04/19/2026: Iran's HEU, One Mother's Story, Wild Concerto

About this episode

The episode covers the U.S. efforts to remove highly enriched uranium from Iran, a mother's grief after her son's execution by Hamas, and a unique music project combining animal sounds with original compositions.

President Trump has threatened to take - or make a deal for - whatever is left of the regime's highly enriched uranium stockpile - a key component to building nuclear weapons. HEU removal operations can be high stakes and dangerous, but the U.S. has successfully done it before in 1994 – safely removing 600 kilograms of weapons grade uranium from Kazakhstan after the fall of the Soviet Union. Correspondent Cecilia Vega reports on the covert operation, code named Project Sapphire, and if it could be the blueprint for how to get HEU out of Iran. Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s son Hersh was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. On his 328th day in captivity, Hersh was executed in a tunnel in Gaza. Now, Rachel Goldberg-Polin is trying to figure out how to live after losing her child. Anderson Cooper interviews Goldberg-Polin about Hersh and her grief, and speaks with Or Levy, a released hostage who was in captivity with Hersh, and credits him with helping to save his life. Acclaimed drummer of The Police Stewart Copeland and celebrated British naturalist Martyn Stewart have created Wild Concerto, a pioneering album that mixes authentic animal sounds with original music. It’s based on…

People in this episode

Hosts: Anderson Cooper, Bill Whitaker

Guests: Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Or Levy, Stewart Copeland, Martyn Stewart

Topics covered

• Iran
• nuclear weapons
• hostage situation
• grief
• music
• animal sounds

Keywords

• HEU
• Project Sapphire
• Hamas
• hostage
• Wild Concerto
• Abbey Road Studios

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Project Sapphire, Wild Concerto

Books & works: Wild Concerto

Places: Iran, U.S., Kazakhstan, the Soviet Union, Gaza

More episodes of 60 Minutes

• 06/07/2026: Under Siege, Turning The Ship Around, The Dog Aging Project · June 8, 2026 · 42 min
• 05/31/2026: Germany Rearms, Freezing the Biological Clock · June 1, 2026 · 41 min
• 05/24/2026: Booms, Busts and Bubbles, Sculpting Evolution, The Payam Method · May 25, 2026 · 44 min
• 05/17/2026: Betting on War, The Knowledge, Christopher Nolan · May 18, 2026 · 43 min
• 05/10/2026: Prime Minister Netanyahu, Drawing the Lines, Gout Gout · May 11, 2026 · 43 min
• 05/03/2026: Disaster Tourists, Birds of War, Perfume Capital of the World · May 4, 2026 · 43 min