This week on “Sunday Morning” (July 25)
Host: Jane Pauley
COVER STORY: Surviving locked-in syndrome: How one man confounded expectations of death
Rushed to a Massachusetts emergency room four years ago, Jacob Haendel exhibited signs of stroke. Doctors thought Haendel was in a vegetative state and would soon die, but the 28-year-old was very much awake and conscious, suffering from locked-in syndrome – a purgatory between life and death. Correspondent Lee Cowan talks with Haendel about his extraordinarily rare medical trauma, and about his remarkable recovery.
For more info:
- jhaendelrecovery.com
- Laboratory for NeuroImaging of Coma and Consciousness (NICC), Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
- Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston
ART: Artist Alice Neel, a collector of souls
While the art world was celebrating abstract expressionism and other avant-garde movements, American artist Alice Neel (1900-1984) captured humanity in her radical figurative paintings that revealed the complexity and dignity of her often-overlooked subjects. Correspondent Faith Salie visits an exhibit of Neel’s work, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, that spotlights the artist’s humanism.
For more info:
- “Alice Neel: People Come First” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City (through August 1, 2021)
- Exhibition catalogue: “Alice Neel: People Come First”
PARKS: Audiences return to Wolf Trap
The only national park devoted to the performing arts, Wolf Trap in Virginia is once again showcasing great performances surrounded by the great outdoors. Correspondent Conor Knighton reports on the park’s past and present, just in time for their 50th anniversary season.
For more info:
- Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (National Park Service)
- Wolf Trap Foundation, Vienna, Va.
HARTMAN: Funeral jogger
PASSAGE: In memoriam
RECREATION: New York’s newest island, a man-made gift to the city
Replacing a derelict pier on the Hudson River, Little Island is a new public space and performance venue constructed on top of concrete pilings shaped like tulips. Correspondent Martha Teichner talks with billionaire Barry Diller and his wife, fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg, about their $260 million present to New York City.
For more info:
- Little Island @ Pier 55, New York City
- Little Island, Heatherwick Studio
- Michael Kimmelman, The New York Times
- Thanks to City Winery, New York
RECREATION: How Coney Island became the people’s playground
Amusement park rides and sideshows, hot dogs, and mermaid parades: Coney Island, a tiny stretch of beachfront in Brooklyn, has left an indelible mark on the world’s popular imagination for nearly 150 years. Correspondent David Pogue rides a rollercoaster of history in exploring the allure of the New York seaside resort.
GALLERY: Early photos of amusement parks
For more info:
- Coney Island USA – The Not-for-Profit Arts Center at Brooklyn’s Beach
- Luna Park in Coney Island
- Coney Island Beach & Boardwalk (NYC Parks Dept.)
- “Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008,” edited by Robin Jaffee Frank (Yale University Press), in Hardcover, available via Amazon and Indiebound
- Robin Jaffee Frank, The Cooper Union
SUNDAY PROFILE: Geena Davis on increasing opportunities for women on screen
Thirty years after the Oscar-winning actress starred in the transcendent tale of female friendship “Thelma and Louise,” Geena Davis is still fighting to improve opportunities for women in the film industry. She talked with correspondent Tracy Smith about seeking change in front of, and behind, the camera; playing an athlete (and becoming one); and what she’d like her headstone to read.
For more info:
- Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (seejane.org)
- Bentonville Film Festival, Bentonville, Ark. (August 2-8)
TRAVEL: A sense of direction: Finding your way without GPS
Many creatures of the animal kingdom share a unique sense of navigation, but not all humans are so gifted. CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook (who describes himself as “direction-challenged”) shares tips from experts about how better to steer ourselves through uncharted territory – and get back again.
For more info:
MAILBAG: Letters from “Sunday Morning” viewers
Jane Pauley answers correspondence from fans.
NATURE: Wild horses
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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