i love tavis. >> host: how'd you get to know tavis? you've written a couple of books with him. >> guest: yeah. this is number three, and we're working on number four. how did can i meet tavis? oh yeah, the publisher of doubleday at the time, a man named steve reuben, had tavis under contract for an autobiography. and i had just written a book for steve about walter -- [inaudible] who was a big mogul in the music business. he was president of columbia records during the michael jackson days. and in any event, reuben thought that tavis and i would be a good combination, so he put us together, and i wrote with tavis his autobiography. and then last year he and i did a book together about martin luther king jr. the last year in his life. and recently we've worked together on this book on maya angelou about his relationship to maya angelou. but tavis is sort of the ideal collaborator because he appreciates what i do, you know, and shows me great respect. and also i love how he speaks, and i love his voice. and he's intrinsically a good stor

>> guest: well i have a contract with tavis. this is our fourth book together and we are working on a book about the last 16 weeks in the life of michael jackson. so it's sort of a condensed michael jackson book. that is my current. >> host: and after that? >> guest: after that i'm chasing people. i want to do a book with merle haggard who i love. i want to do a book with the rock star lenny kravitz who i think is great. i have been talking to him and there are all kinds of books. and i'm also working on a novel of my childhood and i'm doing a graphic book with an artist about the history of my relationship to clothing because i'm kind of a clothing not so i wanted to do this graphic book so i'm eyes working on for five things at the same time. >> host: are rewriting in the song's? >> guest: i am. i have recently written some gospel songs with a good pal of mine. i wrote a song a couple of months ago and i almost would rather write a song than anything. i really kind of love at all. i love ghosting and i like writing songs and i

. >>> just ahead, my conversation with author and talk show host tavis smiley. tavis gives his assessment of president obama's time in office and responds to critics who say he's been too tough on the commander in chief. i can't find my discover card! wait, i can freeze my account. [touch tone] introducing freeze it, from discover. it allows you to prevent new purchases on your account in seconds if your card is misplaced. not here... ♪ and once you find your card, you can switch it right on again. hey...you're back! [touch tone] freeze it, only from discover. get it at discover.com. (music) boys? stop less. go more. the passat tdi clean diesel with up to 814 hwy miles per tank. just one reason volkswagen is the #1 selling diesel car brand in america. [ male announcer ] whether it takes 200,000 parts ♪ ♪ 800,000 hours of supercomputing time 3 million lines of code, 40,000 sets of eyes, or a million sleepless nights. whether it's building the world's most advanced satellite, the space station, or the next leap in unmanned systems. at boeing, one thing never chang

about civilian oversight and jobs for fellow citizens. >> schieffer: tavis, i want to thank you very much for joining us this morning. adding to the conversation. we look forward to reading your new book, by the way about one of my favorite people the late maya angelo. now to continue this discussion, sherrilyn ifi alreadyl is the president of the lnaacp legal defense, ramesh ponnuru is senior editor at national review julianna malveaux economist and author and michelle norris, special correspondent for npr where she leads the race card project. and our old friend michael gerson. sherrilyn, let me start with you. you lived in baltimore for 15 years, what happened? >> well i think you're starting to see the results of what many people have been talking about and working on in baltimore city for a long time. one piece is without question the issue of police violence and engagement with young african american men. one of the reasons why i think what we do need now is for the civil rights division of the department of justice to enbeige in pattern and practice investigation of policing i

. >> tavis surprised "rolling stone" captor employed beecher she is such a liability.anye west got an ego boost a ph.d. from the art institute of chicago. the honorary varieties so now do you call him dr. west? is the deserving? >> i guess he had a big influence but i wish somebody would snatch it out of his hand to give a speech to. [laughter] >> give it to new beyonce. he is irritating. >> that would have been funny. >> if he is a tortured artist not appreciated said he would never know it because the way he brags is so overshadowed just be quiet and produce good art. kennedy: one thing i do like is out he convinced kim kardashian bruce jenner transition in was great in you have to be authentic to feel you are. >> and he is authentically insane. if all i had to do was get a graduate degree is act like the crazy a whole i would say tuition dollars but he will think that it gives him a superpowers are he will think he can actually practice medicine. kennedy: but on the play and if there is a doctor on board. >> jesus will save your. [laughter] >> i watched the show but

. >> we got to wrap, tavis smiley faiza patel and alan dershowitz. still ahead. desperate for rescue from a sinking ship. i'll talk to a reporter who got their stories in a field semghts coming up. >> you realize the incredible long journey these people make and how difficult. i was seeing them disembarking >> it has been called a colossal humanitarian catastrophe by enzo bianchi the high commissioner for italy. mediterranean sea from north africa to europe. more than 1800 of them have perished along the way. each week "third rail" will catch up with an al jazeera correspondent wherever they may be, to share their experience that you rarely get to hear. stefanie dekker has been in the area, you have been reporting on the migrant crisis for quite some time now, hundreds of migrants losing their life, what has stood out for you the most given all this death, given all this pain that you've seen? >> reporter: i think it's the determination of the people. they all will tell you that they would do it again. and of course there's the situation on the other side in liby

aforementioned scandals as he was said to be introduced deeply composite h with the exception n of turner tavisrating applies former cia director with robert gates leaving 18 years before the father figure of the institution to cheers so fervently at the ritz carlton. with the determination that is all too evident. the supervisor as an analyst with the intelligence director recalls writing the all consuming ambition is part of the approach. with the confirmation of the cia chief those who work behind the scenes staff directed george tenet then he moved on to beat director of intelligence programs at white house national security in which capacity he became to know john brennan said they were assigned to brief the white house staffers. to have the appointed chief nurmi reserved with someone with experience. he worked tirelessly to avoid irritating his host. so of those biographical details because he said it would irritate the saudis. brennan spent the next three years with the extremely profitable with a terrorist watch list that they would pay in 2008 alone but among those useful relationships

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why is it tavis that u.s. presidential candidates have to be religious christians or even claim to be religious christians and play the game to get elected? >> for one, you are assuming it's a game as opposed to the fact that this is their faith of choice. >> is it their faith of choice? >> i think for most people it is. i think the numbers bear that out. i think having said that, there is some agnosticism in all of us. we all have questions. i don't think it's a game. i think we play politics with our faith in campaigns, but i think that most of these persons who run for office are, in fact persons of faith. >> there is a pew poll that found 53% of americans would be less likely to vote for a candidate who is an atheist, most would fortunate someone who has never held office had a extramarital affair gay or lesbian or smoked pot what time does that tell you? >> america has been rooted in a kind of christology that means that there is something about this particular candidate that you can believe in something

my conversation with author and talk show host tavis smiley.ma. >>> and riding the rails. why can't trains get n america get us there faster? how the u.s. is behind the times in this type of travel. >>> we'll be right back. iprise asked people a simple question: in retirement, will you have enough money to live life on your terms? i sure hope so. with healthcare costs, who knows. umm... everyone has retirement questions. so ameriprise created the exclusive confident retirement approach. now you and your ameripise advisor.... can get the real answers you need. start building your confident retirement today. how much protein does your dog food have? 18%? 20? introducing nutrient-dense purina one true instinct with real salmon and tuna and 30% protein. support your active dog's whole body health with purina one. congratulations. you're down with crestor. yes! when diet and exercise aren't enough, adding crestor lowers bad cholesterol up to 55%. crestor is not for people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant.