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The Best Episodes of Vanguard

Every episode of Vanguard ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Vanguard!

Binge this in 16h 52m•Peaking at 9.0/10

Vanguard is a television documentary series broadcast on the Current TV television network. Vanguard reported on such issues as the environment, drugs and the effects of globalization and conflict. The focus of most Vanguard episodes is

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Vanguard Season 5 Episode 11 - The War on Weed
    9.0/10(6 votes)

    #1 - The War on Weed

    S5:E11

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 8 - Arming the Mexican Cartels
    8.8/10(6 votes)

    #2 - Arming the Mexican Cartels

    S5:E8

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 2 - Sex, Lies & Cigarettes
    8.4/10(22 votes)

    #3 - Sex, Lies & Cigarettes

    S5:E2

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 4 - City of God, Guns & Gangs
    7.2/10(12 votes)

    #4 - City of God, Guns & Gangs

    S5:E4

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 6 - This (Illegal) American Life
    7.2/10(8 votes)

    #5 - This (Illegal) American Life

    S5:E6

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 14 - Cage Fighting in the USA
    6.4/10(7 votes)

    #6 - Cage Fighting in the USA

    S5:E14

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 WORST Episodes of Vanguard

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  7. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 9 - Islamophobia
    6.0/10(6 votes)

    #7 - Islamophobia

    S5:E9

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Vanguard Season 4 Episode 1 - Missionaries of Hate
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Missionaries of Hate

    S4:E1

    Correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to Uganda, where many question whether the growing influence of American religious groups has led to a movement to make homosexuality a crime punishable by death. As an anti-gay movement spreads across the continent, gay Africans and their families face an increasingly uncertain future of isolation, imprisonment or even execution.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Vanguard Season 4 Episode 2 - Rape on the Reservation
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Rape on the Reservation

    S4:E2

    Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller travels to South Dakota to examine the statistic that one in three Native American women will be raped in her lifetime.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Vanguard Season 4 Episode 3 - The World's Toilet Crisis
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - The World's Toilet Crisis

    S4:E3

    Vanguard correspondent Adam Yamaguchi travels to India, Singapore and Indonesia to understand why people don't use toilets and what's being done to end the practice of open defecation.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Vanguard Season 4 Episode 4 - Soccer's Lost Boys
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Soccer's Lost Boys

    S4:E4

    Correspondent Mariana van Zeller explores the dark side to the sport's global popularity, what has been called "the new slave trade.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Vanguard Season 4 Episode 5 - War Crimes
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - War Crimes

    S4:E5

    Correspondent Kaj Larsen investigates the alarming rise in the number of soldiers who have been traumatized by war and are now accused of bringing the violence home. Of the more than 2 million men and women who have served in the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as many as a third of them may now have post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. A growing number of these vets are being charged with violent crimes, and Kaj travels to prisons and mental health facilities in Arizona, Colorado and Oregon to hear their stories.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Vanguard Season 4 Episode 6 - American Jihadi
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - American Jihadi

    S4:E6

    Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel traces the journey of a small town kid from Alabama to Somalia, where as part of Al-Shabaab he is now recruiting young Muslims from the west to wage jihad overseas.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Vanguard Season 4 Episode 7 - Life and Death on the Border
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Life and Death on the Border

    S4:E7

    Vanguard correspondent Christof Putzel travels to the U.S./Mexico border to investigate one of the most contentious issues in America today: immigration. Meeting with "coyotes," the hired smugglers who offer to take immigrants across the border for a fee, Putzel learns the methods used to evade border patrol and the dangers they face on the journey. Arrest and deportation are inherent risks, but the lack of water and scorching temperatures of the desert crossing are far more deadly. Those who do make it safely across the border face tightening immigration laws and an increasingly hostile public. Putzel ultimately crosses the border with a migrant and coyote.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Vanguard Season 4 Episode 8 - Marijuana Wars, Part 1
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Marijuana Wars, Part 1

    S4:E8

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Vanguard Season 4 Episode 9 - Marijuana Wars, Part 2
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Marijuana Wars, Part 2

    S4:E9

    No description available

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 1 - Gateway to Heroin
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Gateway to Heroin

    S5:E1

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 3 - Sushi to the Slaughter
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Sushi to the Slaughter

    S5:E3

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 5 - Tiger Farms
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Tiger Farms

    S5:E5

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 7 - Recovery High
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - Recovery High

    S5:E7

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 10 - Under the Knife Abroad
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Under the Knife Abroad

    S5:E10

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 12 - Two Americas
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Two Americas

    S5:E12

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Vanguard Season 5 Episode 13 - The 99 Percent
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - The 99 Percent

    S5:E13

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

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"The War on Weed" is the best rated episode of "Vanguard". It scored 9/10 based on 6 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 11/28/2011. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Arming the Mexican Cartels".