Tag Archives: real story

Cartels in West Africa

Over the past decade or so, South American cartels have found a new way to get their product into the vast European marketplace – West Africa.

The region’s porous borders, endemic poverty and weak law enforcement make it an easy target for international organised crime. But now drug use is spilling over into local markets, and the corruption inherent in the War on Drugs has begun to warp entire societies, leading to the emergence of Africa’s first real narco-states.

We examine the social implications of prohibition worldwide. Any attempt to shut down the trade in drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine or weed invariably sets off a chain of events that just makes things worse, leaving a trail of death, illness, violence, slavery, addiction, crime and inequality across the globe. Everyone loses – except, in a weird kind of way, the drugs themselves.

Kamala Harris Sent an Innocent Man to Prison

Back when she was San Francisco D.A., U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, a former presidential contender and a self-described “progressive prosecutor,” cost the city of San Francisco millions of dollars and cost Jamal Trulove more than six years of his life.
Harris allowed the people working under her to pursue a murder charge against Trulove that was ultimately overturned by an appeals court. Harris has yet to account for this incident, which is in stark contrast to the progressive image she is trying to project as she runs for president. Trulove shares his experience growing up in San Francisco and his thoughts on Harris’ role in his case. (Despite numerous attempts to reach her, Harris did not return requests for comment.)

Do Psychedelics Help With Depression?

Going on a shroom, DMT or acid trip may not sound like a conventional therapy session, but there’s a psychedelic revolution going on in the world of mental health treatment. Illegal drugs previously associated with hippies and raves are now being used to treat PTSD, depression, anxiety, addiction and obsessive disorders.

This is the story of how incredible new research is bringing the therapeutic benefits of magic mushrooms, LSD, MDMA and DMT to light – and how the War on Drugs has needlessly held this research back for 50 years.

We examine the social implications of prohibition worldwide. Any attempt to shut down the trade in drugs such as heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine or weed invariably sets off a chain of events that just makes things worse, leaving a trail of death, illness, violence, slavery, addiction, crime and inequality across the globe.
Everyone loses – except, in a weird kind of way, the drugs themselves.

Teenage Exorcists

Sick of taking responsibility for the bad things that have happened to you in your life? Help is on the way, in the virginal and strangely vacant form of three Bible-thumping teenage exorcists from Phoenix, Arizona. Eighteen-year-old Brynne Larson and her friends Tess and Savannah Sherkenback (18 and 21, respectively) claim to be able to confront the demons lurking inside traumatized people and draw them out using nothing more than a crucifix and a few choice words. But are these teenage exorcists really empowered by the Almighty, or merely by Brynne’s father, a failed televangelist named Reverend Bob?

Surviving Alone in Alaska

Heimo Korth is the last man standing in 19 million acres of Alaskan wilderness. His neighbors are polar bears and caribous. Say goodbye to civilization and see how they do it in the arctic circle on the last frontier in America.

In 1980, Jimmy Carter established the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the Alaskan Interior, cutting off 19 million acres of prime boreal wilderness from the mitts of fur trappers, oil tycoons, and would-be lodge owners alike. Only six families of white settlers were grandfathered in and allowed to keep cabins in the refuge—of them, only one still stays there year-round living off the land. His name is Heimo Korth, and he is basically the Omega Man of America’s Final Frontier.

The Home Lives of Sex Workers

Photographer Lindsay Irene shoots with a variety of sex workers in their homes in hopes of increasing the understanding of who they are as people.​

The Real-Life Ukrainian Barbie

The world knows Valeria Lukyanova as the girl who turned herself into a real-life Barbie doll. Controversy has surrounded her every move since her computer-perfect visage went viral. However, what most of the world doesn’t know is that Valeria is not a real girl at all, but a time-traveling spiritual guru whose purpose is to save the world from the clutches of superficiality and negative energy. Valeria, AKA Space Barbie, gives us exclusive access to her world to show us how physical perfection truly is the best medium through which to deliver life-changing philosophy to the human race.

Chinese Gangs in Mexico: Inside the Fentanyl Trade

We go undercover in Mexico to infiltrate a network of Chinese gangsters laundering drug proceeds for the cartels. This new alliance is making huge amounts of money for triads and cartels, and making the fentanyl crisis harder to stop.

Cartel School: Becoming a Hitman

We travel down to Sinaloa, Mexico – El Chapo’s home turf & the heartland of arguably one of the most powerful cartels in the country, if not the world. There, we follow a pair of local, low-ranking members eager to prove themselves as soldiers and sicarios (hit men) for the Sinaloa cartel.

Though they’re currently stuck making drug runs, tailing military trucks, & overseeing other petty assignments throughout the city of Culiacán, they’ll soon be headed to the mountains of Badiraguato to attend the cartel’s underground training camp, where veterans turn hungry young men into willing & able killers.

With never-before-seen, exclusive access to the intricate inner workings of the cartel’s recruitment and training systems, we’ll get a sense of how Mexico’s most powerful organized crime operations prepare their soldiers to wage war & enforce their dominion over their territory.

We’ll also get inside the heads of the civilians willing to permanently give up everything for a shot at rising through the ranks – ultimately learning both how & why so many young men are sucked into a life of crime & bloodshed

Free-Climbing a Skyscraper

We join French Free Solo Climber, Alexis Landot, as he prepares for his hardest climb yet, The Mercury Tower in Paris, and learns why he climbs and how free soloing skyscrapers brings him peace amid the many stressors and sources of anxiety in his day.

Dying Young on TikTok

Kasey Altman lived an almost ideal life in NYC before she was diagnosed with a rare form of juvenile cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma. Instead of choosing to battle this cancer alone, she created a Tiktok account to document her journey and find community. Through the cancertok community, Kasey became a leading advocate and activist for the cancertok community.

The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of Detroit

Detroit is the poster child for urban blight, but it’s also the most hyped comeback city in the US. Rick gets the lowdown on the continued growing pains of the Motor City.