VICE

The terrorist group Boko Haram is responsible for thousands of deaths in Nigeria. Now, the government is determined to drive these militants from the country. But is the hunt for insurgents causing as much harm as it's preventing? Former Navy SEAL and new VICE correspondent Kaj Larsen travels to Nigeria to see what this cat-and-mouse game means for the people caught in the middle of the fight. 'Unnatural Selection' - For centuries, scientists have been working to change the genetic traits of plants and animals. Now, a new gene-editing method called CRISPR has made that process astonishingly simple--so simple that it could easily be used on humans. Isobel Yeung reports from Brazil, Scotland, China, and the United States on the technological advances that could reshape evolution as we know it.

With the war in Syria now in its fifth bloody year, half the country's population has been displaced, and four million have fled. Many are heading to the safety and relative prosperity of Europe, but getting there is a long, life-threatening journey. New VICE correspondent Ahmed Shihab-Eldin follows the refugee trail from the Syrian border to Europe, meeting Syrians determined to find a better life. 'Cycle of Terror' - The bloody ISIS attacks in Paris stunned the world. And as rumors circulated that one of the attackers may have posed as a Syrian migrant, politicians in Western countries, including the U.S., raced to declare their territory off-limits to refugees from countries like Syria and Iraq. Gianna Toboni travels to France and around the U.S. to see how the global reaction to the violence in Paris is affecting the fight against terrorism.

When California enacted the End of Life Option Act amid fierce debate last October, the number of terminally ill Americans with the right to a doctor-assisted death effectively quadrupled. But in parts of Europe, euthanasia is also administered to people other than the terminally ill, including those with autism, depression and personality disorders. VICE explores the moral, political and personal questions raised by how and when we end our lives.

'Beating Blindness' - Doctors and researchers are making incredible strides in the fight against blindness. New assistive technologies and advances in surgical techniques mean that many patients who've lost sight entirely can now regain visual perception, and the independence that comes with it--a process that can be as disorienting as it is freeing. Isobel Yeung reports from the front lines of this latest medical frontier. 'White Collar Weed' - Small-scale weed farmers have been fighting to legalize marijuana for generations--but the closer they get to ending the prohibition on pot, the closer they get to a new threat: corporate takeover of their way of life. VICE's Hamilton Morris travels to California's infamous Emerald Triangle to meet struggling mom-and-pop growers, and visits with the investors and entrepreneurs eager to cash in on the next big consumer market--even if it could put the small guys out of business.

Massive factory farms are springing up to meet the world's meat demand. But they also dish out enormous environmental harm. Isobel Yeung travels to where our meat is made, to see the true costs of our burger habit; Water is the most vital resource we have--but it's also one of the most threatened. Vikram Gandhi reports from California and Sao Paulo on the depths of the crisis.

Ben Anderson returns to Yemen, where Saudi Arabia continues a massive and ruthless bombing campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels; While many cheered the Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage, the fight for equality is far from over. Gianna Toboni meets families who are navigating this new landscape, and hears from supporters of religious freedom laws.

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin reports from Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah and East Jerusalem to explore what life is like for young Palestinians in 2016; Shane Smith visits the 2015 Summit of the Americas to see the political thawing of relationships between Cuba and the United States, and then Havana, Cuba to speak to Cubans about bridging the divide between two former enemies.

With the Taliban gaining ground again, Isobel Yeung reports from Kabul on the fight for dignity and rights for women in Afghanistan. VICE co-founder Suroosh Alvi reports from one of many floating armories--private military contractors and their network of weapons storage ships afloat in lawless international waters--to take a closer look who's protecting global commerce today.

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris last December, world leaders agreed that climate change is an urgent threat, cementing green energy production's place as a new frontier of innovation. 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.

Ben Anderson investigates the plight of migrant workers in Dubai--many of them employed on a project bearing the name of a man who might be our next president; China is financing more infrastructure projects and selling more goods to Africa than any other trade partner in the world. Isobel Yeung looks at this increasingly prominent business relationship.

Last year, the US reached an unprecedented agreement with Iran, lifting economic sanctions in exchange for Iran's agreement to limit its nuclear capabilities. VICE founder Shane Smith looks at the deal from both sides. 'VICE correspondent Thomas Morton reports from Kolkata, India where entire tribes of homeless children run rampant along the tracks of Howrah Station.

Pakistan is the last battleground in the fight to eradicate polio. Ben Anderson travels to Karachi to meet with the health workers putting their lives on the line to fight this disease. Land mines are deadly weapons of war that remain a threat for years after the fighting is over. Kaj Larsen travels to Myanmar and Laos to see the devastating effects of unexploded ordnance.

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked details of massive government surveillance programs in 2013, igniting a raging debate over digital privacy and security. That debate came to a head this year, when Apple fought an FBI court order seeking to access the iPhone of alleged San Bernardino terrorist Syed Farook. Meanwhile, journalists and activists are under increasing attack from foreign agents. To find out the government's real capabilities, and investigate whether any of us can truly protect our sensitive information, founder Shane Smith heads to Moscow to meet Snowden.

Heroin Crisis - America is facing the worst drug epidemic this country has ever seen: more people are dying from overdoses than from car accidents-and at the center of it is an explosion in the use of heroin. Thomas Morton traces the causes and impacts of the crisis, from the poppy farms of Mexico to the hills of West Virginia, and investigates how users, first responders, and government officials are responding to the new reality of American drug use.

New Age of Nukes - Twenty-five years after the end of the Cold War, America's vast nuclear arsenal is beginning to show its age, and the government has embarked on the largest nuclear modernization effort in our history, costing American taxpayers as much as $1 trillion. Kaj Larsen goes aboard a ballistic missile submarine and visits the facilities on the front line of our nuclear weapons program to see why the military wants to upgrade the nukes we have-and why that might be a dangerous idea.

When the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed during the 2011 revolution, it seemed like good news for democracy in the Muslim world. But in 2012, the American ambassador and three other Americans were killed in a bloody attack in Benghazi, and today, a split between government factions has ceded large portions of the country to ISIS fighters and other extremists. Simon Ostrovsky reports from the front lines, where rival militias fight to save Libya as we know it.

The 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge raised millions of dollars for ALS, a fatal neurodegenerative disease, but while the social media wave gave new life to ALS research, there is still no viable treatment and access to experimental drugs is limited. Battling ALS herself, VICE editor Angelina Fanous meets with patients and top researchers across the U.S. to find out what's being done to tackle this devastating disease and the regulatory hurdles faced by ALS patients and drugmakers alike.

'Student Debt' - Americans owe $1.3 trillion in student loans --second only to home mortgages. The rise in student loan borrowing is tied to skyrocketing tuition rates, which are up 226% since 1980. VICE reports from America's college campuses to explore how a spigot of easy money from the federal government is jacking up the cost of higher education and even threatening our international competitiveness. 'Fecal Medicine' - For years, medical science was powerless against one of the most of severe intestinal infections. But a new treatment shows tremendous promise -- if patients aren't too squeamish to try it. Fecal transplants use the stool from a healthy person to repopulate life-sustaining bacteria in the colon of the patient. This technique is so effective that researchers are testing its potential to treat disorders far beyond the digestive tract, pointing to breakthrough treatments for a broad range of the most stubborn diseases. VICE reports from the labs and lavatories where this medical revolution is taking place.

'The New $pace Race' - Decades after the Apollo missions, a new era of manned spaceflight is dawning -- and this time, the destination is Mars. NASA and a growing community of private companies have set their sights on the Red Planet, and they're developing the technologies that will actually get us there. VICE reports on the preparations for humanity's next great adventure. 'Closing Gitmo' - The American prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is one of the most controversial issues of the post-9/11 era. President Obama promised to close the facility, but months from the end of his presidency the facility remains open -- and the reality of life there remains a mystery. VICE meets with ex-detainees who survived Gitmo, and the general who built it in the first place, to find out what really happens behind the camp's walls.