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This week on "Sunday Morning" (May 17)

We're LIVE with Lee Cowan!

Join Lee Cowan, Sunday Morning correspondent, for a virtual Q&A. Ask questions, and hear more about his latest story on living in isolation. Post a question in the comment section below!

Posted by CBS Sunday Morning on Sunday, May 17, 2020

FACEBOOK LIVE CHAT: Lee Cowan
Our correspondent answered viewer questions on the CBS Sunday Morning Facebook page. Watch the archived video by clicking on the player above!


Host: Jane Pauley

WATCH THE FULL MAY 17 EPISODE!

      
OPENING:
 "Abblasen" performed by Jacob Flaschen (Video)
"Sunday Morning" viewer Jacob Flaschen, of Lancaster, Pa., performs the show's theme "Abblasen."

       
COVER STORY:
 The stuff that coronavirus dreams are made of | Watch Video
From tidal waves consuming New York City to toilet paper nightmares, reports of apocalyptic, frightening or just plain bizarre pandemic-driven dreams are everywhere. Correspondent Susan Spencer talks about anxiety-fueled dreams with Harvard psychologist Deirdre Barrett, who has collected thousands of pandemic dreams and nightmares as part of a study of our sleep-state responses to coronavirus; Mississippi State University professor Michael Nadorff; and poet Jackie Wang and artist Sandra Haynes, whose dreams have provided metaphorical stories of fear and triumph.

For more info:

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Jacopo Mastrangelo performs above the Piazza Navona in Rome. Facebook

POSTCARD FROM ITALY: Balconies: The new performance space for musicians in lockdown | Watch Video
Quarantine has popularized a new venue for musicians and singers. Seth Doane reports how, in Italy, musical artists lacking a stage are making their balconies and terraces a platform for bringing communities together.

For more info:

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Bestselling writer James Patterson gave a commencement address to University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate Marie Aguirre virtually. CBS News

EDUCATION: Class of 2020: A graduation season like no other | Watch Video
Rituals matter, and the time-honored rituals of a high school or college graduation have been taken away from seniors and their families because of the 2020 pandemic. Correspondent Rita Braver talks with students and educators about how this generation is responding to a defining societal event.

For more info:

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Singer-songwriter Graham Nash, whose sold-out world tour was cancelled because of the coronavirus outbreak.  CBS News

MUSIC: Graham Nash: "It's never been this weird, has it?" | Watch Video
Anthony Mason interviews the singer-songwriter, whose sold-out tour was cancelled due to coronavirus. 

For more info:

        
CORONAVIRUS:
Adapting to living in isolation | Watch Video
The forced isolation brought about by stay-at-home orders poses an unnatural state for human beings conditioned to thrive on social interactions, but our experience of being alone could just inspire a new way of living. Lee Cowan talks with professors of sociology and genomics, and with a Benedictine monk, about how to adapt to the stresses of this period of isolation, and explores how some people are coping via hobbies – sketching, baking, or quilting.

For more info:

Mount St Helens Anniversary
Mount St. Helens spews smoke, soot and ash into the sky in Washington state following a major eruption on May 18, 1980.  JACK SMITH/AP

DISASTER:  Revisiting the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens | Watch Video
Forty years ago, the volcano in Washington state erupted, killing 57 and triggering a debris avalanche that destroyed hundreds of square miles of forest. Luke Burbank looks back at the largest volcanic event in U.S. history.

For more info:

     
HARTMAN:
 Maintaining pomp under COVID circumstances (Video)
The cancellation of graduation ceremonies because of the coronavirus pandemic hasn't stopped some members of the Class of 2020, as well as their families and educators, from putting on commencement exercises of their own. Correspondent Steve Hartman reports.

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Can't make it to the Faroe Islands? Well, the Faroe Islands can come to you, thanks to live-streaming video from headsets worn by volunteers who will follow directions from visitors watching online.  remote-tourism.com

TRAVEL: The Faroe Islands' virtual tourism | Watch Video
The picturesque Faroe Islands, located halfway between Iceland and Norway, were gearing up for a record-breaking tourist deluge this year, until the coronavirus pandemic scuttled the world's travel plans. So now, the Faroese Tourism Bureau is serving as the eyes and ears of those forced to put their trips on hold. Equipped with cameras and headsets, volunteers are live-streaming hour-long walks through the islands' stunning landscapes, taking their guidance from online visitors who direct their movements from home. Conor Knighton reports.

For more info:

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Comedian Jerry Seinfeld at home.  CBS News

COMEDY: Jerry Seinfeld on missing audiences, comedy before smartphones, and Zoom backgrounds | Watch Video
In his new Netflix special, "23 Hours to Kill," comedian Jerry Seinfeld offers a hilarious standup act recorded before the world shut down – a time capsule that, through his on-point observational humor, is a piquant reminder of what performers and audiences are now missing because of the coronavirus pandemic. Tracy Smith chats with Seinfeld (via Zoom, of course) about what he gets excited about now; having only his family as an audience; and whether he believes we will ever get back to "normal."

To watch a trailer for "23 Hours to Kill" click on the video player below:

Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill | Official Trailer | Netflix by Netflix on YouTube

For more info:

       
BETWEEN THE LINES:
 The New Yorker Cartoons: A coronavirus diary (Video)
For some 95 years, cartoons in The New Yorker magazine have captured the spirit of their times. This time is no exception. "Sunday Morning" presents a recent sampling from cartoonists Roz Chast, Victoria Roberts and Danny Shanahan.        

For more info: 

          
COMMENTARY:
Jim Gaffigan on living in unprecedented times | Watch Video
The comedian, now in Week 9 of his quarantine, reflects on just how many precedents have been broken in 2020.

See also: 

       
For more info: 

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CBS News' Tony Dokoupil and MSNBC's Katy Tur in their home broadcast center.  Tony Dokoupil

WORKING AT HOME: Tony Dokoupil and Katy Tur (Video)
The married "CBS This Morning" co-host and MSNBC anchor have each had to make do broadcasting from their basement. They share with us how they balance on-air interviews with child care.

For more info:

       
         
NATURE:
 Sharks in Fiji (Extended Video)
"Sunday Morning" takes us to Beqa Lagoon in Fiji, where sharks are enjoying a quick bite. Videographer: Ziggy Livnat.

WEB EXCLUSIVES:

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A vehicle drives on the beach in Brigantine, N.J., Saturday, April 4, 2020. Lori M. Nichols/NJ Advance Med

SNAPSHOT: The Jersey Shore under lockdown (Video)
Summer on the beaches and boardwalks of New Jersey is a rite of passage for millions. But shortly before Memorial Day weekend, the beach communities sit quiet, due to coronavirus closures. "Sunday Morning" presents haunting black-and-white images by Lori Nichols, a staff photographer for NJ Advance Media.

GALLERY: Pandemic: A snapshot of life  on the Jersey Shore

For more info:

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A flock of migrating sandhill cranes.  Joel Sartore

COMMENTARY: Joel Sartore: For nature, life goes on during pandemic | Watch Video
The National Geographic photographer says it took a terrible pandemic to give Mother Nature a break.

For more info:

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Itzhak Perlman conducts the Juilliard Orchestra in a virtual group performance of a passage from Edward Elgar's "Enigma Variations."  Juiliard School

"SUNDAY MORNING" MATINEE: Itzhak Perlman & the Juilliard Orchestra | Watch Video
In a recording made exclusively for "CBS Sunday Morning," 48 music students from the prestigious Juilliard School, distance-learning from more than 35 locations around the globe, have joined together virtually for a performance of "Nimrod," from Edward Elgar's "Enigma Variations," conducted by violinist and Juilliard alumnus Itzhak Perlman.

For more info:

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CBS News

GRADUATION: "Sunday Morning" salutes the Class of 2020 (Video)
In many ways graduating students have been robbed of the time-honored rituals of a traditional senior year. "Sunday Morning" asked seniors to submit their photos, and so here is our tribute to the Class of 2020. Music: "Here's to You" by Abby Bannon and Grace Stewart.


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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