The Passionate Eye

The Passionate Eye is a Canadian documentary television series—and online playlist—that showcases documentary programming from around the world focusing on topics of news, current affairs, politics, and social issues. Airing on CBC News Network, it has been on-air since 1992, and has had a website since 2002.

The program was originally hosted by Michaëlle Jean, who left the position when she was appointed the new Governor General of Canada effective September 27, 2005. Jean was not immediately replaced by a permanent host; the series continued under a hostless format until 2015, when Wendy Mesley finally took the reins as a permanent host.

The series initially aired on Sunday and Monday nights. Debuting documentaries, the Sunday programme was titled The Passionate Eye Sunday Showcase (or, The Passionate Eye - Sunday); whereas the Monday-night feature was titled The Passionate Eye - Monday. The series eventually dropped the "Sunday" and "Monday" from its heading when it began to air episodes more regularly into its third decade. The show formerly also aired on CBC Television's main network, but was replaced by Doc Zone and later Firsthand. The Passionate Eye continues to air on CBC News Network several times a week.

Going into 2021, CBC made various changes to its documentary commissioning operations; moving forward, the corporation will now commission and acquire one-hour documentaries under its The Passionate Eye banner. Also under this new strategy, documentaries that were previously commissioned under CBC Docs POV will be commissioned for CBC Television and CBC Gem under the Passionate Eye brand.

Similar documentary services of CBC's include: The Nature of Things, which commissions one-hour science and nature documentaries; documentary Channel, which commissions feature-length documentaries; and CBC Short Docs, which greenlights shorter-form documentaries and digital shorts.

Select episodes

Episode	Title	Description
?	Nike's Big Bet	An investigation into the doping allegations around Alberto Salazar. Winner of the Canadian Screen Award for Best Sports Program or Series at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.
172	Green Everest	Green Everest follows an expedition of experienced Sherpas who risk their lives to clean up Mount Everest, littered with garbage left behind from climbers attempting to reach the summit.
170	The Rise of the Murdoch Empire	This three-part documentary follows the rise of Rupert Murdoch, the phone-hacking scandal, and his legacy.
166	The Twinning Reaction	This documentary tells the stories of four sets of identical twins and triplets who were separated by a New York City adoption agency in the 1960s, with three of the four sets being secretly studied by psychologists Peter Neubauer and Viola Bernard for decades in an infamous experiment.
164	Plastic Wars	Plastic Wars looks into crisis of plastic pollution and how the plastics industry may be using the lure of recycling to sell even more plastic.
163	Cuba’s Cancer Hope	This documentary looks into an innovative lung cancer vaccine developed in Cuba.
162	NRA Under Fire	NRA Under Fire investigates how the National Rifle Association of America "aligned itself with President Donald Trump and his base."
160	Resistance Fighters	Resistance Fighters investigates the "global antibiotics crisis" and the ways in which the world has been put at risk.
159	How To Get More Sleep	This documentary digs into the science of sleep and the role of sleep in memory, trauma, and human emotions.
158	The AI Race	This documentary explores how artificial Intelligence may impact the job market.
157	Selling Sex	Asking whether selling sex can "ever be a healthy way to make money," filmmaker Louis Theroux explores the new sexual economy, meeting three women in the UK who are legally providing sexual services.
155	Coronavirus	A look at how the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and whether a cover-up by Chinese authorities allowed the virus to spread.
154	Who was General Soleimani?	A look into who Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani was, and the impacts following his assassination by US forces in January 2020.
153	93QUEEN	This documentary follows a group of Hasidic women who created the first all-female volunteer ambulance corps in New York City
152	China's Tech Revolution	Presenter Reggie Yates travels to Shenzhen, China's 'City of the Future' to explore how a "new wave of innovators and entrepreneurs" may be transforming China and the world.
151	H is for Harry	H is for Harry is a coming of age story about an 11-year old boy name Harry who arrives at secondary school in suburban London unable to read or write.
150	The World According to Amazon	An exploration into how Amazon controls the distribution of daily products, the global economy, and data.
149	Vaccine Wars	A look into where ideas of the anti-vaccine movement (anti-vax) originate from, how they have spread, and why people believe them despite contrary scientific evidence.
148	Secrets of How We Learn	Twin physicians Chris and Dr. Xand van Tulleken explore the way in which experiences shape people's minds and bodies, revealing the secret to how extreme athletes learn death-defying tricks.
147	The Prince and the Paedophile	This documentary investigates the close relationship between Prince Andrew and socialite paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
146	Forgiving the Unforgivable
140	Australia's Black Summer	This documentary follows the stories of those trapped in the 2019–20 Australian 'Black Summer', the worst forest fire season in history.
139	William and Harry: Princes at War?	An examination of the sibling connection between Princes Harry and William, and how their relationship has changed following Harry's marriage with Meghan.
138	To Kid or Not to Kid	Filmmaker Maxine Trump confronts the question of whether a woman can live a complete life and not be a mother, and why so many women feel under societal pressure to have children.
137	How We Saved the Planet: Ozone Hole	Through scientists and politicians, this documentary follows the story of how the nations of the world came together to fix the hole in the ozone layer.
136	Inside China's Digital Gulag	An undercover investigation revealing how the Chinese government is using technology to control and detain China's ethnic Uyghur population.
135	Secrets of Sugar Baby Dating	An exploration into the controversial world of "dating for money," looking into where the line sits between a relationship and a transaction, and how social media has influenced the way some people view personal and business relationships.
134	The Truth About Antibiotics	A dive into why experts believe humans could soon have no antibiotics capable of healing them from certain infections.
107	The Coronation	Queen Elizabeth II shares her memories of her 1953 Coronation ceremony, marking the 65th anniversary of the occasion.
96	A Very Royal Wedding	Celebrating the 1947 wedding of the Queen and Prince Philip, this documentary looks back on the day with rare colour archival footage and recreates various details, from the engagement ring to the 9-foot-high wedding cake.
77	Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy	Prince William and Harry speak for the first time about Diana as a mother, sharing some of their earliest memories and recalling their final conversation with her before her death in August 1997.
36	Prince Philip: The Plot to Make a King	This documentary features exclusive interviews with members of the royal family, and never-before-shared memoirs.
13	One Hour that Changed the World: The Moon Landing	Airing 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, this documentary follows the "heroism and ingenuity of the astronauts and mission control to overcome system failures, accidents, and bad luck to successfully land a man on the moon.
11	Woodstock: Three Days that Changed a Generation [Part 2]	A look into what happened over the three days of Woodstock in August 1969.
10	Woodstock: Three Days that Changed a Generation [Part 1]
7	Inside the Megafire	An exploration into the rise of massive wildfires across the globe, and how scientists are searching for ways to reduce the dangers that these infernos pose.

Foreign-produced documentaries

International documentaries showcased on The Passionate Eye include:

• Crumb — a profile of the satirical cartoonist Robert Crumb
• The Celluloid Closet — an investigation of Hollywood's treatment of homosexuals
• The Dying Rooms — an expose of the Chinese orphanages
• Russian Striptease — a stylistic look at sex and corruption in post-Perestroika Russia
• The Battle Over Citizen Kane — the impact of Citizen Kane between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst.
• Calling the Ghosts: A Story about Rape, War and Women — the personal journey of two Bosnian women, a lawyer and a judge, who were imprisoned during the civil war.
• In the Shadow of the Stars — behind-the-scenes look at the San Francisco Opera Company.
• For Better or For Worse (1993) — intimate portraits of five culturally-diverse couples who have been together for 50 years or longer.
• Fourteen Days in May — the last two weeks on death row with a man many believe to be innocent.
• Project Nim — the story of Nim Chimpsky, a chimpanzee who was the focus of a controversial experiment that aimed to show what would happen if baby chimps were taken from their mothers at birth and raised like humans.
• 10%: What Makes a Hero? — an investigation into why some people are willing to put themselves at risk in order to perform what others consider heroic deeds
• The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden — investigative biographies of then-President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.

External links

• Official website
• The Passionate Eye at IMDb