60 Minutes
China's Spies | The Future of Warefare | Sounds of Country
Season 57, Episode 31 · Aired 2025-05-18
Synopsis
China's Spies – Chinese hackers have infiltrated U.S. government systems, the private sector and critical infrastructure, but hacking has not replaced Beijing's pursuit of old-fashioned human intelligence, aka: spying. Norah O'Donnell reports on Chinese covert agents who monitor and influence events outside their own borders and surveil and intimidate Chinese dissidents right here in America. Keith Sharman and Roxanne Feitel are the producers. The Future of Warefare – Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi travels to Costa Mesa, Calif., to meet with Palmer Luckey, the 32-year-old tech billionaire who founded Anduril, a defense products company that makes autonomous weapons, some already in use by the U.S. military and in the war in Ukraine. Alfonsi explores the artificial intelligence that powers Anduril's systems and reports on some of the company's most advanced weapons, including a submarine that operates without sailors. While several international groups refer to lethal autonomous weapons as "killer robots," Luckey says that these innovations represent the future of warfare. Lucy Hatcher is the producer. Sounds of Country – Correspondent Jon Wertheim visits southwest Louisiana, where the sounds of Cajun and Zydeco music - long the soundtrack in this singular pocket of America - are experiencing a remarkable revival. David M. Levine is the producer.
In the series
This episode is part of 60 Minutes (1968–present) on CBS.
Tick-tick-tick — Sunday night investigative theater that outrated sitcoms.
Key cast
- Mike Wallace as Correspondent
- Morley Safer as Correspondent
- Harry Reasoner as Correspondent
- Ed Bradley as Correspondent
- Diane Sawyer as Correspondent
Also in season 57
- S57E01 The Prosecution of Jan. 6 | Danger in the South China Sea | Dua Lipa
- S57E02 Scourge of Our Time | The Trustbuster | Inside the Archives
- S57E03 After the Hurricane | Vladimir Kara-Murza | Welcome to the W | The Mezcaleros
- S57E04 The 2024 Presidential Ticket | Belief in the Ballot
- S57E05 Pennsylvania Counts | The Vatican's Orphans | Ballmer's Ballgame
- S57E06 Relief, N.C. | Navalny | The Swingiest County | The Cap Arcona