Movies by Michael Kirk

League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis

League of Denial: The NFL’s Concussion Crisis

Drawing on the book of the same name, League of Denial crafts a searing two-hour indictment of the National Football League’s decades-long concealment of the link between football related head injuries and brain disorders.

Losing Iraq (Frontline)

Losing Iraq (Frontline)

Examines the unfolding chaos in Iraq and how the U.S. is being pulled back into the conflict. Drawing on interviews with policymakers and military leaders, the film traces the U.S. role from the 2003 invasion to the current violence, showing how Iraq itself is coming undone, how we got here, what went wrong, and what happens next.

Frontline: Divided States of America

Frontline: Divided States of America

Review the partisanship that gridlocked Washington and charged the 2016 presidential campaign.

Democracy on Trial

Democracy on Trial

FRONTLINE investigates the roots of the criminal cases against former President Trump stemming from his 2020 election loss. With the presidential race for 2024 underway, veteran political filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team examine the House Jan. 6 committee’s evidence, the historic charges against Trump and the threat to democracy.

The Killer at Thurston High

The Killer at Thurston High

In May 1998, a year before the massacre at Columbine High, 15-year-old Kip Kinkel murdered his mother and father, and then opened fire at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon, killing two fellow students and wounding 25 others. In this first in-depth television examination of a school shooter, FRONTLINE reveals the intimate inside story of how the “shy and likeable” Kip Kinkel from a solid middle-class family became the boy police call “a cold-hearted killer.”

McCain

McCain

Senator John McCain's complicated relationship with President Trump and his own Republican party. A look at McCain's life and politics, from POW in Vietnam, to choosing Sarah Palin as running mate, to his dramatic vote against the GOP's health care bill.

The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump

The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump

FRONTLINE investigates the lives and characters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as they seek the presidency. In a historic election, those who know the candidates best reveal key moments that shape how they would lead America. Award-winning filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, who have made five prior installments of The Choice over the past 25 years, sat down with Trump and Harris’ friends, advisors and critics, as well as authors, journalists and political insiders to present deeply reported narrative arcs of both candidates’ lives, goi...

Frontline: President Trump

Frontline: President Trump

The key moments that helped shape President-elect Donald Trump.

Netanyahu at War

Netanyahu at War

The inside story of the bitter clash between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Amid violence in the Middle East, the film traces Netanyahu's rise to power and his high-stakes fight with the president over Iran's nuclear program.

The Choice 2016

The Choice 2016

An interwoven investigative biography of U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump that draws on dozens of interviews from those who know them best—friends and family, advisers and adversaries—as well as authors, journalists and political insiders.

Frontline: Biden’s Decision

Frontline: Biden’s Decision

The inside story of Biden’s rise to the presidency, and the personal and political forces that shaped him and led to his dramatic decision to step aside.

The Secret History of ISIS

The Secret History of ISIS

Recently released top secret files from the early 2000's expose the lies told to the American people by senior US government in this PBS documentary, which outlines the real creators of ISIS.

President Biden

President Biden

FRONTLINE tells the story of how crisis and tragedy prepared Joe Biden to become America’s next president. Those who know him best describe the searing moments that shaped President-elect Biden and what those challenges reveal about how he will govern.

The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump

The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump

The documentary investigates the lives and characters of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump as they seek the presidency. In a historic election, those who know the candidates best reveal key moments that shape how they would lead America. Award-winning filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team sat down with Trump and Harris’ friends, advisors and critics, as well as authors, journalists and political insiders to present deeply reported narrative arcs of both candidates’ lives, going all the way back to their childhoods. What emerges in FRONTLINE's "Th...

Secrets, Politics and Torture

Secrets, Politics and Torture

“Secrets, Politics and Torture” unspools the dueling versions of history laid out by the CIA, which maintains that its now officially-shuttered program was effective in combating terrorism, and the massive Senate torture report released in December of 2014, which found that the program was brutal, mismanaged and — most importantly — didn’t work

The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden

The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden

A look into what has shaped President Donald Trump and presidential candidate Joe Biden, where they came from and how they lead.

Trump's Road to the White House

Trump's Road to the White House

An investigation of how Donald Trump defied expectations to win the presidency -- and what it suggests about how he will govern.