60 Minutes
Platform 4 | State Of The Pandemic | Flying Blind
TV Flash files “Platform 4 | State Of The Pandemic | Flying Blind” as hour 632 of 767 in the TV Flash guide — 60 Minutes (1968–present) on CBS, season 54, episode 21, aired 2022-03-06, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S54E21: listed hour 632 of 767 in the 60 Minutes guide, hour 21 of 31 in season 54. It aired 2022-03-06 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Headlines From Ukraine | The Grid | Wrongful Detainees | Headlines, Deadlines, Bottom Lines” (S54E20). Next is “Headlines from Ukraine | Voting Rights & Wrongs | Secretary Pete | The Improbable Tale of Ted Lasso” (S54E22). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Platform 4 – More than a million people have fled Ukraine since the Russian invasion. Scott Pelley reports from a train station near Poland's border with Ukraine and speaks with the refugees and those trying to help them. State Of The Pandemic – 60 MINUTES goes behind the scenes at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta to report on the current state of the pandemic. Since first being identified in the United States just three months ago, strains of the milder Omicron have almost entirely replaced the more virulent Delta variant. Hospitalizations, cases, and deaths are dropping. The CDC has announced a relaxation of guidelines – saying for most Americans, it's okay to drop the mask. What is the next phase of the pandemic? Dr. Jon LaPook speaks with CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and other leading experts. Flying Blind – Even the most competitive skiers see Montana's Big Couloir as among the most challenging runs in the country. But for Jacob Smith, who at 15 is the only blind competitive free rider in the country, it was an almost inconceivable feat. After undergoing four major surgeries for a brain tumor starting when he was just eight years old, Jacob did the legendary run three years ago. Sharyn Alfonsi profiles Smith, who competes for the Big Sky freeride team today, and skis by tapping into his other senses and his memory of the mountain before he went blind.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Platform 4 | State Of The Pandemic | Flying Blind sit in the 60 Minutes guide?
S54E21 is listed hour 632 of 767 — hour 21 of 31 in season 54, season 54 episode 21.
When did 60 Minutes S54E21 air?
Platform 4 | State Of The Pandemic | Flying Blind aired 2022-03-06 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is 1980s 60 Minutes different from today's?
The grammar is the same: multi-segment hour, stopwatch motif, investigations plus profiles. In the 1980s it frequently outrated sitcoms — proof news could dominate prime time.
In the series
Why this series still plays
The template of TV newsmagazine power — for the craft of the package and the history of broadcast investigation. Hewitt's stopwatch, Wallace's ambush, Safer and Bradley and Rooney's endnotes: Sunday night investigative theater that outrated sitcoms. Appointment news before the infinite scroll. Tick, tick, tick.
Tick, tick, tick — not a theme song, a weapon. CBS's 60 Minutes, Don Hewitt's stopwatch since 1968, was an 1980s Nielsen bully that outrated sitcoms on Sunday night: investigative pieces, profiles, commentator segments, correspondent star power. Mike Wallace, Morley Safer, Harry Reasoner, Ed Bradley, Diane Sawyer, Andy Rooney's endnotes. **Ambush interviews and gotcha lore made Wallace a fearsome brand.** The museum guard wants the package as civic virtue. The flash is the ambush. Appointment news before the…
Filed against
- Mike Wallace as Correspondent
Mike Wallace’s ambush made 60 Minutes Sunday-night investigative theater that outrated sitcoms — Hewitt’s stopwatch, Safer and Bradley and Rooney’s endnotes, 1960s-into-1980s newsmagazine power. Appointment news before the internet stole…
- Morley Safer as Correspondent
Morley Safer’s packages helped 60 Minutes outrate sitcoms on Sunday night — Hewitt’s stopwatch, Wallace’s ambush, Bradley and Rooney’s endnotes, 1960s-into-1980s newsmagazine power. Appointment news before the internet stole the clock. TV…
- Harry Reasoner as Correspondent
Harry Reasoner was a 60 Minutes correspondent when the stopwatch became civic theater — Hewitt's newsmagazine power, Wallace ambush, Safer and Bradley and Rooney's endnotes, Sunday night investigation that outrated sitcoms. Appointment…
- Ed Bradley as Correspondent
Ed Bradley made 60 Minutes correspondent craft look like Sunday-night theater — Hewitt's stopwatch, investigative packages that outrated sitcoms, and a presence that treated the story as a public square. Appointment news before the…
- Diane Sawyer as Correspondent
Diane Sawyer worked 60 Minutes as correspondent steel — Hewitt’s stopwatch, Wallace’s ambush, Safer and Bradley and Rooney’s endnotes, Sunday-night investigative theater that outrated sitcoms. Template of TV newsmagazine power. TV Flash…
Also in season 54
- S54E01 9.11 the FDNY
- S54E02 Take the Fight to the Night | Rep. Liz Cheney | King of the Deep
- S54E03 The Facebook Whistleblower | Unforgiven | The Final Act
- S54E04 Deepfakes | 1,000 Children | Deep Springs
- S54E05 Robert Gates | The Green River Drift | Whither Ye Olde English Pub
- S54E06 Prince V. Spy | Running Dry | Michael Keaton