The BEST episodes of 60 Minutes

#1 - The Majority Leader, The Perfect Score, The ascent of Alex Honnold

Season 44 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/1/2012

Lesley Stahl profiles House Majority Leader Eric Cantor; Then, Sam Eshaghoff tells how he was able to take the SAT and ACT college admissions exams for others; Also, Mountain climber Alex Honnold seems to defy gravity by scaling sheer, steep rock faces with no rope and apparently no fear.

#2 - Conan O'Brien, The All American Canal, Chef Jose Andres

Season 42 - Episode 31 - Aired 5/2/2010

Late-night television comedian Conan O'Brien appears in his first interview since having to give back his spot on the "Tonight Show" to Jay Leno. Steve Kroft reports. The most dangerous body of water in the U.S. is a deep canal on the Mexican border with California where over 550 people, mostly illegal immigrants, have drowned. Scott Pelley reports. Pioneering Chef Jose Andres takes Anderson Cooper's taste buds on a savory tour of his culinary laboratory, featuring his avant-garde cooking technique, molecular gastronomy.

#3 - Quantum Computing; Knife; College of Magic

Season 56 - Episode 49 - Aired 7/28/2024

First, a look inside the quantum computer race. Then, Salman Rushdie: The 2024 60 Minutes Interview. And, going inside the College of Magic.

#4 - Four Remarkable Women

Season 35 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/26/2003

Mike Wallace looks back at some of his favorite interviews. “Barbra Streisand” interviews the famous actress. “Tina Turner” interviews the famous singer. “Shirley” interviews actress Shirley MacLaine. “Candice Bergen/Murphy Brown” profiles the television star.

#5 - Crazy Like a Fox?/David Tang/Cracking Down

Season 30 - Episode 36 - Aired 5/31/1998

#6 - The Gaskos, Wikimania, Star-Struck

Season 47 - Episode 44 - Aired 7/26/2015

The Gaskos - FBI agents tell Steve Kroft about their 16-year search and eventual capture of Boston mobster Whitey Bulger, once No. 1 on the Most Wanted list. Wikimania - Meet the Wikipedians. Those "persnickety," techy types who keep your favorite Internet information website brimming with data. Star-Struck - Neil deGrasse Tyson tells Charlie Rose about his fascination with the universe and his own personal journey to reignite interest in the great beyond.

#7 - The Attack on Sony, Cardinal Seán, Mindfulness

Season 47 - Episode 50 - Aired 9/6/2015

Steve Kroft reports on the cyber-attack on Sony Pictures; Norah O'Donnell interviews Cardinal Seán O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston; Anderson Cooper lays aside mobile devices in an attempt to achieve "mindfulness," a self-awareness scientists say is healthy but is difficult to achieve in a world of digital distractions.

#8 - China's Real Estate Bubble, The Con Artist, Cajun Ketchup

Season 46 - Episode 45 - Aired 8/3/2014

Lesley Stahl reports on China's real estate bubble; then, a look at art forger Wolfgang Beltracchi's multimillion dollar scam; and, the hot sauce industry is one fire, but it all began with just one name: Tabasco.

#9 - The Swiss Leaks, Alive and Kickin’

Season 47 - Episode 42 - Aired 7/12/2015

Bill Whitaker investigates the biggest leak in Swiss banking history; and, Lesley Stahl reports on a musical production in Harlem with a cast of singers ages 55 and up.

#10 - President Obama, Howard Buffett

Season 44 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/11/2011

President Obama - Steve Kroft questions the president on a wide range of critical topics, including his performance in office, the U.S. economy and unemployment, and the budget woes in Washington. Howard Buffett - Legendary investor Warren Buffett has chosen his son Howard to succeed him as head of his multibillion dollar holding company. But as Lesley Stahl reports, "Howie" - a farmer - is no chip off the old block.

#11 - Homeland Security, The Good Friday Agreement, Wikimania

Season 47 - Episode 28 - Aired 4/5/2015

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson talks about the evolving role of his department’s massive security efforts; then, a rare interview with Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams; and, meet the Wikipedians!

#12 - Bashar al Assad, Killing Cancer

Season 47 - Episode 27 - Aired 3/29/2015

Charlie Rose interviews Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as Syria's four-year-old civil war drags on; and, 60 Minutes follows brain cancer patients in a Duke University clinical trial of a therapy that uses a re-engineered polio virus to kill cancer cells.

#13 - Remembering Bob Simon

Season 47 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/22/2015

A tribute to correspondent Bob Simon (1941-2015) includes interviews with his "60 Minutes" colleagues, clips of his life's work and three of his finest, award-winning stories.

#14 - Dead or Alive, A Few Good Women, Back to the Wild

Season 47 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/15/2015

Scott Pelley reports on how errors to the SSA’s Death Master File can result in fraudulent payments and identity headaches; David Martin reports on the Marines’ search for women to serve in combat; and, Lesley Stahl reports on a family of zoo gorillas who are released to the wild.

#15 - Iraq's Christians, Rare Earth Elements, Starstruck

Season 47 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/22/2015

Lara Logan reports on Iraq's Christians; Are modern life's devices under China's grip? Lesley Stahl reports; then, Charlie Rose profiles astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

#16 - A New Direction on Drugs, The Greatest, Little Jazz Man

Season 48 - Episode 40 - Aired 6/5/2016

Top drug official Michael Botticelli says the old war on drugs is all wrong; 60 Minutes revisits a classic 1996 segment on Muhammad Ali, who died at age 74; And, Joey Alexander plays jazz like a veteran, but he’s just 12 years old.

#17 - Hostages; Voice of America; Left Behind

Season 57 - Episode 27 - Aired 3/30/2025

First, freed Israeli hostage Yarden Bibas speaks out. Then, a report on what Trump's silencing of Voice of America means for listeners worldwide. And, a look at California wildfires cleanup challenges.

#18 - 60 Minutes Presents: Animal Magnetism

Season 56 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/24/2023

#19 - The Entertainers

Season 27 - Episode 16 - Aired 12/25/1994

#20 - The Cleveland Division, Water, Who Is Larry David?

Season 47 - Episode 36 - Aired 5/31/2015

Bill Whitaker reports from the Cleveland PD on the hot-button issue of policing in America; Lesley Stahl reports on depleting groundwater; and a hilarious and revealing interview with TV and comedy star Larry David.

#21 - NYPD's Counterterrorism Unit, Trey Parker and Matt Stone

Season 44 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/2011

New York Police Department’s counterterrorism unit; the murder of a neo-nazi leader; “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

#22 - Recruiting for ISIS, The Spill at Dan River, The Smartest Dog in the World

Season 47 - Episode 38 - Aired 6/14/2015

Clarissa Ward reports on accusations that Islamic radicals are campaigning for ISIS in the West; then Lesley Stahl reports on how Duke Energy is handling over 100 million tons of coal ash waste in N.C.; and, Anderson Cooper meets Chaser, a dog who can identify over a thousand toys.

#23 - President Obama, 30 Years on Death Row

Season 48 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/11/2015

Steve Kroft questions President Obama on topics including Russia’s incursion in Syria, ISIS and the 2016 presidential race; then, Bill Whitaker interviews a prosecutor who admits his cowardice and indifference led to a wrongful murder conviction.

#24 - The Republican Leaders, The Cleveland Division, Li Na

Season 47 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/25/2015

House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sit down for their first joint interview since the new Republican majority Congress convened. Scott Pelley reports.

#25 - Master of the Mind; Sealand

Season 56 - Episode 50 - Aired 8/4/2024

First, a report on a neurosurgeon targeting Alzheimer's and addiction. Then, welcome to Sealand: World’s smallest state.