VICE Season 3, Episode 1: Putin's Playbook & United States of Vigilantes

Russian Mercenaries & Treat, Release, Repeat

Julia Steers gives viewers an unprecedented look at the global operations of the Kremlin-backed private military force, Wagner Group, as its reach spreads from Ukraine to Central Africa; Seb Walker examines the implications of shuttering state psychiatric hospitals and talks to those on the front lines of America's mental health crisis, some of whom are asking whether it's time to revisit and rethink the concept of asylums.

28 min

Freeing Brittney Griner & Hungary for America

Alexis Johnson takes a look at the potential fate of WNBA star Brittney Griner, one of the last Americans in Russian prison at the onset of a possible new Cold War; Matthew Cassel travels to Budapest during Viktor Orban’s reelection to explore why so many right-wing Americans are traveling to Hungary, and what they hope to learn from Central Europe’s most autocratic ruler.

25 min

The Price of Oil & Chasing Ghosts

Hind Hassan travels to Somaliland to investigate the shadowy supply chain for frankincense, one of the world's oldest traded commodities used in the growing market for essential oils; Keegan Hamilton investigates the rise of "ghost guns," homemade firearms built from parts without serial numbers that are proliferating in the United States despite efforts to crack down.

29 min

Hack Back & This Is Not Your Land

Ben Ferguson gets an inside look at the cyberwar between Ukraine and Russia, and how it’s changing the rules of war in real time; David Noriega visits Oklahoma to see the aftermath of a Supreme Court decision that returned half the state to five Native American Nations.

27 min

Post-Roe America & Ready Player Earn

Gianna Toboni meets with politicians, abortion providers and women to understand how drastically the country could change in a post-Roe world; Krishna Andavolu travels to the Philippines to learn more about the play-to-earn gaming phenomenon that has taken the country by storm, and which critics claim resembles a Ponzi scheme.

25 min

Guyana for Sale & Moors Rising

Isobel Yeung goes undercover in Guyana to investigate corruption in large-scale development projects, as the small South American country becomes an attractive target for investment from China; Alzo Slade meets with Moors in America to learn more about their origin story, heritage and ultimately, why the current social and political landscape is making Moorish Nationalism more appealing.

28 min

The Russian Bubble & After the Siege

Alec Luhn reports from Moscow and Dagestan on how propaganda has convinced a majority of Russians to support Putin's bloody and costly invasion of Ukraine; Ben C. Solomon travels to Kharkiv and Donbas to explore how the frontline has evolved since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Addiction in Afghanistan & Blurred Blue Line

Isobel Yeung is in Afghanistan, exploring the Taliban’s ban on drugs – and the issues with addiction; Vegas Tenold heads to the Midwest to see whether police officers can actually be trained to intervene in cases of police misconduct.

27 min

Smugglers of the Caribbean & Felony Murder

Dexter Thomas Jr. travels to Alabama to learn about the Felony Murder rule and speaks to those most affected by it; As the surge of migrants at sea continues, Paola Ramos meets a smuggler trafficking people into the U.S. by boat.

26 min

Killing for Success & Marcos Returns

Alzo Slade investigates the intersection of music and violence in Drill music, the most popular subgenre of rap today; Natashya Gutierrez travels to the Philippines to dig into the historic comeback of the Marcos family to the country’s highest office, 36 years after dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was ousted by the People Power revolution.

29 min

Sri Lanka Revolts & God Save Brazil

Isobel Yeung goes to Brazil's Javari Valley, where evangelical missionaries and indigenous tribes are battling over the soul of the Amazon – and the future of Brazil; Matthew Cassel reports on the financial collapse that united Sri Lankans against the country’s ruling dynasty.

28 min

The Replaced & The Missing

Vegas Tenold takes us to the heart of far-right America to understand the enduring power of the Great Replacement Theory, and its lethality; Paola Ramos travels to Mexico to meet with mothers searching for their missing daughters in a country plagued by violent crime, human trafficking and government impunity.

27 min

False Positive & Taiwan Under Threat

Alice Hines investigates how inaccurate drug tests could be determining hundreds of thousands of court cases and upending the lives of people around the country; Melissa Chan travels to Taiwan to find out how residents on the island are preparing against mounting threats of an invasion by China.

25 min

Uncensored & Battle for Africa

Hanako Montgomery explores why Japan hasn’t moved to ban sexual depictions of children in manga, despite international and domestic pressure to outlaw the comics; Suroosh Alvi visits an epic show of American force in Morocco, the frontline of a political battle in Guinea, and a retail supercenter in suburban Georgia to find out if US-Russian rivalry is linked to the unrest in Africa.

29 min

Isis Jailbreak & Right Wing Stars

Hind Hassan travels to Syria to find out how a resurgent Islamic State nearly managed to free thousands of its imprisoned militants from under the nose of the Syrian Democratic Forces – one of America’s closest allies in the fight against ISIS; Gianna Toboni meets young conservatives to see how their ideology is changing, and what it takes to become a right wing star in the U.S. today.

29 min