollicking performances that have made the band one of the most beloved rock-and-roll acts of all time.

Thom joins Ken for a return visit to the pod (“Sly”) to discuss his 25-year collaboration with Bruce and the rich cinematic body of work that Thom has created over the course of Bruce’s many albums and tours. With “Road Diary,” Thom documents the band’s first tour in six years. At first, the question hangs in the air: “Does the band still have it?” But, once the tour begins, the rust falls away quickly. Soon, the band, which features new musicians as well as returning veterans, is rocking stadiums from Tampa to Barcelona. Thom is there to capture not only what is happening on stage but to show the profound impact that Bruce and the band continue to have on multiple generations of fans. It’s the kind of special relationship that endures. “Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band” is streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Hidden Gem: “Zappa” Follow: @tzimnyc on Instagram and @ThomZimny on X @topdocspod on Instagram and X

As explained by director Liz Garbus ( Bobby Fisher Against the World),  ”Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer is, “A documentary series that follows the case of young women who went missing from New York City and Long Island. Ultimately, it's a story about what victims are valued and how when justice fails, people have to step up and demand it for their loved ones.”

This documentary follows on the success of her docudrama “Lost Girls”, which features a fiery Amy Ryan as Mari Gilbert, the mother of a young woman, Shannan Gilbert, last heard on a 911 call pleading for help from the danger she believed threatened her life. Mari insistently sought justice for her lost child, a crusade which subsequently led to the discovery of the bodies of several other young women on the Southern shore of Long Island. In the wake of the recent identification of a likely killer of these women (and eventually others), Garbus felt compelled to return to tell the story afresh. What she reveals is one of a police department that went wrong, and an investigation that long lay fallow, only to be brought to a seeming revelation when key evidence and an indicted killer are recognized for what they truly are.

Hidden Gem:

No Other Land

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@lizfgarbus on Instagram @lizgarbus on X

@topdocspod on Instagram and X

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.

More than 50 years after the conviction of Charles Manson and members of the Manson Family for the shocking Tate-LaBianca murders, acclaimed filmmaker Errol Morris takes aim at the case. Inspired by author Tom O’Neill, whose book (“CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties”) attempts to debunk the thesis of famed prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi, Errol dives deep into Bugliosi’s “Helter Skelter” theory that convinced the jury — and then captivated the world as chronicled in his true crime bestseller.

Errol joins Ken on the pod to talk about what attracted him to O’Neill’s skepticism of the Helter Skelter scenario in which Manson’s apocalyptic vision of inciting a race war allegedly compelled his followers to carry out the massacre. But, even as the film delves into O’Neill’s alternative theory involving the CIA’s Project MKUltra (the subject of Errol’s earlier Netflix series “Wormwood”), the narrative shifts once again, as Errol’s nose for the truth leads him to Manson associate and convicted murderer Bobby Beausoleil. It’s a convoluted path that may lead to the truth or, more likely, to more questions. It’s just the kind of quest that Errol Morris fans and true crime buffs have been waiting for.

“CHAOS: The Manson Murders” is streaming on Netflix.

Hidden Gem:

“The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On”

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@errolmorris on X

@topdocspod on Instagram and X

The Presenting Sponsor of "Top Docs" is Netflix.