>> rose: welcome to the program. i'm charlie rose. the program is "charlie rose: the week." just ahead, transcripts reveal what donald trump told the president of mexico in a phone conversation about the wall. a stunning breakthrough offers possibilities and sparks debate about gene modification of human embryos. and director kathryn bigelow's movie d "detroit" unfolds police brutality and corruption set against the backdrop of the detroit riots. >> i need you to survive the night. >> survive the night. >> rose: we'll have those stories and more on what

happened and what might happen. >> rose: funding for "charlie rose" has been provided by the following: >> and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and information services worldwide. captioning sponsored by rose communications >> rose: and so you began how? >> work with them. >> rose: is it luck at all, or is it something else? >> committing myself. >> rose: what's the object lesson here? >> tackle the big things. >> rose: tell me the significance of the moment. >> rose: this was the week retired general john kelly was sworn in as president trump's new chief of staff. "the washington post" obtained trichts of the president's calls with leaders of mexico and australia. and the city of los angeles was awarded its third olympics, the 2028 summer games. here are the sights and sounds of the past seven days. >> nikki haley calling

venezuela's election "a sham." >> "the washington post" reporting that president trump personally dictated a misleading statement about his son's meeting with a russian lawyer. >> a grand jury is empanelled in the russia investigation. >> the russian story is a total fabrication. >> the dow passed 22,000 for the first time. >> the markets shattering records. you see that? raining money. big day on wall street. >> what a moment for the most infamous cubs fan on the planet. >> he was presented with a 2016 world series ring. >> l.a. struck gold in its quest to bring the olympics back to the south land. >> it's official, the olympics will return to los angeles in 2028. >> every reporter in town is mourning over the passing of scarm asked scar, because hea one-in-a-million character." >> the mooch, lasted as communications director for only 10 days, 10!

>> today is the first day on the job for the new white house chief of staff ♪ welcome to the jungle >> this general is going to come in and put a fresh set of eyes on the inner workings of the white house and making sure the president's agenda moves. >> the act ends chain migration, and the process will favor applicants who can speak english ♪ do you speak english ♪ >> the president is pushing a migration to the united states giving priority to highly skilled immigrants who speak english. >> yes, immigrants have to learn proper english bike bigly coffee, and bing, bing, bing, bing." >> rose: we begin this week in washington. "the washington post" has obtained the full transcripts of two of president trump's calls with foreign leaders shortly after taking office. the calls with the leaders of mexico and australia portray a new president seemingly more

concerned about politics than policy. that all comes just as retired general john kelly, president trump's new chief of staff, tries to bring order to the west wing. joining me now from washington is dan balz, the chief correspondent for "the washington post." another incredible week. >> absolutely. this was-- this was supposed to be the quiet week, the calming week. and there may be a little use under general kelly.white but these transcripts have exploded. i mean, we had so many readers on these transcripts this morning when they first broke, remarkable reporting by my colleague greg miller who has been a stalwart throughout the year as part of our national security team. the portrayal of the new president, as you said, being unhappy, concerned about his own image, talking at cross-purposes of leaders of two allies, of neighboring mexico and australia.

they are remarkable documents of what the trump presidency started as and for so long, has continued as. >> rose: take me through what you found remarkable about these documents. >> well, on the call with the mexican president i think what was so fascinating was trump's recognition that his promise that not only would he build the wall but that mexico would pay for it was something that was never going to happen. and what he was seeking was some accommodation with the mexican president to just quits talking about it, to quit saying, "we will never pay for your wall." he said at one point, this, may be the least important thing we are talkin talking about but tht important politically." and i think he was probably correct in that judgment about it. in fact, his big challenge right now is getting congress to begin to pay for the wall, let alone mexico. >> rose: then there is perhaps the most interesting thing, in terms of the future, the coming of general john kelly, to impose order and swiftly, the leaving

of anthony scaramucci. >> it's clear that general kelly at this point seems empowered by the president to lay down the law, and he has done that. again, you know that doesn't get to the fundamental problem of the lack of discipline in the white house, which is the president of the united states. he has been tweeting up a storm since general kelly came in, so it's not clear that general kelly is going to be able to stop that or we don't know whether he is even trying hard to stop that. so the question is will the president of the united states in the way he operates, in the way he has operated, undermine the efforts of his chief of staff to make the white house a more orderly and disciplined and more effective institution. >> rose: news came this week

that oregon scientists have successfully and safely removed a harmful mutation from the genetic code of a human embryo. that is tha in turn has shown the full potential of this science, and also touched off a new wave of controversy over the wisdom and ethics of genetic modification in humans. we assim belled a panel that included the man who lead the project dr. shoukhrat mitalipov of the oregon health and science university. >> so this is really a big deal. this is the closest that we have come to being able to genetically modify a human embryo. and it was quite a successful experiment or series of experiments that the team did. and that tells you that the ability to do that safely and to do that successfully is probably not all that far off. >> rose: so people with diseases that could be inherited, that issue can be

eliminated. >> right, for couples who have mutations that they would pass on to their children. the idea is that you would be able to correct this, to repair the mutation, to basically get rid of it. >> there are a series of ethical, societal issues that will need to be addressed once it becomes technically possible-- assuming it does. then we have to decide what should be allowed and what should not. there are many values to being able to correct genes like this, and there are also some-- some resks and some societal consequences having stood to-do with things like equity, who is going to have access to this. >> shoukhrat, what the toughest thing to overcome? and secondly, what is your next step? >> the first question, i guess it was the regulatory oversight. even though we have a guideline set that we can do at least this

basic work, but still we needed to go through a very extensive review and proof on different levels, particularly three different committees, about why we're doing it, how we're going to do it, and whether there are alternatives. this was probably the toughest and longest part of the project. and i think these technology needs to be developed and protocols developed so we could actual he proceed to clinical trial some time in the future. >> rose: pam, is safety a factor here? >> oh, safety is going to be the main factor. they're going to have to repeat this with this mutation and with many others. and what you want to avoid is creating other problems in the embryo. so you don't want to create other mutations. you don't want to have a patchwork of cells. you want to be able to have a healthy embryo. then u.s. law, or some other country's law, will have to

change enough to allow there to be clinical trials where this can be tried in actual pregnancy. >> rose: president trump's relationship with the republican congress may be getting worse. the failure to repeal and replace the affordable care act left both the white house and capitol hill trading blame and pointing fingers at each other. and now republican senator jeff flake of arizona has published a new book that urges his party to rethink its hyperpartisan approach to politics. the book is called, "conscience of a conserve stiff: a rejection of destructive politicpolitics and return to principle." >> after gabby giffords was shot and a year later, she came back to the congress to resign the next day, but i was with her at the state of the union as her

friend. i sat next to her. she was still unable to stand very easily when the president, president obama at that time, when the applause lines would come. and so i helped her up. and that left me standing amid a lot of democrats, and i started getting texts and emails from friends and other die-hard republicans saying, "why are you standing when the president is talking? why are you standing?" and i thought, you know, that's-- that's out of hand, frankly, that you can't even do that. >> rose: well, the worst part was the feeling that both sides of the aisle, leaders were held hostage by caucuses. >> yes, yeah. and i think that that has maybe worsened over time. this "us versus them" all the time, 24-hour media coverage, and social media has exacerbated that. but it's really our responsibility to break out of it.

>> rose: is redistricting part of the problem? >> yes, you bet. i talk about that a lot in the book, how these days with the way you can use computer software and mapping, you can choose your constituents as a politician, rather than them choosing you. that's basically what it is. that matters, obviously, more in the house than the senate, where we just elect statewide. but it has had an impact, a big impact, and it's driven politics further apart. >> rose: the idea is if in fact you redistrict so it's primarily heavily republican. >> right. >> rose: then there will not be an effort to reach out to democrats. >> that's correct. yeah. and you have districts that are just completely safe. you only worry about the primary. >> rose: right. >> you just worry about the base, and that's it. >> rose: everything we've talked about is pre-trump. >> yes. >> rose: and pre-2016 election. this is a long timing building. >> rose: obama and boehner

could never reach a grand bargain. >> that's right. and the biggest thing we need to do by far is reach the big bargain on spending and revenue. we had the simpson-bolls commission come forward. we have to do some semblance of that. we know the basic contours of what that will look like. but given the way the parties have driven apart, it's almost impossible to see when one party, republican now with control over both chambers and the white house, or if the democrats were in control of all three, there's no way that party will take the political risk because the other party simply won't help. they'll think, "let them bear the risk, and bear the brunt in the middle term elections." midterm elections are never more than two years away. >> rose: graham windham is one

of the oldest private orphanages in the country. recently it has benefitted from the success of the hit musical "hamilton." there's even a reference to it in the play. it was founded in 1806 by eliza hamilton. i spoke with jeffrey seller and luis a. miranda jr. >> in 2006, it celebrated 200 years of existence. and when you think about it, it is foster care kids, the new orphans in our society. so the-- the institution has more and has evolved in helping thousands and thousands of kids in the foster care system. >> rose: so they basically place people-- kids where they can go and live with a family that takes care of foster-- and then they make-- they may not stay there for a long-term they do, and they work to get permanent homes from them. but they're different to the

degree that they're making a commitment to that child or to that adolescent, to be with them until they're 25, not just until they place them. but they will continue to work with them until they're young adults to make sure that their path to success is established. most of them will let go with placement, with adoption. but they will continue to work with these kids. >> rose: and eliza hamilton, alexander hamilton's widow, who lived to be a long, what, 90 or something? >> almost long enough to see abraham lincoln walking down the streets of washington. >> rose: wow. that's amazing. that's amazing. >> yeah. you have to remember that half of her life she lived after the death of her husband. and she was integrally involved with raising the money for the washington monument.

and as she sings at the end of the play, the orphanage may have been her crowning achievement. and in fact, what had happened was she teamed up with mrs. graham, of graham windham, who had started this idea in-- i'm sorry, in 1797, and then around 1806, they formed this orphanage, which was-- whose mission it was to help new york city youth. >> someone from puerto rico called me and said, "hey, i'm going to see 'hamilton'." >> rose: i bet you got a lot of calls from puerto rico saying, "hey, i'm going to see 'hamilton'." >> "you don't know me. i'd like to have breakfast with you." the guy happened to be the chief of hewlett-packard and said, "we want to do something with you

guys." and i said, "fund graham windham." and now, two years later, $250,000 lab that hewlett-packard -- >> they built a $250,000 lab? >> yes, in the school, the graham windham school in westchester for 300 kids being served by graham windham. so it's all the unintended good consequences of "hamilton" and the relationship "hamilton" has established. "indecent" tells the true for of the broadway debut of ""god of vengence," and the troupe of actors who risked their careers to perform it. i was joined by richard topol, and rebecca taichman. >> the story of the play is one that kind of calls out to for

courage and speak out in times of hatred, and in times of real sort of danger and creating art against all odds. as you see in "indecent" the odds keep increasing and they keep telling their story over and over and over again. you know, it comes to new york at a time of enormous immigration reform, a real cutdown on immigrants in the u.s. you know, it was a pretty audacious move, and it's a real-- i think the play calls out as a reminder to love in times of hatred. >> it's exactly why it's such a pertinent play today because the subjects are subjects we're dealing with as we speak around this table. >> rose: immigration. >> immigration censorship, homophobia, religious persecution, love-- the freedom to love who you choose to love. >> rose: yes. >> all of those are subjects that we care deeply about that

are -- >> and this play speaks to all of them. >> it all starts with this moment. remember this. >> and, also, it's a love letter to theater. let us just say. and so for rebecca, and for paula and rich and the entire company, and certainly speak for myself, it is a love letter for theater. it's what the passionate truth did. >> rose: it's also about the moral cowj of actors of that time. >> and their passion not to give up. they were a troupe of actors that believed in what they were doing. and at the end of the play, there's that moment-- everyone is teary about that. because you can picture the last scene of the play in your mind in the way you need it to end and that carries you through. >> rose: you extend the play. >> yes, we did! >> rose: and got some enthusiasm about that time. but it now has a closing date. >> once we announced we were closing the house was full every

night. people were standing on their feet. people walked out of the theater and said, "i can't believe this play is closing." and neither could i. so we had this period of time that i felt i could continue, you know, take the risk and not have a regret in my life. >> you know, it is a little bit like the hanukkah story. we thought we weren't going to do anywhere expwm all of a sudden the miracle happened, the joy and the beauty expft power of the play what inspired people to tell lots of people, "you have to run and see this thing." there are so many people that said to me this play has changed their life. this is the most meaningful theatrical experience they have ever had. and so they're telling people, "you have to see this." >> rose: the summer of 1967 was a low point for race relations in this country, and nowhere more so than in the city of detroit. five days of rioting claimed 43

lives and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings. in the new film "detroit," those riots serve as the backdrop for a footnote of history-- the murder of three black teenagers by police and the cover-up that followed. i spoke with the film's director, kathryn bigelow, writer mark boal, and actors john boyega and will poulter. >> the writer next to me who-- whose work is extraordinary, came to me way story set against the detroit riots, detroit uprisinrising in 1967, a true sy of a true crime set in the middle of it in the algiers motel. and it was, simply put, an execution. and a portrait of police brutality and racial injustice that was extremely moving, very timely, and very topical, and about the same time that he told me this story, the decision not to indict the officer involved in the michael brown shooting had taken place.

and so i felt that this story needed to be told. >> rose: describe the character. >> he's a man trying to-- trying to do good who is forced into a circumstance he wasn't prepared for. melvin-- i actually got the opportunity to speak to him, which is great. and i found that he's stern in some respects but also a do-gooder. >> rose: when you talk to somebody and there's a text that's based in part on real events, are you looking for a spirit? are you looking for mannerisms, or are you looking for a voice? >> i look for spirit first. i look for spirit first because i felt you could embody a lot about a human being when you could get hez soul. and i knew i wouldn't be able to ask him every single night what he would do in this particular scene, in this particular circumstance. sometimes when a black guy is put in a position of authority, other black guys, they like to single you out.

once you get the spirit in the beginning, the choices are guided by that. so there's always that ac. >> rose: you marry it with the text. >> and then there's kathryn bigelow. if i'm going off course, she can easily guide me in the right direction. >> i think delving deep into the topic of race and racial history wasn't necessary because at that point evidence looking to embrace ignorance by plaeg a racist. i think that's what you do. you form your opinion on a lack of information or misinformation as it were. so going in slightly ignorant was actually helpful in that respect, and i kind of just intensified that-- that ignorance in the most kind of aggressive and unapologetic way i could. i think kathryn and i were in agreement about the fact that this character needed to be exposed, rather than be developed with any sort of intention to incite empathy or

any real compassion. >> here's what's new for your weekend: the 71st fringe festival opens in scotland. the indiana state fair gets underway in indianapolis. and iderous elba, and matthew mcconaughey star in the film adaptation of stephen king's "the dark tower." >> i do not kill with my gun. i kill with my heart. and here's a look at the week ahead: sunday is the 72nd anniversary of the atomic bomb being dropped on hiroshima.

monday is the start of the world police and fire games in los angeles. tuesday is the day actor jeffrey tambour gets his star on the hollywood walk of fame. wednesday is the third anniversary of the michael brown shooting in ferguson, missouri. thursday is the first day of the p.g.a. golf championship in charlotte, north carolina. friday is the start of elvis week in memphis, tennessee. saturday is the start of the wyoming state fair and rodeo in douglas, wyoming. >> rose: that's "charlie rose: the week" for this week. before we leave you, we take note of the passing monday of the prolific french actress jeanne moreau. she made more than 130 movies over the course of her career. orson wells once described her as greatest actress in the world, and she was a friend, whether at dinner in paris or here in my studio, she was

always spirited, soulful, and delightful. >> this incredible devotion to youth, it's beautiful to be young, but life passes by. >> rose: is it beautiful-- >> everybody can't kill themselves around 30, come on. ( laughter ) >> rose: is it beautiful to be old? >> it is. it is beautiful to be alive. stopping talking about young and old. stop being afraid of death. that's the big problem. >> rose: funding for "charlie rose" has been provided by:

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