the benin bronzes are part of the cultural history of nigeria and benin. they have also become global. >> nigerian authorities take a different view. a new museum is planned where the bronzes are to be displayed, as the country's legal property. >> seems to be gravitating more towards -- which is totally unacceptable. on the nigerian side. towards international best practice. it does not comply with a rules based international order. >> the bronzes are a legacy of conquest. a french historian is one of the most important voices when it comes to looted art. her research has revealed that for decades museums have deliberately covered up the provenance of their collections and hindered investigations. >> it's obvious that museum directors tried to put off having to take action before they retired. and simply passed the problem onto the next generation, which is us. now it is clear we cannot and must not burden the next generation with this. we have to act. >> there are still no definitive decisions, but a general tendency has become clear. in germany, calls f

. >> not the usual canvas, but a sandy beach in benin. the project isitled "beyond walls or co-the -- "beyond lls." the artist has made it his mission to create giant works with the purpose. "i always say i really believe that only together can humanity respond to the different challenges it has to overcome. it was from this conviction this project was born." his creations are done with biodegradable paint so there's no pollution. start -- the project started in paris and traveled around the world. in benin, for the image to be striking, one must find an aesthetic and also a story. the two histories have unfortunately in my opinion been marked by the period of slavery, but they are also sites that are incredible in terms of aeheticsso i thought it was a good mix that would create something special. there was also the fact that besides the deep meaning attached to it, i believe it also allows us to raise the profile of the uighur in the country, and i think this is interesting for the local people. his message of friendship and togethernes

my dear friend steve benin, who works on this show, who i've worked with now for more than a decade, steve is somebody who watches the congress more closely and with more intense focus on the details than any other living person i know who is not, themselves, a member of the congress. after senator warnock gave this speech today, steve benin wrote to me today to say in his lifetime he has never seen a better maiden speech in the senate. and i am going to play some of it for you now. you probably saw quotes from it. you may have heard that it happened. you should actually see some of it, but i think it's an amazing thing to see, but it's also the kind of moment that can potentially move things, that could move the proverbial needle. in this case, on the vote. and on the lie that the last election was stolen and we must, therefore, respond to that lie with some sort of material changes to the right to vote. just watch this. i'll just tell you, you will thank me. if you are doing the dishes or you've got this show on in the background while doing other stuff, do yourself a favor, pause

plans for a new royal museum in benin city are progressing slowly due to limited financial resources.in 2000. 7 a bronze head of an obama looted from been in city sold for a record some of $4700000.00 u.s. dollars at southern bees beneath saw none of it you've made money from these things over the years over centuries by a bit keeping them i know how much i paid to endow the museums in the europe or in america and all of those things why don't you take some of the money i call my beautiful fortress. and i don't believe that the museum profited perhaps conceptually the us effects were exhibited they were promoted and researched but that benefited everyone is a base of a misconception as to how public museums were. to collect preserve study educate and exhibit this is the mission of a public museum but museum director would have village has had to confront the question what are the ethics of exhibiting a sacred object a looted object like the town gate it's been on display here for over 40 years. should show we know that by today's standards munich came by the figurehead ethically not t

i'm asking in part because i feel like you and steve benin on the "the rachel maddow show" staff are two people who i go to first in terms of assessing democratic policy and its impact. and steve like hasn't stopped cavelliing. he thinks this bill is a big deal. are you on the that side in terms of assignment? >> the largest democratic legislative domestic policy bill of our life is the aca because of it sort of way it restructured markets and the fact it's survived attempts at repeal. in terms of direct aid to americans, expansion of the welfare state in this direct way, expansion of the child tax credit, there's never been anything on this scale in my time covering politics and more than that, i think the people, the reason you see steve so excited and paul on my show is it feels like we drove a stake through a certain kind of antiwelfare austerity politics that was incredibly powerful for four to five decades. from reagan's welfare queen to this bill, the good guys, for lack of a better word, won the ideological and political fight about what government can do when we're underutil

i'm asking in part because i feel like you and steve benin "the rachel maddow show" staff who writes "maddow block" are the two people i go to first in terms of assessing particularly democratic policy and its impact. and steve, like, hasn't stopped ka cavilling since like saturday, because of what a big deal he thinks this bill is. are you also on the sort of maximum side of the acrossenedo here in terms of how excited you have? >> i am. i think, look, the largest democratic legislative domestic policy, you know, bill of our life is the aca, because of its sort of -- the way it restructured markets, the fact that it's survived all these attempts at repeal. but in terms of, like, direct aid to americans, expansion of the welfare state in this very direct way through the child tax credit, like, there's never been anything on this scale in my time covering politics, and more than that, i think the people, the reason that you see steve so excited and paul krugman who was just on my show, is that it feels like we drove a stake through a certain kind of antiwelfare austerity politics that