This week on "Sunday Morning" (July 16)
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 12:00 p.m. ET. (Download it here.)
Guest host: Lee Cowan
WATCH THE FULL JULY 16 BROADCAST
COVER STORY: Christopher Nolan on J. Robert Oppenheimer, "the most important person who ever lived" | Watch Video
In his latest film, "Oppenheimer," director Christopher Nolan examines the efforts of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in the race to build the atomic bomb that ended World War II. What happened after the war proved to be an entirely different power struggle, as Oppenheimer was accused of being a Russian agent. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin talks with Nolan, and with Kai Bird, co-author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography, "American Prometheus." He also visits Los Alamos and the Trinity site - Ground Zero for when the world changed.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Nuclear blasts, preserved on film (Video)
To watch a trailer for "Oppenheimer" click on the video player below:
For more info:
- "Oppenheimer" opens in theaters July 21 | 70mm/Imax and 35mm film formats
- "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (Vintage Books), in Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- Author Kai Bird
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Los Alamos Historical Society
ALMANAC: July 16 (Video)
"Sunday Morning" looks at important historical events on this date.
ART: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Raising Indigenous voices throughout her art (Video)
Over the last five decades, artist Jaune Quick-to-See Smith has had nearly 100 shows, and in 2020 a painting of hers was the first by a Native American to join the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Now the 83-year-old is the subject of a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City – the museum's first retrospective ever of an Indigenous artist. Correspondent Serena Altschul reports on a moment that's been described as long overdue.
For more info:
- Jaune Quick-to-See Smith: Memory Map, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City (through August 13); the exhibition will later appear at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (October 15, 2023-January 21, 2024), and the Seattle Art Museum (February 29-May 12, 2024)
ON BROADWAY: "Here Lies Love": A dance-pop musical on the life of Imelda Marcos | Watch Video
She was the wife of President Ferdinand Marcos, under whom martial law was imposed in the Philippines, until their rule was ended by a "People Power" revolution in 1986, when Imelda and Ferdinand Marcos were forced into exile in the U.S. Their story is now being told in a disco-pop musical, "Here Lies Love," featuring the first all-Filipino company on Broadway. Correspondent Elaine Quijano talks with David Byrne (of the rock group Talking Heads) about creating an immersive musical based on the Marcoses' lives set in a dance club; and with cast members Lea Salonga (a Tony-winner for "Miss Saigon"), Arielle Jacobs and Jose Llana.
For more info:
- "Here Lies Love" at the Broadway Theatre, New York City | Ticket info
- Lea Salonga
- Arielle Jacobs
- Jose Llana
- David Byrne
- Designer David Korins on Instagram
SUNDAY JOURNAL: Hollywood drama: Actors join writers in striking against producers (Video)
For the first time in 63 years, actors and writers are on strike at the same time, demanding better pay and job protection as streaming has upended film and TV production, and artificial intelligence threatens the livelihoods of writers and actors. Correspondent Tracy Smith talks with those on the frontlines of the picket lines.
For more info:
- Writers Guild of America (West)
- Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG/AFTRA)
- Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)
- Carol Leifer
PASSAGE: In memoriam (Video)
"Sunday Morning" remembers some of the notable figures who left us this week, including novelist Milan Kundera, author of "The Unbearable Lightness of Being."
SUNDAY PROFILE: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: "There are times when you don't have any choice but to speak the truth" | Watch Video
He was the all-time leading NBA scorer when he retired in 1989, after leading the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers to six championship victories. But today Kareem Abdul-Jabbar prefers to focus on his role as an activist and social critic, writing with uncommon candor on such topics as race, politics, culture … and basketball. He talks with correspondent Jim Axelrod about his guiding principle of speaking his truth.
For more info:
- kareemabduljabbar.com
- Follow Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on Substack, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook
- Skyhook Foundation
MOVIES: The history of the blockbuster movie | Watch Video
It's been assumed that the Hollywood summer blockbuster was born with the 1975 release of Steven Spielberg's "Jaws," followed two years later by "Star Wars." But the film industry's desire for box office blockbusters existed long before a shark prowled the waters off Amity. Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz talks with actor Stephen Lang (star of the "Avatar" films), critic Dana Stevens, and Charles Acland, author of "American Blockbuster," about the origin of blockbuster movies – both big-budget spectacles of Biblical proportions, and low-budget films with heart that won a huge audience.
FROM THE ARCHIVE: 1982: The movies' best summer
For more info:
- Stephen Lang on Instagram
- Film critic Dana Stevens, Slate
- "American Blockbuster: Movies, Technology, and Wonder" by Charles R. Acland (Duke University Press), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
IN CONVERSATION: Zoe Saldaña on "Special Ops: Lioness" – Action that's down-to-earth | Watch Video
She's the only actor to have starred in the top three highest-grossing movies – science fiction extravaganzas that transported audiences to other worlds. But at the moment Zoe Saldaña, a 45-year-old mother of three, is focusing on more terrestrial roles – on-camera and off. She talks with correspondent Seth Doane about her new TV series, "Special Ops: Lioness," in which she plays a CIA station chief.
To watch a trailer for "Special Ops: Lioness," click on the video player below:
For more info:
- "Special Ops: Lioness" debuts on Paramount+ July 23
- "Avatar: The Way of Water" is available on DVD/Blu-ray and Streaming via Disney+, Max, and video on demand
COMMENTARY: Historian Yuval Noah Harari warns of dictatorship in Israel | Watch Video
The author says that in Israel, which has no constitution, the only check on governmental abuses of power is the Supreme Court, which is now under attack by forces that want to impose a de facto dictatorship. If they succeed, says Yuval Noah Harari, there is no other mechanism in place that could limit the government's power.
For more info:
- Yuval Noah Harari, Department of History, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- ynharari.com
- Sapienship
NATURE: Puffins in Maine (Extended Video)
We leave you this Sunday with puffins summering along the coast of Maine. Videographer: Mauricio Handler.
WEB EXCLUSIVES:
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Mattel's toy story (YouTube Video)
From Barbie and Ken, to Hot Wheels cars, to Chatty Cathy and countless others, California-based Mattel is the largest toymaker in the world. In this story originally broadcast on "CBS Sunday Morning" November 10, 2013, correspondent Mo Rocca went for a rare behind-the-scenes tour to see how the magic happens.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Writers on writing II (YouTube Video)
Enjoy a look back at "Sunday Morning" conversations with some of the most popular writers of our time, including Harry Smith's 2006 profile of Tom Wolfe; Mark Phillips' 1999 interview with "Harry Potter" creator J.K. Rowling; Seth Doane's 2022 conversation with Ian McEwan; Martha Teichner's 2004 interview with Nobel Prize-winner Toni Morrison; and Rita Braver's 2023 visit with John Irving.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: The iconic Jane Birkin (YouTube Video)
English-born actress and singer Jane Birkin, one of the most photographed women of the sixties, died in France on Sunday, July 16, at age 76. Watch Anthony Mason's Jan. 21, 2018 "Sunday Morning" interview with Birkin in which she discusses her life and career, including her partnership with French singer-composer Serge Gainsbourg, and the stylish Hermes bag named after her.
"HERE COMES THE SUN": Paul McCartney and unfinished business (Video)
Paul McCartney sits down with Anthony Mason to discuss the photographs he took on The Beatles' 1964 tour of America, which are now on display at London's National Portrait Gallery. Then, Jim Axelrod meets a woman determined to finish her late father's bucket list.
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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David Morgan
David Morgan is a senior editor at CBSNews.com and cbssundaymorning.com.