Ted Koppel anchors a special edition of CBS Sunday Morning October 16, with the episode titled A Nation Divided? The special is in the 9 a.m. slot and goes for 90 minutes. Koppel is a senior contributor at CBS Sunday Morning.
"This is not our customary wheelhouse," said Rand Morrison, executive producer of CBS Sunday Morning. "But with polling showing nearly 70% of Americans worried about the future of our democracy, we felt it was important to examine the polarizing influences creating a bitter divide in our country. And Ted Koppel–a seasoned and respected reporter–seemed like the right person to helm this broadcast."
Koppel, who is 82, talks with singer-songwriter John Legend about being a superstar with a social conscience, and sits with famed TV producer Norman Lear too.
Lee Cowan reports from Oregon and Idaho, where some want to move the border that separates the states for political reasons. David Pogue looks at the divisions created by social media. Jim Axelrod reports on the impact of talk radio. John Dickerson looks back at other times in our nation's history when the country was also deeply divided.
Seth Doane, Ben Tracy, Kelefa Sanneh, Martha Teichner, David Sedaris and Jim Gaffigan contribute as well, Gaffigan offering humorous observations.
Koppel spent over four decades at ABC News, and was the longtime host of Nightline. He then was managing editor at Discovery, and joined CBS Sunday Morning in 2016.
