VICE >> Season 6

"Back in the Dark": VICE Media founder Shane Smith has been traveling to North Korea for years, including during some of the most acrimonious periods in its history. Now, the country is engaged in a charm offensive and appears to be slowly emerging from isolation. In the wake of a series of inter-Korean summits and the first ever DPRK-U.S. summit, Smith returns to the Korean peninsula to see how Seoul and Pyongyang are reacting to the new détente. "California Burning": California is experiencing its worst wildfire season in a decade, and November's Camp Fire was the deadliest, most destructive fire in the state's recorded history. While the increasingly severe effects of climate change are partially to blame, another culprit may also be at play, according to a new government report. Gianna Toboni travels to the scorched town of Paradise to learn how California can survive a future of deadlier fires.

"Doom Boom": Throughout human history, doomsayers - people predicting the end of the world - have lived largely on the fringes of society. Today, however, the doomsday industry is thriving, thanks to TV shows, movies, hyperpartisan politics and the news media. With the country's collective anxiety on the rise, even the nation's wealthiest citizens are jumping on board, spending millions of dollars on survival readiness in preparation for unknown calamities. Thomas Morton sets out to see how people across the country are planning to weather the coming storm. "Unfair": India is home to Bollywood, the world's most prolific movie industry. For those who dream of stardom, landing a leading role may depend on skin color. India's preference for fair skin has given rise to a skin-lightening industry worth nearly $500 million. Gianna Toboni heads to Mumbai to find out how this cultural bias is fueling the booming business of fairer skin.

"The Road to Asylum": Over the last year, the Trump administration has increased its efforts to crack down on asylum in America. Citing widespread abuse and fraud in the system, the administration narrowed protections for those fleeing domestic and gang violence, an action that disproportionately affects people from Central America. Krishna Andavolu traveled to Central America and the U.S. southern border to see the effect of these policy changes on the fates of thousands of asylum seekers. "Lab Rat Nation": Pharmaceutical companies spend years seeking approval from the FDA to bring new drugs to market. During the first phase of clinical trials, healthy human beings are often paid thousands of dollars for trying unapproved drugs and reporting their side effects. Vikram Gandhi visited the bizarre world of human guinea pigs to get an inside look at these self-proclaimed "lab rats."

"Death Inc.": With more than 20,000 homicides so far, 2018 is on track to be Mexico's deadliest year on record. In a country where over 90% of crimes go unsolved, searching for truth and justice can make you a target. Civilians, journalists and politicians have been intimidated and killed, or have disappeared. Gianna Toboni investigates the roots of this spiraling murder rate and meets the people who refuse to be silenced. "Bannon's World": When President Trump's former strategist, Steve Bannon, was ousted from his White House post, he didn't disappear. He went to Europe, and is heading up new projects to support right-wing populist parties that are currently surging across the continent. Michael Moynihan visits Sweden, Italy and Belgium to track Bannon and see the rise of Europe's right-wing populist movement firsthand.

"Voodoo Wrestling": Mystical voodoo rituals and professional wrestling converge in Catch Fétiche, a popular, polarizing sport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Until recently it was an all-male pursuit, but women have been getting into the ring lately, pushing the definition of gender roles in a country where violence against women is high. Dexter Thomas travels to Kinshasa to see the battles firsthand and meet the women who are emerging as the sport's new champions. "Big Placebo": Americans spend billions of dollars every year on alternative medicine. While products such as dietary supplements are nothing new, a wave of lucrative endorsements from celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and influencers on social media have made wellness a booming industry. Charlet Duboc meets devotees and skeptics to figure out what's going on with the country's wellness obsession.

One year after the explosive allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the #MeToo movement has impacted everything from Supreme Court nominees and workplace culture to sex and dating. Isobel Yeung takes a searing, personal look at how we define consent, hold assailants accountable and start to move forward

"American Piety" White evangelicals comprise a third of all Republican voters and are among the GOP's most organized voting blocs. But wide support for Donald Trump in 2016, against a backdrop of scandals, has brought heavy media scrutiny and now some faith leaders are striving to move evangelicalism away from political associations. Gianna Toboni travels to the Bible Belt to see how evangelicals are navigating today's volatile political environment. "Terror in Congo" Conflict in Eastern Congo has killed as many as six million people, more than any war since WWII. Yet this conflict remains among the most underreported crises in the world. Ben Anderson reports on the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces), one of the least known, but most violent groups in the world.

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.

Isobel Yeung examines a surge in West Virginia child welfare cases in light of the country's opioid epidemic. Krishna Andavolu travels across India to investigate the nation's increase in religious nationalism.

In Iraqi Kurdistan, Vice's Ben Anderson met those involved in the fight from the frontline to the Kurd's former guerrilla president to ask why the group recently voted for independence and what hopes they have for achieving a state of their own. Nuclear physicist Taylor Wilson joined the Air Force Space Command to see how a growing military and commercial space presence threatens the ubiquitous satellites, which are essential to humanity's digital way of life.

Gianna Toboni travels to Betsy DeVos’ home state of Michigan to investigate the charter school movement and understand what the future of public education might look like. Ben Anderson covers the rarely reported crisis in the Central African Republic, at least 14 rebel groups have seized control of 75% of the country and half the population rely on humanitarian aid for survival.

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?

"Russian Democracy": Russia held its seventh democratic presidential election in March and, as expected, Vladimir Putin added another six years to his already long tenure. With Putin now Russia's longest-serving leader since Stalin, VICE sent Ben Ferguson to speak with voters, candidates and opposition figures barred from running in hopes of discovering how democracy works in Russia. "Global Gag Rule": Just three days after his inauguration, President Trump signed a memorandum reinstating what's known as the Global Gag Rule, which eliminates U.S. funding for any NGO providing abortion-related services. In the year since, the effects of this policy have rippled across Africa. Gianna Toboni investigates the impact on women's health in Uganda.

Gianna Toboni sees firsthand how some teachers are taking up arms to be the “good guy with a gun that stops a bad guy with a gun” and explores the deep divisions in America that make it seem nearly impossible to stop these mass shootings.

"A Revolution in Ruins" Libya is in chaos. Rival governments compete for power, human smuggling is rampant, and black markets thrive for everything from oil to hard currency. VICE looks at how the Libyan revolution is failing. "New Kids on the Blockchain" Bitcoin's emergence as a global, digital currency has been as revolutionary as it has been erratic. And while fledgling investors obsess over every fluctuation in the cryptocurrency market, nation states are more interested in the underlying blockchain technology and its ability to revolutionize how business is done on the internet and beyond. VICE travels to Russia with Vitalik Buterin, inventor of the Ethereum blockchain, to get a front row seat to the geopolitical tug of war over Internet 3.0.

A look at the aftermath of President Trump's announcement to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and a report from China on advances in facial recognition technology.

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.