This Is Life with Lisa Ling
Award-winning journalist and former co-host of The View Lisa Ling goes on a gritty, breathtaking journey to far corners of America.
Genre: Documentary
Cast:Lisa Ling , Jex Blackmore , Jonathan Peacy , Nick Isel , Shiva Honey , Anne McDaniels , Christopher Tardieu , Sam Conway , Allison Wier , Chandler Dean , Ari Nagel
S1.E1 ∙ Sugar Daddies, Sugar Babies
Lisa Ling dives into this world of youth, beauty, money, and sex. A host of websites have sprung up to match wealthy older men with young, attractive women. What are the true costs and benefits when sex, money, and power are on the line?
S1.E2 ∙ Unholy Addiction
It's a community many might not associate with addiction - the Mormon Church. For years the Mormon Church has struggled to help those who are addicted to painkillers and other drugs.
S1.E3 ∙ The Genius Experiment
About the use of specific sperm will create a smarter child. From the theory of the Repository for Germinal Choice, a sperm bank from the mind of Richard K. Graham.
S1.E4 ∙ Filthy Rich
New life in the Dakotas. Working the oil rigs for a possible six figure salary. Women to men ratio is 1/100.
S1.E5 ∙ Jungle Fix
Lisa goes inside the hidden, mystical world of Ayahuasca, and investigates the popularity of this unregulated form of self-exploration, the power and consequences that can come along with its ingestion.
S1.E6 ∙ Road Strip
Strippers that travel from city to city chasing their dreams as well as money.
S1.E7 ∙ Gay Rodeo
Lisa will explore the world of the International Gay Rodeo Association, which has over 5,000 registered members. Here in Sante Fe, they are bucking stereotypes, proving that you don't have to be straight to rope, ride, and wrestle a steer.
S1.E8 ∙ Called to the Collar
Lisa Ling visits a predominately Roman Catholic town to uncover why a growing number of young men are drawn to the priesthood. The call to God includes a lifetime of celibacy and often public scrutiny due to papal controversy and scandals.
S2.E1 ∙ Children of the Prophet
A look into the FLDS church, headed by Warren Jeffs, and those who have escaped or been removed from the community in Colorado Springs.
S2.E2 ∙ Electronic Woodstock
Lisa relives her life as a 1990s raver, by embedding with a new generation of electronic music fans at a festival called Mysteryland.
S2.E4 ∙ Fatherless Towns
In the Richmond City jail, thirteen inmates are preparing for an unprecedented event - the "Date with Dad" father/daughter dance.
S2.E5 ∙ Faces That Sell
The fashion world is a competitive one, with thousands of young, idealistic girls vying to become the next top model-but even if they're discovered, many soon find out that it's not always glitz and glamour.
S2.E6 ∙ America's Busiest Coroners
Death. It comes knocking for all of us at some point and for the dedicated men and women at the LA County Coroner's Office, it's business as usual.
S2.E7 ∙ The Seduction Game
A virgin attends a dating boot camp to improve his romantic prospects.
S2.E8 ∙ The Satanists Next Door
Not really what you're thinking. This group of individuals don't worship satan as a god, all being, but more as an angel to look up too because of his decisions. Thery don't sacrifice animals, drink blood, or participate in those other stereotypes. They want a free for all religion or nothing at all.
S3.E1 ∙ Locked Angeles
Lisa Ling gains unprecedented access to the Los Angeles County Jail to understand what it takes to manage the country's busiest jail.
S3.E2 ∙ Women Who Fight
Lisa Ling steps into the cage with three female fighters who are turning the traditionally male sport of MMA on its head.
S3.E3 ∙ The Black and White of Heroin
Lisa Ling goes to one of America's hardest hit cities,Chicago, to investigate whether a gentler approach to heroin use is being applied equally to the rich and poor, black and white.
S3.E4 ∙ 21st Century Brothel
Lisa Ling travels to the most famous legal brothel, Dennis Hof's Moonlite BunnyRanch, to meet women who make a living off lust.
S3.E5 ∙ Silicon Savants
Silicon Savants is about teens in Silicon Valley who are working to change the world. It features Jackson Greathouse Fall, Abenezer Mamo, Make School, and CalHacks.
S3.E6 ∙ Wired Philly
In the City of Brotherly Love, Lisa Ling embeds with the Philadelphia Police Department to explore how new technology is changing what it means to be a 21st century cop in America.
S3.E7 ∙ Sins of the Father
Lisa Ling investigates sexual assault survivors who are fighting in court to deny the men that raped them, visitation with their child.
S3.E8 ∙ Prison Love
Lisa Ling investigates what drives women to seek a romantic companionship with a prison inmate.
S4.E1 ∙ Sexual Healing
Lisa Ling explores the practices of two very different types of sexual healing: tantra and surrogate partner therapy.
S4.E2 ∙ Chinese in America
Lisa explores the massive and economically diverse movement of immigration from China to the United States - and traces her own family roots, to find out what it means to be Chinese in America.
S4.E3 ∙ Age of Consent
In this episode, Lisa explores the legal and social consequences of convicting adolescents and young adults of sex offenses - when does teenage sexuality cross the line and become a crime?
S4.E4 ∙ The Patriot Movement
As the divide between right and left reaches new heights, one group is taking an extreme approach to politics: The Patriot Movement. Lisa embeds with a militia deep in the Arizona desert preparing for threats foreign and domestic and meets the family of a man who became a martyr for the movement.
S4.E5 ∙ America's First Muslims
Contrary to what many might think, Islam is far from new to America. Lisa meets 3 very different African American Muslims and learns about the power of Islam to reshape lives in the black community, a community that can trace its connection to Islam back to the very first days of slavery.
S4.E6 ∙ Modern Love
Polygamy in America used to be known as something that's practiced solely in Mormon country, but thanks to a growing crop of unorthodox dating websites there's a new spin on multiple marriage, one that is spreading far beyond Utah. Lisa meets open minded singles, couples and throuples who believe that love doesn't always come in pairs.
S4.E7 ∙ Lost Vegas
Every year millions flock to Las Vegas trying to fulfill a dream and win big, but outside and even underground is another world that couldn't be more different. Lisa Ling investigates the dark, shocking and sometimes dangerous underbelly of Sin City that few get to see.
S4.E8 ∙ Transbeauty
In this episode, Lisa takes a revealing look inside the exciting, emotional competition that is the world's most prestigious transgender beauty pageant.
S5.E1 ∙ The Myth of MS-13
13 years after first reporting on the world's most dangerous gang, Lisa Ling returns to the ultraviolent world of MS-13.
S5.E2 ∙ The Meth Crossroads
Lisa Ling meets the law enforcement teams working to curb the crystal meth epidemic plaguing the people of Oklahoma.
S5.E3 ∙ Gender Fluidity
Lisa Ling explores the thinking about genders. She meets individuals across the spectrum who are seeking acceptance from those closest to them.
S5.E4 ∙ Screen Addiction
Lisa Ling goes in depth into the role technology plays in the mental health crisis.
S5.E5 ∙ Children of Killers
Lisa Ling explores the lives of the children of mass murderers.
S5.E6 ∙ The Mediums of Lily Dale
Lisa Ling travels to the Lily Dale Assembly, a cozy lakeside village in upstate New York, that is a community of mediums.
S5.E8 ∙ Furry Nation
Lisa profiles three members of the "furry fandom," fans of anthropomorphic animal characters, and visits a convention in Seattle.
S6.E1 ∙ Porn Ed
Lisa Ling takes on a topic most avoid: online pornography and how it is shaping a generation's perception on sex and intimacy.
S6.E2 ∙ The Benzos Crisis
Lisa Ling delves into the world of benzodiazepine use and uncovers the troubling threat these drugs pose when used long term, and the challenges facing patients as they try to quit.
S6.E3 ∙ A Few Good Women
Lisa Ling gets a rare look inside the Marines' initiative to integrate the men and women in combat training, where they learn to fight and kill.
S6.E4 ∙ Mississippi Gangland
Lisa Ling explores the inner workings of Mississippi's fastest growing gang, the Simon City Royals, and how some members are walking away from the brotherhood and turning their lives around.
S6.E7 ∙ When Women Kill
The vast majority of murders are committed by men: Only 11% of convicted murderers are women. What accounts for this gender divide? Is there something innate and deep in our natures that allows us to kill, or are we products of circumstance? And what should we make of women who break the mold - and commit the worst of all crimes? Lisa will meet women convicted of murder, from a new mother who suffocated her infant daughter to a survivor of domestic violence who killed her abuser. Over the course of the hour, Lisa will come to see how female murderers are different from the sensationalized "black widow" "scorned lover" or "gold digger" personas we see portrayed by the media. And through that journey, she may discover that the people society deems most evil are in fact not that different from the rest of us.
S6.E8 ∙ Fighting Terror
In the weeks leading up to New Year's Eve, Lisa Ling embeds the NYPD to find out what it takes to keep NYC safe from terror threats.
S7.E1 ∙ Episode #7.1
Lisa Ling witnesses the melding of two worlds; a prison and a prep school and experiences the surprising outcome of the unlikeliest of bonds.
S7.E2 ∙ Lost Boys
Lisa Ling explores the critical transition when boys become men and investigates how the digital age is impacting a generation of young boys.
S7.E3 ∙ When Heroin Hits Home
From people in the throes of addiction fighting to get clean and keep their babies, to families and agencies working with addicts to create safe homes, Lisa Ling witnesses what happens when heroin addiction hits home.
S7.E4 ∙ The Secret World of Massage Parlors
Lisa Ling Investigates the massage parlor industry and how it coincides with trafficking.
S7.E6 ∙ Psychedelic Healing
Lisa steps into the lives of three individuals who are in dire straits and looking for answers in seemingly unlikely locations.
S8.E1 ∙ The Legacy of Vincent Chin
Lisa shines light on the murder of a Chinese American in Motor City in the 1980s and witnesses communities combating a new wave of anti-Asian hate crimes.
S8.E2 ∙ The Conspiracy Effect
Lisa reveals the deep roots of conspiracy thinking and misinformation in America, and how tech companies have been profiting from the fallout.
S8.E3 ∙ Sex Work: Past, Present, and Future
Lisa investigates the current debate about decriminalizing sex work, and uncovers a surprising experiment during the Civil War to legalize the world's oldest profession.
S8.E4 ∙ American Militias
Lisa unpacks the origins of so-called militias in America and the dramatic emergence of armed movements as a domestic threat.
S8.E7 ∙ Osage: Reign of Terror
Lisa investigates the murders of wealthy Native Americans during the 1920's oil boom and witnesses how the descendants are fighting to revive what was nearly lost forever.
S8.E8 ∙ Intolerable: Sex Crimes in the Military
Lisa investigates what may finally be a tipping point for true reform in the decades-long history of sexual assault and harassment in the military.
S9.E1 ∙ Sex, Love, and Technology
During one of the loneliest times in history, technology provided new ways to connect; VR, AI and even sex dolls have become a way for many people trying to assuage their loneliness.
S9.E2 ∙ Got Sperm?
In the world of online sperm donation, moms uninterested in sperm banks meet donors online; Lisa meets prolific donor Ari Nagel, father to more than 117 children.
S9.E3 ∙ Tiger Queens
A road trip into the soul of post-Tiger King America, where the abuse and exploitation of tigers continues, and a group of passionate female journalists, activists, scientists and conservationists work to shut it down.
S9.E4 ∙ LA's Mental Health Crisis
Lisa explores serious mental illness and how it's affecting her home city of Los Angeles; she meets those who are suffering as well as those who are fighting to help people in need.
