i'm maría hinojosa. this is one-on-one. dr. icholas christakis, it's so nice to have you here on the show. >> it's nice to see you. >> hinojosa: so you wrote... you co-wrote this book. it's called connected: the surprising power ofour social networks and how they shape our lives. and it's a fascinating book because basically what you're saying is something that is really controversial, which is why the book has gotten a lot of attention, and therefore, you... you're basically saying that our small little social networks, the personal networks, can determine so much about the rest of our lives. and when so many of us, at least in this country, are kind of made to believe that we can do this on our own, it's... you know, "pull yourself up by your bootstraps and you can do this," you're basically saying it really is true-- who you know and how they influence you has everything to do with what's going to happen with your life. >> okay, that's right, but the first thing i would emphasize is that people... okay, so most people, when t

i'm maria hinojosa. this is one on one. >> hinojosa: mark hugo lopez from the pew hispanic center, welcome to our program. >> thank you for having me. >> hinojosa: now, some people might be saying, "the pew hispanic center?" for those of us who work in and around latino media and latino issues, pew hispanic center carries a lot of weight. so, for those who don't know, what exactly is the pew hispanic center? what is it that you do? >> we're a non-partisan, non-advocacy research organization based through washington, d.c. we're funded by the pew charitable trust out of philadelphia. and the pew hispanic center is actually part of a broader rger center called the pew research center. we do public opinion surveys, but we also do a lot of look at the demographics of the hispanic community. and one of our signature products actually is, how many unauthorized immigrants are there in the country. but our point is to provide facts. what do we know about the latino population in the us and how are they changing th

i'm maria hinojosa. this is one on one. ta-nehisi coates, you're one of the senior editors for the atlantic monthly, you're a ogger, you live on twitter, you wrote this wonderful memoir called the beautiful struggle, about your relationship with your dad. it's great to have you on one on one. >> thank you. i'm honored to be here. >> hinojosa: so, put those two things together. i mean, did you say, "i'm going to be a writer," and then all of a sudden you realized that your life was on the internet or...? >> no, i wrote off-line, in print, for about 12 years almost exclusively, and it's so funny. colson whitehead has this recent piece about writers who complain that twitter and blogging is going to destr theirriting. and it's actually a split that i never really understood much. i love print, and i like blogging and i like tweeting. you know, i like a lot of things. and so it never really struck me as being in contrast or even being a problem or, you know, it anything like that. worlds or it's just writing. >> hinojosa: you'r

i'm maria hinojosa. this is one on one. marian wright edelman, you're an american hero. it's such an honor to have you here. >> it's wonderful to be here with you. >> hinojosa: so we know that you are an expert on policy around children. i've known that for years. you've been doing this for four decades. >> forever. >> hinojosa: forever! but what i really want to start us out talking about is your life, because you have an extraordinary life. it's as if marian wright edelman has this forrest gump life. she was in these places, in extraordinary places, and every page you turn of your life story is like, "she was there, too?" i guess i'm not even sure where to start. south carolina, your parents are very hard-working, your mom is an organizer, but even when you were a kid in school in south carolina, you end up crossing paths with langston hughes. >> well, i've always felt so lucky to have been born who i was, where i was, with the parents i had. and at the time, i was born in the convergence of great people and great historical events. and so i wouldn't have been anybody e

exactly as you've just said, "it's all in your head." >> hinojosa: oh, my god. >> "it's all in your head, nothing to be done." until february 1998. maria, i don't want to frighten you or your viewers, but this is how i sounded: (voice straining): i could barely get a word out. >> hinojosa: oh, my god. >> and on that last day in february 1998, i did the show and then i had to go downtown to moderate a program at the four seasons. i raced back to the office and to my boss, my manager, and i said, "i'm out of here." and he said, "what do you mean you're out of here?" and i said, "i've got to find out what is the matter with my voice." and he said, "when will you be back? fundraiser is next week." >> hinojosa: (laughs) "this is public radio, we need you around for the fundraiser." >> exactly. so i said, "i have no idea." i sat at home for four months, not speaking to a soul except my husband, not answering a phone, not going to a drugstore for a prescription because i'd have to say my own name. it was terrifying. until one day, my internist called my husband and said, "well, you have to take her to johns hopkins. we need to find out if she