HBO Announces April and May Episodes of VICE

HBO has announced April and May episodes of VICE, a news magazine series featuring startling, groundbreaking stories from around the world, returns March 14, exclusively on HBO. VICE smashes barriers of decorum to cover such stories as out-of-control political assassinations in the Philippines, the sumo/Mixed Martial Arts craze that has swept Senegal and the precarious nuclear stare-down in Kashmir. VICE's fearless approach is like nothing else on television and will show some of the scariest, weirdest and most absurd customs and practices known to humanity.

VICE is executive produced by Bill Maher, Shane Smith and Eddy Moretti, VICE's chief creative officer, with CNN's Fareed Zakaria serving as consulting producer and BJ Levin as co-executive producer. The show takes its name from the leading youth entertainment company operating in over 34 countries including vice.com; an international network of digital channels; a television production studio; a print magazine; a record label; an in-house creative services agency; and a book-publishing division.

Show #28

Debut: FRIDAY, APRIL 17 (11:00-11:30 p.m. ET/PT)
Other HBO playdates: April 17 (12:30 a.m.), 18 (4:20 a.m.), 21 (midnight) and 23 (12:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: April 18 (8:30 p.m.), 19 (6:00 p.m.) and 22 (12:50 a.m.)

"The Post-Antibiotic World" - We rely on antibiotics to treat everything from stomach bugs to skin rashes to bronchitis. In fact, we've been overusing them, which has produced a new crop of dangerous bacterial infections that can't be treated by something from the pharmacy. The more we use antibiotics, the more these superbugs build up their resistance. It's an evolutionary battle, and the humans are losing. The projections are dire: According to some experts, antibiotic-resistant bacteria could kill ten million people a year by 2050, surpassing cancer deaths. With their backs to the wall, scientists are now racing to find new natural sources of anti-bacterial compounds. VICE's Thomas Morton follows along as they search deep into the jungle and underground for the life-saving drugs so desperately needed.

"Indonesia's Palm Bomb" - Palm oil is used in almost all of the foods we eat and most of our household products, from packaged bread and cookies to toothpaste and soap. Production of palm oil has surged, as it has become a cheap alternative to trans fats; but as demand increases, growers in Indonesia are pushing farther and farther onto rainforest land, torching the forests as they go. This mass-burning of Indonesian jungles poses a major threat to wildlife, indigenous populations and the global climate. Ben Anderson goes to Indonesia to assess the realities of the palm-oil boom up close.

Show #29
Debut: FRIDAY, APRIL 24 (11:00-11:30 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: April 24 (12:30 a.m.), 25 (5:10 a.m.), 28 (11:00 p.m.) and 30 (12:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: April 25 (8:30 p.m.), 26 (6:00 p.m.) and 29 (11:00 p.m.)

"Sweet Home Alabama" - In 2011, Alabama passed one of the harshest anti-immigrant laws in U.S. history. Based on the hardline policy known as "self-deportation," Alabama's HB-56 aimed to make life so miserable for illegal immigrants that they'd opt to leave the state on their own. The law granted police unprecedented POWERS to arrest, question and detain suspected illegal immigrants, and even criminalized citizens who provided undocumented workers with jobs, housing or transportation. But if the climate of hostility it created may have forced thousands of immigrants to flee, it may have also done real damage to the state's economy. With illegal immigration roiling American communities and the upcoming presidential race, Thomas Morton visits Alabama to see what it would look like if undocumented workers just "disappeared."

"Haitian Money Pit" - After a massive earthquake ravaged Haiti in 2010, killing more than 300,000 and leaving more than two million survivors homeless, the international community came together to provide nearly $10 billion in relief and reconstruction aid. But where did all that money go? And why are so many Haitians still living in abominable conditions in the very places foreigners promised to rebuild? Vikram Gandhi goes to Port-au-Prince to FOLLOW THE MONEY trail, and see whether the billions of dollars in aid are actually changing lives for the better.

Show #30

Debut: FRIDAY, MAY 1 (11:00-11:30 p.m.)
Other HBO playdates: May 1 (12:30 a.m.), 2 (3:35 a.m.), 5 (midnight) and 7 (12:30 a.m.)
HBO2 playdates: May 2 (8:30 p.m.), 3 (6:00 p.m.) and 6 (11:10 p.m.)

"Egyptian Tomb Raiders" - In the aftermath of the Arab Spring, Middle Eastern countries have seen a surge in the looting of antiquities. In Egypt alone, an estimated $3 billion dollars worth of artifacts have been plundered. Looters have broken into museums and left thousands of empty pits at archaeological sites, all to feed the global demand for antiquities, especially in the U.S. Meanwhile, ISIS militants in Syria and Iraq have organized their own looting networks to fund their campaign of violence. Gianna Toboni goes to Egypt to meet some of the people behind the BLACK MARKET trade - and those trying to preserve what's left of this priceless cultural heritage.

"Rent a White Guy" - Although China is on track to dominate the world's economy, the country looks at the Western white male as a symbol of cultural cachet. Among China's growing upper class, nothing spells "cool" like importing a European butler, or having a white businessman appear at your event. In fact, you can even rent a white guy by the hour or day. Thomas Morton heads to China to check out these unusual jobs, whose only requirement is that the applicant be white and male.

VICE is executive produced by Bill Maher, Shane Smith, Eddy Moretti and BJ Levin; co-executive producer, Jonah Kaplan; consulting producer, Fareed Zakaria.

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