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The Account from CNN

The Account is CNN’s home for powerful, narrative-driven audio storytelling. Featuring in-depth reporting from CNN journalists. Our new season features CNN Senior Correspondent Donie O’Sullivan, who has been reporting on people with “crazy” beliefs for years. In this new, deeply personal podcast series, O’Sullivan confronts some crazy beliefs of his own. With help from cult survivors, psychologists, and families who’ve tried to pull loved ones out of the rabbit hole, O’Sullivan puts an empathetic lens on a fraught topic, debunks common misconceptions, and leaves listeners with practical takeaways for navigating this slippery world.

Persuadable: Scrolling Alone The Account from CNN
If loneliness and social isolation are part of what pushes people down the rabbit hole, what’s the cure? CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan sits down with a cult survivor who explains why conspiracy theories can have such a powerful hold on believers, and he learns from a pair of documentary filmmakers who have a prescription for a fractured, lonely society.  Diane Benscoter is the founder of the nonprofit Antidote, and she's the author of Shoes of a Servant: My Unconditional Devotion To A Lie. You can listen to more of Donie's conversation with Diane on YouTube. Pete Davis and Rebecca Davis are the directors and producers of the documentary Join or Die. You can learn more about their film here.
May 14, 2025
 Persuadable: Back Up the Rabbit Hole The Account from CNN
What would you do if the person closest to you woke up believing something that sounded completely crazy? That’s what happened to Stephen Ghiglieri when his then- fiancée, Katrina Vaillancourt, became a Q-Anon believer overnight. But their story is a hopeful one. In part two of Persuadable, CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan explores one route out of conspiracy theory belief.  Listen to more of Donie's conversation with Dr. Joe Pierre, author of False: How Mistrust, Disinformation, and Motivated Reasoning Make Us Believe Things That Aren’t True, on YouTube. Read about Katrina Vaillancourt's book, ReQovery: How I Tumbled Down the QAnon Rabbit Hole and Climbed Out, here.
May 7, 2025
 Persuadable: Why Do We Believe Crazy S**t? The Account from CNN
Conspiracy theories are not new. They’re as old as time itself. But if you feel like they’re everywhere right now, you’re not alone. So, what do you do when somebody you love has fallen down a rabbit hole? CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan has been covering the world of misinformation for more than a decade, but now he's less interested in what people believe than why they believe it. So, he’s trying to find out. See more of Donie's interview with Dr. Samuel Veissière⁠ on YouTube.
Apr 30, 2025
 All Over The Map: Why America Voted, From Actual Voters The Account from CNN
As the dust settled in the wake of election day, the All Over the Map team started calling up some of the 86 swing-state voters John King has been visiting and revisiting over the last year and a half. Who they ultimately voted for — and why — offers a window on a country taking stock in the aftermath of an unprecedented election.
Nov 11, 2024
 All Over The Map: The Pennsylvania Voters Who May Decide the Race The Account from CNN
With just hours before election day, we’re returning to a handful of people who represent a crucial voter segment: unhappy Pennsylvania Republicans. John King interviews three people who voted for Nikki Haley in the state’s primary back in the spring — long after she’d dropped out. How they and others like them fill out their ballots this week may decide the next president of the United States.
Nov 4, 2024
 All Over The Map: Why the Race Is So Close in the Rust Belt The Account from CNN
Wisconsin and Michigan, the big bricks of the former Blue Wall, are considered must-wins for Kamala Harris. They’re also both toss-ups at this point. This week, John talks to voters in Milwaukee and Detroit who have a lot in common: They’re both Black men, about the same age, born and raised in their respective Rust Belt cities, and steeped in a culture that always voted for Democrats. One is voting for Harris. The other is going for Trump. Their choices — and how they got there — tell us a lot about the very tight election math in the upper Midwest.
Oct 28, 2024
 All Over The Map: In Purple Georgia, The Election Math Is Not So Simple The Account from CNN
Vice President Kamala Harris’ goal in Georgia is to turn out the coalition that barely tipped the newly purple state to Joe Biden in 2020. That means firing up the base, convincing the unconvinced, and driving turnout as high as possible. Donald Trump, meanwhile, is hoping Georgians think the shift left was a mistake. There's no question that women of color are a huge part of the Georgia equation. John sits down with two who show it would be a mistake to think they’re voting as a bloc.
Oct 14, 2024
 All Over The Map: Why Nevada’s Economic Woes Make It an Election Wildcard The Account from CNN
Nevada — especially Clark County, home to Vegas and almost 75 percent of the state’s population — is a political bellwether in a very specific way. The pandemic gutted the tourism-based economy, and the recovery has been slow. John King speaks with two voters in Las Vegas with centrist political views who show us why Nevada is very much up for grabs in this election.
Sep 30, 2024
 All Over The Map: Desert Demographics: Arizona in Play The Account from CNN
In a presidential race destined to come down to a handful of swing states, Arizona is a political puzzle: a Sun Belt state that’s historically gone red, but went for Biden in 2020. Do the changing demographics prime it for Harris, or will it turn back to Trump? John King talks with two swing voters who exemplify how Arizona defies stereotypes — and represent exactly who the parties are trying to win over.
Sep 16, 2024
 All Over The Map: The Cracks in the Blue Wall The Account from CNN
Michigan and Wisconsin are Midwestern swing states with the power to make or break the election. They’re crucial bricks in the Democrats’ “Blue Wall” strategy, a wall that’s starting to crack. On this third installment of “All Over the Map,” John King and his team visit Milwaukee, site of next week’s Republican convention and home to a Black liberal base increasingly disaffected with a President and party they feel abandoned by. In Detroit, many, especially in the Arab-American community, are heartbroken and angry over President Biden’s response to the war in Gaza. Two voters, Eric and Ibrahim, give us their takes — and remind us why we’re traveling “all over the map”.
Jul 8, 2024
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