Zach Galifianakis Is a Real Journalist on America Divided

The EPIX docuseries America Divided investigates one of the most important issues in the country today, and an issue of particularly crucial importance leading up to the Presidential election: inequality. On the five-part, eight-story series, celebrity correspondents explore different forms of American injustice. Episodes include an examination of the Chicago justice system by rapper/actor Common, who grew up there; a deep dive into the Flint water crisis by actress and activist Rosario Dawson; and an exposé on New York City's affordable housing deficit by legendary producer Norman Lear.

In Friday, Oct. 21st's installment, Zach Galifianakis returns to his North Carolina hometown to report on ever-increasing political polarization due to wealthy donors' campaign contributions and the harm inflicted on citizens. North Carolina is a pivotal swing state in the 2016 Presidential election, owing to explosive population growth that includes a boom in Hispanic residents.

The documentary was taped before the bombing of a North Carolina GOP campaign office, but that frightening incident only underscores the important points that Galifianakis explores. This climate was enabled by ever-increasing political spending by interest groups who helped elect candidates. In turn, those officials pushed for cuts in education and healthcare spending, lower taxes for corporations and the wealthy as well as laws that disenfranchise people who'd vote against these very measures.

In this clip, Galifianakis talks to the family of a young autistic man who was receiving inadequate medical care that didn't account for his circumstances. Legislation was proposed that would help families like theirs get the medical care they need, but their senator worked with insurance companies to suppress the bill. The betrayal and disillusionment felt by the man's grandfather, a former Republican commissioner named Leroy, was so great that he left the GOP.

It's an emotional clip, illustrating the human cost of political malfeasance.

America Divided airs Fridays at 9/8c until Oct. 28 on EPIX.