60 Minutes Season 38 Episode 23 Plan B; Hobbit Island

On this episode of 60 Minutes, two stories are explored: Plan B and Hobbit Island.

In the first segment, Lesley Stahl investigates how experts are preparing for the possibility of a catastrophic disruption to the electrical grid in the United States. Stahl interviews key figures in the field, including former Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee, to understand the potential consequences of a sustained power outage. Stahl visits various critical infrastructure sites, such as the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and a New York City substation, to see what measures are being taken to protect against such an event. Experts argue that investing in more resilient systems and a reliable backup plan, or "Plan B", is necessary to avoid a national disaster.

In the second segment, Bill Whitaker travels to Flores, a remote island in Indonesia known as "Hobbit Island" for its remarkable discovery in 2003 of a new species of human, Homo floresiensis, nicknamed "the hobbit". Whitaker speaks with archaeologists and other experts who worked on the excavation and study of the hobbit, a finding that challenged long-standing theories about the evolution of humans. Whitaker also meets with the local Liang Bua community, who have mixed feelings about the hobbit's impact on the island's tourism industry and their own cultural identity. Despite this tension, the discovery has put Flores on the map and serves as a reminder of the mysteries that remain hidden in our own world.

Overall, this episode of 60 Minutes offers two distinct stories that explore the importance of preparedness and discovery on a global scale.