VICE

10 Best Episodes of VICE - Season 4

A documentary news series with a taboo-breaking team who deliver incredible news stories from around the world.

Written by Sophie and last updated on jan 26, 2023.

PS: The following content contains spoilers!

PPS: I will admit that parts of this page was written with the help of AI - it makes my work so much easier to not start from a blank page!

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VICE - S4E1

#15 - Boko Haram & Unnatural Selection (Season 4 - Episode 1)

Former Navy SEAL and new VICE correspondent Kaj Larsen travels to Nigeria to see what the cat-and-mouse game between the terrorist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government means for the people caught in the middle of the fight. Isobel Yeung reports from Brazil, Scotland, China, and the United States on the technological advances that could reshape evolution as we know it.

The episode was rated 7.72 from 271 votes.

VICE - S4E10

#14 - Trump in Dubai & China in Africa (Season 4 - Episode 10)

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VICE Correspondent Ben Anderson investigates the 5 million migrant workers in The United Arab Emirates, many of whom are employed on a project bearing the name of a man who might be our next president, Donald Trump. VICE Correspondent Isobel Yeung heads to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya and South Africa to meet the characters behind the China-Africa business deals and explores what this increasingly prominent relationship could mean for the future of global politics.

The episode was rated 7.72 from 313 votes.

VICE - S4E14

#13 - Heroin Crisis & New Age of Nukes (Season 4 - Episode 14)

'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.

The episode was rated 7.74 from 271 votes.

VICE - S4E12

#12 - The End of Polio & Collateral Damage (Season 4 - Episode 12)

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VICE's Ben Anderson travels to Karachi Pakistan to meet with the health workers putting their lives on the line to finally eradicate Polio. Kaj Larsen travels to Myanmar and Laos to see the devastating effects of unexploded ordnance and to meet the trained disposal teams working to clean up these weapons before they claim more lives.

The episode was rated 7.76 from 182 votes.

VICE - S4E11

#11 - The Deal & City of Lost Children (Season 4 - Episode 11)

VICE founder Shane Smith travels to Tehran to gauge attitudes about America and see the reactor that started Iran's nuclear program, and meets with key dealmakers--and critics--in Washington, DC. VICE correspondent Thomas Morton reports from Kolkata, where entire tribes of homeless children run rampant along the tracks of Howrah Station.

The episode was rated 7.76 from 246 votes.

VICE - S4E17

#10 - Student Debt & Fecal Medicine (Season 4 - Episode 17)

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'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 episode was rated 7.77 from 196 votes.

VICE - S4E3

#9 - Right to Die (Season 4 - Episode 3)

VICE explores the moral, political and personal questions raised by how and when we end our lives.

The episode was rated 7.78 from 203 votes.

VICE - S4E4

#8 - Beating Blindness & White Collar Weed (Season 4 - Episode 4)

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Isobel Yeung reports on the doctors and researchers who are making incredible strides in the fight against blindness. 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.

The episode was rated 7.82 from 228 votes.

VICE - S4E2

#7 - Escape to Europe & Cycle of Terror (Season 4 - Episode 2)

New VICE correspondent Ahmed Shihab-Eldin follows the Syrian refugee trail from the Syrian border to Europe, meeting Syrians determined to find a better life. Gianna Toboni travels to France and around the U.S. to see how the global reaction to the bloody ISIS attacks in Paris is affecting the fight against terrorism.

The episode was rated 7.82 from 233 votes.

VICE - S4E8

#6 - Afghan Women's Rights & Floating Armories (Season 4 - Episode 8)

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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.

The episode was rated 7.85 from 196 votes.

VICE - S4E5

#5 - Meathooked & End of Water (Season 4 - Episode 5)

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.

The episode was rated 7.85 from 219 votes.

VICE - S4E15

#4 - Flint Water Crisis & Libya on the Brink (Season 4 - Episode 15)

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'Flint Water Crisis' - The water crisis in Flint, Michigan horrified the nation: a once-thriving industrial city had fallen on such hard times that residents couldn't even trust the water from their own taps. More shocking still were revelations that city and state officials knew about the problems with the water, but failed to take action or warn the public. VICE reports from Flint on the realities of life in a city poisoned by its own government. 'Libya on the Brink' - When the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed during the revolution of 2011, 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. Today, a split between government factions has ceded large portions of the country to ISIS fighters and other extremists. VICE reports from the front lines as rival militias fight to save Libya as we know it.

The episode was rated 7.88 from 222 votes.

VICE - S4E9

#3 - The Future of Energy (Season 4 - Episode 9)

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.

The episode was rated 8.01 from 280 votes.

VICE - S4E16

#2 - Die Trying (Season 4 - Episode 16)

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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.

The episode was rated 8.04 from 162 votes.

VICE - S4E13

#1 - State of Surveillance (Season 4 - Episode 13)

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.

The episode was rated 8.17 from 295 votes.

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