a new biography of a vincent van gogh. it is titled "van gogh: the life." good to have you here. >> thank you very much. tavis: let me start by asking what it is about a vincent van gogh that makes it worth giving 10 years of your life to do. we all make decisions and choices every single day. maybe you did not know it was going to be a decade when you started. why was it worth that? >> we did not know exactly what we were getting into. i think it was a realization that he was a unique cultural figure. you cannot name and another artist that is so loved. people go to his grave every year. this is a level of appreciation that goes way beyond any other artist. >> it's almost has a religious feeling. half a million people go visit his grave. they write little notes. painters will bring their paintbrushes and put them on the grave. russians will pour vodka. japanese visitors will bring the ashes of their ancestors and poured them on the grave site because they want them to live in maternity with the painter of "story night -- lived in eternity with a painter of

van gogh the life is the book.both very much for your time. >> thank you so much. >>> every day on this show we call out someone who just makes us scratch our heads. to rome, georgia we go where the administration is making its employees pledge to reject homosexuality. they have to sign a pledge saying they are not gay in order to work at the christian baptist university. they call it a personal lifestyle pledge. it has a lovely ring to it, don't you think? the university told us any faculty who chose not to sign will be choosing to end they are employment at the university. i think that's a fancy way of saying they'll be fired. the 200 employees being asked to sign the pledge promised to reject homosexuality as well as premarital sex and adultery and other behavior violates the bible's teaching. the president told us, through our policies we tells us through our policy we seek to honor jesus christ. we are not trying to undermine their right to those beliefs but want to be transparent about our own. not trying to

conversation with the authors of "vincent van gogh." nextim te. we will see you then. >> 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 walmart stands together with your community to make every day better. >> 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 empower t 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--

officer and sadly van gogh from blowing poisoning along then that case remains unsolved and a thorn in the side of russian british relations. we have here in our next hour a special report about how the world is producing more food than ever before but still struggles to feed the planet's forests. it was in order to understand how the system works it is necessary to look at the parties involved the producer and the buyer for example the producer and the fire agree that one will sell and the other will buy a specific amount of weight at a specific price and the products will be delivered in a year from now for that they sign an agreement which is known as a time conflict was such contracts ensure producers and buyers against such risks as bad weather and sudden changes in prices. i'm if you're a farmer you're afraid the prices are going to fall you can lock in the price months ahead of when you harvest by selling here and get rid of the risk or you can do the same if you're a fool buyer a processor like judge general mills or kellogg's or coast and you can lock in the priced of the grai

of the science behind our food or why do we need to know this, i give them the example of vincent van gogh, who to understand--his medium was paints and canvas and brushes. he wanted to express his ideas through his medium of paints and painting, a very creative process. in order to do that, he created his own paints, he made his own canvases, he created his own brushes. he said if he could have bought the stuff himself he would have been even happier, but that's whatt's all about is really understanding the medium, and if you understand the medium, you can better express your ideas through it. >> sales at the stand are pretty brisk, and whatever doesn't sell is donated to local food banks. meanwhile back at the institute, classes start around 8:00, and karl diehn, now in his traditional chef's uniform, is cooking some of those squash blossoms he harvested about two hours ago, using them in a mussel and prawn dish. the meal is visually stunning and will be served at the institute's wine spectator greystone restaurant. >> it takes a tremendous amount of energy and strength, not just physica

you have to be willing to say when van gogh is killed for making a documentary about how muslims treat women or daniel pearl of the wall street journal be headed, we have to speak honestly and directly about what terrorism means. you can't just say you are a bad guy because you point out the fact that there are people who want you to shut up and i won't shut up. [applause] >> we have time for a 20 seconds question and a 40 seconds answer. >> thank you for coming here. my question is have you seen any evidence of muzzling free speech taking place on college campuseses today? >> oh yes. this is so interesting. my

you have to be willing to say when van gogh is killed for making a documentary about how muslims treatwomen or daniel pearl of the wall street journal be headed, we have to speak honestly and directly about what terrorism means. you can't just say you are a bad guy because you point out the fact that there are people who want you to shut up and i won't shut up. [applause] >> we have time for a 20 seconds question and a 40 seconds answer. >> thank you for coming here. my question is have you seen any evidence of muzzling free speech taking place on college campuseses today? >> oh yes. this is so interesting. my son just got out of college and when he was in political science or history class he was pretty conservative. he is a republican. he would say to me he felt like he was not allowed to speak. he was constantly being beaten up. imagine a young black guy who is pretty conservative and feeling like he can speak and when he does it as an opportunity for people to pile on so they could never have an honest discussion. you asked me -- i have an example in front of me right there. i trav

. >> day bollea van gogh's? >> [laughter] do i believe in coast? >> i never saw the north pole but i believe then that. the jury is out. i am a ghost agnostic. but i believe in this story heidi thing the ninth feels about always being second best? [laughter] first of all, i don't think that he does. he is a terrific guy and beyond that i don't want to comment. [laughter] this is the real briar patch tonight. [laughter] i selected these four entertainment values tranfor maximum discomfort on my part. >> we will shift gears. who inspired you to write? >> there were a lot of people that i read. in some ways the biggest motivating force were the horror comics from the '50s i was terrified i thought maybe i could do that but for most writers, would you are wrong with you read a book that is not that good to say i could do that then you feel inspired to try. i don't know. i was inspired that i loved reading so much it became almost second nature. >> a follow-up to that are you ever worried they you well put somebody else's words into your own work? >> no