Episode
60 Minutes: The Spark/Endless Memory
Overview
The Spark - Bob Simon reports from Tunisia, where protests against the repressive government not only toppled its autocratic ruler, but sparked the uprising in Egypt that forced President Hosni Mubarak to resign. Endless Memory - Lesley Stahl reports on the recently discovered phenomenon of "superior autobiographical memory," the ability to recall nearly every day of one's life. Stahl interviews the handful of individuals known to possess the skill, which scientists are only now beginning to study.
Details
- Series
- 60 Minutes
- Season
- Season 43
- Episode
- Episode 39
- Air date
- 2011-06-19
- Runtime
- 44 min
Episode context
The Spark/Endless Memory is Episode 39 in Season 43 of 60 Minutes. It aired on 2011-06-19. The runtime is 44 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 38: Designing Life/The N-Word/The King's Speech
Designing Life - Steve Kroft profiles famous microbiologist Craig Venter, whose scientists have already mapped the human genome and created what he calls "the first synthetic species."
The N-Word - A Southern publisher's sanitized edition of "Huckleberry Finn" that replaces the N-word with "slave" over 200 times is the focal point for a debate on the use of the controversial word in American society.
The King's Speech - "60 Minutes" talks to its starring actor, Colin Firth, and reports on the historic find in an attic that helped make the "The King's Speech" an Oscar favorite.
Episode 40: Hard Times Generation/Wynton Marsalis
Hard Times Generation - For some children, socializing and learning in school are being cruelly complicated by homelessness, as Scott Pelley reports from Florida, where school buses now stop at budget motels for children who've lost their homes.
Wynton Marsalis - Jazz missionary Wynton Marsalis shares his love of America's most distinctive art form by taking his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra around the world. Morley Safer tags along as Marsalis and his musicians make the scene in London and then go to Havana for a spicy Afro-Cuban musical treat.
More episodes from this season
Episode 37: The Speed Traders/City of David/Lady Gaga
The Speed Traders - Steve Kroft gets a rare look inside the secretive world of "high-frequency trading," a controversial technique the SEC is scrutinizing in which computers can make thousands of stock trades in less than a second.
City of David - Lesley Stahl reports from under the city of Jerusalem from a controversial archeological dig that has become a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Lady Gaga - With her outrageous costumes and mega hit dance songs, Lady Gaga has become the world's most talked about entertainer.
Episode 41: The Murder of Louis Allen/One Child at a Time/The Library
The Murder of Louis Allen - Steve Kroft's 18-month investigation into a 47-yr.old murder in a Mississippi town sheds light on an unsolved civil rights killing near the top of the FBI's list.
One Child at a Time - Wars can literally shatter children's lives and Elissa Montanti is on a mission to make some of them whole again through a network of volunteers. Scott Pelley follows the progress of one of them, a badly maimed Iraqi boy.
The Library - No one is allowed to borrow a book from the Vatican Library - except the pope. And no wonder: the archive holds some of the oldest and most precious works of art and treasure known to man. Morley Safer and "60 Minutes" cameras get to see the best of the best.
Episode 36: Medal of Honor/A Relentless Enemy
Medal of Honor - The first living soldier to win the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War tells Lara Logan in an emotional interview just what he did to earn the nation's highest combat honor and how the recognition makes him uncomfortable. Sal Giunta has now possessed the medal for six months and says he is just as uncomfortable wearing it as he was to be named its winner.
A Relentless Enemy - Lara Logan's report takes viewers to the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the unit she was covering came under heavy and regular enemy fire from fighters the U.S. military says keep coming from their sanctuary in Pakistan.
Episode 42: Shaleionaires/Stand Down/Market Street
Shaleionaires - While some complain that extracting natural gas from shale rock formations is tainting their water supply, others who have allowed drilling on their property are getting wealthy and becoming "shaleionaires."
Stand Down - Some veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan into the recession are finding themselves homeless. Scott Pelley reports on an annual encampment in San Diego where veterans can find hope, help and services.
Market Street - Morley Safer reports on a mystery that was solved about a 100-year-old film that we now know was made on San Francisco's Market St. just days before the 1906 earthquake.
Episode 35: U.S. v. Drake/Children in the Fields/Al Sharpton
"U.S. v. Drake" looks at former NSA executive Thomas Drake who claims 9/11 could have been stopped though he now faces espionage charges. "Children in the Fields" examines how some farmers are forced to work with their families in the fields. "Al Sharpton" profiles the famous activist. "Andy Rooney" memorializes producer Joe Wershba.
Episode 43: Silver or Lead/The Gambler/In Search of Jaguars
Silver or Lead - Byron Pitts reports on the murder of the mayor of a Mexican city, where powerful drug gangs seem to be giving authorities a choice of "silver or lead" - join us and we will pay you or don't and we'll kill you.
The Gambler - Las Vegas sports betting legend Bill Walters has never had a losing year - a winning a streak that's made odds makers call him the "most dangerous sports bettor in Nevada."
In Search of Jaguars - "60 Minutes" went in search of the most elusive of all of nature's big cats, the jaguar, and captured amazing footage of them in the Brazilian jungle.
Episode 34: Armstrong/The FBI and the Grim Reaper
"Armstrong" examines the allegations that world famous cyclist Lance Armstrong is using performance enhancing drugs. "The FBI and the Grim Reaper" looks at FBI agent Lin Vecchio who help put away several notorious Mafia leaders, but also faces murder charges due to his association with an informant.
Episode 44: Resurrecting Eden/Mitch Landrieu/The ?Sharkman?
Resurrecting Eden - In Southern Iraq where many biblical scholars place the Garden of Eden, Scott Pelley finds a water world where the "Marsh Arabs" are making a comeback after Saddam nearly destroyed the "cradle of civilization."
Mitch Landrieu - The New Orleans mayor talks to Byron Pitts about the city he loves and his efforts to heal wounds it still suffers from corruption and Hurricane Katrina.
The "Sharkman" - Anderson Cooper dives unprotected with great white sharks and the South African who's spent more time up close with the ocean's most feared predator than anyone else.
Episode 33: The Soldiers' Secretary/Afghanistan's Top Spy/Sovereign Citizens
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on a five-day mission to the Middle East.
Episode 45: The Big Gamble/Brazil/Mark Wahlberg
The Big Gamble - Lesley Stahl reports on the proliferation of gambling to 38 states and its main attraction, the slot machine, newer versions of which some scientists believe may addict their players.
Brazil - As the U.S. and most of the world's countries limp along after the crippling recession, Brazil is off and running with jobs, industry, and resources. The economic juggernaut is poised to become the fifth largest economy in the world.
Mark Wahlberg - From street thug, to rapper to actor and now producer, Mark Wahlberg has reinvented himself to the top of the Hollywood heap. Lara Logan profiles Wahlberg as he prepares for his most challenging role - a boxer.