Essential oils, acupuncture, probiotics.
More and more Americans are turning to alternative medicine.
[Man] After three or 4,000 years, I'm sure the Chinese can't be wrong.
But is moving away from modern science really the way to go?
To find out, I'm heading to a place that's relied on traditional remedies
for centuries.
South Africa!
Eighty percent of the population relies on traditional healers
as their primary form of health care.
I'm here to meet Richie Sekwele.
He's a faith healer of over 30 years
who claims to have extra powers.
Give me your top five things you can cure.
Wow!
What are the ones where you're like,
"ah, good. This c**t's got malaria. I've got this in the bag."
Can you cure cancer?
And that'll get rid of any cancer?
AIDS?
Oh, you have cured some people of AIDS?
With some herbs?
Can you suck that out with a tube?
No, no, fat.
Yeah, it's fat.
Alright, yeah.
OK, stop for a second. You can get rid of piles?
How do you do that? 'Cause I've had hemorrhoids my whole life.
[Jim] Listen, I've heard it all.
Eat more Metamucil, don't push so hard while taking a dump.
I've even had surgery on my colon.
Nothing works!
Oh, f**k it. I'll give it a go.
And the piles will just go back up?
Because at the moment, I shit and push.
Couple fingers, back up.
[Jim] Look out, Preparation H.
Richie is gonna save my asshole!
Thank you, Richie. Thank you, doctor.
I won't get stopped at the airport.
This feels like the beginning of an episode of "Locked Up Abroad."
Yeah, that's um – it's just bark.
It's just a bag of bark.
[Jim] Well, I gotta say. This is a little different from my doctor back home.
But it's not dangerous, right?
I think there's definitely a potential for traditional healers to be dangerous.
[Jim] Alright.
Meet Dr. Farhaan Williams.
He's a fancy, show-off hospital doctor.
And he supports the South African government's recent push
to regulate healers.
But is this just some self-serving plot to steal my buddy Richie's customers?
Moving in on the little guy trying to f**k him over?
No, I don't think we try to do that.
The drive is more to understand where the roles can work together
and also understand what they provide.
Have you ever seen anyone who's been cured by a traditional healer?
If they were cured, they wouldn't need to see me.
What do you think about western doctors?
Right.
[Jim] He has a point. They're handing out opioids like f**king candy!
But that said, modern medicine isn't all bad.
[ TV ad band ] Viva Viagra!
Talk to your doctor about Viagra.
Have you got herbal Viagra?
No, no, no. I've got friends who take that stuff sometimes after a big night
or a coke binge or something like that, they might have to take it
to f**king do what they need to do, but –
You just – you just go...
You just get the c*m in your hand and lick it?
Yeah, lick it.
You lick your own c*m?
[Jim] Alright, maybe the one pill isn't that bad.
But if the c*m doesn't do it,
Richie's got one more way to spice things up in the bedroom.
I've been told that you can restore a woman's virginity.
Yeah, yeah.
What does that mean? That you sort of cup it a bit and then the hymen grows back in?
Oh, you don't touch it?
She puts a pillow up there?
Yeah, under.
Like, maybe a corn hole sack.
Like a little bean bag –
from the game corn hole.
Yeah, three points for that.
Oh, it fixes the family because he's like,
"kids, mom's c**t's good again.
So, daddy's gonna stay.
The doctor fixed mom's c**t up."
Yeah.
[Jim] Yeah, that uh... that doesn't seem healthy.
But I'm open to being proven wrong...
'cause the time has come to see Richie's extra powers.
[ whistle blowing ]
Woah!
[ chants ]
It's like we're getting ready for Scrabble.
Sorry?
Oh, nothing.
Five and four?
Let's keep going until we get the number we want.
Is that the one we want?
No, no.
Alright, keep going.
Seven, seven! There you go.
How long did you go to medical school for?
Seven years.
Correct.
This is what he gave me for hemorrhoids.
I am not an expert in the contents of that, but –
Could there be some hallucinogens in there?
Very possibly, uh –
Alright, I'll give it a go. I'll give it a go.
Yeah.
See if it's – I'll take both of those.
Why are traditional healers so popular here?
There's greater access to a traditional healer.
Often times at less cost.
And that would force a person who's in need of care to visit
somebody that their parents visited when they were ill and their grandparents.
[Jim] Actually, this sounds familiar.
Poor people with shit options for health care just because
that's the way it's always been.
And the consequences are clear.
When the government doesn't support free health care for everyone,
people with all sorts of illnesses don't get the real help they deserve.
But look, I also understand why even rich people try alternative medicine.
You believe it can cure you because you want to believe it.
And when your asshole is prolapsed, even bark
sounds pretty reasonable.
But I guess I'll ask a real doctor for advice.
How about some ice lollies?
Yeah, where you put the ice against it?
Inside!
You shove an ice block up your ass?
With some lubrication.
Well, I've got my weekend planned.