The Account from CNN cover art

The Account from CNN

The Account from CNN

By: CNN Audio
Listen for free

About this listen

 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.2025 CNN Political Science Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Persuadable: Scrolling Alone

    Persuadable: Scrolling Alone
    May 14 2025
    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • Persuadable: Back Up the Rabbit Hole

    Persuadable: Back Up the Rabbit Hole
    May 7 2025
    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    37 mins
  • Persuadable: Why Do We Believe Crazy S**t?

    Persuadable: Why Do We Believe Crazy S**t?
    Apr 30 2025
    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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins

What listeners say about The Account from CNN

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Audible.com.au reviews

Amazon Reviews
No Reviews are Available
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.