CNN Presents

CNN Presents

CNN Presents is the home for powerful, narrative-driven audio storytelling, featuring in-depth reporting from CNN journalists. Leading off this feed: Tortured Justice with Omar Jimenez, follows the story of James Gibson, who was tortured by the Chicago Police Department and sent to prison for 30 years for a crime he was later cleared of. In this three-part series, Jimenez tells the story of how a CPD unit nicknamed “The Midnight Crew” violently produced wrongful convictions, the toll it took on survivors like Gibson and if — even with a massive public reckoning — justice can ever really be served. Also in this feed: Persuadable with Donie O’Sullivan and All Over the Map with John King.

Episodes

June 24, 2024 35 mins
More than 158,000 Republicans cast Pennsylvania primary votes for Nikki Haley nearly two months after she quit the race for president. That’s enough votes to swing a state critical to victory in November – and Haley had similar showings in other battlegrounds. So, how do these critical swing voters choose between Joe Biden and Donald Trump – two candidates they do not like? In the first installment of a three-part series, CNN Chief...
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During the 2020 election, there was perhaps no bigger upset than Joe Biden carrying Georgia. This was the first time a Democrat had won the reliably red state in three decades — in years past, Democrats didn’t even think to campaign in the state. So, how do Georgia voters feel about their newfound swing state status? And will this change the way they vote in November? On this second installment of our series “All Over the Map,” Joh...
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Michigan and Wisconsin are Midwestern swing states with the power to make or break the election. They’re crucial bricks in the Democrats’ “Blue Wall” strategy, a wall that’s starting to crack. On this third installment of “All Over the Map,” John King and his team visit Milwaukee, site of next week’s Republican convention and home to a Black liberal base increasingly disaffected with a President and party they feel abandoned by. In...
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In a presidential race destined to come down to a handful of swing states, Arizona is a political puzzle: a Sun Belt state that’s historically gone red, but went for Biden in 2020. Do the changing demographics prime it for Harris, or will it turn back to Trump? John King talks with two swing voters who exemplify how Arizona defies stereotypes — and represent exactly who the parties are trying to win over. Learn more about your ad c...
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Nevada — especially Clark County, home to Vegas and almost 75 percent of the state’s population — is a political bellwether in a very specific way. The pandemic gutted the tourism-based economy, and the recovery has been slow. John King speaks with two voters in Las Vegas with centrist political views who show us why Nevada is very much up for grabs in this election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...
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Vice President Kamala Harris’ goal in Georgia is to turn out the coalition that barely tipped the newly purple state to Joe Biden in 2020. That means firing up the base, convincing the unconvinced, and driving turnout as high as possible. Donald Trump, meanwhile, is hoping Georgians think the shift left was a mistake. There's no question that women of color are a huge part of the Georgia equation. John sits down with two who show i...
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Wisconsin and Michigan, the big bricks of the former Blue Wall, are considered must-wins for Kamala Harris. They’re also both toss-ups at this point. This week, John talks to voters in Milwaukee and Detroit who have a lot in common: They’re both Black men, about the same age, born and raised in their respective Rust Belt cities, and steeped in a culture that always voted for Democrats. One is voting for Harris. The other is going f...
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With just hours before election day, we’re returning to a handful of people who represent a crucial voter segment: unhappy Pennsylvania Republicans. John King interviews three people who voted for Nikki Haley in the state’s primary back in the spring — long after she’d dropped out. How they and others like them fill out their ballots this week may decide the next president of the United States. Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
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As the dust settled in the wake of election day, the All Over the Map team started calling up some of the 86 swing-state voters John King has been visiting and revisiting over the last year and a half. Who they ultimately voted for — and why — offers a window on a country taking stock in the aftermath of an unprecedented election.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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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 interv...
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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, auth...
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May 14, 2025 34 mins
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 ...
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September 10, 2025 2 mins
Imagine you were tortured by police and sent to prison for 30 years for a crime you didn’t commit. Is there anything that could make up for what was done to you? What would justice look like? Would it even be possible? In a new series, CNN's Omar Jimenez tells the story of one of the darkest chapters in American policing history. For decades, a police commander on Chicago's South Side and the officers under him routinely tortured ...
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In the presence of torture, can real justice still exist? With the truth of torture under Chicago police commander Jon Burge and his detectives finally out in the open, the city and victims grapple with a terrible legacy, while James Gibson continues his struggle to clear his name and reclaim his life.   This is the conclusion of a three-part series. This episode includes descriptions of violence. Host: Omar Jimenez Producers: G...
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September 17, 2025 50 mins
James Gibson’s story might never have seen the light of day if not for one man — maybe the unlikeliest imaginable. Andrew Wilson’s relentless legal battle exposed a decades-long pattern of torture by Chicago police and the cover up that hid it. This is part two of a three-part series. This episode contains descriptions of violence, including sexual violence. Host: Omar Jimenez Producers: Graelyn Brashear, Madeleine Thompson, Emi...
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September 17, 2025 36 mins
It’s 1989. James Gibson is back in Chicago for Christmas when he’s picked up by police on suspicion of murder. He will end up spending nearly 30 years in prison, convicted of a crime he’d one day be cleared of. That cold December night would spark a decades-long fight for justice — one that’s entwined in a dark legacy of torture perpetrated by Chicago police commander Jon Burge and his “Midnight Crew.”   This is part one of a thre...
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