Video Interview: Behind the Scenes of Stanford Prison Experiment Series

In 1971, a psychology experiment led by Stanford University psychology professor Philip Zimbardo simulated a prison environment to study how situational factors affect human behavior. The experiment offered local male students $15 per day to take part in a psychological study of prison life, with some selected to be “guards” and others as “prisoners.” After a psychologist visited the experiment, evaluated the conditions and saw the behavior of the participants, troubling questions were raised with Zimbardo, and the experiment ended early.

Now, that story is coming to light in The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking the Truth, a three-part series from National Geographic and Muck Media. It reveals never-before-heard stories and exclusive firsthand accounts from the original participants. For the first time ever, many of the “guards” and “prisoners” who lived through this intense psychological trial have broken their silence. The doc debuted on National Geographic earlier this month and can be streamed on Hulu and Disney+.

TV Real Weekly gets a behind-the-scenes look at the series with Juliette Eisner, director and executive producer, and original participants Dave Eshleman and Clay Ramsay.