Anderson Cooper Has Over 30,000 DMs from Fans and Tries to Answer These Ones First

The longtime CNN anchor also revealed he's listened to about 6,000 voicemails from listeners of his grief podcast

Anderson Cooper is never too busy for his fans.

On Thursday, Feb. 20, the longtime CNN anchor took part in a discussion about his All There Is with Anderson Cooper podcast. The series explores navigating grief through raw and honest conversations.

During Thursday's discussion at On Air Fest in Brooklyn, Cooper told host Audie Cornish that the podcast set up a voicemail where listeners could call in and leave a message, sharing what they've learned about grief throughout the episodes.

Cooper admitted that the gesture quickly grew as thousands of people began leaving voicemails for him.

Related: Anderson Cooper Says 40-Year-Old Essay by His Father Helped Him Realize He'd 'Buried My Ability to Feel Joy'

"I think the first season we got 46 hours of calls," Cooper revealed. "We had about a thousand calls. I think this [season] we had, I don't know, 3,000. I think I've listened to about 6,000 calls now."

Despite the high volume of calls and voicemails, Cooper said the messages he hears are nothing short of "extraordinary."

"I mean, they're just extraordinary," he told Cornish. "I mean, I've spent months of my life listening to these calls. But what you learn is just the number, all the different kinds of grief. I mean, there's nothing I've not heard of..."

Related: Anderson Cooper Says He Long 'Hated' New Year's Eve While Co-Hosting CNN Broadcast — and Reveals the Tragic Reason Why

He later said listening to the voicemails has helped him process his own grief.

"I spent months listening to them and I found myself weeping uncontrollably, which like I never cried before," said Cooper.

Later in the evening, one audience member asked Cooper if he's reached out to anyone who left him a voicemail. That's when he revealed the communication doesn't end there because tens of thousands of fans have also left him messages on social media.

"In terms of direct messages on Instagram, I'm not sure how many. There's got to be 30,000," he said.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Still, he takes time to read through many of the messages before the end of the day, and makes sure to read the messages related to grief.

"I go through my Instagram at the end of every day, like just messages that have been sent very quickly," he explained. "And if it's related to grief, I click on it and try and read it. I don't necessarily open it, but I click on it and read it, and I will try to respond to somebody, even if it's just a word or two, or a voice, note, but that's hard."

Cooper added that he's also diligent in responding because "I don't want to hurt their feelings," and he has connected with many of his fans on a personal level.

"I'm in constant contact with a number of people," Cooper said. "I haven't met them, but there are people I call every week who have sent me voicemails and could use somebody to talk to. So I do."

New episodes of All There Is with Anderson Cooper premiere on Wednesdays.