This week on "Sunday Morning" (November 25)
GUEST HOST: Lee Cowan
COVER STORY: What's REALLY behind conspiracy theories? | Watch Video
Human beings are skeptical of coincidence, and think in terms of cause-and-effect, which is why many people are attracted to conspiracy theories to explain seemingly inexplicable events, like the assassination of a U.S. President – or, to explain things that never really happened, like "Pizza Gate." Susan Spencer talks with spy novelist Gayle Lynds and psychologist Rob Brotherton about humans' propensity to seek out clandestine, nefarious plots, and with professor Joseph Uscinski, who has studied hundreds of bizarre theories, and who thinks a little dose of conspiracy-thinking actually may be good for democracy.
For more info:
- gaylelynds.com
- Psychologist Rob Brotherton and the Psychology of Conspiracy Theories
- "Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories" by Rob Brotherton (Bloomsbury), in Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon
- Joseph Uscinski, University of Miami
- joeuscinski.com
- "American Conspiracy Theories" by Joseph Uscinski & Joseph Parent (Oxford University Press), in Hardcover and Trade Paperback formats, available via Amazon
ALMANAC: Andrew Carnegie | Watch Video
On November 25, 1835, the steel industrialist and philanthropist was born in Scotland. Lee Cowan reports.
For more info:
- Carnegie Corporation of New York
- Andrew Carnegie, Philanthropist (Library of Congress)
ART: Potter and author Edmund de Waal on the poetry of objects | Watch Video
Artist Edmund de Waal creates a kind of tactile poetry with the thousands of porcelain "pots" he creates each year in his South London studio. But he's probably even better known for "The Hare With Amber Eyes," a very personal family history which has sold more than a million copies worldwide. The book is named for a tiny Japanese sculpture called a netsuke, one piece of a family collection passed down through five generations to de Waal, all that is left of their once-stupendous wealth. For de Waal, his two great talents are a single shared vocabulary that informs his life. Martha Teichner reports.
For more info:
- edmunddewaal.com
- "The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance" by Edmund de Waal (Picador), in Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon
- "The White Road: Journey Into an Obsession" by Edmund de Waal (Picador), in Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon
- Scholten Japanese Art, New York City
MUSIC: Singer-songwriter Alessia Cara on "The Pains of Growing" | Watch Video
The Canadian R&B singer-songwriter talks to correspondent Lee Cowan about her new album, "The Pains of Growing," and how this one-time closet pop-star became a genuine one.
To hear Alessia Cara perform her song "Not Today," from her new album "The Pain of Growing," click on the video player below.
For more info:
- alessiacara.com
- "The Pains of Growing" by Alessia Cara (Def Jam), available November 30 on CD (Amazon, Barnes & Noble), Digital Download (Amazon, iTunes) and Streaming (Spotify)
FURNITURE: A new wave in waterbeds | Watch Video
People fell hard for waterbeds when the aqua-filled bedding was introduced half a century ago, but waterbed sales have tanked since their high-point in the 1980s, when about one in every five beds sold in America was a waterbed. Luke Burbank interviews Charlie Hall, the inventor of the waterbed, who has introduced a "new and improved" version of the water-filled mattress, the Afloat.
For more info:
- Afloat Mattresses (Hall Flotation)
- City Furniture of Florida
HARTMAN: Thanks for the help of a loving neighbor (VIDEO)
For many people flooded out of their homes in and around Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the most welcoming port in the storm has been a total stranger. Jaret Hucks, who owns the Midtown Inn and Cottages, has given away almost a thousand free nights to this community's poorest and most vulnerable evacuees. Steve Hartman revisits the story he first reported earlier this fall, and about a new flood that followed.
For more info:
- Midtown Inn and Cottages, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
POLITICS: Gary Hart on "The Front Runner," politics today, and how "all the rules have changed" | Watch Video
The new movie "The Front Runner" focuses on how, in 1987, the presidential campaign of Colorado Senator Gary Hart was upended by a newspaper story that raised allegations of an extramarital affair. "Imagine out of the blue, somebody came to you and said, 'There's good news and bad news – we want to make a movie about you, but we want to make it about the worst week of your life,'" Hart told correspondent Rita Braver.
In a rare television interview, Hart talks about his eventful career, and about how the media's examination of the private life of an untraditional politician like himself has changed the way character is measured, leading America to get "the kind of leaders we deserve."
For more info:
- "The Republic of Conscience" by Gary Hart (Blue Rider Press), in Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon
- "The Front Runner" (Official site)
- "Was Gary Hart set up?" (The Atlantic)
MUSIC: Singer-songwriter John Prine: Still alive and kickin' | Watch Video
John Prine started writing songs while delivering mail in Chicago in the late 1960s. Over the last 50 years, classic tunes just seemed to pour out of him – some sad, like "Angel From Montgomery" and "Sam Stone"; some funny, like "Illegal Smile" and "In Spite of Ourselves." Now, after beating cancer twice, the 72-year-old Prine is back with a new album, "The Tree of Forgiveness," and it's turning into the biggest record of his career, debuting at #2 on the Billboard Rock and Country charts.
As Anthony Mason learned when he spent some time with Prine in Nashville, the "Mark Twain of American Songwriting" (that's what Rolling Sone called him) says he couldn't have done any of it without the help of his wife, Fiona, and a heaping helping of meat loaf.
To hear John Prine's song "Summer's End," from his album "The Tree of Forgiveness," click on the video player below.
For more info:
- johnprine.com
- "The Tree of Forgiveness" by John Prine (Oh Boy Records), available on CD (Amazon, Barnes & Noble), Vinyl (Amazon, Barnes & Noble), Digital Download (Amazon, iTunes) and Streaming (Spotify)
OPINION: A.J. Jacobs on giving thanks for a cup of coffee | Watch Video
The bestselling author, commentator and columnist A.J. Jacobs describes the delightful trouble he went through to thank everyone who helped create his morning cup of coffee.
For more info:
- "Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey" by A.J. Jacobs (Simon & Schuster), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon
- ajjacobs.com
CALENDAR: Week of November 26 | Watch Video
"Sunday Morning" takes a look at some notable events of the week ahead. Lee Cowan reports.
NATURE: Colorado mountains | Watch Extended Video
"Sunday Morning" takes you this morning to the San Juan Mountains near Durango, Colorado. Videographer: Scot Miller.
WEB EXCLUSIVES:
NATURE UP CLOSE: A wolf pack love story
Photographer Deby Dixon and "Sunday Morning" videographer Judy Lehmberg on the Wapiti Lake Wolf Pack of Yellowstone National Park.
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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