against the new coronavirus variant. the omicron. it is surging across the globe and that is not the greatest thing. it is also surging across america. you remember when it was a couple states then five or six. now 18 states. you can see the spread. more than 50 countries have recorded cases around the world. with everything that has been learned and applied there has been a quicker deployment than the initial reaction to covid to get international safety travel protocols into effect. the variant is believed already to be more transmissible than other variants so that's something that authorities are trying to deal with in real time. where's the good news? well, since last week, when the first case hit the united states, there are signs based on what they're learning that the worst possible thing that can happen in any illness may to the be happening much at all yet here and dr. fauci laying out a cautious optimism mixed with that evidence based good news. >> it is too early to really make any definitive statements about it. thus far it does not look like there is a great degree of severity to it. but we really got to be careful before we make any determinations. >> you could call this an educated thesis at this point not a final conclusion. you heard the doctor there stress that. and we in the news when we draw in experts and sources have to stress that as well. how many people have gathered somewhere and heard people complain about the guidance changing or the facts changing but some facts, some evidence, some indication is better than nothing. it doesn't mean everyone including the news doesn't have the ability to rephrase over time as we learn more. what you just heard him say bears repeating. it doesn't look like there is a great severity to it. that is fauci's way of saying that based on the available data people are not dropping dead from this variant. not only that, when it comes to the recorded measures and sometimes things happen that haven't been recorded yet but as of this hour tonight, america, i can tell you, zero recorded deaths linked to omicron. you have south africa with this variant, started out about eight days, those were people who were hit early but it has gone from eight days down to under three days in the hospital. preliminary information shows something that spreads easily and quickly which you have to get on top of but in the end as it moves through the human body appears to be less severe. for example we're being told people got it, didn't need the supplemental oxygen associated with some other treatments. few required high level care. according to stat few are still admitted to intensive care. major questions here are whether this is what this whole variant will boil down to and how vaccines will continue to come into play. more information is needed but we are past day one or zero information on what was obviously something anyone would be concerned about which is oh, gosh a new variant spreading quickly. what are we dealing with? early results now? again, the experts are saying they are positive. >> these vaccines have done just that. they've done it for the first variant the so-called d-16g variant, done it for the alpha variant, the delta variant meaning protection against serious illnesses provided by these vaccines. and in all likelihood that would also be true for the omicron variant. >> if that stays true for the omicron then everyone has been doing a little catch up work to learn about a thing that is real. you don't necessarily want to get it if you can avoid it. it spreads quickly. but is not deadly and the way you deal with something that spread like all those kind of shop worn comparisons to a flu that generally doesn't kill reasonably healthy or young people who aren't at risk, well that is something that is going to be patroled differently internationally or otherwise even in the work place as compared to variants that might be more deadly. now, the fight here involves everything. it involves what you know and what you do. and what you do is often related to what you know. what if what you know is wrong? that is something that journalists and scientists are supposed to get really into the weeds of even if we all sometimes make mistakes. the scientific method involves then taking a look and correcting any of those mistakes. i mention that by way of introduction to a report that is serious and also for anyone who has a heart should keep you empathetic about who pays the biggest toll for misinformation. it may affect all of us because we are in a society that is dealing with these pandemics. but it has the biggest effect on the people who, sadly, believe it and make decisions based on it. reading from an npr report that counted this up since may 2021 people living in counties that voted heavily for trump have been nearly three times, not a bit more, not double, but triple the times as likely to die from covid, npr tracking that relates to misinformation with a political hue. this misinformation on the right not just fox news but facebook, social network, people sharing it with each other as it becomes a popular reaction and people believing what is not true. then you have people in power and authority pushing this along even now. take maga congressman matt gaetz from today. >> still, the best vaccine we have found is mother nature's vaccine. it's contracting the virus. that is what has provided the greatest protection, the most durable protection over the longest period of time. >> fact check. false. a what you're hearing there is a statement designed to appeal to people's idea they might want to avoid the vaccine mixed with information offered to people and the people who it will hurt most are the people who believe mr. gaetz. it is still going today. i want to bring in an infectious disease expert and historian and author. welcome to you both. doctor, your reaction to both what seems to be the emerging cautious optimism about omicron and that report which as i mentioned really should give everyone pause before you kind of judge the most annoying person in your facebook feed the data suggests that person and the people who believe it may ultimately pay for it with their lives. >> ari, they're both related. i'll talk about why. let me start with the first one. there is a potential positive signal that we need to follow through the noise but the data i think in my mind is we need a lot more of it. one caution i'll give to folks, a lot of times you have a sampling bias when you have a small number of cases you are looking at at the beginning. when you have a bigger number of patients who get the disease, potentially an older population for example, that south african report you quoted had a lot of young people who tend to do well. so we need to see two things, if this bears out in a bigger group with people and also different health care systems. will we see similar interaction with the disease in severity when we see omicron starting to take over in other countries? the reason i am also cautious and why it is related to the second story is that i want people to know that even though this potentially could portend a positive signal the data is not strong enough for people to change their behavior. it is not there yet to say i don't need a vaccine. this looks like a mild variant. or oh, my own risk assessment is i can do this now because it looks like it is all going to go away. we don't know that yet. all too early. the other thing is delta is still the number one variant in this country and will be for most of the winter surge going into next month so people shouldn't be taking their behavior and getting those vaccines and getting boosted. >> to simplify that point for anyone thinking along those lines you have a tornado that is hitting land. that's regular covid and delta. then there is talk there might be a second tornado. how bad is it going to be? that's omicron. not getting your house in order for the tornado here because the second one might not come is not logical. as you say some of these things get blended. i want to read a little more from the npr report here. since may, 2021, people living in those counties were three times as likely to die in october. it goes on the reddest part of the country saw death rates six times higher than the bluest tenth. misinformation appears to be a major factor. polling shows republicans far more likely to believe false statements about covid and vaccines. i will just bear down on the empathy needed here, john. one of the things that sometimes happens is people are frustrated with those other people. granted they are adults. they have to make their own decisions. we are all in society together, social contract, etcetera, but i think if you are human you would feel empathy for people misinforming themselves on the way to a higher death rate. that is sad for them, too. >> sure. democracy only work if we see each other as neighbors and we can't only see people with whom we agree as neighbors. that is not how that works. i remember thinking in march of 2020, i remember exactly where i was sitting. it was very clear. sanders and biden had had their sort of elbow bump debate and i remember thinking, lord, let this not be a partisan pandemic. the lord did not answer that prayer. among many others. i'm not particularly -- i'm glad to see, interested to see the evidence. i don't think it is particularly surprising to offer just a sociological view as opposed to a statistically driven one. you know, something happened in the country beginning about 1965. '64 and '65 were years in which pollsters found 77% of the country believed and trusted in the federal government to do the right thing some or most of the time. 77%. that's down to, you know, 10%, 12% now starting about '64, '65. when you look at that, the polio epidemic is before that. so it is interesting there was almost no polio hesitancy for the vaccine though that happened as joe mccarthy was a little bit after that but the same period. where distrust of institutions was certainly am biant but not decisive in the 1950s. starts to grow in the mid '60s. vietnam obviously watergate. we could list off things over the last 20 years where people have looked at institutions, governmental, private corporations, churches, schools, any number of things -- journalism -- and they can find things to distrust. they can find reason to distrust. but what's happened is whatever the reasonable skepticism one has about any institution, what we should have, that is why we have reason, there's been what george bush 41 used to call mission creep, right? it's spread. so the distrust, what began as skepticism, has become distrust and now it's becoming literally the cause of disease. so i think it is both a literal one in this case, also figurative, because this is part of what the problem is in the democracy, itself. >> doctor? >> yeah, it's the perfect storm. this erosion of trust in institution. it is also that when you deal with novel path general infections science is changing. we just talked about this. that environment where you have to keep changing policy on a policy on an evolving science and also breeds more distrust as people who are not paying close attention are thinking why is the science changing all the time? why are you telling me different things? then you have an environment where there is just so much information -- social media, you're sharing a lot more information than you were 50 years ago and a lot more voices potentially that may have a bigger role in sharing information and disinformation in a way they didn't including malicious actors. i think taking advantage of all of those things is the highly politicized nature of our policies right now where there is an active movement to use the covid, to use this uncertainty to drive that division even further. >> yeah. on the way the adapting information requires policy take a listen to the surgeon general being pressed over which countries they've been regulating for travel. >> so if it is a question of fairness it is either all countries get banned or lift the ban and you have scientists in south africa saying this is discriminatory. >> again, margaret, if you look at this we are in a different situation than at the beginning of the pandemic when travel restrictions were put in place. one of the big differences is we have travel measures, safety measures, that actually are helping reduce the risk. these are meant to be temporary measures. nobody wants them to be on for any longer than they need to be. that is why we're continuously re-evaluating it. >> the surgeon general there doing what you don't necessarily want your doctor to do if we were in the doctor's office which is ducking and dodging the question, which factually is about whether the countries chosen were justified by the health data at the time or not. do you have a view, doctor? >> i think it was a reactionary measure. we know travel bans can have -- it naturally feels good, feels like we're doing something, but a lot of times we forget they can have a negative measure. people don't want to share data when we all decide to take measures that may not have as much benefit for us, our country, but may impact other countries heavily. at this point in time it becomes very clear that this is everywhere and certainly what i hope the biden administration is doing is taking a look at that policy and looking to remove that soon. >> john, the journalist in me does this. you are a long time writer, journalist, historian, and a sometime adviser to president biden in speeches in the past. >> yes. >> you are not the medical adviser. but what do you think of this debate which is essentially that the administration according to health care guidance they say they got brought the hammer down on some countries in africa and not other countries that also apparently have the same variant? >> i actually don't know. it is the one good thing about this is that i am not a medical adviser, because that would really push things over a cliff. i will say this. i think that we live in a media climate and i'm saying media in a very broad sense. because we're all part of the media now, right? everybody is cronkite. we all have the capacity. we all have the barrier to entry for anyone to say anything and get people to see it and hear it and read it. those barriers have never been lower. because of that, somehow we have in a way shortened our patience. we've curtailed our capacity to allow people as the doctor was saying to change their guidance, to change what they think, based on evidence. and that's what we want, not just in health but in politics, state craft. we want governments to give it to us straight. franklin roosevelt said after pearl harbor is tomorrow, the anniversary, that winter he said the news is going to get worse and worse before it gets better and better. and the people deserve to have it straight from the shoulder. well, sometimes when you give it straight from the shoulder you're going to get it wrong. and then you come out and you say, all right. we were wrong about that. i think that the cdc and others have been, i think, just as a citizen, have been pretty good about that. it just requires us to have a certain amount of patience. a certain amount of empathy to use your first term. not simply outward but upward as well. >> and did you know, doctor, we're all cronkites now? john meacham says it. it may be true. >> think about it. anybody can say anything. >> right. and get heard. i want to thank both of you for kicking us off. i want to tell everyone what is coming up. i mentioned the doj going after texas. they say republicans there violated the civil rights rules in the voting rights act. plus, this is funny. john meacham was just talking about how we are all media. how is the media doing as it covers a very different presidency? results cut against some right wing complaints and narratives. we have data on that. before the hour is through i am honored to tell you film maker ken burns on "the beat" and democracy in peril. stay with us. superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in theaters december 17th. tums vs. mozzarella stick ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ when heartburn hits, fight back fast with tums chewy bites. fast heartburn relief in every bite. crunchy outside, chewy inside. ♪ tums, tums, tums, tums ♪ tums chewy bites why give your family just ordinary eggs when they can enjoy the best? eggland's best. the only eggs with more fresh and delicious taste. plus, superior nutrition. because the way we care is anything but ordinary. ♪♪ ♪ ♪ is anything but ordinary. amazing... jerry, you've got to see this. seen it. trust me, after 15 walks ...it gets a little old. [thud] [clunk] [ding] ugh... small businesses like yours make gift-giving possible. now, comcast business has an exclusive gift for you. introducing the gift of savings sale. for a limited time, ask how to get a great deal for your business. and get up to a $500 prepaid card with select bundles when you switch to the network that can deliver gig speeds to the most businesses. or get started with internet and voice for $64.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee. give your business the gift of savings today. comcast business. powering possibilities. turning to something pretty interesting, president biden's ending this first year as president with two dueling realities. a policy agenda with many measurable wins, the vaccine roll out, stimulus checks, infrastructure spending leading to a job surge. historic job in child poverty. stock market going higher than it ever did under trump. a lot of things. and then there is the other reality of more covid, which we just covered in the top of the broadcast, more inflation, more spats in washington, which has been driving his media coverage into very negative territory. a new count finds that recent coverage of joe biden is about as negative as media coverage of trump. just think about that. this is not an opinion. this is based on "the washington post" going over 200,000 total articles with a kind of a data research service which found in essence that over all biden's current coverage is worse than trump's was for a similar period of time. the chart you see here shows the positive and negative sentiment of news coverage in trump's last 11 months and biden's first 11 months. lines you see crunch all of that data to find biden. right now you see in blue crashing below trump's 2020 when it comes to media coverage even when trump was facing his own covid surges, his own loss at the end of the year, then cheering on the impeachable, criminal insurrection. "the post" writing the chart shows trump got press coverage as favorable as or even better than biden is getting. this is not just about conservative outlets. there is reporting about polarization, fox news. but just take a look at some journalistic networks covering all the bad news swirling recently in the biden era. >> president biden is taking a hit in his approval rating on a number of issues. >> president biden and even investors on wall street trying to push past friday's disappointing report from the labor department showing the slowest monthly jobs growth yet. >> our brand new cnn poll releasing right now shows a deepening biden slump. a majority of americans disapprove of his performance so far. >> the administration faces a variety of challenges and some americans are losing confidence. >> smash-and-grab robberies surging across the country. the whitehouse blames the crime spike on covid. instead of their own bad policy. >> this is a wave of negative coverage and it actually matters for several reasons that we'll get into. right off the top you can say, it certainly undercuts the frequent right wing claim that the main stream press is harder on republicans or trump than on democrats or biden. and there is a measurable shift from what may have been a honeymoon period where biden started off first getting better coverage than trump received. that was measured here. and then when you reveal out to the full year it dropped over the summer staying low. as biden over saw the afghanistan withdrawal, covid surges, and inflation. trump's coverage was coming during a time where the economy was shrinking at one of the worst rates in modern history. a time when he publicly told the proud boys to stand by. and then led an attack on democracy itself going into that insurrection. plenty of stuff that was ripe for nonpartisan criticism. now, the press actually has a similar report card for both years. some note the negative vibes are common now. look at the ap for example reporting on the sluggish jobs report under biden about #it 10,000 jobs added this year in one month. the same nonpartisan outlet called the number under trump a robust 200,000. and then there's the fact that we are living through a very common expectations game. you follow the news and politics so i bet you're familiar with it. remember when donald trump got fewer votes the first time he ran but he did eek out an electoral college victory and there was this cottage industry of trying to send out reporters to understand what these trump voters who are fewer in number thought. it was hardly because the media and i do work here but the media got it wrong, didn't see it coming, then wanted to really bear down on what those fewer number of trump supporters thought. you didn't see the same march of caravans to go report on what all these biden voters thought. and there are many reasons for that. i'm not over simplifying and saying all reporters but take a look for example here. politico headlines, biden's 44% approval rating as voters' doubts rising about biden's health. mental fitness. compare that to how politico treated the same 44% through the political prism of this whole, big, unpredictable trump train. in 2017, 44% got you a very different headline and more people read the headline than the article. trump voters, we do it again. 44%. boiling anything down to what is positive or negative is tricky and the world does keep changing and adapting but we are seeing the trends here. we're seeing something that goes beyond just the media. it goes to the headlines and the premises people have about whether government is working. and, yes, we all like to think we're independent, not sheep. we don't just repeat anything. but you look at this chart and think about what it means over time on a daily basis whether people generally have the idea things are going well or not. you are free to disagree. you're free to make up your own mind and on "the beat" we try to give you the evidence to make up your own mind. a lot of people who don't follow this closely are being told over and over by multiple outlets in position of authority that what's going on in this presidency is as bad or worse as what went on in the last one. is that the right mayor tiff? is that true? is that the right narrative? is that true? is something off here? these are not rhetorical questions. i will pose them to a veteran and friend of "the beat" long time u.s. senator barbara boxer when we are back in just 60 seconds. our sleigh is now ready, let's get on our way. a mountain of toys to fulfill many wishes. must be carried across all roads and all bridges. and when everyone is smiling and having their fun i can turn my sleigh north because my job here is done. it's not magic that makes more holiday deliveries to homes in the us than anyone else, it's the hardworking people of the united states postal service. i'm joipd be by u.s. senator from california barbara boxer. we just walked through comprehensive nonpartisan data showing at large overall not just fox news the media in general is covering joe biden right now as negatively or worse than trump last year. your thoughts? >> my thoughts are the media is wrong and i think the one point you showed us where ap said that 200,000 jobs were robust growth in a month under trump and sluggish under biden just proves the point. but ari with all my years of experience you keep reminding me about every time you interview me. >> in a good way. >> of course. i'm proud of it. are you kidding? what i want to say is this. because i have been in elected life for 40 years up until 2017 and lost my first race so i was in it even before that. what i had learned by watching the media over all these years because as an elected it was very important to me. >> sure. >> because i always wanted to let people know what i was doing. so what i notice is that since watergate, the press has always decided since watergate that they should be suspicious of elected leaders. and they should be a bit cynical. and he don't mind that. i've never minded it. i expected it through my whole career. it's healthy. but what is wrong now where i think the media has gone off track is this equivalency. oh, yes. you know, he did it this way. it was wrong. guess what? the democrats did it this way. the republicans are trying to take away our democracy. but what are the democrats doing to save it? and this is what worries me more than anything because the press has to be truth tellers and then let us make up our minds. don't bend over backwards to be fair when you're not really telling us the truth when you say 200,000 jobs is sluggish on the one hand and on the other hand when it's, you know, it's trump, it's robust. that's wrong. >> well, you make several subtle points there, senator. one, as one paper that i read said, paraphrasing, the watergate model rewarded a type of investigative ruthlessness that shifted the model from watch dog to attack dog. and an attack dog against a proven criminal president like nixon might have been warranted for a period of time but approaching everything that way. you make that point. you also make the point about the false equivalency which may come from, not talking about everyone, you have to go evidence by evidence, but may come from some reporters feeling like the working of the rest by the right wing is affecting them and that is where you get e-mails or an effort to find a biden scandal. is that something you found in congress and something that the democratic party has to actually deal with at a time where there is more pressure internet and otherwise on the sort of news gathering than ever before? >> i think we have to tell the truth about what's happening. you know, getting ready for this interview i thought you might ask me about some of joe biden's accomplishments. i went back and i took a look at the very first bill that was passed. that very first covid relief act. which literally i think helped save small business, helped save local government, gave stimulus checks to people to get us all through this awful pandemic in terms of its terrible economic impact. and then the bipartisan infrastructure bill he got done. i was thinking back to how many times trump said it's infrastructure week. i think he said that as many times as he said fake news. i mean, he just said it every other day. and never did it. so why not tell the truth? this is remarkable. it's going to get the lead out of water, build our roads, our bridges, get the internet out there. it is going to be fabulous. i predict we'll get this next bill, the build back better bill. but bottom line is, look. i'm so up front with you. i am a joe biden fan. i think he is a kind, compassionate, good human being who is effective. is he the most dynamic speaker? he the most exciting speaker sf no he's not. but he is bringing this country back. and i feel terrible really to see that the press, not everybody, but a lot of the press doesn't want to let the public know exactly what's happening without putting it into this big bubble that says, but some things are bad. you know, just give us the facts. just give us the facts. we'll decide. >> drag net vibes. i hear all of that, senator. i think it is important. i mean, if there's, look, an important story, we were just posing the question and looking at the reporting earlier in the broadcast over whether the administration's travel bans are fairly done or not. that is looking at that for the facts whether it is good or bad for the administration. when you look collectively though everyone, personal and professional, struggles with constructive criticism. if we in the media look collectively and see that the current record of this administration is being covered on par with an insurrection as president. then you have to wonder where the positives and negatives are playing out. that is why we raise the topic and keep an open mind. senator, always good to see you. thanks for weighing in. >> thank you very much. >> appreciate it. we have a lot coming up including an accountability report on why white nationalists are out marching openly at the lincoln memorial. democracy in crisis. the one and only ken burns is here with his rigorous historical perspective. and the biden doj gets tough on republicans in texas. it says they are illegally attacking minority voters. we'll have that important story with neal katyal, next. i don't know. i think they look good, man. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? might just need to break 'em in a little bit. you don't want 'em too loose. for those who were born to ride there's progressive. with 24/7 roadside assistance. -okay. think i'm gonna wear these home. -excellent choice. doesn't your family deserve the best? eggland's best eggs. classic, cage free, and organic. more delicious, farm-fresh taste. plus, superior nutrition. because the way we care is anything but ordinary. ♪♪ ♪ baby got back by sir mix-a-lot ♪ because the way we care is anything but ordinary. unlimited cashback match... only from discover. hi, i'm steve and i live in austin, texas. i work as a personal assistant to the owner of a large manufacturing firm. i've got anywhere from 10 to 50 projects going at any given time. i absolutely have to be sharp. let me tell ya, i was struggling with my memory. it was going downhill. my friend recommended that i try prevagen and over time, it made a very significant difference in my memory and in my cognitive ability. i started to feel a much better sense of well-being. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. like pulsing, electric shocks, sharp, stabbing pains, or an intense burning sensation. what is this nightmare? it's how some people describe... shingles. a painful, blistering rash that could interrupt your life for weeks. forget social events and weekend getaways. if you've had chickenpox, the virus that causes shingles is already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. if you're 50 years or older ask your doctor ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i didn't have to shout out for help. because you didn't have another dvt. not today. one blood clot puts you at risk of having another, so we chose xarelto®, to help keep you protected. xarelto® is proven to treat and reduce the risk of dvt or pe blood clots from happening again. almost 98% of people did not have another dvt or pe. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of blood clots. while taking, a spinal injection increases risk of blood clots, which may cause paralysis. you may bruise more easily or take longer to stop bleeding. xarelto® can cause serious and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. it may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. get help right away for unexpected bleeding or unusual bruising. don't take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures and any kidney or liver problems. help protect yourself from another dvt or pe. ask your doctor about xarelto®. to learn more about cost, visit xarelto.com or call 1-888-xarelto today the justice department has filed suit against the state of texas for violating section 2 of the voting rights act by creating redistricting plans that deny or abridge the rights of latino and black voters to vote on account of their race, color, or membership in a language minority group. >> news out of the doj today. i'm joined by former acting u.s. solicitor general neal katyal. tell us about this new move by doj. >> so texas, ari, is basically in a war against voting in a war against democracy and what the justice department did today is absolutely right. what the justice department is did is they said, look. redistricting, the process of drawing voting districts, occurs every ten years. there is an obvious problem with what texas is trying to do here. they've dropped the number of hispanic districts from 33 to 30 even though in the last decade half of the 4 million residents that texas gained were actually hispanic. so hispanic majority districts you'd expect there to be at least 33 or 33 plus and less games being played. i think it has two really important implications. one is that for most of our lives this law, this texas redistricting plan, couldn't have just gone into effect. because there was a voting rights act since 1965, which said if such a law is to take effect it first has to be precleared, given a thumbs up by either a court or by the justice department. because the supreme court recently struck that down, texas's war against democracy can go foo effect right away so merrick garland is saying wait a minute. we're going to court to challenge that. that is the first thing. the second interesting point is that directly intersects with the conversation you and i and others were having last week about abortion. because what the conservatives there were saying, hey, this should be up to the people to decide. courts can't take a decision about whether to have choice or not have choice away from the american people. it should be up to the legislatures. and now when it comes to the legislatures, they turn around and say, oh, we get to decide who comes in. it is not actually a representative majority in the legislature. instead, it is, you know, games being played to try and block out and drown out voting. and the republicans are talking out of both sides of their mouths. >> this is an assertive move by the garland doj. republicans have been quite aggressive in their approach to redistricting. democrats, though, in parts of the country have also played games or tried to figure out how to game the system, quote-unquote. explain to us why the targeting of voters based on race, which is the allegation here, is distinct from the other somewhat anti-democratic but perhaps nonracialized redistricting wars. >> it's a great point, ari. unfortunately, the parties on both sides are engaged in political gerrymandering drawing districts to suit themselves. that in my view is evil. but it's doubly evil when you're doing it on account of race. the voting rights act, this part of the voting rights act of the lawsuit was brought under hasn't been struck down at least not yet by the supreme court and that forbids a vote dillution or vote diminution or vote denials on account of race and traces its history back to the 15th amendment, reconstruction, and basically is designed to enforce that 15th amendment promise. there is something particularly odious about gerrymandering done on behalf of race. it harkens back to the worst things that happened in american society. >> appreciate your keen legal breakdown and also your moral view here, neal katya, as always, thank you. i want to remind people you can go to msnbc.com/opening arguments for these breakdowns with neal. when we come back it is the thing i've been excited about all hour that i told you was coming. it's hear. award winning film maker ken burns live on "the beat" next. (vo) subaru and our retailers believe in giving back. that's why, in difficult times, we provided one hundred and fifty million meals to feeding america. and now through the subaru share the love event, we're helping even more. by the end of this year, subaru will have donated over two hundred and twenty five million dollars to charity. this is what it means to be more than a car company. this is what it means to be subaru. as a dj, i know all about customization. this is what it means to be more than a car company. that's why i love liberty mutual. they customize my car insurance, so i only pay for what i need. how about a throwback? ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty ♪ there's a different way to treat hiv. it's once-monthly injectable cabenuva. cabenuva is the only once-a-month, complete hiv treatment for adults who are undetectable. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by a healthcare provider once a month. hiv pills aren't on my mind. i love being able to pick up and go. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions, liver problems,...and depression. if you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. tell your doctor if you have liver problems or mental health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. some of the most common side effects include injection site reactions, fever, and tiredness. if you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. with once-a-month cabenuva, i'm good to go. ask your doctor about once-monthly cabenuva. every day in business brings something new. with once-a-month cabenuva, i'm good to go. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. people visiting the lincoln memorial over the weekend were greeted with quite a sight. hundreds of white nationalists marching down the steps with masks to keep their own identity hidden wearing shields and other armor many chanting, quote, reclaim america. you can see the upside down american flags among many as well. about a hundred years ago, the kkk staged a march past many of these monuments in d.c. the chilling images are here. and it was in essence a very similar message, including the show of power perceived or otherwise to try to do it in washington of american democracy continues what some call decay and others call an outright slow moving crisis in front of our faces. take the new "atlantic" magazine which warns january 6th was practice. meanwhile, across our educational institutions, there are efforts to change our understanding in the next generation's understanding of history itself or to use today's political clashes to avoid any reckoning of what's wrong in the past, be that slavery and racism and misogyny and try to remove those stories for a political agenda today. so what is patriotism across all of this? that is a big question that the nation continues to debate. president obama really seeing a lot of what we were headed up against made his own argument about this in the context of renewed white nationalism and racism and a black president when marking the 50-year anniversary of selma's bloody sunday. >> their faith was questioned. their lives were threatened. their patriotism challenged. and yet what could be more american than what happened in this place? [cheers and applause] >> it is a debate about truths regarding the past but also where we want to go together into the future. the documentary film maker ken burns celebrated for the time and depth he spends on these issues is now calling for an honest appraisal of the past as critical to where we go. he writes in "the washington post," being american means reckoning with our, quote, violent history. i'm joined now by ken burns. his many award winning films address everything across our history from the civil war to vietnam to hemingway, muhammed ali, and some of our favorite american cultural shared institutions like jazz and baseball. he also has launched an educational project that uses those films to teach about history. welcome to "the beat," sir. >> thank you, ari. good to be with you. >> good to have you. tell us about what you were advocating, knowing all the mine fields here and, also, knowing that i but your wading into this to urge what? >> i think just openness. we've been interested in the facts in our works and everything is rooted in the facts and the story and when you hear about attempts to sort of adjust our history to something more comfortable, you realize that people who don't want to discuss our past are afraid of it and wish to perpetuate a status quo. it's interesting that you brought up all of the subjects in the historical moments you did. we've created a site called unom out of many one, we're interested in the one and what it means to come together that is just in the u.s., us and there is no them and the history of human beings unfortunately has creating a them when there is not. part of this is coming to terms with a complicated past and not being so afraid of it and it may be our treatment of indigenous peoples as we documented most recently for "the washington post" with the brutal massacre at sand creek in colorado and all about it. maybe coming to terms with the fact that white supremacy has been a huge part of where we've been since the beginning. i got three films i've been working on in the last three months. one is on benjamin franklin coming out in april in the mid 1700s people are complaining about the germans coming in there, what they want are beautiful white and red meaning the native americans. benjamin franklin a founding father and we finished a film on muhammad ali and because he took a faith based decision not to fight in vietnam, america couldn't see a black man make a faith decision thinking he was giving a middle finger to the country and treated it as political and working on a history of the u.s. and holocaust, what we knew and didn't know and what we did and don't do and what we should have done and the ways in which unfortunately our own sorted past inspired aspects of the holocaust from copying our jim crow laws for exclusionary laws against jews to anti immigration native policies that helped ku klux klan, the footage that you shared from the united states capitol as gasly as it is. i mean, this is nothing new in american history and to come to terms with it as is president obama said the most american thing to do. i don't know why this is an issue. i don't know why you have me on. this is why we're built and we're a sports culture, you know. we're always complaining about what we didn't do well in that game and how we have to do better here and somehow people are willing in almost every aspect of life to be brutally honest about themselves and their friends and their team and this but we can't do that about our history. our history has become a political football and what we're trying to do is return it to a place in which we can create a space that was founded by david ruben stein and better angel society, create a space where people can have a conversation between the past and events that seem to rime as we know history doesn't repeat itself but it rhymes and i'm in the business of rhyming. >> yeah, we like rhymes around here. you're also -- you touch on many important points including the posture that we have. are we going to be historically literate. without making an equivalence, it's where today's agendas will tell people what you can't acknowledge something happen or love the yankees and really go in on what is wrong with the bullpen. and nobody, as you say in your baseball analogy, thinks you must not be a yankee's fan. that type of patriotism can exist and yet, it's clearly under strain. i got to get you on hemingway because watching it, it was so brilliantly done. so hard as the story teller to bring a novel out of the page and into a story like that. i just want to show a little bit here in the visuals, the decisions that face america. you know, just torn in so many ways and brought to life through this interesting person. i want to play for our viewers a little bit of what you did, jeff daniels reading how hemingway wrote about the first world war. >> there are no heroes in this war. all the heroes are dead. and the real heroes are the parents. dying is a very simple thing. i've looked at death. and really, i know. >> hemingway's words resonate so deeply. why and how did you tell the story? >> well, i think i mean first of all, he's arguably the great american writer of the 20th century. he went to war as a teenager. he saw bad stuff and then he saw the way in which a war gets sent -- sentimentalized. we call the second world war the good war. it's the worst war ever. 60 million human beings had their lives extinguished in the course of it. how is this a good war? we call the first episode on the series unnecessary war. what hemingway wanted to do, he wanted to strip away all the artificial things that grow up around this stuff and so he said in the end that maybe it was only the names of the places that had real meaning in war and that everything else become part. our attempt now to tell stories and true in the holocaust, we've forgotten how much these things that are shocking us now, shocking us now, are very much a part of our past and we've always been, not just like they bubble up to the surface every couple of decades in the 1840s -- >> and i'm only jumping in because i have to give my time now to joe reid. i would love to talk to you longer and have you back. ken burns, thank you. thanks for watching "the beat." we'll be right back. watching ". we'll be right back. if you ask suzie about the future, she'll say she's got goals. and since she's got goals, she might need help reaching them, and so she'll get some help from fidelity, and at fidelity, someone will help her create a plan for all her goals, which means suzie will be feeling so good about that plan, she can just enjoy right now. that's the planning effect, from fidelity. doesn't your family deserve the best? eggland's best eggs. classic, cage free, and organic. more delicious, farm-fresh taste. plus, superior nutrition. because the way we care is anything but ordinary. ♪♪ new vicks convenience pack. because the way we care is anything but ordinary. dayquil severe for you... and daily vicks super c for me. vicks super c is a daily supplement with vitamin c and b vitamins to help energize and replenish. dayquil severe is a max strength daytime, coughing, power through your day, medicine. new from vicks. learning about our history with ancestrydna®, inspired us to learn more about our culture and where we come from. ...here? ohhh my god. it told us, almost to the t, where we come from, where our mixture is. ♪ i'm very proud to be indigenous to zacatecas. that's our history, our little legacy. discovering things that were a mystery, that's what ancestry® did for our family. ♪ feel stuck with student loan debt? move to sofi and feel what it's like to get your money right. ♪ ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi— you could save with low rates and no fees. earn a $1,000 bonus when you refi— and get your money right. ♪ ♪ i'm a reporter for the new york times. if you just hold it like this. yeah. ♪ i love finding out things that other people don't want me to know. mm-hmm. [beep] i just wanted to say... ♪ find yourself in these situations and see who you are. and that's just part of the bargain. ♪ superpowers from a spider bite? i could use some help showing the world how liberty mutual customizes their car insurance. ow! i'm ok! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ only in theaters december 17th. good evening, everyone. we begin "the reidout" with scenes from washington d.c. this weekend. you're looking at more than 100 white supremacists that marched around the lincoln memorial on saturday night. their goal to reclaim america on behalf of their white ancestors and they openly define themselves as factious. if they

Related Keywords

Lot , Everyone , The Beat , Ari , So Texas , Attorney General , Hi , Tracking , Scheme , Doj , News Out , Republicans , Press , Reality , Voter , Numbers , Leadership , Perception , Prosecutors , Garland , Joe Biden Fan , Documentary Film Maker Ken Burns , Donald Trump , White Supremacists , Lincoln Memorial , Tough A Treatment , Data Shows , D C , Bad News , Data , Fight , More , Optimism , Thing , Omicron , Spread , States , America , Couple , Coronavirus Variant , Globe , 18 , Six , Five , Countries , Everything , Reaction , Effect , Cases , World , Deployment , Covid To Get International Safety Travel Protocols , 50 , Something , Variants , Case , Transmissible , Authorities , Evidence , Learning , Signs , Illness , Dr , Fauci , Severity , Statements , Degree , Determinations , People , Doctor , Point , Experts , Facts , Guidance , Conclusion , Somewhere , Thesis , Sources , Doesn T , Bears , Ability , It Doesn T , Indication , Nothing , Way , Things , Measures , Haven T , Zero , South Africa , Deaths , Eight , Three , Information , Example , Didn T , The End , Top , Hospital , Human Body , Vaccines , Questions , Care , Intensive Care , Treatments , Level , Few , Oxygen , Anyone , Results , Play , Gosh , One , It , D 16g Variant , Alpha Variant , Delta Variant Meaning Protection , 16 , Likelihood , Illnesses , Risk , Aren T , Kind , Comparisons , Flu , Work , Look , Scientists , Mistakes , Any , Scientific Method , Journalists , Weeds , Wall , Report , Misinformation , Society , Heart , Introduction , Toll , Pandemics , Times , Counties , Trump , Reading , Decisions , Npr , May 2021 , 2021 , Npr Tracking , More Covid , Facebook , Hue , Fox News , Power , Social Network , Authority , Other , Congressman Matt Gaetz , Take Maga , Vaccine , Virus , Protection , Mother Nature , Most , Idea , Statement , Fact Check , Mr , False , Historian , Infectious Disease Expert , Author , Person , Judge , Paraphrasing , Lives , Signal , Noise , Number , Mind , Folks , Caution , Sampling Bias , Disease , Patients , Health Care Systems , Group , Population , Two , Reason , Story , Interaction , Omicron Starting , Behavior , Risk Assessment , Country , Variant , Delta , Winter Surge , Shouldn T , Lines , Tornado , Covid , Land , Order , House , May , Part , Factor , Death , Polling , Bluest Tenth , Adults , John Meacham , Empathy , Social Contract , Death Rate , Etcetera , Democracy , Works , Neighbors , March Of 2020 , 2020 , Others , Pandemic , Sort , Lord , Thinking , Elbow Bump Debate , Prayer , Sanders , View , Government , Pollsters , 77 , 1965 , 65 , 64 , Polio Epidemic , Polio Hesitancy , 10 , 12 , Institutions , Distrust , Bit , Joe Mccarthy , Vietnam , Mid 60s , 60 , 20 , 1950 , Governmental , Journalism , Churches , Corporations , Schools , Institution , Skepticism , Mission Creep , George Bush , 41 , Problem , Cause , Science , Environment , Trust , Infections , Perfect Storm , Erosion , Novel Path , Policy , Attention , Social Media , Sharing Information , Voices , Disinformation , Role , Policies , Movement , Nature , Advantage , Actors , Uncertainty , Division , Question , Surgeon General , Travel , Listen , Fairness , Place , Travel Restrictions , Situation , Differences , Ban , Margaret , Nobody , Safety Measures , Travel Measures , Doctor S Office , Health Data , Ducking , People Don T , Measure , Travel Bans , Administration , Doing , Everywhere , Benefit , Writer , Sometime Adviser , Speeches , Debate , Adviser , Hammer , Health Care Guidance , Yes , Cliff , Media Climate , Don T Know , Anything , Media , Everybody , Sense , Capacity , Barrier , Entry , Cronkite , Patience , Barriers , Health , Politics , State Craft , Governments , Franklin Roosevelt , Anniversary , Winter , Pearl Harbor , Cdc , Shoulder , Citizen , Term , Amount , Both , Cronkites , Anybody , Rights , Voting Rights Act , Rules , Wing , Presidency , Complaints , Maker , Narratives , Peril , Stay , Help , Liberty , Liberty Mutual , Car Insurance , Superpowers , Spider Bite , Pay , Theaters , December 17th , 17 , Heartburn , Bite , Mozzarella Stick Liberty , Relief , Tums Chewy Bites , Tums Chewy , Tums Vs , Heartburn Hits , Crunchy Outside , Chewy Inside , Eggs , We Care , Best , Family , Superior Nutrition , Eggland S Best , Taste , Walks , Old , Thud , Jerry , Amazing , Trust Me , Ding , 15 , Gift , Businesses , Business , Deal , Comcast Business , Prepaid Card , Savings Sale , Bundles , 500 , 00 , Network , Internet , Possibilities , Gig Speeds , Voice , Savings , Price Guarantee , 2 , 64 99 , 4 99 , Stock Market , Roll Out , Job , President , Job Surge , Dueling Realities , Stimulus Checks , Wins , Infrastructure Spending , Child Poverty , Media Coverage , Inflation , Broadcast , Spats , Territory , Washington , Coverage , Count , The Washington Post , Opinion , Articles , Essence , Data Research , 200000 , Chart , News Coverage , Crashing , Sentiment , 11 , Insurrection , Writing The Chart Shows Trump Got Press Coverage , Impeachable , Loss , The Post , Outlets , Networks , Polarization , Jobs , Issues , Growth , Hit , Approval Rating , Investors , Labor Department , Wall Street , Americans , Variety , Majority , Poll , Performance , Challenges , Robberies , Brand New , Confidence , Cnn , Slump , Reasons , Negative Coverage , Wave , Crime Spike , Whitehouse , Democrats , Honeymoon Period , Main Stream Press , Claim , Shift , Withdrawal , Don T Bend Over Backwards , Afghanistan , Rates , Attack , Economy , Boys , Stuff , Criticism , Report Card , Vibes , Note , Ap , Game , Fact , Expectations , Outlet , 10000 , Reporters , Time , Cottage Industry , College , Victory , Voters , Supporters , It Coming , Politico Headlines , Biden Voters , Take A Look , Caravans , 44 , Unpredictable Trump Train , Politico , Doubts , Prism , Mental Fitness , Headline , Boiling Anything , Negative , Article , 2017 , Headlines , Trends , Premises , Not Sheep , Basis , Position , Mayor , Tiff , Barbara Boxer , Friend , Narrative , Veteran , Sleigh , Roads , Bridges , Wishes , Mountain , Toys , Fun , Homes , Holiday Deliveries , United States Postal Service , U S Senator , Joipd , California , Thoughts , Media In General , Life , Course , Experience , 40 , Race , The Press , Leaders , Watergate , Career , Equivalency , Track , Truth Tellers , Hand , Truth , Minds , Points , Paper , Model , Type , Attack Dog , Like Nixon , Criminal , Ruthlessness , Working , False Equivalency , Rest , Scandal , E Mails , Effort , Congress , Some , Pressure Internet , Interview , News Gathering , Bill , Small Business , Accomplishments , Stimulus , Covid Relief Act , Terms , Infrastructure Bill , Impact , Lead , News , Infrastructure , Bottom Line , Water , Build , Human Being , Speaker , Dynamic , Compassionate , Sf , Bubble , Lot Of The Press , Public , Drag Net Vibes , Reporting , Bad , Negatives , Positives , Record , Professional , Par , Nationalists , Accountability Report , Thanks , Senator , Topic , Crisis , His Rigorous Historical Perspective , The One And Only , Neal Katyal , Minority , Oman , I Don T Know , Em , Mm , Progressive , Tight , You Don T Want , Uh , More Delicious , Choice , Roadside Assistance , Home , Classic , Cage Free , 24 7 , Sir , Unlimited Cashback Match , Baby Got Back , Personal Assistant , Discover , Owner , Austin , Steve , Projects , Manufacturing , Firm , Memory , Difference , Well Being , Nightmare , Better , Electric Shocks , Stabbing Pains , Pulsing , Burning Sensation , Sharp , Prevagen , Healthier Brain , Events , Shingles , Rash , Weekend Getaways , Chickenpox , Pharmacist , Google , Stop Taking Xarelto , Dvt , Blood Clot , Another , Blood Clots , Pe , 98 , Medicines , Bleeding , Fatal Bleeding , Injection , Paralysis , Bruise , Liver Problems , Bruising , Procedures , Kidney , Artificial Heart Valve , Don T Take Xarelto , Cost , 1 , 1 888 Xarelto , 888 , Account , Redistricting Plans , State , Membership , Color , Suit , Section , War , Move , Voting , Language Minority Group , Acting , Redistricting , Department Is , Drawing Voting Districts , Justice , Process , Ten , Districts , Hispanic , Half , Residents , 33 , 30 , 4 Million , Law , Games , Implications , Court , Couldn T , Precleared , Redistricting Plan , Given A , Foo Effect , Merrick Garland , Supreme Court , Down , Decision , Conversation , Courts , Abortion , Saying , Whether , Conservatives , Legislatures , Legislature , Say , Sides , Approach , Mouths , Targeting , Parts , Allegation , The System , Quote Unquote , Parties , Gerrymandering , Great Point , Drawing , Wars , Hasn T , Lawsuit , Vote Dillution , History , Vote , 15th Amendment , Diminution , Promise , Denials , Behalf , Breakdown , American Society , Neal Katya , Breakdowns , Arguments , Subaru , Love Event , Vo , Retailers , Meals , Feeding America , That S Why , Next , One Hundred And Fifty Million , Car Company , Charity , Two Hundred And Twenty Five Million , Two Hundred And Twenty Five Million Dollars , Customization , Dj , Throwback , Injectable Cabenuva , Hiv Treatment , Hiv , Injections , Me Undetectable , Side Effects , Reactions , Hiv Pills Aren T On My Mind , Healthcare Provider , Ingredients , Breastfeeding , Mental Health Concerns , Depression , Pregnancy , Symptoms , Treatment Appointments , Injection Site Reactions , Fever , Tiredness , Line , Flexibility , Service , Comcast Business Mobile , Nationwide 5g , 5 , 0 , Fees , Contract , Match Data Options , Mix , Customers , Four , Weekend , Sight , Hundreds , Quote , Many , Reclaim America , Flags , Masks , Identity , Armor , Chanting , Steps , Upside Down American , Wearing Shields , Well , Monuments , Message , Images , Kkk , A Hundred , Magazine , Washington Of American Democracy , Faces , Call Decay , Show , Front , Atlantic , Understanding , Generation , Efforts , January 6th , 6 , Racism , Reckoning , Stories , Clashes , Slavery , Misogyny , Obama , Patriotism , Nation , Context , Agenda , Argument , Faith , Nationalism , Bloody Sunday , Selma , Applause , Truths , Cheers , Depth , Violent History , Appraisal , Award , American History , Films , Project , American , Baseball , Jazz , The Civil War To Vietnam Hemingway , Muhammed Ali , Mine Fields , Wading , Openness , Attempts , Wish , Site , Subjects , Unom , Status Quo , Human Beings , Treatment , Massacre , Sand Creek , Colorado , White Supremacy , Beginning , Benjamin Franklin , Benjamin Franklin A Founding Father , Native Americans , Germans , Red , 1700 , Film , Finger , America Couldn T See A Black Man , Holocaust , Ways , Didn T Know , Aspects , Footage , Jim Crow Laws For Exclusionary Against Jews , United States Capitol , Gasly , Issue , Sports Culture , Aspect , Space , Friends , Football , Team , The Business Of Rhyming , Angel Society , History Doesn T Repeat , David Ruben Stein , Posture , Where , Equivalence , Agendas , Yankees , Strain , Bullpen , Baseball Analogy , How Hemingway , Yankee S Fan , Visuals , Story Teller , Page , Novel , Heroes , Viewers , First World War , Jeff Daniels , Dying , Parents , Words , 20th Century , Sentimentalized , Second World War , Teenager , Series , Episode , 60 Million , What Hemingway , Names , Places , Attempt , Surface , 1840 , Joe Reid , Goals , Plan , Fidelity , Someone , Planning Effect , Suzie , Daily Vicks , Supplement , Vitamin C , Super C , Pack , Dayquil , Medicine , Strength , B Vitamins , Culture , Coughing , Ancestrydna , Mixture , T , Legacy , My God , Zacatecas , Money , Student Loan Debt , Feel , Mystery , That S What Ancestry , Reporter , New York Times , 000 , 1000 , Situations , Beep , Bargain , Supremacists , Scenes , The Reidout , 100 , Ancestors , Goal , Factious , Saturday Night ,