The BEST episodes of 60 Minutes season 43
Every episode of 60 Minutes season 43, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of 60 Minutes season 43!
60 Minutes has been on the air since 1968, beginning on a Tuesday, but spending most of its time on Sundays, where it remains today. This popular news magazine provides both hard hitting investigations, interviews and features, along with people in the news and current events. 60 Minutes has set unprecedented records in the Nielsen's ratings with a number 1 rating, five times, making it among the most successful TV programs in all of television history. This series has won more Emmy awards than any other news program and in 2003, Don Hewitt, the creator (back in 1968), was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Emmy, along with the 60 Minute correspondents. Added to the 11 Peabody awards, this phenomenally long-lived series has collected 78 awards up to the 2005 season and remains among the viewers top choice for news magazine features.
#1 - The new tax havens, Top Gear, Albert Pujols
Season 43 - Episode 47 - Aired 8/14/2011
The new tax havens – American companies are finding new overseas tax havens to legally protect some of their profits from the U.S. tax rate of 35 percent – among the highest in the world. Top Gear – A quirky British television show about cars has become a hit almost everywhere but the U.S. Steve Kroft reports on “Top Gear,” whose witty humor, outrageous speed, destructive vehicle stunts and car reviews attract an estimated weekly worldwide audience of 350 million according to the BBC. Albert Pujols – His big bat has made the St. Louis Cardinals’ slugger one of the top 10 players in baseball history. But to people with Down syndrome and the poor of his native Dominican Republic who he helps, he means a lot more than home runs and RBI.
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Season 43 - Episode 40 - Aired 6/26/2011
Hard Times Generation – For some children, socializing and learning in school are being cruelly complicated by homelessness, as Scott Pelley reports from Florida, where school buses now stop at budget motels for children who’ve lost their homes. Wynton Marsalis – Jazz missionary Wynton Marsalis shares his love of America’s most distinctive art form by taking his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra around the world. Morley Safer tags along as Marsalis and his musicians make the scene in London and then go to Havana for a spicy Afro-Cuban musical treat.
#3 - The Next Housing Shock, Gospel for Teens
Season 43 - Episode 27 - Aired 4/3/2011
The Next Housing Shock – As more and more Americans face mortgage foreclosure, banks’ crucial ownership documents for the properties are often unclear and are sometimes even bogus – a condition that’s causing lawsuits and hampering an already weak housing market. Scott Pelley reports. Robert Anderson and Daniel Ruetenik are the producers. Gospel for Teens – Lesley Stahl spends a year following the inspirational leader of a gospel music program for teenagers in Harlem and her students as they learn to sing this original American art form and build the confidence and character it inspires. Shari Finkelstein is the producer. THIS IS A DOUBLE-LENGTH SEGMENT.
#4 - The Murder of Louis Allen, The Library, Albert Pujols
Season 43 - Episode 28 - Aired 4/10/2011
The Murder of Louis Allen – Steve Kroft’s 18-month investigation into a 47-yr.old murder in a Mississippi town sheds light on an unsolved civil rights killing near the top of the FBI’s list. Graham Messick and Sumi Aggarwal are the producers. The Library – No one is allowed to borrow from the Vatican Library, except the pope. And no wonder: the archive holds some of the oldest and most precious works of art and treasure known to man. Morley Safer and “60 Minutes” cameras get to see the best of the best. David Browning is the producer. Albert Pujols – His big bat has made the St. Louis Cardinals’ slugger one of the top 10 players in baseball history. But to people with Down syndrome and the poor of his native Dominican Republic that he helps, he means a lot more than home runs and RBI. Bob Simon reports. Draggan Mihailovich is the producer.
#5 - Greg Mortenson, The Case of Beckett Brennan, The Co-Founder
Season 43 - Episode 29 - Aired 4/17/2011
Greg Mortenson – He’s written inspiring best sellers, including “Three Cups of Tea,” but are the stories all true? Steve Kroft investigates. Andy Court and Kevin Livelli are the producers. The Case of Beckett Brennan – The government recently sent out guidelines on how college judicial review boards should handle the rising incidence of campus sexual assault. Beckett Brennan says the University of the Pacific’s board bungled her case, spurring her to come forward to say she was sexually assaulted by three of the school’s athletes. Katie Couric reports. Graham Messick and Ashley Velie are the producers. The Co-Founder – Lesley Stahl speaks to Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen in his first interview about his upcoming book in which he criticizes his Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates. Shachar-Bar-On is the producer.
#6 - Mount Athos, The Billionaire
Season 43 - Episode 30 - Aired 4/24/2011
Mount Athos – Bob Simon steps back in time when he gets rare access to monks in ancient monasteries on a remote Greek peninsula who have lived a Spartan life of prayer in a tradition virtually unchanged for a thousand years. Cameras capture the monastic life, including chanting, prayers, rituals, and the priceless relics and icons from the Byzantine Empire stored on “The Holy Mountain,” Mt. Athos. Harry Radliffe and Michael Karzis are the producers. (This is a double-length segment.) The Billionaire – Eli Broad sets the standard for philanthropy. He’s given away over $2 billion and plans on leaving even more to charity before he dies. But along with the billionaire’s name that most projects he funds must take, his advice and oftentimes his control are usually part of the deal. Morley Safer reports. Ruth Streeter is the producer.
#7 - Lara Logan, Mitch Landrieu, Zenyatta
Season 43 - Episode 31 - Aired 5/1/2011
Lara Logan – In her first television interview since being sexually assaulted two months ago, the CBS News chief foreign correspondent and 60 MINUTES reporter reveals what happened to her in Tahrir Square in an interview with Scott Pelley. Robert Anderson is the producer. Mitch Landrieu – The New Orleans mayor talks to Byron Pitts about the city he loves and his efforts to heal wounds it still suffers from corruption and Hurricane Katrina. David Schneider is the producer. Zenyatta – With the greatest American horse race coming up next week in Kentucky, 60 MINUTES takes another look at one of the greatest American thoroughbreds ever to grace a track – the nearly undefeated Zenyatta. Bob Simon reports. Tom Anderson is the producer.
#8 - Killing Bin Laden: The President's Story
Season 43 - Episode 32 - Aired 5/8/2011
President Obama gives his first and only interview since the killing of Osama bin Laden to "60 Minutes." The president will reveal to Steve Kroft for the first time his thoughts as he watched and listened from the Situation Room of the White House as the commando-style raid on bin Laden's compound unfolded. Frank Devine and Michael Radutzky are the producers.
#9 - The Soldiers' Secretary, Afghanistan's Top Spy, Sovereign Citizens
Season 43 - Episode 33 - Aired 5/15/2011
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on a five-day mission to the Middle East.
#10 - Armstrong, The FBI and the Grim Reaper
Season 43 - Episode 34 - Aired 5/22/2011
“Armstrong” examines the allegations that world famous cyclist Lance Armstrong is using performance enhancing drugs. “The FBI and the Grim Reaper” looks at FBI agent Lin Vecchio who help put away several notorious Mafia leaders, but also faces murder charges due to his association with an informant.
#11 - Medal of Honor, A Relentless Enemy
Season 43 - Episode 36 - Aired 5/29/2011
Medal of Honor – The first living soldier to win the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War tells Lara Logan in an emotional interview just what he did to earn the nation’s highest combat honor and how the recognition makes him uncomfortable. Sal Giunta has now possessed the medal for six months and says he is just as uncomfortable wearing it as he was to be named its winner. A Relentless Enemy – Lara Logan’s report takes viewers to the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the unit she was covering came under heavy and regular enemy fire from fighters the U.S. military says keep coming from their sanctuary in Pakistan.
#12 - The Speed Traders, City of David, Lady Gaga
Season 43 - Episode 37 - Aired 6/5/2011
The Speed Traders – Steve Kroft gets a rare look inside the secretive world of “high-frequency trading,” a controversial technique the SEC is scrutinizing in which computers can make thousands of stock trades in less than a second. City of David – Lesley Stahl reports from under the city of Jerusalem from a controversial archeological dig that has become a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Lady Gaga – With her outrageous costumes and mega hit dance songs, Lady Gaga has become the world’s most talked about entertainer.
#13 - Designing Life, The N-Word, The King's Speech
Season 43 - Episode 38 - Aired 6/12/2011
Designing Life – Steve Kroft profiles famous microbiologist Craig Venter, whose scientists have already mapped the human genome and created what he calls “the first synthetic species.” The N-Word – A Southern publisher’s sanitized edition of “Huckleberry Finn” that replaces the N-word with “slave” over 200 times is the focal point for a debate on the use of the controversial word in American society. The King’s Speech – “60 Minutes” talks to its starring actor, Colin Firth, and reports on the historic find in an attic that helped make the “The King’s Speech” an Oscar favorite.
#14 - The Spark, Endless Memory
Season 43 - Episode 39 - Aired 6/19/2011
The Spark – Bob Simon reports from Tunisia, where protests against the repressive government not only toppled its autocratic ruler, but sparked the uprising in Egypt that forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign. Endless Memory – Lesley Stahl reports on the recently discovered phenomenon of “superior autobiographical memory,” the ability to recall nearly every day of one’s life. Stahl interviews the handful of individuals known to possess the skill, which scientists are only now beginning to study.
#15 - The New Tax Havens, One Child At A Time, Coach Hurley
Season 43 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/27/2011
The New Tax Havens – American companies are finding new overseas tax havens to legally protect some of their profits from the U.S. tax rate of 35 percent, among the highest in the world. Lesley Stahl reports. Shachar Bar-On is the producer. One Child At A Time – Wars can literally shatter children’s lives and Elissa Montanti is on a mission to make some of them whole again through a network of volunteers. Scott Pelley follows the progress of one of them, a badly maimed Iraqi boy. Tanya Simon and Catherine Herrick are the producers. Coach Hurley – Tiny Catholic high school St. Anthony in Jersey City, N.J., doesn’t even have its own gym, but it has Coach Bob Hurley, who has taken the team – now ranked number-one in the nation – to 24 state championships. Steve Kroft reports. Peter Radovich is the producer.
#16 - The Murder of Louis Allen, One Child at a Time, The Library
Season 43 - Episode 41 - Aired 7/3/2011
The Murder of Louis Allen – Steve Kroft’s 18-month investigation into a 47-yr.old murder in a Mississippi town sheds light on an unsolved civil rights killing near the top of the FBI’s list. One Child at a Time – Wars can literally shatter children’s lives and Elissa Montanti is on a mission to make some of them whole again through a network of volunteers. Scott Pelley follows the progress of one of them, a badly maimed Iraqi boy. The Library – No one is allowed to borrow a book from the Vatican Library – except the pope. And no wonder: the archive holds some of the oldest and most precious works of art and treasure known to man. Morley Safer and “60 Minutes” cameras get to see the best of the best.
#17 - Shaleionaires, Stand Down, Market Street
Season 43 - Episode 42 - Aired 7/10/2011
Shaleionaires – While some complain that extracting natural gas from shale rock formations is tainting their water supply, others who have allowed drilling on their property are getting wealthy and becoming “shaleionaires.” Stand Down – Some veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan into the recession are finding themselves homeless. Scott Pelley reports on an annual encampment in San Diego where veterans can find hope, help and services. Market Street – Morley Safer reports on a mystery that was solved about a 100-year-old film that we now know was made on San Francisco’s Market St. just days before the 1906 earthquake.
#18 - Silver or Lead, The Gambler, In Search of Jaguars
Season 43 - Episode 43 - Aired 7/17/2011
Silver or Lead – Byron Pitts reports on the murder of the mayor of a Mexican city, where powerful drug gangs seem to be giving authorities a choice of “silver or lead” – join us and we will pay you or don’t and we’ll kill you. The Gambler – Las Vegas sports betting legend Bill Walters has never had a losing year – a winning a streak that’s made odds makers call him the “most dangerous sports bettor in Nevada.” In Search of Jaguars – “60 Minutes” went in search of the most elusive of all of nature’s big cats, the jaguar, and captured amazing footage of them in the Brazilian jungle.
#19 - Resurrecting Eden, Mitch Landrieu, The Sharkman
Season 43 - Episode 44 - Aired 7/24/2011
Resurrecting Eden – In Southern Iraq where many biblical scholars place the Garden of Eden, Scott Pelley finds a water world where the “Marsh Arabs” are making a comeback after Saddam nearly destroyed the “cradle of civilization.” Mitch Landrieu – The New Orleans mayor talks to Byron Pitts about the city he loves and his efforts to heal wounds it still suffers from corruption and Hurricane Katrina. The “Sharkman” – Anderson Cooper dives unprotected with great white sharks and the South African who’s spent more time up close with the ocean’s most feared predator than anyone else.
#20 - The Big Gamble, Brazil, Mark Wahlberg
Season 43 - Episode 45 - Aired 7/31/2011
The Big Gamble – Lesley Stahl reports on the proliferation of gambling to 38 states and its main attraction, the slot machine, newer versions of which some scientists believe may addict their players. Brazil – As the U.S. and most of the world’s countries limp along after the crippling recession, Brazil is off and running with jobs, industry, and resources. The economic juggernaut is poised to become the fifth largest economy in the world. Mark Wahlberg – From street thug, to rapper to actor and now producer, Mark Wahlberg has reinvented himself to the top of the Hollywood heap. Lara Logan profiles Wahlberg as he prepares for his most challenging role – a boxer.
#21 - The next housing shock, The Co-founder, Eminem
Season 43 - Episode 46 - Aired 8/7/2011
The next housing shock – As more and more Americans face mortgage foreclosure, banks’ crucial ownership documents for the properties are often unclear and are sometimes even bogus – a condition that’s causing lawsuits and hampering an already weak housing market. The co-founder – Lesley Stahl speaks to Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen in his first interview about his upcoming book in which he criticizes his Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates. Eminem – Anderson Cooper profiles the chart-topping rapper from Detroit who overcame addiction to reclaim the winning style that made him the biggest selling artist of the past decade.
#22 - U.S. vs. DRAKE, The 33, The Archbishop
Season 43 - Episode 48 - Aired 8/21/2011
U.S. vs. DRAKE – Tom Drake, a former National Security Agency senior executive, was indicted last year for espionage after leaking allegations to the media that the nation’s largest intelligence organization had committed fraud, waste and abuse. The 33 – Three months after 33 Chilean miners were rescued from a half-mile underground – where they lived in daily fear of death for 69 days – psychologists say more than 20 of them are experiencing serious mental stress. Bob Simon reports. The Archbishop – In a wide-ranging interview with Morley Safer, New York’s Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan discusses the sex abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, his current mission and the state of the church in America.
#23 - Greg Mortenson, Gospel for Teens
Season 43 - Episode 49 - Aired 8/28/2011
Greg Mortenson – He’s written inspiring best sellers, including “Three Cups of Tea,” but are the stories all true? Gospel for Teens – Lesley Stahl spends a year following the inspirational leader of a gospel music program for teenagers in Harlem and her students as they learn to sing this original American art form and build the confidence and character it inspires.
#24 - WikiLeaks, Resurrecting the extinct
Season 43 - Episode 50 - Aired 9/4/2011
WikiLeaks – Julian Assange, the controversial founder of WikiLeaks, speaks to Steve Kroft about the U.S. attempt to indict him on criminal charges and the torrent of criticism aimed at him for publishing classified documents. Resurrecting the extinct -Scientists believe they can sustain endangered species – maybe even one day resurrect some that have died out – using DNA technology.
#25 - The interrogator, Remembering 9/11
Season 43 - Episode 51 - Aired 9/11/2011
The interrogator – Few know more about the 9/11 investigation than Ali Soufan, who questioned members of al Qaeda after the attack. The former FBI agent reveals himself for the first time and talks about his interrogations in an interview with Lara Logan. Remembering 9/11 -Ground Zero responders relive their haunting experiences on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks for a “60 Minutes” segment about their road to recovery and the doctor who is preserving their oral histories.