>> good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. we have a conversation with trevor noah from the daily show. stories from a south african childhood. we are glad you have joined us. trevor noah is here in just a moment. >> and by contributions from

your pbs stations from viewers like you. thank you. >> trevor noah is one of comedy's brightest new voices and the host of the daily show. he released a memoire titled born of crime, stories from a south african childhood. having him as a best guest on this show, it was an honor to be on your program a few times. are you doing already? >> doing great. how are you? >> doing the best i can. i so much i want to get to and this title that 7 talking about.

it's a reference to born in a time when my parentings were not allowed to get married and born during a time when interracial relationships were outlawed in the country. for all intents and purposes, what my white father and black mother did in south africa did was for the crime. that's where the title came from. especiallysentially what define life. it did not define your life necessary a lot of different reasons. how did you not feel boxed in by that? you are born and you are a crime. there is a lot of that. a lot of weight that comes with that. like my mom. my mom was an amazing woman. parents are really what shape a lot of your world.

for myself, i grew up in this world where i was not born of crime in my world. i was born according to the world i lived in. i was chosen and expected and i was prepared for it and loved and accepted. i was accepted by the people that mattered most to me. growing up, i didn't know the rules and why i was hiding in the house. they just told me to do something and that's what you do. near a closet or in a closet and that's what you do. your mom said you don't walk with your dad on the street, you don't ask questions. that's just what you do. it's not something that stuck with me. in hindsight, i realize the gravity of the situation. i was born on the cusp. i was old enough to experience apartheid and the change in south africa, but young enough to not be scarred by the memories and the realities of the country at the time. >> you were talking about how

you were loved and chosen and you felt all of that. also given to preferential treatment as a child. somebody who didn't want to meet you because i will let you tell the story. i cracked up when i read this. . >> i grew up in a world where i did not know i was special because of my skin color. i didn't feel it because my mom never told me. that was good. my country told everyone that. because of my skin color, i was superior to half of my family who was black and inferior to the half of my family who were white. they lived through apartheid and abided by the law. they were like this we have this white kid in the house and we don't hit him and so i was petrifi petrified. my grandmother would spank all of rest of the kids, but with me

she said i can't hit you. i don't know what happened. with black children i know what's going to happen, but with him he turns red and blue and green and yellow. i'm going to kill a white child. in my world, i was just trevor. that's all i was. i thought i was a special child and i was a favorite. i enjoyed that privilege and i didn't understand where it came from. >> according to them, you were a bad kid. >> i was terrible. i will never lie. >> because you were spoiled and could get away with it? >> just as a baby, she said i had tons of energy and in the bible, it was idle hands. if my mom was not around, i was going to get up to something.

a lot of the times, kids are not actually naughty, but they are trying to do something. if they don't have money involved in extra curricular activity. if you don't have drama or sports, what do you do with the kid? that involves everything from shoplifting to burping down houses to -- >> it's fascinating to read this story and find what you have in pret row expect. did you find rumor in anything happening around you in that south africa? >> bevel. you don't find humor, but you use humor to get you through it. my family laughed. i always remember laughter in my house. the how farrest time with no

food or electricity or running water, people were still laughing. it's not that we found humor in the situation, but it was that tool we used to take ourselves out television and remember who we were. >> there are funny stories in the book about the names that your cousins were given and what they mean. it's not funny that i found to be profound is why your mother named you trevor. tell us. >> in african culture, many cultures around the world, what you name your child often times it's what your child will be destined to become. like my mother's name means she who gives back. >> i wasn't even going to try that. >> it's no that the hard.

my aunt's name means we are grateful. she was a firstborn chile. new uncle was a last born child and his name means he who has popped out of nowhere. everyone's name not only spoke to who they came as, but who they turned out to be. he disappeared for weeks on end and he pops up and we don't know where he is. my mom is involved in giving back and employing people and finding ways to make things better in her world. my mom was so worried that she would give me a gift or a curse by giving me a name with a definition. she said i'm going to call this child something that means nothing in our world. find a name that is obscure. trevor was that name. in america, you find trevor everywhere, but in south africa, trevor was not a common name. she called me trevor and didn't give me an african name. she wanted me to exist beyond

any of the constraints that even she may have had for me in her mind. >> have you felt that freedom? >> definitely. i'm blessed, tavis. my mom gave me one of the greatest gifts and that was the knowledge that there was more than me in the world. the knowledge that may not be attainable. that's one of the greatest gifts that parents should be giving their kissed. they exist with them and don't show them a world beyond themselves. some parents may say and i understand why, but what's the point of showing this kid a life they will never attain. if they don't know it exists, how can they aspire to it. you limit yourself. they will say did you ever dream of having what you had and the daily show? how could i dream of it? i didn't know it existed.

they say live to your dreams, but your dreams are limited by your imagination. my mom made sure that i knew of a world that i would never access and i would do just that. >> if i hear you correct, you were about 6 when mr. mandela left prison and you were 10 when he became president. do you remember? >> i remember. it's funny, i remember those moments more than some of my life stories. madiba. that was wow. that was an entire country just jubilant. an entire nation feeling a change. it wasn't man being freed. it was a nation being freed. even as a kid watching it on tv and seeing the footage of him waving and driving through the streets. you and your parents are cheering in living rooms.

you know that man meant everybody was free. and every single black person in the township felt the magic in the air. it was like i guess when i watch the footage of the o.j. verdict, but with no downside. >> i was wondering where you were going with that. >> it was that feeling. that's the only thing i can complain. imagine everyone feeling it. when 1994 came around, the first democratic election to see people embrace an election. lines stretched hundreds of miles. people who never cast a ballot for the first time. i didn't know what was going on. i know how proud people were to have the ink on their fingers to show they made a choice. it was a truly magical time to

live through. >> what do you make of the experiment in democracy that your country is enduring as if we perfected it here. what's your assessment of what they are doing with democracy? >> we are on the right path. one of the best things is we have one of the best constitutions in the world. they took their time with it and made it applicable to all. that was important because it would have been easy coming out of a racist state to turn the racism on the oppressors and they didn't do that. south africa has a strong constitution and good courts. we have a system that works. now unfortunately, we are struggling with corruption. we are struggling with people who are still using the system to benefit themselves, but that's life. that's politics. what's great is we have a free press, something we never used to have. if thigh president is conducting himself in a shady manner, we

know about it. i tell people that's exciting for me. the exact that i can talk about that on stage. there was no stand up comedy before south africa. there was no freedom of speech. all of those tenants of democracy we are celebrating and appreciating. one advantage we have over the united states is because of our parliamentary system, it opens us up to viewpoints that existed beyond just left or right. there is more nuance. every party that will support you and does that. if you are looking for a revolution like bernie sanders in south africa. they are gaining support. if you are someone who is more down the middle, you have the anc. what i enjoy is we have not

gotten to the point where the political pears are like blood types. i'm fascinated where people support political parties like sports teams. my daddy loved this team. what do they do for you? that's just my team. now that they have trump, that's your team. a few bad seasons, but that's my team, man. that's not how politics works. we don't have that in south africa. we have a long way to go, but for a country that had an exchange of power from a minority that was oppressive to the majority without massive bloodshed and the events and without a vacuum of power and mass exodus of wealth in the country, we function and we are

a power house and we are on the right track. >> are the anc in trouble? >> i think the future is they are losing strength and facing a crisis right now and it's good. the anc was never a party essentially. the anc in order to overthrow the government, they had to bring in all different ideologies. they had communism and socialism and capitalism and everyone under one umbrella. at some point the revolution is over and you have to start building a country and i think they are facing a crisis where they go get the loyalty of the electric or is it to the country. they are starting to realize it's to the country. for the benefit that we don't have one part that controls power indefinitely. it's better to have a vibrant democracy where they win after every election. the vote needs to have power. if you are not delivering, i'm going somewhere else and taking my vote dollars and i'm going to spend them somewhere else.

that's the thing that keeps the democracy thriving. >> it is to me the grandest example i think the world over. of manning's humanity as opposed to man's inhumanity. that's "time" magazine that i won't get into. we need to do is post our election and have our version of trc where the wrong doers created this mess and started the healing process. here i was reaching for the example. what's your stance of the power that was so present in that decision to establish this truth and reconciliation? >> you don't even have to dig deep. it's really what it achieved on purpose. truth, reconciliation.

reconciling is very different. not everyone will forgive you for what you have done or be forced to forgive. it's tough to be in a world where police have killed your loved ones or hidden the reasons and therefore the family members kidnapped them and disposed of their bodies. reconciling is up to each individual. you cannot prescribe that. the powerful importance that we have and what truth in south africa was, during the trc, the truth had to come out. it couldn't be swept under the rug. it couldn't be forgotten. it had to be a discussion that was had. it had to be people sitting on and those that worked for the police. both black and white. black people don't remember that. black people worked under the oppressive government to enslave their fellow man. they had to come and confess to

what they had done. murders, torture and the country watched it. what i felt the importance of that was, there was no denying what happened. there are still people who would have to deny it with any tragedy in the world, but for the most part, everyone had to acknowledge this is where we come from and what certain people did and the families are not going crazy. my son was murdered by the police. he was not the criminal they said he was. those small things moves you forward. i enviewed that on behalf of the united states. in the united states it feels like the winner takes all, but there is no reconciling afterwards. the winner dictates. i'm fascinated by what happened

in the south. let me understand this. that's what i talk about. how we had to sit and reckon with that as a nation and go through that feeling together. essentially what happens is you don't feel crazy. that's one of the most liberating feelings. i'm not crazy. >> there is a funny story. to me at least. the story where you were going down the street and it's a guy who was behind you. they were about to mug you and how you got out of it. growing up in south africa, crime was around the corner. you are always on the look out

and always embarrassed. i'm not comfortable and i meet friends and i walk up and i don't understand. that's because i grew up in a world and on the streets, there were a group of guys behind and they were talking about it. they were speaking in another language. they cross it and cut it up on the next black. i turned around. why are you robbing me? why don't we rob someone

together? their faces changed. you could see it, it was like oh, my bad. they were like i thought you were white. my bad, man. we thought you were another dude. i realized two things. one, just language all of a sudden. the language and accents open you up to other people and sometimes close you off as you see with everything from immigration. how people relate to each other and it showed me something more powerful. like a scene that i try to write about in the book. a lot of times we do things to each other in the world. we see each other as ideas, but

not as people. one of the core principals. the greeting and i thought that's our reason. that's why we do the things we do. when you don't believe those people exist in your world. america is the great example. you look at how it is at the highest. that teams what it should be. i don't need to meet them to know i hate them. you do. in communities where people know a muslim person or a black person or know another person.

they are less likely to believe a lie that is being get to them. for some reason i think about this name. i always loved his name. >> oh, yeah. >> i said his name and just love that name. >> that are is great. >> i just love saying that name. we have the host of the daily show and ask you how you are processing what happened two weeks ago. i'm shocked because i got tricked boy a lot of smart people. >> didn't we all. >> real quick, i came to america and immediately i related to donald trump. i saw the dude and i thought this guy reminds me of home. i see africa and i can see what he is doing. in america, that's really

something. we are not going to vote for him. every time i see how he connects with people. you don't get it, you are new. you are going to learn. i suppressed that idea, but when i saw him speak, i realized what he was doing. and now i come to realize it's not processing the information. it's unlocking information i already have. i am used to this world where the leader has conflicts of interest in terms of business. i'm used to a leader having family member who is stand to benefit from their political clout. i'm used to a world where a leader has people who may not have the best interest of the country at heart. this is now me going now i'm home. his name as you know is trevor

noah and his book is called stories from a south african childhood. i tried to give you a flavor of what is in this book. you will be inspired and powered. it's a wonderful story. you are a great man. that's our show for tonight. as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. >> i'm tavis smiley. join me next time with a conversation with actress kathy bates. next time. see you then.

>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

- today on america's test kitchen, bridget cooks french-style pork chops with apples and calvados, jack challenges chris to a tasting of brie cheese, and julia prepares the perfect mushroom bisque, right here on america's test kitchen. america's test kitchen is brought to you by dcs. dcs: manufacturers of professionally styled indoor and outdoor kitchen equipment. at dcs, our mission is design that delivers,