Anderson Cooper's father – who died nearly 50 years ago – is always with him. In this moment, actually, he's to his right.
The 58-year-old Cooper hung up two black-and-white portraits of his father two days ago in his cozy Manhattan office, that looks less like an office and more like a peaceful nook. The photos sat in frames for decades – much like all the grief Cooper had over losing dad Wyatt Cooper, when he was 10, and his brother Carter when he was 21. Cooper's mother Gloria Vanderbilt also died six years ago.
But Cooper isn't holding back anymore. His grief podcast "All There Is," which premiered three years ago, is turning into a weekly year-round endeavor with a new accompanying live show airing Thursday nights at 9:15 ET on CNN. Expect Cooper to talk with not just celebrities – upcoming guests include Luke Bryan, Mariska Hargitay and Charlamagne tha God – but podcast listeners and viewers, too, who regularly call in to a voicemail box and share their grief stories with him. Thousands upon thousands.
It helps Cooper just as much as it helps them. "I struggle with that loneliness a lot," he says, his bright green shirt and blue eyes popping over a video call. "But doing the podcast and the interactions I have with people now are beautiful and really do help." Expect the live show to feel comfortable and casual; he won't be in a stuffy studio, but with his father's photographs by his side in his homey CNN office.
