すべてのエピソード

Can criminal behavior be prevented or cured? Ruben travels to Jailhouse Nation in the US. There, criminal behavior has become so normal that it's passed down from generation to generation, as if it were a hereditary disease. The self-help group "Inside Circle" teaches prisoners that other choices are indeed possible. Led by ex-offenders, long-term prisoners discuss their struggles with life. And it's not a gentle affair. Ruben is allowed to join, on one condition: that he participates himself.

In eastern Congo, members of rebel groups are mercilessly abusing women. What can a doctor do in such a situation? Ruben joins a mission to the interior, where a mobile unit from Panzi Hospital is tracking down rape victims. Rape turns out to be just the beginning of the problems for the women. And the professionalism of the hospital staff belies a much greater commitment to the issue than they initially reveal. Furthermore, a visit by the Belgian royal couple to the hospital evokes memories of a colonial past for some.

Ruben makes a house call in Siberia with a rural doctor. The young single mother is single-handedly responsible for an area the size of the province of Utrecht. Medical problems seem to be fueled primarily by loneliness, which is dispelled by alcohol. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, all sense of community has been lost. But in the heart of the coniferous forests lies the City of the Sun, a new, utopian society where residents have alternative views on illness and health. How, then, can they appear so healthy and happy?

Why is Calabria's healthcare system completely in disarray? The province's healthcare budget has largely disappeared into the pockets of the 'Ndrangheta, a mafia gang. Ruben speaks with medical specialists twiddling their thumbs while awaiting their pensions, a cancer patient forced to travel twelve hours for a simple radiation treatment, and a mayor who claims she's powerless. Resisting these mafia-like practices is extremely dangerous, says the son of a murdered doctor. Too many people are profiting from the scam: from politicians to administrators and from pharmacies to hospital directors. What's the deal with that kind mayor and her family?

Tijuana is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, with daily drug dealings. Ruben meets people who care for the victims of this violence. The imperturbable Lety drives an ambulance from shooting incident to shooting incident, armed only with an impeccable appearance and a radiant smile. In the overcrowded morgue, the forensic pathologist can barely cope with the influx of battered bodies. Ruben also meets drug addicts in one of Tijuana's dozens of rehab centers. Patients are locked up and only allowed out when the director, himself a former addict, and the family approve.

Poison makes you sick, as Ruben sees in Mexico and India. In the Mexican city of Tijuana, the poison is called heroin or crystal meth. Ruben meets drug addict Jesse, who is desperately trying to get clean. And stay clean. But in a city where drugs are available on every street corner, physical withdrawal isn't enough. As long as circumstances don't change, true healing is hard to come by. Ruben also travels to the countryside of Punjab, the breadbasket of India. Here, farmers are dependent on another toxic substance: pesticides. A veritable cancer epidemic is raging among the farming families. An activist oncologist takes Ruben in tow. Many doctors know nothing about cancer and only care about their own wallets. No wonder so many patients seek salvation from faith healers.

Ruben is in a cancer hospital in Northern India, the only refuge for impoverished cancer patients from a region with hundreds of millions of inhabitants. It's part of a vast hospital complex that most resembles a small city. Amidst the chaos and misery, dedicated doctors try to help as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. Ruben discovers caregiver Kiran, an indestructibly strong woman, seemingly immune to the grief around her. Even the "mayor" of this medical city, a pulmonologist, seems unfazed by the chaos. What does it take to survive as a doctor? Is having a calling enough? Or is faith in fate essential?