♪ -next, a "kqed newsroom" special onhe 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 refugee 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. we begin with the role of comedy in today's political climate.fr immigration policy to health care to the economy, there's a lot going on politics. that means plenty of material for comedians like roy wood jrc he'srespondent on comedy central's "the daily show." kqed's sheraz sadiq caught up with him while he was in town for the comedy festival colossal clusterfest. they met at an interactive exhibit showcasing president trump's love of twitter. -so, where are we today? -this is the donald j. trump presential twitter library. everybody at "the daily show we sat around, g and we started look closer at the president's tweets over the last couple years. eryone in our digital department started looking at ones, ce and you start noticingain p. there's a lot of tweets where he's arguing with celebrities. there's a lot ofweets where he's trying to end people's careers. there's a lot of contradictions. there's uff 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 of w oking through the brain commander-in-chief 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 whether you leave this libraryfe ing better about the country or more horrified, but you'll definitely feel something. -are black people too sensitive about racism? -one of the themes you frequently return to on "the daily show" as a correspondent 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? a -i thiot of our views on race as adults are shaped when we're young, but i think the important thing my parents gave meof was a loride in myself because if you're not careful, if you're a victim of racism,

seat can mess with you-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,ow you from back in the day, but i think for me it's important to make sure that i shine a light on the stuff that's happening in the corners of america ere a lot of people, you know, don't consider, and having been from the south and having been in that world, as i feel like i'quipped as any other corspondent on the show to be able to go and tell those stories. -roy, you're the father of a toddler.il whl you tell your son when he's older about what it's like to be a black man in america? -my son has to understand that being black is a gift and that sometimes it's a burden, you know? everybody goes, "have you had the big talk?" and we ain't going to have the talk. you know, they're talking about the birds and the bees. totoe, the big talk is how eal with the police

and instructing my son on that relationship. it's something that i think about all the time, man, because, you know, being black is a job sometimes, 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., ht there was another marc 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 show," when the march for our lives rally was taking place to protest gun violence in schools, you were actually at a pro-gun rally in montana. what did thaouexperience teach you people who oppose gun restricti? -thereopre a lot of people whse gun restriction who are levelheaded. everybody thinks that someone just because they want the second amendment that they got eight gunsra and 12o" 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, and i think that the problem is that we only hear the extremes in one another,

and i was very happy that i went to thero-gun rally and had the opportunity to talk to these people. now don't geme 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. but the problem is that people who will call a parkland kidor a crisis a overshadow the levelheaded people who go, "let's tiptoe into legislation. i'm open to legislation. let's figure out a way to legislate thisti without it g out of hand because it is a slippery slope." it was dope to be able to get to montana to talk to those people. -what is the challenge of tackling these diffult suguects such as racism anviolence 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 happeni, and who are the people that are keeping this from happening ain?" 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 if you're willing to talk about it, then you're closer to , so i feel like the jokes have to happen. -how do you decide which stories to cover so i feel like the jokes on "the daily show"? -"the daily show," that's a whole nother world. like, we'll look at the news, and we'll trand find... if we can say something that we believe is different from what other shows are saying, then we'll say it, and then sometimes it's just about figuring out what issues are important to us? there's issues where it may not be national news. i covered a ory about some stuff that's happening on the mississippi river with a boondoggle withe army , not a big news story, but it's something that affected people. it's somanhing that economically environmentally was ruining the country, and thankfully right before president obama got out of office, he changed it. i like to believe that matstory is the reason beat... you're welcome, missouri. that's what i tell myself at night before go to bed. -roy, thank you so much. -yeah. -it was great talking to you. yeah. ank 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 slavery to gay activism. kqed's chloe veltman sat down with drag artist and stockton native taylor mac. -well, here we are onto the stage t curran theatre in san francisco. i'm here with taylor mac, the creator of the show, the chief performer, and his co-creator, costume desier, machine dazzle. thank you both for being here. it's great to get a chance 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 lifendures -why that song? -i wanted to set up thisind 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,e and what is gracto me is the act of creation. not the creator, -♪t's love and love alone -and what inspired you to tell the history of this country through song? -i wanted to use a form that best represented how you use kind of raperfection as a way ty people. i think of classical music a you know, you're reaching for the hem of god. you're reaching for perfection. you're striving for virtuosity, for and a popular song is something that is reaching the people. ♪ it's reaching them in order to rally them to a cause,ra to cel together, to mourn together. -and you guys also tell the history of this country with a congress ♪ -♪ hes -i like to look at what was happening at the time, you know, "what was new at the time? what were people doing? what was invented at the time?" 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, is redesigning backstage, like, during the show. -on the fly? -i always need to add things and change things. now that's a shoe. ♪ one of my favorite costumes that i've made for taylo tuer is the crazy jane cosme. -[ gargling ] ♪ i jumped in a river -cra jane has a wig made out of champagne corks, and she lives in a barrel. it's like she has wheverything in there.rel off, she has her toiletries in there. she has her bedroom objet in tre. -so, wearing a barrel, not to mention heels, high heels for 24 hours... -sometimes women will say to me on the street if i'm dressed up, wearing the high hee or often after shows women will say, "how could y wear those heels?

i could never wear heels like that," and i always say, re "well, for you, it's oion, but for me, it's liberation." ♪ he's leaving for i mean, i get to wear this art. ...this ritual. you know, they're le and it'sart pieces,ostuming.li 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 than both together is energizing. -and have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction? -no. it is the genius of performance art. there is no failure. -yeah. we don't call em malfunctions. we ca-opportunity.know, tunity.s of...pp 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 ♪ e and, in fact, thow was inspired by the very first aids walk in san francisco.er

-which youat. -which i went to when i was 14 years old, and it was the first time uad ever seen an out homos and it was thousands of them all at the same time. 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 r.kes me want to make thea 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 perfo? -[ 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, so i really like to put 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 weiwei has long 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 t world should be held accountable. kqed's monica lam spoke with ai weiwei when he was in san francisco. -your film "human flow" documents massive human migrationto duar, violence, disaster. what did you learn from making this film? -what i have learned is very simple. among the 65 million refugees, there's no single one is willing 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, in fact, more 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. th-more than ever, we neewall. we have drugs pouring through. -i should say it's a shame 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,an.s. is a nation of imts. just a few generations ago, we all come from somewhere. -absolutely. -i never met a native he. i mean, to limit somebody's rights to move is almost the same as to push someone leave their home. c -the officiae here and told them, "look.'r there's no way ygoing to get papers to continue. is almost the same as to push someone leave their home. either you go voluntarily or we arrest you."

-a lot of your work takes aim r,right at the heart of po the chinese government, corruption, and here at alcatraz, the prison system. you think those in pow? -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, 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 know? and it's differentlies, of communication,y so i have to believe in this kind of struggle. -in your film, there's a scene of a man walking through a aveyard, and he's lost many of his loved ones. he's really speaking from his heart what can they do about this?on., -first, i think we often talk about the crisis th wiout asking why those people are in such a tragic journey. -fithere are so many wars,alk aboiraq war,isis afghanistan war, syrian war, and we also see we are selling

extremely dangerous weioons to dangerous loc. ad big profit are by united states or european leading nations, and we cannot pretend we are naive on those issues n -you call yourself aartist and activist. do you also see yourself a? -i have a journalist card as a reporter because if i go to those nation to interview people,i ofteve 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.e -in rld of entertainment, comedian and writer hari kondabolu is no stranger to addressing tough topics t he takes on the long-running cartoon series "the simpsons"

in his documentary titled, "the problem with apu." it exploies how an indian conve store owner caters to stereotypes. -the problem is we didn't have any other representation in this country. -there was no aziz, no mindy, no kal, no "that dude who was on 'lost' and that other dude from 'heroes' inand that dude that's he apu documentary," no politicians or reporters and no whatever deepak chopra is. this is all we had. apu reflected how america viewed us -- servile, devious, goofy. i nd joining me now is hndabolu. so nice to have viu here. -thanks for me. -"the simpsons" was one of your favorite tv shows as a kid, and yet thu were so frustrated he character named apu. why? -apu is a conveniene 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, you're excited about anything, but as i got older, i realized, "oh, this is a we have, and this is how my parents are depicted," and this is... it's such a narrow way to be seen. -was it the accents? because a white actor,ri hank a did the accent. -yeah. the accent is definitely a part of it.it's an t to elicit laughter. it's not that realistic. the fact that everything he did always was connected to his 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 and taking on the question of apu in relationpo to identittics, so what was your process in deciding how to present this issue 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 tha-what was the impact,lace, an indo you think, of apu?om. mean, i think for a lot of young south asian-americans, i think it shaped our identity. there was a certain embarrassmentbe sometimes aboug who we were. there was an embarrassment of our parents, and there was shame. there was a sense of, this is...ic "we are not ameran. anwe are less american. we don't fit. we have to fight against this constantly." i mech, i think those early dhood experiences alwayshape you, and that was, i think, a thing that shaped a lot of us. -but yet, there's a moment in yr film where you interview your parents, and they're both indian immigrants,th and they say weren't offended by apu. they weren't bothered that the voice was done by a white actor. -right. i mean, i think my mom said that it's not that she wasn't offended.e, it was that, lou know, it wasn't something she really worried about. you know, when ytr're coming to this co

and the stakes are so high, you're not really worried about things like,"h am i being seen?" like, you worry about, you know, your bills, but i think as somebody who was born in this country 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 they've lived in india. this is home, and i think ht they didn't even kif theyy more now than they did beforew for the long-term, so, i mean, i feel like that's a big difference. i expect to be treated the way everyone else is treated. -and you don't do accents in your comedy anymore. -no. -is that part of that thinking, 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 particularly aer 9/11, i realized the impact representation had, the impact of images, especially when uth asians were being beaten up around the country, muslims, sikhs, i knew that, like, us speaking out

and us being public and showing a brd range of identities, like, would shape that public image, doand i knew i couldn't hose voices anymore. it was so minimizing.he doan-your film,couldn't hroblem with apu,"e. 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 wi race and ethnicity. do you view your comedy i mean, this film, i think,?-no. is a little different because it's an in-depth look at a particular pic, but my stand-up, at the end of the day, it has to make people laugh, anthi'm not going to say sog that is, even if it's thoughtful, that doesn't make people laug becay would people listen to me? i mean, stand-up's strength is that people listen ebecause there's the promof lau, so, i mean, an activist goal is to push an issueas and to get iar 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.y goal wii scream.up. we all scream for ice cream.ic

ams favorite frozen treat has gotten a made-for-millennials makeover at the museum of ice cream. the travelinfrmuseum in downtown saancisco 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 space. it's empowering, and ice cream is such a beloved treat that it just felt like the perfect combination. us-this isn't your typicalm where the artwork is behind plates of glass., hee 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 museumsit can be ae bit isolating, right? there's this sense that you can't touch anything or you're going to break something, and i think when you have that level of degree of constriction, it limits people from truly being able to express themselves, so we wanted to create a space where people could really be their authentic selves. ey could laugh. they could have fun. they could tough something, and nothing would break. it flipping this concept

of the traditional museum on its head. -it's also a museum that's tailor-made for millennials and their love how did social media influence your design aesthetic and your choices? -it wasn't so much instagram or snapchat or facebook that led the aesthetic design behind this. more so, this sense of capturing the momentan and whate do from a design perspective that really allowed people to transrt 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 features nine different themed rooms,gu including y-bear garden, rock-candy cave, and the main attraction.... -wow -...a swimming pool filled with plastic sprinkles. -raining sprinkles!st there's ju something so therapeutic,d really, they do... we made sure they would look as real as they do. they look like real sprinkles. -how many sprinkles are in this thing, roughly? -100 million sprinkles. -wow.

after using an air hose to remove althe sprinkles sticking to my clothes, madison took me to meet grant, a goldtaorned unicorn standing in a field of rainbows. -my favorite room here is our rainbow room. it's an homage to san francisco for the pride and inclusivity and diversity that this city has fostered it's anand createdsan francisco 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. and pro-thank you.his space is a huge m-ice cream dippedof ours in real magic. -but no trip to a museum pleteice cream would be c 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 cream with a gingerbread crumble on top with some sprinkles, d then we're going to add this lovely strawberry-basil sauce. -we want to make sure that the city feelse thate working in collaboration with ice cream creameries that have been around for a while, so each month, we have 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.t e museum of ice cream, twyou won't encounter arork 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 on the 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. -madison, what does ice cream mean to you? what memories does it evoke? -when i think about it, it just brings me back to my childhoo i think of being a kid and sitting in my house and hearing the nde-cream truck go off ahe excitement, the exhilaration i got from running outside and catching that truck to get my ice cream. i also associate it with my first memories of having autonomy. i remember my parents5. b$

go out and get the ice cream by yourself." there's just something with that, l thevel 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 tget. -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 her ow that, "you went to a place that not everybody gets to go to." i think ice cream brings happiness. like, who eats ice cream and is sad? you ready? it's fun whether it's soft-serve or, you know, out of a tub or whatever. it's fun. it feels good. -we haveomeople from cultures ll 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 power of human connectionmp in such a sified form, i think it can be a great example of how we shouou move forward as a cry.

-♪ got nothing in my brain e ♪ that's what peoy of how we shouou move forward as a cry. -that does it for us.r re of our coverage, go to kqed.org/newsroom. i'm thuy vu. thank you 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 ♪ ♪ howweet the sound a ♪ that saved etch like me ♪ i once was lost nd a ♪ but now am found ♪ waslind but now i see ♪ -take away! keep going!

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