03/08/2026: Targeting Americans, Secretary Hegseth

The latest installment of a 60 MINUTES investigation reveals new details of a recent, classified U.S. mission that, sources tell us, obtained a type of microwave weapon. This device is believed to be similar to a weapon that has been used against U.S. diplomats, spies, and military officers, causing mysterious brain injuries. Correspondent Scott Pelley shares in-depth reporting on the existence of the weapon; the unexplained injuries, known as Havana Syndrome; and studies from the federal government challenging the origin of the attacks.  And, CBS News' chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett interviews Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington, D.C. about the state of the war in Iran. Andy Court, Andy Bast, and Arden Farhi are the producers.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a surprise joint attack by U.S. and Israeli military forces on Iran killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, correspondent Scott Pelley interviews Reza Pahlavi, a leader of the Iranian opposition to the Islamic Republic and the son of the late deposed shah of Iran. Pelley reports on this pivotal moment for Iran's leadership, whether regime change is coming, who leads a future transition, and what happens to Iran’s nuclear weapons. Federal judges are under threat as never before. A 60 MINUTES investigation found that judges who have ruled against the Trump administration have become top targets. 60 MINUTES spoke with 26 federal judges – 9 Democratic appointees and 17 Republican, both sitting and retired. As Bill Whitaker reports, the sitting judges tell 60 MINUTES they feel under siege – and fear for their safety and for the future of the country. For the past two weeks, the father of an accused mass shooter has been on trial in Barrow County, Georgia. Prosecutors there say he ignored glaring red flags before his teenage son shot up Apalachee High - a tragedy that left 4 dead. This is not the first time the parent has been put on trial. Sharyn Alfonsi reports on an earlier, precedent-setting case from Oxford, Michigan where both the school shooter and his parents now sit behind bars, raising the question: Will holding parents accountable help break the cycle of school shootings in America? To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Correspondent Cecilia Vega reports from McDowell County, W.Va. – once the nation’s largest coal producer, and now one of the poorest places in the country, where the food stamp program started and the opioid crisis took hold. When President Trump said he would “permanently pause migration from all third world countries” to the U.S., there was one exception: the resettlement of white South African refugees, mostly Afrikaners. The president has said white farmers in the country are victims of genocide, a claim the government of South Africa disputes. Artificial intelligence is being used to make art that is being embraced by many of the world’s most prestigious museums and auction houses, raising an age-old question: what counts as art?  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As an increasing number of Americans across the political spectrum voice concerns about the health risks of ultra-processed foods, correspondent Bill Whitaker speaks with Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Dr. David Kessler. Whitaker reports on a decades-old government classification for substances in our food and why Kennedy and Kessler are calling for change. Eighty years after the end of World War II and liberation of the last remaining Nazi concentration camps, correspondent Lesley Stahl reports on the miraculous story of three pregnant women, and their babies, who survived notorious slave labor and concentration camps, including Auschwitz. Stahl meets the three “babies,” now 80 years old, who were born after their mothers concealed their pregnancies from their Nazi captors and gave birth under the most horrific conditions imaginable. The story of their survival, and how they found each other 65 years later, involves seemingly impossible twists of fate, luck and unfathomable suffering. Stahl also tells the tale of the American medic who was part of the liberation of the camps and discovered, and ultimately helped save, one of the babies. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Author Margaret Atwood talks with Jon Wertheim about her dystopian classic, "The Handmaid's Tale", and why she thinks it became a cultural touchstone. Salman Rushdie came to terms with the attempt on his life the only way he knew: by writing about it in his book, "Knife". He detailed the experience in his first television interview following the attack, when he sat down with Anderson Cooper in 2024. Correspondent Cecilia Vega takes us behind the scenes of the Guinness World Records to reveal a rigorous auditing system—one that proves that, as impossible as the feats may seem, every one is real. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the killing of Minnesota resident Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents has sparked fresh outrage in the state and across the country, some lawmakers have pushed back on the Trump administration’s explanation for DHS’s aggressive tactics and called for an independent investigation. Correspondent Scott Pelley interviews Sen. Rand Paul, chairman of the Senate's Homeland Security Committee, who summoned top DHS immigration officials to testify later this month. Pelley also speaks with former Justice Department and DHS investigators about the state of the federal probe. Leading up to Artemis II – NASA's first human mission to the Moon in more than 50 years - correspondent Bill Whitaker reports from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on this critical step forward in American space exploration. Whitaker interviews the four astronauts who will embark on the 10-day mission, which could pave the way for a sustained presence on the Moon and lay the groundwork for future missions to Mars. If you think America’s top laugh factories are only in New York, Chicago, and LA, think again. Reporting from Amsterdam, correspondent Jon Wertheim takes us inside Boom Chicago, an English-language improv theater founded in the early ’90s by two American comics. What sounded like a punchline became a pipeline, launching future stars like Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele, Amber Ruffin, Brendan Hunt and Jason Sudeikis. At a moment when American comedy feels under siege, this beloved Dutch theater keeps proving that funny survives—and travels. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last January, correspondent Anderson Cooper spent a couple of days with Timothée Chalamet to find out how he prepared for more than five years to play one of the most enigmatic and revered musicians of our time for his film “A Complete Unknown”, which earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi talks with Jamie Lee Curtis in Los Angeles about her long career in Tinseltown and about her recent wave of award-winning performances that came to her in her 60s. Correspondent Cecilia Vega travels to the U.K. for an intimate portrait of actor Kate Winslet. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cecilia Vega reports on rising tensions following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent. Sharyn Alfonsi speaks with some of the Venezuelans sent to CECOT, one of El Salvador's harshest prisons. The Australian saltwater crocodile population is surging, creating friction with their human neighbors. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After the U.S military’s overnight strike on Venezuela and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, correspondent Scott Pelley reports on the recent events and the criminal charges they face. Pelley interviews former DEA special agent Sandy Gonzalez, who helped lead the investigation that led to Maduro's 2020 indictment, Roger Carstens, who was Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs under the previous Trump and Biden administrations, and U.S. Senator Mark Kelly. For decades, engineers have been trying to create robots that look and move like humans, and now breakthroughs in AI are giving humanoid robots a new ability to acquire skills through learning. At Hyundai’s new auto plant near Savannah, Georgia, correspondent Bill Whitaker watches as Boston Dynamics’ humanoid, AI-powered robot Atlas learns to perform factory work in a real-world setting for the first time. Very few people retire at age 16, but few people have had careers with as many twists as Alysa Liu. After becoming the youngest U.S. women’s figure skating champion at just 13, the phenom shocked the sport by walking away a few years later. Now 20, Liu is back and a favorite to win Olympic gold next month. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi speaks with Liu about coming back on her own terms. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With a history spanning 2,000 years and still playing a vital role in global commerce, the oak barrel, as correspondent Bill Whitaker discovers, is much more than just a container. Barrels are a vital ingredient, especially in the production of Bourbon whiskey – giving it all of its distinctive color and much of its taste. Whitaker takes us inside the largest maker of wooden barrels to glimpse the magic and mystique of this essential tradition. International crime groups are finding new, sophisticated ways to infiltrate the global supply chain online, stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of goods per year. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi reports on the growing threat of cargo theft and how 24,000 bottles of Guy Fieri’s tequila vanished on their way to the warehouse. Mezcal is having its moment. This handcrafted Mexican spirit, made from agave, has seen exponential growth in popularity and production. Correspondent Cecilia Vega travels to Oaxaca’s countryside and meets the mezcaleros laboring to quench the world’s thirst for mezcal. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices