I define best as one I’ve been most surprised by with insightful learnings that have helped elsewhere (even if the topic wasn’t initially exciting).
- The Crimson Wing - i don’t suspect you’re into flamingos, I’m not either, by far. Yet this documentary has the most gorgeous cinematography I have every seen in a movie and equally artfully done soundtrack that triggers perfect flow and creative lines of thought/programming any time I listen to it. So watch it not for the content but for the vibe (great if you have kids too).
- The lost pirate kingdom (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt14057360/) Not into pirates either, but this documentary goes into how the democracy of piracy eventually spilled into the US constitution. When the British empire realized they couldn’t pay a navy to dominate the earths oceans, they commissioned mercenaries to do the attacks on Spain for them in exchange for the loot. The mercenaries recruited by giving a equal share to all participants on a ship (equity), which incentivized better than pay as well. They then self organized in cities and eventually migrated to US territory which eventually had its own revolution for independence.
- For All Mankind (not documentary, but alternate history based on more real NASA and JPL situations than any other i’ve seen)
I found these because we watched every documentary about space, nature, and history we could find with the kids so we could “travel” with our minds when we weren’t allowed to do it in person during the pandemic.