60 Minutes
Pope Francis | Cuban Spycraft | The Album
TV Flash files “Pope Francis | Cuban Spycraft | The Album” as the last listed hour of season 56 — 60 Minutes (1968–present) on CBS, season 56, episode 31, aired 2024-05-19, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S56E31: listed hour 704 of 767 in the 60 Minutes guide, last listed hour of season 56. It aired 2024-05-19 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “A Week in Israel | A Web of Intrigue” (S56E30). Next is “The Prosecution of Jan. 6 | Danger in the South China Sea | Dua Lipa” (S57E01). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Pope Francis – Norah O'Donnell meets Pope Francis for a rare and historic interview at his home, the Santa Marta guest house in Vatican City, a week before the Catholic Church hosts its inaugural World Children's Day. The 87-year-old, Argentinian-born pope – the first named Francis and first from the Americas – is known for his dedication to the poor and marginalized, and for being the most unconventional head of the Church in recent memory. He spoke candidly with O'Donnell about the wars in Israel and Gaza, Ukraine, and the migration crises around the world and on the U.S. southern border. The wide-ranging conversation also touches upon the Church's handling of its own sexual abuse scandals; Francis' deep commitment to inclusiveness within the Church; the backlash against his papacy from certain corners of U.S. Catholicism; and an exploration of his thinking on surrogate parenthood. Keith Sharman, Julie Morse and Anna Matranga are the producers. Cuban Spycraft – For decades, prolific Cuban spies working in the U.S. government, serving in high-profile positions with top security clearances, have evaded American intelligence officials. Correspondent Cecilia Vega reports from Washington, D.C., and Miami on the stories of two such undercover agents, former U.S. ambassador Victor Manuel Rocha and onetime Pentagon official Ana Montes. Cuba continues to supply one of the most dangerous exports to American adversaries around the world: American secrets. Michael Rey is the producer. The Album – When a photo album depicting Nazis socializing at dinner parties and picnics arrived at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007, historians weren't sure what to make of it. After an extensive investigation, it turned out to be a rare personal scrapbook of a high-ranking Nazi officer who helped run the daily operations of Auschwitz, the concentration camp where more than a million people, mostly Jews, were murdered. Correspondent Anderson Cooper tells the story behind the album and why acclaimed theater director Moises Kaufman decided to turn it into a new Off-Broadway play called "Here There Are Blueberries." Nichole Marks is the producer.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Pope Francis | Cuban Spycraft | The Album sit in the 60 Minutes guide?
S56E31 is listed hour 704 of 767 — last listed hour of season 56, season 56 episode 31.
When did 60 Minutes S56E31 air?
Pope Francis | Cuban Spycraft | The Album aired 2024-05-19 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