This week on "Sunday Morning" (March 3)

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.) 

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Hosted by Jane Pauley

COVER STORY: The mRNA miracle workers
More than one million people died just in the U.S. as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in 2020. But a scientific miracle – a vaccine released later that same year – saved countless lives. Last year Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, the two scientists whose research in messenger RNA (or mRNA) and immunology enabled the development of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines, were named Nobel Prize-winners. "Sunday Morning" contributor Kelefa Sanneh talks with Weissman and Karikó about their partnership, and the unusual trajectories of their lives that led to a breakthrough that may reshape vaccine treatment for a host of diseases.

For more info:

• Katalin Karikó, Penn Medicine
• Drew Weissman, Penn Medicine
• 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

      
ALMANAC: March 3
"Sunday Morning" looks back at historical events on this date.

ARTS: A revelatory exhibition of Mark Rothko paintings on paper
His abstract expressionist canvases are among the most recognizable of all 20th century artists' works. But Mark Rothko (1903-1970) also produced nearly 3,000 pieces on paper – smaller in scale but just as innovative. CBS News chief election & campaign correspondent Robert Costa visits an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., that explores the trail of paper works the artist left behind, and talks with curator Adam Greenhalgh, and with the artist's children, Kate Rothko Prizel and Christopher Rothko, about Rothko's remarkable vision.

For more info:

• "Mark Rothko: Paintings on Paper," at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (through March 31)
• Exhibition catalog: "Mark Rothko: Paintings on Paper" by Adam Greenhalgh (Hardcover), available from the National Gallery Art and via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
• mark-rothko.org
• Exhibition: "Mark Rothko," at Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris (through April 2)

BOOKS: "The Covenant of Water" author Abraham Verghese
Dr. Abraham Verghese teaches medical students about the importance of bedside manner at Stanford University's School of Medicine.  But he has another calling, as author of the New York Times bestselling novel "The Covenant of Water," a multi-generational tale of a family in India experiencing love and tragedy. Verghese talks with correspondent Tracy Smith about uprooting his family to take a writing program at the University of Iowa in order to pursue his dream of being a writer; and about receiving the news that his latest novel would be an Oprah's Book Club pick.

For more info:

• "The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese (Grove/Atlantic), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
• abrahamverghese.org
• Abraham Verghese, MD, MACP, Stanford University School of Medicine

      
LAW: The Trump trials: A former president faces justice
Beginning this month in New York City, former President Donald Trump will stand in the first of four state and federal trials in which he faces a total of 91 criminal charges, from financial fraud, to conspiring to overturn the election he lost in 2020, to keeping classified documents at his home in Florida. Trump's defenders equate the prosecution of a presidential candidate with "election interference," but Melissa Murray and Andrew Weissmann, authors of "The Trump Indictments," call the trials of a former president a defining moment in the rule of law. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports.

For more info:

• "The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary" by Melissa Murray & Andrew Weissmann (W.W. Norton & Company), in Trade Paperback and eBook formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
• Melissa Murray, professor of law, New York University
• Andrew Weissmann, professor of practice, New York University
• Robert Ray, partner, Zeichner, Ellman & Krause
• Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley

      
PASSAGE: Richard Lewis
"Sunday Morning" remembers standup comedian and actor Richard Lewis, who starred in Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

MUSIC: Multi-instrumentalist, musical maximalist Jacob Collier talks collaboration
To follow his 2016 debut album "In My Room," in which he played every instrument, and recorded every vocal track, all inside a small room in his childhood home in North London, Jacob Collier didn't record one album – he recorded a four-album cycle. Using the editing software Logic, the six-time Grammy-winner made himself sound like an orchestra and choir, blending R&B, pop, jazz and everything-in-between while working with some of the biggest acts in music. With the latest installment, "Djesse Vol. 4," Collier collaborates with such artists as Brandi Carlile, Camilo, Chris Martin and John Legend. Correspondent Conor Knighton talks with Collier about the "emotional, chemical reaction" that comes from his musical alchemy.

You can stream Jacob Collier's album "Djesse Vol. 4" by clicking on the embed below (Free Spotify registration required to hear the tracks in full):

For more info:

• "Djesse Vol. 4" by Jacob Collier (Interscope/Geffen/A&M) available March 1
• jacobcollier.com/
• Follow Jacob Collier on YouTube and Spotify

     
HARTMAN: TBD

     
COMEDY: For Kevin James, all roads lead back to stand-up
He had a nine-year run starring in the CBS sitcom "The King of Queens," and topped the box office charts with the comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop." But comedian Kevin James reserves his greatest affection for stand-up, which the college dropout honed while moonlighting at Long Island comedy clubs. James talks with correspondent Jim Axelrod about why he's thankful he bombed his audition for "Saturday Night Live," and why he keeps going back to his stand-up roots.

To watch a trailer for "Kevin James: Irregardless" click on the video player below:

For more info:

• "Kevin James: Irregardless" is now streaming on Amazon Prime
• kevinjames.com | Tour info

MOVIES: "Hits, Flops and Other Illusions": Director Ed Zwick on a life in Hollywood
He's the Emmy- and Oscar-winning producer and director of such films as "Glory" and "Blood Diamond" and the TV series "Thirtysomething." Now, Ed Zwick plumbs his 40-year career for a memoir that offers an unvarnished take on the industry and his own experiences on the front lines of entertainment, "Hits, Flops and Other Illusions." He talks with correspondent Luke Burbank about the heroes and villains, the art of compromise, and the vagaries of success.

For more info:

• "Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood" by Ed Zwick (Gallery Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org

     
NATURE: TBD
     

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WEB EXCLUSIVES:

CALENDAR: Leap Day Babies: A birthday every four years (Video)
The chances of being born on February 29, Leap Day, is 1 in 1,461, which means for the 4.8 million "leaplings" around the world who were born on Leap Day, their actual birthday only comes around once every four years. "Sunday Morning" producer Roman Feeser talks with some leaplings who discuss the challenges and humor of marking a quadrennial birthday.

GALLERY: Notable deaths in 2024
A look back at the esteemed personalities who've left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.

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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 senior producer for CBSNews.com and the Emmy Award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning." He writes about film, music and the arts. He is author of the books "Monty Python Speaks" and "Knowing the Score."

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