From immon policy to health care to the economy, theres a lot going on in politic that means plenty of material for comedians like roy wood jre hes a corresp on comedy centrals the daily show. Kqeds sheraz sadiq caught up with him while he was in town for the comedy festival colossal clusterfest. They met at an interactive exhibit showcasing fpresident trumps love coof twitter. Terfest. So, where are we today . This is the donald j. Trump president ial twitter library. Everybody at the daily show, we s around, and wertarted looking in close at the president s tweets over the last couple years. Ne evern our Digital Department started looking at ones, and pau start noticing certaierns. Theres a lot of tweets where hes arguing with celebrities. Theres a lot of tweets where hes trying to end peoples careers. 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, st so we felt like the ay to give people the experience of walking through the brain of our commanderinchief st so we feis to just put it to giveall on the wall. Rience this is all the people hes argued and tald trash about talked trash about jeb bush, talked trash about robe pattinson. Over here, those are the verified survivors. Those are people that hes talked trash about, but somehow, they still persevere. And im not sure whether you ave this librarybe feeling er about the country or more horrified, but youll definitely feel something. Are black people too sensitive about racism . One of the themes you frequently return to on the daily show as a corspondent is the issue of race relations. How did growing up in the deep south in birmingham, alabama, influence how you tackle the issue of race . I think a lot of our views on race as adults are shaped when were young, but i think the important thing my parents gave me was a lot of pride in myself because ifououre not careful, ifre a victim of racism, that can mess with your selfesteem. Ive been called the nword. Ive been harassed. I wont dare act like what ive been through compares to what a lot of people have gone through in this country and, you know, the civilrights soldiers, you know, from back in the day, but i think mar me its important t sure that i shine a light on the stuff c thats happening in tners of america where a lot of people, you know, dont consider,fr and having bee the south and having been in that world, di feel like im as equip as any other correspondentow to be able to go and tell those stories. Roy, youre the father of a toddler. What will you tell your son when hes oldert abouat its like to be a black man in america . My son has to understand that being black is a gift aeverybody goes,es have you had the big talk . . And we aint going to have the talk. You know, thbire talking about ths and the bees. To me, the big talk is how to deal with the police and instructing my son on that relationship. Its something that i think about all the time, man, beand my son has got tng black that hes on the clock 24 7. Fo heard about the march our lives in d. C. , but thg e was another march godown fo all the way the march oout in helena, montana,ou and t here at this march, people were taking a stand for the real victims 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 were actually at a progun rally in montana. What did that experien teach you about peop who oppose gun restriction . There are a got of people who oppo restriction who are levelheaded. Everybody thinks that someone just because they want the y cond amendment that tt eight guns and 12 rambo bazookas in their back pocket, and theyre all lunatics. There were a lot of levelheaded people that were just making arguments afor wanting their guns,. And i think that the problem is that wethat we only hearguments the extremes in one another,. And i was very happy that i went to the progun rly and had the opportunity to talk to these people. Now dont get me wrong. There are a lot of people who are progun who, my opinion, anytime you think that got shot ati at a high school is a paid actor, w my opinion, there is something with you, period. I bua crisis actor oversdoweople whthe levelheaded people who go, lets tiptoe into legislation. Im open to legislation. Lets figure out a way to legislate this without it getting out of hand because it is a slippery slope. B it was dope to b to get to montana to talk to those people. What is the challenge of tackling these difficult subjects such as racism and gun violence through comedy . Ishere a risk, for example of belittling these issues by finding humor in them . E the j never on the issue. The joke is on the argument about someone getting shot,t. Wee 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 thats where the humor is, and i think if we can laugh about it, youre more willing to talk about it, and if youre willing to talk about it, then youre closer to aolution, so i feel like the jokes have to happen. How do you decide which stories to coveron the daily show . The daily show, thats a whole nother world. Like, well look at the news, and well try and fi. If we can Say Something that we believe is different from what other shows are saying, then well say it, and then sometimes its just about figuring out what issues are important to us, you know . Theres issues where it may not be national news. I covered a story about some stuff thats happening on the Mississippi River withmy boondoggle with the orps of engineers, not a big news story, but its something that affected people. Its something trot economically and enentally was ruining the country, and thankfully right before president obama got out of office, he changed it. I like to believe that my storb youre welcome, missouri. Thats what i tell myself at night before i go to bed. Roy, thank you so much. Yeah. It was great talking to you. Yeah. Yo than now to cabaret, where a daring show has been examining American History through some of this countrys most popular songs. I jumped in a river titled a 24decade history of popular music, the show has been shining a light on everything from slavery to gay activism. Kqeds Chloe Veltman sat down with drag artist and stockton native taylor mac. Well, here we are onto the stagera at the ctheatre in San Francisco. Im here with taylor mac, the creator of the show, the chief performer,and his, costume designer, machine dazzle. Thank you both for being here. Its great to get a chance to chat wi you here in the costume shop as all this stuff is going on. Thank you. Oh, yes, thank you. I once was lost but now am found so, your show tells the history of the United States of america in 246 songs, and it all begins with a smashing, ballbusting rendition of Amazing Grace. As long as life endures why that song . I wanted to set up this kind ofoncept that were here to 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 creation. Its lo and love alone and what inspired you to tell the history of this country through song . I wanted to useen form that best reprd how you use kind of imperfection as a way to rally people. I think of Classical Music as, you know, youre reaching for the hem of god. Youre reaching for perfection. Ure striving for virtuosity, and a popular song is something that is reaching the people. Its reaching them in order to rally them to a cause,he to celebrate tog to mourn together. And you guys also tell the history of this country through costum he cursed us with a congress i like to look at what was haw,ening at the time, you k what was new at the time . What were people doing . What was invented at the time . These are the opening shoes. And just, like, turn those ideas and those inventions into costumes. My favorite ribbon. And machine, as weird as it sounds, is redesigning backstage, like, during the show. On the fli always nees and change things. Now thats a shoe. One of my favorite costumes that ive made for taylor ever is the crazy jane costume. [ gargling ] i jumped in a river crazy janhas a wig made out of champagne corks, and she lives in a barrel. When she takes the barrel off, its like she has everything in there. She has her toiletries ithere. She has her bedroom objet in there. So, mearing a barrel, not tion heels, high heels for 24 hours. Sometimes women will say to me on the street if im dressed up, wearing the high heels or oen after shows, women will say, how could you wear those heels . I could never d ar heels like that, always say, well, for you, its oppression, but for me, its liberation. I could never d ar heels li hes leaving for y, i mean, i geto wear this art. This ritual. And its not just costuming. U know, theyre little t pieces, so the fact that you get to bring your own personal art into somebody elses art, and they get to commingle and make somoghing bigger than bothher is energizing. And have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction . No. It is the genius of performance art. There is no failure. Yeah. We dont call them malnctions. We call them, you know, not acts of. Typportunity. Opportu not acts of god, acts of the goddess. [ cheersnd applause ] the point is to incorporate calamity. They wished me one more day to stay an i in fact, the show wpired by which you were athich i weo in San Francisco. When i was 14 years ol and it was the first time id ever seen an out homosexual, and it was thousands of them all at the same time. It was the first time i ever saw a drag queen. It was a sister of perpetual indulgence, you know, so that event is what makes me want to make theater. I wanted to make a metaphorical representation of that event. Now you can use your pillows as shields if you want to. Why lre your performances g . [ laughs ] well, sometimes it takes intermissionless play, to kick somebody out of their 40hour workweek kay, so everyone, you understand how it goes . Lets do it. I think that theres real wonder in just making things go on longer than people expect, longer than they think theyre capable of handling something, so i realluglike to put people throit. Well, thank you very much taylor mac and machine dazzle for joining me today. Ou thanko much, like, really, for having us. Thank you. Chinese dissident and artist ai weiweivo has long been a l critic of his own countrys government. In his latest film, human flow, he addresses the glob refugee crisis and says countries around the world should be held accouable. Kqeds monica lam spoke with ai weiwei when he was in San Francisco. Your film human flow documents massive human migrationvi due to warence, disaster. What did you learn from making this film . What i have learned is very simple. Ramong the 65 milliugees, theres no single one is willing to leave their home. They all struggle not to leave. Its very heavy price they have to pay. Their relatives, friends, or whole village vanished by war, by famine, or environmental problems. In fact, more thanfident donathe number of refugeeslf,h allowed in this country. What isadministration,to thatt what they did is beyond belief. Morllthan ever, we need the dr we havugs pouring through. I should say its a shame for a nation like United States, which is the most powerful, not only leading in the economics but should be strongest nation in defending human rights. After all, u. S. Is a nas just a few generations ago,. All come from somewhere absolutely. I never met a native here. Mean, to limit somebodys rights to move is almost the same as to push someone to leave tir home. The officials came here and told them, look. Theres no way youre going to get papers to continue. O either you gluntarily or we arrest you. A lot of your work takes aim right at the heart of power, the chinese government, corruption, and here at alcatraz, the prison system. Doi know its very hard to make a power listening, but that why those voice are so necessary. D basically, all those mistakes or those tragedies are made by human. So if we dont want to be part of shameful condition, then leave us no choice to make our sound to be heard. Do you think youre encouraging those in powerng to chaor just making them look like fools, or is it the same thing . I think we have to consider they also human beings, of course. You know, we talk about the issues, really, to everybody, you know . They all have families, have children, and its different ways of communication, i have to believe in this kind of struggle. In your film, therem walking through a graveyard, and hes lost many of his loved ones. Hes really speaking from his heart just as an individual person. Ople watching the film, what can they do about this . First, i think we often talk about the crisis without asking why those people are in such a tragic journey. There are so many wars, iraq war, afghanistan war, syrian war, and we also see we are selling extremely dangerous weapons dangerous locations. Big profit are made by United States or european leading nations, and we cannot pretend we are naive on those issues. Stou call yourself an arti and activist. Do yououlso see yourself as aalist . I have a journalist card as a reporter because if i go to those nation to interview people, often i have to have something protect me, so, yes, im 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 much, ai weiwei. Thank you. E in the world ertainment, comedian and writer Hari Kondabolu is no stranger to addressing tough topics like race and ethnicity. Es he tn the longrunning cartoon series the simpsons in his documentary titled, the problem with apu. It explores how or indian convenience owner caters to stereotypes. The problem is we didnt have any other representation in this country. There was no aziz, no mindy, no kal, no that dude who was on lost and that other dude from heroes and thpu dude thats in the aocumentary, no politicians or reporters w and nohatever Deepak Chopra is. Thow america viewed us red 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 shafrustrated with the cracter named apu. Why . Apu is a Convenience Store owner, very onedimensional, stereotypical, and at that time, thats the only depiction south asianamericans had, specifically indianamericans. Like, we didnt have anything else, and initially we were. I think i was excited because we had something. When you have nothing, youre excited about anything, but as i got older, i realized, oh, this is all we ha, and this is how my parents are depicted, and this is. Its such a narrow way to be seen. Was it the accents . Because a white actor, t hank azaria, d accent. Yeah. The accent is definitely a part of it. s n accent meant to elicit laughter. Its not that realistic. Fa th that everything he did always was connected to his indianness or what, like, the white writers and executives thought indianness was. You were taking on. Or you are taking on a wellloved tv show and taking on tie question of apu in re to identity politics, so what was your process in a way that would make sense and matter to a broad audience . In deciding how to present this issue sure. I mean, i think the simpsons is a great place to start because its the simpsons. Its a global show. Like, theres so many of us who grew up on it. So much of the conversationeak of the country. I mean, it was a very important show, so that already gave me a place, an institution to start from. What was the impact, do you think, of apu . I i mean, think for a lot of young south asianamericans, i think it shaped our identity. There was a certain embarrassment sometimes about beingo we wer. There was an embarrassment of our parents, and therthis is. E. There, we are not american. We are less american. We dont fit. We have to fight againsthis constantly. I mean, i think those Early Childhood experiences always shape you, and that was, i think, a thing that shaped a lot of us. But yet, theres a moment in your film where you interview your parents, and theyre both indian immigrants, enand they say they w offended by apu. They werent bothered that the voice was done by a white actor. Right. I mean, i think my mom said that its not that she wasnt offended. W,it was that, like, you k it wasnt something she really worried about. You know, when youre coming to this country, and the stakes are so high, ure not really worried about things like, how am i being seen . Like, you wo by about, you know, yols, but i think as somebody who was born in this country, grew up in this country, theres a certain entitlementi thhink i rightfully have to expect the same as everyone else. My parents have now lived in america longer than theyve lived in india. This is hoth, and i think they hav entitlement more now than they did before. Thy didnt even know if tre going to stay for the longterm, so, i mean, i feel like thats a big difference. I expect to be treated the way everyone else is treated. D and yt do accents in your medy anymore. No. Is that part of that thinking . Yeah. I mean, i think for me, i did accents when i was 17,i 18, 19, becausew it would work, and i knew it would work work, and as a young comedian, i just wanted to make sure there wasnt silence, that i was filling that with laughter, but as i got older, and particularly after 9 11, i realized the impact representation had, the impact of images, especially when south asians wereheeing beaten up aroundountry, muslims, sikhspei knew that, like, using out and us being public and showing a broad range of identities, ke, would shape that public image, and i knoi i couldnt do thoses anymore. It was so minimizing. Y wr film, the problemh apu, grew out of a bit that you did a few years ago for totally biased with w. Kamau bell. You were you worked on that show. A lot of your comedy deals with race and ethnicity. Do you vm w your comedy as a f activism . No. I mean, this film, i think, is a little different because its an indepth look at a particular topic, t my standup, at the end of the day, it has to make people laugh, and im not going to Say Something that is, even if its thoughtful, that doesnt make people laugl because why people listen to me . I mean, standups strength is that people listen because theres 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, whether its legislatively or socially. Thats not my goal with standup. Wi my goa standup is to entertain people. You scream. I scream. Fo we all screaice cream. Americas favorite frozen treat has gotten a madeformillennials makeover at the meum of ice cream. The traveling museum in downtown San Francisco allows visitors of all ages to indulge their sweet tooth and love of selfies. Kqeds sheraz sadiq has the scoop. We wanted to create ae pace that brought peogether. This is a space that is unifying. Its a safe space. Its empowering, and ice cream is such a beloved treat that it just felt like the perfect combination. This isnt your typical museus thwhere the artworkehind. The perfect combination. Here, the artwork is meant to be touched and interacted with. Why did you take such an unconventional approa to the design of your museum . Well, find that museums can be a little bit isolating, right . Theres this sense that you cant touch anythingou ore going to break something, and 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 space where people could really be their authentic selves. They could laugh. They could have fun. They could tough something, and nothing would break. Its flipping this concept of the Traditional Museum on its head. Its also a museum thats tailormade for millennials and their love of snapchat and instagram. How did soci media influence your design aesthetic and your choices . It wasnt so much instagram or snapchat or facebook that led the aesthetic design behind this. S . More so, this sense of captung the moment and what can we do from a Design Perspective that really allowed people to transport back, and we feel that the more visual from the space is,pective the moreo. Eople are able to do s say cheese. The museum of ice cream features nine different themed rooms, including a gummybear garden, rockcandy cave, d the main attraction. Wow. A Swimming Pool filled with plastic sprinkles raining sprinkles theres just something so therapeutic, and really, they do. We made sure they would look as real as they do. Ke they look eal sprinkles. How many sprinkles are in this thing, roughly . After using an air hose to remove all the sprinkles sticking to my clothes, madison took me to meet grant, a goldhorned unicorn standing tall in a field of rainbow my favorite room here is our rainbow room. Its an homage to San Francisco for the pride and inclusivity and diversity that this city h fostered and create for its entire exience. Inclusivity and making sure that all people feel safein and protectehis space is a huge Mission Statement of ours and something that we strongly value. Thank you. Ice cream dipped in real magic. Tr but n to a museum for ice cream would be complete without delicious reminders of why this timeless treat never goes out of style, even after a makeover for millennials. What you have in front of you herep is gingersnaflavored ice cream with a gingerbread crumble on top with some sprinkles, and then were going to rrd this lovely strawbebasil sauce. Wa w to make sure that the city feels that we are working in collaration with ice cream creameries that have been around for a while, so each month, we have a icecream shop from San Francisco thats 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. Thats it. At the museum of ice crea you wont encounter artwork thats overtly political, but you can still express your opinion, even a political one, in the message statement room. We wanted to create a space where people could take their emotions and how they felt and make a statement on the walls. We believe that this is an equalizing space. Its an opportunity for you to feel your authentic self, and if you have something to say that maybe is political or maybe is socially oriented, feel free to say it. Madison, what does ice cream meano you . What memories does it evoke . When i think about it, just brings me back to my childhood. I think of being a kid and sitting in my house and hearing the icecream 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 memories having autonomy. I remember my parents being like, here is 5. Go out and get the ice cream by yourself. Theres just something with tha that level of independence, i just greatly associate with ice cream. Haters going to hate, hate, hate, hate maybe our universalngove for ice cream spfrom memories of what it was like to be a kid, whwhat kind of scoop to get. Ag its phenomenal. Its more than i ever imagined. Were celebrating my daughters 1st birthday today, and so im 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 . Its fun whether its softserve or, you know, out of a tub or whatever. Its fun. It feelsood. We have people from cultures from all over the world who are coming together and talking with somebody uley probably never wod have had the opportunity to speak with, and theyre 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 thats what people say that does it for us. For more of our coverage, go to kqed. Org newsroom. Im thuy vu. Thank you for joining us. Ready . Here we go the world promised good to me d h life secure he wi my care and comfort as 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 captioning sponsored by wnet sreenivasan on thiedition for sunday, july 7 new threats to nuclear limits from iran. In our signature ory, the rise of antisemitism in france. And rswhy the owf a famous utah restaurant are stepping up to protect a national monument. Next on pbs newshour weekend. Pbs newshour weekenis made ssible by bernard and irene schwartz. Sue and Edgar Wachenheim iii. Seton melvin. The cheryl and Philip Milstein family. Dr. P. Roy vagelos and diana t. The j. P. B. Foundation. Rosalind p. Walter. Barbara hope zuckerberg. Cora