60 Minutes Producers Denise Cetta and Katie Brennan

Since its first airing in the late 1960s, the 60 Minutes program on CBS featured stories on a wide range of topics, including health and science – from researching psychedelics for the treatment of addiction to curing sickle-cell anemia to therapies for COVID-19.

In a recent episode about coronavirus variants, which aired on March 14th, the program featured researchers and clinicians from the Appalachian region – at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC – who made one of the earliest discoveries about how the coronavirus mutates and new variants evolve.

AppSciComm invites you to the next edition of AppSciComm Conversations, on Tuesday, May 4th at 4 PM Eastern Time to connect with producers Denise Cetta and Katie Brennan to learn about the inner workings of producing a TV episode on complicated science topics.

Denise Schrier-Cetta is a veteran producer and writer for 60 Minutes at CBS News who has reported on the biggest news events of the last 25 years, including several groundbreaking segments on the coronavirus pandemic. Cetta is known for her medical and science reporting, but her desire to highlight the stories of those in society who often lack a voice has also led to award-winning reports on racial justice and child welfare.

Katie Brennan is an award-winning producer and reporter for 60 Minutes at CBS News who has covered stories for the newsmagazine on a wide range of subjects, including several segments this year on the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to joining 60 Minutes, Brennan was the producer for the legacy CBS News franchise On the Road where she crisscrossed the country each week, finding compelling human interest stories to share on the CBS Evening News and CBS Sunday Morning.