The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper

Ahead of Flight 1549's anniversary, The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper exclusively sits down with its captain, Ambassador C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger, and passengers to reflect on how this extraordinary event has changed their lives forever.

On January 15, 2009, Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Jeff Skiles miraculously landed US Airways Flight 1549 safely in the Hudson River after both engines were disabled by a bird strike, saving all 155 people on board. The heroic act, arguably the most famous emergency landing in modern aviation history, captivated the nation and was later dramatized in the 2016 Warner Brothers Pictures film Sully.

In a series of intimate interviews with Sullenberger and his wife, Lorrie, and passengers Vallie Collins, Ric Elias, Barry Leonard, Clay Presley, Pam Seagle, and Eric Stevenson, The Whole Story reveals the harrowing details of that fateful day and the psychological effects that continue fifteen years later, leading some to alter the course of their lives drastically.

The series returns with an inside look into the exclusive and luxurious world of the ultra-wealthy at sea. CNN Anchor/Correspondent Alisyn Camerota journeys to Monaco, the richest country in the world per capita, during the annual Monaco Yacht Show, one of the greatest concentrations of wealth in the world and a major annual event for the ten billion dollar a year yachting industry. Camerota tours some of the largest superyachts in existence and speaks to owners, captains, crew and industry leaders to examine the appeal of these floating islands, what it takes to build and maintain these symbols of extreme wealth, their environmental impact and the symbolism it holds for the world's economic divide.

"Before this assignment, I couldn't imagine the level of opulence and wealth we'd find – I'd never seen floors made of wood from a 16th Century monastery or wallpaper made of Italian leather," said Camerota. "But what most surprised me was the universal desire for more – bigger, newer, more extravagant yachts – from the richest people in the world, telling us that even huge superyachts aren't enough."

In this episode, Camerota also reports on how superyachts are now a matter of geopolitical concern. As the U.S. and European countries seized more than a dozen vessels allegedly belonging to Russian oligarchs, leaving American taxpayers on the hook to shell out millions of dollars in maintenance and upkeep.

The series returns with a visually stunning dispatch from the far corners of the world, as CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir follows the humpback whale migratory journey from Antarctica all the way to the coast of Colombia. 

Humpback whales have the longest migration route of any mammal on earth, and in this immersive episode, Weir embeds with a team of researchers as they venture from Antarctic ice to rich South American jungles, hoping to discover the impact of climate change on these magnificent creatures. While humpback whales have made a spectacular comeback in the last fifty years and are considered a beacon of modern conservation, they are now having to face some of the biggest existential threats of all. On this journey, Weir confronts one of the last of the whale hunters in Iceland and while climate change deniers blame offshore wind development for a spate of dead animals washing ashore, he digs for the truth with some of the leading experts in the world. Amid the striking landscapes and diverse coastlines, Weir also learns how whales have the ability to absorb and store carbon, making them one of our greatest allies in the battle against climate change.

"I was a little boy when recordings of humpback songs sparked a movement to save the whales and reversed a manmade extinction," said Weir. "Fifty years later, artificial intelligence could help us understand the lyrics of those songs just as science realizes the enormous ocean repair services provided by whales. They are literally the biggest allies we have in the fight against climate change, and by saving them, we help save ourselves."

CNN Anchor and Chief Legal Analyst Laura Coates presents an in-depth examination of former President Donald Trump's federal election subversion trial. 

In August 2023, less than a year after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as special counsel to investigate Trump, the former president was indicted on federal felony charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Time is of the essence with this trial as Trump is far and away the leading Republican candidate for the presidential election in November, and Coates unpacks everything at stake as the case continues to unfold. She examines little-known aspects of the case that have been revealed by court filings and connects the dots between Trump and his cohorts' attempts in court to overturn the election across multiple crucial swing states, the secretive plot to replace Biden electors with those who would vote for Trump, and how these efforts climaxed with one last desperate attempt to stay in office on January 6.  

"Finally – a comprehensive look behind the curtain with everything on the table, and everything on the line," said Coates. "We combine all the puzzle pieces and give you the most complete pre-trial picture of the definitive case for democracy."

This episode features interviews with Former US Representative and January 6th Committee Member Adam Kinzinger, Former White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews, Georgia State Senator Elena Parent, Former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia Geoff Duncan, January 6th Committee Investigator Marcus Childress, Former US Attorney Harry Litman and more.

CNN Political Commentator and former Obama administration official Van Jones delivers an incisive examination of the state of politics in Tennessee. He returns to his home state in the lead-up to the Republican primary election on Super Tuesday. 

In April 2023, Tennessee's Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to expel two Black lawmakers a week after they joined a gun reform protest in the chamber prompted by a deadly shooting at a Nashville school. This remarkably rare and emotionally charged decision set the scene for Jones' return to his home state and his former place of employment in the state capitol, where he interned for the House Majority Leader in 1989. Jones unpacks how Tennessee's politics have swung sharply to the right since then by examining how gerrymandered redistricting, racial tensions, and "culture war" rhetoric have transformed the state government into a conservative supermajority. The trend set by Tennessee has played out across the southern US.

"In the Tennessee in which I was born and raised, we always had our struggles. But people usually tried to treat each other in a decent and neighborly way." said Jones. "But I returned to find the state legislature that launched my political career transformed beyond recognition — by a ham-fisted, hard-hearted politics of open hostility to minority viewpoints."

Tennessee represents a national tug-of-war over the direction of the country's politics at large. Jones speaks with politicians on both sides of the aisle to get their take on the tribalism between parties and its implications for the future of governing. This episode features interviews with reinstated Democratic State Representatives Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson, Republican State Representative Gino Bulso, Republican Sumner County Commissioner Matthew Shoaf, Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party Hendrell Remus, local organizers, and even members of Jones' family.

CNN Anchor and Chief Legal Analyst Laura Coates premieres an in-depth investigation into two missing person cases with one mysterious connection that has drawn national intrigue.

In 2003, two men of color, Felipe Santos and Terrance Williams, went missing three months apart in Naples, Florida. Both vanished on the same road after getting in a patrol car driven by the same white deputy sheriff, Steven Calkins, who remains the last known person to have seen either of them alive. Twenty years later, Santos and Williams are presumed dead, the cases are cold, and Calkins has never been arrested or charged and maintains his innocence. The case garnered little media attention until 2018 when filmmaker Tyler Perry enlisted Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Calkins on behalf of Terrance Williams' mother. Following up on CNN crime reporter Thomas Lake's meticulous reporting, Coates and Lake return to the scene of the disappearances to explore new leads and speak with a witness coming forward for the first time.

"You will be spellbound by this unbelievable story of a mother's determination to find her son in the face of every obstacle," said Coates. "What do you do when you don't know who to trust—even the investigators?"

Coates and Lake uncover disturbing allegations about former deputy sheriff Calkins' background, speaking with investigators on the case and a former colleague of Calkins who comes forward alleging newly revealed details about their time working together. Coates also speaks with Williams' family members, including his son Tarik, who speaks publicly for the first time about his father's disappearance.

This episode follows CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper's efforts to shine a light on the harrowing story of C.J. Rice, a Philadelphia man convicted of attempted murder in 2013. Two years before his conviction, Rice, then 17 years old, was shot three times, with a bullet fracturing his pelvis, making it nearly impossible for him to walk. He turned to his childhood physician and Tapper's father, Dr. Theodore Tapper, to help him recover. But just three weeks after Rice was shot, he was accused of shooting four people and fleeing the scene, which, according to Dr. Tapper, would have been virtually impossible to commit in his poor physical state. Despite Dr. Tapper testifying to that fact, Rice was later convicted of these crimes in 2013 and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison.

After speaking with his father about the case, Jake Tapper published a thorough, long-form investigation in The Atlantic in October 2022 called "This Is Not Justice: A Philadelphia teenager and the empty promise of the Sixth Amendment," diving into what happened the night of the shooting, how little evidence there was against Rice, and revealing how ineffective representation led to his wrongful conviction. Rice's attorneys, Karl Schwartz, Amelia Maxfield of the Exoneration Project, and Nilam Sanghvi of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, made this precise argument that Rice was denied his Sixth Amendment right to adequate counsel to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. District Attorney Larry Krasner's office investigated the matter and agreed. On the morning of Monday, March 18, a Philadelphia judge granted a motion from the Philadelphia District Attorney exonerating Rice. C.J. Rice is a free man after more than twelve years in prison.

"Covering C.J.'s struggle and the efforts of my dad and the amazing lawyers to get him out of prison has been one of the most remarkable and rewarding journalistic experiences of my life," Tapper said. "I'm so glad the story has a happy ending, and I am immensely grateful to The Atlantic and to CNN for giving me the platforms to tell this story."

In an emotional reunion, Tapper and his father reconnect with Rice, who speaks for the first time in an expansive interview. In "Justice Delayed: The Story of C.J. Rice," Tapper recreates the scene of the shooting and the events that followed to illustrate clearly how the system failed Rice. The episode also follows Rice's time in prison in his own words through the powerful letters Rice sent to Dr. Tapper throughout the years.

CNN Anchor and Senior Global Affairs Analyst Bianna Golodryga marks the six-month anniversary of the deadliest attack in Israel's 75-year history with an emotional episode.

Six months after Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, Golodryga speaks with family members of some of the over 250 men, women, and children kidnapped on October 7, 2023. She speaks with parents who have seen the capture of their children in footage released on social media by Hamas and a woman who survived by barricading herself in a safe room, only to find that her children, who had been staying in their father's home nearby, had been taken. Frustrated by little movement towards a hostage deal, one of the families set up a protest station near IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. In the past six months, some have since reunited with their missing family members, and some continue fighting.

"It is important to remember that the hostages are people with brothers and sisters, spouses, children and parents," said Golodryga. "What these families have endured is unimaginable, and I'm honored they shared their stories with CNN and the world."

Golodryga also speaks directly with released hostages about the conditions of their captivity and their emotional messages for those that they were forced to leave behind upon their release.

CNN Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh takes an inside look at the fatal conflict playing out between elephants and mankind in Sri Lanka. 

In Sri Lanka, it's an all-out war between man and the Asian elephant. As the human population surges and their territories expand, the habitats for elephants are rapidly shrinking, leading to daily confrontations between the people who are trying to protect their homes, and the elephants who are losing theirs. Paton Walsh embeds with locals on overnight patrols who risk their lives to protect their crops from being trampled and villages from being charged by elephants during the night.

"This is not just a story about us taking away the spaces and greenery elephants have existed upon for centuries: be in no doubt, we are forcing them into tinier spaces so we can have more and more for ourselves, all the time, in the name of growth. It is a story about every fight for space happening on the planet now," said Paton Walsh. "Wars, migration, land disputes – they are all a symptom of our species' ravenous need to expand. In Sri Lanka, it is visually writ large. Elephants and people do not naturally interact, but here they scrap over a pumpkin. This conflict, which kills hundreds on both sides every year, is just a very vivid way of seeing the impact of our greed on the natural world that sustains us."

There are about 6,000 elephants in Sri Lanka and in 2023 humans killed 476 of them; elephants killed 169 people. As both elephants and people continue to die at an alarming rate, this violent struggle may be an ominous sign of what's in store for other wildlife across the globe impacted by climate change and human expansion.

CNN Correspondent Donie O'Sullivan investigates the surge of misinformation on Americans' social media feeds, in their churches, and in their homes. Just over six months out from the next presidential election, a battle for facts, decency, and democracy is playing out far from debate stages and TV studios. O'Sullivan dives deep into this undercurrent of viral misinformation by speaking directly to those who believe in conspiracy theories and those trying to battle them.

"Conspiracy theories that might have been considered fringe in the past are having an increasingly important effect on the American political mainstream," said O'Sullivan. "The convincing of millions of Americans to falsely believe the 2020 election was stolen has opened a gateway to an alternate reality of more conspiracy theorists – a world where it wasn't really Trump supporters that attacked the Capitol on January 6 and a world where Taylor Swift can rig the Super Bowl."

In "MisinfoNation," O'Sullivan visits a church where scripture competes with QAnon, meets a January 6 felon who is now running for Congress, spends a day in the alternate reality of the Trump social media universe, goes behind the viral Taylor Swift Super Bowl conspiracy theory, and speaks to a Neo-Nazi skinhead turned pastor who has a warning for America about Christian Nationalism.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson takes a sweeping look at the numerous natural disasters plaguing Australia, and how its changing climate could be a cautionary tale for countries across the globe.  

On Watson's journey off the coast of Australia, he learns about the death and destruction being caused by human activity both on land and under the water. Apocalyptic forest fires, storms and floods exacerbated by climate change at an unprecedented scale are threatening communities and Australia's most iconic species. In the Great Barrier Reef, a global record-breaking marine heat wave is causing the temperature of the water to rise, resulting in coral bleaching and dying. Watson speaks with the people trying to reverse the damage and prepare for the future.

"Australia is a country- a continent- on the front lines of climate change, with entire communities and eco-systems threatened by increasingly unpredictable natural disasters," says Watson. "On this journey, I was so lucky to see amazing natural treasures worth fighting to protect and save."

In this episode, Watson traverses the rugged and remote Kangaroo Island, scubas in the Great Barrier Reef, explores the protected oasis of Lady Elliott Island and more of Australia's diverse panorama.

The series returns with immersive reporting on transgender student-athletes, a community finding themselves at the center of a culture war. 

At least 24 states in the US have already passed some form of ban on trans student-athletes. This episode deeply examines the stories of those targeted by this legislation, following them for more than a year. The episode follows the emotional journey of a trans high school softball player who advocates for her right to play on her school's girls' softball team all the way to the Ohio State Senate. It also features the story of a trans college swimmer in New Jersey hoping to successfully petition the NCAA to allow her to switch from competing on the men's team to the women's team.

"The Playing Field" also features reporting from inside the annual meeting of an advocacy group calling for a ban on transgender women in women's sports divisions, arguing that transgender athletes have an unfair competitive advantage. Although a 2017 Sports Medicine study concluded there is "no direct or consistent research" showing that transgender people have an athletic advantage, psychologists, medical doctors, and former and current athletes gather to argue otherwise.