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VICE on HBO

Watch Our HBO Episode About the Search for Powerful Anti-Bacterial Compounds in the Jungle

In this episode from season three of our HBO show, we tagged along as scientists searched the jungles for new life-saving drugs. Then, we went to Indonesia to investigate the unfortunate realities of the palm oil boom.

In anticipation of the upcoming fourth season of our HBO show which will premiere this February, we are releasing all of season three for free online. Watch all the episodes here, and don't miss the premiere of season four on Friday, February 5, at 11PM on HBO.

We rely on antibiotics to treat everything from stomach bugs to skin rashes to bronchitis. In fact, we've been overusing them—and in doing so giving rise to a new crop of dangerous bacterial infections that can't be treated by anything available at the pharmacy. The more we use antibiotics, the more we help these superbugs build up their resistance. It's an evolutionary battle, and 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.

In this episode from season three of our HBO show, Thomas Morton tagged along with the scientists searching deep in the jungle and even deeper underground for the life-saving drugs we so desperately need.

Then, Ben Anderson headed to Indonesia, where palm oil growers are pushing further and further onto rainforest land to keep up with the world's demand for the cheap alternative to trans fats. The mass-burning of Indonesian jungles poses a major threat to wildlife, indigenous populations, and our global climate, so we wanted to see the realities of the palm oil boom up close.