This week on "Sunday Morning" (August 21)
Guest Host: Lee Cowan
WATCH THE FULL AUGUST 21 EPISODE!
COVER STORY: The water contaminant that scientists say isn't going away | Watch Video
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (known as PFAS) are long-lasting compounds that are showing up in soil, ground water, drinking water sources, even rainfall, and have been linked to cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, and other ailments. By some estimates, this toxic family of chemicals can be found in the blood of nearly every person on the planet. Correspondent Lee Cowan looks at how the chemicals got here, and talks with families, farmers, and health advocates fighting for clean, safe water.
For more info:
- Defend Our Health, Portland, Me.
- Environmental Working Group, Washington, D.C.
- Clean Cape Fear, Wilmington, N.C.
- Detlef Knappe, North Carolina State University
- Stoneridge Farm, Arundel, Me. (Facebook)
- Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina
- Chemours
FASHION: The revealing history of Birkenstocks | Watch Video
The German shoe company known for its ubiquitous sandals has lasted nearly 250 years. Correspondent Seth Doane talks with Birkenstock CEO Oliver Reichert about going toe-to-toe against counterfeiters; partnering with such luxury designers as Manolo Blahnik and Dior; and how the pandemic affected Birkenstock's popularity, racing to fill backorders of nearly a million pairs.
For more info:
BUSINESS: "Unions are cool again": A new generation of workers advocates for unionization | Watch Video
America's second-largest employer fought hard against unionization efforts at its Staten Island, N.Y., warehouse. But "team members" there voted to unionize – an example of younger employees' interest in improved working conditions, and the increasing fortunes of labor collectives, despite corporations' union-busting tactics. Correspondent David Pogue reports. (A version of this story was originally broadcast on April 24, 2022.)
For more info:
- Amazon Labor Union
- amazon.com
- Ruth Milkman, School of Labor and Urban Studies, City University of New York
SPORTS: Tennis legend Chris Evert on what drives her now | Watch Video
A superstar since she was 16, Chris Evert was a force in women's tennis and popular culture throughout the 1970s and '80s. Today, at 67, she's helping young players learn more than improving their tennis technique. Evert talks with correspondent Tracy Smith about the price she paid for her early success; her cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy; and how her sister Jeanne saved her life.
WEB EXTRA: Chris Evert on the BRCA gene and cancer (Video)
Women who carry a BRCA gene mutation have a higher risk for certain hereditary cancers, including ovarian and breast cancer. In this web extra, tennis legend Chris Evert talks with correspondent Tracy Smith about the response she has had to opening up about her family's cancer history.
For more info:
- chrisevert.net (Official site)
- Follow Chris Evert on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube
- National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) Centers
- U.S. Tennis Association Foundation
- Evert Tennis Academy, Boca Raton., Fla.
PASSAGE: In memoriam (Video)
"Sunday Morning" remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week, including legendary "Wrecking Crew" session guitarist Bill Pitman.
HARTMAN: Personal best: Saving the ref's life (Video)
Back in June, John Sculli, of Rochester, N.Y., was refereeing a semi-pro basketball game when he suffered a heart attack – the kind called a "widow maker," which almost no one survives. Within seconds, a player named Myles Copeland rushed to his side and started doing CPR. Copeland talked with correspondent Steve Hartman about what it's like to save someone's life – and reunited with Sculli for the first time since their shared drama on the court.
BOOKS: New York Times Best Sellers
MUSIC: Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo's enduring rock romance | Watch Video
She was a singer from Long Island, inspired by Liza Minnelli and coated in spandex; he was a guitarist from Cleveland. Together they are among rock's most enduring love stories, all while selling 36 million albums, recording 15 Top 40 hits, and winning four consecutive Grammys. Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo talk with correspondent Jim Axelrod about their creative partnership, their 40-year-marriage, and their latest collaboration: the upcoming stage musical, "Invincible," a reimagining of "Romeo and Juliet" featuring their iconic rock songs. (A version of this story was originally broadcast on November 28, 2021.)
For more info:
- benatargiraldo.com
- "Invincible: The Musical" (World Premiere) at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Beverly Hills, Calif. (November 22-December 17)
ART: "Women's Work": Art from the hands of women who persisted | Watch Video
For generations the artistic contributions of women have been marginalized by the art world and by society in general. In "Women's Work," a new exhibit at Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York, pieces by female artists past and present are displayed alongside works created by women in a domestic setting. Correspondent Faith Salie looks at how "unimportant" historical objects are now viewed through a modern eye.
WEB EXTRA: Artist Valerie Hammond on her children as muses (Video)
Artist Valerie Hammond talks with correspondent Faith Salie about her own pieces in the "Women's Work" exhibit – works that incorporate her children.
For more info:
- "Women's Work" at Lyndhurst Mansion, Tarrytown, N.Y. (through September 26)
- Historic New England
- Artist Nafis M. White
POLITICS: Patrick Leahy on retiring from a divided Senate | Watch Video
He was an idealistic 34-year-old prosecutor from Vermont who came to Washington in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Now, after eight terms in Congress, Senator Patrick Leahy is retiring, at a time when Congress, he says, is more bitterly divided than ever. The fourth-longest serving senator in U.S. history – his tenure bookended by Nixon's political coverup and Trump's insurrection – talks with correspondent Robert Costa about the role of the Senate and the dangers of partisanship.
READ AN EXCERPT: "The Road Taken" by Senator Patrick Leahy
WEB EXTRA: Patrick Leahy, Senator and Deadhead (Video)
Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history, talks with CBS News' Robert Costa about using his influence in an unlikely setting: backstage at Grateful Dead concerts, where he had an impact on the band's setlist.
For more info:
- "The Road Taken: A Memoir" by Senator Patrick Leahy (Simon & Schuster), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio Formats, available August 23 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indiebound
- Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont (senate.gov)
NATURE: Spotted dolphins (Extended Video)
"Sunday Morning" takes us among some spotted dolphins in the blue waters off the Bahamas. Videographer: Mauricio Handler.
Of Note:
The National Association of Black Journalists has honored "Sunday Morning" correspondent Kelefa Sanneh, producer Robbyn McFadden and editor Remington Korper for their August 2021 profile of singer-actress Jennifer Hudson, who was playing Aretha Franklin in the biopic "Respect." Read the story here, or watch the video.
Web Exclusives:
LOVE: Two Maine seniors and their very odd honeymoon (Video)
In honor of National Senior Citizens Day this August 21, correspondent Nancy Giles brings us a love story about Phil and Dotty, two old friends in Maine – both widowed, and thinking their ships had sailed – who found themselves falling in love in their golden years, and about their bizarre choice for a honeymoon, which Phil's daughter, folksinger Catie Curtis, felt deserved a song.
For more info:
"HERE COMES THE SUN": Veteran actor James Hong and Eskimo Ice Cream
Actor James Hong sits down with Ben Mankiewicz to talk about his nearly seven-decade career, and how he has had to face racism on set. Then, Jonathan Vigliotti travels to Alaska to learn how to make akutaq, also known as Eskimo ice cream.
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