tavis: good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with emmy-winning comedian garry shandling. the star of "the garry shandling show" and "the larry sanders show." he can be seen in one of the biggest films this year, "iron man 2". we talk about his last appearance on this program. it in fact led to the role in "iron man 2." we'll explain. we're glad you have joined us. >> all i know is his name is james. he needs extra help with his reading. >> i'm james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference. >> thank you. >> you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> [note] nationwide is on your side [note][note] >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: when you think of big summer blockbuster movies, you of course immediately think of garry shandling. ok, well, mayb

tavis: good evening. first up, a conversation with the host of "no reservations," sebastian mallaby . he is out with the follow up to his best seller. also tonight, singer kelis is herer. she is out with her latest cd next month. she just released a cd -- just released a single. anthony bourdain and kelis coming up right now. james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> ♪ 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] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- tavis: anthony bourdain is a popular tv host to continues his role on the travel channel series. he is also out now with a follow-up to his best selle

tavis: good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. first up tonight, a conversation with acclaimed novelist ian mcewan, the author of award-winning books like "atonement" is out now with a book called "solar" about the ongoing debate of climate change and also actor timothy olyphant start is here with the critically acclaimed series♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] >> ian mcewan is an award-winning novelist whose award winning books include "atonement" and "saturday." his newest is in stores now, "solar." thank you for being on the show. i read somewhere you don't want to be referred to as a comic novel or a skeptic novel. how should i refer to this? >> well, this is a nolve that i hope will -- novel that i hope will cause some laughter but it is not funny throughout. its tension is pretty human nature and struggling with climate change. tavis: given that you don't want it to be called a skeptic novel, how does one read the narrative on

tavis: good evening from los angeles, i'm "tavis smiley." first up tonight, a look at what could be a major breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer. dr. vincent tuohy and his team at the cleveland clinic now believe they have found a vaccine that could potentially prevent breast cancer in adult women in the same way vaccines have been used in childhood diseases for generations now. the doctor tonight on how and when the new vaccine could become a reality. also tonight, grammy winning musician and breast cancer survivor melissa etheridge is here. she is out no with a new cd called "fearless love," and remains an advocate for breast cancer research. we glad you joined us. a look at the new breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer and musician melissa etheridge coming up right now. >> all i know is his name is james. he needs extra help with his reading. >> i'm james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports "tavis smiley." tavis and nationwide insurance, wo

good evening, i am tavis smiley. we continue our look at new orleans five years after hurricane katrina and the story of one family's struggle to survive. i traveled to new orleans with an oscar winner for the look at lives of those affected. we introduce you to the adbulrahman zeitoun family. he helped to rescue fellow neighbors, but he was locked up by authorities for almost a month suspected of being a terrorist. they tell their story in their own words. our look at new orleans after katrina coming up. >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial literacy. nationwide is on your side. >> and contributions from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- tavis: when hurricane katri

tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first of tonight, the first of three nights looking at new orleans five years after hurricane katrina. this weekend marks the devastating storm and its aftermath. dave walker is a reporter and columnist at more lanes' "treme." -- is a columnist at new orleans "times-picayune." also, alfonzo had a large. he believes that republicans are on the wrong side of the immigration debate. we're glad that you have joined us. new orleans five years after katrina and the election year impact of immigration, coming up right now. >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i'm james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide insurance is happy to help tavis improve of 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 l

tavis: good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. with u.s. combat forces now out of iraq, there are new questions about the future of u.s. involvement in the region. first of tonight, a conversation about the future of iraq with david frankel, pulitzer prize- winning author of with the "washington post" and also author of the prize-winning text "the good soldiers." also, award winning movie maker john landau stops by. this began, a select release of "avatar" will be released. that is coming up right now. >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by ♪ tavis: david frankel is a pulitzer prize-winning reporter and aut

tavis: here we go, we can all judge. shakespeare go together, courtesy of rufus wainwright. stay with us, we are back with a rufus in just a moment. from his critically acclaimed cd, here is rufus wainwright, performing a woman's face. good night and keep the faith. ♪ >> ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] >> for more information on today's show, visit pbs.org. tavis: join me next time for oscar winning producer jon landau. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. nationwide insurance is proud to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment, one conversation at a time. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from dior's like you. thank you. -- from viewers like you. >> ♪ (raggs) ♪ pawsuuup, everybody ♪ diddy-do-wah-day ♪ the raggs kids club band is coming down your way ♪ ♪ we got a song to sing ♪ we got something to say ♪ the raggs kids club band ♪ can you come out to play? ♪ ♪ razzles makes us dazzle ♪

tavis: good evening from los angeles. i'm tavis smiley. first of tonight is a conversation with tony hsieh of zappos.com. he just sold a company for $24 million and he just negotiated a deal for another company reportedly worth over $1 billion. also, molly shannon is here talking about her voice for a new television series called "neighbors from hell." >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: tony hsieh is the ceo of zappos.com, which began relatively small and has burgeoned into one of the most successful dot coms. it is now run by the amazon company. good to have you on this program. >> thank you for having me. tavis: let's jum

tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first up tonight, international best-selling author ken follettt, who has sold more than 100 million books. he serves as executive producer of a new south african film called "white wedding," and it will be seen in select cities starting september 3. also tonight, rock icon john mellencamp. tonight, a performance of his song "don't forget about me." that is coming up, right now. >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment, one at a time. >> and by contributions by viewers like you. thank you. tavis: ken follett is one of the most successful authors of our time, and his last is an eight- part miniseries on the starxz network, in addition to another book -- on the starz network.

tavis: did you get a kiss? >> it is interesting because her name was kathy and i went steady with her. she looked a lot like hayley mills with a blond curly hair. i went to kiss her and she hit me with a hair brush. that is when i knew it was true love. [laughter] i was willing to endure pain to get a kiss. tavis: how do you know given the state of the business that a film like this this coming of age works in today's environment. >> you don't know. the old line which is nobody knows everything -- you don't know. audiences go crazy. the tough part is to get them into the theater. it is a tough market to say we are making a story about two 13- year olds. it is very insightful but if it is tough for them. once they are in the theater they have a great time. i should have blown somebody up. tavis: either that or put a in3- d. -- put it in 3-d. >> i make movies about human beings that live on earth and people don't seem to be interested in that. tavis: what attracts you to those times -- those kinds of stories? >>

tavis: timing is everything. you were trying to do this for years and they came to you at the right time. >> it does not matter how hard to try. you could have your own plans but in the end, you say that is different than this. tavis: you have lived in miami forever. " 30 years. tavis: what made you come all the way to los angeles? >> we always wanted to come here for many reasons. what really fascinated me and made me feel is right a score for movies. i love that. you have to be here. you have to be here. there is no choice. besides that, we love living in california. tavis: now that you are here, you can get andy garcia to take the to the lakers game. >> absolutely. i think it is in june. the marlins are going to come and play the dodgers. i have tickets already. tavis: you are a baseball fan? >> oh, yes. i like basketball but baseball is number one. tavis: you will see him at the dodger games. >> i enjoy basketball, too. i was a good friend of pat riley. i played the income for the miami heat many times. tavis

tavis: i heard. >> you're in it. tavis: mellencamp got a great documentary opening up for him. i love your ideas. you spit out good ideas. his opening act this summer is a documentary and then a great performance from mellencamp. you got to see him. you know, you want to see him. catch mellencamp on the road this summer. the new project is called "for better than this." before i make room for john to do his thing, i'm going to put your wife elaine who is my friend on the spot. come here real quick. have a seat on the edge of john's chair. this is the gorgeous elaine, the wife of mr. mellencamp. tell me right quick, i heard a little rumor. then i heard it wasn't true. i'm setting it straight here. so, i heard, thank you so much. this is chris our producer by the way. >> hi, chris. i heard that -- that all over the internet that today was your birthday. i had them make a little nice cake here. this. happy birthday, elaine. all right. so i goat the barrett day cake made, then -- birthday, and then i heard it ain't your birthday. it isn't the 16th. >> it is the 26th. >> for all of

smiley at pbs.org tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time as we continue to look at new orleans five years after katrina with one family's remarkable journey. that is next time. i will see you then. >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i'm james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and 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. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first tonight, our conversation with best-selling author david shenk on his new book "the genius in all of us." he concludes each one of us can become a gifted and our own unique way. also tonight, singer-songwriter jakob dylan is here. he is about to release his second solo project called "women and country,"you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: david shenk is a best- selling author whose previous books include the -- which include "the forgetting." his latest book is called "the genius in all of us: why everything you have been told about talent and iq is wrong." why does everything wrong? >> it is crazy, scientists are in the 21st century world of understanding all the nuances of genetics and how to translate into abilities, and the general public is stuck in an early 20th-century understanding of genes as being blueprints with specific information about what are traits are supposed to look like. in fact, genes interact with the environment. it is not the

tavis: good evening. i am tavis smiley. we brought up a week of music and conversation with john mellencamp. his cd "no better than this" is the 25th of his career. he will perform "pink houses". he will be on hand in milwaukee to celebrate the 25th anniversary of farm aid. his u.s. tour kicks off in indiana. >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> ♪ 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: tonight we hear two songs from john mellencamp. brielle ofone last the new project. the disk is called "no better than this" and here is john performing "thinking about you". it is not my nature ♪ ♪ i sat by the phon

tavis: hello, i am tavis smiley. performance by john mellencamp. >> he needed extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide is proud to join tavis in improving financial literacy and removing obstacles to economic empowerment. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] [rocking blues music] ♪ (raggs) ♪ pawsuuup, everybody ♪ diddy-do-wah-day ♪ the raggs kids club band is coming down your way ♪ ♪ we got a song to sing ♪ we got something to say ♪ the raggs kids club band ♪ can you come out to play? ♪ ♪ razzles makes us dazzle ♪ she's our go-to girl ♪ pido keeps the beat while he catches a curl ♪ ♪ b.max writes the tunes that raggs and trilby sing ♪ ♪ so come along and sing your song ♪ ♪ it's a happening thing yeah! ♪ pawsuuup, everybody, diddy-do-wah-day ♪ ♪ the raggs k

tavis: hello, i am tavis smiley. performance by john mellencamp. >> he needed extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide is proud to join tavis in improving financial literacy and removing obstacles to economic empowerment. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television]

tavis: i am doing extremely well. you are, too. the latest polls and surveys i have seen suggest that you have -- you are dead even. other polls, you are slightly ahead. does not the case a few weeks ago. >> things are good in florida. people want an independent voice in the u.s. senate. they are pressured with the gridlock and the arguing they see between the two parties in washington on any given day. i think this is a refreshing change, a different approach, and exactly what the people of florida and america want. tavis: what has happened over the last week that has allowed you to pull even or ahead in certain polls? >> i think what does happen is the realization that the republican party or the democratic party just did not get things done in washington any more. it is been very difficult on any given issue, immigration reform, what everyone to deal with, try to dig out what to do on taxes tavis: it is hard for them to come to any kind of accord in any way at all to accomplish something for the people. i think reality is that p

tavis: good evening. i'm tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with angelique kidjo. she's known for her african and western music. she's about to re release a c.d. it has high-profile collaborations. hair on she'll perform a track from the disk, in her first television appearance for the new project. you. thank you. ♪ tavis: please welcome angelique kidjo from the program. the grammy winner is here, and in advance of her new c.d., the disk features collaborations with a number of artists, including bono and jog john legend and diane reese. and here's a small sample of angelique kidjo in concert. ♪ ♪ [unintelligible] >> my long-time producer made a fatal mistake by not accepting your invitation to come on stage at disney hall here in l.a. what was his problem? >> i think he was too new. he needs to be straightened out. he can't be like that on me. >> you like to bring people up on stage and get in the aisles. 1kwr506 >> that's what we do in africa. the music is for everybody to share. it is from north to south and east to west and if you cannot dance, then you not ali

tavis: good evening from los angeles. while the internet age continues to make us more connected, there is new evidence that suggests a are hyper connectivity could be harmful. we explore the down side in his latest text. also, a unique trio from north carolina. they have earned wide acclaim for their new take on music. we are glad you joined us. nicholas car and the carolina chocolate drops, coming up. >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help with his reading. >> i am james. >> you help us all live better. >> nationwide supports tavis smiley. nationwide insurance is proud to join chavis in removing obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- tavis: nicolas carr is a best- selling author. his latest vote is called "the shallows -- his latest book is called "the shallows." let me start by aski

tavis: i feel the same thing you feel.estion i would respond with common name for me a time in history when a significant portion of the population did not feel that same unease that you and i feel today? >> i cannot. -- i can, until the 1960's. it was never perfect, but our egos is built on the myth that we americans on the future. even the depression and world war ii and every other catastrophe, we were just practicing on how to run the world. and then the future was taken away from us, somehow. i made my first speech about this in 1991. i said, did we just when a political victory of some kind? didn't the wall come down somewhere? where are the parades'? chris the sense of ownership? where is the american social momentum that was the most famous and ferocious in the world? now there are articles on the front page of "the new york times" that say we cannot fix the bridges over manhattan. írÑsomething had happened to us. what it was was that we had stopped teaching who we were, and who we are, and why we are who we are. t

. >> nationwide probably supports tavis smiley. working to improve financial -- proudly supports tavis smiley. working to improve financial literacy and security that comes with it. good >> and from viewers like you. thank you. >> tim wise is a noted author and activist. his latest book is called "colorblind." good to have you on the program. i want to start by reading a paragraph that i think will set us off to a pretty fascinating start to the conversation, but i also think it does justice to what your work is about. let me read from page 20. "by endorsing color blindness, president obama implies that there are no institutional obstacles faced by people of color that could not be weakened or abolished by color blind policies alone. he also implies wide or people of color face the same obstacles and do so on a relatively even playing field, but these notions are so overly saturated with falsehood that the man as intelligent as he simply cannot believe them, which then leads to political calculation as the basis for his position. s

i'm tavis smiley. we'll get to the latest on that deadly plane crash. cnn has been covering this story all day. casey you have been on top of it. tell me what the latest savarding the death of former u.s. senator ted stevens. >> reporter: we just heard a news briefing from the chairman of the national transportation safety board. they arrived into alaska about the same time we did, midday today and got to the closest town. they have great difficulty to get to the scene because it's in a remote area. we're learning new details about what happened at least in the aftermath of this crash. what they described is a debris field of about 100 yards, the plane crashed into the side of a mountain, about 1,000 feet up that mountain in a very remote area. they were on their way, these nine people on their way to a fishing camp and the be folks at the lodge they left from had not heard from them. they were worried about what time they would come back for dinner. when they didn't hear from them they sent occupant rescue flights to find this plane and ultimately some

brother tavis, dialogue, said it would be nice to have a stzq of your i4sñlife. i hadn't thought about that really. but part had tooç do with my near-death struggle with cancer. my dance with morality isr intensifying. maybe i should stop. and if i could tell my story and affect somebody, help somebody, cultivate capas3au to love, deal with the funk in their own life, because everybody got some funk now. wrestle with it, come out stronger, then maybe i could be of some service. i started looking at different corners, dark corners of it.án man, i was a gangster when i was small, got kicked out of school in thirdÑi grade. harvard,÷princeton, struggle for freedom. i Ñisaid, wow, i have one of th most blessed lives)8 ó[çimagi. it's amazinamazing. that's why the last chapter is about gratitude. >> how much of it really wasfi cathartic in the sense of having to deal with the darkest Ñcor r corners? because those are thecpç harde for all of us to see and more difficult to deal with. >> it's painful because -- beckett said try again, fell try again,!pñ fail again,

virginia it don't grow back it's not going come back i mean you know we had a politician get up on tavi not long ago he said well the reason that jan saying it's being extinct or cost the dear are in. order bought this thousand acres. that's nothing. now the process of mountaintop removal coal mine is an awesome display of coal extraction engineering it is also quite simple once a site is a den of clear cutting begins next explosives are used to blast away the earth material holes and. then machinery completing massive shovels called dragon lines remove the overburden which is then deposited in adjacent valleys called valley fills mountaintop removal coal mining can bring down the elevation of a peak by hundreds of feet sites are often thousands of acres in size but i think it's our latest action and let's park and resume. in the spring of two thousand and five a group of activists college students and local citizen conservation groups joined together to oppose the widespread increase in mountaintop removal mines throughout southern appalachian training the group called their campaign m