This week on “Sunday Morning” (Sept. 15)

The Emmy Award-winning “CBS News Sunday Morning” is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.  “Sunday Morning” also streams on the CBS News app beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. (Download it here.) 

Hosted by Jane Pauley

COVER STORY: Fighting vaccine skepticism
Thanks to vaccinations, measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. But measles cases are now back, and one big reason is that, across the country, more families have exempted their children from routine immunizations than ever before. CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook looks at how the views of “anti-vaxxers” are precipitating new health crises; and talks with health experts about the dangers posed by anti-vaccine and anti-science movements.

For more info:

• Medical historian and pediatrician Dr. Howard Markel
• “When Germs Travel: Six Major Epidemics That Have Invaded America Since 1900 and the Fears They Have Unleashed” by Howard Markel (Vintage), in Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
• Elena Conis, historian of medicine, public health, and the environment, University of California, Berkeley
• “Vaccine Nation: America’s Changing Relationship with Immunization” by Elena Conis (University of Chicago Press), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
• Dr. Peter Jay Hotez, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital
• “The Deadly Rise of Anti-science: A Scientist’s Warning” by Peter J. Hotez (Johns Hopkins University Press), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

       
ALMANAC: September 15
“Sunday Morning” looks back at historical events on this date.

FOOD: Pete Wells dishes on life as NY Times restaurant critic
Since he began writing restaurant reviews for The New York Times in 2012, Pete Wells became arguably the world’s most powerful restaurant critic, until filing his final review this summer. With correspondent Martha Teichner, he reflects on dining out five nights a week for the past twelve years, all in the line of duty; the disguises he’s worn to avoid detection by restaurant staff; and the health implications of eating at some of the world’s best (and not-so-best) restaurants. 

For more info:

BOOKS: Hillary Clinton on Harris’ White House run, Trump’s conviction, and more
Hillary Rodham Clinton has lived one of the most public of lives, but has kept much private during her years as first lady, Senator, Secretary of State and presidential nominee. Now, she opens up about personal matters in her new book, “Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty.” She talks with CBS News’ Erin Moriarty about her marriage to President Bill Clinton and the loss of friends and family; her personal association to Vice President Kamala Harris’ run for the White House; and how she interpreted news of the criminal conviction of former President Donald Trump.

For more info:

       
DESIGN: New methods, technology to cut down on bird strikes
According to experts, up to a billion birds die every year from flying into buildings and skyscrapers – distracted by lights or reflections, or unaware of the hazards posed by glass. But some architects are using new bird-friendly glass in their construction, while public-awareness campaigns are having a dramatic effect on creating safer environments for migrating birds. Correspondent David Pogue reports.

For more info:

        
PASSAGE: In memoriam
“Sunday Morning” remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week.

MUSIC: The return of LL Cool J, the rapper
As a teenager LL Cool J was the first artist signed to the Def Jam label, becoming one of the first major hip-hop stars, with hits like “Going Back to Cali” and “Mama Said Knock You Out.” He turned to acting, starring for 14 seasons on “NCIS: Los Angeles.” Now 56, he’s returned to the thing he loves most – rapping – with his first album in more than a decade, “The Force.” He talks with “Sunday Morning” contributor Kelefa Sanneh about the origins of his career, and the magic of making a hip-hop record.

You can stream the LL Cool J album “The Force” by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full):

For more info:

TECHNOLOGY: Saildrones: Game-changers for the Navy
The U.S. Navy is testing a new way of patrolling the ocean, by using saildrones – boats that can function without crew while tracking vehicles on the high seas. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin talks with Saildrone founder & CEO Richard Jenkins about his autonomous fleet; and with Navy officials about how they are using the massive amounts of data being collected.

For more info:

BOOKS: Connie Chung’s secrets to her success
Veteran CBS journalist Connie Chung broke down barriers in TV news to become the first Asian woman to co-anchor a nightly network news program. She reflects on her four-decade career in a new memoir, “Connie,” and sits down at her home in Montana with “Sunday Morning” anchor Jane Pauley, to talk about fighting sexism and racism in what she called “a sea of men,” and the lengths she would go to, to land the big interviews.

For more info:

       
HARTMAN: TBD

        
MOVIES: “Will & Harper”
Comedy legend Will Ferrell and former “Saturday Night Live” head writer Harper Steele had been buddies since the mid-1990s. But then Steele sent an email announcing that she had transitioned to a woman. How the two approached the changing dynamics of their friendship became the basis of a new Netflix documentary, “Will & Harper,” in which the two embark on a cross-country road trip – 17 days of laughter, tears and beer. Correspondent Tracy Smith talks with Ferrell and Steele about their adventure and what they learned about themselves, and the nation they navigated.

To watch a trailer for “Will & Harper” click on the video player below:

For more info:

• “Will & Harper,” now playing in theaters, and streaming on Netflix beginning September 27

       
NATURE: TBD

WEB EXCLUSIVE: 

FROM THE ARCHIVES: James Earl Jones (YouTube Video)
Acclaimed actor James Earl Jones, renowned as a Tony-winning stage presence, film star, and voice of Darth Vader, died on September 9, 2024 at age 93. In this “Sunday Morning” profile that originally aired March 16, 2008, Jones talked with correspondent Michelle Miller about overcoming his childhood stutter; described how he “got lucky” with his voiceover job for George Lucas’ “Star Wars,” and how he voiced a “dopey dad” in “The Lion King”; and discussed his return to Broadway as Big Daddy in Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

GALLERY: Summer music heats up 2024
Live performances are in full swing this summer. Scroll through our concert gallery, featuring pictures by CBS News photojournalist Jake Barlow and photographers Ed Spinelli and Kirstine Walton.

The Emmy Award-winning “CBS News Sunday Morning” is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Executive producer is Rand Morrison.

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