60 Minutes
The Sperm Whales of Dominica | Monkey Island | Hanging On
TV Flash files “The Sperm Whales of Dominica | Monkey Island | Hanging On” as hour 688 of 767 in the TV Flash guide — 60 Minutes (1968–present) on CBS, season 56, episode 15, aired 2023-12-24, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S56E15: listed hour 688 of 767 in the 60 Minutes guide, hour 15 of 31 in season 56. It aired 2023-12-24 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Hostage Story | The Looting of Cambodia | Gnawa” (S56E14). Next is “Commercial Real Estate | Master of the Mind” (S56E16). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The Sperm Whales of Dominica – The sperm whale, one of the largest animals in the sea, is at risk because of noise pollution, ship strikes, and plastic trash. Cecilia Vega dives in off the coast of Dominica, where hundreds of sperm whales live year-round, to observe these mysterious mammals and understand the efforts to protect the vulnerable species. Michael Rey is the producer. Monkey Island – Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports from Cayo Santiago, also known as Monkey Island, off the coast of Puerto Rico, and home to roughly 1,800 rhesus macaque monkeys whose DNA is a 94% match to humans. Stahl examines one study set to determine the impact of environmental crises on the longevity and overall health of the macaques and what the inhabitants of Monkey Island can reveal about climate-related trauma and survival. Ayesha Siddiqi is the producer. Hanging On – 60 MINUTES' Sharyn Alfonsi reports from Costa Rica on sloths and their superpower of slowing down. Alfonsi examines how these mammals have mastered the art of survival for more than 60 million years and the new threats of climate change to the species. Guy Campanile is the producer.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Sperm Whales of Dominica | Monkey Island | Hanging On sit in the 60 Minutes guide?
S56E15 is listed hour 688 of 767 — hour 15 of 31 in season 56, season 56 episode 15.
When did 60 Minutes S56E15 air?
The Sperm Whales of Dominica | Monkey Island | Hanging On aired 2023-12-24 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 56
- S56E01 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Into the Streets| Prime Time in Colorado
- S56E02 CARE Court | Bankrolling the War | Hanging On
- S56E03 The Attorney General | The Rise and Fall of Sam Bankman-Fried
- S56E04 The Godfather of AI | General Milley | Rich Paul | 3D Printing
- S56E05 President Biden | Rescue at the Kibbutz | The 50
- S56E06 The Five Eyes | A Prisoner of Iran | Pink | The Isle of Man