This week on “Sunday Morning” (December 25)
The Emmy Award-winning “CBS 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 12:00 p.m. ET. (Download it here.)
Host: Jane Pauley
COVER STORY: Good news you missed in 2022
A lot of stuff happened this past year, not all of it bad! Correspondent David Pogue brings you some of the headlines from 2022 that will gladden your heart, from medical and scientific advances, to the boom in independent bookstores, and long-delayed justice for unheralded musical artists.
For more info:
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory
- Whale Safe
- Crayon Collection
- Kindred Thoughts Bookstore, Bridgeport, Conn.
ARTS: The Cubist – Turning Rubik’s Cubes into art
Solving a Rubik’s Cube takes a certain talent; an entirely different talent is employed by 16-year-old Daniella Chaim, who uses Rubik’s Cubes as her artistic medium. Correspondent Luke Burbank reports.
For more info:
- Follow @iamthecubist on Instagram
CHRISTMAS TREES: Through the roof!
For more than three decades Mike and Mary Noonan have marked the holiday with a Christmas tree like no other: one that appears to extend two stories and pierce the roof of their Lincolnwood, Illinois, home. Correspondent Faith Salie reports.
MUSIC: The story of “Amazing Grace”
On January 1, 1773, in Olney, England, The Rev. John Newton, a slave trader-turned-abolitionist, gave a sermon about personal redemption. Half a century later his words were paired with music, and would become one of the best-known hymns in the world, “Amazing Grace.” Correspondent Remy Inocencio talks with music journalist Steve Turner about the song’s history, and with folk singer Judy Collins, whose 1970 performance marked a rebirth of the beloved spiritual.
For more info:
- “Amazing Grace: The Story of America’s Most Beloved Song” by Steve Turner (Ecco), in Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indiebound
- judycollins.com
- St. Peter and St. Paul, Olney, England
MEMORIES: A Merry VHS Christmas
“Sunday Morning” correspondent Conor Knighton harks back to his childhood, when the magic of the holidays was preserved in home movies that captured Christmas presents, carols, and family traditions that still shine on beneath the static and snow of old videocassettes.
PASSAGE: In memoriam
‘TIS THE SEASON: Andrea Bocelli and family perform “The Greatest Gift”
It’s become a “Sunday Morning” holiday tradition: A performance by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. This year they are joined by the great Andrea Bocelli and his children, Matteo and Virginia, who sing “The Greatest Gift.” Recorded inside the Oculus at New York’s World Trade Center.
For more info:
- andreabocelli.com
- Album: “A Family Christmas” by Andrea Bocelli, Matteo Bocelli and Virginia Bocelli
- U.S. tour info
CHRISTMAS TREES: The origami holiday tree
Most Christmas trees are cut, but one very special tree is folded! The American Museum of Natural History in New York City features a tree decorated top to bottom with origami insects, to celebrate the opening of the museum’s new insectarium early next year. Correspondent Faith Salie reports.
For more info:
- American Museum of Natural History, New York City
POSTCARD FROM ITALY: Panettone – Pastry from inside prison
Giotto’s Bakery has won some of Italy’s top culinary prizes for its artisanal panettone, created through a process that honors centuries of tradition. But those making this sweet treat, a favorite during the holidays, are doing so behind the walls of the Due Palazzi prison, on the outskirts of Padua. Correspondent Seth Doane reports.
For more info:
- Pasticceria Giotto, Padova, Italy
MUSIC: Lizzo at home
For years now, Grammy-winning superstar Lizzo dreamed of waking up in her own home on Christmas morning. This year, that dream came true. The singer who was sleeping in a car ten years ago invited correspondent Tracy Smith to visit her new home in Los Angeles, decorated with more than half a dozen Christmas trees. She also discusses some of her family recipes, her incredible success, and how she’s “lived beyond my dream.”
For more info:
DESIGN: Newel post caps: The finishing touch
Staircases grand and modest are finished with a finial, a largely decorative element also known as a Newel post cap, the same as George Bailey repeatedly grabs a hold of in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Correspondent Mo Rocca looks into plain and fancy versions of this ornament, past and present.
For more info:
- JMP Wood, Brooklyn
- Samuel Cochran, Architectural Digest
- Preservationist Michael Henry Adams (Facebook)
- Merchant’s House Museum, New York City
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
CHRISTMAS TREES: How about a Christmas tree house?
Jeri Wakefield, of Dallas, takes the holiday to new heights with a Christmas tree house, turning a 100-year-old pecan tree in her backyard into a yuletide wonderland. Correspondent Faith Salie reports.
ARTS: The Kennedy Center: A “living memorial” to an arts champion
Since its opening in September 1971, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has served as both America’s national cultural center, and a living memorial to a president who saw the arts as central to the life of our country. Rose Kennedy Schlossberg talks about the legacy of the institution that bears her grandfather’s name. “Sunday Morning” anchor Jane Pauley reports.
For more info:
- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.
‘TIS THE SEASON: Andrea Bocelli and family perform “Joy to the World”
It’s become a “Sunday Morning” holiday tradition: A performance by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. This year they are joined by the great Andrea Bocelli and his children, Matteo and Virginia, who sing “Joy to the World.” Recorded inside the Oculus at New York’s World Trade Center.
NATURE: TBD
WEB EXCLUSIVES:
“HERE COMES THE SUN”: Here Comes the Sun: Actor Adam Sandler and the “Van Gogh in America” exhibit (Video)
Actor Adam Sandler sits down with Tracy Smith to discuss his film “Hustle,” and the life lessons he learned from his parents. Then, Rita Braver travels to the Detroit Institute of Arts to learn about the “Van Gogh in America” exhibit.
The Emmy Award-winning “CBS Sunday Morning” is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Executive producer is Rand Morrison.
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