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The Horrors I Witnessed Digging Mass Graves
A Syrian bulldozer driver reveals the horrifying details of burying thousands in secret mass graves. The Informer is haunted by the mass graves he dug for victims killed by Bashar al-Assadโs regime. As the revolution unfolded, his municipal role changed into a military position overnight. This meant, for a year, the Informer was pushing dead bodies into large pits with his bulldozer. He recalls the stench of the bodies being so strong that heโd passed out the first time. The Informer was later arrested on flimsy charges and imprisoned under brutal conditions because โif he dies, he will die with all of his secrets and knowledgeโ.
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Drugs, Sex and Gangs Inside Rikers Island Prison
An ex-correction officer lifts the veil on the violence and dysfunction behind one of Americaโs most notorious jails housing inmates awaiting trial for murder, robbery and rape. Having worked at Rikers jail for two years, the Informer shares the demoralizing working conditions, corruption and sexual harassment โ all for just doing her job. She reveals that regular cell tours turn ugly as inmates routinely pull out their penis and masturbate over her. One incident involves an inmate forcibly ripping a colleague’s duty belt off to get into her pants. Drugs, weapons and alcohol are rampant as officers are selling them for quick cash, putting the Informerโs life at risk. After trying to quit nearly four times to โstay in the fightโ, she hits rock bottom and hands in her badge at a time when a mass exodus of staff were quitting too.
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Sex and Drugs Inside a Corrupt Rehab Clinic
โWe were always pressured to behave like Disneyland employeesโฆin reality, it was complete chaosโ The Informer reveals what it was like to work in a corrupt rehab facility. The first red flag was being interviewed by someone under the influence, which the Informer quickly realized was a common occurrence. Patients were picking up on-site and staff were even having affairs with each other. Profit was constantly prioritized over patients, with serious consequences on their recovery.
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The Secret Hotel Sex Parties of the Mega-Rich
โIโve seen the darker side of humanityโ A Front of House Manager reveals what working in a hotel for the super rich is really like. From hiring out the whole hotel for a โthemedโ orgie to covering the tracks of staff sleeping with customers, the Informer details how the job can be demanding physically and emotionally. Blood, gore and semen stained walls are all part of the job. Informer is a series where we hear the anonymised confessions and insights of people on the inside of different industries, institutions and events.
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What the Gambling Industry Doesnโt Want You To Know
โIt is just rotten to the core.โ
A former employee for one of the biggest betting companies reveals the major flaws in the industry, from gambling addictions to money laundering. With over ten years of experience in betting, he has seen just how much the algorithms and systems are designed to encourage losers to lose more, and winners to stop winning. He describes how management has little care for customers, particularly when it comes to losing it all.
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The Dark Secret at the Heart of the Jehovahโs Witnesses
The Jehovahโs Witnesses are an end-of-days Christian organisation who are known for knocking on doors and rejecting blood transfusions. However, they have also been subject to increasing scrutiny over their handling of child sex abuse cases within their congregations, and their treatment of victims. In this episode of Informer, we speak to a former Jehovahโs Witness elder who was abused as a child but didnโt report what had happened. As an adult, he felt a painful dรฉjร vu when his own daughter told him she had also been abused.
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The Dark Reality of Care Facilities
โSociety at large doesnโt think a huge amount about carers, until they need carers.โ Carers are the backbone of the social welfare system, providing mental, physical and emotional assistance to extremely vulnerable people, such as those with dementia or severe autism. Theyโre often paid minimum wage to face excrement, physical resistance and even death on a regular basis, with little emotional support. In this episode of Informer, we meet a former carer who explains how a lack of funding and major understaffing fails everyone, and leaves the industry open to abuse.
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How I Escaped the Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is well known for its celebrity following and the intergalactic warrior lord Xenu โ who you can only learn about after climbing a paywall of courses worth many thousands of dollars. But who you donโt often hear from are the employees of the Church, who can be forced to work incredibly long hours for a tiny wage. In this episode of Informer, we speak to a former employee of the Church of Scientology, who was pressured into signing a work contract, had his passport taken off him, and regularly worked 80 hour weeks to earn under ยฃ5,000 a year.
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How a Sex Party Actually Works
VICE speaks to a former swinger about what really goes on at exclusive London sex parties.
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The Gruesome Murders Iโve Encountered Dissecting Bodies
An autopsy technician reveals the gruesome details of his profession โ dissecting thousands of bodies in determining their cause of death. Heโs dealing with the very thing that nobody wants to deal withโฆ which is death. The Informer has seen a whole plethora of extreme cases โ from a woman who has been torn apart and dismembered, a father taking a gun to his children to discovering a vibrator swallowed inside a womanโs stomach. Other horrifying moments include the deadly exposure to meningitis whilst cutting up a brain to having a whole rack of blood and human giblets splash all over him.
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The Journeyman Skateboarder: Ryan Lay
On this episode of Epicly Laterโd, we travel with Ryan Lay to learn more about his unique path in skateboarding. From multiple sponsors to days-long hikes, join us to discover what makes Ryan a true journeyman.