Six Sunday Morning Stories Worth Lingering Over This Week
It’s CBS News Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley time — and this round of INYIM picks is exactly why the show remains one of television’s great little escape hatches. We pulled six stories built to fuel the brain, the imagination and a little casual-whimsy Sunday wandering.
This week’s INYIM six zigzag from the rise of Viet-Cajun cuisine to the Essential American Songbook, then move through Frederick Douglass’ power and photography, how trains drove American history, the Equal Rights Amendment and — last but certainly never least — historic Route 66.
The six selections originally aired as part of CBS Sunday Morning’s June 28 “These United States — America at 250” special. Consider this our Sunday rewind through the pieces we’re still lingering over.
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Sunday Morning, the INYIM Way
Six CBS Sunday Morning stories spanning food, music, history, equality, railroads and the open road.
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Only in America: The Rise of Viet-Cajun Cuisine
Chef Trong Nguyen arrived from Vietnam as a teenager in the 1980s and eventually found a natural meeting point between the bright flavors of Vietnamese cooking and the smoky spice of Cajun cuisine. His Houston restaurant, Crawfish & Noodles, became one of the names closely associated with Viet-Cajun food. Luke Burbank reports on a mash-up that could only happen through cultures crossing paths.
CBS Sunday Morning’s Luke Burbank visits Houston for the story behind Viet-Cajun cuisine.
The Essential American Songbook: Defining America Through Its Music
For America’s 250th birthday, Sunday Morning asked notable Americans to name songs that help define the country. The result is a gloriously all-over-the-place list of 250 tracks across genres and generations. Tracy Smith explores the choices, with Jon Batiste adding a special performance of “Georgia On My Mind.”
Tracy Smith explores CBS Sunday Morning’s 250-song portrait of America, with a performance from Jon Batiste.
Photography and the Secret of Frederick Douglass’ Power
Frederick Douglass understood the power of an image long before anybody had a feed to curate. Born into slavery before becoming an influential abolitionist, writer and orator, he was also the most photographed American of the 19th century. Nancy Giles looks at how Douglass deliberately used the still-new medium to challenge racist caricatures and advance the cause of abolition.
Nancy Giles explores why photography became such an important tool in Frederick Douglass’ public life and abolitionist work.
How Trains Drove American History
Railroads did far more than move people from one place to another. The transcontinental era reshaped transportation, communication, commerce, cities and even how Americans measured time. David Pogue heads to Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, for a compact ride through the history.
David Pogue visits Steamtown National Historic Site for CBS Sunday Morning’s look at the railroad’s outsized role in American history.
The Equal Rights Amendment: A Promise Unfulfilled
First proposed in Congress in 1923, the Equal Rights Amendment sought to establish constitutional equality regardless of sex. More than a century later, the amendment has still not become a formal part of the Constitution. Martha Teichner traces that long road and speaks with three generations of women about what the unresolved fight has meant to them.
Martha Teichner traces the century-long history and still-contested status of the Equal Rights Amendment for CBS Sunday Morning.
And then there is one final stretch of pavement begging for a Sunday drive.
Historic Route 66: Americana on the Go
Route 66 turns 100 in 2026, and the Mother Road still knows how to lure a traveler. Stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, its old motels, roadside curiosities and wide-open stretches continue to sell a particular version of yesterday’s America. Lee Cowan gets behind the wheel for the centennial.
Lee Cowan takes CBS Sunday Morning viewers along Route 66 as the historic highway marks its centennial.
Sources: CBS News Sunday Morning / CBS News. Images: CBS Sunday Morning video segments.
