03/17/24: The Capital of Free Russia, Healing Justice

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

Correspondent Cecilia Vega journeys to the Himalayas for the adventure of a lifetime—trekking to Everest Base Camp at the foot of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest. Guiding her is 19-year-old Nima Rinji Sherpa, the youngest person to summit all 14 of the world’s highest peaks. He embodies a new generation of Nepali climbers demanding recognition on the global stage. Correspondent Jon Wertheim travels to Nottingham, England, to visit the Kanneh-Mason family—seven siblings, each still under 30, all celebrated classical musicians whose talent is truly music to the ears. Supporting one another in harmony as they take to the world’s stage, this extraordinary septet, as Wertheim discovers, is an orchestra greater than the sum of its parts. 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

Germany is racing to rearm as the war in Ukraine shakes its sense of security, forcing the country to confront its military past as it strengthens its military might. Correspondent Bill Whitaker observes basic training in northwest Germany and speaks with defense minister Boris Pistorius in Berlin to find out how Germany plans to achieve its aim of building the most powerful armed forces in Europe. A new generation of drugs is offering hope to children who once had none. But these breakthrough therapies can cost millions for a single dose, and the American healthcare system still hasn’t figured out how to pay. Correspondent Scott Pelley sets out to understand the challenges of paying for these expensive treatments. An unscripted underdog saga is unfolding in the most unlikely setting this college football season. Indiana University’s perennially overlooked and outmatched Hoosiers have transformed into the #1 ranked team in the country. Correspondent Jon Wertheim speaks with head coach Curt Cignetti and dives into how this remarkable turnaround took shape – as the undefeated Hoosiers contend for a national championship. 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 Lesley Stahl sits down with political lightning rod Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in her first interview since abruptly announcing her resignation from Congress. Back in Greene’s Georgia district, Stahl talks with the longtime Donald Trump loyalist about her fractured relationship with the president, the state of the America First movement and whether Greene’s reinvention is a genuine evolution or a strategic reset that positions her for a post-Trump world. Amid growing concerns about artificial intelligence’s impact on young people and a surge of child-safety lawsuits, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi investigates the next frontier: AI chatbots. She speaks with parents who lost their daughter to suicide, who say chatbots on the popular platform Character AI led her down a dark and sexually explicit path. She also hears from researchers and a psychologist who further reveal the scale – and dangers – of what’s unfolding inside this rapidly growing AI technology. Correspondent Jon Wertheim travels to Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux – known as “Watch Valley” – where top brands have been refining the art of mechanical watchmaking for centuries. It’s a curious time for luxury timepieces, which run – not on batteries – but on springs and gears, as the industry navigates the smartphone era and the ups and downs of President Trump’s tariffs. Wertheim meets watchmakers and brand leaders and gets an up-close look at what keeps these mechanical wonders ticking. 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 popularity of online prediction markets grows, correspondent Anderson Cooper sits down with Polymarket founder and CEO Shayne Coplan in his first network television interview. The 27-year-old newly minted billionaire talks about his platform, where users can bet on politics and pop culture, sports and finance, even war and peace, and how all that data can be used to forecast the future. After a three-year U.S. ban, Coplan explains how Polymarket works, and how the company finds itself poised to reenter the U.S. market with backing from Washington, Wall Street and Silicon Valley.  America’s next wave of scientific talent may come from Lambert High School, where students used CRISPR to develop a promising new way to detect and treat Lyme disease, which affects nearly half a million Americans each year. Correspondent Bill Whitaker meets these “CRISPR kids” as they take their breakthrough to iGEM—the global biotech Olympics in Paris—and face off against the world’s new rising force in biotechnology: China.  Barcelona’s 18-year-old soccer phenom Lamine Yamal has captivated fans with his improvisation and flair. Already, he is considered a generational talent and an heir to the great Lionel Messi. Correspondent Jon Wertheim meets Lamine Yamal in his home country of Spain to talk about his rapid ascent ahead of next summer’s World Cup in North 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 Scott Pelley returns to Ukraine for his 13th report inside the war-torn country since Russia invaded. As President Vladimir Putin’s attacks have hardened into a brutal stalemate, Pelley travels to the city of Sumy, where two ballistic missiles struck four minutes apart on Palm Sunday. One obliterated a crowded city bus on Route 62. Pelley reports on the civilian toll. The old license plates read “Big Sky Country,” but Montana has an unofficial state motto: “The Last Best Place.” Correspondent Jon Wertheim reports from a state that’s seen a development boom in recent years and found itself at the center of a national debate over what to do with America’s vast reserves of public land. Wertheim speaks with locals and officials for a look at the bipartisan fight to preserve what many Montanans hold most dear. For seven years, CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp have documented the rooms of children killed in school shootings across the United States. Their bedrooms – virtually untouched as the children left them on the day they were killed – have become memorials to young lives cut short. Correspondent Anderson Cooper visits these spaces and speaks with the parents about their significance. 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 Scott Pelley reports on President Trump’s pardon of Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. The pardon came shortly after Binance helped catapult the Trump family’s cryptocurrency firm, World Liberty Financial, into international recognition. The firm is a major source of the Trump family’s fortune. Correspondent Anderson Cooper goes inside Anthropic, a $183 billion artificial intelligence company that’s centered its brand around AI safety and transparency. At its well-guarded San Francisco headquarters, CEO Dario Amodei warns about the potential dangers of AI, and Cooper takes a look at how Anthropic is building and testing its AI models while openly acknowledging the risks. Brains meet brawn in the world of chess boxing, a sport in which competitors face off on the chess board and also in the boxing ring. Chess boxers win by checkmate or knockout – whichever comes first. Correspondent Bill Whitaker reports from the World Chess Boxing Championships in Serbia and meets Team USA as they go for gold. 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

American farmers have faced months of uncertainty after China stopped buying soybeans in retaliation for the White House reciprocal tariffs strategy. Correspondent Cecilia Vega interviews farmers from Tennessee and Missouri who are struggling with high costs and low prices for their crops, and who fear they could be the generation to lose the family farm. President Trump has accused elite universities of liberal bias and antisemitism and has been threatening their federal research funding to pressure them to change. At Harvard University, scientists tell correspondent Bill Whitaker that the government’s actions are jeopardizing their research into potentially life-saving advances in medicine and could dismantle America’s lead in scientific innovation. Correspondent Jon Wertheim profiles literary titan Margaret Atwood, author of the dystopian classic The Handmaid’s Tale. At 85, with 64 books to her name, Canada’s best-known author has been called the “prophet of doom” for her uncanny ability to write about catastrophes in her fiction before they happen in real life. Wertheim talks to Atwood about her new memoir, Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts, why she thinks The Handmaid’s Tale became a cultural touchstone, and how she refuses to be silenced by an increasing number of bans on her books. 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

Norah O’Donnell sat down with President Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss U.S.-China relations, Venezuela, Israel, the government shutdown, immigration, the National Guard and more. Editor's note: This is an extended version of the interview that was broadcast on 60 Minutes on Sunday, November 2, 2025.  This extended version was condensed for clarity. 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 Norah O’Donnell speaks with President Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla. for an exclusive interview with 60 MINUTES. Nearly one year into his second term, Mr. Trump discusses wide-ranging issues including U.S.-China relations, Venezuela, Israel, the government shutdown, immigration, the National Guard and more. With over 150 million copies sold in 40 languages, Guinness World Records ranks among the best-selling books in history. Inside its pages lie the fantastic, the absurd, and the astonishing record breakers. Correspondent Cecilia Vega takes us behind the scenes of these unbelievable-sounding spectacles 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