Fringes

Off the coast of Thailand is an island Tantric community who claim to have found sexual enlightenment. Travelers from across the globe have come here to discover whether they can heal their trauma, experiment sexually and ultimately find bliss. VICE’s Tir Dhondy spends a week going through a rigorous schedule of Tantric workshops to see whether she can work on her own sexual trauma and achieve a level of spiritual enlightenment. Through her journey, she discovers that alongside the profound healing on the island, there is also an undercurrent of sexual abuse. Should we all quit our jobs and move to paradise? And how easy is it to remain safe in these communities?

Last July, thousands of hippies convened in a remote Colorado forest for the 50th annual Rainbow Family Gathering. It started as a counterculture movement whose mission was to establish a utopian society that would last thousands of years. But 50 years later…things have deviated from that plan. In recent times, the Rainbow Family has been plagued with crime, sexual assault allegations, and even suspicious deaths. So which is it—a prayer for peace, or a refuge for vagrants with no oversight? VICE’s Erica Matson trekked out to Routt County National Forest to attend the week-long gathering to see if peace is real, or if it's just an acid trip.

In this episode of Fringes, VICE journalist Erica Matson enters the wild world of MAGA Rap, an underground hip-hop scene that raps about election denialism, anti-vax messaging, and is super pro-Trump. We met the biggest rappers in the scene, and learn what the future of MAGA rap is in 2023.