The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper

CNN Senior Correspondent Donie O'Sullivan returns with a new chapter in his Emmy®-nominated series of investigations into the pervasive surge of misinformation and its impact on American politics.

O'Sullivan investigates why the narrative of an alleged "White genocide" in South Africa has gained traction among some Americans who fear changing demographics that are projected to soon make White people a minority in the U.S. The claim has even reached the White House, where President Trump cited it as justification for granting refugee status to White South Africans. Traveling to South Africa himself, O'Sullivan seeks out local voices to explore the country's deep-seated racial tensions and reveal the more complex reality behind the sensationalized rhetoric.

"The mainstreaming of White nationalist talking points in American discourse in recent years has centered on the conspiracy theory that White people in the U.S. are being deliberately 'replaced,'" said O'Sullivan. "Claims about purported White persecution in South Africa have played a major role in stoking these fears and have been used as an attempted justification for major changes in the U.S. refugee program. We wanted to separate fact from fiction in what Americans are being told about post-apartheid South Africa and to understand what it means for all of us."

In this episode, O'Sullivan meets a cross-section of South Africans grappling with their nation's legacy of apartheid and the racial inequalities that endure today. Among them is Errol Musk, Elon Musk's father, whose outspoken views mirror themes that have surfaced in American political discourse. O'Sullivan also travels to two communities built exclusively for White residents: one in South Africa's Orania and another in the Ozark Mountains of the United States, uncovering how these parallel movements reflect a shared ideology across continents.

Senior National Correspondent David Culver captures a revealing exploration of modern exorcisms in America.

In "The Exorcists," Culver travels to Arizona, where he sits down with one Catholic exorcist who has never spoken out publicly about the rite before. He witnesses deliverances across Christian faiths, capturing rituals taking place in garage sanctuaries overflowing with worshippers, family churches hosting deliverance nights, and pastors offering one-on-one sessions, sometimes for a fee. Speaking with Catholic leaders, including Bishops John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix and Gerald Frederick Kicanas of the Diocese of Tucson, Culver examines the ongoing debate over how mental health treatment and spiritual healing can coexist.

"After months of reporting, this felt less like a story about demons and more like a story about the human desire to feel seen, supported, and healed," said Culver. "Every minister and exorcist we spoke with told us the same thing: more people are showing up, asking for help. The rise is anecdotal, but the desperation we saw was unmistakable."

The episode features rare footage of deliverance rituals, interviews with those who have undergone the rites, and an unflinching look at the line between psychological distress and the belief of spiritual possession. Through these accounts, "The Exorcists" probes how centuries-old rituals of religious cleansing are being reinterpreted in modern America, often as a last resort for people seeking relief from trauma and abuse.

CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper premieres an unflinching look inside some of Africa's most overcrowded maximum-security prisons, where a groundbreaking program is transforming lives from the inside out.

In this episode, Cooper returns to Nairobi, Kenya, to revisit a story he first covered six years ago inside a prison system where overcrowding and severe resource shortages create harsh daily realities for the tens of thousands of people held inside. Without access to an attorney and unable to pay bail, many may remain incarcerated for years before ever standing trial. Cooper catches up with Alexander McLean, founder of Justice Defenders, an innovative nonprofit organization that trains incarcerated people to become paralegals and even earn law degrees, and which has helped more than 69 thousand incarcerated men and women leave prison and return to society.

"It is remarkable to see what Justice Defenders is doing inside these maximum security prisons, where so few people have access to attorneys and many may spend years just waiting for a hearing before a judge," said Cooper. "Justice Defenders find incarcerated people eager to help others and with even a few weeks of paralegal training they can help thousands of others understand their rights and the legal system."

With unprecedented access inside facilities in Kenya and beyond, the episode traces the journeys of men and women who have gone from death row and overcrowded cells to becoming legal advocates for themselves and others. The reporting expands to the United States, where McLean meets with men incarcerated in New York to explore whether the Justice Defenders model could be used in America, which has one of the world's highest incarceration rates.