The Best Episodes of VICE

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8.7/10(167 votes)
#1 - The Hermit Kingdom
S1:E106/14/2013
Basketball Diplomacy: VICE makes history on a trip to North Korea to play hoops and meet with "supreme leader" Kim Jong-un.
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8.7/10(88 votes)
#2 - Raised in the System
S6:E14/6/2018
Emmy-nominated actor Michael Kenneth Williams embarks on a personal journey to expose the root of the American mass incarceration crisis: the juvenile justice system.
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8.4/10(25 votes)
#3 - Controlling the Narrative & Power to Congo
S5:E228/18/2017
Filipino journalists risk their lives while reporting on the president's brutal war on drugs; journalist Carl Bernstein discusses press freedom; in spite of the deadly war, rangers fight to protect Congo's endangered species and natural resources.
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8.4/10(29 votes)
#4 - Printing Tomorrow/Are We Alone?
S6:E86/1/2018
Krishna Andavolu delves into the cutting-edge world of 3D-printing, meeting the scientists and entrepreneurs pushing the boundaries of manufacturing, material science, and even space exploration. Scientists are closer than ever to finding life beyond Earth so VICE sent Nuclear physicist Taylor Wilson to explore one of our civilization's most haunting questions: Are we alone?
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8.3/10(55 votes)
#5 - Heroin Warfare & The Coldest War
S2:E116/6/2014
"Heroin Warfare" (correspondent: Suroosh Alvi) - Since the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan, heroin production in the region has skyrocketed, making the country the number-one producer by a large margin. Though Iran, Afghanistan's neighbor, is an ultraconservative country, Afghan heroin flowing across the border has actually caused Iran to have the worst heroin use problem in the world. Suroosh Alvi gets a rare look inside Iran to meet the suffering heroin addicts, and see how the country is coping with the illegal drug trade. "The Coldest War" (correspondent: David Choe) - With the polar ice caps shrinking due to global warming, new trade routes are being exposed, along with billions of dollars' worth of natural-resource reserves. This is prime real estate and the five nations bordering the Arctic are readying themselves to fight for it. David Choe heads north to witness NATO forces participating in the largest polar military exercise in history. The problem is that there's one non-NATO country that already considers itself rightful owner of the region: Russia. With Vladimir Putin's recent military annexation of Crimea, there's a definite possibility its aggressions will boil over, returning the international community to precarious Cold War footing.
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8.3/10(47 votes)
#6 - Meathooked & End of Water
S4:E53/4/2016
Isobel Yeung travels to the feedlots, farms and slaughterhouses where our meat is made, to see the true costs of our burger habit. Vikram Gandhi reports from California's once-abundant farmland and the heart of Sao Paulo's reservoir system to assess the depths of the water shortage crisis, and what can be done to reverse it.
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8.3/10(47 votes)
#7 - The Future of Energy
S4:E94/15/2016
VICE founder Shane Smith takes an in-depth look at the future of how we make and use energy, and how we can meet growing demand as we cut carbon emissions.
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8.3/10(83 votes)
#8 - State of Surveillance
S4:E135/27/2016
To find out the government's real capabilities regarding digital surveillance, and whether any of us can truly protect our sensitive information, VICE founder Shane Smith heads to Moscow to meet the man who started the conversation, Edward Snowden.
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8.3/10(23 votes)
#9 - After ISIS & Cubs of the Caliphate
S5:E2910/13/2017
Season 5 concludes with a report from Iraq on the aftermath of the ferocious and costly fight to retake Mosul from ISIS. Also: Isobel Yeung meets Iraqi youth who trained under ISIS, but now face an uncertain future as they try to rebuild their lives.
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8.2/10(127 votes)
#10 - Assassination Nation/The Killer Kids of the Taliban
S1:E14/5/2013
Assassination Nation: Political assassinations in the Philippines; The Killer Kids of the Taliban: Taliban-supported child suicide bombers in Afghanistan.
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8.2/10(68 votes)
#11 - Greenland Is Melting & Bonded Labor
S2:E23/21/2014
Greenland recorded its highest temperatures ever in 2013. Though some say that's not cause for concern, the equivalent of three Chesapeake Bays'-worth of water melts off the island every year, affecting sea levels around the world. Shane Smith embarks on an expedition to Greenland with climate scientist Jason Box to discover the reasons for the melting, and how the resulting sea level rise will mean devastation sooner than expected. Millions of men, women and children work as bonded laborers in Pakistan's brick kilns. This abusive practice is facilitated by the devastating disenfranchisement of workers and by the pervasive corruption of the brick kiln industry and Pakistani law enforcement. Fazeelat Aslam goes to the brick kilns to see the conditions and learn how certain organizations are fighting back by rescuing the workers from this modern-day slavery.
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8.2/10(33 votes)
#12 - Life Under Sharia & Plastic Oceans
S5:E74/7/2017
"Life Under Sharia" - VICE co-founder Suroosh Alvi travels to Aceh and across Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, to experience Sharia up close and investigate its relationship to terrorism, as well as meet those who are fighting back against it. "Plastic Oceans" - VICE correspondent Isobel Yeung travels to the remote shores of Hawaii and the coast of the North Sea to see the extent of our plastic addiction and the surprisingly simple ways we can solve it.
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8.2/10(36 votes)
#13 - Taliban Resurgence
S5:E105/5/2017
Ben Anderson returns to the conflict he's covered for 10 years, re-uniting with several Afghans--an Army Major, a Policeman who dismantles IEDs and a family who were forced to fight to defend their home--for a shocking report that questions what America's longest war has actually accomplished.
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8.2/10(16 votes)
#14 - A Living Hell in Yemen/MDMA for PTSD
S6:E2711/23/2018
Ben Anderson returns to Yemen to witness the devastating effects of four years of war and indiscriminate bombing of civilians. Anderson investigates trials using MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans and first responders suffering from PTSD.
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8.1/10(87 votes)
#15 - Mormon Lost Boys/The Fat Farms of Mauritania/Mumbai Slumscraper
S1:E55/3/2013
Mormon Lost Boys: Exiled sons of polygamists; The Fat Farms of Mauritania: fat farms for Mauritanian women; Mumbai Slumscraper: have and have-nots in Mumbai.
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8.1/10(75 votes)
#16 - The Afghan Money Pit & the Pacification of Rio
S2:E13/14/2014
The U.S. has spent nearly $100 billion on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, the most spent on any country in history. But John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, has found that much of that money has been wasted and misused, and has even fallen into the hands of the Taliban. Shane Smith heads to Afghanistan for a tour of American taxpayer dollars gone down the drain. Rio de Janeiro is working hard to remedy its reputation as a drug and murder capital in time for the upcoming World Cup and Olympics. The Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) has been charged with pacifying the slums (favelas), but BOPE's military occupation of increasing numbers of favelas has been criticized as heavy-handed. Some corrupt members of the BOPE, together with ex-police, have formed militia gangs of their own and are controlling many favelas by sinister means, openly extorting, torturing, killing and making criminals disappear. Still, there are hundreds of favelas, untouched by pacification, that remain under the control of drug gangs who act with complete impunity. Ben Anderson looks behind the picturesque façade of Rio's marketing campaign to reveal the dark underbelly of the city.
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8.1/10(55 votes)
#17 - Surveillance City & The Forgotten War
S2:E126/13/2014
"Surveillance City" (correspondent: Vikram Gandhi) - Camden, New Jersey is one of the poorest and drug-ridden cities in the country, and its murder rate is 12 times the national average. In 2011, the city cut its police force almost in half, with nearly 80,000 residents regularly being policed by 12 cops at a time. The state stepped in to overhaul the department, introducing an experimental "Metro" security apparatus equipped with futuristic technologies like gunshot detecting, triangulation microphones, and automatic license-plate readers. As similar surveillance systems are implemented across the country, Vikram Gandhi goes to Camden to see how these tactics are working, how residents feel about their loss of privacy, and what the future of policing might be. "The Forgotten War" (correspondent: Ben Anderson) - A decade ago, the crisis in Darfur was a cause celebre. American politicians, activists, and celebrities took to the media to condemn Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his brutal genocide, and to send out a call for justice and aid his victims. Yet today, world attention has waned, despite the fact that President Bashir remains in power. People continue to die, and millions of refugees remain in overburdened camps filled with malnourished children. Without sufficient aid from the international community, Sudanese rebel groups are stepping in to fight for justice on their own terms. Ben Anderson goes to the refugee camps in Chad and Sudan to meet the victims the world has forgotten, and the rebels poised for civil war.
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8.1/10(54 votes)
#18 - Right to Die
S4:E32/19/2016
VICE explores the moral, political and personal questions raised by how and when we end our lives.
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8.1/10(33 votes)
#19 - Afghan Women's Rights & Floating Armories
S4:E84/8/2016
With the Taliban gaining ground again, Isobel Yeung reports from Kabul on the fight for dignity and rights of women in Afghanistan. VICE co-founder Suroosh Alvi reports from a private military contractors' floating armories in the Gulf of Aden to take a closer look who's protecting global commerce today.
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8.1/10(35 votes)
#20 - When the Earth Melts & The Displaced
S5:E33/10/2017
“When the Earth Melts” - VICE Correspondent Ben Anderson travels across the Arctic to examine the devastating impact of thawing permafrost--and the astonishing solution that might keep it frozen. “Displaced” - VICE Correspondent Gianna Toboni follows the journey of refugees journeying across the Mediterranean Sea who have been left in limbo due to the tightening borders of an increasingly nationalist Europe.
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8.1/10(29 votes)
#21 - Medical Détente & Bananas
S5:E94/28/2017
“Medical Détente” - VICE correspondent Gianna Toboni travels to Cuba to witness potential treatments and cures that flourished in the country's biotech industry despite the decades-long US embargo. “Bananas” - VICE heads to the heart of banana country in Latin American and the Philippines to see the devastating effects of the disease and to investigate what the loss of the banana would really mean besides a less colorful lunchbox.
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8.1/10(30 votes)
#22 - Future of Firearms & Russia “Wins” Climate Change
S5:E156/16/2017
“Future of Firearms” - With the political landscape fundamentally changed, the firearms industry, and gun rights advocates, are looking for new ways to expand upon their 2nd amendment rights and the bottom line -- with some surprising results. VICE takes a closer look at the future of firearms in America. “Russia 'Wins' Climate Change” - Climate change is causing catastrophic changes to our planet, but it may be an economic blessing for Russia. As the Arctic ice melts, petroleum and mineral resources are more accessible, shipping lanes are opening up and the frozen Siberian tundra could become arable. In fact, the Russian government and people seem to be welcoming the warming temperatures. And with America pulling out of the Paris Agreement, perhaps this is a glimpse into our own future.
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8.1/10(24 votes)
#23 - After the Fall
S6:E157/20/2018
Isobel Yeung returns to Syria to tell the stories of those who were caught in the crossfire between the most feared terror group on Earth and the U.S.-backed coalition, whose collateral damage destroyed most of the city.
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8.1/10(21 votes)
#24 - Brainhackers/Fall of Rio
S6:E229/21/2018
Thomas Morton reports on advances in neurotechnology that could open up new avenues of human experience. Ben Anderson returns to Rio de Janeiro to check on social, economic and political conditions since Brazil hosted the 2016 Olympics and 2012 World Cup.
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8.0/10(72 votes)
#25 - Gangs & Oil
S1:E96/7/2013
Chiraq: Failed state on the south side of Chicago; Nigeria's Oil Pirates: oil drilling in the Niger River Delta.
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