from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. her son is called "my life, my son." >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where wal-mart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, help tavis 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] tavis: trying to find the right word. i am pleased, honored, humbled, delighted, crazy to have jesse norman on this program tonight. the legendary soprano has been an inspirational voice in music for many years to come. she released her first new recording hall. it is a good one. if you are fortunate enough to be at the mall in pasadena, before we get to the conversation, we take you back to a c

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. over the course of the next few weeks we will bring you a number of conversations including the week on china, this will start monday, august 15, and you can visit any of our past programs visiting pbs.org, check for betty white, bobby brown, ashley judd and many more. tonight look at actress and playwright, anna deavere smith, in her program, called "let me down easy," and then j.j. abrams on his list of projects, "super 8," one of the biggest box office surprises, thank you for joining us, coming up now. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it's the cornerstone we all know. it's not just a street or boulevard, but a place where wal-mart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, help tavis 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 viewe

. >> hi, i'm tavis smiley.ext time from china. we'll meet with students who are challenging the status quo. that's next time. see you then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it is a place to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide is proud to join tavis in removing obstacles to economic empowerment conversation at a time. >> additional funding provided by -- >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> b

goodnight from l.a., as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today'show, visit "tavis smiley pbs.org. tavis: join me a next time for a conversation with don cheadle about his upcoming projects. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it is a cornerstone that we all know. that is where you can stand together with your community to make everything better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. nationwide is proud to join tavis in improving economic literacy and removing obstacles to economic empowerment one at a time. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. you.

. >> hi, i'm tavis smiley.ext time from china. we'll meet with students who are challenging the status quo. that's next time. see you then. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it is a place to make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer, nationwide is proud to join tavis in removing obstacles to economic empowerment conversation at a time. >> additional funding provided by -- >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> b >> garrison keillor: toi derricotte grew up outside detroit. with the poet cornelius eady, she cofounded cave canem, an organization committed to cultivating and supporting the work of african american poets. she says, "truth telling in my art is also a way to separate myself from what i have been taught to believe about myself-- the degrading stereotypes about black women." >> blackbottom. when relatives came from out of town, we would drive down to blackbottom. drive slowly d

. >> 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. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: bob lutz has been a creative force in the auto industry. he is also a noted author whose books include the best-selling business book "the cuts". his latest is "car guys vs. bean counters". he joins us from ann arbor, michigan. nice to have you on this program. >> for having me. tavis: let me start about your tax. -- your text. how would you define the soul of the american business? >> it should be about pleasing customers and doing superior products but i think for about the last 20 years, we have been obsessed with business school techniques, analysis, project of analysis, tons of numbers, attainment of short-term proper goals,

goodnight from l.a., as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today'show, visit "tavis smiley pbs.org. tavis: join me a next time for a conversation with don cheadle about his upcoming projects. >> every community has a martin luther king boulevard. it is a cornerstone that we all know. that is where you can stand together with your community to make everything better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. nationwide is proud to join tavis in improving economic literacy and removing obstacles to economic empowerment one at a time. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. pbs station from viewers like you. steves: like so much of budapest, hungary's parliament was built for the big 1896 party. its elegant neo-gothic design and riverside location were inspired by its counterpart in london. it's enormous, with literally miles of grand halls, designed to help administer that sprawling, multinational hapsburg empire. by the end of world war i, the hapsburgs were gone, and hungary, while much smaller, was fully independent. but then came the nazis,

i will go on the tavis smiley show. i tried to be helpful. tavis: a great actor and a better man. an upcoming showtime series and a new deal with showtime to produce other projects. whenever he wants to do. good to have the wind. i appreciate you. up next, a preview of our week devoted to china. it starts monday. we will explain it for you in just a moment. stay with us. i hope you will join us for an entire week devoted to china. i traveled there with a camera crew and a group of colleagues including cornell west. over the first of four nights we will look at the issues and the challenges facing china and the ideas and people who will shape china for the rest of the century and beyond. on friday, we will have a high- profile panel of chinese americans for a conversation about china and its place in the world. our guests include john chan. we met and spoke with some extraordinary people but probably the most moving encounter was when we got a chance to meet my your workers and their kids. we hear a lot about the economic boom. everywhere you look you see evidence of that. china is

no problem. >>> back with my guest tavis smiley. s, when you see the republican potential nominee lineup, if you're barack obama right now given the bound of the fux the most? >> at this point i'm not sure i'm scared. and i don't mean thatfd3@a to s arrogantz >> let me rephrase, who would you least like to be facing? >> i've said consistently i don't think you can beat somebody with nobody. and i don't see that somebody yet that can take the president out. i still believe my critique notwithstanding about pushing the president to be more aggressive about the poor and about jobs. i don't see anybody at the moment that i'm looking at that can beat the president head up, number one. secondly though, it is interesting to me that all this talk now about rick perry which has everybody excited on the right is fascinating. here's the guy who just a few years ago as governor was talking about seceding from the union. now he's considering the idea of running for president and that excites the republican party? this party that is always rara am

from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, our conversation with television wasn't -- television legend betty white, less than a year shy of her 90th birthday. in addition to her role on "hot in cleveland," she has a new memoir called "if you ask me>> s tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide insurance is happy to help tavis 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-- tavis: pleased and delighted to welcome betty white back to this program. the legendary television actress is a seven-time emmy-winning actress for her many roles, like "mary tyler moore" and "the golden girls." she has a new memoir on her life called "if you ask me (and of course you won't)." here is a scene from her latest series, "caught in cleveland." -- "ho

great to be back in china. >> for more information on the show, visit tavis smiley at pbs .org. vis: join me next time as we talk with mike workers and their children. meeting those families touched me deeply. i'm eager to share those encounters with you. we will see you then. >> every community has martin luther king blvd. it is the cornerstone we know. it is not just a street but a place where walmart stands with your community to make everyday matter. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and every answer,we're proud to join him in improving financial literacy. and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. tavis: additional funding provided by -- >> 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--

. >> 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. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- tavis: if you spend any time in the bay area, you know the fine work of michael. he is the host of the award winning public radio program. the nation's must listen to locally produced radio talk show. he is also the professor of english and author of the emhart -- a poerful new -- powerful new text. >> it is a pleasure and delight to be here. tavis: when i started going through the book, i knew i wanted to talk to you. i am curious to get inside the heads of those that are either economic or atheist because i want to understand their own process and their own journey. s

from what santa claus, i am tavis smiley. president obama has the to bring troops home by the end of 2015. for some, that is not enough. senators called on him to reconsider the afghanistan strategy and bring home all of the combat truce by the end of next year. also, a conversation with noted british historian and and the four men -- amanda foreman. she has a new book called "a war on fire." >> every community has martin luther king boulevard. that is the cornerstone we all know could is not just a street garble bought, but a place to gather with your community. make every day better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. we are happy to join him to combat illiteracy. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> jeff merkely wrote an op-ed in the new york times on tuesday titled let's not linger in afghanistan. he joins us tonight on capitol hill. thank you for your time. >> is great to be with you. when you say that we are lingering in afghanistan, can

tavis: good evening from china, i am tavis smiley. we are here talking to everyday chinese about the issues that matter most to them, the environment, the economy, education, the future, the family, real issues, real people, every night from the people's republic of china. our conversation begins tonight right now. >> every community has a martin luther king street. this is a place for wal-mart standing together with your community to make everyday better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide insurance is happy to help tavis improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. additional funding provided by -- >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: this is the view of beijing from the roof of the microsoft campus. this is second only to their headquarters. the big cities are already jammed and in the next 10 yea

i am tavis smiley. i have had the pleasure of sharing my unique experience with some of my personal staff and my friend and colleague, dr. cornel west. the people have impressed us with their candor and friendliness. it would be a the authoritarian government and their grip on modern china and even for us. minor flareups emerged at some surprising moments. i will share two of those experiences. this all b bininininususa momentnt >>>> e ery commumutyty has a marvelous the king boulevard. this is the cornerstone we all known. this is not just the street or a boulevard where wal-mart stands to get there with your community to make everyday better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, nationwide insurance is happy to help tavis improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. tavis: additional funding provided by -- >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank

. >> 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 the viewers like you. thank you. ♪ tavis: i am pleased to be joined by a terrific and distinguished panel. first up is john chan, former chair of the c-100. cindy fan is the dean of social sciences dominic king is the ceo of east west bank here in california. and the ambassador who serve as liaison to china for director steven spielberg. let me start with you. we were talking a moment ago about my own feelings -- i talked about this earlier this week on a special, about a sense of hopefulness that one feels moving through china as contrasted by a sense of hopelessness that americans are feeling now given the economy, the recession, etc., etc. there was a poll we started earlier this week. just over half of all america

i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with barry manilow. next week he is out with his first album of original music in a decade. later on, a special performance from the new project and some great music >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all lived better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. nationwide insurance is proud to join have this in working to improve financial literacy and working to remove obstacles one 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-- >> what an honor to have barry manilow and his piano on the set to night. it is hard to believe we have not seen a project of new music in 10 years, but that is about to change. it is an honor to have you in this program. >> i have been looking forward to doing tavis:: 20 years i have been in the broadcast business, and i have never had the honor of sitting with an artist for an entire conversation at th

wal-mart to gather with your community to make every day 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]

wal-mart comes together with your community to make everyday better. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. with every question and answer, help tavis 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] tavis: john prendergast is a noted human-rights advocate and a co-founder of the end of project which works to combat genocide. his latest text is called "unlikely brothers: our story of adventure, loss, and redemption." good to have you on this program. are you doing all right? >> i am doing very well. thank you. tavis: let me start in an unlikely place. i want to celebrate the work you have done with this young brother. this raises the question of why it is that white folk feel this super hero complex that they can swoop down into black neighborhoods or hispanic neighborhoods and their very presence and engagement can save and turnaround -- we see this and hollywood movies. what is tha

tavis smiley and cornel west. you both very much. >> thank you. >> it's been a pleasure. >>> tomorrow, an

. >> nationwide supports tavis smiley. nationwide is proud to join have is in working to remove obstacles to economic empowerment one 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-- ♪ villaraigosa may be best known as the guy who convince the entire city to stay out of their cars for the weekend. hazmat you may know, the 405 was shut down this weekend. you pulled it off. >> we pull it off. it worked like magic. >> i was in my hotel room cracking up about all the new stations in canada talking about it. i was cracking out that this became such a huge story around the world. what do you make of it? >> everybody knows about l.a.'s addiction to the automobile. i think people did not think it was possible that we would have a day off from the hectic now nature of driving in the city of los angeles, and it worked. people stepped up to the plate and hit a home run. >> does

. >> we'll have a conversation with tavis smiley. this is "piers morgan tonight." >>> donald trump says america's economy could be going bad from worse. he joins me tonight on the

tavis: good evening from los angeles, i'm tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with r&b superstar bobby brown. this summer the former new edition front man is out with his first album in nearly 15 years. the disc is called "the masterpiece" and has already produced a new single. later this year he and the crew are planning a reunion in conjunction with their 30th anniversary. we're glad you've joined us, a conversation with bobby brown coming up right now. >> 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 from 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] tavis: bobby brown is back. this year marks the release of his first c.d. in nearly 15 years. the new disk is called "the masterpiece," which is already getting some buzz around the first si

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. proud to improve financial literacy. nationwide is on your side. >> and by contributions to your pbs station. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] tavis: we continue our look at the work being done to deal with those who have been falsely accused and wrongly convicted. the human toll on the innocent people behind bars is only part of the story. the debate over using taxpayer money is front and center. consider what these cases are costing us all. 85 cults convictions over a 35- year period have cost taxpayers $240 million. that figure will rise to $300 million or more after lawsuits are settled. in 81 of the cases, the study found misconduct or error on the part of state officials. we will hear more about the part -- about the work being done at northwestern university. the story of ken berry, falsely accused of a crime while on duty as a police officer. you know something about patience. after all that you have been doing. thank you for your patience. let me give you the microphone. give me the

. >> 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] --www.ncicap.org-- tavis: i am always pleased to have tom selleck on this program. in addition to his role on the popular show jesse stone, he shows on this season's most watched new show called "blue bloods." here are scenes from "blue bloods." >> what about the boys? >> what are we going to do? >> it is my considered opinion that this gets out and the media gets ahold of it, she won't have much of a chance. >> so you have another hit on your hands. >> is there any would around, i need to knock on wood. actually, cbs likes to hold their announcements. i think it is a hit. it is a hit for me. it is a show i wanted to succeed, not only when i first read the script

tavis: smiley. tonight and interview with the popular comedian george wallace his thoughts to night on a number of subjects, including a golden age of comedy in las vegas. >> every community has martin luther king boulevard. it is the cornerstone we all know. it is not just of boulevard but a place where wal-mart stands together with your community to make everyday better. with every question and every to improve financial literacy and remove obstacles to economic empowerment one conversation at >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] >> always pleased to welcome our friend, george wallace. the talented comedian continues his successful run at the flamingo hotel in las vegas. the show runs tuesday through saturday. i cannot believe you are still in las vegas du. >> first of all, i am so blessed. i went there for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days. i am in my eighth year, and i have to thank the people for letting me be

. >> nationwide insurance supports tavis smiley. we're happy to join him in helping to improve literacy and empowerment one conversation at a time. nationwide is on your side. >> and the contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: the human toll on those who have been wrongly accused and falsely imprisoned is staggering. as you will hear from the four men from illinois that you are about meet. 85 people wrongfully convicted in illinois has spent a total of 556 years in prison. but that is only part of the story. consider what it means for all of us as taxpayers. in the same city, it was revealed that those wrongful 85 convictions cost taxpayers in illinois $214 million. that figure will likely grow to $300 million when all is said and then could 81 of the 85 cases were found with misconduct or error from state officials. in the meantime, the actual perpetrators continued to their crime sprees which included 14 murders and assaults. what can we do to about it? that is why we traveled to chicago for an i

also, professor west announced he and talk-show host tavis smiley will begin a national poverty tour next month to sharpen the nation's awareness on what they call the failings of the president. african-americans at large agree with west and smiley. the president has dropped by more an 20 points with african- americans, from 77% last yesr to just over 50% this year. why? jobs. by the way, in 2008, the black volt for president obama was history making. 96% of blacks voted in favor of the obama-biden ticket, , over the mccain-palin ticket. question, what explains the disparity between net wealth for whites and net wealth for blacks? clarence? >> first let's distinguish between wealth and income. wealth includes income, property you own, your entire estates. the biggest fact or is real estate the last 25 years, from the mid-80s when we saw the real fruits of the 60s, with the doubling of the growth of black middle-class, we just began to acquire some wealth. how and other properties in a sense. then the 90s and the lasts decade of the housing bubble -- yeah, and also about a third of th