douglas brinkley. >> nice seeing you. thank you. >> thank you very much. great. [applause] cler >> funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by hillco partners, texas government affairs consultancy and its global health care consulting business unit, hillco health. and by the mattson mchail foundation in support of public television. and also by mfi foundation, improving the quality of life within our community. and also by the alice clayburg reynolds foundation and viewers like you. thank you. many of this region's hill towns date back to etruscan times, well before ancient rome. others date to the fall of rome. when rome fell, europe was engulfed in chaos. people naturally grabbed for the high ground to escape the marauding barbarians that characterized those dark ages. over time, these towns were fortified and eventually functioned as independent city-states. in their glory days, they proudly charted their own course, generally free from the dictates of popes or emperors. then, the bubonic plague swept through tuscany in 1348. that, combined wi

douglas brinkley. >> nice seeing you. thank you. >> thank you very much. great. [applause] cler >> funding for overheard with evan smith is provided in part by hillco partners, texas government affairs consultancy and its global health care consulting business unit, hillco health. and by the mattson mchail foundation in support of public television. and also by mfi foundation, improving the quality of life within our community. and also by the alice clayburg reynolds foundation and viewers like you. thank you. steves: the galata bridge spans the easy-to-defend inlet called the golden horn in the very heart of istanbul. a stroll across the bridge offers panoramic views of istanbul's old town, a chance to see how the fishermen are doing... and plenty of options for a drink or meal with a view. for fast food, istanbul-style, we're grabbing a fishwich, fresh from the guys who caught it, at one of the venerable and very tipsy fish-and-bread boats. oh, man. [ speaking turkish ] [ speaking turkish ] this is istanbul fast food, huh? now, this is what kind of fish? fresh

also joining me presidential historian douglas brinkley. dan rather let me start with you.ricans and america right now. put it in historical context from all that you reported on over the years. how bad is it do you think right now? >> well, clearly the news is grim on a lot of fronts. the economy being first and foremost. i would say within that, jobs. but you know? i'm an optimist by experience and by nature and by covering america over -- well over half a century. this country has tremendous resilience. people are angry. they don't feel they're being particularly well led by republicans or democrats. we learned through valley forge to the civil war, america bounces back. i wrote something on facebook and twitter today along the lines of maybe the world has overestimated the united states for its military and economic power ever since the end of world war ii. it may not be a bad thing now the world is beginning to underestimate us. this country will be back. it'll be back strong. but people are absolutely angry. if you saw the poll today, i've never seen a poll like this.

the story, douglas brinkley.et me start with you, a dismal time for america and for americans right now to put it in historical context. more you reported on over the years. how bad do you think it is right now? >> the news is grim on a lot of fronts, the economy being first and foremost i would say within those jobs. this country has tremendous resilience. people are angry. they don't feel they're being well led by republicans or democrats. democrats. through everything through valley forge, through the civil war, to the resignation of president nixon, america bounces back. it may be the world has overestimated the united states with the military and economic power since the end of world war ii. it might not be such a bad thing they're starting to underestimate us. we'll be back strong and bold. but people are absolutely angry if you saw the poll today, i've never seen a poll like that. not that i'm a great believer of polls. but 59% of those poll ed ed indicate indicated they were dissatisfied with the republic