♪ -next, a "kqed newsroom" special on the arts. -♪ his love -sometimes it takes more than a 90-minute, intermissionless play to kick somebody out of their 40-hour workweek. -an entertainer's take on american history and a world-renowned artist tapping the global fugee crisis. -you know, they all have families, have children, and we cannot pretend we are naive on those issues. -plus the joy served up by the coolest museum in town focused on something sweet. -when you see the power of human connection in such a simplified form, i think it can be a great example of how we should move forward as a country. -hello. i'm thuy vu. welcome to a special edition of "kqed newsroom" about arts and culture. on this program, we're revisiting stories from our archives with innovative and influential figures in film, the performing arts, and visual culture.it we beginthe role of comedy in today's political climate.

from immigration policy to health care to the economy, there's a lot going on in politics. that means plenty of material for comedians like roy wood jrs correspondent on comedy central's "the daily show." ug kqed's sheraz sadiq ca up with him while he was in town for the comedy festival colossal clusterfe. they met at an isieractive exhibit showca president trump's love of twitter. -so, where are we today? -this is the donald j. trump presidential twitter library. everybody at "the daily sh," we sat around, and we started looking in closer at the president's tweets over the last couple years. everyone in our digital department and you start noticertain. started looking at ones,ng there's a lot of tweets where he's arguing with celebrities. there's a loof tweets where he's trying to end people's careers. there's a lot of contradictions. thers stuff about policy. so when you really start looking at all the president's work, you see, "oh, well this is an exhibit, you know?" barack obama is all about books.

our president is all about twitter, so we felt like the best way to give people the experience ofofalking through the brainur f is to just put it all on the wall. this is all the people he's argued and talked trash about -- talked trash about jeb bush, talked trash about robert pattinson. over here, those are the verified survivors those are people that he's talked trash about, but somehow, they still persevere. and i'm not sure wrather you leave this lib feeling better about the country or more horrified, but you'll definitely feel something. -are black people too sensitiv? -one of the themes you frequently return to on "the daily show"as a cort is the issue of race relations. how did growing up in the deep south in birmingham, alabama, influence how you tackle the issue of race? -i think a lot of our views on race as adults are shaped when we're young, but i think the important thing my parents gave me was a lot of pride in myself re because if you're not l, if you're a victim of racism, that can mess with your self-esteem. i've been called the n-word. i've been harassed.

i won't dare act like what i've been through compares to what a lot of people have gone through in this country and, you know, the civil-rights soldiers, you know, from back in the day, mpt i think for me it'stant to make sure that i shine a light on the stuffni that's hap in the corners of america where a lot of people, you know, don't consider,ha anng been from the south and having been in that world, m i feel like equipped as any other crespondent on the sho to be able to go and tell those stories. -roy, you're the father of a toddler. w ill you tell your son when he's older about what it's like to be a black man in america? -my son has to understanat t and that sometimes it's a burden, you know? everybody goes, "have yoto have the talk.k?"andg you know, they're talking about the birds and the bees. me, the big talk is how de and instructing my son on that relationship. it's something that i think about all the time, man,

be use, you know, being blais , and my son has got to know that he's on the clock 24/7. we heard about the march for our lives in d.c., mabut there was another rch going down all the way out in helena, montana, and out here at this march, people were taking a stand for the real victims of gun violence, guns. -for "the daily orow," when the march f our lives rally was taking place to protest gun violence in schools, you were actually at a pro-gun rally in montana. what did tabt experience teach yot people who oppose gun restricon? -there are a lot of people who oppose gun restriction who are levelheaded. everybody thinks that someone just because they want the second amendment that they got eight guns12 anrambo" bazookas in their back pocket, and they're all lunatics. there were a lot of levelheaded people that were just making arguments for wanting their guns,in and i that the problem is that we only hear the extremes in one another, and i was very happy that i went tohe pro-gun rally and had the opportunity to talk to these people. now don'get me wrong.

there are a lot of people who are pro-gun who, in my opinion, are out there. anytime you think a kid that got shot at at a high school is a paid actor, there is something wrong with you, period.m but the prob that people who will call a parkland kid a crisis actor overshadow the levelheaded people who go, "let's tiptoe into legislation. i'm open to legislation. let's figure out a way to legislate this without it getting out of hand because it is a slippery slope.d it we to be able to get to montana to talk to those people. -what is the challenge of tackling these diicult d bjects such as racism n violence through comedy? is there a risk, for example, of belittling these issues by finding humor in them? -the joke is never on the issue. the joke is on the argument and the prevention of it. we would never tell a joke about someone getting shot, but the joke is on, "how do we keep this from happening, and who are the people that are keeping thi from happening again?" and i think that's where the humor is, and i think if we can laugh about it, you're more willing to talk about it, and ifouou're willing to talk it,

then you're closer to a solution, so i feel like the jokes have to happen. -how do you decide which stories to cover on "the daily show"? -"the daily shr ," that's a whole notrld. like, we'll look at the news, and we'll try and find... if we can say something that we believe isifferent from what other shows are saying, then we'll say it, and then sometimes it's just about figuringut what issues are important to us, you know? there's nsues where it may not ional news. i covered a story about some stuffni that's hap on the mississippi river with a boondoggle with the army corps of engineers, not a big news story, but te's something that affpeople. it's something that economically and environmentally was ruining the country, and thankfully right before president obama got out of office, he changeit. i like to believe that my story is the reason that i beat... you're welcome, missouri. that's what i tell myself at night before i go to bed. -roy, thank you so much. -yeah. -it was great talking to you. yeah. thank you. -now to cabaret, where a daring show has been examining american history through some of this country's most popular songs. -♪ i jumped in a river

titled "a 24-decade history of popular music," the show has been shining a light on everything from svery to gay activism. kqed's chloe veltman sat down with drag artist and stockton native taylor mac. -well, here we are onto the stage at the curran theatre in san francisco. i'm here wtoh taylor mac, the crof the show, the chief performer, and his co-creator, costume degner, machine dazzle thank you both for being here. it's great to get a chance to chat with you here in the costume shop as all this stuff is going on. -thank you. -oh, yes, thank you. -♪ i once was lost ♪ but now am found -so, your show tells the history of the united states of america in 246 songs, and it all begins with a smashing, ball-busting rendition of "amazing grace." -♪ as long as fe endures -why that song? -i wanted to set up is kind of concept that we're here to worship the act of creation, not the creator, so we take that song, and we talk about grace,gr

and what is ace to me is the act of creation. e ♪ it's love and love al -and what inspired you to tell the histy of this country through song? -i w bted to use a form tht represented how you use kind of imperfection as a way to rally people. i think of classical mus as, you know, you're reaching for the hem of god. you're reaching for perfection. you're striving for virtuosity, and a popular song is something that is reaching the people. ♪g it's reachinem in order to rally them to a cause, to celebrate together, to mourn together. -and you guys also tell the history of this countryh throstume. -♪ he cursed us with a congress ♪ -i like to look at whae,was happening at the tou know, "what was new at the time? what were people doing? what was invented at the time?" happening at the tou know, these are the opening shoes. and just, like, turn those ideas and those inventions into costumes. my favorite ribbon.

-and machine, as weird as it sounds, r esigning backstage, like, during the show. n e fly? -i always need to add thingsng and change t now that's a shoe. ♪ one of my favorite costumes that i've made for taylor osever is the crazy jane cme. -[ gargling ] i jumped in a river ♪ -crazy jane has a wig made od of champagne corks, ane lives in a barrel. when she takes the barrel of it's like she has everything in there. she has her toetries in there. she has her bedroom objet in there. -so, wearing a barrel, not to mention heels, high heels for 24 hours... -sometimes w sen will say to me on teet if i'm dressed up, wearing the high heels or often after shows, women will say, "how could y wear those heels? i co td never wear heels lit," and i always say, "well, for you, it's oppression, but for me, it's liberation."

♪ he's leaving for i mean, i get to wear this art. ...this ritual. and it's not just costuming.'r you know, theylittle art pieces, so the fact that you get to bring your own personal art into somebody else's art, and they get to commingle and make something bigger bot. -and have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction? -no. it is the genius of performance art. there is no failure. -yeah. we don't cl them malfunctions. we call them, you know, not acts of... -opportunity.pportuni. not acts of god, acts of the goddess. [ cheers and applause -the point is to incorporate calamity. ♪ they wished me one more day to stay ♪ th and, in fact, show was inspired by the fry first aids walk in sncisco. -which you were at. -which i went to when i w 14 years old,

and it was the first time i'd ever seen an out homosexual, and it was thousands of them a. it was the first time i ever saw a drag queen. it was a sister of perpetual indulgence, you know, so that event is what temakes me want to make th and so in making the show, i wanted to make a metaphorical representation of that event. now you can use your pillows as shields if you want to. -why are your performances so long? -[ laughs ] well, sometimes it takes more than a 90-minute, intermissionless play to kick somebody out of their 40-hour workweek. -okay, so everyone, you understand how it goes? let's do it. i think that there's real wonder in just making things go on longer than people expect, longer than they think they're capable of handling something, ut so i really like to people through it. -well, thank you very much taylor mac and machine dazzle for joining me today. -thank you so much, like, really, for having us.

-thank you. -chinese dissident and artist ai weiweilo has been a vocal critic of his own country's government. in his latest film, "human flow," he addresses the global refugee crisis and says countries around the world should bheld accountable. kqed's monica lam spoke with ai weiwei when he was in san francisco. -your film "human flow" documents massive human migrationdu to war, violence, disaster. what did you learn from making this film? -what i have learned is very simple. e among million refugees, therlis no single one is w to leave their home. they all struggle not to leave. it's very heavy price they have to pay. their relatives, friends, or whole village vanished by war, by famine, or environmental problems. -united states president donald trump has cut in half,m in fact,e than half the number of refugees

allowed in this country. what is your reaction to that? -i think that this current administration, what they did is beyond belief. d -more than ever, we neethe wall. for a nation like united states, which is the most powerful, not only leading in the economics but should be strongest nation in defending human rights. after all, u.s. is a nation of immigrants. just a few generatioom ago, we all come fromewhere. -absolutely. -i never met a nativhere. i mean, to limit somebody's rights to move is almost the same as to push somee to leave their home. ia -the off came here and told them, "look. y there's no w're going to get papers to continue.th ei you go voluntarily or we arrest you." -a lot of your work takes aim, the chinese government, corruption,

and here at alcatraz, the prison system. rdo you think those in po are ? -i know it's very hard to make a power listening, but that why those voice are so necessary. and basically, all those mistakes or those tragedies are made by human. so if we don't want to be part of shameful condition, then leave us no choice to make our sound to be heard. -do you think you're encouraging those in power to change or just making them look like fools, or is it the same thing? -i think we have to consider they also human beings, of course. you know, we talk about the issues, really,

? to everybody, you kn they all have families, have children,nt and it's diffeays of communication, so i have to believe in this kind of struggle. -in your film, there's a scene of a man walking through a graveyard, and he's lost many of his loved ones. he's really speaking from his heart just as an individual person. for people watching the film, what can they do about this? -first, i think we often talk about the crisis without asking why those people are in such a tragic journey. there are so many wars, iraq war, afghanistan war, syrian war, and we also see we are selling extremely dangerous atapons to dangerous lns.

big profit are made by united states or european leading nations, and we cannot pretend we are naive on those issu. -you call yourself an artist and activist. lf do you also see youras a j? -i have a journalist card as a reporter because if i go to those nation to interview people,n ofhave to have something protect me, so, yes, i'm a journalist also. i do a lot of investigations, ask really tough questions, and, you know, to trying to get some facts out. -thank you very much, ai weiwei. -thank you.th -iworld of entertainment, comedian and writer hari kondabolu is no stranger to addressing tough topics cartoon series "the simpsons"g in his documentary titled, "the pblem with apu." it explores how an indian convenience store owner

caters to stereotypes. -the problem is we didn't have any other representati in this country. -there was no aziz, no mindy, no kal, no "that dude who was on 'lost' and that other dude from 'heroes' and that dude that'sin the " no politians or reporters and no whatever deepak chopra is. this is all we had. apu reflected how america viewed us -- servile, devious, goofy. -and joining me now is hari kondabolu. so nice to have you here. -thanks for having me. -"the simpsons" ts one of your favorishows as a kid, and yet you were so frustrated with the character named apu. why? -apu is r, convenience store ow very one-dimensional, stereotypical, and at that time, that's the only depiction south asian-americans had, specifically indian-americans. like, we didn't have anything else, and initially we were... i think i was excited because we had something. when you have nothing, yore excited about anythin

but as i got older, i realized, "oh, this is all we have, and this is how myndarents are depicted,"his is... it's such a narrow way to be seen. -was it the accents? because a white actor,za hanka, did the accent. -yeah. the accent is definitely a part of it. hanka, did the accent. -yeah. it's an accent meant to elicit laughter. it's not that realistic. the fact that everything he did always was connectedto is indianness or what, like, the white writers and executives thought indianness was. -you were taking on... or you are taking on a well-loved tv show an ataking on the question in relation to identity politics, so what was your processho in decidingto present te in a way that would make sense and matter to a broad audience? -sure. i mean, i think "the simpsons" is a great place to start because it's "the simpsons it's a global show. like, there's so many of us who grew up on it. "the simpsons" at its peak influenced so much of the conversation of the country. i mean, it was a very important show,

so that already gave me a place, an institution to start from. -what was the impact, do you think, of apu? so t-i mean, i think for a lote, of young south asian-americans, i think it shaped our identity. there was a certain embarrassmentou sometimes being who we were. there was an embarrassment of our parents, and there was shame. there was a sense of, this is... "we are not american. we are less american. we don't fit. we have to fy.ht against this constan i mean, i think those early childhood experiences always shape you, and that was, i think, a thing that shaped a lot of us. -but yet, there's a moment your film where you interview your parents, and they're both indian immigrants, and they sthey weren't . they weren't bothered that the voice was done by a white acto -right. i mean, i think my mom said that it's not that she wasn't offended. it was that, like, you know, it wasn't something she really worried about. you know, whco you're coming to thitry, and the stakes are so high, you're not really worried about things like, "how am i being seen?" like, you worry about, you know, your bills,

but i think as somebody who was born in this coury, grew up in this country, there's a certain entitlement that i think i rightfully have to expect the same as everyone else. my parents have now lived in america longer than tthey've lived in india.e. this is home, and i think they have that entitlement more nowhan they did before. they didn't even know if they were going to stay for the long-term,so, i, i feel like that's a big difference. i expect to be treated the way everyone else is treated. nd you don't do accents -nin your comedy anymore.o. -is i mean, i think for me,i? i did accents when i was 17, 18, 19, because i knew it would work, and i knew it would work because of "the simpsons." i knew that that accent would work, and as a young comedian, i just wanted to make sure there wasn't silence, that i was filling that with laughter, but as i got older, and particular after 9/11, i realized the impact representation had, the impact of images, especially wn south asians were being beaten up around the country, muslims, sikhs, i knew that, like, us speaking out and us being public and showing broad range of identitie like, would shape that public image,

and i knew i couldn't do those voices anymore. it was so minimizing. -your film,he problem w" grew out of a bit that you did a few years ago for "totally biased with w. kamau bell." -you were -- you worked on that show. a lot of your comedy deals with race and ethnicity. do you -no. your comedy i mean, this film, i think,? is a little diff-dent because it's an th look at a particular topic, but my stand-up, at t t end of the day, it hmake people laugh, and i'm not going to say something that is, even if it's thoughtful, that doesn't make people lauga e why would people listen to me? i mean, stand-up's strength is that people listen om because there's the e of laughter, so, i mean, an activist goal is to push an issue i and to gas far as they can and to try to make progress, whether it's legislatively or socially. that's not my goal with stand-up. my goal with stand-up is to entertain people. -you scream. i scream. we all scream for ice cream.am ica's favorite frozen treat has gotten a made-for-millennials makeover at the museum of ice cream. the trn eling museum in downtowo

allows visitors of all ages to indulge their sweet tooth and love of selfies. allokqed's sheraz sadiqages to indulgehas the scoop.ooth -we wanted to create a space that brought people together. this is a space that is unifying. it's a safe spac it's empowering, and icetrream is such a belovet that it just felt like the perfect combination. m -this isn't your typiceum where the artwork is behind plates of glass.re the artwork is meant to be touched and interacted with. why did you take such an unconventional approach to the design of your museum? -well, i find that museums can be a little bit isolating, right? there's this sense that yocan't touch anything or you're going to break something, and i think when you have that leveof degree of constrictio it limits people from truly being able to express themselves,so we we where people could really be their authentic selves. they could laugh. they could have fun. they could tough something, and nothing would break. it's flipping this concept of the traditional museum on its head. -it's also a museum that's tailor-made for millennials and their love of snapchat and instagram.

how did social media influence your design aesthetic and your choes? -it wasn't so much instagram or snapchat or facebook that led the aesthetic desi behind this. more so, this sense of capturing the momentat and an we do from a design perspective that really allowed people to tnsport back, and we feel that the more visual the space is, the more people are able to do so. -say cheese. -the museum of ice cream tfeatures ninee different themed rooms,g includgummy-bear garden, rock-candy cave, and the main attraction... ow. -...a swimming pool filled with plastic sprinkles. -raining sprinkles!s there'just something so therapeutic,an d really, they do... we mase sure they would look eal as they do. they look like real sprinkles. -how many sprinkles are in this thing, roughly? -100 million sprinkles. they look li-wow.al sprinkles. after using an air hose to remove l the sprinkles sticking to my clothes, madison took me to meet grant,

a go-horned unicorn standingl. -my favorite room here is our rainbow room. it's an homage to san francisco that this city has fosteredvity and createdsity for its entire existence. inclusivity and making sure that all people feel safe and protected in this space is a huge mission statement of ours and something that we strongly value. -thank you. -ice cream dipped in real magic. -but no trip to a museum for ice cream would be complete without delicious reminders of why this timeless treat never goes out of style, even after a makeover for millennials. -what you have in front of you here is gingersnap-flavored ice creae with a gread crumble on top with some sprinkles, and then we're going to add this lovely strawberry-basil sauce. -we want to make sure that the city feel that we are working in collaboration with ice cream creameries that have been around for a while, so each month, we he a ice-cream shop from san francisco that's created a unique flavor that you can only get at the museum of ice cream. -that is the bomb. -yeah.

-that is the answer you want. -yeah. -that's it. -at the museum of ice cream,te you won't encoartwork that's overtly political, but you can still express your opinion, even a political one, in the message statement room. -we wanted to create a space where people could take their emotions and how they felt and make a statement onhe walls. we believe that this is an equalizing space. it's an opportunity for you to feel your authentic self, and if you have something to say that maybe is political or maybe is socially oriented, feel free to say it.wh -madison does ice cream mean to you? what memories does iouevoke? -when i think it, it just brings me back to my childhood. i think of being a kid and sitting in my house and hearing the ice-cream truck go off and the excitement, the exhilaration i got to get my ice cream. and cak i also associate it with my first memories of having autonomy. i remember my parents being like, "here is $5. go out and get the ice cream by yourself."e' thjust something with that,th at level of independence, i just greatly

associate with ice cream. -♪ haters going to hate, hate, hate, hate ♪ -maybe our universal love for ice cream springs from memories of what it was like to be a kid, when your toughest decision was deciding what kind of scoop to get. -thank you. -i love it. it's phenomenal. it's more than i ever imagined. we're celebrating my daughter's 1st birthday today, and so i'm excited to show her these pictures when she grows up and let heknow that, "you went to ay lace that not everybodts to go to." i think ice cream brings happiness.wh likeeats ice cream and is sad? you ready? it's fun whether it's soft-serve or, you know, it's fun. out ofit feels good.ever. -we hafr people from cultures all over the world who are coming together and talking with somebody they probably never would have had the opportunity to speak with, and they're talking about ice cream, and they're having fun. when you see the powerof n in such a simplified form, gr i think it can be t example of how we should move forward as a country. -♪ got nothing in my brain ♪ that's what people say us -that does it fo -♪ got nothing in my brain

for more of our coverage, go to kqed.org/newsroom. i'm thuy vu. thanyou for joining us. -ready? here we go! ♪ the world promised good to me ♪ ♪ hold my life secure ♪ he will my care and comfort be ♪ ♪ as long as life endures ♪ amazing grace ♪ how sweet the sound ve ♪ that saa wretch like me ♪ i once was lost ound ve ♪ but now am found ♪ w blind but now i see -take it away! keep going!

robert: president trump prepares tilt the supreme court to the right, but who will heick? m robert costa. we discuss the confirmation fight ahead, the resignation of e. administrator scott prui and china strikes back tonight on "washington week." president trump: i spent the last three days thinking about supreme court justices. it's such an important decision. robert: president trump considers his short list retiring supreme court justice anthony kennedy. > he would like someone with the right judicialemrament. robert: we examine the leading contenders and the confirmation battle that's brewing on capitol hill.