Vanguard - Season 5

First aired: 6/20/2011 14 episodes

Episodes

1. Gateway to Heroin

Aired: 6/20/2011

Correspondent Mariana van Zeller investigates how and why OxyContin has fueled a new heroin epidemic in and around Boston.

2. Sex, Lies & Cigarettes

Aired: 6/28/2011

Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel heads to Indonesia, where he exposes Big Tobacco's successful and deadly expansion into that country, and observes the stage being set for a David vs. Goliath battle, as a small, underfunded group of concerned advocates battle Big Tobacco and a government drunk on profits and denial.

3. Sushi to the Slaughter

Aired: 7/12/2011

Adam Yamaguchi, a ravenous sushi consumer since childhood, examines the cost of the world's insatiable appetite for raw fish, namely the Bluefin tuna.

4. City of God, Guns & Gangs

Aired: 7/20/2011

Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller investigates Brazil's bold new initiative to transform Rio de Janeiro's dangerous slums (called favelas) before the country hosts the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

5. Tiger Farms

Aired: 7/26/2011

Vanguard correspondent Adam Yamaguchi goes undercover to investigate China's lucrative black market for tigers and tiger parts, including the business of Asian zoos and breeding centers.

6. This (Illegal) American Life

Aired: 8/1/2011

Mariana van Zeller explores the personal stories of just some of the more than 2 million college students who are also illegal immigrants and facing uncertain futures as they prepare to graduate.

7. Recovery High

Aired: 8/8/2011

Students attend a public high school outside Boston dedicated to serving drug-addicted teenagers.

8. Arming the Mexican Cartels

Aired: 10/31/2011

Christof Putzel reports from Juarez, Mexico, where US guns are fueling deadly drug wars.

9. Islamophobia

Aired: 11/7/2011

Adam Yamaguchi examines the rise of Islamophobia across the US and UK, and a new, aggressive network of anti-Muslim alarmists.

10. Under the Knife Abroad

Aired: 11/14/2011

Americans increasingly seek medical care overseas, because they can’t afford it at home. Adam Yamaguchi investigates medical tourism.

11. The War on Weed

Aired: 11/28/2011

Christof compares how US cities deal with weed. It’s high times in LA, while NYC cracks down on low-level pot offenses.

12. Two Americas

Aired: 12/5/2011

Vanguard's "Two Americas" takes a ground-level survey of the growing economic disparity in America, profiling a month in the lives of two families in very different income brackets.

13. The 99 Percent

Aired: 12/12/2011

Christof Putzel moves into Zuccotti Park to explore the Occupy Wall Street movement from the inside. Produced by Brent and Craig Renaud.

14. Cage Fighting in the USA

Aired: 12/19/2011

Mariana van Zeller explores the fastest growing sport in America - Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). MMA is now a billion-dollar industry, watched by millions on national TV. But increasingly, amateurs are stepping onto the mat and drawing blood. Mariana meets male and female cage fighters to understand why they love this violent sport. And she spends time in a church run by "The Fight Pastor," who ministers a flock of young men who fight for Jesus.