what we're trying to do is to actually create signs fiction actually write science fiction based upon the stuff that we're building. kind of a way to prototype the future. if you write a story based on science, then you can kind of understand the human impact, the cultural impact, policy impact. it's a powerful tool to get people to envision the future. >> your foundation is around people people first not technology leading behavior, but an throw polling. you actually focus on culture from an an anthropological frame. >> understanding humans, first and foremost, and then, we've got all this technology in our labs. we ask ourselves if we understand this about people, how can we use this technology to make their lives better. that's the foundation, based on people first and foremost. technology by itself, data by itself is meaningless until it makes lives better. >> you've got a great product today that will be on the market in 2016? >> i'm working on 2019 right now. >> what do those products look like that let's just jump right into it what are you working on? >> the future is awesome.

nonfiction and/or literary fiction? >> the department of justice and apple? >> the department of justice has been making no waves they may look into it and obtain records. it started with the civil suit from seattle representative customers claim their theory came together unilaterally we're before digital books were sold. with the agency model that means the retailer can not change that with a could discount however they please. said it was the downward pressure and amazon at the time was the dominant e-book retailer barnes & noble jumped on board so did other retailers to have a much more and varied case. and the department of justice felt they had a case random house was not included because the irony is by breeding they are not involved legally. the department of justice sued and so did the state's and simon & schuster had settled. if approved by the court cannot use the agency model for the next few years or pass to be modified. but bank when did not settle. they are still being sued. as a result the judge presidin

, it is fiction. i have crunched the spending numbers myself. the fact is, the congressional budget on this, nonpartisan, very clear on this point that this penalty, it is really a free-loader penalty for people who can afford to get insurance policy but to therefore shove the costs onto the rest of us is expected to hit 1% of the population. and if you have insurance, it's not going to ding you one bit. >> mr. secretary, the sales job has been terrible by the white house on that point. i don't deny what jarrett bernstein is saying but the white house is not carrying the ball in that regard. >> i don't think so at all. the white house has basically allowed the individual mandate and the supreme court's tax discussion to carry the day. mitt romney was saying this is not a tax until very recently and romneycare in massachusetts has exactly the same individual mandate. again, what the white house needs to do, it seems to me, and democrats and others need to do is call it for what it is. this is about pay

(laughter) but i believe a fictional scenario deserves a fictional president, quite frankly. frictional president is neither obama nor romney but herman cain. >> are you president of the united states of america. earth is being attacked by aliens. look into that camera. and action. >> citizens of earth, it was the spirit of humanity that built this planet. it is that same spirit of humanity that would allow us to destroy the aliens. (applause) >> jon: that was awesome. (laughter) and mr. cain gave that speech off the top of his head. true. so when herman cain ended his presidential run an alien invasion was not 9 only moment of crisis we lost a chance to see him respond to. many, many others. they are the subject of a new series, a new series of john oliver's interviews, herman cain an american presidency. >> in october of 2011 herman cain lead the polls for the republican presidential nomination. tragically america was denied a home in cain's presidency but recently i sat down with mr. cain for a series of conversations to explore some of the tough decisions we have faced in

you have it in fiction as well as non fiction. some where along the line we were taught that non fiction is simply facts. it is not truth. facts wrapped around a story. facts put in a story. let's go back to that porch again, this time my mother in that soft tone of hers. she would tell hair raising ghost stories. she would start at the hour of the dark:30. that is 30 minutes before it gets all the way dark and the monsters come out. and i can hear her say, you used to be a woman who appeared under that street light over there and our heads would all go as one with the street light. it was though we were looking for the lady who walked in front of our house and didn't have a head. when she got to this street light she vanished. then in the same breath she would say, now would you go into the house and get me a drink of water? i would have to go into that creeky old house all by myself. it wasn't so bad in the living room because the lights from the front porch, but she had a table that had claw feet and i knew it was going to snat

the fiction shapes the reality. i wish i had time to talk about the courtly aspect of the relationship. but just sticking to jane austen, she is a high point in the fiction about marriage. the novel of manners. in the history of marriage, not only because it took hundreds of years to get to the point where women have choices with the choices in pride and prejudice, but because after jane austen, even starting in her day, things started to come unraveled. it is a high point because she is downhill from there. what causes it to unravel is a whole big collection of ideas were a lot of liberationist movements. jane austen made fun of this sort of thing in her early work called love and friendship, which is a satire where everybody finds stuff like happiness seems very boring to them. authenticity, liberation, intense experiences, basically they go around expecting love to strike someone claiming. and then not unnaturally come to kind of wake up to find that their lives are charred rubble after that experience. for the l

but what we see it for, say, nonfiction or literary fiction? that's too soon to tell. >> the background of the department of justice, apple and the current status. >> oh, my, so this has been in the works for a few months. the department of justice has been making noises that they might be looking into it, and going into publishers offices and obtaining records. i think as far back as last fall. it started with a civil suit from seattle were a number of customers claims that because publishers had in theory unilaterally come together to buy the biggest ones excluding random house, to form is what is known as the agency model, whereas before digital books were sold, and many of them still continue to be sold under a wholesale model, to kind of conflate a whole bunch of complicated things into one. what the agency model means is the publisher sets the price and the retailer cannot change it. but the region will get a 30% part of the price. were as the wholesale model the publisher may suggest the price but the retailer can discount however it ple

or the fiction? >> guest: of--i'd have to sa-in all honesty, i'd have to say fiction becae th's -ts 'sm erd er nearcoornsd that's the most unnatural act i know of, is two people trying to write the same book. but, yeah, fiction re--really where my h iut ieay doe , yoomn?kser uei boea ad pyla-t , wss pennsylvania. c-span: what was your high school years like? >> guest: they were terrific, brian. i was very fortunate--grew up in the '40s and '50s there in west me w de,wel town 1ndere ie t ri ihl d grtersl them world war ii veterans, by and large. but had a series of great teacherst wilson high school in--there in west lawn--still itroui bin osys therndl s. aranul. anatatou nt? >> guest: great impact on my life. c-an: what'd your parents do? >> guest: mother and dad--my mother was a great teacher, wonderful woman. dainm ev h b eaurf ngt . e a matoy brother farrell and my sister frances. she was a great reader, very bright woman, and introduced me to the world of books d s al vcal t my, sl at took that a

i'm doing a another non-fiction book, i'm -- non-fiction publisher. i'm doing another book "mother hood diaries" that. comes out in may. she is a hoot. she is so funny. i can't wait to read that. absolutely. do you have anything to say to the audience before we open it up to questions? >> i'm fine. i disobt want to start. >> i wanted to mention more on the covers. the coffers are extremely important. we are important have a great designer who is a photographer and a graphic designer. and just recently we received the e-mail that said, the sales rep for one of the major clubs, you know, like costco, sames et. cetera is doing a presentation shortly they not only want to see that, they already had it for the title for next spring, they want to see the covers. that's what i said wow, it happened this week. the covers are extremely important. in order to do it presentation, i guess the clubs want to see the covers first. not what the book is about. i wanted to mention that. >> i'm sorry. >> i want to say one last thing in with regard to the disij tal side.

there's three novels and eight notary public-fiction -- non-fiction books. >> what do you say to critics of your books? you refer this as a journalist book. >> yes. what do the critics say? >> about the accuracy of the stories you tell, ect.. >> right. well, the fact of the matter is that as far as i know there has not been a single fact in the book that's been challenged in a cred l way. people say, oh, klein makes things up. that's what kids in the schoolyard, you know, they call each other names. i've been all kinds of names, but, in fact, when it comes to the celt -- credibility of reporting, nobody laid a glove on me yet. >> former editor of "the new york times" magazine for how long? >> 12 years as editor in chief of the magazine. many of my books have been exi remember -- excerpted by "vanity fair," and they have the most rigorous fact checking department, and of all the books excerpted, not a single factual error has been found. >> you interviewed jeremiah wright, and what was that like? >> it was on the record and tape recorded. we sat down for three hours across a -- not even a

i started working on the next one. >> i have ideas for that the next things i have in mind are fiction and a play that i just finished which is for anyone that saw red cross california in the washington story there's a lot in common in the 1980's in chicago but i'm not sure what i plan on doing with that. that's the most recent thing i've completed. >> do you write every day? >> i used to. >> now you're on book tour. >> the book tour is nothing. i could write every day on the book tour. i have a daughter whose idea of a good sleeping arrangement is waking up at 6:50 and going to bed that he 11 at night. and, so, my -- i hope to get back to the writing every day. my plan to write a thousand words everyday. if you write 500 words a day and he sounded like he led a life a little more hectic so that sounds about right to me and i should be back to that pretty soon. >> i'm thinking about playwriting. how did that influence or how did your background in theater -- i know in chicago did a lot late and for a theater critic. how does the fielder riding influence your models or even this book? i

that's fiction too.xpire, the vast majority for small businesses in the united states will not be affected according to congress's own joint committee on taxation, just 3% of small business owners would take a hit. now i want to bring in republican congressman eric paulsen of minnesota, the member of the house ways and means committee, very, very important committee. this is how you pay for things. congressman, thank you for being with us. you know, it's just frustrating to hear the rhetoric on both sides. the reality is we're on the thin edge of a wedge with respect to this economy. we've got all sorts of problems coming in from europe and asia and need to make good decisions in the united states. yet every discussion that comes up, important discussions like this become partisan within 46 seconds. we need real answers. >> that's true. thanks for having me on this morning. this is an important debate to have. i'll tell you this, i did meet with a small business owner yesterday in minnesota who did point

that's also fiction. gets his way and the cuts do expire for wealthy americans, the vast majority of american small businesses will not be affected, according to congress's joint committee on taxation. only 3% of small business owners would take a hit. at 6:30 eastern we'll discuss the bush tax cuts with erik paulsen, a republican congressman from minnesota and a member of the how ways and means committee. and at 6:30 we'll break it down with steve king of iowa, romney surrogate and utah congressman jason chaffetz and lloyd doggett. >>> president obama is calling on mitt romney to show us the money. at least his money. but all of his money. the president insisting his republican rival should be more transparent to the american people. he and other democrats demanding governor romney release his financial records, including more tax returns. >> is it your belief it's unpatriotic for someone to have a swiss bank account? >> well, you know, i think what's important if you're running for president, the americ

i'm a fiction writer. get to write a democratic administration that can get things done and i get to write about a very idealistic newsroom where these guys reach unrealistically high so they fall down a lot and we're still rooting for them anyway. there's no question that the antagonists in this show doesn't come so much in the form of a person although that's the role jane fonda plays and the role kris messina play, it's ratings, if we have a problem in this country with the news, it's at least as much the consumer's fault as it is the provider's fault. but this show doesn't live in the real world. it seems like it does because it's set against the backdrop of real news events. we never do fictional news on the show. it's all real. the characters are all fictional and not based on anybody, i know you will get to that question. they're constantly referening don keheady and camelot and the name of the cable station is atlantis and cable station is atlantis and all are lost cities. >> unimaginable romantic

he's a fictional character. if i say he's not meant to be disabled, that's the end of it., there was a guy with down syndrome, i got an actor with down syndrome to play him. >> you keep your head down, few years time, you could be like me. >> the office is what made gervais. >> started out in britten and spread across the globe to nearly 09 different countries. most notefully to u.s. where steve carroll took the role and gervais stayed mind the camera. >> how involved are you in that? >> i'm voofled that i cash the check every month. >> gervais is now very successful, very rich, and of course very famous. >> i remember a joumpblist rubbed me up the wrong way. she said, so, what advice would you give to other people who want to be famous like you. >> i went, i would kill a prostitute because there's no difference between fame and infa my these days. >> so far so gervais. but we spend a little time with him, a place in london where he lives with jane, his partner of 30 years. >> i run everyday and this is where i come up with all my ideas ch say to jane, what do you think of

it is fiction. the fact this, the congressional budget office very clear on this point, that this penalty, it's really a free loader penalty for people who can afford to get insurance but don't and shove those costs on to the rest of us, is is expected to hit 1% of the population and if you have insurance, it's not going to ding you one bit. >> the sales job by the white house has been terrible on that point. i don't think that the white house has carried the ball in this regard. >> no, i don't think so. at all. i mean, i think that the white house is basically allowed the individual mandate and supreme court's kind of tax discussion to carry the day. i mean, mitt romney was saying that this is not a tax until recently and romneycare in massachusetts has the same mandate. again, what the white house needs to do it seems to me and others need to do is call it for what it is. it is this is about paying your fair share. it's about participating in a national health system. you will get it back. if youn

more non-fiction i'm interested in especially things like man morris and back biographees. it is finished and batter for those free fascinating. i have a stamp collection pay less and less attention to. i like films and very much like saying what can be done abroad and other countries as was the u.s. made films. and i love classical music of listening to a and limit plan in the background a think sometimes when i'm reading it in the background. and going to the opera mozart in a week or so. but then not a golfer i didn't catch that gene from my dad who loved golf but took two lessons and that was enough for me and began to tease my daddy knew when golf spells backwards flog. and also some money called up the game that ruined a perfectly good walk but i read i admire golfers and just don't envy them. >>> i am not a dodgers fan in the more i moved north and so did my affections. i am very happy going to a game this afternoon. >>> we'll have a great time i'm sure. the going to take a break and i don't want to give it to brief of the time but everyone of us has people who helpe

it ranges from fiction to academics stories to academic stories this service the underground of queerell, history, or culture. >> and there are so many different literary circles in san francisco. i have been programming this reading series for nine years. and i still have a huge list on my computer of people i need to carry into this. >> the supportive audience has allowed michele to try new experiment this year, the radar book club. a deep explorationer of a single work. after the talk, she bounces on stage to jump-start the q&a. less charlie rose and more carson daly. >> san francisco is consistently ranked as one of the most literate cities in the united states. multiple reading events are happening every night of the year, competing against a big names like city arts and lectures. radar was voted the winner of these san francisco contest. after two decades of working for free, michelle is able to make radar her full-time job. >> i am a right to myself, but i feel like my work in this world is eagerly to bring writers together and to produce literary events. if i was only doing my

religious leader from a fictional country. >> stephen: what country were you from? >> from ali kash, near the area near tibet, pakistan. >> stephen: just that area. >> yes. >> stephen: ali kash? o my gosh, ali kash. why would you want to impersonate a spiritual leader? >> i think sometimes when you impersonate someone you're not you can sort of see something that's more true in the world. so i... (laughter) so i thought maybe.... >> stephen: you've lost me. i tell you what, you've losted me. we'll plitplay a clip of "kumare." >> there's nothing phony about him. >> kumar ray is open towards everything in a non-judgmental way. >> the more students i met and classes i taught the more it seemed the kumare movement could take hold. >> the people that feel that connection towards him and they see him and they're like bring it in, bring it in. >> stephen: if you don't mind me saying so, your beard is doing a lot of 2 t work there. (laughter) i'd follow a guy with a beard like that. >> thank you. i just shaved this morning. it grows very fast. (laughter) >> what were you te

. >> let's look at some fiction and some facts about the blue- ribbon panel report. fiction -- the blue-ribbon panel recommended rebuilding st. luke's as an 80-bed hospital. fact -- the blue ribbon panel took no position on the size of the new st. luke's pending further evaluation of the health care needs and consultations with community stakeholders, both of which never took place. fact -- to help physicians took note position on size. pledging to work to ensure that it is a vibrant campus and seeking to maine -- maintain the facility for 20 years. fact -- cpmc and immediately after the blue-ribbon panel concluded its work proposed a 60-bed hospital on the st. luke's site without a skilled nursing facility as had been recommended and then raised the beds to 80 under intense community pressure. the hope commission and its cpmc taskforce -- health commission and the cpmc taskforce provide more specificity about the centers of excellence, a plan for the new medical office building, and other elements of the proposed plan add mou forward -- and move forward with other h

. >> host: and do you prefer writing nonfiction or fiction?>> guest: i find writing fiction at this int in my career more challenging. anf e w18rs alut eas29 d e ovoiat k rkdot at this point, um, quite the way novel writing does. >> host: in your memoir that just came out a couple weeks stm,ty friedan and female impersonators. how do you feel about feminism today? >> guest: ohgreat, it pe wsa he xtor o'etso wng fenest d ve kayov d er again, this is what happens to social movements when they're successful. they become abrbed by the culture. so thet that, asayin whsncai ma ar cry woha changed during my lifeti. because all she'd seen, she hadn quite internalized colin alhtdozaene haddee ll con tkhepeioe ve o htanr women in the world hve changed so much. is everything fixed? absolutely not. do we still have a long way to go? absolu wyaer mply derwoin grgsn asr h what did you mean when you refer to gloria steinem's phrase, "female impersonors"? >> gst: i inenen in, wetlof sontonsoot t weped to be, about how we're supposed to fold our hands and be o

comebacks. >> there were three before pulp fiction and probably two since. you are always one movie away. >> rose: from disaster or dab. >> you have to have trust that you are one movie away from it. i have been colder than ice before pulp fiction it was a young director who wouldn't do the movie unless i did it that catapulted back to write started from. >> rose: it is not a bad director. >> yes, started with an academy nomination and gave me another one and he believed in me, my point is, it is always, there i used it as a battery plugged into a charger, unplugged and when you plug back in, you are back to where you were, it is always there, it is whether you are a part of the current or not. you know, so it is not as big a deal as you think it is, you just have to make the decision that you think are right and always make your own decisions do, not make -- >> rose: is there a toughness about john travolta too in is there a sense of survivability about john travolta? >> there is always a toughness. >> rose: is there something in your dna? >> maybe i think

was it hard turning him into a character of fiction? was very difficult but also a lot of fun. i do a lot of research for my novels. but i did more research for this than any of the others. while at first it was difficult taking someone i sew admire and making them a fictional character. after a while, i got into the enjoyment of fitting him into what's basically a courtroom thriller when you unpack the other aspects of it with lincoln as the defendant in the trial. >> one of the other interesting aspects of the book, your heroin is a 21-year-old defense lawyer for lincoln who is from the black middle class in civil war america. i think a lot of people probably wouldn't realize that existed. >> i think that's right. that may be one of the reasons i chose her. he's 21 years old. she wants to be a lawyer. and this is at a time where there are no female haurs in the united states and probably six or eight black lawyers, we don't know the exact number, she's young, ambitious, barriers holding her back of race and sex and class and other thi

. >> it's worth noting that the best example you can give the model is an act of fiction, a work of fiction. >> gregory peck. >> thank you all very much. i hope you've enjoyed this and learned from it. [ applause ] >> can we get one more big round of applause for all of our participants today? [ applause ] >> in a moment i'll invite professor rotunda to give some closing arguments. i want to thank whitney stepcoe if you could please step up here. [ applause ] for those of you who don't know, she has been our senior symposium editor for "the law review" for the last year and for exactly a year minus a day she's been working on this symposium. she's put in a whole lot of work. she's given her life for this event. her parents are in attendance, bob and catherine stepcoe. thanks for giving her up for the last eight months to a year. [ applause ] we're done with her now, you can have her back. i would like to invite professor rotunda to close us out. [ applause ] >> thank you very much, kevin. this is i think -- the reception is at 5:00 down stairs and we never -- i don't want to keep from you t