CBS News is reportedly searching for a replacement for Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes, and Joe Rogan has been floated as a possible choice. The report lands weeks after Cooper's last broadcast on May 17, turning an already expected transition into a question about who might inherit one of television news's most recognizable seats.
That question matters now because Cooper did not leave quietly or suddenly. In February, he announced he was stepping away from 60 Minutes after more than two decades and said he wanted to spend as much time as possible with his kids. For viewers who have associated him with the program for years, the search is not just about filling airtime. It is about what kind of voice CBS wants to put in front of an audience that still treats the show as a standard-bearer.
RadarOnline reported that CBS was considering Rogan, whose YouTube channel PowerfulJRE has 20.9 million subscribers and whose podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, draws millions of viewers. The same report quoted an unnamed media executive who said Rogan would bring “a core connection to over 50 percent of the country” and reach “viewers who feel ignored or mocked by legacy media.” Rogan's show has become a political and cultural stopover, with guests ranging from Matthew McConaughey and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Miranda Lambert and James Talarico.
That profile helps explain why his name would surface in any discussion about a major broadcast franchise. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Rogan hosted Donald Trump and was credited with helping Trump appeal to young male voters, which gave him a different kind of influence from a traditional network correspondent. But CBS and 60 Minutes have not confirmed the reports, and that silence leaves the biggest part of the story unresolved: whether the network is seriously considering Rogan or whether his name is simply one of several being kicked around behind closed doors.
For now, the answer is not public. Cooper is gone from the program, the search is reportedly underway, and CBS has not said who, if anyone, will take the chair he left behind.
