60 Minutes
Boeing's Whistleblowers | Big Crypto | A Tutor for Every Student | Thai Elephants
Season 57, Episode 13 · Aired 2024-12-08

Synopsis
BOEING'S WHISTLEBLOWERS – Less than a year after a panel blew off a 737-9 MAX airplane carrying 177 people thousands of feet above the ground, Boeing has faced four new federal investigations and appointed a new CEO to "restore trust." Yet that has not slowed down the steady stream of Boeing whistleblowers coming forward with safety and quality concerns. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi meets with several of those whistleblowers in Washington, including one who is speaking out in his first television interview. Alfonsi hears about their serious concerns for commercial airplanes leaving their factories and why they weren't surprised when that panel blew off the side of a Boeing airplane in the Oregon sky. Lucy Hatcher is the producer. BIG CRYPTO – Rarely in American politics has a new industry spent so much money, with such apparent impact, as the cryptocurrency business did in the last election. With the price of Bitcoin reaching record highs after the election, Margaret Brennan examines how much money the crypto industry spent, how effective it was and what it hopes to get from the new "pro-crypto" Trump administration and Congress. Andy Court is the producer. A TUTOR FOR EVERY STUDENT – Correspondent Anderson Cooper explores AI in the classroom and learns how the education nonprofit Khan Academy teamed up with the AI company OpenAI to enhance teacher efficiency and deepen student learning. Cooper previews a new voice and vision technology from OpenAI, and test-drives a pioneering online tutor named "Khanmigo" from Khan Academy to experience firsthand how the two companies are hoping to help shape the future of education. Denise Schrier Cetta is the producer. THAI ELEPHANTS – For centuries, the people of Thailand have held a deep reverence for their national animal – the Asian elephant. Today that reverence and co-existent relationship is being tested. Deforestation and overdevelopment are driving these 10-thousand-pound animals out of the wild and into farms and villages in search of food – creating a growing and sometimes dangerous human-elephant conflict. Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsitravels into the forests of Thailand to meet with villagers who are dealing with weekly elephant incursions and talks to American and Thai scientists who are developing novel solutions to combat the problem. This is a double length segment. Ashley Velie is the producer.
In the series
This episode is part of 60 Minutes (1968–present) on CBS.
Tick-tick-tick — Sunday night investigative theater that outrated sitcoms.
Key cast
- Mike Wallace as Correspondent
- Morley Safer as Correspondent
- Harry Reasoner as Correspondent
- Ed Bradley as Correspondent
- Diane Sawyer as Correspondent
Also in season 57
- S57E01 The Prosecution of Jan. 6 | Danger in the South China Sea | Dua Lipa
- S57E02 Scourge of Our Time | The Trustbuster | Inside the Archives
- S57E03 After the Hurricane | Vladimir Kara-Murza | Welcome to the W | The Mezcaleros
- S57E04 The 2024 Presidential Ticket | Belief in the Ballot
- S57E05 Pennsylvania Counts | The Vatican's Orphans | Ballmer's Ballgame
- S57E06 Relief, N.C. | Navalny | The Swingiest County | The Cap Arcona