♪ announcer: from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." charlie: the campaign to retake mosul in iraq began early this morning. it comes more than two years after isis first took control of iraq's second-largest city in june of 2014. iraq's military says it has already inflicted heavy losses of life and equipment on isis. defense secretary ashton carter called it a decisive moment in the fight against islamic state. up to one million civilians may be caught in the crossfire of what could become a major humanitarian crisis. joining me now from washington, david ignatius of "the washington post" and eric schmitt of "the new york times""

let me begin with a simple question -- what is necessary to overtake and kick isis out of mosul? david? david: first, obviously a strong military offensive, but one that is careful about dealing with the ways in which the battle space has been prepared by isis, the way it has been booby-trapped, suicide bombs, the possibility that chemical weapons, which we know isis has, might be deployed. the second point i would make beyond the strong initial push is the need to understand how the pieces of mosul will be put back together the day after. this is the most complicated part of iraq, where all of the different groups, sunni arabs, kurds, turkmen, some shiites, come together in a very large municipal space that has been brutally suppressed by isis. i have to be honest, i have not yet seen convincing evidence

that the day after has been adequately planned for, so that worries me as this offensive starts. charlie: why has it taken so long to build together? what is the coalition necessary before you launch the attack? eric: they had to build an army again, an army big enough to take the city with 2 million people before isis rolled in there in june of 2014. they had to build up about 12 brigades of new forces, army forces. as well as counterterrorism forces. then they had to deal with shia militia and the kurdish fighters. it is a very complicated mix of fighters. to coordinate this offensive against the city will be difficult. charlie: what is the role of shia militias? eric: they will be playing a role outside of the city. right now they're going to be kept outside the city. they have been an effective fighting force, but as you get up into this area, they can be

problematic by going into sunni areas. charlie: how long should the battle last? is it contracted over months or will it reach a decisive end earlier than that? david: we don't know and we get conflicting signals. in part, the war against isis has become a war of momentum, it is a field that they are on their back foot. the province to the southwest so fell much more quickly than people expected. most of the euphrates valley flipped as the tribesmen came on board with the government of baghdad in the us-led coalition. that argues for keeping up the momentum and moving quickly. this is a very big city and i would not be surprised if you saw pushes in parts where they think isis is weak, but a more protracted campaign in other parts. one thing we have to be worried

about is a very large refugee flow out of mosul as panicked people and isis fighters flee a city that is under this enormous attack, which will include heavy u.s. air bombardment. where do these refugees go? how do you avoid this from destabilizing iraq even further? you have to make sure you can digest each piece as you move forward. charlie: and can you take and hold and govern. david: we have learned painfully watching these wars in the middle east that the essential recipe is clear, hold, and build. that is the phrase the u.s. military uses. you send in a strong force to clear, but that does not mean you can hold the territory and it certainly does not mean you can build effective governments. again, i've not seen the evidence of the last two, that

the hold and build parts have been thought through. charlie: eric, if mosul does fall, what does that say about the effort to go into syria and go after the second isil stronghold in rocca? eric: you have to remember, syria will be a different fight. at least here in iraq, the u.s. has the full cooperation of the government along with other players. in syria, they're dealing with a pick up team of fighters on the ground, fighters including syrian kurds and syrian arabs. so far they have been fairly effective in moving across areas that isis has controlled, that is until the turks halted that momentum a couple weeks ago. right now, the syrian kurds are marching their forces, and the u.s. and special operation forces that are advising and assisting them are now looking to focus on a campaign in rocca.

officials here in washington, these campaigns with overlap. they could put pressure on rocca at the same time as mosul, but they have not some old enough of the syrian arabs to move forward on that fight. the air fight will continue in syria, and according to american officials i talked to today, they're hoping to get the campaign against rocca underway roughly sometime in the weeks ahead, roughly while mosul is also underway so they would put isis in a vice. charlie: what happens to aleppo in the meantime? eric: that is a whole other situation. the president has said that the u.s. will deal with isis first. in aleppo, the tragedy

continues, the humanitarian efforts continue. but the focus of the obama administration is defeating isil. charlie: david, go ahead. david: i was just going to make the point following what eric said. the fact that the situation and aleppo is so catastrophic from the eyes of the u.s. and its allies is that one reason that we are encouraging the iraqis to go forward with the offensive on mosul. that is one part of this campaign where, relatively speaking, the u.s. has stronger leverage and a better order of battle, understands the campaign. i think in terms of what eric was describing, there had been hopes for hitting rocca soon after. the problem is that the main force the u.s. was expecting would lead the clearing operations in rocca, the syrian-kurdish militia known as the ypg, and arab fighters in a coalition, i am told they have been much more wary of jumping

into that battle. they see the fight for rocca as being the bloodiest fight of this war, equivalent to a battle in which thousands of kurdish lives were lost in the city was destroyed. i think there is a reluctance for the rocca battle, which is seen as the final battle, the place for all of the isis fighters, the people who have fled other parts of syria, they will concentrate on rocca for a fight to the death. charlie: what is the role of americans on the ground? special forces and other americans on the ground in iraq and syria? david: to begin that and then turn to eric, i was lucky enough to travel with our commander in syria and see the special operations forces that who were training both the syrian kurds and syrian arabs for the battle in rocca. it is a powerful sight to see how the u.s. organizes. eric: charlie cole at the

pentagon -- charlie, at the pentagon just this afternoon, peter cook acknowledged that there were u.s. brown spotters on the ground that were special operations attached to the u.s.-iraqi officials, calling in airstrikes. the question is how close american operations are to the front lines. mr. cook has said right now they're behind the front lines, but with some 5000 troops in iraq, american troops, at least several hundred of them are participating in an advisory role. many others are serving as logistics and intelligence support. overhead you have apache helicopter pilots, you have combat attack planes, there is a very significant supporting role on the ground. while there are obviously the kurdish and iraqi forces, as many as 30,000 of them will do the lion's share of fighting. charlie: is there any hope that

somehow this can be without the russians, or are the russians at all interested in seeing the stopped? david: i think secretary kerry has been again meeting with the russians and a broader group in the hope that the russians will see a diplomatic solution being in their interest. when you ask u.s. military officials if they see any military solution in the west, in the aleppo area that would involve u.s. forces, they say flatly, no. this is something for the diplomats to do, they have said this for months. the problem is at each point we've been hoping that the russians were serious about the diplomatic agreements that they seem to be negotiating, but those have proved to be meaningless. the slaughter in aleppo has continued. what is interesting is that in this latest round, the u.s. has brought in the regional powers, they have brought iran and saudi

arabia to the table to work with the u.s. and russia, and i think that is a last, desperate hope. charlie: will it make a difference? david: the iranians are a key factor. if the iranians decide time is right for a settlement in syria, then it will work. the question has always been, why should the syrian regime and supporters the russians stop fighting when by they are winning/ ♪

♪ charlie: nancy pelosi is here, she is the minority leader of the house of representatives. she previously served as speaker of the house, making her the first and only woman to occupy that post. she may reclaim the gavel next year. with only 22 days until election day, voters are increasingly disenchanted with the tone of the campaign. trump's repeated warnings of a rigged election is spurring distrust and public institutions. i am pleased to have leader nancy pelosi back at this table. let me begin with this -- where do you think the race is at this moment? ms. pelosi: if you believe in

polls, they show hillary clinton with an ever-expanding lead. one poll just had it 50% to 38%. the first time hillary has hit the 50% mark. but we don't know until the people speak, they are the boss. we all just stay prepared for the opportunities to come forward. charlie: do you think the election will have a down ballot impact? ms. pelosi: i think it will. 2012 did not, but i think this election will have a down ballot influence because people are really tired of obstruction in washington and what the republicans have said, even today, is that they are prepared to obstruct. they call it checks and balances but it is obstruction. it is exactly what they said around october 20, 1996, when they gave up on winning the election against bill clinton, they said -- charlie: against bob dole.

ms. pelosi: against bob dole, who is wonderful. nonetheless, they started talking about checks and balances which ended up with the impeachment of the president. charlie: you are suggesting, what? if it looks like hillary clinton is going to win and win big, are voters going to say they want checks and balances? ms. pelosi: the republicans are using it as a euphemism for obstruction. charlie: there are a lot of people who think it's a good idea to have one party in power in the white house and another party at least in the house in control. ms. pelosi: we had that when president bush was president and we cooperated with him. we did not support him with the war in iraq or privatizing

social security, but in every other way we worked together and got some great accomplishments. contrary to when they won the majority and president obama was president, they said the most important thing we can do is to make sure he does not succeed. their leader in the senate, mitch mcconnell, said that. republicans in the house supported that. so that is not checks and balances, that is obstruction, and that is what they said in 1996. charlie: what mcconnell said is that our most important goal is to beat barack obama when he seeks reelection. ms. pelosi: so that he is not a second term president. and what their behavior was after that was one of, nothing is our agenda, and never is our timetable. just say no. and that is not fair to the american people. charlie: what has to happen for you to regain a majority in the house of representatives? how many seats? ms. pelosi: we need 30 seats to win.

the important thing is for the american people to win this election. hopefully we can take this debate to a place where their interests are served. charlie: that is what paul ryan says. it is important for the american people to win. ms. pelosi: i've never heard him say that, but the fact that he has an agenda in congress, the ryan budget -- show me your value, show me your budget. it says we are going to remove the guarantee for medicare, we're going to cut $185 billion from education, you going to give tax breaks to the wealthiest people and we are going to block any funding for contraception, to name a few. charlie: you argue -- ms. pelosi: to name a few. [laughter] way, governor spence has voted for the ryan budget two or three times, and he also voted for it when president bush -- he voted for three times. one more point.

when he was there he voted for president bush's initiative to privatize social security. so while all of this distraction is going on, there are bread and butter issues that affect people directly if you depend on medicare or social security, if you want education to be affordable, if you want a woman to have a right to choose. charlie: paul ryan and some of the republican would say, they are so much in disagreement with donald trump. they do not support his ideas , they do not support his ideas about a ban on muslims, the wall, his ideas on trade. ms. pelosi: i'm so glad you're asking these questions because i want to set the record straight. charlie: i know you do because i know what you say. ms. pelosi: it is not what i say, it's what they say. look, donald trump is a here today, gone tomorrow presidential candidate. for a long time now, he has echoed what the republicans have been saying in congress a long time. charlie: john boehner says that if in fact there is a republican

majority after the 2016 election, paul ryan would still have the same problems dealing with his caucus. he would have the same problems, that is why he is happy not to be there. ms. pelosi: paul ryan -- we are talking about the people we are opposing on the ballot right now who strongly -- and what we see in the measure of public opinion is, if you are in one of these republican districts, represented by republicans at the moment -- charlie: which is been redistributed. ms. pelosi: it is sort of a suburban, moderate district. if you say you are for donald trump, by 11 points you lose the moderate, and if you say you're against trump, by 11 points you lose the trump people. they are dammed if they do, dammed if they don't. forgive my crudeness. charlie: but the had any problems with your own caucus? -- do you have any questions with your own caucus? the question arose during

negotiations in seeking of a compromise between john boehner and barack obama. ms. pelosi: this is interesting, because some of the people who are writing and don't know what really happened are saying neither of them could come to terms. no, they came to terms. in 2013 at the time of the shutdown of government -- think we've had this conversation before -- but just to revisit for a moment, we had an agreement, house, senate, democrats, republicans and the white house that our budget would be $1,058,000,000,000. we thought it was too low but we made a compromise. we did not have a majority, so we agreed. the senate, republicans, everyone agreed. but then the house republicans said we will not go a dime over $988. the republican chairman said this makes it impossible for us to meet the needs of the american people, their own chairman said that. my members said, we could never

vote for that, we cannot anoint that. i said, say whatever you will about it, and but don't say you won't vote for it. charlie: look, there is a reason you became speaker of the house. it was because, one, the power of your organizing ability and your powers of leadership. that is why you became speaker of the house. ms. pelosi: let's not divert ourselves from what the republicans did on the budget. [laughter] so, mr. boehner said, we are not going one penhny ab -- one penny about $988. the white house said, we're going to $988. i called the speaker and said, look, my members do not like this at all, they think it is too low, it weakens our country in terms of innovation and education, but if that is what it takes to keep government

open, we will give you 100% of the house democrats to vote for $988. and he said, i cannot bring it to the floor. they figured we would not agree with it and we could blame it on that. the only people who were not supporting the republican budget number, the house republican budget number, were the house republican budget members. so when they say that the president was always extending a hand of compromise, and we said just get it done because the american people need us to make progress even if it is not as fast as we would like. so, that is what boehner had to deal with. then a year later and a year later, he had to deal with shutting down government because of planned parenthood, shutting down because of this and that, and he walked out the door. charlie: one quick historical point about that.

there were some questions as to whether he could be reelected a speaker, and i understand that nancy pelosi was prepared to provide the vote for him to be elected speaker. is that correct? ms. pelosi: nancy pelosi was prepared to respect the institution of the house of representatives. charlie: and provide the votes? ms. pelosi: not allow extreme tea party people -- charlie: you said if you need us, we are here. ms. pelosi: i said, i have the back of the institution. [laughter] it was in the interest of the institution. in other words, you can't let the most extreme elements of the republican party, which is anti-government, anti-science, anti-barack obama, by a few votes upset the regular order of congress. charlie: i want to talk about a number of things. let us assume there is a majority, house majority on the democratic side. what is the agenda?

primarily what? ms. pelosi: the major difference in the parties in an election is about the economy. trickle-down economics versus middle-class economics. to increase the purchasing power of middle income families to inject demand into the economy and create jobs, bigger paychecks. trickle-down -- if you create jobs, that's good, if it doesn't, so be it. that is the free market. that is really the main thing, how do we move forward? as we did with our recovery plan. one week after the president was sworn in, we passed the recovery act to create good paying jobs to lift up the middle class and those who aspire to it. to act upon that, creating jobs and infrastructure. first, the economy. the other two things, i tell you this, you're my friend, i think

you trust what i say to you, i would rather lose the election if they said today, we will pass a gun violence protection bill and an immigration bill. those two things are very important to the safety of the american people, which we have taken an oath to protect and defend, and the character of america, and nation constantly invigorated by newcomers to our country. those two things are very important. what would be on the agenda to begin with would depend on the president. charlie: would you have done that in the first two years of the obama administration? ms. pelosi: you need 60 votes in the senate. but the issues are so much more high profile now. president lincoln said public sentiment is everything. we did a lot, we did the recovery act, we did the affordable care act, we did wall street reform, we did the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. we ended discrimination in the workplace. we did a large number of things, but we only had 60 votes for a short period of time.

of time because senator specter was a republican was only until june, senator franken was not there until july, senator kennedy died in august. so i think we could do that now, i think we would have the republican votes to do them now. i think they would pass right now if the speaker put them on the floor. i think there would be enough republican votes, bipartisan support for background checks for guns, no fly, no by. charlie: you have said that if the election was today, you think it is a possibility you could see a democratic majority, if it was held today, a gain of 30 seats. but you can't say what will be like in two weeks. because? ms. pelosi: because of big, dark, endless money. charlie: but you have money too.

ms. pelosi: yes, but it is not endless. we do not have endless. i believe that hillary clinton will be president for reasons that should seem obvious, but also we are not stopping the work that we are doing on the ground. we own the ground, we own the ground and have chosen places as our priority -- charlie: is it your impressions that the republican party is supporting donald trump on the ground? ms. pelosi: 42% of the people support donald trump. that is where he is in the polls. 38% to 42%. i think that many of them are supporting him for the reason that republican support republicans. they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes. charlie: do you think this will have a lasting impact on our respect for our political dialogue? do you think there will be a lingering distrust for institutions? it is said that that is exactly what some of the russian hacking is about.

causing suspicion about our election process. ms. pelosi: i think the goal is to undermine democracy wherever it exists, not just here in the u.s. i think our democracy can withstand russian hacking and donald trump's candidacy. charlie: we certainly hope so. we certainly hope that the institution of government and re strong enough for where no candidacy can destroy them. no matter who it is. we have to say, how do we get this back on track? i say this to my republican friends -- and i do have republican friends in high places. take back your party. take back your party. charlie: donald trump has kidnapped the republican party. ms. pelosi: i think before donald trump, i think the tea party hijacked the republican party. and part of the reason that some of the republicans are annoyed with trump is he has revealed republicans in congress for who

they are. charlie: paul ryan represents, he is the highest elected republican the country, and you've been trying to make the argument at this table, there is no difference between them and donald trump in terms of policies. ms. pelosi: no, i made two distinctions. the bad stuff that he spews , chairman of committees, peter kane talking about muslims, steve keen of iowa, it would bring tears to your eyes to see what peter king king has said about muslims in our country. that'st's one subject to why i am saying that they are very much like trump. in addition to that, what is on , democrats and

-- waitans down ballot a minute. i'm talking about the paul ryan budget. no guarantee of medicare, no fighting -- funding for contraception, tax cuts for the rich, cutting education, i'm talking about a very distinct budget from the democrats and where is the compromise when they want to give tax cuts to the rich and cut education and not invest in the future? nothing brings more money to the treasury to reduce the deficit than the education of americans. charlie: there are some americans here who feel like they have economic insecurity. guest: that is right. charlie: they feel the future is not as bright for their future -- their children as it was for them. they are attracted to donald trump. should hillary clinton be speaking to them and listening to them and trying to understand this? guest: yes, absolutely. charlie: is she doing that? guest: yes. charlie: then why are they choosing donald trump? because it seems like they're are saying we want something different because washington is

not working. guest: they like his anti-trade message. charlie: they think it cost jobs. guest: yes, i think some people lose jobs and some people gain jobs. charlie: you are against tpp? guest: yes. because i am not for trickle-down trade. but i would say to president obama and president bush, if you want a trade bill, and you want an immigration bill, you have to start with a big jobs bill because people think that they have lost a jobs from immigration. hardly anybody. some people have because of trade, that's for sure. charlie: some of the disclosures that came out of the goldman sachs speeches has been revealed during the primaries.

bernie sanders would've had a field day. guest: like what? charlie: he would've said, this is what i've been telling you. what was disclosed in speeches, open borders and other issues, trade. there was a sense that there is a difference in a private position a public position. that was what bernie sanders was saying. ms. pelosi: i think when they said public position and private position, they were talking about what you emphasize in public that is not menacing to people. i trust hillary clinton not to support tpp, this version of globalization. charlie: even know your president is strongly for it.

ms. pelosi: yes. i have posed president hw bush and bill clinton on trade. i don't love what they have done in terms of restricting access to the chinese markets, their human rights, pirating of our intellectual property, selling missile technology to pakistan, nonconventional technology. charlie: let me ask you this, has the democratic party -- has it turned left? ms. pelosi: no, here's the thing. i am from the left. never left enough for the left. they would never call me left. [laughter] ms. pelosi: here is the thing, and this is important to know. the republicans have left the whole middle open. they've been so far.

charlie: depends on what you consider the middle. ms. pelosi: where we can find common ground, where we can find common ground on strong jobs bills that build infrastructure, reduce the deficit, grow paychecks, we can find common ground. what i say to my members is, whatever it is that you believe, and i say this about the republicans, i respect your position if that is what you believe, if that is what you represent in your district. now we all have a responsibility to find a common ground if we can on subjects that we can. for some we can't. and for that we have to stand our ground, but this. -- that does not have to be every subject. hopefully we can -- every time we think we are close, they kind of move. criminal reform would be a place. when president bush was president, i said that the war in iraq and privatizing social

security, no, but we passed the biggest energy bill in the history of our country by taking tens of millions of cars off the road. he wanted nuclear, i wanted renewables, we got to embrace the emissions standards. the person on the other side of the negotiation has to want something. charlie: or have the capacity to deliver the votes of the once it. -- wants it. ms. pelosi: if you are negotiating with someone who doesn't want anything, you can't have any leverage. their agenda is antigovernment. antigovernance. you have to understand. their successes that nothing happens. charlie: if paul ryan or john boehner says they cannot deliver their caucus, do you believe them or do you simply think they don't want to make a deal?

ms. pelosi: i think they can deliver their caucus. that is why when john boehner says we are going to have checks and balances, that means they're going to obstruct, because they cannot deliver their caucus. what does that mean to the american people? we have a new president, whoever she may be, and she comes in to office and if they are going to obstruct from day one, that is not fair to our country, our future, to the world because of who we are as a country. but i just keep hoping, as i said before, lincoln said that public sentiment is everything. you have to take it to the public so they can make a judgment on what people will do. are they going to shut down government? that is just so irresponsible. as they did when they did not accept our awful -- offer to give them what they asked for. they should of four for 17 days. $25 billion. charlie: what's the chance

30 seats? the ms. pelosi: right now i think we are at least 20 seats. we are fighting it out for single digits. charlie: we just -- you need just 10 more. ms. pelosi: less than 10. the bigger hillary's majority, the better it is for us. charlie: it is said that donald trump people hope to suppress her vote. that is part of the reason for the scorched earth. ms. pelosi: that is part of the issue, turnout. i think donald trump will accept the result. but to say it is rigged and all of that, first of all, it is not. harry reid and i put out a statement inviting our republican colleagues to join us in saying that historically, as hard-fought as our elections have been, we have always accepted the results of the elections. a think who we are as americans can withstand even the donald

trump candidacy. i think he will do the right thing by the american people. charlie: thank you for coming. pleasure to see you. ♪

♪ charlie: issa ray is here. she is earned critical attention from television executives. she has a highly anticipated hbo series the chronicles the black

female experience. she wants to create situations that are both precise and effecting. >> go shorty, it is my birthday, but no one cares because i'm not having a party because i feel sorry for myself. ♪ >> i want to be more confident. i want to be that person. >> it's like you don't even care. >> are the concerns they can talk to me about? >> they're having a secret white meeting with secret white e-mails. >> i spent my entire 20's with a guy i'm not even going to end up with.

>> i don't want to sit on the couch with you for the rest of my life. >> i am not ready to talk with you about this. >> we are not going to be the black couple fighting in rite aid. >> what you doing here? >> i don't know, i have always been your what is guy -- what if guy. >> i need to make the most of it. >> i don't have time for this anymore. ♪ >> i had it all wrong.

charlie: i'm pleased to have her on this program for the first time. welcome. you went to stanford and developed "dorm diaries." there is a progression of you creating things for yourself. ms. pelosi: definitely. i wanted to be a writer and i wanted to break into the television industry, and i feel like i found a shortcut via the internet, and found it on accident from procrastination by being on youtube and facebook constantly. i just thought, what if i made a show online to share with my friends? and that became "dorm diaries,"

which was about being black at stanford, and i saw expand other schools on a very minor scale from 500-1000 views. but people were like, this is my experience. i had access to an audience, that was in 2007. and i traded another web series in 2009, and "awkward black girl" happened in 2011. charlie: are you writing about the same thing, your own experiences? issa: i am writing what i know, i was not in any of my series until "awkward black girl" and for "dorm diaries" i was at stanford and i was black. another series followed my little brother, they had a music group that was trying to make it. we made a mocumentary series chronicling their adventures. it was easy for me because i was living in a house with my brother. i built an audience from the ground up there, and "awkward black girl" was more about me and my sensibilities and humor.

charlie: when did you meet larry? ms. pelosi: after i sold the pitch to hbo, they said you are going to need a supervising producer, in we had the same management company, and they said that i should meet with him, if you like him, great. we immediately clicked. he is great and gracious and funny. charlie: did hbo come after you or did you simply say, based on the success that you had on the web, say this is what i do and i can do this on a bigger -- in a bigger, broadway? they actually called me. that's a celebration in and of itself. they called me a short time another series that

was passed on. i was devastated and i thought i blew my shot. and then they called me a month later and said, hey, we heard you are read. do you have any ideas. -- so i pitched them the concept. modern-day black two friends navigate in their jobs in the relationship and each other. means to bewhat it a black woman today. charlie: so it's an inside the blackness today. guest: it's an insight to these ' blackness. girls because a lot of black women that's not my experience. i wanted to chronicles something that was an alternative depiction.

charlie: having two people like that, he gives you the capacity to have two separate life experiences, but also the dialogue, where you share feelings in an interesting life. guest: and hopefully in a raw and authentic way, because a lot of the conversations on the show are conversations i've had with friends or other writers have had with friends. charlie: tell me who molly is? guest: molly is one of those people who can get along with anybody. she can exist in both worlds, and why people love her and black people love her. she is killing it at work, she is a lawyer, she is beautiful, and she cannot get it together in her love life. i wanted to it knowledge, a lot of my real life single friends and dating experiences being black women and feeling like they are at the bottom of the barrel in terms of being desired

by others. that is where she feels. she wants to find someone on her level, who she can find love with. charlie: how is issa different? guest: she has been in a relationship that has been stagnant. when you're in a relationship you wonder if single life is better, and she is there. she sees molly going out and having fun and wants to do the same, and she feels she is not active. she is aggressively passive, as she says. she wants to do something about it and in her relationship. charlie: we saw little bit of that in the trailer. approaching the idea that maybe there is something wrong. guest: there might be, yes. it sounds appealing now, but nobody wants that in a long-term relationship. you want to feel like you're going somewhere, and she doesn't feel like she is going anywhere. charlie: this is a clip. working at a nonprofit job with middle school students.

>> since you guys are so interested in my personal life, here it is. i am 29 years old, because it is my birthday. i have a college degree and i work in the nonprofit world because i like to give back. i have been with my boyfriend for five years and my hair is like this on purpose. i hope this covers everything? >> why aren't you married? >> i'm just not. >> my dad says nobody is looking for black women anymore. [laughter] >> that's enough. >> tell you that the black women are not bitter, we are just tired of not being good enough. >> her outfit is -- [laughter]

charlie: was this fun? guest: it is fun. that scene was fun to shoot, the kids hurt my feelings because they were good at being mean. it spoke to my real experiences, all the questions they asked on the show, those are questions i have received in real life. i worked in the nonprofit world and i wanted to show how hard it can be. the disconnect between these children in particular she works at a nonprofit where she is the sole black voice, and they are helping underprivileged children, so they assume there is a connection. charlie: you said you were a big fan of "curb your enthusiasm." guest: huge fan. charlie: it introduces you to a culture you may not know.

guest: he doesn't great job of tapping into the universal things we all feel, but the way i relate, our show to his, some people may see this as a show featuring two black women and think i cannot relate, i will not understand and this is not for me. and i find that unfair because i am a huge fan of "curb" and i still enjoy the show and i don't have to look up, what is this holiday, i enjoy the show nonetheless. i feel like we do the same. charlie: how many user you going to do this? one season, your first season. how many episodes? guest: eight episodes. charlie: what you doing between this season and next season? guest: a lot of work, i'm writing a film, hbo gave us an opportunity to have a first look. charlie: this is a film about

the experiences of young black women? guest: now, this is completely different. trying to tap into a different lane, i cannot say what it is yet but i'm excited, is completely different. and then just working, i am still in the digital space working with other content creators to get more nuanced stories out there. charlie: everything is going well. guest: it is going pretty good. i feel like i am getting more opportunities now. charlie: hbo. guest: they have opened a lot of doors, and my own show. charlie: you create, star and right.

guest: with other people. i'm very happy, now people just have to watch it and like it. charlie: you are learning every day. guest: i am learning every day in a way that i am super appreciative of, and we are talking earlier about the entrepreneurship, and i am learning what i don't want to do and what i absolutely do want to do. charlie: what don't you want to do? guest: i don't want to limit myself at all. charlie: you want to do everything. guest: i kind of do want to do everything. [laughter] guest: i want to try everything once. i love being behind the scenes, and i think the biggest changes in the end she will have a behind-the-scenes, and i think in terms of working with people in tackling more of the business of producing side, even directing, there is an opportunity to make real change. charlie: who are your heroes? guest: i love spike lee, i love larry david and seinfeld, i love tina fey. they are everywhere.

i have heroes everywhere. charlie: with stanford and important part of your life? guest: extremely important -- charlie: you kind of rebelled, you look for your own way to express yourself. guest: i did because i felt like i had to. i went there to pursue political science at my dad's wishes, and when it came time to declare my major, all i have to do is answer why wanted to major in political science, and all i can think of was because my dad wanted me to. that was not a good reason. i was directing and writing and producing plays at the time, and this was something i wanted to do. i wanted to pursue that actively, and stanford allowed me to do that. there are so many reef -- resources and colleges that are left untouched and untapped.

a lot of people were either pursuing medicine or law or business, a lot of those resources were available to pursue the arts. there was no film major until i was a senior, and i decided, i'm going to do this for most of my time, i'm going to keep up with my studies, i'm going to choose a major that will help me balance the two. charlie: two do know early on you're going to be a performer? guest: ivy wanted to be -- i wanted to be a performer up through high school, and then in college there were not as many plays i wanted to be in. i kind of fell in love with creating behind-the-scenes, creating opportunities for other black people and people of color to start in place. i was like, they were way better actors and i was. working with other directors made me take a step back.

i did not perform again until i did my web series, "awkward black girl." ♪

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