♪ -next, a "kqed newsroom" special on the arts. -♪ his love -sometimes it takes more than a 90-minutte issionless play to kick somebody out of their 40-hour workweek. -an entertainer'rytake on american his and a world-renowned artist tapping the global refugee crisis. -you know, they all have families, have children, and we cannot pretenwe ar. -plus the joy servedm p by the coolest mus town focused on something sweet. -when you see the power of human connectionli in such a simpfied form, i exink it can be a greaple of how we should move forward as a country. -helloi'm thuy vu. welcome to a special edition of "kqed newsroom" about ts and culture. from our archives we' innovativeng storieswi and influential figures in film, the performing arts, and sual culture. we begin with the role of comedy in today's political climate.

from immigration policy to health care to the economy, there's a lot going on in politics. that means plenty of mat rial for comedians li wood jr. he's a correspondent on comedy central's "the daily show." kqed's sheraz sadiq caught up with him while he s in town for the comedy festival colossal clusterfest. they met at an interactive exhibit showcasing president trump's love of twitter. -so, where are we today? -this is the donald j. trump president trump's love presidential twitter library. everybody at "the daily show," we sat around, and we started looking in closer at the president's tweets over the last couple years. everyone in our digital department started looking at ones, and you start noticing certain patterns. there's a lot of tweets where he's arguing with celebrities. there's a lot of tweets where he's trying to end people's careers.er s a lot of contradictions. there's stuff about policy. so when you really start looking at all the president's work, you see, "oh, well this is an exhibit, you know?" barack obama is all about books. our president is all about twitter,

so we felt like the best way to give ople the experience of walking through the brain of our commander-in-chief is to just p it all on the wall. this is all the people he's argued and talked trash about -- talked trash about jeb bush, talked trash about robert pattinson. over here, those are the verified survivors. those are people that he's talked trash about, llbut somehow, they stiersevere. and i'm not sure whether you leave this library feeling better about the coury or more horrified, but you'll definitely fabout racism?f -are be -onethe themes you frequently return to on "the daily show" as a correspondent is t. how did growing up in the deep south on "the daily show" in birmingham, alabama,s t. influence how you tackle the issue of race? -i think a lot of our views on racas adults are shaped when we're young, but i think the important thing my parents gave me was a lot of pride in myself because if you're not careful, if you're a victim of racism, that can mess with your self-esteem. i've been called the n-word. i've been harassed.

i won't dare act like what i've bn through compares to what a lot of people have go through in this country and, you know, the civil-rights soldiers, you know, from back in the day but i think for me it's important to make sure that i shine a light on the stuff that's happening in the corners of america where a lot of people,your and having been from the south and having been in that world, where a lot of people,your i feel like i'm as equipped as any other correspondent on the show to be able to go and tell those stories. -roy, you're the father of a toddler. what will you tell your so when he's older about what it's like tcabe a black man in ame -my son has to understand that being black is a gift and that sometimes it's a burden, you know? everybody e es, "have you had thg talk?" and we ain't going to have the talk. you know, they're talking about the birds and the bees. to me, the big talk is how to deal with the police and instructing my son on that relationship. it's something that i think about all the time, man,

because, you know, being black is a job sometimes, and my son has got to know that he's the clock 24/7. we heard about the march for our lives in d., but there was another march going down all the way out in helena, montana, and out here at this march, people were taking a standic for the realms of gun violence, guns. -for "the daily show," when the march for our lives rally was taking place to protest gun violence in schools, you rare actually at a pro-gu. what did that experience teach you about people who oppose gun restriction? -there are a lot of people who oppose gun restriction who are levelheaded. who oppose gun restriction? everybody thinks that someone just because they want the second amendment that they got eight guns and 12 "rambo" bazookas in their back pocket, d they're all lunatics. there were a lot of levelheaded people that were just making arguments for wanting their guns, and i think that the problem is that we only hear the extremes in one another, d i was very happy that i went to the pro-gun rally and had the opportunity to talk to these people. now don't get me wrong. there are a lot of people who are pro-gun who,

in my opinion, are out there. anytime you think a kid that got st at at a high school is a paid actor, there is something wrong with you, riod. but the problem is that people who will call a parkland kid a crisis actor overshadow the levelheaded people who go, "l.'s tiptoe into legislatii'm. let's tegure out a way to legishis without it getting out of hand becausit is a slippery slope." it was dope to be able to get to montana to talk to those peoples -whahe challenge of tackling these difficult subjects such as racism and gun violence through comy? is there a risk, for example, of belittling these issues by finding humor in them? -the joke is never on t issue. the joke is on the argument and the prevention of it. we would nevere ell a joke about sometting shot, but the joke is on, "how do we keep this from happening, and who are the people that are keeping this from happening again?" and i think that's where the humor is, la and i think if we cah about it, you're more willing to talk about it, and if you're willing to talk about it,

so i feel like theser have to happen.ok -how do you decide which stories to cover on "the daily show -"the daily show," that's a whole nother world. like, we'll look at the news, and we'll try and find... n if we y something that we believe is different from what other shows are saying, then we'll say its and thetimes it's just about figuring out what issues are important to us, you know? there's issues where it may not be national news. i covered a story about some stuff that's happening on the mississippi river with a boondoggle with the army corps of engines, not a big news story, but it's something that affected people. it's something that economically and environmentally was ruining the country, and thankfully right beforeob presidena got out of office, he changed it. i like to believe that my story is the reason that i beat... you' welcome, missouri. that's what i tell myself at night before i go to bed. -yoy, thank you so much. h. -it was great talking to you. yeah. thank you. -now to cabaret, where a daring showen has xamining american history through some of this country's most popular songs. -♪ i jumped in a river titled "a 24-decade history of popular music,"

inthe show has been shg a light on everything from slavery to gay activism. kqn's chloe veltman sat dow wt and stockton native taylor mac. -well, here we are onto the stage at the curran theatre inan francisco. i'm here with taylor mac, the creator of the show, the chief performer, and his co-creator, costume designer, machine dazzle. thank you both for being here. it's great to get a chance to chat with you here costume designer, machine dazzle. in the costume shop as all this stuff is going on. -thank you.-oh, yes, th. -♪ i once was lost ♪ but now am found -so, your show tells the history of the united states of america in 246 songs,s and it all beg with a s, ball-businng rendition of "amazg grace." -♪ as long as life endures -why that song? -i wanted to set up this kind of concepte that we'reto worship the act of creation, not the creator, so we take that song, and we talk about grace, and what is grace to me is the act of eation.

-♪ it's love and love alone w -at inspired you to tell the history of this country through song? -i wanted to use a form that best represented how you use kind of imperfection as a way to rally people. -i wanted to use a form i think of classical music as, you know, you're reaching for the hem of god.re yoeaching for perfection. you're striving for virtuosity, and a popular song is som thing that is reachinghe people. ♪ it's reaching them in order to rally them to a cause, to celebrate together, to mourn tether. -and you guys also tell the history of this country through costume. -♪ he cursed us th a congress ♪ -i like to look at what was happening at the time, you know, "what was new at the time? what were people doing? what was invented at the time? these are ening shoes. and just, like, turn those ideas cd those inventions intumes. my favorite ribbon. rd -and machine, as ws it sounds,

is redesigning backstage, like, during the show. -on the fly? -i always need to add things and change things. now that's a shoe. ♪ one of my favorite costumes that i've made for taylor ever is the crazy jane costume -[ gargl] ♪ i jumped in a river -crazy jane has a wig made out of champagne corks, and she lives in a barrel. when she takes the barrel off, it's like she has everything in there. she has her bedroom she has hobjet in there.n there. -so, wearing a barrel, not to mention heels, high heels for 24 hours... -sometimes women will say to me on the street if i'm dressed up, wearing the high heels or often after shows, women will say, "how could you wear those heels? i could never wear heels like that," and i always say, "well, for you, it's oppression, but for me, it liberation."

♪ he's leaving for i mean, i get to wear this art. ...this ritual. and it's not just costuming. you know, they're little art pieces, so the fact that you get to bring your own personal art into somebody else's art, and they get to commingle and make something bigger than both together is energizing. -and have you ever had a wardbe malfunction? -no. it is the genius of performance art. there is no failure. -yeah. we don't call them malfunctions. we call them, you kn, not acts of... -opportunity. -opportunity. noe acts of god, acts of ddess. [ cheers and applause ] -the pointits to incorporate cal ♪ they wished me one more day to stay ♪ and, in fact, the show was inspired by the very first aids walk in san francisco. -which you were at. -which i went to when i was 14 years old,

and it was thousands of them i'd evall at the same time.xual, it was the firg time i ever saw a deen. it was a sister of perpetual indulgence, you know, so that event is what makes me want to make theater. it was a sister and so in making the show, i wanted to make a metaphorical representation of that event. noasyou can use your pillowshie. -why are your performances so long? -[ laughs ] well, sometimes it takes more than a 90-minute, intermisonless play to kick somebody out of their 40-hour workweek. -okay, so everyone, you understand how it goes?le s do it. i think that there's real wonder go in just making thing on l, longer than they think they're capable of handling something, so i really like to put people through it. -well, thank you very much taylor mac and machine daze for joining me today. -thank you so much, like, really, for having us. -thank you.

-chinese dissident and artist ai weiwei has long been a vocal critic of his own country's government. in his latest film, "human flow," he addresses the global refugee crisis and says countries around the world should be held accountable.ic kqed's monlam spoke with ai weiwei when he was in san francisco. -your film "human flow" ma documents massive migration due to war, violence, disaster. what did y f learn from making thm? -what i have learned is very simple. among the 65 million refugees, there's no single one is willing to leave their home. they all struggle not to leave. it's very heavy price they have to pay. their relatives, friends, or whole village vanished by war, by famine, or environmental problems. -united states president donald trump has cut in half, in fact, more than half the numberf refugees

allowed in this country. what is your reaction to that? -i think thatithis current administ, what they did is beyond belief. -more than ever, we need the wall. we have drugs pouring thugh. -i should say it's a shame for a nation like united states, which is the most powerful, not only leading in the economics t but should be strongtion in defending human rights. after all, u.s. is a nation of immigrants. just a few generations ago, we all come from somewhere. -absolutely. -i never met a native here. i mean, to limit somebody's rights to moveis -the officials came here and told them, "look. lmost the same as to push someone to leave their home. there's no way you're going to get papers to continue. either you go voluntarily or warrest you." -a lot of your work takes aim right at the heart of power, the chinese government, corruption,

and here at alcatraz, the prisonystem. do you think those in power are listening? -i know it's very hard to make a power listening, but that why those voi. and basically, all those mistakes or those tragedies are made by human. so if we don't want to be part of shameful condition, then leave us no choice to make our sound to be heard. -do you think you'er encouraging those in p to change or just making them look like fools, or is it the same thin -i think we have to considerls theyhuman beings, of course. you know, we talk about the issues, really,

to everybody, you know? they all have families, and it's different ways of communication, so i have to belleve in this kind of stru -in your film, there's a scene of a man walking through a graveyard, and he's lost many of his loved ones. he's really speakingom his t just as an individual person. for people watchiny the film, what can t about this? -first, i think we often talk about the crisis without asking why those people are in such a tragic journey. irere are so many wars, war, afghanistan war,seyrian war, and we alswe are selling extremely dangerous weapons to dangerous locations.

big profit are made by united states or european leading nations,pr and we cannoend we are naive on those issues. -you call yourself an artist and activist do you also see yourself as a journalist? -i have a journast card as a reporte because if i go to those nation to interview people, often i have to have somethg protect me, so, yes, i'm a journalist also. i do a lot of investigations, ask really tough questions, and, you know, to trying to get some facts out. -thank you very mu, ai weiwei. -thank you. -in the world of entertainment, comedian and writer hari kondabolu is no stranger to addressing tough topics like race and ethnicity. he takes on the long-runnisi cartoon series "the sons" in his documentary titled, "the problem with apu." it explores how an indian convenience store owner caters to stereotypes.we

-the problem iidn't have any other representation in this country. -there was no aziz, no mindy, and that other dud"tfrom 'h' and that dude that's in the apu documentary," no politicians or reporters and no whatever deep chopra is.al this il we had. apu reflected how america viewed us -- servile, devious, goofy. -and joining me now is hari kondabolu. so nice to have you here. -thanks for having me. -"the simpsons" was one of your favorite tv shows as a kid, and yet you were so frustrated with the character named a. why? -apu is a convenience store owner, very one-dimensional, stereotypical, and at that time, that's the only depiction soh asian-americans had, specifically indian-americans. ny like, we didn't haveing else, and initially we were... when you have nothing, you're excited about anything,

but as i got older, i realized, "oh, this is all we have, and this is how my parents are depicted," and this is... it's sucrrow way to be seen. -was it the accent because a white acto hank azaria, did the accent. -yeah. the accent is definite a part of it. it's an accent meant to elicit laughter. it's not that realistic. the fact that everytonng he did always wascted to his indianness or what, like, the white writers ananexecutives thought inss was. -you were taking on... or yov are taking on a well tv show and taking on the question of apu in relation to identity politics, so what was your process in deciding how to present this issue in a way that would make sense and matter to a broad audiencer i mean, i think "the simpsons in deciding how to present this issue is a great placeart because it's "the simpsons."sh it's a globa. like, there's so many of us who grew up on it. "tfl simpsons" at its peak nced so much of the conversation of the country. pomean, it was a very ant show, so that already gave me a place, an institution to start from.

-what was the impact, do you think, of apu? -i mean, i think for a lot i think it shaped entity.icans there was a certain emrrassment sometimes about being who we were. there was an embarrassment of our parents,wa and thershame. there was a sense of, this is... "we are not american. we are less amican. we don't fit. we have to fight against this constantly." i mean, i think those early childhood experiences always shape you, -but yet, there's a moment a thing in your filmlot of us. where you interview your parents, i and they're both indiigrants, and they say they weren't offended by apu. at they weren't bothered he voice was done by a white actor. -right. i an, i think my mom said that it's not that she wast offended. it was that, like, you know, it wasn't something shreally worried about. you know, when you're coming to this country, and the stakes are so high, you're not realle,worried about things l "how am i being seen?" like, you worry about, you know, your bills, s but i think ebody who was born in this country,

grew up in this country, there's a certain entitlement that i think i rightfull have to expect the same as everyone else. in parents have now livedmea longer than they've lived in india. this is home, and i think they have that entitlement more now than they did before. they didn't even know if they were going to ay for the long-term, so, i mean, i feel like that's a big difference. i expect tnebe treated the way everlse is treated. -and you don't do accents -is that part of that thinking? -n-yeah. i mean, i think for me, i did accents when i was 17, 18, 19, because i knew it wouldork, and i knew it would work because of "the simpsons." i knew that that accent would work, and as a young comedian, i just wanted to make ,re there wasn't silen that i was filling that with laughter,bu as i got older, and particularly after 9/11, i realized the impact representation had,th impact of images, especially when south asians were being beaten up around the country, muslims, sikhs, i knew that, like, us speaking out d us being public and showing a broad range of identities, like, would shap that public image, and i knew i couldn't do those voices anymore.

it was so minimizing. -your film, "the problem with apu," grew out of a bit that you did a few years ago wr "totally biased wikamau bell." -you were -- you worked on that show. a lot of your comedy deals wwith race and ethnicity. do you view your comedy as a form of activism? -no. i mean, this film, i think, is a little different because it's an in-depth look at a particular topic, but my stand-up, at the end of the day, it has to make people laugh, and i'm not going to say something that is, even if it's thoughtful, that doesn't make people laugh because why would people listen to me? i mean, stand-up's strength is that people lten because there's the promise of laughter, so, i mean, an activist goal is to push an issue and to get it as far as they can and to try to make progress,he whit's legislatively or socially. that's noty goal with stand-up. my goal with stand-up is to entertain people. -you scream. i scream.fo we all screaice cream. america's favorite frozen treat has gotten a made-for-millennials makeover at the meum of ice cream. the traveling museum in downtown san francisco

allows visitors of all ages to indulge their sweet tooth the traveling museum in downtown and love of selfies. kqed's sheraz sadiq has the scoop. -we wanted to create a stoce that brought peoplther. this is a space at is unifying. it's a safe space. it's empowering, and ice cream is such a beloved treat that it just felt like the perfect combination. -this iwhere the artwork museub ind plates of glass. here, the artwork is meant to be touched and interacted with. why did you take such an unconventional approach to the design of your museum? -well, i find that museums can be a little bit isolating, r ht? there's this sense that -you can't touch anythings or you're going to break something, d i think when you have that level of degree of constriction, it limits people from truly being able to express themselves, so we wanted to create a sce where people could really be their authentic selves. they could laugh. th could have fun. they could tough something, and nothing would break. it's flipping this concept of the traditional museum on its head. -it's also a museum that's tailor-madell for nials and their love of snapchat and instagram.

how diand your choices?chuencc -it wasn't so mu instagram or snapchat or facebook that led the aesthetic hodesign behind this.s?chuencc more so, this sense of captung the moment and what can we do from a design perspective morethat really allowed people to transport back, and we feel that the more visual the space is, the more people are able to do so. -sof cheese. -the museum ce cream features nine different themed rooms, including a gummy-bear garden, rock-candy cave, anthe main attraction... -wow. -...a swimming pool filled with plastic sprinkles. -raining sprinkles! there's just something so therapeutic, and really, they do... we made sure they would look as real as they do. they look like real sprinklese we ma-how many sprinks areok ain this thing, roughly? -100 million sprinkles. -wow. af r using an air hose to remove all the sprinkles sticking to my clothes, madison took me to meet grant, a gold-horned unicorn standing tall in a field of rainbows.

-my favorite room hereis . it's an homage to san francisco for thanpride and inclusivity diversity that this city has fostered and created for its entire exience. inclusivity and making sure that all people feel safe and protected in this space is a huge mission statement of ours and something that we strongly value. -thank you. -iin real magic. -but no trip to a museum for ice cream would be complete without delicious renders of why this timeless treat never goes out of style, even after a makeover for millennials. -what you have in ont of you here is gingersnap-flavored ice cream with a gingerbread crumble on top with some sprinkles, and then we're going to ady-this lovely strawberrsil sauce.nt -we o make sure that the city feels that we are working in collaboration with ice cream creameries that have been arou for a while, so each month, we have a ice-cream shop from san francisco that's created a unique flavol that you canget at the museum of ice cream. -that is the bomb. -yeah.-t

t is the answer you want. -yeah. -that's it. -at the museum of ice crea you won't encounter artwork that's overtly political, but you can still express your opinion, even a political one, in the message statement room. ce-we wanted to create a s where people could take their emotionsho anthey felt and make a statement on the walls. we believe that this is an equalizing space. it's an opporturity for you to feel authentic self, g and if you have someth say that maybe is political or maybe is socially oriented, feel free to say it. -madison, what does ice cream mean to you? what memories does it evoke? -when i think about it, it just brings me back to my childhood. i think of being a kid and sitting in my house and hearing the ice-cream truck go off and the excitement, the exhilaration i got from running outside and catching that truck to get my ice cream. i also associate it with my first memoriesof aving autonomy. i remember my parents being like, "here is $5. go out and get the ice cream by yourself." there's just something with that, that level of independence, i just greatly

associate with ice cream.♪ - haters going to hate, hate, hate, hate ♪ -maybe our universal love for ice cream springs from memories of what it was like to be a kid, when your toughestecision was deciding what kind of scoop to get. -it's phenomenal. it's more than i ever imagined. we're celebrating my daughte,s 1st birthday today and so i'm excited to show her these pictures when she grows up and let her know that, "you went to a place that not everybody gets to go to." i think ice cream brings happiness. like, who eats ice cream and is sad? you ready?'s it fun whether it's soft-serve or, you know, out of a tub or whater. it's fun. it feels good. -we have people from cultures from all over the world who are coming together and talking with somebody ulthey probably never d have had the opportunity to speak with, and they're talking about ice cream, and they' having fun. when you see the power of human connection in such a simplified form, i think it can be a great example of how we should move forward as a country. -♪ got nothing in my brain ♪ that's what people say -that does it for us.

for more of our coverage, go to kqed.org/newsroom. i'm thuy vu. thank you for joining us. -ready? here we go ♪ the world promised good to me ♪ my ♪ holife secure ♪ he will my care and comfort be ♪ s long as life endures ♪ ♪ amazing grace ♪ how sweet the sound ♪ that saved a wretch like me ♪ i once was lost ♪ but now am found ♪ was blind but now i see ♪ -take it away! keep going!

robert: president trump once again takes on immigration. but censusns quest remain unanswered. i'm robert costa. welcome to "washington week." ♪ >> president trump pays trite to the military and calls for unity following a week ofov controvers his fourth of july plans. president trump: we areopne chasing one dream and oneen magnifdestiny. >> washington remains divided and on edge about the 2020 census. and the president fights to include a citizenship question. president trump: i this very important to find out if someone is a citizen as opposed to an illegal. >> this as a federal watchdogsh es a light on troubling conditions at the border. an protesters call for m