20 must-see documentaries to explain the world in 2020

From climate change to Black Lives Matter, these are the films that best capture and explain what’s going on around us

Bully, coward, victim? Inside the sinister world of Trump mentor Roy Cohn

In a new documentary, film-maker Ivy Meeropol discusses the dark legacy of Roy Cohn and how his nefarious work affected her family

TV tonight: how prison can rehabilitate rather than just punish

A timely documentary looks at US prisoners, many of whom are from BAME communities, working to get degrees while incarcerated. Plus: Michaela Coel’s rollercoaster ride continues. Here’s what to watch this evening

Ringside: inside a powerful boxing documentary made over nine years

A German film-maker decided to follow two boxing prodigies for almost a decade and found a tough, moving story of ambition and determination

Christopher Eccleston: ‘I don’t watch TV – it’s too hard to suspend disbelief’

In the latest of our series in which artists share their viewing choices, the actor recommends a Japanese animation and an epic OJ Simpson documentary

Murder, mystery and a hit record: the unbelievable story of Ike White

An obscure funk album by a convicted murderer led filmmaker Dan Vernon down a rabbit hole of deception and shady dealings, as he recounts in a new TV documentary

Miriam Margolyes: ‘The government is utterly deplorable. The world is in chaos’

Promoting a show about travelling Australia from lockdown in London, the British-born actor shares her views on both her home countries

‘People opened up because I’m the Beavis and Butt-head guy’: Mike Judge on his new funk direction

The writer-director’s comedies – from Office Space to Silicon Valley – always sum up the spirit of their times. So why has he made an LSD-soaked cartoon about George Clinton and Bootsy Collins?

Lockdown watch: Garth Marenghi creator Matthew Holness on appropriate horror – and its antidote

Continuing our series in which artists suggest self-isolation cinema, the man behind Darkplace on why pandemic-related movies require music documentary offset

After Truth: how ordinary people are ‘radicalized’ by fake news

An eye-opening documentary traces the terrifying trajectory of disinformation, from Jade Helm to Pizzagate to Russian interference in the 2016 election

Breaking the color barrier: behind the long fight to diversify space

The film Black in Space: Breaking the Color Barrier dives into the under-reported history of efforts to include people of color in the space race

‘Do not despair of losing so often’ – Lea Tsemel, the Israeli lawyer who defends Palestinians

She has been called a traitor and the Israeli government tried to block an award-winning new film about her work and spirit. As the BBC screens Advocate, we meet the ‘angry optimist’

Michael Proudfoot obituary

Other lives: Maker of engaging television documentaries

The Goop Lab review – so Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t know what a vagina is

Like the star’s wellness brand, this whole show is a demented paean to self-indulgence. And for someone peddling health treatments, she seems alarmingly ignorant about anatomy

TV tonight: Prince Andrew’s accuser speaks out

Virginia Giuffre gives her first interview on British TV. Plus: the horrific effects of austerity on British children. Here’s what to watch this evening