This week on "Sunday Morning" (Oct. 25)
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
WATCH THE FULL OCTOBER 25 BROADCAST!
COVER STORY: 100 years later, the mystery of Houdini's death endures | Watch Video
Harry Houdini, the greatest escape artist who ever lived, died 100 years ago on Halloween – a fact that has only burnished his image as a daredevil who often cheated death. Correspondent David Pogue examines the life, and after-life, of a man who seemingly performed the impossible while also debunking seances and fake mystics; and looks into the mystery surrounding Houdini's death at age 52.
For more info:
- "Harry Houdini and the Art of Escape" by David Denby (newyorker.com)
- New Yorker staff writer David Denby
- Historian and collector Roger Dreyer (Houdini Revealed)
- "Houdini: The Man Who Died Twice" by Larrian Gillespie (Cipher House Books), in Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon
- Larrian Gillespie
ALMANAC: October 25 (Video)
"Sunday Morning" looks back at historical events on this date.
WORLD: Israeli election to test Benjamin Netanyahu's ability to hold power | Watch Video
On Tuesday, Israel will hold its first parliamentary elections since the October 7, 2023 terror attacks. Essentially one man is on the ballot: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Matt Gutman reports from Tel Aviv on the divide over Netanyahu, and how Israeli policy might or might not change if the opposition succeeds.
ENVIRONMENTS: Ghost signs: Fading reminders of the past | Watch Video
They're painted advertisements from long ago, for businesses that may have since died. But remnants of these "ghost signs" still remain, haunting our urban spaces. Correspondent Conor Knighton talks with marketing expert Ronald Ladouceur about the origins of these outdoor ads; and with artist Craig Winslow, who is bringing ghost signs back to life.
For more info:
- "Ghost Signs – A Brief History" by Ronald Ladouceur (YouTube)
- Ronald Ladouceur, Massry School of Business, SUNY Albany
- Light Capsules Project by Craig Winslow
SUNDAY PROFILE: Parker Posey: "I have felt in the right place at the right time" | Watch Video
In the 1990s actress Parker Posey became a breakout star in independent films like "Party Girl," and was dubbed "The Queen of the Indies." Recently she earned an Emmy nomination for "The White Lotus," and is featured in the new Martin McDonagh film "Wild Horse Nine." She talks with correspondent (and fellow summer theater school classmate) Mo Rocca about her Southern upbringing, and how her parents inspired her acting.
WEB EXTRA: Watch an extended interview with Parker Posey (Video)
For more info:
- "Wild Horse Nine" (Searchlight Pictures) opens in theaters Nov. 6
- "The Mob," hosted by Parker Posey, premieres October 26 on Hulu
PASSAGE: In memoriam (Video)
"Sunday Morning" remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week, including actor Tom Skerritt, known for such films as "Top Gun," "Alien," and "Steel Magnolias," and the TV series "Picket Fences."
WORLD: Meet the Tower of London's Ravenmaster (Video)
Legend warns that if the ravens leave London's Tower of London, the monument would crumble - as would the British monarchy. And so, they are kept, a well-fed draw for tourists. Correspondent Seth Doane meets the man charged with caring for these feathered protectors of the realm.
For more info:
HARTMAN: Twin doctors on their climb out of poverty (Video)
Drs. Travan and Travis Jasper, identical twins, are co-directors of the emergency department at Chippenham Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Their path to heading the ER started when they were 12, during a hospital visit experience that motivated them to achieve something greater. Steve Hartman talks with the Jasper twins about turning trauma into triumph, and helplessness into healing.
MOVIES: "The Mosquito Bowl" and the human cost of war | Watch Video
The new Netflix film "The Mosquito Bowl" recounts the true story of All-American football stars who volunteered for the Marines following Pearl Harbor – and fought in the Battle of Okinawa, the last and costliest World War II battle in the Pacific. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin talks with director Peter Berg ("Friday Night Lights") about translating the story of young men trained for war to the screen.
To watch a trailer for "The Mosquito Bowl," click on the video player below:
For more info:
- "The Mosquito Bowl" opens in theaters October 30; streams on Netflix beginning Nov. 25
- "The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II" by Buzz Bissinger (Harper), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, Large Print Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- The Battle of Okinawa (National World War II Museum)
GALLERY: Photos of the week (Video)
"Sunday Morning" looks at some of the most evocative images captured the week of Oct. 18-24, 2026.
MUSIC: How punk rock and MTV inspired opera composer Missy Mazzoli | Watch Video
Composer Missy Mazzoli is the first woman ever to have an opera premiered by the Metropolitan Opera. Based on the award-winning novel by George Saunders, Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek's "Lincoln in the Bardo" depicts Abraham Lincoln mourning his 11-year-old son, Willie, whose passing has led the young boy to a threshold place between the living and the dead. Correspondent Faith Salie talks with Mazzoli about the opera and the influence that punk rock and music videos had on her work.
For more info:
- "Lincoln in the Bardo" at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City (through Nov. 14)
- Missy Mazzoli (Official site)
- Luna Composition Lab
- "The Galloping Cure" courtesy of Scottish Opera, Edinburgh International Festival, Opera Ventures Productions
COMMENTARY: David Sedaris would like to clear the air about prostate exams | Watch Video
After a friend divulged perhaps too much information, humorist David Sedaris considers the ramifications of over-sharing – and wrong assumptions.
For more info:
- "The Land and Its People: Essays" by David Sedaris (Little, Brown & Co.), in Hardcover, Large Print Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- davidsedarisbooks.com
NATURE: Spiders in Florida (Extended Video)
We leave you this Sunday morning with some Golden Orb Weavers at Long Key Natural Area and Nature Center in Davie, Fla. Videographer: Charles Schultz.
WEB EXCLUSIVES:
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Paul Stankard's dazzling paperweights (Video)
Glass artist Paul Stankard, whose delicately-crafted paperweights were displayed in museums around the world, died on October 6, 2026 at age 83. In this April 26, 2015 "Sunday Morning" report, Martha Teichner visited Stankard at his New Jersey studio, where the self-taught paperweight-maker demonstrated the remarkable process of creating a tiny world of nature out of glass.
MARATHON: Prison stories (YouTube)
This collection of "CBS Sunday Morning" stories offers a glimpse inside the American prison system, showcasing the lives of those incarcerated within.
- Meet the prison grandma
- The Gainesville Tornadoes thank their unexpected fans
- A visit to a prison rodeo
- Former inmates, guards revisit Alcatraz
- Judge spends night in jail with man he sentenced
- Voices from "The Q": A prison podcast
- Prison in the time of coronavirus
- Dwayne Betts and his mission beyond prison
- Panettone: Sweet treat from inside prison
- A zoo for rescued animals, beneath a Key West jail
- Prison labor, an invisible workforce of the U.S. economy
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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