this is "gps," the global public scare. welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. on today's show the axis of evil. remember that phrase? well we're going to tackle all three countries today. iraq, north korea, and iran. >> axis of evil. >> the persian nation is first up. we know all too well how the nuclear agreement is playing in the united states. >> and this iran deal i believe is an historic mistake. >> but what do the iranians think about it?

both regular everyday folks and the hard-liners in government. i'll talk to the "new york times's" tehran bureau chief. >> it is a powerful propaganda machine. >> then iraq and syria and isis. we have a rare treat. a king to tell bus the terror group's rise and how it will meet its demise. king abdullah ii of jordan. >> i think their best days are behind them. >> and a look deep inside north korea. the most secretive nation on earth. best-selling author blaine harden has dug into the hermit kingdom and discovered some frightening information. finally, it's state-of-the-art technology most famous for use in killing machines. but we'll show you some drones that could be used to save lives instead of ending them.

but first here's my take. reading about the short troubled life of freddie gray who suffered lead poisoning as a child, was arrested for drug offenses more than a dozen times, and eventually died in police custody last month in baltimore, i recall the description of a world of young men, mostly black, trapped in america's criminal justice system. it was written by an arch conservative who was at the time a prisoner in a florida jail. it says "many are victims of social and legal injustice, inadequately provided for by the public assistance system, and overprosecuted and vejfully sentenced. the failures of america's education, social service and justice are unaffordable as well as repulsive. in tens of of undervalued human lives the united states pays a

heavy price for an ethos afflicted by wantonness waste, in official human indifference. the author of those words is a foreigner, conrad black. once one of the world's most powerful media barons who spent more than three years in a u.s. prison on charges of fraud. whatever one thinks of black's own case which is complicated, his lessons are worth taking seriously. since they come from a friend of america and a hard-line conservative at that. it is well known by now that with nearly 5% of the world's population black says the united states has 25% of the world's prisoners. america's prison population sm many times higher per capita than that of other advanced democracies like canada britain, france and japan. prosecutors in the united states win 95% of their case, black says. 90% of them without ever having to go to trial. that conviction race is 60% in canada and around 50% in britain

he claims. now, are american prosecutors that much better? no argues black. it is because of the plea bargain, a system of bullying and intimidation by governor lawyers for which they would "be disbarred in most other serious countries" and which enables prosecutors to threaten everyone around the target with indictment if they don't miraculously recall under careful government coaching inculpatory evidence. black cites a much discussed essay from last november in the new york review of books, u.s. district judge jed rackoff argued that because of the plea bargain the criminal justice system in the united states today bears little relationship to what the founding fathers contemplated, what the movies and television portray, or what the average american believes. there is more often than not no day in court, no trial, no rights for the accused. the prosecutor almost always gets what he wants.

having served on a grand jury myself, i can confirm that it is in fact a rubber stamp for the prosecution, which is exactly the opposite of what it was intended for. the crime wave of the 1970s scared america. and when scared, americans often overreact and enact bad legislation. what followed were a spate of laws relating to drugs and crime that have given the police and prosecutors far too much power and the accused too few protections and too little dignity. the zeal to lock people up has spawned a vast prison industrial complex that now lobbies aggressively for its own special interests, which of course mean more arrests, lockups, and thus more prisons. the anglo-american system of law was historically defined by its focus on the rights of the accused, not the powers of the prosecutor. in describing that system, the great english jurist william blackstone once said, "better

that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer." we have strayed very far from that sensibility in america today. for more, go to cnn.com/fareed and read my "washington post" column this week. let's get started. iran's actions this week again made many observers scratch their heads in confoundment. on tuesday the nation's revolutionary guard fired shots across the bow of a cargo ship the maersk tigress and then seized it. according to the shipping company, the "tigress" was in international waters at the time and such a hostile action is said to go against accepted standards of maritime law. and this, of course, comes at a crucial time for iran as it tries to finalize a nuclear deal with the west. i wanted to dig deeper and understand the collective psyche

of the persian people, if one could do such a thing, where their heads are at this important juncture in history. we all know how americans feel about the nuclear deal. there's cautious optimism from its supporters. >> i think this is the best that's going to get done. >> and not so cautious pessimism from its detractors. >> you will see a nuclear armed middle east, and that is incredibly dangerous. >> but we know little about how iranians feel. to talk about that, a special guest is here in studio. thomas erdbrink is the tehran bureau chief for "the new york times" and he knows iran like few western reporters. he has lived there for 13 years and is married to an iranian woman. first, from what you can tell, what has been the public popular reaction to this agreement? >> if you take into account that people feel isolated because of the sanctions and that president rouhani came to power with the promise of restoring relations

with the rest of the world, you can imagine the joy that many people felt when the news of a framework agreement came out. of course, we saw images of people going out in the streets and honking their cars. but those are only a couple of thousands in a city of 12 million. still, that evening was a very historic evening. because not only this framework agreement was struck. also president obama gave a press conference which was aired live on iranian state television. and a lot of people they stayed home and they watched it. and someone came up to me and said thomas i don't believe this. we have been disappointed so many times over the past years. how -- will this really lead to a deal? and as days passed and more details came out, people got the feeling that, okay, of course there are a lot of points to be discussed, but it seems that everything is moving in the direction of a solution. >> what about iran's hardliners? can they derail the deal? >> iran's hardliners are not like the hardliners in the west.

iran's headliners take cue from iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. and he has been the great architect behind these talks. he has been leading these talks. he's been allowing these talks. he's been giving public speeches about these talks. at no point has he said that he is against these talks. he says he's not optimistic. he says the americans are not to be trusted. but recently he also said if these talks succeed we might talk about other issues with the americans. now, iran's hardliners listen very carefully to him. i don't think they will independently, after a deal was struck that has gotten the ayatollah's seal and approval, that they will form a big issue with the way here in the united states congress, which is an independent power, can create problems for the obama administration regarding this deal. >> the supreme leader, do you think he is aware of the kind of public longing for the sanctions

to be lifted, for contact with the world and the west? do you think that he's aware of that, and do you think that matters to him? >> i absolutely think that he's aware of the sentiments under his population. ayatollah khamenei is very well informed, and part of his calculation, if you will be, is that he needs this nuclear problem to be solved in order for iran to move forward and to remain a strong country. >> when i look at the hardliners, what strikes me is they still seem to have considerable power in the iranian system. i look at one bellwether which is, of course, important to me, which is what has happened to "the washington post" reporter jason rezaian who has been arrested on trumped up charges, now is being accused of espionage, which is ludicrous, but the fact this can happen while rouhani and zarif are trying to make this overture, this deal with the west, suggests to me there are people

in iran who are trying to sabotage, you know, this effort even as they're negotiating. >> absolutely. and not only is this a thorn in the side of people like rouhani and zarif, his foreign minister, but it also underscores their limited power. because how can mr. rouhani and mr. zarif claim that they're able to make a nuclear deal, a groundbreaking and historical nuclear deal with iran but at the same time tell the administration, oh, we're unable to get jason rezaian released. it is definitely a big stain on their attempt to sort of regain new grounds with the west. and jason is a friend of mine. he's my successor at "the washington post." i worked for "washington post" for four years. i saw jason very often. i am not iranian judiciary, of course, but i've not seen any of the things they accuse him of. one of the accusations is writing a letter to president obama.

well, that's exactly the same thing that ayatollah khamenei has done, so that can't be such a big crime. >> thomas, pleasure to have you on. >> thanks for having me. next on "gps," today's main event, jordan's king abdullah on the fight against isis. his nation shares borders with both iraq and syria. he has a huge vested interest in this fight. his majesty will tell us how he thinks these terrorists can be defeated. ♪ (piano music) ♪ fresher dentures, for the best first impression.

love loud, live loud polident. ♪ ♪ fresher dentures... ...for those breathless moments. hug loud, live loud, polident. ♪ ♪ he says she's an undisciplined overwaterer. she claims he's a cruel underwaterer.

with miracle-gro moisture control potting mix, plants only get water when they need it. fight ended. or shifted? miracle-gro. life starts here. (vo) around age 7, the glucose metabolism in a dog's brain begins to change. (ray) i'd like to see her go back to her more you know social side. she literally started changing. it was shocking. she's much more aware. (jan) she loves the food.

(ray) the difference has been incredible. she wants to learn things. (vo) purina pro plan bright mind promotes alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7 and older. purina pro plan. nutrition that performs. ♪ it's not home. but with every well considered detail . . . it becomes one step closer.

many of you tuned in last monday hoping to see our new special on isis only to find out it had been pre-empted for breaking news. we heard from a lot of disappointed viewers, but we have good news. the special, which is called

"blindsided: how isis shook the world," has been rescheduled for monday, may 11th, at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. given the great interest in understanding isis, that will be the topic of today's main event. as many of you will remember, i travelled to jordan recently to interview that nation's king, abdullah ii. we did a special section of that interview on the isis threat, where it came from, how it surprised so many, how it will end. this has never aired before, but i wanted to show it to you now. your majesty, thank you so much for joining us. >> great to be here, fareed. thank you. >> how did isis come about? what -- in your mind, where did this come from? >> that's the million-dollar question. there's a lot of conspiracy theories out there. there is no set answer. from the jordanian perspective,

we saw isis several -- almost two years ago, formed up in the north, which is their major headquarters. what was interesting is as they were forming and being built and strengthened they were not being hit. the regime -- the syrian regime was hitting everybody else but not isis. and that raised a lot of eyebrows. you know, why were they allowed to build? one argument was, obviously, because there was such international condemnation of the regime, let's get somebody out there that's worse from the regime point of view so that you can swing public opinion back towards bashar. and they've been very successful at doing that because today if you ask, i think, everybody in the region who's worse, the regime or isis, i think a lot of people will point the finger at isis. >> you're a military man. are they good on the battlefield? >> well, you know, tactically what they're doing -- this is the sad part about it -- is a

lot of young frustrated and deluded muslims around the world, you know, a lot from poverty backgrounds that believe into this false claim of this islamic caliphate that has no relationship in our islamic history and believe the mantra that these people have, that come to syria and to iraq to fight the war, and they are basically the cannon fodder. what happens is they're considered the light shock troops, the suicide bombers, whether by vehicles or by cars, and they're the expendables. so the tactics are, as you get these light troops that come in, as the first wave blowing themselves up either by vehicles or blowing themselves up against the more regular troops that everybody else has, and then the heavy infantry which is the hardcore isis, are the ones that then exploit their positions. so they have an abundance of

these throwaway jihadists. that's the sad part about it. and then any foreign fighter that comes into syria realizes this is not what they signed up for get executed. we heard, for example, that when our brave pilot was executed, there were some syrians and some jihadists that sort of said, look, this is wrong. they were executed on the spot. so anybody who says this is not right is not tolerated. >> so how does this all end with isis? >> well, from the military tactical perspective, you'll watch how the offensives develop inside of iraq, but again, the underlying issues are how the kurds are properly supported, because that's going to be very, very critical, how do we all reach out to the sunnis to feel that there is a future for them and that they are not alone, and if we do not solve the puzzle of a future -- political future for

the sunnis in iraq, then they're sitting there saying, what's the difference, baghdad and isis. i think the key is that unless we can unravel the future of a sunni or a sunni stn asstan as part of the future in iraq, then the iraqi puzzle will never be done. i hope that our friends, especially in the united states, understand that crucial part. from syria, again, it's how we reach out to the syrian tribes. i think that this is the beginning of the end of isis in syria and iraq. i'm seeing that their heyday is behind them. it's not something that's going to happen overnight. but i think that they've -- their best days are behind them. but again, the holistic approach. look at egypt. the support for egypt is tremendously important because they have the problems in the sinai.

the next elephant in the room, the big elephant in the room nobody is really concentrating upon is libya, and this is where egypt plays a very vital role. then boko haram and shabaab. hole holistically we have to figure out how to tactically and strategically as part of the international community as well as the groups in asia. if we don't do it that way, we can't just say isis in syria and iraq, then 2016 look at sinai and libya and then 2017 start thinking about africa. it has to have a holistic strategy in 2015. >> final question. ideologically, they can be defeated. >> ideologically, they represent 1% of sunni islam. and we should not be victimized because of this 1%. they will -- false prophets always fail. true islam will always succeed.

but we cannot be victimized as the enemy by the rest of the international community. so what we ask is other religions and societies across the world stand with us, stand with the good muslims that are out there fighting this fight, be part of our partners against this issue, and we will be victorious. but we will have to come together. this is a generational fight. this is a third world war by other means. it will only be victorious if all of us put our differences aside, move away from hate speech, and move away from falling into the trap that the extremists want by asking all of you to fall into the trap of giving them more power than they deserve. >> your majesty, pleasure to have you on. thank you so much. >> thank you. next on "gps," a groundbreaking study that might help you live a little longer. it's a study of how people die. it really is fascinating. it tries to chronicle almost

every death in almost every country across the world. it's big data, and the results are fascinating. shriek with joy. until, inhibition creeps in, our world gets smaller quieter, but life should be loud. sing loud, play loud, love loud. dentures shouldn't keep you quiet life should be ringing in your ears. live loud, super poligrip.

(music) boys? stop less. go more. the passat tdi clean diesel with up to 814 hwy miles per tank. just one reason volkswagen is the #1 selling diesel car brand in america.

the new s6 hits the stores and i'm like... whoa. open the box and... (sniffing) new phone smell. jump on a video chat with my friend. he's a real fan boy, so i can't wait to show this off. picture is perfect. i got mine at verizon. i... didn't. it's buffering right out of the box he was impressed. i couldn't be happier. couldn't see him but i could hear him... making fun of me. vo: now get $200 or more when you trade in your smartphone for a galaxy s6 but hurry, this offer ends may 10th. verizon.

now for our what in the world segment.

the devastating earthquake in nepal has wreaked havoc and destruction, killing many thousands. it's a tragedy that deserves the world's attention, but this week we wanted to alert you to some other mortal threats to humanity that gets far less attention than earthquakes but are just as important to keep in mind. for example, in 2013 more people were killed by drowning compared to natural disasters. road injuries killed more people than malaria. suicide killed almost twice as many people as breast cancer. and falls killed almost as many people as leukemia and prostate cancer combined. all of these surprising statistics come from one of the most ambitious scientific endeavors ever attempted. a project that's been compared to the human genome project. it's called the global burden of disease study, a gargantuan effort to track just about every death around the world involving more than 1,000 investigators

and covering 188 countries. for comparison, the u.n. has 193 member states. the project is chronicled in a book that came out recently called "epic measures: one doctor, 7 billion patients" by jeremy n. smith. dr. christopher murray, the public health guru behind the project, realized that to fight disease and death around the world more effectively, health care officials needed to know exactly what was killing and hurting the humans on planet earth. so he and his team are grabbing every bit of data they can get their hands on, a case of moneyball meets medicine, as smith notes. what's interesting about their latest report on 2013 is that there were huge variations among different countries when you look at causes of death. for example, three persian gulf states, the uae, saudi arabia, and oman, had very high road injury death rates.

in oman's case over twice the global average. these countries could learn some lessons from sweden, which had just a quarter of the global average for road injury deaths. half of all suicides in the world took place in india or china. but since 1990, suicides have risen in india while they have gone down in china. in the u.s. maternal mortality rates have been on the rise and are much higher than in other developed countries. the study author reportedly said that less access to health care might be a reason. so what should we do with this data? well, by making comparisons to places that do better, countries, states, and cities can adopt best practices. already dr. murray's institute says public health officials are being influenced by the data or other information like it to try to save lives. the institute offers two real world examples. rwanda's minister of public health found that the biggest risk factor for premature death and disability in 2010 was not hiv or malaria.

it was air pollution inside people's homes from cooking. so rwanda gave out 1 million clean cooking stoves to those most in need. china approved tougher protections for the environment after global burden of disease experts showed how outdoor air pollution was partly responsible for 1.2 million deaths in 2010. and the author, jeremy smith, says that after iran found out that traffic accidents were a leading preventable cause of health loss, iran ordered new roads to be built and retrained its police force. we've all heard about the rise of big data and how it will have big effects. well, this is the ultimate big data project, and it could indeed save lives and money big time. next on "gps," is it possible to understand the most repressive, secretive nation in the world? we're going to try. author blaine harden takes us deep inside north korea. why do we do it? why do we spend every waking moment, thinking about people?

why are we so committed to keeping you connected? why combine performance with a conscience? why innovate for a future without accidents? why do any of it? why do all of it? because if it matters to you it's everything to us. the xc60 crossover. from volvo.

this is my body of proof. proof of less joint pain. and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis from the inside out... with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage and clear skin in many adults. doctors have been prescribing humira for nearly 10 years. >>humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers including lymphoma have happened,

as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. >>visit humira.com and talk to your rheumatologist. humira. this is a body of proof! apples fall, but the apples of your cheeks don't have to. defy gravity. juvéderm voluma® is the only fda-approved injectable gel to instantly add volume to your cheek area. as you age, cheeks can lose volume. voluma adds volume creating contour and lift for a more youthful profile. for up to two years. temporary side effects include tenderness, swelling, firmness lumps, bumps, bruising, pain redness, discoloration and itching. ask your doctor. juvéderm voluma®. defy gravity. i'm one. i'm one. i'm one. i am one of the ones who discovered always discreet underwear for sensitive bladders.

it makes me feel secure, confident and i feel protected. i mean i feel comfortable to move in them they move with me. i love always discreet underwear because of the fit. the fabric is very soft. i can wear whatever i want to wear. always discreet made me a very happy woman. join over 500,000 women who've discovered always discreet underwear. for more stories and your free sample go to alwaysdiscreet.com so bladder leaks and feel like no big deal. [rob] so we've had a tempur-pedic for awhile, but now that we have the adjustable base, it's even better. [evie] i go up...heeeeyyy... [alex] when i put my feet up on this bed my stress just goes away. [announcer] visit your local retailer and discover how tempur-pedic can move you. i have great credit. how do you know? duh. try credit karma. it's free and you can see what your score is right now . i just got my free credit score! credit karma. really free.

every move of north korea's leader kim jong-un is scrutinized. that's what happens when you run the most secretive nation in the world. this week russia announced that kim's planned visit to moscow this month had been called off. just as when kim went missing for a few weeks late last year, the pundits started wildly speculating as to why. to understand a nation, its actions, and even its leader, you need to understand its history. and my next guest, the author blaine harden, has a very interesting new book called "the great leader and the fighter pilot." it delves into the hermit kingdom's past and in doing so reveals quite a bit about the nation's present. blaine, take us back in a way. how was north korea created? >> the americans created it in 1945. they divided the peninsula in half. they cut it in half, giving the north to the soviet union and taking the south for themselves. both sides installed puppet

leaders. the puppet that the soviets chose was kim il-sung. kim ill sung turned out to be much more than a puppet. he turned out to be a brilliant demagogue, and he ran the country until 1994 at which point he died. his son took over. now his grandson is in charge. but in a sense, kim il-sung has never died. he's still the leader. the rules he put in place, the state he created remains exactly like he made it in the 1950s. the kim family dynasty has done what no totalitarian system has done before, which is to survive the creator. when hitler died, nazi germany was gone. when stalin died, the gulag melted away and the soviet union within two or three years. when mao died, china fundamentally changed. when kim il sung died, nothing changed. >> why is that? >> it's because he created a system a family system, that really institutionalized stalinist tools of control.

>> but also created this almost deification of the family. you talk to north koreans, and i've mainly read this and watched it on tv when you have these defectors come on they all did believe that the kim family even this young kid, is essentially godlike. >> they've succeeded in doing that through good message control and incredible discipline in limiting information into the country. there's more information now in north korea than there ever has been. people have radios. but still, most of the information they get is from the state. >> what is your sense of kim jong un? >> what's different about him compared to his father, kim jong-il, who died in 2011, is he's reaching back to the persona of his grandfather. he looks like him. he acts like him. he goes out and touches people in marketplaces and at factories. he tries to plug into the

populist credentials that his grandfather had. his grandfather was sort of a demagogic genius. he had this sort of pixie dust. he would walk into a room and sense the fears and aspirations of the people and convert that into his own power. >> do you think it's truly erratic? do you worry based on what you have read and researched, is kim jong-un rational or utterly unpredictable? >> i believe he's like his father and his grandfather in that he's very rational, very cunning. just this week, "the new york times" and other news outlets are reporting that kim jong un has killed 15 people in his government and nearly 60 since he came to power 3 1/2 years ago. and this is the game that his grandfather was so good at, purging and eliminating those who challenge him.

so he's very much in the tradition of his family. cold, cunning, calculating. but not crazy. they want to project an image of being trigger happy and wild and belligerent, but i think that's just to preserve their power in the long term. because it prevents -- inhibits people from challenging him. >> do you think that this regime can persist? i mean, we've all been surprised. if somebody had said to me 15 years ago, do you think north korea will be around 15 years from now in pretty much exactly the same form it is now, as closed, as repressive, i probably would have said no. the winds of change will open, do something. nothing. it's exactly what it was 15 years ago. >> it's been around for 67 years, which is twice as long as any other comparable system in world history. right now there's no indication

that his rule, the family's rule is in any imminent danger. it could change. these kind of regimes do disappear. but at this point, it is very much in place. >> blaine harden, pleasure to have you on. the book is "the great leader and the fighter pilot: the true story of the tyrant who created north korea and the young lieutenant who stole his way to freedom." next on "gps," is the american dream dead? well, my next guest says it's certainly in deep crisis, and the way he came to that conclusion is fascinating. he visited his hometown. you won't want to miss this. ♪ ♪ ♪

life begins with a howl, we scream shout, shriek with joy. until, inhibition creeps in our world gets smaller quieter, but life should be loud. sing loud, play loud, love loud. dentures shouldn't keep you quiet, life should be ringing in your ears. live loud, polident. you could sit at your computer and read all about zero-turn mowers. click. scroll. tweet. or you could just sit on a john deere z435 eztrak and feel its power. you'll know it'll get the job done fast. when it's time to pick a mower, you've got to get on one. visit your local john deere dealer for a test drive today. sign up to take your turn on an eztrak zero-turn mower at your john

deere dealer and save 100 dollars on your purchase. ♪ eight time zones later... you finally reach this booking lavish tokyo hotel. and so does: jetlag ♪ ♪ woman: whoa. ♪ ♪ woman: ha ha... ♪ but you, you booked a room with . . . the switch you got it booking right. booking.com booking.yeah

is the american dream dead? well, my next guest says that even if it isn't dead, it is certainly in crisis. and he should know. robert putnam was honored by president obama with the nation's highest humanities medal for deepening our understanding of community in america. he has a ground-breaking new book called "our kids." in it, he compares the opportunities his graduating high school class had in 1959 in port clinton, ohio, to kids at the same school today. the results are disheartening. robert putnam, pleasure to have you on. >> thanks, fareed. good to be here. >> first, talk about that class. 1959, what was life like for you in ohio? >> well, i have to say, this is

not just my golden glow remembrance of it. we've gone back and interviewed all the surviving members of my class and looked deeply at the history. it was a period in which there were surprisingly few class barriers in port clinton. there were barriers of race and barriers of gender, but class barriers almost didn't exist. about 80% of the kids in my high school graduating class from port clinton, from both sides of the tracks, did better than their own parents, better economically and better educationally. >> so now take us to what would a graduating class in port clinton look like today? >> port clinton's been dramatically changed. part of the town has been devastated by rust belt problems, and so there are a lot of kids now, very poor kids from broken homes whose parents thought they might get a job in one of the factories but the factories are all gone. so those kids are living in serious poverty. but meanwhile, right along the shore -- port clinton is a lovely site on lake erie -- there's a new gated community about 20 miles long and 150 yards deep of million-dollar mansions. if you go to the port clinton

high school now and look at the parking lot, next to each other parked in the parking lot are bmw convertibles driven there by kids whose dads live in the mansions and junkers, gentleman loppies jalopies in which the kids live because they're homeless. that kind of unbelievable contrast between rich kids and poor kids is new, and it's not only new in port clinton. it's new, really, nationwide. these larger social trends we're familiar with, the growing gap between rich people and poor people, the growing segregation of america along class lines, those come down and affect the lives and the opportunities and the resources available to kids. >> and the trajectory for disadvantaged kids now is so bad. because they start out at this disadvantage and then every time they stumble that disadvantage deepens. >> that's exactly right. in the book our kids we have a whole series of what we call scissors graphs graphs that look like this in which things are getting better for kids

coming from affluent homes and getting worse for kids coming from poor homes. there's a gap that we call the good night moon gap, which is how much time parents spend reading to their kids. growing gap. didn't used to be any gap between classes in terms of how much time their parents spent with them. now there is. there's a summer camp gap that is how much time parents -- how much money parents are able to spend on their kids for summer camp or piano lessons or all that sort of thing. huge gap now. seven times as much money spent on the average rich kid as on the average poor kid. gaps in terms of quality of schooling, gaps in terms of church attendance. all of those growing gaps -- >> and that's what explains this fact that social mobility in america is so low. because if you're on the bottom end of that scissor graph, you just can't make it up. >> absolutely right. you can see the final result of this in terms of graduating from college. getting the degree that is the necessary credential nowadays.

really interesting studies have been done comparing how important your own test scores, your own intellectual ability is and how important your parents' income is. so it turns out now smart poor kids, high test scores but low low parental income are less likely to graduate from college than dumb rich kids. that's kids who are low scorers, but their parents have money. that reviolates the fundamental notion of what the american dream is. your chances in life shouldn't depend upon your parents' income. >> what are the solutions? >> there are big things we can do. universal early childhood education, we know that works. that works especially for poor kids. it's not yet despite the debate about the president's proposals here it's not yet a red/blue issue. the most impressive early child education program in america is in oklahoma one of the reddest of states.

i'm trying to avoid making that become a political issue. it isn't right now. it's other big things that would help is if we could end this 30-year end of stagnation of wages affecting the working class. there are smaller things not as harmful in the long run but doable right now. for example, instituting pay for play for high school activities. now if you want to play in activities your parents have to pay about $400 a term. we know extracurricular activities have a pay-off down the road because employers are willing to pay for people who have soft skills. to charge people to participate has the inevitable convince poor kids are dropping out of band chorus football and french club to their detriment. that is self-inflicted. this is not a zero sum gain.

what we know is my grandchildren are going to be better off if we help all the kids because the country is going to grow faster. we are going to use everybody's minds, not just the rich kids' minds. we are going to not have to pay for the criminal justice costs. this is an easy case. everybody would be better off if we invested more of our own love and attention, mentoring, for example, and also our country's resources in these poor kids. >> best of luck robert button. a pleasure to have you on. >> drones have become very good at one thing. killing human beings. but can you envision a time when they might save lives in addition to ending them? that day is here. i'll explain when we come back. you can't get any better than that. siemens trains are not your grandparent's technology. they're something that's gonna change the cities we live in today.

i find it so fascinating how many people ride this and go to work every single day. i'm one of the lucky guys. i get to play with trains. people say, "wow, we still build that in the united states?" and we say, "yeah, we do!"

(music) boys? stop less. go more. the passat tdi clean diesel with up to 814 hwy miles per tank. just one reason volkswagen is the #1 selling diesel car brand in america. he says she's an undisciplined overwaterer. she claims he's a cruel underwaterer. with miracle-gro moisture control potting mix, plants only get water when they need it. fight ended. or shifted? miracle-gro. life starts here.

just in case you think the only reports we read are about war, death and disease, let me point out the international organization of vine and wine published its annual report on the state of global wine this week. it brings me to my question.

spain has the largest amount of vineyard space in the world, but what country is the second largest wine grower by area? france the united states china or russia? stay tuned and we'll tell you the correct answer. >> this week's book of the week is "the boys in the boat." nine americans and their epic quest for gold at the 1936 olympics by daniel james brown. this is a big bestseller just out in paper back and well worth the kudos it has received. it's the story of nine working class kids who came out of the farms and plains of the american west and ended up defeating the most storied rowing teams in the world, including hitler's favorite at the olympics. it's a great tale but one also about endurance, great and team work. truly inspiring. and now for the last look. last week the president went to the white house briefing room to announce the deaths of two innocent hostages being held by

al qaeda, killed in a u.s. drone attack. this week we saw the potential for drones to save lives, not just end them. the scene was nepal. i'm sure you saw the amazing drone footage of that devastation. that helped the disaster hit home and i'm certain encouraged many dollars of donations. that's just the beginning. a canadian organization global medic is using these drones to map the areas affected by the quake, gather visual intelligence deploy rescue resources and detect heat signatures where survivors could be hidden. so drones can do a great deal of good. indeed last year the united arab emirates launched a competition called "drones for good." it awards million dollar prizes for innovative drone technologies. one of the top prizes in 2015 went to this search and rescue drone. it is inside a cage designed to

be able to keep flying if it collides with any obstacles where other drones may have crashed. it can roll over debris and is safe to come into contact with humans. another prize went to a drone designed to extend cellular network coverage vital during an emergency. it's not just about disasters. one company, a start-up called biocarbon engineering reached the finals this year. it hopes to use drones like these for precision planting of 36,000 trees a day, one billion tree as year to counter deforestation. do you have a great idea for a drone? go to our facebook page and let us know. >> the correct answer to the gps challenge question is c, according to the international organization of vine and wine china surpassed france in 2014 with more land dedicated to vineyards. italy and turkey round out the top five which account for 50% of the world's vineyard area. the largest consumer of wine?

the report says that would be us here in the united states. so cheers. thanks to all of you for being part of my program this week. i'll see you next week. hello, everyone. thank you for joining me. i'm fredericka whitfield live in baltimore. the city-wide curfew in baltimore has been lifted. the governor announced national guard troops are pulling out from baltimore, but in phases. >> trucks are pulling out this morning. it's going to take a while. we brought in 4,000 people this week to keep the city safe.