personal history
Photo Lab Workers See Some Crazy Shit
For some people, photo labs are a relic from a bygone era. For others, they're a safe space to celebrate and document their freakiest private predilections.
I Was Sexually Assaulted in Palestine and Israel
My education in power dynamics occurred at the hands of two very different men in two very different circumstances.
How Syria's Messy Borders Complicate Journalism, Aid Work, and Politics
The Syrian civil war has made going from country to country in the Middle East a messy business.
My Son Has Replaced Me with a Cardboard Daddy
An essay on the everyday difficulties of helping your kids grow up.
How It Feels to Get Off Parole After Ten Years in the System
VICE's prison correspondent is, at last, a normal member of society.
How I Got Over My Youth of Depression and Bad Relationships
Looking back on my teenaged life of shame and self-inflicted wounds.
'I Realized I'd Been Brainwashed': The North Korean Defector Living in London
"I grew up seeing many cases of people being taken to prison because they had said one wrong word. We have a saying: 'There is an ear, even on the wall.'"
I Spent a Year Being Exploited by a Shady Canadian Call Center
When you're 21 years old, naive, broke, and desperate for a work visa, you'll make all kinds of bad decisions, which explains how I ended up struggling to sell investment strategies to strangers over the phone for 12 hours a day.
Drug Court Addiction 12-Step Blues
I went to rehab ten years ago in an effort to avoid going to prison (it didn't work). I met some of the craziest people I've ever encountered, but I sure as hell didn't get any cleaner.
I Spent the Past Ten Years Going in and out of Prison and It's Ruined My Life
When I went to jail ten years ago I knew it’d be tough. Many people told me that I’d ruined my life, but how could I accept that when I was only 23? Today it’s become much more of a reality, but I refuse to throw in the towel just yet.
I Was a Suspected School Shooter
Rumors of me wanting to go berserk went far and wide, and even made front pages of the local newspapers. I had to go to therapy, and by the end of the ordeal I was having dreams about the Columbine shooters.