This week on "Sunday Morning" (June 28): "These United States - America at 250"
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.)
Jane Pauley hosts a special program celebrating our nation's semiquincentennial: "These United States - America at 250."
MUSIC: The "Sunday Morning" Essential American Songbook | Watch Video
What are the essential American songs? Ahead of the nation's 250th birthday, we asked that question to "Sunday Morning"'s familiar faces, from performers to artists and writers to community leaders to nominate songs by American artists. The results: 250 songs that span eras and genres. Check out our Spotify list of their choices, and read an essay by Bill Flanagan.
COVER STORY: The Founding Fathers: Why their radical beliefs continue to shape America
The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were flawed, but what they did in the summer of 1776 changed the world forever. Correspondent Mo Rocca talks with experts about how 18th century colonists such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams defied a king and proposed a government of the people, and how their fight for equality continues today.
For more info:
- Danielle Allen, director, Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
- "Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality" by Danielle S. Allen (Liveright), in Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- Allen C. Guelzo, professor of humanities, University of Florida
- Audio: "The Great Courses: America's Founding Fathers" by Allen C. Guelzo (The Great Courses)
- Thanks to Carpenters Hall, Philadelphia
U.S.: Historic Route 66: Americana on the go
Route 66, the "Mother Road" stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, was also a place for drivers to "get their kicks." Though long bypassed by interstates, the historic highway, home of scenic vistas and roadside curiosities, continues to attract travelers searching for an America of yesterday. Correspondent Lee Cowan takes a drive along Route 66, which is now marking its centennial.
For more info
- Route 66 Centennial
- Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program (National Park Service Guide)
- National Historic Route 66 Federation
- Route 66 Road Trip Planner
- "Route 66: The Mother Road - 100th Anniversary Edition" by Michael Wallis (St. Martin's Griffin), in Trade Paperback format, available August 25 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- michaelwallis.com
- Midpoint Café, Adrian, Texas (Facebook)
- Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo, Texas
- Buck Atom's Cosmic Curios, Tulsa, Okla.
- Blue Swallow Motel, Tucumcari, New Mexico
- Angel & Vilma Delgadillo's Original Route 66 Gift Shop, Seligman, Ariz.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Bill Geist travels Route 66, the "Main Street of America" (Video)
Bill Geist gets his kicks on a stretch of the historic Route 66 in New Mexico, riding along with Tom Snyder, author of "The Route 66 Traveler's Guide and Roadside Companion," and talks with Tom LaMance, proprietor of Swap Meet 66 in Prewitt, N.M., in a story originally broadcast on "Sunday Morning" July 28, 1991.
MUSIC: The "Sunday Morning" Essential American Songbook: Defining America through its music
As our nation celebrates its 250th birthday, "Sunday Morning" asked some notable Americans to name their favorite songs by American artists. The result: A diverse list of 250 songs, from all musical genres, that reflects a beautiful representation of America itself. Correspondent Tracy Smith reports.
For more info:
- Nate Sloan, associate professor of musicology, Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California
- "Switched On Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why it Matters" by Nate Sloan and Charlie Harding (Oxford University Press), in Hardcover and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- "Switched On Pop" (Podcast)
MUSIC: James Taylor sings "Moon River"
Six-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter James Taylor, whose choices of essential American songs include the 1961 hit "Moon River," performs Henry Mancini's tender song of heartbreak for "Sunday Morning" viewers. [Check out the complete "Sunday Morning" Essential American Songbook at cbsnews.com/songbook.]
For more info:
U.S.: Governors Island: An oasis in New York Harbor
One of New York City's most unique public spaces is a 172-acre island off the tip of Manhattan. Jane Pauley offers a tour of Governors Island, celebrated for its parks, cultural events, and sweeping harbor views.
For more info:
- Governors Island
- Sail4th 250 Grand Review of Tall Ships at Governors Island (July 4)
- Video courtesy of The Trust for Governors Island
FOOD: Only in America: The rise of Viet-Cajun cuisine
Trong Nguyen came from Vietnam as a teenager in the 1980s, and discovered that the clean bright flavors of Vietnamese food he grew up with paired perfectly with, of all things, the earthy, smoky spice of Cajun cuisine. Since then, Nguyen's Houston restaurant, Crawfish & Noodles, has been a leading proponent of Viet-Cajun fusion cuisine. Luke Burbank reports on how the American melting pot has become a cauldron of international flavors.
For more info:
- Crawfish & Noodles, Houston
- Chef Trong Nguyen on Instagram
- Francis Lam, host, "The Splendid Table" (American Public Media)
HISTORY: How trains drove American history
The transcontinental railroad changed just about everything in America: transportation, communications, commerce, cities, politics, even our perception of time. Correspondent David Pogue visits Steamtown National Historic Site, in Scranton, Pa., home to Big Boy, the biggest functioning steam train in the world, to learn how trains helped define an expansive America.
For more info:
- Steamtown National Historic Site, Scranton, Pa. (National Park Service)
- The Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014's 10-state tour
- "Railroaded: The Transcontinentals and the Making of Modern America" by Richard White (W.W. Norton & Company), In Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- Richard White, professor of History, Stanford University
- "1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World" by Liaquat Ahamed (Penguin Press), In Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
HISTORY: The Equal Rights Amendment: A promise unfulfilled
An Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – guaranteeing rights to all Americans regardless of sex – was first proposed to Congress in 1923. More than a century later, it still has not become a formal part of our nation's bedrock of laws. Correspondent Martha Teichner looks at the long road of the ERA, and talks with three generations of women for whom equal rights under the Constitution remains an unfulfilled goal.
For more info:
- Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Ms. Magazine co-founder
- Robin Pogrebin, New York Times culture reporter
- Maya Klaris, associate, Tiger Infrastructure Partners
MUSIC: Sara Bareilles sings "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"
Two-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles, whose choices of essential American songs include Aretha Franklin's rendition of "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," performs the Gerry Goffin-Carole King-Jerry Wexler classic for "Sunday Morning" viewers. [Check out the complete "Sunday Morning" Essential American Songbook at cbsnews.com/songbook.]
For more info:
SPECTACLE: Celebrating Fourth of July fireworks
Fireworks were invented in China, and perfected in Italy. But it was immigrants that brought their pyrotechnical secrets to America, creating a Fourth of July tradition: ever-grander fireworks displays. Correspondent Faith Salie visits the New Castle, Pa., fireworks company Pyrotechnico, which will be creating a world-record-worthy Independence Day celebration in Washington, D.C. this July 4th.
For more info:
- Pyrotechnico, New Castle, Pa.
TV: Larry David on "Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness"
Larry David brings his own comic perspective to America's storied history in the new HBO sketch comedy series, "Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness." He talks with Susie Essman about finally making use of his history major from college, and how he took comments from one of the show's producers, former President Barack Obama.
To watch a trailer for "Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness," click on the video player below:
For more info:
- "Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness" streams on HBO Max
HISTORY: Photography and the secret of Frederick Douglass' power
Frederick Douglass, who was born into slavery and became an influential orator, writer and intellectual, was the most photographed person in America in the 19th century. Nancy Giles explores how Douglass used the early photographic medium to promote the cause of abolition.
For more info:
- Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
- John Stauffer, professor of English, Harvard University
- "Picturing Frederick Douglass: An Illustrated Biography of the Nineteenth Century's Most Photographed American" by John Stauffer, Zoe Trodd and Celeste-Marie Bernier (Liveright), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- "One Life: Frederick Douglas," at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. (exhibition closed)
- National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.
MUSIC: Jon Batiste sings "Georgia On My Mind"
Eight-time Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician-composer Jon Batiste, whose choices of essential American songs include Ray Charles' rendition of "Georgia On My Mind," performs the Hoagy Carmichael-Stuart Gorrell standard for "Sunday Morning" viewers. [Check out the complete "Sunday Morning" Essential American Songbook at cbsnews.com/songbook.]
For more info:
GALLERY: American Panorama
COMMENTARY: Doug Brinkley on America at 250: History tells us hoping for unity is not futile
In these fiercely-polarized times, the presidential historian reminds us that Americans' freedom has been tested – and has survived – much worse.
For more info:
- "Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening" by Douglas Brinkley (HarperCollins), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
- douglasbrinkley.com
NATURE: Eagles
WEB EXCLUSIVES:
MARATHON: Highlighting veterans (YouTube Video)
As the U.S. marks 250 years since its inception, meet some of the veterans whose service helped the country reach the milestone in this "CBS Sunday Morning" marathon.
- Almanac: The conscientious objector
- Medal of Honor recipient, and the battle that stays forever
- WWII vet runs 3,000 miles across the U.S.
- Honoring World War II vets before it's too late
- WWII vet runs across America, again
- Their longest battle
- A Medal of Honor recipient's continued service
- A Medal of Honor recipient's epic poem of war
- Recording World War II veterans for posterity
- A helping hand to America's wounded veterans
- Honoring a Civil War veteran who was lost to history
- "The Wounded Generation": Bearing the invisible scars of war
- A new memorial honoring Operation Desert Storm
GALLERY: Notable deaths in 2026
A look back at the esteemed personalities who left us this year, who touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.
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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