The BEST episodes of 60 Minutes season 53

Every episode of 60 Minutes season 53, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of 60 Minutes season 53!

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.

Last Updated: 3/22/2025Network: CBSStatus: Continuing
What Happened in Wuhan?, Dynamic Robots, Kindred in the Bleachers
star
7.86
14 votes

#1 - What Happened in Wuhan?, Dynamic Robots, Kindred in the Bleachers

Season 53 - Episode 28 - Aired 3/28/2021

Finding the origin of the coronavirus; Then, robots of the future at Boston Dynamics; And, Dave Kindred goes back on the beat to cover high school girls basketball.

Watch Now:Amazon
January 6th, 11,780 Votes, American Independent
star
7.65
31 votes

#2 - January 6th, 11,780 Votes, American Independent

Season 53 - Episode 19 - Aired 1/10/2021

Nancy Pelosi speaks to 60 Minutes about the Capitol riot; Then, President Trump's phone call with Georgia's top election official; And, Angus King: The 60 Minutes Interview

Watch Now:Amazon
Ingenuity and Perseverance, The Ritchie Boys
star
7.59
17 votes

#3 - Ingenuity and Perseverance, The Ritchie Boys

Season 53 - Episode 34 - Aired 5/9/2021

Perseverance rover, Ingenuity helicopter, and the search for ancient life on Mars; Then, stories from members of the Ritchie Boys, a secret U.S. WWII intelligence unit bolstered by German-born Jews.

Watch Now:Amazon
A Fair Shot, Darren Walker, Survival
star
7.41
17 votes

#4 - A Fair Shot, Darren Walker, Survival

Season 53 - Episode 29 - Aired 4/4/2021

Inside Florida's chaotic vaccine rollout; How Darren Walker, the head of the Ford Foundation, wants to change philanthropy; And, survivors recount being stranded on an island as teens 50 years ago.

SolarWinds, Bill Gates 3.0, Simone Biles
star
7.39
18 votes

#5 - SolarWinds, Bill Gates 3.0, Simone Biles

Season 53 - Episode 22 - Aired 2/14/2021

Unprecedented Russian SolarWinds hack that infiltrated federal government likely still happening; Then, Bill Gates on how the world can avoid a climate disaster; And, Simone Biles readies for her final Olympics.

The Unequal Recession, The Long Shot, Back to the Moon
star
7.38
16 votes

#6 - The Unequal Recession, The Long Shot, Back to the Moon

Season 53 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/7/2021

Stories from COVID-19's unequal recession; Then, the longshot candidate to treat COVID; And, NASA's women sending America back to the moon.

Prosecuting the Riot, Race in the Ranks, Back to School
star
7.38
16 votes

#7 - Prosecuting the Riot, Race in the Ranks, Back to School

Season 53 - Episode 27 - Aired 3/21/2021

Detailing the charges facing the Capitol rioters; Then, changing how the military handles racial bias in the ranks; And, studying coronavirus spread in one Georgia school system.

Facial Recognition, UAP, Rafa
star
7.36
25 votes

#8 - Facial Recognition, UAP, Rafa

Season 53 - Episode 35 - Aired 5/16/2021

Police using facial recognition amidst claims of wrongful arrests; Navy pilots describe encounters with UFOs; And, Rafael Nadal offers 60 Minutes a glimpse into his life.

Progress and Patience, Incoming, Colson Whitehead
star
7.35
20 votes

#9 - Progress and Patience, Incoming, Colson Whitehead

Season 53 - Episode 24 - Aired 2/28/2021

The efforts to ramp up COVID-19 vaccinations; Then, never-before-seen video of the attack on Al Asad Airbase; And, Colson Whitehead: The 60 Minutes interview

Chairman Powell, The Last Pandemic, Prince and the Revelation
star
7.32
19 votes

#10 - Chairman Powell, The Last Pandemic, Prince and the Revelation

Season 53 - Episode 30 - Aired 4/11/2021

Fed Chair Jerome Powell tells 60 Minutes America is going back to work; Pentagon programs hope to make COVID-19 the last pandemic ever; And, what's hidden in Prince's vault of unreleased music?

Peddling PPE, Secondary Sports, Viola Davis
star
7.29
17 votes

#11 - Peddling PPE, Secondary Sports, Viola Davis

Season 53 - Episode 14 - Aired 12/6/2020

Inside the wild world of PPE sales; Then, some colleges cutting "secondary sports;” And, Viola Davis: The 60 Minutes Interview

The Oath Keepers; Race and Health; Viola Davis
star
7.15
13 votes

#12 - The Oath Keepers; Race and Health; Viola Davis

Season 53 - Episode 31 - Aired 4/18/2021

The Oath Keepers militia group's path to breaching the Capitol; Black Americans more prone to health issues because of racism; Viola Davis: The 60 Minutes Interview

The Secretary of State, Chips, The Premonition
star
7.15
20 votes

#13 - The Secretary of State, Chips, The Premonition

Season 53 - Episode 33 - Aired 5/2/2021

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the threat posed by China; America's microchip problem; And, early pandemic spotters at the center of Michael Lewis' new book, "The Premonition."

Treating COVID-19 Today, The Lincoln Project, Grizzlies
star
7.15
20 votes

#14 - Treating COVID-19 Today, The Lincoln Project, Grizzlies

Season 53 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/11/2020

The COVID-19 treatments showing the most promise; Then, inside the Lincoln Project's campaign against President Trump; And, finding ways to coexist with grizzly bears in Montana

Florida’s Amendment 4, The Wall, Sir David
star
7.14
21 votes

#15 - Florida’s Amendment 4, The Wall, Sir David

Season 53 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/2020

How many of Florida's felons will be able to vote in the swing state? Then, engineers say a private section of the border wall will eventually fail. And, Sir David Attenborough: The 60 Minutes Interview

Left Behind, The Biodata Race, DNA For Sale
star
7.12
17 votes

#16 - Left Behind, The Biodata Race, DNA For Sale

Season 53 - Episode 21 - Aired 1/31/2021

Families remember loved ones lost to COVID-19; Then, How China is racing to collect Americans’ DNA; And, The big money market for your DNA.

Genetic Revolution, The Youngest Refugees, Vision of Music
star
7.07
14 votes

#17 - Genetic Revolution, The Youngest Refugees, Vision of Music

Season 53 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/11/2020

Could gene therapy cure sickle cell anemia? Then, Sesame and the IRC join forces to help Syrian refugee children. And, 60 Minutes profiles blind musical prodigy Matthew Whitaker

Section 230, The Case Against Curtis Flowers, Notes of Grace
star
7.00
18 votes

#18 - Section 230, The Case Against Curtis Flowers, Notes of Grace

Season 53 - Episode 18 - Aired 1/3/2021

What is Section 230 and why do people want it repealed; Then, podcast helps save man from death row; And, Igor Levit: The 60 Minutes Interview

Attack on the Judiciary, Handcuffed to the Truth, QAnon
star
7.00
21 votes

#19 - Attack on the Judiciary, Handcuffed to the Truth, QAnon

Season 53 - Episode 23 - Aired 2/21/2021

Judges say it's time for more security in the face of mounting violence; Then, Holding Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime accountable for war crimes; And, QAnon's corrosive impact on the U.S.

Variants, The Prosecutor, Best Band in the Land
star
6.87
15 votes

#20 - Variants, The Prosecutor, Best Band in the Land

Season 53 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/14/2021

An in-depth look at coronavirus variants; Then, Prosecutor Kim Gardner's fight to reform the St. Louis justice system; And, the story of New Orleans' St. Augustine High School Marching Band

Transgender Healthcare, Geldingadalir, Exhume the Truth
star
6.67
12 votes

#21 - Transgender Healthcare, Geldingadalir, Exhume the Truth

Season 53 - Episode 36 - Aired 5/23/2021

Health care challenges for transgender youth; Iceland's newest volcano offers rare opportunities; Uncovering the Greenwood Massacre.

An End in Sight, Justice Defenders, Built by Angels
star
6.60
20 votes

#22 - An End in Sight, Justice Defenders, Built by Angels

Season 53 - Episode 16 - Aired 12/20/2020

How the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was developed; Then, inside the organization helping prisoners in Africa become lawyers and paralegals; And, Inside Lalibela, the mysterious holy site.

High Velocity, The Last Slave Ship, Simone Biles
star
6.58
12 votes

#23 - High Velocity, The Last Slave Ship, Simone Biles

Season 53 - Episode 39 - Aired 6/13/2021

What makes the AR-15 style rifle the weapon of choice for mass shooters; Inside the wreck of the last ship known to have brought enslaved Africans to America; And, Simone Biles: The 60 Minutes Interview

60 Minutes Presents: Home for the Holidays
star
6.57
14 votes

#24 - 60 Minutes Presents: Home for the Holidays

Season 53 - Episode 17 - Aired 12/27/2020

Shakira shows what it takes to prepare for a Super Bowl halftime show; then, meet the blind piano player who's so good, scientists are studying him; And, Inside the Japanese artform of Kabuki with its biggest star, Ebizo.

Hell Flight, Justice Defenders, Kings of the Road
star
6.50
6 votes

#25 - Hell Flight, Justice Defenders, Kings of the Road

Season 53 - Episode 48 - Aired 8/15/2021

The COVID flight from hell; Inside the organization helping prisoners in Africa become lawyers and paralegals; Will driverless trucks soon share our roads?