. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. @p tavis: i am pleased to have jerry west on this program. he went on to win a gold medal back in 1960. he is known as the eye contact -- iconic logo. an honor to have you on this program. let me start by -- i know there are things that you can say and cannot say of all the work stoppage. i want to go back to your book. back to your life and your career to draw a parallel between what you would -- what you and george. these are your words, page 101. i remember the 1964 all-star game in boston. the first one ever televised. it had been snowing heavily all day. it was uncertain if everybody would make it by game time. there was another problem, too. the players have decided they would boycott the game, as all the team's owners came up with an acceptable pension plan.

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to empowerment. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: it isals such an honor and delight to be in the company of tony bennett. his influence on music for generations to come and also one of the most kind, humble and giving people i have had the pleasure to befriend. he has a collection of duets with some of the biggest names in the business. some of the making of "duets ii." ♪ don't get around much anymore ♪ ♪ ain't it a thrill i love you still it had to be you wonderful you it had to be you ♪ tavis: we recently had on this program just days ago sonny rollins. honored later this year and i saw him in concert here in l.a. and he is 81. you are now 85. happy birthday. you guys doing this into your 80's. you are killing me. and you sound just as good as ever. >> we love what we are doing. sonny has been that way. i just love the fact tha

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by viewers like you. if thank you. kcet public television] tavis: pleased to welcome martin sheen and emilio west of as to the program. the way, a movie written and directed by emilio, here are some scenes from "the way." >> are they going to change your life? >> something like that. ♪ >> i am so sorry, i had no idea. >> those are smart, confident, stubborn. >> a lot like you. tavis: take me back when you started writing the project and you know you are writing this specifically for your father. what is that process like? >> i wanted to write something that explored who he is as a man and as an actor. he would throw all of us kids in the back of a country squire station wagon and we would drive across the country, landing in some location. for every badlands

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pta -- pbs station. from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] >tavis: michael lewis is an author whose previous ? includes "moneyball" and "the big short." could to have you on this program. let me start with the news of days ago. angela merkel and nicolas sarkozy have said that by the end of the month and they are going to put forward a plan to do something with the debt crisis in europe. >> i am a little skeptical. the government has been trying to put out this fire for a long time. they make these announcements and to calm the financial markets. so there are now runs on banks. they do not have a specific plan. any plan they put together is going to involve german people paying on the pe

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic e at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: i am pleased to welcome, nile rodgers to this program. he helped define music in the 1970's with a string of classic hits. his life has been defined by some incredible moments and numerous twists and turns. his new memoir is called "le freak." i apologize in advance that i did not have enough time to do justice to your life. you have lived such an incredible life. you have done so many things. i'm glad you are here. >> i am thrilled to be here. you have no idea. tavis: let me start, when you have done so many things it is hard to know where to start. but i want to start with the music. behind every song there is a story. rescissory family television, it is

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> brought to you by the aarp foundation. w. k. kellogg foundation, engaging communities to improve the lives of local children. learn more at wkkf.org. >> the annie e. casey foundation, helping to build a better future for american kids and families. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: while many of the men and women we elect to lead on important issues continue to ignore the issue of poverty in america, thankfully there are many groups trying to make a difference. in the final installment of our "flight of the -- fight of the poor." >> we consulted with some people to put forth the effort to reclaim abandoned property. >> one of the things we have been doing that

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is nationwide is on . >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: nomi prins is a journalist who is books include "it takes a pillage." glad to have you back and the program. >> thank you so much. tavis: the parallels are so profound, intentional i assume. or not intentional but timely. >> i think after the last book and seeing how economically devastated we really are since the financial crisis, we aren't marrd what happened in the great depression. there was a crash. -- we are mirroring what happened in the great depression. this crated a depression for the rest of the country. there is no other time that an similar to this time as unfortunately the great depression. tavis: why write thi

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is onousir de. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: one of the reasons i love getting out of the studio and travel around the country and for that matter, around the world, i never know what will run into. i am in new york city and having lunch and a look over in the booth next to me and bam, jackie collins is here. now she is on the show because we met at a restaurant. she is one of the biggest and best selling authors in the history of the world. her latest is called "goddess of vengeance." jackie collins, an honor to have you. >> i am so happy to be here. tavis: that timing was good. 4 million books sold off 400 millions books sold. >> that is over a long time. -- 400 million boo

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to nte. tim empow a .ationwide is imonsiou yder >> brought to you by the aarp foundation. w. k. kellogg foundation, engaging communities to improve the lives of local children. learn more at wkkf.org. >> the annie e. casey foundation, helping to build better future for american kids and families. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: despite all the talk in washington from both sides of the aisle, democrats and republicans, about the importance of jobs, unemployment in this country remains painfully high. in tonight's installment would focus on the jobs crisis in a piece called withouts." >> it is really hard, it seems like those buildings are worth anything. >> nothing moves without us. >> you all are part of an lating motn, momentum, and we ho

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to iinrog fveancial literacy fd remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> brought to you by the aarp foundation. w. k. kellogg foundation, the lives of local children. learn more at wkkf.org. better future for american kids and families. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thk you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: please welcome antonio banderas to this program. odrhas teamed uph pe almodovar for "the skin i live in." here are some scenes from "the skin i live in." tavis: i was saying to you while the clip was playing, i love movies that make me think. you are going to have to pay attention to this movie. if you do not pay attention, you are going to get lost. you do have to pay attention. >> i was saying there are so many movies in the world that you have to pay attention. every

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to ernvoncoti satinv a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: and the cahill is a professor for social policy, law, and women's studies at brandeis. she was employed at the eeoc. that led to her testimony on the supreme court confirmation hearings of clarence thomas 20 years ago. her newest book is called "reimagining equality, stories of gender, race, and finding home." good to have you back on this program. we were talking before you came on the air. with the advent of the internet and 24 hour cable news, stuff never seems to rest. it never seems to go away. it doesn't ever seen as long as it has been, at least for me, because there is always a passing reference or something that harkens back to whatever the hi

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. kcet public television] tavis: a few quick programming notes. first tonight, some terrific conversations coming up tonight and all this week. tomorrow night nile rogers is here. a conversation with anita hill. hard to believe it has been 20 years since the scandal that propelled her into the public eye and jerry west on thursday and friday jackie collins. tonight, though, we are pleased to kick off this week with jill abramson. last month she took over as excessive editor of the "new york times". the first woman to lead the paper in its 160-year history. she is also the author of a new book called "the puppy diaries." raising a dog named scout. let me add my congratulations to the million

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide insurance is proud to join tavis in working to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economicnv aonti at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: alfredo quinones- hinojosa is a renowned neurosurgeon and director of the pituitary tumor center at johns hopkins. his remarkable path from mexico to the united states is the subject of a new memoir, "becoming dr. q: my journey from migrant farm worker to brain surgeon." an honor to have you on this program. i just want to touch this hand. >> i am honored to be here with you. tavis: it is my delight. let me jump into it. i was thinking that if herman cain had his way, you would have been electrocuted, trying to halt the fence from mexico to the united states. let us deal with this now. what is your sense of the immigration debate? you have to be the