Plot Synopsis

Executive produced by Alex Gibney and inspired by "The New Yorker" magazine, THE NEW YORKER PRESENTS is a half-hour series that features documentaries, short narrative films, comedy, poetry, animation, and cartoons from the hands of acclaimed filmmakers and artists. The pilot episode, which was released on January 15, 2015, featured Alan Cumming and actor Brett Gelman in a short film based on a story by Simon Rich and directed by Troy Miller; a poem by Matthew Dickman; a documentary by Jonathan Demme about biologist Tyrone Hayes based on a Rachel Aviv article, which chronicles who a pesticide manufacturer hired Hayes to test the effects of their product on frogs, leading to shocking results; cartoons by Emily Flake; and an interview with famous performance artist, Marina Abramovic, conducted by "The New Yorker" writer Ariel Levy. THE NEW YORKER PRESENTS made its official series premiere on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 when Amazon released two episodes, with two new installments scheduled to be released each Tuesday afterwards. The series opener includes these stories: Gibney tells how the FBI could have prevented the 9/11 attacks if it weren't for the CIA; Paul Giamatti plays 19th-century French author Honore de Balzac, who drank 50 cups of coffee each day; patients who suffer from The Truman Show delusion believe their lives are being watched on TV; and a cartoon by Roz Chast. The second episode includes stories from: filmmaker Steve James who profiles two young people in the world's most dangerous sport -- bull riding; writer Edwidge Danticat, who looks at racist violence in America through art; writer Nick Paumgarten, who takes on the closure of the Revel casino in Atlantic City; and Roz Chast and Liana Finck, who present cartoons.