Neil Barsky, filmmaker, talks with Brian Lehrer about his new documentary on former NYC Mayor Ed Koch.

Steve Maing discusses his documentary about citizen reporters in China, “High Tech, Low Life.” It follows the journey of two of China’s first citizen reporters as they travel the country covering underreported news and social issue stories. Armed with laptops, cell phones and digital cameras, they become independent one-man news stations while learning to navigate China’s new social media landscape and censorship regulations. “High Tech, Low Life” is playing at the IFC Center through January 15.

Alexis Paredes, I.S. 318 graduate and top-rated high school chess player, and John Galvin, the Assistant Principal at I.S. 318 and chess coordinator there, talk about the documentary “Brooklyn Castle,” which they’re both featured in. The film tells the stories of five members of the chess team at a low-income inner city junior high school that has won more national championships than any other in the country. “Brooklyn Castle” is playing at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center and Sunshine Landmark Cinemas.

Ric Burns discusses his documentary “Death and the Civil War,” based on the book by Drew Faust, talks about how the nation was transformed by the death toll of the Civil War, an estimated 750,000 people were killed—nearly two and a half percent of the population—from 1861 to 1865. “Death and the Civil War,” will premiere on American Experience on Tuesday, September 18, at 8:00 pm on PBS, in conjunction with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, which is to this day, the single bloodiest day in American history.

David France, director of the documentary “How to Survive a Plague,” and Peter Staley, who is featured in the film, tell the story of a group of young AIDS activists who taught themselves science and policy to try to save their own lives, and ended up saving 6 million others. “How to Survive a Plague” opens September 21 at IFC Center.

Rob Whitehair, director the documentary “True Wolf,” is joined by Bruce Weide and Pat Tucker, who adopted an abandoned wolf pup. The film is an account of how the couple and their dog came to live with a wolf, facing dangers, sharing adventures, and forming unbreakable bonds. “True Wolf” opens at Cinema Village August 17.

Beate Arnestad, director of “Silenced Voices,” and Sonali Samarasinghe, one of the film’s subjects, discuss the film, which tells the story of Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge, who was gunned down by eight men in broad daylight in Colombo. His wife, Sonali Samarasinghe, was forced to leave the country by the government. Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. According to official sources, nearly 25 journalists have been killed there since 1992, at least 10 of whom were targeted by suspected government or opposition Tamil Tiger forces. “Silenced Voices,” will be shown as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater.

Less than 14 percent of sexual assaults in the U.S. military are reported, and less than one tenth of one percent result in criminal convictions. A new documentary, "The Invisible War," focuses on our military's rape epidemic and what must be done to stop it.

Director Keith Miller talks about “Welcome to Pine Hill.” Straddling the worlds of fact and fiction, documentary and narrative, the film follows Shannon, a recently reformed drug dealer trying to change his life. “Welcome to Pine Hill” is playing as part of BAM Cinemafest.

Director Bernardo Ruiz talks about his documentary “Reportero,” which follows veteran reporter Sergio Haro and his colleagues at Zeta, a newspaper based in Tijuana, one of the most deadly places in the world to be a journalist. Since the paper’s founding in 1980, two of the paper’s editors have been murdered and the founder viciously attacked. Despite the attacks, the paper has continued its aggressive investigative reporting. “Reportero” will be shown as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival at the Film Society of Lincoln Center June 21-23.

Vikram Gandhi discusses making his film “Kumaré.” Starting out as a documentary about the yoga industry, Ghandi changed his tactics, creating an alter ego, growing his beard, dressing in robes and moving to Phoenix to become Kumaré, a wise guru from the East.  “Kumaré “ opens at the IFC Center on June 20.

Neil Young and filmmaker Jonathan Demme talk about the documentary “Neil Young Journeys,” their third collaboration. It documents a drive Neil Young took in May 2011 from his hometown of Omemee, Ontario, to downtown Toronto's iconic Massey Hall, where he performed the last two nights of his solo world tour. During the drive, Young recounted introspective stories from his youth to Demme, who wove these tales together with his music. “Neil Young Journeys” opens in New York June 29.

In the aftermath of last week’s Houla massacre, Syria appears on the brink. The threat of a full-scale, open civil war looms and fears are growing around the country’s violence spilling out across the Middle East. A first-time filmmaker whose debut documentary, “U.N. Me,” traces and critiques the history of the U.N., discusses how the organization should act in Syria.

Filmmaker Werner Herzog talks about his documentary “Death Row Portraits.” Conceived as a companion to “Into the Abyss,” his documentary about a triple homicide in Texas, “Death Row Portraits” focuses on five inmates awaiting their appointment with a lethal injection in the Texas and Florida prison systems. “Death Row Portraits” is playing April 25-26 at IFC Center.

In 1965, Frank De Felitta made a documentary about the civil rights struggle in the Mississippi Delta. A black waiter named Booker Wright, who worked at a “whites only” restaurant, spoke openly about his thoughts on segregation in the film, and as a result, he lost his job and was beaten and ostracized. Booker Wright’s granddaughter Yvette Johnson joins Frank De Felitta’s son Raymond De Felitta to discuss about the new documentary directed by Raymond De Felitta, “Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story,” about who Booker Wright was and how the 1965 film changed his life. "Booker's Place" is playing as part of the Tribeca Film Festival April 22, 25, 26, 28, and opens at the Quad Cinema April 27.

On today’s Underreported, directors Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher talk about the people who serve as human test subjects for medications being developed by pharmaceutical companies. They look at how those medications are being marketed, sold, and used throughout the United States after they’ve been approved. It’s the subject of their documentary, “Off Label,” which is being shown at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Due to a computer mix-up, we mistakenly reran a 2008 interview with French high wire artist Philippe Petit and filmmaker James Marsh about the documentary "Man on Wire," about Petit's incredible high wire walk between the World Trade Center towers in 1974. The film is available on DVD, and even though we didn't plan to run the interview today, it's a great conversation.

In China, Asiatic black bears are kept in cages for their bile, which is valued in Asian medicine. Jill Robinson, the founder and CEO of Animals Asia, who appears in the documentary "Cages of Shame," talks about bear bile farming and bear rescue efforts.

"Cages of Shame" premiers at the Rubin Museum of Art April 14.

Director Steven Ives talks about his new documentary, “Grand Coulee Dam,” about a public works project that played a central role in transforming the Northwest and was the largest hydroelectric power producing facility in the world when it was completed in March 1941. But the dam prevented access to one of the greatest salmon rivers in the world, and the native people who lived along the Columbia suffered a profound cultural decline. “Grand Coulee Dam” premieres on PBS on April 3 at 8 pm.

On February 7, 2012, Mohamed Nasheed, the democratically elected president of the Maldives, was forced to resign in a coup d'etat orchestrated by the military and forces loyal to the country’s former dictator. President Nasheed and Jon Shenk, director of the documentary “The Island President,” discuss confronting the survival of the country. “The Island President” is playing March 28–April 10 at Film Forum.