60 Minutes CBS “Elemental Crisis, Turning the Ship Around, The Dog Aging Project” March 22 2026
60 Minutes returns Sunday night with a wide-ranging broadcast that explores global competition, industrial revival, and scientific discovery. Airing March 22, 2026, from 7:00 to 8:00 PM ET/PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+, the program delivers three distinct reports that reflect some of the most pressing issues shaping the present and future.
Elemental Crisis
The broadcast opens with a report that examines one of the most critical battlegrounds in the ongoing economic tensions between the United States and China. Correspondent Jon Wertheim travels to the Mojave Desert near the California-Nevada border, where the only active rare earth mine in the United States is located. These minerals are essential to modern technology, powering everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to advanced military systems such as fighter jets and radar.
China currently dominates the global supply of rare earth elements, creating significant concern for U.S. industries and national security. The segment focuses on the efforts of a private company, now partly backed by the federal government, to rebuild domestic capabilities in mining, processing, and magnet production. As the threat of supply restrictions looms, the report highlights how this remote desert operation has become a focal point in a much larger geopolitical struggle.
Turning the Ship Around
The second segment turns to the decline of American shipbuilding and the growing urgency to reverse it. Once a global leader in the industry, the United States now produces only a handful of large cargo ships each year, while China dominates with an output in the thousands. This imbalance has raised alarms among policymakers, who view it as both an economic and national security concern.
Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports on efforts to rebuild the industry with help from international partners. A key development comes from South Korea’s Hanwha, a major shipbuilding company that has invested in reviving the Philadelphia shipyard. The report features insights from both Korean and American operations, offering a closer look at how expertise, investment, and collaboration could reshape the future of U.S. shipbuilding and restore some of its lost capacity.
The Dog Aging Project
The final segment shifts to a scientific initiative that could change how aging is understood and treated. Correspondent Anderson Cooper explores the Dog Aging Project, a large-scale research effort studying more than 50,000 dogs across the United States. Scientists involved in the project are examining how aging affects dogs in ways that closely mirror human biology.
Dogs develop many of the same age-related diseases as humans, including forms of dementia, and share similar brain structures. By studying these parallels, researchers hope to uncover new insights into the aging process and identify potential treatments that could benefit both species. The segment presents a closer look at how data collected from everyday pet dogs may help extend healthy lifespans and improve quality of life for humans and animals alike.
This week’s episode of 60 Minutes brings together stories that span industry, science, and global competition, offering a detailed look at challenges and innovations shaping the modern world.
