CNN Special Investigations Unit is an American investigative documentary program on CNN weekends. Expanding upon CNN Presents, SIU focuses on each episode being an in depth investigative report about news stories being covered, commonly featuring a number of interviews with experts on the issue and people who have witnessed the story taking place. The reports are commonly long-form, allowing for the network to cover more information and perspectives than would be available during a 5-minute report on another CNN program, such as CNN Newsroom. Compared to Presents, the show has taken a slightly larger point of the reporting being done by CNN reporters, the first commercials promoting the program largely showing pictures of anchors and reporters on locations, asking questions to people on the locations. In addition, the look and feel of the show has changed somewhat drastically, adding more emphasis on the graphics used to present the program itself, in addition to the stories being covered. In addition, presentations on SIU are shorter in length than on Presents, which is now used as a special event for larger special reports that take place on a long-term basis. Since the program's introduction, the network has slowly shifted towards relabeling past Presents presentations into SIU formatted ones, changing the graphics to reflect the new general label given to long-form reporting done by the network.
CNN Special Investigations Unit is an American investigative documentary program on CNN weekends. Expanding upon CNN Presents, SIU focuses on each episode being an in depth investigative report about news stories being covered, commonly featuring a number of interviews with experts on the issue and people who have witnessed the story taking place. The reports are commonly long-form, allowing for the network to cover more information and perspectives than would be available during a 5-minute report on another CNN program, such as CNN Newsroom. Compared to Presents, the show has taken a slightly larger point of the reporting being done by CNN reporters, the first commercials promoting the program largely showing pictures of anchors and reporters on locations, asking questions to people on the locations. In addition, the look and feel of the show has changed somewhat drastically, adding more emphasis on the graphics used to present the program itself, in addition to the stories being covered. In addition, presentations on SIU are shorter in length than on Presents, which is now used as a special event for larger special reports that take place on a long-term basis. Since the program's introduction, the network has slowly shifted towards relabeling past Presents presentations into SIU formatted ones, changing the graphics to reflect the new general label given to long-form reporting done by the network.
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Sigourney Weaver narrates this review of historical evidence and theories regarding the life of Jesus. Included: Jesus' early life; and his betrayal, trial, execution and resurrection.
Topic: the physical and mental health of U.S. presidents. Included: the medical care provided to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.
An examination of the roles of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene within Christianity. Included: the historical reality of the two main archetypes of Christian womanhood; how they're being …
Anderson Cooper examines the gang-plagued L.A. neighborhood of Hollenbeck, which has the highest concentration of gangs in the city. The program includes comments from a 26-year-old gang member; LAPD …
Anderson Cooper anchors this look at the Jan. 2, 2006, Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia. Included: the rescue effort; how miners are trained.
Kyra Phillips examines the March 11, 2005, shooting rampage in the Atlanta courthouse that resulted in four deaths; and how Ashley Smith, who was taken hostage by the alleged perpetrator, Brian Nichol…
Frank Sesno examines what might happen if a major hurricane hit Houston, the center of U.S. energy production, and the disaster was followed by terror strikes at oil installations in Saudi Arabia. Inc…
Delia Gallagher reports on the final days of Pope John Paul II. Included: interviews with those closest to the pontiff, including Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, John Paul II's personal secretary; Vatican…
The paparazzi's pursuit of a pregnant Angelina Jolie is the prime example in this look at the world of celebrity media. Included: insights from gossip reporter Ted Casablanca; People's Larry Hackett a…
Drew Griffin reports on modern methods of looting bank accounts, such as identity theft. Included: a thief who had more than 100 credit cards under other people's names; an identity-theft ring; a sche…
Alex Quade reports on the care wounded soldiers receive, from Iraq to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany to the U.S.
An examination of the July 17, 1996, tragedy involving the Paris-bound TWA Flight 800, which exploded 12 minutes after taking off from New York's JFK International Airport. Included: animation that sh…
Kathleen Koch reports on how the people in Bay St. Louis, Miss. (her hometown) are faring a year after Hurricane Katrina leveled their homes.
An examination of the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, where five doctors, 14 nurses and 22 medics treat U.S. and coalition casualties, as well as civilians and insurgents. Included: a calm Me…
Christiane Amanpour examines Muslim extremism in the U.K. Included: the alienation many Muslim youths experience in Western societies.
Christine Amanpour narrates report on the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, whose investigation of Islamic militants resulted in a fateful meeting with Omar Sheikh in Pakistan in 20…
Soledad O'Brien profiles Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., via interviews with former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) and activist Dorothy Cotton. Also: how part of King's I Have a Dream…
A report on a Jan. 26, 2005 ambush on the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit in Haqlaniyah, Iraq, which resulted in the deaths of four soldiers.
An examination of the March 2, 2007, accident in Atlanta involving a charter bus carrying the Bluffton University baseball team. Seven people died, including the driver and his wife.
John Roberts examines the Shia death squads operating in Iraq and their alleged connection to government officials. Included: insights from former Iraqi interior minister Bayan Jabr; L. Paul Bremer II…
The world of young doctors is examined at Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital, one of the busiest Level 1 trauma centers in the region, through the eyes of four interns and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who i…
A look at the tenets of Christianity and how they apply to science. Included: whether science and religion can coexist. Anderson Cooper hosts.
Based on Dr. Sanjay Gupta's 2007 book “Chasing Life,” this episode features the CNN chief medical correspondent's look at longevity. Included: the importance of diet and exercise; stem-cell therapy; t…
Soledad O'Brien anchors an account of the rampage at Virginia Tech that claimed the lives of 32 people, plus the gunman. Included: a minute-by-minute account; how the shooter acquired his weapons.
Anderson Cooper hosts this look at how prepared the U.S. is to face another Hurricane Katrina-level natural disaster or terrorist attack. Included: “soft” targets in the nation's food supply, port sec…
CNN International anchor Michael Holmes reports on what life is like in Iraq. Included: bombings in markets and at universities; attacks on civilians and military troops.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates the safety of the nation's food supply, which the CDC estimates is responsible for causing some 76 million people to become sick every year, with an approximate 325,000 r…
John King reports on the unintended consequences of the Iraq War, which include more than 3500 American dead; a cost of some $500 billion; and the fact that two-thirds of the Army's 42 active brigades…
Soledad O'Brien reports on criminally insane felons and why the warning signs in individuals are sometimes missed. Included are interviews with Lionel Dahmer, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer's father; an…
The Minnesota bridge collapse is investigated by Soledad O'Brien, Drew Griffin, Jim Acosta and Ted Rowlands.
Soledad O'Brien examines Princess Diana's early years. Included: inside her childhood home; where she and Prince Charles first met; how her parents' divorce impacted her; and remarks from family membe…
CNN's Soledad O'Brien and Spike Lee help 11 Gulf Coast teens tell their Katrina-recovery stories in video-diary form. Filmed between January and August 2007, the entries detail their hopes, as well as…
Anderson Cooper reports on Afghanistan, where the Taliban is using profits from the poppy trade to fuel its resurgence. Included: efforts by NATO and U.S. forces to eradicate the drug trade; a visit t…
In this powerful follow-up to the 2001 “CNN Presents” episode “Beneath the Veil,” about life for Afghan women under the Taliban, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy traversed Afghanistan to see whether conditions h…
Kyra Phillips reports on the “Jena 6” case, in which six black Jena, La., high-school students are being prosecuted for injuring a white classmate during a schoolyard brawl, while none of the white yo…
Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines diet's impact on the brain and the rest of the body. Included: Dr. Mark Jacobsen (Center for Science in the Public Interest); Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa); LaDonna Redmond, a Chi…
Christiane Amanpour profiles Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and discusses modern-day Iran. Included: an interview with Ahmadinejad about Iran's nuclear program.
Soledad O'Brien examines the Beltway sniper case that terrorized the mid-Atlantic region in October 2002. Included: comments from the families of convicted snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Mal…
Kyra Phillips reports on an upsurge in incidents in which nooses are displayed in an attempt to intimidate black people. Included: the historical significance of the noose; insights from historian Jam…
An interview with WWE chairman Vince McMahon accents this look at pro wrestling, whose participants are more likely to die young than their counterparts in other professional sports. Drew Griffin repo…
Problems facing the Veterans Administration are examined via the experiences of Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth, a former Blackhawk pilot and double amputee, who is the director of the Illinois Depar…
Christiane Amanpour examines modern-day Russia, which critics say has devolved from democracy to autocratic rule under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin.
A look at what's known about Iran in light of the NIE report about its nuclear capabilities. Included: remarks from former secretary of state Madeleine Albright; former Afghanistan special envoy James…
A report on terrorism in Pakistan, including the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
Arwa Damon reports on how the Iraq War has impacted Iraqi women. Included: inside al-Kadhimiya, a women's prison.
The reasons for the housing crisis are investigated in this collaborative effort with "Fortune" magazine, which features "Fortune" managing editor Andy Serwer, CNN's Gerri Willis, New York Times colum…
The safety measures colleges have implemented to prevent further campus rampages are examined. Included: whether students should be permitted to have guns on campus; the Northern Illinois University t…
Christiane Amanpour travels to North Korea with the New York Philharmonic for its February 2008 performance in Pyongyang. Included: a tour of a nuclear facility; a visit with a North Korean family; an…
Expanding upon her award-winning investigative series God’s Warriors, CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reports in a new documentary that examines the nexus of politics and fai…
Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on the toll that serving as president has taken on the health of past commanders in chief. Also: what the medical records of John McCain and Barack Obama reveal about their re…
The opulent lifestyles led by some Wall Street insiders, including Lehman Brothers chairman and CEO Richard S. Fuld Jr., are explored. Also: an interview with one-time stockbroker Jordan Belfort ("The…
Abbie Boudreau and Drew Griffin report on stimulus spending, including controversial transportation projects, mayoral "wish-lists" and mortgage bailouts.
A look at what led 53-year-old Joe Stack to fly his small plane into the IRS building in Austin on Feb. 18, 2010. Included: the manifesto he left behind; interviews with people who knew him as well as…
