♪ -next, a "kqed newsroom" special on the arts. -♪ his love -snetimes it takes more thaa , intermissionless play to kick somebody out of their 40-hour workwe-a. 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 aas a country.e of hod -hello. i'm thuy vu. welcome to a special edition of "ed newsroom" about arts and culture. -hello. i'm thuy vu. on this program, we're revisiting stories from our archives with innovative and influential figures in filmi the perf arts, and visual culture. we begin with the role of comedy in today's political climate.ra

from immon policy to health care to the economy, there's a lot going on in politic that means plenty of material for comedians like roy wood jre he's a corresp 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 fpresident trump's love coof twitter.terfest. -so, where are we today? -this is the donald j. trump presidential twitter library. everybody at "the daily show," we s around, and wertarted looking in close at the president's tweets over the last couple years.ne evern our digital department started looking at ones, and pau start noticing certaierns. there's a lot of tweets where he's arguing with celebrities. there's a lot of tweets where he's trying to end people's careers. 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, st so we felt like the ay to give people the experience of walking through the brain of our commander-in-chief st so we feis to just put it to giveall on the wall.rience this is all the people he's argued and tald trash about -- talked trash about jeb bush, talked trash about robe 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 ave this librarybe feeling er 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 corspondent 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 because ifouou're not careful, if'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, but i think mar me it's important t sure that i shine a light on the stuff c that's happening in tners of america where a lot of people, you know, don't consider,fr and having bee the south and having been in that world, di feel like i'm as equip as any other correspondentow to be able to go and tell those stories. -roy, you're the father of a toddler. what will you tell your son when he's oldert abouat it's like to be a black man in america? -my son has to understand that being black is a gift aeverybody goes,es "have you had the big talk?"? and we ain't going to have the talk. you know, thbi're talking about ths and the bees. to me, the big talk is how to deal with the police and instructing my son on that relationship. it's something that i think about all the time, man,

beand my son has got tng black that he's on the clock 24/7. fo heard about the march our lives in d.c., but thg e was another march godown fo all the way the march oout in helena, montana,ou and t 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 that experien teach you about peop who oppose gun restriction? -there are a got of people who oppo restriction who are levelheaded. everybody thinks that someone just because they want the y cond amendment that tt eight guns and 12 "rambo" bazookas in their back pocket, and they're all lunatics. there were a lot of levelheaded people that were just making arguments afor wanting their guns,. and i think that the problem is that wethat we only hearguments the extremes in one another,. and i was very happy that i went to the pro-gun rly 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, my opinion, anytime you think that got shot ati at a high school is a paid actor, w my opinion, there is something with you, period.i bua crisis actor oversdoweople whthe 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.b it was dope to b to get to montana to talk to those people. -what is the challenge of tackling these difficult subjects such as racism and gun violence through comedy? ishere a risk, for example of belittling these issues by finding humor in them?e -the j never on the issue. the joke is on the argument about someone getting shot,t.wee but the joke is on, "how do we keep this from happening, and who are the people that are keeping this 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 aolution, so i feel like the jokes have to happen. -how do you decide which stories to coveron the daily show"? -"the daily show," that's a whole nother world. like, we'll look at the news, and we'll try and fi... 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, 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 withmy boondoggle with the orps of engineers, not a big news story, but it's something that affected people. it's something trot economically and enentally was ruining the country, and thankfully right before president obama got out of office, he changed it. i like to believe that my storb 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.yo than -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 stagera at the ctheatre in san francisco. i'm here with taylor mac, the creator of the show, the chief performer,and his, costume designer, machine dazzle. thank you both for being here. it's great to get a chance to chat wi 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 life endures -why that song? -i wanted to set up this kind ofoncept 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 me is the act of creation. -♪ it's lo and love alone -and what inspired you to tell the history of this country through song? -i wanted to useen form that best reprd how you use kind of imperfection as a way to rally people. i think of classical music as, you know, you're reaching for the hem of god. you're reaching for perfection. u're striving for virtuosity, and a popular song is something that is reaching the people. ♪ it's reaching them in order to rally them to a cause,he ♪ to celebrate tog to mourn together. -and you guys also tell the history of this country through costum -♪ he cursed us with a congress ♪ -i like to look at what was haw,ening at the time, you k "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 fl-i always nees 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. -[ gargling ] ♪ i jumped in a river -crazy janhas a wig made out of champagne corks, and she lives in a barrel. when she takes the barrel off, it's like she has everything in there. she has her toiletries ithere. she has her bedroom objet in there. -so, mearing a barrel, not tion heels, high heels for 24 hours... -sometimes women will say to me on the street if i'm dressed up, wearing the high heels or oen after shows, women will say, "how could you wear those heels? i could never d ar heels like that," always say, "well, for you, it's oppression, but for me, it's liberation."

i could never d ar heels li♪ he's leaving for y, i mean, i geto wear this art. ...this ritual. and it's not just costuming. u know, they're little t 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 somoghing bigger than bothher 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 them malnctions. we call them, you know, not acts of... typportunity. -opportu not acts of god, acts of the goddess. [ cheersnd applause ] -the point is to incorporate calamity. ♪ they wished me one more day to stay ♪ an i in fact, the show wpired by -which you were athich i weo in san francisco. when i was 14 years ol

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 time i ever saw a drag queen. it was a sister of perpetual indulgence, you know, so that event is what makes me want to make theater. i wanted to make a metaphorical representation of that event. now you can use your pillows as shields if you want to. -why lre your performances g? -[ laughs ] well, sometimes it takes intermissionless play, to kick somebody out of their 40-hour workweek kay, 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 realluglike to put people throit. -well, thank you very much taylor mac and machine dazzle for joining me today.ou -thanko much, like, really, for having us.

-thank you. -chinese dissident and artist ai weiweivo has long been a l critic of his own country's government. in his latest film, "human flow," he addresses the glob refugee crisis and says countries around the world should be held accouable. kqed's monica lam spoke with ai weiwei when he was in san francisco. -your film "human flow" documents massive human migrationvi due to warence, disaster. what did you learn from making this film? -what i have learned is very simple. ramong the 65 milliugees, 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. in fact, more thanfident donathe number of refugeeslf,h

allowed in this country. what isadministration,to thatt what they did is beyond belief. -morllthan ever, we need the dr we havugs 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, u.s. is a nas just a few generations ago, . all come from somewhere -absolutely. -i never met a native here. mean, to limit somebody's rights to move is almost the same as to push someone to leave tir home. -the officials came here and told them, "look. there's no way you're going to get papers to continue.o either you gluntarily or we arrest you." -a lot of your work takes aim right at the heart of power, the chinese government, corruption,

and here at alcatraz, the prison system. do-i know it's very hard to make a power listening, but that why those voice are so necessary. d 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 powerng to chaor 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 know? they all have families, have children, and it's different ways of communication, i have to believe in this kind of struggle. -in your film, there'm 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. ople 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 weapons dangerous locations.

big profit are made by united states or european leading nations, and we cannot pretend we are naive on those issues. stou call yourself an arti and activist. do yououlso see yourself as aalist? -i have a journalist card as a reporter because if i go to those nation to interview people, often i have 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 the world ertainment, comedian and writer hari kondabolu is no stranger to addressing tough topics like race and ethnicity.es he tn the long-running cartoon series "the simpsons" in his documentary titled, "the problem with apu." it explores how or indian convenience 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' and thpu dude that's in the aocumentary," no politicians or reporters w and nohatever deepak chopra is. thow america viewed us --red 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 shafrustrated with the cracter named apu. why? -apu is a convenience store owner, 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 all we ha, 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, t hank azaria, d accent. -yeah. the accent is definitely a part of it.'s n accent meant to elicit laughter. it's not that realistic.fa th 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 tie question of apu in re to identity politics, so what was your process in a way that would make sense and matter to a broad audience? in deciding how to present this issue -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. so much of the conversationeak 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? i -i mean, think for a lot of young south asian-americans, i think it shaped our identity. there was a certain embarrassment sometimes about beingo we wer. there was an embarrassment of our parents, and therthis is...e. there, "we are not american. we are less american. we don't fit. we have to fight againsthis constantly." 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 in your film where you interview your parents, and they're both indian immigrants, enand they say they w 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. w,it was that, like, you k it wasn't something she really worried about. you know, when you're coming to this country, and the stakes are so high, u're not really worried about things like, "how am i being seen?" like, you wo by about, you know, yols,

but i think as somebody who was born in this country, grew up in this country, there's a certain entitlementi thhink 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 hoth, and i think they hav entitlement more now than they did before. thy didn't even know if tre going to stay 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. d -and y't do accents in your medy anymore. -no. -is that part of that thinking? -yeah. i mean, i think for me, i did accents when i was 17,i 18, 19, becausew it would work, and i knew it would work 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 realized the impact representation had, the impact of images, especially when south asians wereheeing beaten up aroundountry, muslims, sikhspei knew that, like, using out and us being public and showing a broad range of identities, ke, would shape that public image,

and i knoi i couldn't do thoses anymore. it was so minimizing. -y wr film, "the problemh 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 vm w your comedy as a f activism? -no. i mean, this film, i think, is a little different because it's an in-depth look at a particular topic, t my stand-up, at the end of the day, it has to make people laugh, and i'm not going to say something that is, even if it's thoughtful, that doesn't make people laugl because why people 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 an issue and to get it as far as they can and to try to make progress, whether it's legislatively or socially. that's not my goal with stand-up.wi my goa stand-up is to entertain people. -you scream. i scream.fo we all screaice cream. america's favorite frozen treat has gotten a made-for-millennials makeover at the meum 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 wanted to create ae pace that brought peogether. 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. -this isn't your typical museus thwhere the artworkehind . the perfect combination. here, the artwork is meant to be touched and interacted with. why did you take such an unconventional approa to the design of your museum? -well, find that museums can be a little bit isolating, right? there's this sense that you can't touch anythingou ore 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. 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 soci 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.s? more so, this sense of captung the moment and what can we do from a design perspective that really allowed people to transport back, and we feel that the more visual from the space is,pective the moreo.eople are able to do s -say cheese. -the museum of ice cream features nine different themed rooms, including a gummy-bear garden, rock-candy cave, d the main attraction... -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.ke they look eal sprinkles. -how many sprinkles are in this thing, roughly? 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 field of rainbow

-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 h fostered and create for its entire exience. inclusivity and making sure that all people feel safein and protectehis space is a huge mission statement of ours and something that we strongly value. -thank you. -ice cream dipped in real magic.tr -but n 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 herep- is gingersnaflavored ice cream with a gingerbread crumble on top with some sprinkles, and then we're going to rrd this lovely strawbebasil sauce.wa -w to make sure that the city feels that we are working in collaration with ice cream creameries that have been around for a while, so each month, we have a ice-cream shop from san francisco that's created a unique flavol that you canget at the museum of ice cream. -that is the bomb. -yeah.-t

t is the answer you want. -yeah. -that's it. -at the museum of ice crea you won't encounter artwork 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 meano you? what memories does it evoke? -when i think about 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 from running outside and catching that truck to get my ice cream. i also associate it with my first memories 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 tha that level of independence, i just greatly

associate with ice cream.- ♪ haters going to hate, hate, hate, hate ♪ -maybe our universalngove for ice cream spfrom memories of what it was like to be a kid, whwhat kind of scoop to get.ag -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 feelsood. -we have people from cultures from all over the world who are coming together and talking with somebody uley probably never wod have had the opportunity to speak with, and they're talking about ice cream, and they' having fun. 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 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 ♪ d ♪ h life secure ♪ he wi my care and comfort ♪ as long as life endures ♪ amazing grace ♪ how sweet the sound ♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪ i once was lost ♪ but now am found ♪ was blind but now i see ♪ -take it away! keep going!

captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on thiedition for sunday, july 7: new threats to nuclear limits from iran. in our signature ory, the rise of anti-semitism in france. and rswhy the owf a famous utah restaurant are stepping up to protect a national monument. next on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekenis made ssible by: bernard and irene schwartz. sue and edgar wachenheim iii. seton melvin. the cheryl and philip milstein family. dr. p. roy vagelos and diana t. the j.p.b. foundation. rosalind p. walter. barbara hope zuckerberg. cora