
VICE (2013)
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Ben Anderson as Self - Correspondent
Episodes 17
The Afghan Money Pit & the Pacification of Rio
The U.S. has spent nearly $100 billion on reconstruction projects in Afghanistan, the most spent on any country in history. But John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, has found that much of that money has been wasted and misused, and has even fallen into the hands of the Taliban. Shane Smith heads to Afghanistan for a tour of American taxpayer dollars gone down the drain.
Rio de Janeiro is working hard to remedy its reputation as a drug and murder capital in time for the upcoming World Cup and Olympics. The Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) has been charged with pacifying the slums (favelas), but BOPE's military occupation of increasing numbers of favelas has been criticized as heavy-handed. Some corrupt members of the BOPE, together with ex-police, have formed militia gangs of their own and are controlling many favelas by sinister means, openly extorting, torturing, killing and making criminals disappear. Still, there are hundreds of favelas, untouched by pacification, that remain under the control of drug gangs who act with complete impunity. Ben Anderson looks behind the picturesque façade of Rio's marketing campaign to reveal the dark underbelly of the city.
Read MoreCrude Awakening & The Enemy of My Enemy
Shane Smith heads to Louisiana to report on the lasting effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Then, Ben Anderson goes deep into Houthi-controlled territory to learn about the group that’s fighting, and beating, Al Qaeda in the east, Saudi Arabia in the north, and Yemen’s central government in the south.
Read MoreSurveillance City & The Forgotten War
"Surveillance City" (correspondent: Vikram Gandhi) - Camden, New Jersey is one of the poorest and drug-ridden cities in the country, and its murder rate is 12 times the national average. In 2011, the city cut its police force almost in half, with nearly 80,000 residents regularly being policed by 12 cops at a time. The state stepped in to overhaul the department, introducing an experimental "Metro" security apparatus equipped with futuristic technologies like gunshot detecting, triangulation microphones, and automatic license-plate readers. As similar surveillance systems are implemented across the country, Vikram Gandhi goes to Camden to see how these tactics are working, how residents feel about their loss of privacy, and what the future of policing might be. "The Forgotten War" (correspondent: Ben Anderson) - A decade ago, the crisis in Darfur was a cause celebre. American politicians, activists, and celebrities took to the media to condemn Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his brutal genocide, and to send out a call for justice and aid his victims. Yet today, world attention has waned, despite the fact that President Bashir remains in power. People continue to die, and millions of refugees remain in overburdened camps filled with malnourished children. Without sufficient aid from the international community, Sudanese rebel groups are stepping in to fight for justice on their own terms. Ben Anderson goes to the refugee camps in Chad and Sudan to meet the victims the world has forgotten, and the rebels poised for civil war.
Read MoreAfghanistan After Us & La Haine
Ben Anderson returns to Helmand, the country'smost violent province, to investigate the security situation in Afghanistan as American involvement winds down. Vikram Gandhi goes to Paris to gauge the causes of the growing hate in the City of Lights.
Read MoreReturn to Yemen & Church and States
Ben Anderson returns to Yemen, where he reported 'The Enemy of My Enemy' for VICE S2, to witness one of the worlds most bloody and underreported conflicts - the Yemen's Houthi rebels insurrection in Saudi Arabia. Gianna Toboni meets some of the families who are navigating the new landscape of legalized same-sex marriage, and hears from supporters of religious freedom laws, as VICE explores where the battle for equal rights heads from here.
Read MoreTrump in Dubai & China in Africa
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.
Read MoreThe End of Polio & Collateral Damage
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.
Read MoreWhen the Earth Melts & The Displaced
“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.
Read MoreTaliban Resurgence
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.
Read MoreWomen Behind Bars & The Business of Making Art
“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?"
Read MoreLast Line of Defense & El Rostro
“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.
Read MoreNo Choice But to Choose/Rebel Republic
Gianna Toboni goes to Michigan to see school choice in action and understand what the future of public education might look like. Ben Anderson reports on the crisis in the Central African Republic, where the government barely controls the capital city, and 75% of the country is in the hands of at least 14 armed groups.
Read MoreA Kurdish State/Out of Space
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.
Read MoreAmerican Piety/Terror in Congo
Gianna Toboni travels to America's Bible Belt to see how evangelicals are navigating today's volatile political environment. Ben Anderson reports on the Allied Democratic Forces and their actions inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Read MoreEngineering Earth
As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at unprecedented levels, scientists work to develop a backup plan to use technology to "geoengineer" the Earth's atmosphere and reduce the effects of climate change.
Read MoreBrainhackers/Fall of Rio
Thomas Morton reports on advances in neurotechnology that could open up new avenues of human experience. Ben Anderson returns to Rio de Janeiro to check on social, economic and political conditions since Brazil hosted the 2016 Olympics and 2012 World Cup.
Read MoreA Living Hell in Yemen/MDMA for PTSD
Ben Anderson returns to Yemen to witness the devastating effects of four years of war and indiscriminate bombing of civilians. Anderson investigates trials using MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans and first responders suffering from PTSD.
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