CNN’s David Culver Reports in “The Exorcists” for The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper
EPISODE PREMIERES SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23 AT 8PM ET/PT
NEW YORK, NY – (November 17, 2025) – The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, a six-time Emmy® Award-winning CNN Original, returns with a revealing exploration of modern exorcisms in America. “The Exorcists” with Senior National Correspondent David Culver premieres Sunday, November 23 at 8pm ET/PT on CNN, and will stream on demand the next day for subscribers of CNN’s streaming offering.
In “The Exorcists” Culver travels to Arizona, where he sits down with one Catholic exorcist who has never spoken out publicly about the rite before. He witnesses deliverances across Christian faiths, capturing rituals taking place in garage sanctuaries overflowing with worshippers, family churches hosting deliverance nights, and pastors offering one-on-one sessions, sometimes for a fee. Speaking with Catholic leaders including Bishops John Dolan of the Diocese of Phoenix and Gerald Frederick Kicanas of the Diocese of Tucson, Culver examines the ongoing debate over how mental health treatment and spiritual healing can coexist.
“After months of reporting, this felt less like a story about demons and more like a story about the human desire to feel seen, supported, and healed,” said Culver. “Every minister and exorcist we spoke with told us the same thing: more people are showing up, asking for help. The rise is anecdotal, but the desperation we saw was unmistakable.”
The episode features rare footage of deliverance rituals, interviews with those who have undergone the rites, and an unflinching look at the line between psychological distress and the belief of spiritual possession. Through these accounts, “The Exorcists” probes how centuries-old rituals of religious cleansing are being reinterpreted in modern America, often as a last resort for people seeking relief from trauma and abuse.
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper is a collection of unique and immersive single subject, one-hour episodes from CNN’s award-winning longform storytelling team showcasing character-driven stories, special interviews, and investigative deep dives featuring reporting from CNN’s anchors and correspondents. The series, which has been honored with two consecutive Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Recorded News Program, is executive produced by Susan Chun. Culver previously reported for The Whole Story from Dujiangyan Panda Base in China, the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, the cocaine trafficking corridors of Ecuador, and a psychedelic retreat in Jamaica.
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper will stream live for pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps on Sunday, November 23. “The Exorcists” will also be available on demand beginning Monday, November 24 to CNN’s streaming subscribers and pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.
Past episodes of The Whole Story are available to stream on demand for CNN’s streaming subscribers and on HBO Max.
The Whole Story is also available as a CNN Podcasts showcast. Visit CNN.com/audio or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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About CNN Originals
The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN Flashdocs, and CNN Studios. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 60 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films’ first Academy Award® for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy® Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy® nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid directed by Matt Tyrnauer; Emmy® nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy® Award-nominated “Decades Series”: The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; the Emmy® Award winning Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; Luther Vandross: Never Too Much, directed by Dawn Porter; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; Primetime Emmy® and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy® Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; This is Life with Lisa Ling; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; the five-time Emmy® Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; the American version of the long-running UK comedy series, Have I Got News For You, hosted by Roy Wood Jr; and the six-time Emmy® Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, the CNN Original Hub on Max and discovery+, the CNN Originals FAST channel, and for pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.
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Press Contacts
The Whole Story Press Contact
David Culver Press Contact
Mariana.Pinango@cnn.com