from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, a conversation with the one of the world's most honored composers and conductors, esa-pekka salonen. as well as the conductor laureate of the l.a. filler mining. in we turn to a conversation with jazz great wayne shorter, who added to his honors earlier by winning best improvised jazz solo. he will give us a sample of his artistry with a performance to close out tonight's program. we are glad you have joined us. those conversations and a performance from wayne shorter, coming up right now. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and composertor esa-pekka salonen was the leader of the l.a. philharmonic for 17 years before handing over the baton. he has now returned to the l.a. field for a series of concerts. he is currently leading the orchestra and seven conserves including the premiere of frank zappa's 200 motels. plus his own violin consider cho -- concerto. let's listen as they play his violin concerto. ♪ tavis: you really consider you

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, first a conversation with singer gregory porter, who earlier this year won a grammy album withzz vocal his latest cd, liquid spirit. and we turned to a conversation with ben harper and charlie musselwhite, whose collaboration on their first cd together one of grammy as best blues album of the year. we are glad you have joined us. those conversations, coming up right now. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: grammy nominee gregg reporter had intended to be a linebacker but a football injury ,ound him twitching to music decision which is now paying some pretty nice dividends. after three albums he is making his mark not only as a singer but as a songwriter. entitledt cd is "liquid spirit." let's take a look at a cut from the cd. ♪ sorry that i had to ring your doorbell so late there's something bothering me i really am sorry, but it just couldn't wait is there someone else instead of me ♪ tavis: i was saying to gregory a moment ag

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with tim conway, one of the funniest men to perform on television. he is probably best known for "the carol burnett show." entitlediography is "what's so funny?: my hilarious life." we are glad you joined us. a conversation with tim conway is coming up right now. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: there's funny, and there's hilarious. so funny that even costars can't keep a straight face during his gets. that pretty much sums up the work of tim conway, whose work on "the carol burnett show" remains the standard by which all comedians are judged. he has written an autobiography titled "what's so funny?: my hilarious life." before we begin our conversation, first a look at the skit on "the carol burnett show" that goes on the little longer than the producers intended, and that's because carol and vicki couldn't stop laughing. >> i was at this freak show, and i saw these siamese elephants. [laughter] they were con

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. we begin with a conversation with emeli sande, who single spent most of the year dominating the airwaves. and then we will turn to a conversation with robert randolph. one of the 100 greatest guitar players of all time. hiwe are glad you have joined us. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: to say things are heating up for emeli sande would be an understatement. she has been dominating the british and european charts. her latest cd is taking off here in the states. let's take a look at her singing "next to me." ♪ ♪ when the skies are great and all of the doors are closing handall i need is the i will find them find him next me met to next to me i will find him i will find him next to me ♪ tell me about your last name. >> my father is from zambia. tavis: you grew up in scotland. i felt like an outsider. we were the only mixed-race family in the village and it was big news when my dad moved to the town. it was in the local paper. african

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. a conversation with lawrence brownlee, one of the most celebrated tenors. spirituald out called sketches. we will turn to a conversation with shemekia copeland, whose voice carries on a tradition that goes all the way back to bessie smith. she will close out our show with a song from that project. we have -- we are glad you have joined us. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: lawrence brownlee possesses one of those rare operatic voices. singing in those peter school highflying -- those beautiful highflying registers. he is one of the opera world's most sought after singers. he is about to make his debut in "the magic flute." he first started singing in church. the cd is called "spiritual sketches." this is from the metropolitan opera house in new york city. ♪ ♪ tavis: oh, my. you sounded good, brother. i do not often get a chance to do this, to welcome to this program not just an amazing artist, the one you also went to a great school

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with award-winning journalist miriam auto -- aboutr her biography of caesar chavez. her tome is called "the crusades of cesar chavez." then stanley jordan. we will close with a song from his latest cd, "friends." we are glad you joined us. those conversations are coming up now. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: march 31 is the birthday of one of the most charismatic and important leaders, cesar chavez. he got a nice farm workers and took on big agriculture, demanding fair play for those in the field. the movement he created remains a touchstone for many and the nation. "the crusades of cesar chavez" is a new meticulously researched biography. let's take a look first at news chavez of shop as -- announcing a strike. >> they will not recognize the association. i?is: a pretty charismatic >> in a very untraditional way. he was not a very good speaker. he was not comfortable speaking. he was not charismatic in the

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with shyima hall, whose harrowing story as a child slave is covered in her book, "hidden girl." 43is estimated there are thousand slaves right here in the u.s. at any given time. hyima was one of those living right here with the egyptian family who enslaved her. those conversations are coming up. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: some sobering stats. 20 one million people worldwide are modern-day slaves. 43,000 in this country a loan. now freeslave and to tell her story. her book is called "hidden gir " ." thanks for being on this program. talked, and i was so taken by our conversation i thought we would continue this a bit. i want to have you go through this again. how yousome sense of found yourself being sold into slavery in the first base. >> it really started with my older sister. i am seven of 11 kids. egyptrks for a family in by choice. she would pretty much steal money from them, and they gave of eithe

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with multi-grammy-winning artist alicia keys. she won her 15th grammy for her most recent release, "girl on fire." then herb albert. hit the charts for pop instrumental. we are glad you joined us. those conversations are coming up now. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ tavis: please welcome alicia keys to this program. the 14 time grammy award winner is out with her first album in three years. it's the first since the birth sonher two-year-old egypt. it is called "girl on fire." here is the video for the title track. ♪ we got our feet on the ground, and we are burning it down ♪ clouds andead in the were not coming down ♪ fire ♪girl is on ♪ this girl is on fire ♪ she's walking on fire ♪ ♪ this girl is on fire everybody says when she goes by they can see the flame in her eyes ♪ tavis: you have a legitimate reason for being gone for three years. a baby. you have earned that. take a few years off. three years in this b

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 for a conversation with comedian tim conway. that's next time. we will see you then. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> narrator: six years, 22 countries, close to 200 scientists, and one exceptional research vessel. the global reef expedition is on a mission to study coral reefs around the world. >> coral reefs are undergoing a worldwide crisis, and we are trying to understand where the healthiest reefs remain, what sort of factors make those reefs healthy, and, reefs that have been degraded, how we can help them recover and persist into the future. >> narrator: to do so, expedition scientists conduct a number of studies in the field. >> we are applying a standard protocol that was developed through a consortium of scientists, and we think this

watching, and as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley bs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with alicia keys and herb albert. that's next time. we will see you then. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ >> be more. >>> next, caltrans under scrutiny again amid ongoing concerns about the bay bridge span. >>> and a criminal investigation of a petaluma slaughterhouse puts local ranchers at risk. >>> and a hi-tech lifeline teaching computer codes to give black youth better opportunities. >> we need designers. we need a lot of people.

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, first a conversation with academy award-winning documentarian errol morris whose latest film titled "the unknown known" shines a light on arnold rumsfeld. he was one of the primary architects of the iraq war. this film draws on extensive memos he wrote detailing why he took us to war and why he would do it again. then we will turn to a conversation with grammy nominated singer-songwriter ledisi about her new cd called "the truth." we are glad you could join us. conversations with errol morris and ledisi coming up right now. >> and by contributions to your ebs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: errol morris has made a career of exposing the foibles of those in power. his oscar-winning film "the fog of war exposed a role in the vietnam war. explainsnt documentary and defends donald rumsfeld's decisions. "the unknown known" will be in select theaters next week. we start our conversation first with a clip from "the unknown known." >> what about all these so-called t

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight with russia taking over crimea and as president obama begins his meeting with world leaders at the hague, we get an assessment at how important this country can be with brooke jones, the author of the timely "still ours to leave." then we turn to a conversation with actors dule hill and james roday. we are glad you can join us. those conversations are coming up right now. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> with russia grabbing crimea and western leaders traveling to determine how to respond, international policy once again comes into focus. at theector on strategy brookings institution has written a timely new text that looks into america's role as a coalition builder entitled "still ours to leave." jones also holds major appointments at stanford and in why you. good to have you on this program. what a timely text this is indeed. the conversation too much, your thoughts on what we see happening in crimea. >> this is a critical te

tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley.ajoin me next time for a conversation wijd po writer -- conversation with joseph gordon levitt. that's next time. we will see you then. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs.) (♪ theme music ) matt elmore: (♪) welcome to imagemakers a weekly showcase featuring the best short films from around the world. stay tuned and enjoy the filmmakers of tomorrow today on imagemakers. imagemakers is made possible in part by a grant from: celebrating the vitality and power of the moving image. and by the: miss purdy (teacher): i want you to look for the words reveal, pretend, and love in your readers tonight. i want you to be able to spell them on monday. entire class: ohh....

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. he will turn to a conversation .ith brian jay jones henson was a much more driven creationsis sunny might suggest. we are glad you joined us. those conversations coming up right now. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. -- >> we hear a great deal about weapons of mass destruction. it seems we have come close to accidentally detonating one. award-winning journalist eric schlosser has pulled back the curtain on what has been capped hidden. -- kept hidden. good to have you on this program. thanks for the research that went into making this possible. referenced this before you went on camera. i grew up in a place called bunker hill. my dad served in the air force for 37 years. in 1964,d i know that the year i was born, there was a major accident in indiana. >> a be 58, was taxiing, and the plane in front of it hit it with exhaust. the runway was icy. the bomber caught on fire. two of the three crewmen got out safely. one was killed, but there wer

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with silent halfusually of penn & teller. to unravel how the 17th century artist created those paintings out of -- with exceptional detail. robert hilburn with "johnny cash: the life." those conversations coming up right now. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: teller, the silent half lks loud andller ta clear in the first documentary "tim'sdirected called verneer." verneer created those canvases. directed by teller. am loving my head up and down so i can see first the original and then my canvas. i am looking at both things at the same time. right on the four head you can see the match. you cannot see that. matchs your clue you can the paint. it is not subjective, it is objective. i am a piece of human photographic film at that point. pbs and you can actually talk tonight. you can talk as much as you want to talk. [laughter] i am going to make you talk. i wanted you to talk. let me start with this. of talking.

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, a conversation about the clclash between the cia and the senate amid accusations that the intelligence agency spied on the senate in an effort to thwart their investigation into the cia's interrogation and detention program. we will talk to pulitzer prize-winning journalist tim weiner and then we turn to a conversation with oscar-winner marlee matlin about her role on the hit abc family series "switched at birth". we are glad you have joined us for these conversations, coming up right now. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. feinsteinator dianne has said that the cia allegedly spied on congress to thwart its investigation into cia wrongdoing, including the use of advanced interrogation practices, also known as torture. it has erupted into charges that the cia has violated the constitutional guarantee of separation of hours. joining us from new york to talk about these allegations and implications for the future is tim weiner, former

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first a conversation with robert bright come a former labor secretary under president clinton. we will talk about the state of the country's economy, fed chair janet yellen just heard her first press conference. we will get an assessment from reich what we can expect in the coming weeks and months. then we will turn to a conversation with benmont tench, one of music's great session men who has backed up by billion, johnny cash and was a member of the tom petty and the heartbreakers band. he has finally released his first cd, titled "you should be so lucky." those conversations coming up right now. contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ago, janetw days yellen held her first press conference telling us how she plans to guide the nation's fiscal future. joining us now for an assessment is former labor secretary robert reich who is now a professor of public policy at uc berkeley and author of "aftershock." , good to haveh you back on this program. what did yo

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with scott adams, the creator of "dilbert." he is also the writer of a memoir called "how to fail at almost everything and still win big." then we will turn to a conversation with acclaimed novelist edwidge danticat about her latest novel, "claire of the ," set in her native haiti. we are glad you joined us. those conversations coming up right now. ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. -- tavis: is without question one of this generation's most successful syndicated comic strips, appearing in 2000 newspapers worldwide in 70 countries and 20 languages. dilbert creator scott adams says you learn more from failure than success. he has written a new book about his philosophy with a wonderful title -- "how to fail at almost everything and still win big." good to have you on this program. why this book and why now? >> i noticed 80% of the world has never met a famous or successful person. mentors,people have no no role models,

tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley.join me next time for a conversation with the usually silent tell her about his new acclaimed ."cumentary, "tim's vermeer that is next time. we will see you then. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs. >> be more. pbs. captioning sponsored by wpbt >> sharks have fascinated mankind and held it in awe for centuries. however, most people only know of the few species that sometimes come in contact with humans. >> most of the living species oç sharks on the planet live in the deep sea. of the, say, 500 species of sharks living that we know of now, between 55% and 60% of them live their whole lives deeper than 700 feet deep. >> it's a totally, totally different environment. >> the information that we have for a lot of these deepwater species has been restricted, historically, to a handful of specimens that exist in museums.

. ♪ for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with elizabeth kolbert and the notes comedian greg edwards. that is next time. we will see you then. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. thank you. u.s. interviewing people who are living life by doing what they love. (female #1) i'm here on this trip to talk to people whave taken unconventional routes in life. (male #1) i have a lot of interests and i want to see how they can come together to make me successful on my own terms. (female #2) i'm looking for different perspectives on what other people h gone through and how they got where they are to. (grant) i was like you, i didn't know what i wanted to do, but i wanted to see what's out there. (female announcer) state farm has made it possible for this documentary series to be shared on public television stations across the country. roadtrip nation would like to sincerely thank our friends at state farm for helping a nation of young peopl

angst for watching and as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley pbs.org. tavis: join me next time for a conversation with peniel joseph a life and mission. that is next time. we will see you later. contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. you. thank you. uncer: (♪ theme music ) (♪) matt elmore: welcome to imagemakers a weekly showcase featuring the best short films from around the world. stay tuned and enjoy the filmmakers of tomorrow today on imagemakers. imagemakers is made possible in part by a grant from: celebrating the vitality and power of the moving image. and by the: (background talking) jack: so you're going to be like this all night? lauren: like what? lauren, look? just stop! i don't...i don't want to talk about this here. why not? i...i just don't feel comfortable discussing it here.

like, oh, you're saying the same thing that tavis smiley is saying. and so that really shut down our ability a lot of times to have these, right, these conversations about how do we -- yes, we can support barack obama, right? and you can enjoy the symbolic capital of that, but our unemployment, right, this some places -- in some places are twice, even three times that of white america. what through white america is the financial crisis when unemployment reached 8% and everybody was going hysterical, the unemployment rate for black america had been that and more for many years prior to that. and it wasn't, there wasn't hysteria. and so there was a clear disparity in the kind of economic and social strife that america was under. in other words, there were multiple americas, right? and so we wanted to kind of really address that issue and really think about what kind of voice do we need to have as a black community to push the president to actually act on this and to say, you know what? america's hurting, but black america, brown america has been hurting

. >> as powerful as the film may be, some like talk show host tavis smiley were left with a feeling of i think are important. it's important that we like our jewish brothers and sisters never forget, but what does that have to do with what we're doing in realtime to value the lives of black men, of black boys and black people at large? >> smiley believes the present and the past are the inextricably linked. >> strip your clothes. >> all these years after "12 years a slave," the fact that we still have in this country an intractable issue like racism even in the era of the nation's first black president, it's a shame. and a disgrace for all of us. >> reporter: but if "12 years a slave" moves people even a single step says ridley, that's important. >> i want to live. >> my hope is that people will come out of this theater moved and not decent sized but sensitized and say if i feel that way about a film, that way about a story that happened back then, how should i feel about what's going on in the world right now? >> for "meet the press," harry smith, nbc news. >>> going to be a big night

crimea, russia has parties tobring the make them comply, requiring -- invading tavis smiley -- czechoslovakia france saysdent, this game does not serve the interest of the ukrainian or russian peoples. the minister of foreign affairs, german and polish colleagues, move to negotiate an agreement which was endorsed until now. makes this impossible for this agreement -- by creating a government of national unity and holding actions their international supervision. this is what he is proposing today. is faced by the rejection of the party of the region to join the government. the government is after this. he wanted to reduce the role of the russian language. independenceork of and territorial integrity of to -- sixxplains wis points which should be accepted by all parties. return of the russian armed forces to the basis to be verified. immediatethe disarmament of the military groups holding illegal weapons. the ukrainian language reestablished. the establishment of the protection of minorities. the implementation of constitutional reform. the organization a presidential reactions. these are simpl