In what might be the ultimate front of the U.S. trade war with China, correspondent Jon Wertheim reports from the only active rare earth mine in the U.S., deep in the Mojave Desert near the California-Nevada border. Today, China holds a near-monopoly over the strategic metals that are key components in smartphones, robotics and EVs, but also fighter jets, drones and radar technology. Wertheim looks at the private company, now partly owned by the federal government, that is ramping up rare earth mining, processing and magnet-making in response to China’s threats to cut off rare earths. Graham Messick is the producer.

As tech companies promise that AI-powered autonomous vehicles will transform transportation, correspondent Anderson Cooper takes a ride down the ancient roads and medieval alleyways of London in the iconic black cab. London’s black cab industry still relies on a 161-year-old test called “the Knowledge,” requiring prospective cabbies to memorize thousands of London's landmarks and the shortest routes between them all. Cooper reports on this legacy institution and why London cab drivers aren’t about to hand over their keys to big tech. Katie Brennan is the producer.

Something unusual is going on in Major League Baseball stadiums across the country, and it isn’t traditional baseball. Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports from Savannah, Ga., on the dancing, back-flipping, lip-syncing almost-baseball team, the Savannah Bananas. They’ve created a new twist on the sport, which they call Banana Ball. Among its rules: a two-hour time limit; no bunting, walks or mound visits; and if a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out. Stahl meets Banana Ball’s unorthodox, yellow-clad founder, Jesse Cole, and discovers the electric, circus-meets-sporting-event atmosphere that is selling out ballparks. Shari Finkelstein and Collette Richards are the producers.

From 1950 to 1970, the Vatican sent thousands of Italian children to eager American Catholics for adoption. The children entered the United States on orphan visas. The trouble was most of the children were not orphans. They were the children of unwed mothers, many of whom were alive and searching for their children. How the Vatican got into the orphan business is the subject of The Price of Children. Bill Whitaker speaks to author Maria Laurino and to American adoptees still struggling with the decades of separation from their birth families. Heather Abbott is the producer.
Correspondent Jon Wertheim journeys by boat (and winch) into the world’s smallest—and unlikeliest—state: the Principality of Sealand. Just off the English coast, and roughly the landmass of two tennis courts, it boasts a full-time population of one. It was built during World War II as a nautical fort, and later repurposed as a “pirate radio” station under its monarchs, the Bates family. Wertheim takes a tour of this micronation and its history of piracy, coups, countercoups and rogues. Michael Gavshon is the producer.
Legendary Hollywood director Christopher Nolan, whose blockbuster films have earned 18 Academy Awards, meets with correspondent Scott Pelley on his adaptation of Homer’s classic, “The Odyssey.” Pelley interviews Nolan and those who know him best about his filmmaking at a young age, his trademarks, and his most ambitious project yet. Nicole Young is the producer.

In April, a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier was indicted for using classified intelligence to make bets online. It comes as online prediction markets have exploded in popularity. The war in Iran and capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have revealed suspiciously-timed bets on when an attack might happen, even the fate of world leaders. Correspondent Jon Wertheim reports on the phenomenon of betting on war and the creation of a whole new category of insider trading. Andy Bast and Jessica Kegu are the producers.

A year-long investigation by 60 MINUTES examines what might be the greatest art heist in history: the theft of thousands of sacred stone, bronze and gold artifacts from religious sites across Cambodia. Correspondent Anderson Cooper reports on Douglas Latchford, the British dealer who masterminded the looting amidst genocide, civil war and political turmoil and sold to the world’s wealthiest collectors and most prestigious museums. The Cambodian government has spent more than a decade tracking it all down and wants their history and heritage brought home. This is a double-length segment. Michael H. Gavshon and Nadim Roberts are the producers.