The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper

CNN Senior Correspondent Donie O'Sullivan returns with an examination of the growing influence of the Democratic Party's progressive movement, from digital influencers to grassroots activists, and what it could mean for the 2026 midterms and beyond. He travels across the country to explore the battle over the Democratic Party's future, following the activists, candidates, and online personalities challenging the party establishment. Examining the rise of democratic socialist politics and the increasingly influential role of digital creators in shaping political discourse, O'Sullivan digs into the debate over whether this momentum represents the Democrats' greatest strength, or greatest electoral risk.

"Ideas that only recently seemed fringe are now front and center in the battle for the future of the Democratic Party," O'Sullivan said. "We've spent the last six months traveling across the country following the people behind the rise of democratic socialism to better understand how it has become a major force in the Democratic party, and why their opponents say it will be disastrous for Democrats in November's midterm elections."

O'Sullivan sits down with Hasan Piker, one of the most recognizable and polarizing voices on the left, to discuss his political influence, his outspoken views, and some of his most controversial statements. He also speaks with figures spanning the party's ideological divide, including David Hogg, James Carville, Cynthia Nixon, Representative Josh Gottheimer, and more, following them from the Democratic National Convention to campaign rallies and protests across the country.

CNN International Correspondent Isobel Yeung premieres an examination of the growing mainstream appeal of performance-enhancing drugs.

Performance-enhancing drugs have long been one of sports' greatest taboos. Today, "enhancement" has evolved far beyond elite competition into a booming industry backed by billionaire investors, fueled by social media algorithms, and marketed to young men as the path to greater strength, confidence, and success. In this hour, Yeung travels from Texas to Abu Dhabi and Las Vegas to investigate the forces driving the enhancement economy, including reporting from inside the Enhanced Games, an Olympic-style competition that encourages athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs.

"We spent months deep inside the male enhancement boom, and it has been shocking to see how far people are willing to go for a better-looking or better-performing body,' Yeung said. "The momentum is huge – and it's all over social media – so we wanted to sit down with the powerful players behind this boom and the young men who are buying into it, and ultimately paying the cost."

Along the way, Yeung meets influencers promoting testosterone, steroids and peptides, and speaks with athletes embracing the movement, including Olympic gold medalist sprinter Shania Collins and Olympic gold medalist swimmer Cody Miller. Amid growing calls to loosen access to testosterone, she also interviews medical experts who warn of the potential health risks associated with misuse, and sits down with author and podcast host Scott Galloway to consider how testosterone therapy has become part of a broader conversation about men's health and loneliness.

CNN Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh returns with an examination of the rapidly growing doomsday prepper movement in North America.

Once considered a fringe movement, preparing for disasters and long-term emergencies has become increasingly mainstream, with an estimated 20 million Americans now identifying as preppers and the community expanding to include younger and more diverse followers. In this hour, Paton Walsh embarks on a months-long journey across North America to explore both the survival tactics and mindset behind prepping. Drawing on his 25 years of experience covering conflict and its aftermath around the world, he puts his own survival skills to the test, immersing himself in the worlds of those preparing for a range of catastrophic scenarios.

"It is extraordinary how the world of prepping suck you in to its emotions – that fish antibiotics, crossbows and ferro rods suddenly feel like something you need to have under the bed at home," Paton Walsh said. "But its mainstream emergence is all a very real reflection of how vulnerable people feel – in the climate emergency, political eruptions, and sense of endless war – to the omni-crisis around us. One thing I learned was the stereotype of going it alone in the woods is still a bit nuts. You are going to need other people when the world as we know it ends."

Along the way, Paton Walsh explores a converted nuclear missile silo in Kansas, transformed into a luxury survival bunker. In the mountains of Colorado, he visits a survivalist community designed to shelter more than 100 people in the event of a collapse. And on a remote island off the coast of Mexico, he learns the fundamentals of wilderness survival, from building shelter and starting a fire to finding water and food.