Our America with Lisa Ling

Lisa Ling takes viewers along for an in-depth look at some of the most controversial and thought-provoking issues in the United States today, including religious movements, sex offenders, drug addiction and online brides. In each episode, Lisa immerses herself into the lives of the people she meets, offering compelling accounts of varied experiences and providing insight into some of our nation's most contentious issues. In sharing these stories, Lisa challenges viewers to understand different perspectives and even question what they themselves have always known to be true.

Genre: News, Documentary

Cast:Lisa Ling

1Season 1

Season 1, Episode 1

February 15, 2011

Ling visits a faith healing revival in Fort Mill, S.C., run by controversial evangelist Todd Bentley. During the visit, Ling says she's challenged by what she thought she knew about faith.

2Season 1

Season 1, Episode 2

February 22, 2011

Five transgender people in various stages of transition are profiled.

3Season 1

Season 1, Episode 3

March 1, 2011

Lisa Ling explores the challenges of living life on a list of registered sex offenders as she meets with ex-cons in Florida. "They're America's pariahs, pushed into the shadows," she says. Or, as one man living in a swampy campground with other offenders calls it, "the leper colony." Ling also meets a real-estate agent who finds more substantial housing for offenders who can afford it; and follows authorities as they arrest an ex-con accused of failing to register an address change.

4Season 1

Season 1, Episode 4

March 8, 2011

"Can prayer make you straight?" Host Lisa Ling explores that notion as she observes some 1100 participants at a Freedom Conference sponsored by the evangelical organization Exodus International, which offers advice on combating same-sex attractions. "I have chosen to live my life through the filter of my faith," says Exodus president Alan Chambers, "not through the filter of my sexuality.

5Season 1

Season 1, Episode 5

March 15, 2011

A Texas man travels to Colombia to meet women who advertise for husbands at a marriage website.

6Season 1

Season 1, Episode 6

March 22, 2011

Lisa discusses the time she spent in a central Ohio town ravaged by heroin, and the connections that she made with the people along the way.

7Season 1

Season 1, Episode 7

March 29, 2011

Updates on the people and situations shown in previous episodes.

1Season 2

Season 2, Episode 1

October 16, 2011

Lisa Ling begins Season 2 by exploring homemade sex films on the Internet, and how the widespread availability of online pornography has affected Americans' sex lives and relationships.

2Season 2

Season 2, Episode 2

October 23, 2011

A report on plural marriage in the U.S. focuses on the polygamous community in Centennial Park, Ariz.

3Season 2

Season 2, Episode 3

October 30, 2011

Lisa explores sex trafficking in Washington, DC.

4Season 2

Season 2, Episode 4

November 6, 2011

Exploring problems facing U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Host Lisa Ling visits a suicide hotline for veterans in New York City and a veterans' retreat in New Mexico.

5Season 2

Season 2, Episode 5

November 13, 2011

Human individuality is explored in a report on identical twins.

6Season 2

Season 2, Episode 6

November 20, 2011

Exploring the rate at which black men are incarcerated, and ways to reduce it. Included: case studies.

7Season 2

Season 2, Episode 7

November 27, 2011

From pageant parents to a "tiger mom" to parents who opt for radical "un-schooling," Lisa Ling explores the world of extreme parenting and discovers what these moms and dads have in common: they all believe their path is the best for their children.

8Season 2

Season 2, Episode 8

December 4, 2011

Ever wonder what happens after the cameras shut off and the Our America crew leaves? Find out how live has changed for some of the most compelling individuals from this season of the show when Lisa Ling pays them a visit.

1Season 3

Season 3, Episode 1

June 10, 2012

Beauty queens- as American as apple pie, adored by little girls everywhere. But over the past few years it's little girls, rather than women, who have taken center stage. Who are these pint-sized princesses? And whose dreams are they really fulfilling?

2Season 3

Season 3, Episode 2

June 19, 2012

Statistics show that the tradition of the American nun may be dying out, but Lisa Ling will meet nuns and sisters of all ages who continue to pledge their lives to God - and discover what draws them to this radical lifestyle.

3Season 3

Season 3, Episode 3

June 26, 2012

Over 1000 American girls give birth every day, more than in any other nation in the developed world. This is a story of teenage dreams, of powerful efforts to stop children from having children, and of teenage freedom lost to the cycle of teen pregnancy.

4Season 3

Season 3, Episode 4

July 10, 2012

Native American stereotypes are alive and well: extreme poverty, high teen suicide rates, and alcoholism. Ling meets the people who are seeking both modern and traditional solutions to give the next generation a fighting chance at a brighter future.

5Season 3

Season 3, Episode 5

July 17, 2012

For most Americans, first comes love, and then comes marriage. But for some, it's the opposite. Is arranged marriage archaic and loveless, or is it a rational approach to life-long commitment? Ling explores this ancient approach to love in modern America.

6Season 3

Season 3, Episode 6

July 24, 2012

In the wake of the Great Recession, America's middle class emerges as the face of the new poverty. Lisa Ling travels the country to meet those forced by the aftershocks of the economic crisis to downsize their lives and reassess the American Dream.

7Season 3

Season 3, Episode 7

August 7, 2012

Lisa Ling investigates the case of a teenage boy who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for touching a girl's breast - and is now a registered sex offender. Lisa will try to piece together what happened and find out: did the punishment fit the crime?

8Season 3

Season 3, Episode 8

August 14, 2012

In America, we're innocent until proven guilty. But when the system fails, how can an innocent person restart their life? Lisa explores the lives of men who were wrongly convicted, and one man on death row whose daughter is fighting for the truth.

9Season 3

Season 3, Episode 9

August 21, 2012

Is it possible to use prayer and therapy to "pray the gay away"? Revisit the groundbreaking episode on this topic, along with an exclusive new interview with the leader of Exodus International, Alan Chambers, who credits "Our America" with changing his mind.

10Season 3

Season 3, Episode 10

August 21, 2012

Monogamy is the defining feature of almost all American marriages, but today more and more everyday Americans are choosing to leave the "vanilla" world behind and embrace their own unique brand of "negotiated monogamy." It's estimated that 15 million Americans are active in the Swinger lifestyle. From suburban house parties to exclusive nightclub gatherings, Lisa crosses the country to explore what's at stake with this non-traditional yet growing phenomenon.

1Season 4

Season 4, Episode 1

January 22, 2013

Lisa Ling goes beyond Fifty Shades of Grey to explore the real world of BDSM: bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sado-masochism.

2Season 4

Season 4, Episode 2

January 29, 2013

In a report about childhood obesity, Lisa Ling meets families who are struggling to help their children lose weight in order to survive.

3Season 4

Season 4, Episode 3

February 5, 2013

Ling tries to help her own father navigate the challenges of aging while also exploring a graying American population who are speed dating, having sex and breaking track records, among other things.

4Season 4

Season 4, Episode 4

February 12, 2013

In an episode update, Ling returns to the streets of Washington, D.C. to see how two young women who were caught up in the shadowy underworld of domestic human sex trafficking are faring, and to catch up with the crusaders who risked their lives to secure their safety.

5Season 4

Season 4, Episode 5

February 19, 2013

Lisa goes inside a new religious movement where members literally hear the voice of God, proclaiming a radical message of spiritual warfare and martyrdom.

6Season 4

Season 4, Episode 6

February 26, 2013

Lisa Ling explores two stories of stolen innocence and the pattern of inaction that continues to compromise our children's safety.

7Season 4

Season 4, Episode 7

March 5, 2013

Polyamorous couples are committed to non-monogamy. Lisa visits three polyamorous households – each of them pushing the limits of love, commitment, and family.

8Season 4

Season 4, Episode 8

March 12, 2013

Lisa Ling meets family members whose closest relatives have committed unthinkable crimes, and asks what the concept of family means in the face of these actions.

9Season 4

Season 4, Episode 9

June 20, 2013

In this special episode, host Lisa Ling joins “ex-gay” organization Exodus International president Alan Chambers and a group of reparative therapy survivors as they engage in a face-to-face confrontation 40 years in the making.

1Season 5

Season 5, Episode 1

May 29, 2014

Over 70% of Americans believe the devil is alive and well, and there's a growing movement in churches to fight him head on. Lisa Ling visits ministries that practice deliverance: calling upon the power of Christ to cast out demons from tortured souls.

2Season 5

Season 5, Episode 2

June 5, 2014

Three years ago, Lisa Ling explored the very private worlds of four different transgender people across America. Now she revisits each of them on their journeys of transformation—from the sex they were born, to the one they feel they really are.

3Season 5

Season 5, Episode 3

June 12, 2014

Lisa Ling explores ADHD, one of the most disputed and misunderstood medical conditions today. In addition to joining three families in their journeys of diagnosis and treatment, she finally has the courage to ask: Could she have it, too?

4Season 5

Season 5, Episode 4

June 19, 2014

Lisa explores the world of criminal informants, untrained civilians who perform undercover operations for law enforcement. By targeting the vulnerable, are police coercing citizens into risking their lives despite uncertain and often deadly circumstances?

5Season 5