Vanguard is a television documentary series broadcast on the Current TV

Current TV

Current TV, or Current, is a media company led by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Comcast owns a ten percent stake of Current's parent company, Current Media LLC....

 television network. Currently in its fifth season, Vanguard reports on such issues as the environment, drugs and the effects of globalization and conflict.

The focus of most Vanguard episodes is to explore and immerse viewers in global issues that have a large social significance. Unlike sound-bite driven reporting, the show’s correspondents conduct interviews with affected peoples and the regions involved usually being lead by a guide and translator who facilitates access. Since Vanguard's subject matter often involves exposés about organized crime, drug trafficking and armed revolts, the correspondents can face significant danger because of their reporting due to unstable political or security situations.

Vanguard has received some of the media industry’s highest honors for journalism, including the 69th Annual Peabody Award, given for excellence in electronic media, and the 2010 Television Academy Honor, which recognizes achievements in programming that present issues of concern to our society in a compelling, emotional and insightful way. Vanguard has also been awarded the 2009 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award and the 2009 Livingston Award and was nominated four times for a news and documentary Emmy® and for a sports Emmy®.

Vice President of the Vanguard journalism unit Laura Ling

Laura Ling

Laura G. Ling is an American journalist, working for Current TV as a correspondent and vice president of its Vanguard Journalism Unit, which produces the Vanguard TV series. She is the sister of Lisa Ling, who is a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show, National Geographic Explorer,...

 and her colleague Euna Lee

Euna Lee

Euna Lee is a South Korean-born American journalist who has worked for Current TV since 2005. Lee and fellow journalist Laura Ling were detained in North Korea after they crossed into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from the People's Republic of China without a visa...

 were detained in North Korea after they allegedly crossed into North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 from the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 without a visa. They were subsequently pardoned after former US President Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

 flew to North Korea to meet with Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...

. They were producing a piece for Vanguard at the time of their detainment as shown in a Vanguard episode titled 'Captive in North Korea'.

Season 1

Episode Number	Episode Title	Correspondent	Description
1	A Day With the Tribe	Laura Ling Laura Ling Laura G. Ling is an American journalist, working for Current TV as a correspondent and vice president of its Vanguard Journalism Unit, which produces the Vanguard TV series. She is the sister of Lisa Ling, who is a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show, National Geographic Explorer,...	Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... ian tribe
2	The Meth Trail	Christof Putzel	Methamphetamine Methamphetamine Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...  in the gay community
3	Diving Too Deep	Mariana van Zeller	Depletion of lobsters in Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
4	Death Train	Mariana van Zeller	Illegal immigrants from Central America Central America Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
5	Rebels in the Pipeline	Mariana van Zeller	Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta
6	From Russia With Hate	Christof Putzel	Growing Neo-Nazi movement in Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
7	Elixir of the Toxic Frog	Mariana van Zeller	The Kambo frog could hold secrets for modern medicine
8	Prison Power Play	Laura Ling	Prison gang politics
9	Saving Madagascar	Adam Yamaguchi	Environmental issues in Madagascar Madagascar The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
10	Blood Roses and Deadly Diamonds	Mariana van Zeller	Unromantic truth behind two symbols of love
11	Scarf Wars	Laura Ling	Extremes of enforcing separation of church and state in Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
12	Lost in Democracy	Christof Putzel	Bhutan
13	City on Steroids	Adam Yamaguchi	Chongqing
14	End of the Road	Jael de Pardo Jael de Pardo Jael de Pardo was born in Barranquilla, Colombia. At the age of 2 her family moved to Queens, New York. She began her modeling career at age four with the Ford modeling agency. Jael attended the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology where she majored in Multi-media studies.In 2001 Jael moved...	Pan-American Highway
15	Lagos la Vida Loca	Mariana van Zeller	Lagos, Nigeria
16	Destination Anywhere	Tracey Chang	Emigration from Philippines
17	World's Sugar Daddy	Mariana van Zeller	Ethanol in Brazil
18	Pollution to Protest	Laura Ling	Electronic waste
19	World Without Water	Adam Yamaguchi	Droughts in China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture... , Florida Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... , and Lake Mead Lake Mead Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River about southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by water impounded by the Hoover Dam, it extends behind the dam, holding approximately of water.-History:The lake was...

Season 2

Episode Number	Episode Title	Correspondent	Description
1	America's Secret War with Iran	Mariana van Zeller	Alleged secret war
2	The Great American Detour	Lauren Cerre	American youth
3	Modern Day Pirates	Kaj Larsen	Malacca Malacca Malacca , dubbed The Historic State or Negeri Bersejarah among locals) is the third smallest Malaysian state, after Perlis and Penang. It is located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, on the Straits of Malacca. It borders Negeri Sembilan to the north and the state of Johor to the south...
4	I Heart Global Warming	Adam Yamaguchi	Greenland Greenland Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
5	Maxed Out	None	Economic crisis
6	Chinatown, Africa	Mariana van Zeller	Chinese in Africa
7	Getting Out of Prison	Laura Ling	Parolees
8	Japan: Robot Nation	Adam Yamaguchi	Loss of employment to robots
9	Fully Automatic America	Kaj Larsen	Guns in the US
10	The Most Controversial Jail in the World	Adrian Baschuk	Guantanamo
11	Hot SexXxy Young	Cerissa Tanner	Underage prostitution
12	Battle of Saipan	Adam Yamaguchi	Economy
13	Narco War Next Door	Laura Ling	Mexican drug gangs
14	Beach of Death	Christof Putzel & Kaj Larsen	Somalia conflict
15	Lost Vegas	Laura Ling	Recession in Las Vegas
16	Outsourcing Unemployment	Adam Yamaguchi	Recession in China
17	Thank You, Recession	Tracey Chang & Lauren Cerre	Argentine Recession

Season 3

Episode Number	Episode Title	Correspondent	Description
1	The Oxycontin Express	Mariana van Zeller	Pain killer trade in Florida Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...  (won 2009 Peabody Award Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting... )
2	Cuba: Waiting for a Revolution	Adrian Baschuk	Communism in Cuba
3	Forest of Ecstasy	Adam Yamaguchi	Cambodian rainforest
4	Sri Lanka: Notes from a War on Terror	Mariana van Zeller	Tamil Tigers
5	Porn 2.0	Christof Putzel	New media and adult entertainment
6	Prison Contraband	Janet Choi	Smuggling contraband into prison
7	Remote Control War	Kaj Larsen	Technology and war
8	Cocaine Mafia	Christof Putzel	Cocaine in southern Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

Season 4

Special - Captive in North Korea (Interview with former Vanguard VP Laura Ling)

Episode Number	Episode Title	Correspondent	Description
1	Missionaries of Hate	Mariana van Zeller	Anti-gay bill in Uganda Uganda Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
2	Rape on the Reservation	Mariana van Zeller	Sexual assaults on Native American reservations
3	The World's Toilet Crisis	Adam Yamaguchi	Open defecation in Southeast Asia
4	Soccer's Lost Boys	Mariana van Zeller	Human trafficking of African boys for soccer
5	War Crimes	Kaj Larsen	Rise of PTSD among war veterans
6	American Jihadi	Christof Putzel	American-born Somali terrorist Omar Hammami
7	Life and Death on the Border	Christof Putzel	Illegal crossing of the US/Mexico border
8	Marijuana Wars Part 1	Adam Yamaguchi	Mexican drug trafficking organizations growing marijuana in the US
9	Marijuana Wars Part 2	Adam Yamaguchi	Taking down low-level planters and high-level financers

Season 5

Episode Number	Episode Title	Correspondent	Description
1	Gateway to Heroin	Mariana van Zeller	OxyContin and heroin in Boston Boston Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
2	Sex, Lies, & Cigarettes	Christof Putzel	"Smoking Baby" and Big Tobacco in Indonesia
3	Sushi to the Slaughter	Adam Yamaguchi	The cost of sushi to bluefin tuna
4	City of God, Guns, & Gangs	Mariana van Zeller	Transforming Rio de Janeiro's slums for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics
5	Tiger Farms	Adam Yamaguchi	Black market tiger trading
6	This (Illegal) American Life	Mariana van Zeller	Personal stories of illegal immigrants living in America
7	Recovery High	None	A New England high school which helps students struggling with addiction