The Best Episodes of VICE Season 5

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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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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"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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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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“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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“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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“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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“Assad's Syria” - Isobel Yeung travels through regime-controlled Syria to see how Assad prevailed and to find out what might happen next in his crippled country. “Cost of Climate Change” - In the face of a scientific consensus, and with the Trump administration ushering some climate deniers into the highest levels of government, Shane Smith follows the money to see the true economic stakes of decades of denial.

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“Engineering Immortality” - Isobel Yeung meets the scientists and doctors leading the charge in genomics, pharmaceuticals, and stem cell research, which promises to revolutionize how our bodies age in the years to come. “Robot Revolution” - VICE explores how robotics and the computers that power them are poised for an extraordinary leap forward with the emergence of artificial intelligence, and how humanity can reconcile the huge risks and possibilities that will follow.

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“Show of Force” - VICE travels to North Korea during the annual Day of the Sun celebrations as global tensions reached a fever pitch. As North Koreans celebrated the 105th birthday of their country's founder, Kim Il-sung, correspondent Charlet Duboc seeks to learn firsthand how its citizens are reacting to the escalating crisis. “Return to Somalia” - VICE correspondent Gianna Toboni heads to Mogadishu to witness the fight to save the country during an increase of al-Shabaab attacks.

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“Taking Back Iraq” - Aris Roussinos embedded with Iraqi forces on the road to Mosul as they began their assault on Islamic State's last stronghold in Iraq. "Lost Generation" - Isobel Yeung travels to Iraq to see what the future looks like through the eyes of the youth.

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“Fast Food of Arabia” - Gianna Toboni travels to Kuwait, now one of the most obese countries on the planet, to witness the health effects on a country deep in the throes of an unlikely obsession with U.S. fast food. “Nollywood” - Thomas Morton explores the explosive productivity of Nigerian cinema, from DIY horror movies to big budget blockbusters, by becoming a Nollywood actor himself.

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“Last Line of Defense” - With the Constitutional right to fair representation in a court of law in jeopardy, Cord Jefferson heads to one of the worst hit states to see how overworked and underpaid public defenders are coping with the broken legal system. “El Rostro” - VICE travels deep in the Peruvian Amazon to where multinational companies have been extracting lucrative natural resources to see how these activities are decimating the land. With the native Harakmbut people as his guide, Ben Anderson goes into the forest to explore sacred landmarks they hope will prevent companies from destroying the land for a profit.

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“Crude Reality” - VICE's Isobel Yeung explores how corruption at the top in South Sudan is threatening to tear the world's newest country apart. “Between Oil and Water” - VICE travelled to the Sacred Stone Camp in December and followed the story of efforts to block construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline over the subsequent months as the Trump Administration moved quickly to resume work on the pipeline, examining how resource extraction has affected Native American communities.

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Nigerian locals fight to get their government to allow them to profit from oil jobs and urban development; after losing 50 per cent of the world's coral reefs over the last 30 years, scientists work to keep the remaining reefs alive.

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A group of law enforcement agencies fights back against those using the Internet for child sex abuse and child pornography; the future of the economy in Appalachia, which revolves heavily around the coal industry.

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"Black and Blue" - VICE correspondent Cord Jefferson reports from St. Louis, one of America's most dangerous cities, to hear from activists and police officers alike about race and policing. "Our Bionic Future" - VICE's Wilbert L. Cooper travels to Zurich to see the first ever bionic Olympics and discovers a host of technologies that are expanding what it means to be human.

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Toboni travels the college sports landscape, meeting with athletic directors, coaches, sports marketing minds and the players themselves to see the role money plays in amateur athletics today.

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Isobel Yeung travels to Turkey as the country heads to the polls in a nationwide referendum that grants Erdogan unprecedented power.

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Families and doctors are rewriting the rules as they decide when and how to start medical intervention before transgender youth hit puberty. Gianna Toboni explores this emotionally charged and rapidly evolving issue with trans youth and their parents in the midst of that intense process.

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The hacker ecosystem in Russia continues to grow; examining how vulnerable humans are to a new pandemic and looking at options for staving it off.

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Isobel Yeung examines what's driving the media's battle over facts and the polarization of the U.S. public during the Trump era; Thomas Morton reports from the Central African Republic on the emerging field of microbiome science.

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"Kings of Cannabis" - VICE correspondent Hamilton Morris joins two hunters on an epic journey through the Democratic Republic of Congo in search of one of the rarest species of Cannabis, whose unique genetics could ultimately earn them millions of dollars. "Into the Darkness" - From an abandoned gold mine that lies a mile beneath the Black Hills of South Dakota, to the world's most powerful telescope nestled into the high deserts of Chile, nuclear physicist Taylor Wilson meets the scientists working to unlock the secrets of our Universe.

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“Cyber Supremacy” - Ben Ferguson travels to Tel Aviv to find out how Israel is on its way to becoming the world's top cyber superpower. “Japan Rising” - VICE sends Gianna Toboni to Tokyo to see the consequences of Japan's rising nationalism.

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“Women Behind Bars” - VICE correspondent Isobel Yeung spends time in prisons and jails across the country, discovering what it means to be an American woman behind bars. “The Business of Making Art” - With Warhol's art now fetching tremendous sums in the booming modern art marketplace, Ben Anderson embarks on a journey through the art world with some of Warhol's master printers to explore not just the question "What is art?" but "What is a Warhol?"

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