Sideways World

We meet Elliot Castro, who as a teenager stole £2.5m through credit card fraud and splurged on luxury watches, cars, and five-star living—until his lavish lifestyle led to his downfall.

Are sex toys legal, safe, or doctor-approved? Host Rytasha Rathore explores India’s sex-positive revolution, visiting sex toy stalls, focus groups, and experts to uncover the intimate realities of modern sexuality.

We follow world sumo champion Byamba through his daily 10,000-calorie diet, showing how he shops, cooks, and eats chankonabe, the Japanese stew that helps sumo wrestlers pack on the pounds.

The UK prison system has a thriving black market for everything from drugs to iPhones — all built around a strange currency: tinned fish. Former prisoner and filmmaker Chris Atkins reveals how inmates smuggle contraband and even chicken stew into their cells.

For JT, a young prospect joining a local Crips set in Brooklyn, gang life is less about crime and more about finding family and protection. In this documentary, we follow his journey as he searches for belonging on the streets.

For the first time in centuries, young women in Japan are turning away from marriage as shifting gender norms and economic independence reshape relationships. In this documentary, Karley Sciortino travels to Tokyo to explore the rise of “à la carte” boyfriend services for the country’s powerful single women.

In Empires of Dirt, Zing Tsjeng travels to University of Oxford to confront the growing controversy around Britain’s elite universities and their hidden ties to colonialism, slavery, and white supremacy. The film exposes how Europe’s colonial empires built vast wealth through exploitation—and why the consequences of that history still shape everyday life in the UK today.

We investigate Female Genital Mutilation in Asia, including its presence in countries like Singapore. Host Natashya Gutierrez meets women affected by FGM and asks why there are still no laws protecting them.

At 19, Steven Hassan joined the Unification Church until a near-fatal accident revealed he’d been brainwashed. He now dedicates his life to studying and exposing cults.

Right-wing conspiracists claim men are being poisoned and feminized through soy, vaccines, and more, despite little evidence. We explore how misinformation twists real science on chemicals and male health into powerful conspiracy narratives.

Belief in “reptilian” conspiracies has been linked to multiple violent crimes, including at least six murders since 2017. We explore how online conspiracy culture is fueling real-world harm.

During the pandemic, a basement livestream turned Lyle into the viral “Therapy Gecko.” We uncover the man behind the costume.