This week on "Sunday Morning" (December 26)

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Host: Jane Pauley

WATCH THE FULL DECEMBER 26 EPISODE!

COVER STORY: The universal nostalgia for "Take Me Home, Country Roads" | Watch Video"Take Me Home, Country Roads," a song about a longing for home (co-written by a songwriter who had never even been in West Virginia), has been embraced by the Mountain State in a big way, and has since been appropriated by singers around the world looking for their very own "place I belong." Correspondent Conor Knighton looks into the genesis and global impact of John Denver's first big hit; and with country star Brad Paisley about the special pull the song has for him.

For more info:

Brad PaisleyBill DanoffSarah Morris, Department of English, West Virginia UniversitySpecial thanks to West Virginia UniversitySpecial thanks to West Virginia Department of Tourism

A LOOK BACK: Top news stories of 2021 month-by-month | Watch Video"Sunday Morning" host Jane Pauley looks back on key events of a dramatic year.

Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, who is overseeing the reconstruction of Notre Dame, with correspondent Seth Doane on the roof of the 12th century cathedral, which was damaged by fire in 2019. / Credit: CBS News
Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, who is overseeing the reconstruction of Notre Dame, with correspondent Seth Doane on the roof of the 12th century cathedral, which was damaged by fire in 2019. / Credit: CBS News

POSTCARD FROM PARIS: Reconstructing Notre Dame Cathedral | Watch VideoIt's at the heart of Paris, in every sense of the word, and so when Notre Dame Cathedral was engulfed by fire in April 2019, it became the nation's mission to restore the medieval church to its full glory. Correspondent Seth Doane was given rare access to the cathedral's interior as it undergoes repairs, and talks with the former military general in charge of completing the effort by 2024.

GALLERY: Fire burns Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

For more info:

notredamecathedralparis.com

National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Actor Peter Dinklage, star of the new film
Actor Peter Dinklage, star of the new film

MOVIES: Peter Dinklage on recasting the hero of "Cyrano" | Watch VideoThe famously private "Game of Thrones" star talks with "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl about a new film adaptation of the play "Cyrano de Bergerac," featuring Dinklage as the ghostwriter of love letters wooing the beautiful Roxanne. Stahl also talks with "Cyrano" screenwriter Erica Schmidt (Dinklage's wife); and with director Joe Wright, who reveals how the period romance almost devolved into a disaster movie while shooting near a suddenly-active volcano.

To watch a trailer for "Cyrano" click on the video player below:

For more info:

"Cyrano" opens in select theaters January 21"Cyrano" cast and creative team, Goodspeed Musicals, East Haddam, Conn. Thanks to The New GroupThanks to Goodspeed Musicals Goodspeed photos by Diane Sobolewski

A LOOK BACK: 2021's most popular movies, music and books | Watch Video

A portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven as he composed the
A portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven as he composed the

MUSIC: The defiance of Ludwig van Beethoven and his "Ode to Joy" | Watch VideoLudwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was a composer of extraordinary gifts, but a lifetime of maladies – including the almost-total loss of his hearing – threatened his ability to write music. He would overcome thoughts of suicide to compose his masterwork: the Ninth Symphony and its optimistic final movement, "Ode to Joy." Correspondent Mo Rocca talks with biographer Jan Swafford and conductor Marin Alsop about Beethoven's incredible triumph over terrible mental and physical suffering; and with a hearing specialist who has created a simulation of how Beethoven actually heard his music.

For more info:

"Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph" by Jan Swafford (Mariner Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon and Indieboundjanswafford.commarinalsop.comCharles Limb, MD, Chief of the UCSF Division of Otology, Neurotology and Skull Base SurgeryUCSF Douglas Grant Cochlear Implant CenterChamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Audio-visual of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is provided courtesy of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and Riccardo Muti Music

HEADLINES: Archbishop Desmond Tutu dead at 90 (Video)South Africa's first Black Archbishop, who bravely challenged his country apartheid rule, is dead at age 90. Correspondent Debora Patta, in Johannesburg, looks back at the life of human rights campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won a Nobel Peace Prize as a man who spoke truth to power, whether it was a White racist regime or a corrupt African dictatorship.

Clockwise from top left: Broadway composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim; Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell;
Clockwise from top left: Broadway composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim; Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell;

A LOOK BACK: Hail and farewell – A tribute to those we lost in 2021 | Watch Video"Sunday Morning" remembers some of the creative, inspiring and newsworthy men and women who passed away this year, who'd touched us in unforgettable ways, and left us with wisdom, love, and the satisfaction of lives well-lived. Lee Cowan reports.

COMMENTARY: Faith Salie on saying "grace" | Watch VideoThe "Sunday Morning" contributor suggests her own Word of the Year – one that has taken on many meanings in a challenging time.

For more info:

faithsalie.com

NATURE: Winter in Minnesota (Extended Web Video)"Sunday Morning" leaves us on this first Sunday morning of winter on the north shore of Lake Superior. Videographer: Scot Miller.

WEB EXCLUSIVES:

 / Credit: CBS News/Simon & Schuster
/ Credit: CBS News/Simon & Schuster

PODCAST: "Unsung Science""Sunday Morning" correspondent David Pogue explores the origin stories behind some of the most mind-blowing advances in science and technology. Presented by CBS News and Simon & Schuster.

Listen to the episode, "How the Cellphone was Born: Three Months of Craziness":

The Emmy Award-winning "CBS Sunday Morning" is broadcast on CBS Sundays beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET. Executive producer is Rand Morrison.

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Full video: "Face the Nation" correspondents roundtable

Full interview: Vice President Kamala Harris on "Face the Nation"

Open: This is "Face the Nation," December 26