♪ -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 refugee crisis. -you know, they all have families, have children,we anannot pretend we are naive on those issues. -p ts the joy served up 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 rwof how we should move foard as a country. -hello. i'm thuy vu. welcome to a special edition of "kqed newsroom"ul about arts andre. on this program, we're revisiting stories o fr archives with innovative and influential figures in film, the perfortung arts, and visual c. we begin with the role of comedy in today's political climate.

from immigcation policy to healt to the economy, there's a lot going on in politics. that means plenty of material for comedians like roy wood jr. he's a correspon"tnt on comedy central' daily show." kqed's sheraz sadiq caught up win him while he was in tow for the comedy festival colossal clusterfest. they met at an interactive exhibit showcasings fpresident trump'veival coof twitter.terfest. -so, where are we today? -this is the donald j. trump presidential twitter library. everybody at "the daily show," we sat around, and we started looking in close at the president's tweets over the last couple years. everyonen our digital departme started looking at ones, and you start noticing certain paerns. there's a lot of tweets where he's arguing with celebrities. there's a lot of tweets where he's trying to end pple's careers. there's a lot of contradictions. there's 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 presidenis all about twitter,

so we felt like the be e way to give people terience of walkiis to just put itain of oon the wall.-in-chiefal this is all the people he's argued and talked trash about -- talked trash about jeb bush, over here, those areut the verified survivors. those are people that he's talked trash about,ho but some they still persevere. and i'm not sure whether you leave this library feeling bett m about the country ore 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 d growing up in the deep south in birmingham, alabama,ue ine how you tackle the issue of race? -i think a lot of ousviews on race as adult are shaped when we're young, but i think the important thing my parents gave me was a lot of priden myself because if you're not careful, if you're a victim of racism, that can mess with your self-estm. i've been called the n-word. i've been harassed.

i won't dare acth ike what i've been thrompares to what a lot of ieople have gone throuthis country and, you know, the civil-rights soldiers, you know, from back in the day, but i think for me it's important to ma sure that i shine a light on the stuff that's happening in the corners of america wher, a lot of people, you knn't consider, and having been from the south and having been in that world, i feel like i'm as equipped as any other correspondent on the show to be able to go and tell those stories. -r a, you're the father oddler. what will 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 om and that simes 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 rds and the bees. to me, the big talk is how to deal with the police and instructing my son on that relationship.'s omething that i think about all the time, man,

because, you know, being black is a job sometimes, and my son has got to ckow that he's on the c4/7. we heard about the march r our lives in d.c., but there was another march going wn 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 actuallat a pro-gun when therally in montana.ves what did that experience teach you about people who oppose gun restriction? -there are a lot of people who opposeun restriction who are levelheaded. everybody thinks that someone just because they want the second amendment that thegot eight guns and 12 "rambo" bazookas in their back pocket,e and theyl lunatics. there were a lot of levelheaded peopleak that were justg arguments for wanting their guns, and i think that the problem is that we only heathe ext, and i was very happy that i went to the pro-gun rally and had the opportunity to talk to these people. now don't get me wrong.

there are a lot of people who are pro-gun who, thin my opinion, are oue. anytime you think a d that got shot at at a high school is a paid actor, there is somethingrong with you, period. but the problem is that people who will call a parkland kid a crisis actor overshaopw the levelheaded pele 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." it was dope to be able to get to montana to talk to those people. witho-what is the challengeand of tackling these difficultope." subjects such as racism and gun violence through comedy? is there a risk, for example, of belittling these issues by finding humor in them? -the jokis never on the issue i the jos on the argument and the prevention of it. ke we would never tell a about, but and who are the peopleo we kethat are keeping thisg, 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 if you're willing to talk about it,

then you're closer to a solution, i eel like the jokes have to happen. -how do you decide which stories to cover "the daily show"? -"the daily show," that's a whole nother world. like, we'll look at the news, and we'll try and find... if we can say something that we believe is different likefrom what other showsews, are saying, then we'll say it, and then sometimes it's just about figuring out what issues are important to us, you know? there's issues where it may not be national news i covered a story about some stuff that's happening on the mississippi river with a boondoggle with the ar corps of engineers, not a big news story, but it's something that affected people. it's something that economically and envinmentally was ruining the country, and thankfully right before it'spresident obama gotnomically out of office, he changed it. i like to believe that my story is the reason that i bea.. you're welcome, missouri. i lthat's what i tell myselfory at night before i go to bed. -roy, thank you so much. -yeah. -it was great talking to you. yeah. thank yo -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," h

the been shining a light on everything from slavery to gay activism. v kqed's chloetman sat down with drag artist and stockton native taylor mac. -well, here we are onto thstage at the curran theatre in san francisco. i'm here with taylor mac, the creator of the show, the chief performer, and his co-creator, costume designer, 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. es -thank you. -oh,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, ball-busting rendion of "amazing grace."g,ti -♪ as long as life endures -why that song? that we're here to worship the act of creation, not the creator, so we take that song, and we talk about grace, and what is grace to meis n

-♪ it'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 imperfection as a way to rally peop. i think of classical music as, you know, you're reaching for the hem of god. you're reaching for perfection. siyou're striving for virt, and a popular song is something that is reaching the people. ♪ it's reaching them in order to rally them to a cause, to celebrate togher, to mourn together. -and you guys also tell the history of this country through costume. -gr he cursed us with a cs ♪ -i like to look at what was happewhat were people doing?now? wh" was invented at the tim these are the opening shoes. ded just, like, turn those and those inventions into costumes. my favorite ribbon.ac -andne, 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 taylor ever is the crazy jane costume. one of my favorite costumes that i-[ gargling ]taylor ♪ i jumped in a river -crazy jane has a wig made out of champagne corks, and she lives in barrel. when she takes the barrel off, it's like she has everything in there. she has her toiletries in there. she has her bedroom objet in there. -so, wearing a barrel, not to mention heels, gh heels for 24 hours... -sometimes women will say to me on the street if i'm dressed up, wearing the high heels or often after shows, women will say, "how could you wear those heels? i could never wear heels like that," and i always say, "well, for you, it's oppression"

♪ he's leaving for i mean, i get to wear this art..t s ritual. and it's not just costuming. you know, they're little t pieces, al arte fact that you get to bring your own pers to somebody else's art, and they get to commingle and make something bigger than both togher is energizing. -and have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction? -no. i the genius of performance art. there is no failure. -yeah. we don't call them malfunctions. wet all them, you know, ts of... -opportunity. -opportunity.go not acts o acts of the goddess. -the point is orporate calamity.use ] i ♪ they wished me one more day to stay ♪ and, in fact, the show was inspired by the very first aids walk in san francisco. -which you were at. -which i went to when i was 14 years old, and it was the first time i'd ever seen an out homosexual,

and it was thousands of them all at the same time. it was the first timeever sa. it was a sister of perpetual indulgence, you know, so that event is what makes me want to make theater. 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 soong? -[ laughs ] well, sometimes it takes more than a 90-minute,la intermissionless to kick somebody out of their 40-hour workweek. u -okay, so everyone, derstand 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 hdling something, so i really like to put people throh it. -well, thank you very much taylor m 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 vontl critic of his own cou's government. in his latest film, "human flow," he addresses the global refugee crisis and says countries around the world should be held accountable. kqed's monica lams spoke with ai weiweid when he was in san francisco. -your film "human flow"nt documassive human migration due to war, violence, disaster. what did you learnom ma? human migration -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 hales the number of refuge

allowed in this country. -i think that this c what isadministration,to thate what they did is beyond belief. -more than ever, we need the wall. we havdrugs pouring through. -i should say it's a shame for a nation like united states, which is the most powerful,ea not onlyng in the economics but should be strongest nation in defending human rights. after all, u.s. is a nation of immigrants. just a few generations ago, we all come from somewhere. -absolutely. -i never met a native here. si mean, to limit somebod righe is almost the same as to push someone to leave their home. -the officials came here and told them, "look. there's no way you're going to get papers to continue. either you go voountarily or we arrest y." -a lot of your work takes aim right at the heart of power, the chinese government, corruption,

and here at alcatraz,the . do you think those in power are listening?ha -i know it's ver to make,the . 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 hed. ago you think you're encog 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, or is iof course. thing? you know, we talk about the issues, really,

to everybody, you know?ll theyave families, have children, and it's different ways of communication, hiso i have to believe inkind 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. r helly speaking just as an individrson. for people watching the film, what can they do about this? al-first, i think we often about the crisis without ase ng why those people such a tragic journey. so there any wars, iraq war, r,afghanistan war, syrian andg extremely dangerous weapons to dangerous locations.

big profit are made by united states or european leading nations, and we cannot pretend we are naive on those issues. -you call yourself an arst and activist. do you also see yourself as a journalist? -i have a journalist car because if i go to those nation to interview people, often i have to have something protect me, so, yes, i'm a journalist alsot i do af investigations, ask really tough questions, and, you know, to trying to get some facts out. eihank you very much, aii. -thank you. -in the world of entertainment, comedian and writer hari kondalu is no stranger to addressing tough topics like race and ethnicity. he takesoon the long-running caseries "the simpsons" in his documentary titled, "the problem with apu." it explores how an indian convenience ste owner caters to stereotypes.

he 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 at other dude from 'heroes' and that dude that's in the apuocumentary," no politicians or reporters and no whatever deepak chopra is. no pthis is all we had.ters er apu reflected how ica viewed us -- servile, devious, goofy. -and joining me now is hari kondabolu. so nice to have you here. -thanks for having me. -"the simpsons" was one of your favorite tv shows as a kid, and yet you were so frustrated with theharacter named apu. why? -apu is a convenience store owner, very one-dimensional, stereotypical, and at that time, that's the oamy depiction south asiaicans had, specifically indian-americans. like, we didn't have anything else, and initially we were... i think i waomexcited because we hadhing.

but as i got older, i realized, yo"oh, this is all we have,ng, and this is how my parents are depicted," and this is... but ait's such a narrow wayzed, yo"oh,to be seen.l we have,ng, usas it the accents? bea white actor, hank azaria, did the accent. -yeah. the rtcent is definitely a f it. it's an accent meant to elicit laughter. it's not that realistic. the fact that everything he did always was connected to his indiannits or what, like, the writers and executives thought indianness was. -you were taking on...in or you are ton a well-loved tv show and taking on the question of apu in relation to identity politics, so e in a way that woul sense and matter to a broad audience? in deciding how to present this issuema -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.s" "the simpst its peak influenced so much of the conversation of the country. i mean, was a very,

so that already gave me a place, an institution to start from. yhat was the impact, think, of apu? -i mean,ng think for a lot of youth asian-americans, i think it shaped our identity. there was a certain embarrassment sometimes about being who we were. there was an embarrassment of our parents, sometimes about being and there was shame. there was a sense of, this is... "we are not american.we a. we don't fit. we have to fight against this constantly." i mean, i think those early childhood periences always shape you, and that was, i think, a thing that shaped a lot of us. -but yet, there's a moment in your film where you interview your parents, and they're both indian immigrants, and they say they weren't offended by apu.r they't bothered that the voice was done by a white actor. in -right. i mean, i my mom said that it's edt that she wasn't offe it was that, like, you kno it wasn't something she really worried about. you know, when you're coming to this country, and the stakes are so high, you're not really worri, "how am i being seen?" ills,e, you worry about, you know, your but i think as somebody who was born in this country,

grew up in this country, there's a certain entitlement that i t tnk i rightfully haveo expects the sameeryone else. my parents have now lived in america longer than they've lived in india. this is home, and i think they havthat entitlement more now than they did before. they didn't even know if ty were going to stay for the long-term, so, i mean, i expect to be trehe way everyone else is treated.ed -and you don't do accents in your comedy anymore. -no. -is that part of that thinking? -yeah. i mean, i think for me, i did accents when i was 17, 18, 19, because knew it would work, and i knew it would work because of "the simpsons." t i knew that that acculd 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 after 9/11,i alized the impact representation had, the impact of images, especially when south asians were being beaten up around t country, muslims, sikhs, i knew that, like, us saking out and us being public and showing a broad range of identities, ublike, would shape thatc image,

and i knew i couldn't do those vces anymore. it was so minimizing. -your film, "the problemith apu," 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 view your comedy as a forof activism? -no. i mean, this film, i think, is a little different because it's an in-depth look at a particular topic, but my stand-up, at the end of the day, it has to make people laugh, and i'm not going to say something thats, even if it's thoughtful, that doesn't make people laugh because why woulpeople listen to me? i mean, stand-up's strength is that people listen because there's the promise of laughter, so, i mean, an activist goal is to push aissue and to get it as far as they can and to try to make progress, whether it's legislatively or socially. and to gthat's not my goalth st. and to try to make progress, my goal with stand-up is to entertain people. -you scream. i scream. we all scream for ice cream. america's favoente frozen treat has go a made-for-millennials makeover at the museum of ice cream. the traveling museum in downtown san francisco

allows visitors of all ages to indulge their sweet tooth and love of selfies. kqed's sheraz sadiq has the scoop. -we waated to create a space rought people together. thif is a space that is unying. it's a safe space. it's empowering, and ice cream is such a beloved treat that it just felt like the perfect combination. -this isn't your typical museu whe artwork is behind plates of glass. here, the artwork is meant to be touched and interacted with. why did you take such an unconntional approach to the design of your museum?m -well, i find theums can be a little bit isolating, right? there's this sense that you can't touch anything can bor you're going to break something,t? and i thit limits peoplee that leve truly being ablenstrictionr to express themselves, so we want to create a space where people could really be their authentic selv. they could tough shing,h. tand nothing would break. it's flipping this concept -it's also a museummuseum that's tailor-made for millennials and their love of snapchat and instagram.

enhow did social media inf your design aesthetic and your choices?t wasn't so much instagram or snapchat or facebook that led the aesthetic design behind this. more so, te s sense of capturing ment and what can we do from a design perspective that really allowed people to transport 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, including a gummy-bear garden, ro a-candy cave, and the maraction... -wow. -...a swimming pool filled with plastic sprinkles. -raining sprinkles! there's just something so therapeutic, and 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.illion sprinkles. -w after using an air hose to remove all the sprinkles sticking to my clothes, madison took me to meet grant, a gold-horned unicorn standing tall in a fid of rainbows.

-my favorite room here is our rainbow room. it's an homage to san francisc for the pride clusivity and diversity that this city has fostered and created r 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 outf style, even after a makeover for millennials. ofhat you have in front ou here is gingersnap-flavored ice cream with a gingerbread crumble on top with some sprinkles, and then wlore going to add this ly strawberry-basil sauce. -we want to make sure that the city feels that we are workg in collaboration with ice cream creameries that have been around for a while, so each month, we have a ice-cream shop from san francisco that 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, you won't encounter artwork that's overtly political, but you can still express your opinion, even a political one, in the message statement roomd -we wao 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, y and have something to say that maybe is political or maybe is socially oriented, feel freto 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 childhood. i think of being a kid and sitting in my house and hearing the ice-cream truck go off and the eitement, 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 parents being like, "here is $5. go out and get the ice cream by yourself." there's just something with that, that level o gindependence, i justatly

associate with ice cream. -♪ haters going to hate, hate, hate, hate ♪ -may our universal love fores of what it was like to be a kid, when your toughest decision was deciding what kind of scoop to get.ha 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 know 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 have people from cultures from all over e world who are coming together and talking with somebodyro theybly never would have had the opportunity to speak with, and they're talking about ice fucream, and they're havin 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. -♪ got nothing in my brain ♪ that's what people say -that does it for us.

for more oedour coverage, go to rg/newsroom. i'm thuy vu. thank you for joining us.? -reahere we go! ♪ the world promised good to me ♪ ♪ hold my life secure ♪ th♪ he will my cared comf good to me ♪ ♪ as long as life endures ♪ amazingrace ♪ how sweet the sound ♪ that saved a wretch le me ♪ i once was lost ♪ but now am found ♪ was blind but now i see ♪ -take it away! keep going!

♪ robert: president trump once again tes on immigration. but census questions remain unanswered. i'm robert costa. welcome to "washington week." ♪ >> president trump pays tribute to the military and calls for unity following a week of controversy over his fourth of july plans. president trump: we are one people chasing one dream and one magnificent destiny. >> washington remains divided and on edge about the 2020 census. and the president figh to include a citizenship question.n prestrump: i think it's very important to find out if someone is a citizen asto oppos n illegal. >> this as a federal watchdog shines a light on troubling conditions at the border. an protesters