More of the The Mole - Season 1

We begin tonights blog with a jigsaw puzzle from The Mole-Season 1.

the Mole puzzle 1 Jigsaw Puzzle

Episode 6 Highlights




Episode 7 Highlights



Bonus Clip #1



Bonus Clip #2



On the first Mole post, I included a small clip of Barry and his ladies offering Anderson some career advice through song. Apparently, this clip was the end of a longer interview Anderson had done for WNN as he was beginning the Mole. Wonz was kind enough to find the entire clip for us. In the clip, Anderson shares a little of his snarky humor with his former co-anchor. I thought you might like to see it in it's entirely.



A few weeks ago, one of our readers asked if we might do a series on Anderson's appearances on Regis & Kelly Live. I haven't had time to discuss it with the other ATA bloggers or put something together but thought I would share one of my favorite R&K clips with you tonight.



Hope you will all join me next Sunday for the finale of our series on The Mole - Season 1. Until then, have a wonderful week!



All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Anderson's Favorite Books

I'm on the hunt for a good book to read and thought I'd take a look at some of the books Anderson has recommended in the past.

Books That Made a Difference to Anderson Cooper

The CNN anchor is bowled over by evocative memoirs—diaries of sobriety and war, not to mention two gorgeous reminiscences from his own parents—plus a pair of classic modern novels.

Some people grow up in homes where sports are important; I grew up in a home where reading and writing had great value. As a child, I had a problem reading. I had a mild form of dyslexia where I would see some letters backward, and I had to go to a special reading instructor. One way she helped was to encourage me to find books that I was really passionate about. I feel very lucky for her coaching.

I remember reading a biography of Helen Keller and a book about people who chose to live in the woods. Eventually, I read Heart of Darkness . That novel, in particular, sparked an interest in seeing what happens to society when everything is stripped away, when you're living without the niceties of modern culture. I don't think it's an accident that I became a war correspondent. I'm interested in stories of survival: how some people make it through desperate times and others don't. If you go to a conflict zone, you find there's never a complete vacuum. There's always some form of authority. It may not make sense, and it's terrifying. You learn that people are capable of horrific brutality but also great kindness. You see things straight out of Conrad—and how a novel from the 1890s still resonates today.


A Death in the Family By James Agee

This is about what happens after the unexpected death of a father. Certainly, the novel had resonance for me because I lost my father at an early age and this book is told from the vantage point of the young son. Dealing with grief is difficult, especially for a child. There are peaks and valleys—grief has a life of its own—and Agee does a good job of exploring that territory. The book opens with a scene of people—men with wives and children—watering their lawns while cicadas are buzzing. There's a poetry to the writing in that it describes events that really cannot be described.


The Quiet American By Graham Greene

I read this novel in college when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. It's set in Vietnam in the 1950s, before heavy United States involvement. It features Fowler, this hard-bitten, opium-smoking British reporter who's world-weary and washed-up, and Pyle, an American secret agent who pretends to be an aid worker. Pyle is filled with simplistic notions about what needs to be done in Southeast Asia, and in trying to do good, he ends up causing deaths. At the time, I saw things in black-and-white like Pyle, but part of the book's lesson is to allow yourself, especially as a reporter, to go into a story with an open mind and heart.

Dry By Augusten Burroughs

Dry is a memoir of Burroughs's struggle with alcoholism. He goes into rehab with this notion that it's going to be glamorous and he's going to see celebrities. Instead he finds that the hospital is horrifically depressing. Yet he continues with the program. Burroughs writes in a way that is both hilariously funny and extraordinarily moving. I think I'm solely responsible for driving this book to the best-seller list, because I gave out so many copies of it.



Families: A Memoir and a Celebration By Wyatt Cooper

My father [the book's author] died when I was 10, and in a sense this book became a letter to me from him. It's about the family he had as a child in Mississippi and also about our own—my mother, my brother, and me. The last sentence of it is important to me; we actually put it on his tombstone: "We must go rejoicing in the blessings of this world, chief of which is the mystery, the magic, the majesty, and the miracle that is life." One of the horrible things about the death of a parent when you're a child is that there comes a time when you can't remember what he looked or smelled like or the way he talked or walked. I feel lucky to have a book that is all those things.

It Seemed Important at the Time By Gloria Vanderbilt

I always thought the worst thing in the world would be to hear your parents talk about their sex lives. It turns out, the worst is learning that your parents' sex lives were more interesting than your own. This is my mother's latest memoir, looking back at the loves in her life, both long lasting and one night. At 17 she went on dates with Howard Hughes and Errol Flynn, and later met up with Marlon Brando. I feel boring by comparison, but I think it's cool that my mom has reached this age, 81, and has a sense of humor about her life. She has the perspective to say, "This, too, shall pass," and that the troubles we fret about now won't seem so important in a few years.

The Journey Is the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon Edited by Kathy Eldon

I met Dan Eldon briefly when I was starting out as a reporter and he as a photographer. In 1993 he was beaten and killed by a mob in Somalia. Afterward, his mother assembled from his journals this beautifully printed book of collages. Dan would write and paint over his own photographs. The title is from a phrase he used in the pages, and it is a notion that's been helpful to me.

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.
All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Sanjay, Simon & Anderson Cooper

Sanjay Gupta was in the anchor chair for Anderson again tonight. Here’s the short version of tonight’s 360 –

“Family Doctors & Your Health” was tonight’s installment of the Broken Government Series. Sanjay gave a report on the primary care doctor and why fewer medical students are going into Family Practice. Boyce Watkins, Finance Professor from Syracuse University and Dr. Vance Harris, a primary care physician, joined Sanjay for a follow up discussion and the possible effects of the proposed health care bill on future student’s decisions.

“Insider Out?” – White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers is stepping down next month? Did the Salahi’s have anything to do with it? Ed Henry was in with the Raw Politics and the “Digging Deeper” segment was with Laura Schwartz, Former Special Assistant to President Clinton.

“Deadly Error?” – Randi Kaye had the “Up Close” on the latest information on the fatal Killer Whale attack at SeaWorld in Florida earlier this week. “Digging Deeper” on the subject with Sanjay were Jack Hannah, Professor Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, who supports keeping whales in captivity; and Russ Rector, Founder of the Dolphin Freedom Foundation who believes whales belong to the ocean.

“A Mother’s Mission” – was tonight’s “Saving Haiti” story. Gary Tuchman gave a touching report on a mother and child that were reunited after being separated for weeks following the Haiti earthquake. Gary, who is on the ground in Haiti, joined Sanjay for a discussion. The International Red Cross has dozens of children (in similar situations) right now; who are too young to talk and may have parents who survived the quake.

“Rhodes to NFL” – Tonight 360 launched the “In America” series – “Inspirational stories about people whose lives often go unnoticed.” Soledad O’Brien gave a report on Myron Rolle – a young man who hopes to be picked near the top of this year’s NFL draft. Rolle took a year off of football to study as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and eventually hopes to become a surgeon. Now, though, Rolle is hoping to go from Oxford to the NFL.

I must say I found tonight’s show very interesting – Sanjay did a good job in the anchor chair and there was a good mix of interesting stories.


In honor of American Idol beginning this week (with the top 24), I thought it fitting to add this interview Anderson did with Simon Cowell for 60 Minutes in 2008. Hopefully, Mr. Cooper has enjoyed his R & R and we will see him back in the anchor chair on Monday night. In the mean time, this interview with Simon seemed to bring out the Andergiggles more than once ~ enjoy!



Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Tonight's extras -

ACAnderFan found this online and passed it along to ATA --

And AC360fan sent us these --

Craig Ferguson made a reference to Anderosn on his show Wednesday night --




That's it for me tongiht. I hope you all have a good weekend. ~ Wonz

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.
All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Healthcare, Healthcare, Healthcare ...

Sanjay Gupta was in for Anderson tonight and the show began with coverage of healthcare.

Ed Henry had a report on the healthcare summit and discussed some of the most important moments such as comments from John McCain and President Obama. The Republicans' main point was that the plan was too costly however Democrats believe that the President came out on top. A CNN fact check agreed with President Obama. Outside of the meeting Henry said that Democrats are nervous and feel that the President has a very narrow window to get the bill passed.

Digging Deeper next was David Gergen, Dr. Bernadine Healy and Dr. Sandeep Jauhar. Gergen discussed where we go from here and how the day went. Dr. Healy discussed if coverage would improve with the new plan and if premiums would go up. She also talked about if she felt everyone should have insurance. Dr. Jauhar talked about the role of the Federal government and the impact on the budget.

When they returned from the break Jessica Yellin joined Sanjay to discuss what the Democrats need to pass the bill in the Senate. She also explained reconciliation, a rule that says they can pass a bill with a simple majority, which Democrats are now threatening to use. This is creating a controversy because it is only supposed to be used in special circumstances such as passing a budget however, previous health care related amendments have been passed using reconciliation.

Next they were back with the previous panel. Gergen answered Sanjay's question of if the bill can be passed and how. Dr. Healy answered the question of is it a realistic approach to start from scratch as the Republicans would like to do and Dr. Jauhar discussed his opinion on a public option and what he would like to see from the bill.

Tom Foreman had the Up Close report and discussed the staging and symbolism of the summit.

Jessica Yellin also had the bulletin: two explosions occurred in Kabul, the trainer at Sea World who was attacked by a killer whale died from multiple injuries and drowning, the body of actor Andrew Koenig was found in Vancouver, Palin will speak at a meeting for the NRA, there is new video of an avalanche as it occurred.

Next Gupta went over statistics regarding medical malpractice. Republicans are proposing caps on what people can collect on malpractice lawsuits. Democrats however feel that this is not fair to people who are victims of accidents. They looked at if lawsuits are creating more costs and defensive medicine. Dr. Albert Strunk and Anthony Tarricone joined Gupta to discuss the issue further.

In the Keeping Them Honest segment Sanjay Gupta walked us through his hospital and talked about some customary charges on a hospital bill. He also discussed some of the administrative costs that are built in and the actual costs of supplies vs what is seen on the bill.

Next Dan Buettner joined Sanjay to discuss five tips to live a longer life such as eating a big breakfast and lots of vegetables.

Jessica Yellin was back with the second bulletin of the night: Charles Rangel will be admonished tomorrow by the House Ethics Committee, President George W Bush met with Dick Cheney today for the first time since the inauguration, Chief Executive of Toyota went to his company's largest North American assembly line and deputies went to Wayne Newton's home to try and collect on a debt.

The shot tonight was a shout out to Jessica Yellin whose birthday was today.

Have a great week everyone!


All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Anderson Cooper..... MIA

Again on Wednesday Jessica Yellin was in for Anderson Cooper, so again I'll give you a quick rundown and then onto something from the ATA Archives.

-Killer whale attack in Orlando, Randi Kaye reporting. The follow-up discussion was with an eye witness to the event and a former trainer at Sea World and then a second segment with Jack Hanna.

-Tonight's Broken Government segment was with Dr. Sanjay Gupta and it focused on hospital bills. He also did an update on Kimberly who he first treated when he was in Haiti.

-Soledad O'Brien reported on new government restrictions in Haiti for relief supplies.

-Toyota hearings on Capital Hill were next on the AC360 agenda with reports filed by Ted Rollins and Joe Johns

-John Avlon and Peter Beinhart joined Jessica to talk of their list of 20 people responsible for our government's gridlock


A few months ago a AC360 producer tweeted that he had just watched Ali Wentworth on a program and he found her to be so funny. I mentioned to him that AC and Ali had worked together once and also that AC had interviewed her when he subbed for Aaron Brown. I promised to dig out the clip and post it for him and for all of you to enjoy.
If you are not familiar with Ms. Wentworth she is a comedian, television sitcom star and also a former talk show host. She is married to ABC's George Stephanopoulos and comes from a politically connected Washington DC family and is hysterically funny, IMO.
Ali worked briefly with AC on a morning program and when she was interviewed by him in 2003 they caught up on life the way old friends do.
Many times long time AC fans talk about the good old days of 'red 360'. This interview predates that program but has some of the fun elements and humor that we miss so much on the current reincarnation of AC360. Enjoy! ~Phebe

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Who Is That Sitting In Anderson Cooper's Chair?

Jessica Yellin was in the anchor chair for Tuesday night's AC360. I'm a big fan of Ms. Yellin's and any other night I would have been glued to the program BUT with the Olympics and American Idol competing with 360 even Anderson Cooper himself wouldn't have gotten my attention. Let me qualify that.....if it was AC doing naked news then you bet ya, but since that didn't happen here's a very abbreviated rundown of the hour.

- The Toyota hearings before Congress, Drew Griffin doing the follow-up discussion

- A second segment on Toyota this time with Joe Johns

- Rhode Island school firings, Randi Kaye reporting. The District Superintendent did the follow-up discussion and Digger Deeper with a fired counselor from the high school

-Dana Bash talked with Yellin about the legislative process called Reconciliation the Dems are planning on using

-Broken Government segment with Ali Velshi and Peter Beinhart

- Gary Tuchman was live from Haiti with a happy ending to the orphan story he brought us last night. The women and orphans are on their way to the United States, probably in large part to Tuchman's story.

I want to send Wonz a great big thank you for capping and clipping Anderson's appearance on Charlie Rose last night.

Segment 1


Segment 2


Segment 3


Segment 4




We've clipped the AC portions of the Charlie Rose Show, if you want to watch the entire program from last night you can at the program's website.


Anderson has mentioned several times in the last week that he picked up Aristide's
Revenge while in Haiti so I'm guessing he was in his jammies on Tuesday night watching television and trying to feel better. Or he could have just as easily been off on another great adventure. Either way I hope to see him back in the anchor chair next week when the Olympics are over and he only has to compete with AI for my attention. ~Phebe


All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

A Mediocre Monday

Breaking News worked in my favor tonight since I wanted to speed blog and I don't give a damn about Dick Cheney's health. So I'll summarize by saying Sanjay, Candy and Gloria all filled us in on the news that there is a heart that still beats in Dick's chest.Next up was some news that came out of CPAC. A clip of Glenn Beck speaking to and about Republicans was show and not only did he make a valid point about the GOP but he could have given the exact same speech about the Dems and been spot on too. Both parties are screwed up beyond belief and all I see is people pointing fingers but not taking action to fix things. Bill Bennett didn't agree with Beck and Carville didn't agree with Bennett so I guess that made my point.More Haiti news, mostly focusing on adoption issues. Gary Tuchman met with a group of women who are under investigation for trying to legally take orphans to the US for adoption.
Dr. Jane Aronson joined AC to discuss what she feels is necessary to reestablish a more normal adoption process between the US and Haiti.The next segment on the possibility of firing the entire staff of teachers at a RI high school, for poor performance, sounded interesting until the panel showed up. I'm just not a fan of Steve Perry so I FF'd though most of the discussion. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read that CNN had decided to do a series on 'Broken Government'. If anyone greeted that news by jumping up and down, clapping their hands and saying whoopee, then you need to be reading another blog, not ATA. Ali Velshi and Joe Klein joined AC for the segment.Best tidbit of the night? Anderson Cooper's favorite rock album is Elvis Costello's Armed Forces. Mine? It's a tie between Prince's Purple Rain and the Eagles Hotel California. Yours?

Brianna Keilar did the 360 Bulletin. I'm going to invoke an old rule of my mother's .....if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all.


A few more Haiti pictures. The first with camerman Neil Hallsworth and the second with producer Charlie Moore.

All photos by Jonathan Torgovnik
© 2009 Cable News Network. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved



Now I've got a dilemma. I just wrote that I wasn't going to say anything at all if I couldn't say anything nice so how do I tell you how much I disliked Monday's program? Never mind, I guess I just did. ~Phebe

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.

Anderson at the Reagan Library

photos by Chuck Kirman

Hi all! Friday night at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Anderson spoke to a sold-out crowd estimated at 950 people. The evening began with Anderson escorting Nancy Reagan into the auditorium to a standing ovation. After a glowing introduction from the Executive Director of the Library, Anderson received another ovation as he stepped to the podium.

He first joked about the last time he had been there, when he hosted one of the presidential debates there in 2008. He told the story of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger 'complimenting' his biceps, and also that he and Mrs. Reagan happened to be wearing exactly the same outfits as they had that night.

As usual, he started his talk with a bit of a biographical sketch of his career and how he became a journalist. We've heard the stories before -- his mother's advice to "wear vertical stripes" and "follow your bliss," the fake press pass, traveling to Rwanda and Somalia in search of people who "spoke the language of pain" in order to learn how to cope with his brother's suicide.

He then talked about Haiti, saying that every day there is a struggle, and quoting some of his "Reporter's Notebook" observations of his time there. If you follow Neil Hallsworth on Twitter, you know he caught the bug referred to by locals as 'Aristide's Revenge.' Well, Anderson caught it, too, of course... and he also said he thinks he's still coughing out the Kandahar Krud from his trip there in December! He talked about how the job of war correspondents has changed, how it is now necessary to have bodyguards and how easy it is to get stuck in that bubble of security and miss the real story.

Anderson also talked about the fact that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have vanished off TVs and his concern that the same will happen with Haiti. He compared it to Katrina, asking whether anyone remembered the name Ethel Freeman. (I did, thanks to Anderson's coverage...) He told the story of her death at the SuperDome, how her son had to leave her body in a wheelchair, covered by a blanket, when he was finally evacuated. How there is no marker on that spot to mark her passing -- he checks whenever he visits NOLA -- and said that while government failed after Katrina, citizens did not.

After his prepared remarks, Anderson took a few questions from the audience. Among the tidbits from those answers:

-- in the confusion at the Port au Prince airport right after the earthquake, the helicopter he was in nearly collided with a fixed-wing plane carrying another CNN crew

-- years ago he wanted to cover an outbreak of the Marsburg virus because he is fascinated by those kinds of stories, and he believes that someday he will get to do it

-- when asked which network is the best to watch for real news, he declined to make any recommendations but did say that viewers should look for who has people on the ground getting the stories first-hand

-- asked whether there was a question that he wished he had asked in an interview, he said that he is constantly disappointed in himself, and that one reason he enjoys reporting for 60 Minutes is because he is learning so much and becoming a better reporter

-- he reiterated that when he is in the field, it is "extraordinary," how privileged he felt to be able to report from Haiti, and how frustrating it was to not be able to convey it all

-- he was asked what ordinary people in the Middle East think of Americans and said that people are extremely receptive to Americans and then told a story I have never heard about before:

I was in Iran in 1994. I was there for four days and I was arrested for three of them. I didn't really get a great sense of Iran. But it's funny, I didn't really do anything wrong, I went out of my hotel without my government minder and I was videotaping kids playing badminton in the park or something, something totally innocuous. I was just talking to people. And this is when I was by myself. And really, there's nothing worse than getting arrested in Iran when you're by yourself. It's not the place you want to be arrested. But as I was being taken away to a police station, I'll never forget, a man grabbed my arm and whispered in my ear, "Viva America." And I was, like, "Oh, okay, thank you, bye!"

He spoke for 48 minutes, and was very engaging and both serious and funny. Afterwards, according to staff members, he went to an invitation-only dinner hosted by Mrs. Reagan for about 100 supporters of the Library.

(Thanks to Em for letting me interrupt her series on The Mole... she'll be back next Sunday!)

All content, unless otherwise cited, is © All Things Anderson and may not be used without consent of the blog administrator.

All Things Anderson is a blog dedicated to CNN's AC360 and its host Anderson Cooper.