PBS NewsHour Weekend Live Show: January 30, 2022
Captioning sponsored by WNET >> Sreenivasan: ON THIS EDITION FOR SUNDAY, JANUARY 30: THE NORTHEAST DIGS OUT AFTER THE FIRST MAJOR SNOW STORM OF THE YEAR. JEFF GREENFIELD ON WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN POLITICS THIS WEEK. AND SINGER-SONGWRITER TORI AMOS ON LOSS AND REGENERATION.
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>> Sreenivasan: GOOD EVENING AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. THIS MORNING, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE NORTHEAST WOKE UP TO SNOW TOTALS RANGING FROM JUST A FEW INCHES TO ALMOST THREE FEET, AFTER A FIERCE WINTER STORM WALLOPED THE REGION. A MAJOR NOR'EASTER STRUCK ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY FROM VIRGINIA ALL THE WAY TO MAINE, WITH WIND GUSTS OVER 70 MILES AN HOUR IN SOME AREAS.
MASSACHUSETTS BORE THE BRUNT OF THE BLIZZARD WITH PARTS OF THE STATE SEEING 30 INCHES OF SNOW. THIS MORNING MORE THAN 62,000 RESIDENTS THERE WERE EXPERIENCING POWER OUTAGES IN THE MIDST OF BITTER WIND CHILLS FALLING BELOW ZERO. ON CAPE COD, STRONG WINDS PULLED POWER LINES TO THE GROUND AND COASTAL FLOODING LEFT ROADS COVERED IN SLUSH, WITH SALT WATER FREEZING OVER AND WRAPPING CARS IN ICE. BOSTON TIED ITS RECORD FOR BIGGEST SINGLE-DAY SNOWFALL, YESTERDAY SEEING 23.6 INCHES.
ROADS FROM MAINE TO CONNECTICUT TO RHODE ISLAND WERE BARELY VISIBLE. IN NEW YORK, TWO TRACTOR TRAILERS OVERTURNED ON I-95 YESTERDAY. A MASSIVE CLEAN UP IS UNDERWAY THERE AND IN NEW JERSEY, WHERE THE STORM HIT EARLY SATURDAY MORNING AND DROPPED CLOSE TO 18 INCHES.
ABOUT 1,400 FLIGHTS WERE CANCELED IN THE U.S. EARLIER TODAY. ANOTHER 647 U.S. FLIGHTS WERE DELAYED. MUCH QUIETER WEATHER IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE EAST COAST AND TEMPERATURES WILL RISE STEADILY IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
IN UKRAINE TODAY, THERE WAS A RALLY TO THANK WESTERN NATIONS FOR THEIR SUPPORT. OFFICIALS IN SOME OF THOSE COUNTRIES PROMISED ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AS A WARNING TO RUSSIA NOT TO INVADE. IN KYIV, PEOPLE HELD SIGNS PRAISING THE U.S., THE UNITED KINGDOM AND NATO.
MILITARY ANALYSTS SAY RUSSIA HAS NOW PLACED AN ESTIMATED 100,000 TROOPS NEAR THE BORDER WITH UKRAINE, ALTHOUGH MOSCOW SAYS IT DOES NOT PLAN AN INVASION. ALSO TODAY, RUSSIAN STATE TV SHOWED NEW FIGHTER JETS BEING DEPLOYED AS PART OF THE RUSSIAN BALTIC FLEET. IN THE U.K., PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON'S OFFICE ISSUED A STATEMENT SAYING HE IS CONSIDERING DOUBLING THE NUMBER OF BRITISH TROOPS AND SENDING MORE DEFENSIVE WEAPONS TO THE BALTIC NION OF ESTONIA. THE BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY SAID THE U.K. IS NOT PLANNING TO SEND COMBAT TROOPS TO UKRAINE BUT WOULD CONTINUE TO PROTECT NATO ALLIES.
>> WHAT THIS IS ABOUT IS BOLSTERING OUR ALLIES IN THE BALTICS. THEY FEEL INCREASINGLY UNDER THREAT WITH RUSSIA'S AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR ON THE BORDERS THROUGH BELARUS, BUT ALSO DIRECTLY WITH THE BALTICS. SO, WE ARE SUPPLYING FURTHER TROOPS, AS ARE OUR NATO ALLIES. WE'RE ALSO STRENGTHENING AROUND THE BLACK SEA AS WELL. >> Sreenivasan: BOTH THE FOREIGN SECRETARY AND PRIME MINISTER JOHNSON ARE PLANNING TO TRAVEL TO UKRAINE THIS WEEK. PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON IS FACING MOUNTING CHALLENGES TO HIS LEADERSHIP AS POLICE CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE ALLEGATIONS THAT HE AND HIS STAFF IGNORED COVID LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS BY HOSTING SOCIAL GATHERINGS LAST YEAR.
AN UNPUBLISHED REPORT HAS BEEN DELAYED UNTIL THE CIVIL AND CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IS COMPLETE. FRANK LANGFITT, LONDON CORRESPONDENT FOR NPR, JOINED ME TO DISCUSS THE LATEST. SO, FRANK, AMERICANS HAVE GOT TO BE WONDERING, ALL RIGHT, HE HAD A COUPLE OF PARTIES. WHY IS THIS SUCH A POLITICALLY IMPORTANT EVENT? ARE THERE CONSEQUENCES THAT HE FACES NOW? >> THERE ARE, AND IT'S MORE THAN A COUPLE OF PARTIES.
I MEAN, I'VE ALMOST LOST TRACK, HARI, BUT I BELIEVE THE NUMBER'S AROUND 17 IN HIS GOVERNMENT. >> Sreenivasan: WOW. >> EXACTLY. AND I ALSO THINK THAT THIS IS A SCANDAL THAT'S SO EASY TO UNDERSTAND, UNLIKE, SAY, A FINANCIAL SCANDAL IN WHICH THE GOVERNMENT THAT MADE ALL THESE RULES THAT MOST BRITONS FOLLOWED DURING COVID LOCKDOWN AND EVEN DIDN'T SAY GOODBYE TO FAMILY MEMBERS, IT WOULD APPEAR THAT JOHNSON AND HIS GOVERNMENT WERE FLOUTING PRETTY ROUTINELY. AND SO, THIS HAS REALLY ENRAGED A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY, INCLUDING PEOPLE IN HIS OWN PARTY.
AND WE'RE NOW WAITING FOR AN INTERNAL INVESTIGATION REPORT TO COME OUT FROM THE GOVERNMENT ON EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. >> Sreenivasan: HOW IS HE HANDLING THIS NOW? >> HE'S REALLY CHANGED. ORIGINALLY, HARI, HE SAID NO RULES WERE BROKEN, IT WAS FRANKLY A CLASSIC JOHNSONIAN RESPONSE GOING BACK. AND WHAT'S HAPPENED IS IT'S BEEN A DRIP, DRIP, DRIP OF LEAKS THAT HAS SHOWN THAT JOHNSON HASN'T TOLD THE TRUTH.
AND MANY PEOPLE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM FIND THAT JOHNSON IS, CAN BE A STRANGER TO THE TRUTH. THERE'S A LONG HISTORY OF THIS, BUT THIS HAS REALLY LANDED AND UPSET PEOPLE. AND WHAT I THINK HAS HAPPENED IS HE HAS ONE OR MORE ENEMIES INSIDE NUMBER 10 DOWNING STREET WHO KNEW EXACTLY WHAT WAS GOING ON AND IN A VERY EXPERT WAY HAVE BEEN LEAKING THIS BIT BY BIT, TRYING TO BASICALLY TAKE JOHNSON OUT WITH A THOUSAND CUTS. >> Sreenivasan: AS YOU MENTIONED, THIS IS EASIER TO UNDERSTAND, ESPECIALLY FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WHEN EVERYONE ELSE FELT THE PAIN THAT HE CLEARLY DIDN'T IN NOT HAVING GATHERINGS, NOT BEING AROUND LOVED ONES, NOT BEING AROUND FRIENDS. >> AND YET, IF I CAN JUMP IN, THIS IS A MAN WHO WAS IN THE I.C.U. HAVING ALREADY CONTRACTED
COVID, WHICH MAKES IT IN SOME WAYS ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE. >> Sreenivasan: FRANK, WHEN AMERICAN LEADERS ARE OFTEN IN TROUBLE, THEY START TO BECOME VERY PRESIDENTIAL, AND THEY START TO ENTANGLE THEMSELVES IN FOREIGN AFFAIRS. WHAT'S BORIS JOHNSON PLANNING IN THE NEXT WEEK OR TWO? >> WELL, HE'S GOING TO BE SPEAKING WITH PRESIDENT PUTIN VERY SOON, AND HE IS HEADING OFF TO EASTERN EUROPE.
THE UNITED KINGDOM HAS ALSO SENT ANTI-TANK MISSILES TO THE UKRAINE. AND WHILE THE UNITED KINGDOM, I THINK GENUINELY, IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE UKRAINIAN BORDER, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BORIS JOHNSON TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT. AND ONE OF THE LINES THAT YOU HEAR INSIDE WHITEHALL IN THE HALLS OF GOVERNMENT DOWNTOWN IN LONDON IS WHY ARE PEOPLE MAKING SUCH A FUSS ABOUT PARTIES WHEN THERE ARE MORE THAN 100,000 TROOPS ON THE UKRAINIAN BORDER? AND THERE'S THE RISK OF A MAJOR INVASION AND THE LOSS OF LIFE.
>> Sreenivasan: NOW, THIS IS ALSO THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF BLOODY SUNDAY. HOW DO BRITONS MARK THIS? >> WELL, WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN IS IN THE CITY OF DERRY, WHERE THIS OCCURRED, FAMILY MEMBERS OF THOSE WHO DIED 50 YEARS AGO, WHO WERE SHOT BY BRITISH SOLDIERS, WILL BE MARCHING AND DEMANDING JUSTICE. AND WHAT'S REALLY REMARKABLE HERE, HARI, AND WHY THIS ESPECIALLY CONTINUES TO RESONATE, IS UNLIKE, SAY, SOUTH AFRICA, THERE'S NEVER BEEN A TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR THE TROUBLES IN NORTHERN IRELAND. AND SO, I SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN NORTHERN IRELAND, AND I MEET WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN JUSTICE FOR THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS. AND SO, EVEN THOUGH THE FIGHTING AND THE KILLING STOPPED A LONG TIME AGO, THIS STILL VERY MUCH LIVES IN THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO LOST LOVED ONES. >> Sreenivasan: NPR'S FRANK LANGFITT.
THANKS SO MUCH. >> GOOD TO TALK, HARI. >> Sreenivasan: IT WAS 50 YEARS TODAY WHEN BRITISH SOLDIERS SHOT AND KILLED 13 CIVIL RIGHTS PROTESTERS AND INJURED MORE THAN A DOZEN OTHERS IN NORTHERN IRELAND. HUNDREDS GATHERED TODAY, INCLUDING RELATIVES OF THE DEAD AND WOUNDED, TO REMEMBER THE EVENTS OF WHAT IS NOW CALLED "BLOODY SUNDAY." ITV CORRESPONDENT NEIL CONNERY HAS MORE. >> Reporter: HALF A CENTURY ON, THEY FOLLOWED IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS.
THE FAMILIES OF BLOODY SUNDAY'S VICTIMS HELD THEIR PICTURES CLOSE, RETRACING THE ROUTE OF THAT CIVIL RIGHTS MARCH AS THEY REMEMBERED A DAY WHICH CHANGED SO MUCH. THOUSANDS GATHERED TO MARCH BACK THEN, BUT SOLDIERS FROM THE PARACHUTE REGIMENT OPENED FIRE, KILLING 13 PEOPLE. THE OUTRAGE OVER THE DEATHS WAS A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN THE TROUBLES. KAY DUDDY'S YOUNGER BROTHER JACKIE WAS ONE OF THOSE KILLED.
HE WAS 17. >> HE HAD A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR, ABLE TO PLAY TRICKS ON YOU. BUT HE WAS JUST FUNNY. BESIDES, WE'RE SAYING THAT HE WAS ONE OF OUR WAINS. AND HE'LL BE FOREVER YOUNG. >> Reporter: BATHED IN WINTER SUN, JUST AS IT WAS ON THAT JANUARY DAY IN 1972, HUNDREDS GATHERED, INCLUDING THE IRISH TAOISEACH MICHEAL MARTIN, TO REMEMBER THE VICTIMS AND THE LONG SHADOW THESE EVENTS STILL CAST.
♪ ♪ ♪ >> JOHN YOUNG. ( APPLAUSE ) ♪ ♪ ♪ WILLIAM NASH. >> Reporter: AGE MAY HAVE WEARIED SOME, BUT NOT THEIR MEMORIES OF THOSE WHO NEVER CAME HOME. ONLY ONE SUSPECT, KNOWN AS "SOLDIER F," WAS EVER CHARGED. THE CASE WAS DROPPED LAST YEAR.
FOLLOWING THE SAVILLE REPORT IN 2010, DAVID CAMERON SAID THE SHOOTINGS WERE UNJUSTIFIED AND UNJUSTIFIABLE. AND YET, 50 YEARS ON, NO ONE HAS BEEN HELD TO ACCOUNT FOR WHAT HAPPENED. FIVE DECADES AFTER THE CIVIL RIGHTS MARCH, THE VICTIMS' FAMILIES SAY THEY ARE STILL WAITING FOR THE MOST BASIC OF RIGHTS: JUSTICE.
>> Sreenivasan: NORTH KOREA LAUNCHED WHAT MILITARY EXPERTS SAY APPEARED TO BE THE MOST POWERFUL MISSILE IT HAS TESTED SINCE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN TOOK OFFICE. IN SOUTH KOREA, PRESIDENT MOON JAE-IN CALLED AN EMERGENCY NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING. HE DESCRIBED THE TEST AS A POSSIBLE MID-RANGE BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCH. JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN MILITARY OFFICIALS SAID THE MISSILE WAS LAUNCHED ON A HIGH TRAJECTORY, APPARENTLY TO AVOID THE TERRITORIAL SPACES OF NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES AND TRAVELED CLOSE TO 500 MILES BEFORE LANDING IN THE SEA. THIS MONTH NORTH KOREA HAS LAUNCHED SEVERAL MISSILES AND MAY BE VIOLATING A SELF-IMPOSED MORATORIUM ON LONG-RANGE MISSILE TESTS. IN WASHINGTON TODAY, AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N., LINDA THOMAS-
GREENFIELD, SAID THE U.S. HAS IMPOSED SANCTIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS AND CONTINUES TO BE OPEN TO DIPLOMATIC DISCUSSIONS. NORTH KOREA HAS NOT AGREED TO ANY TALKS. IN SUDAN TODAY, THOUSANDS OF PROTESTERS TOOK TO THE STREETS AGAIN IN SEVERAL CITIES DEMANDING AN END TO THE MILITARY TAKEOVER OF THE GOVERNMENT. SECURITY FORCES FIRED TEAR GAS AND RUBBER BULLETS IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF KHARTOUM, WHERE DEMONSTRATIONS TOOK PLACE IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS. IN OCTOBER, MILITARY LEADERS TOOK CONTROL OF THE GOVERNMENT WHICH HAD BOTH CIVILIAN AND MILITARY MEMBERS.
THE PROTESTERS WANT A FULLY CIVILIAN GOVERNMENT TO LEAD A NOW-STALLED TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY. THE MILITARY GENERALS SAY THEY WILL ONLY HAND OVER POWER TO A NEW ADMINISTRATION AFTER ELECTIONS SCHEDULED FOR JULY 2023. SPAIN'S RAFAEL NADAL MADE TENNIS HISTORY DOWN UNDER TODAY, WINNING A RECORD 21st GRAND SLAM AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN. NADAL, WHO WAS DOWN TWO SETS AGAINST RUSSIA'S DANIIL MEDVEDEV, RALLIED BACK TO WIN THE FINAL THREE SETS IN A MATCH THAT LASTED FIVE HOURS AND 24 MINUTES. HIS WIN BREAKS A THREE WAY TIE WITH NOVAK DJOKOVIC AND ROGER FEDERER FOR THE MOST GRAND SLAM WINS IN MEN'S SINGLES.
NADAL IS JUST THE FOURTH MAN IN HISTORY TO WIN ALL FOUR MAJOR TOURNAMENTS AT LEAST TWICE. FOR MORE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NEWS, VISIT pbs.org/newshour. >> Sreenivasan: THIS WEEK, PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN WILL TRAVEL TO NEW YORK TO MEET WITH MAYOR ERIC ADAMS IN THE WAKE OF A SHOOTING THAT KILLED TWO NEW YORK CITY POLICE OFFICERS.
THE RECENT SURGE IN VIOLENT CRIME IS BECOMING A TOP AGENDA ITEM FOR LAWMAKERS, AND FOR THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION GOING INTO THE MIDTERMS. NEWSHOUR WEEKEND SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JEFF GREENFIELD JOINED US FROM SANTA BARBARA FOR MORE. SO, JEFF, WHY IS CRIME BECOMING A HOT BUTTON ISSUE IN POLITICS AGAIN AT THIS POINT? >> FUNDAMENTALLY, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT MORE OF IT IN THE YEARS SINCE COVID EMERGED. MURDER RATE WENT UP 30% IN 2020 AND IS STILL GOING UP. IN NEW YORK, SHOOTINGS HAVE DOUBLED OVER WHAT THEY WERE IN 2019.
WE'VE HAD ALL KINDS OF VERY HIGH PROFILE SHOOTINGS OF POLICE OFFICERS IN NEW YORK AND HOUSTON. WE'VE HAD THESE SMASH-AND-GRAB LOOTERS IN DEPARTMENT STORES IN PLACES LIKE LOS ANGELES, AND A MASSIVE LOOTING OF RAILROAD YARDS IN LOS ANGELES. NOW, IT'S TRUE THAT THE CRIME RATE IS MUCH LOWER STILL THAN IT WAS BACK IN 1990, BUT PEOPLE AREN'T MEASURING TODAY'S CRIME FROM 30 YEARS AGO, THEY'RE MEASURING IT FROM WHAT IT WAS A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, WHERE THEIR MEMORIES ARE FRESH, AND IT'S VERY MUCH ON PEOPLE'S MINDS. >> Sreenivasan: WE HAD A CONVERSATION ABOUT CRIME A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, BUT IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT. >> YEAH, I THINK IN POLITICS THERE'S A THERMOSTAT, PARTICULARLY ON ISSUES LIKE CRIME. WHEN CRIME WENT WAY UP IN THE '60s, LAW AND ORDER BECAME A NATIONAL POLITICAL ISSUE IN THE CAMPAIGNS OF RICHARD NIXON AND GEORGE WALLACE.
WHEN IT PERSISTED, THE DEATH PENALTY BECAME MUCH MORE POPULAR, IF I CAN USE THAT PHRASE. THERE WERE THREE JUSTICES IN CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT THROWN OFF THE BENCH BY VOTERS FOR NOT BEING STRONG ENOUGH ON THE DEATH PENALTY. BILL CLINTON USED TO CAMPAIGN BEHIND WHAT WAS CALLED "THE BLUE WALL OF POLICE OFFICERS," AND AS PRESIDENT PUSHED FOR A VERY DRACONIAN CRIME BILL THAT THEN- SENATOR BIDEN SUPPORTED. WHEN CRIME WENT WAY DOWN IN THE AUGHTS YOU HAD A VERY DIFFERENT APPROACH. PROSECUTORS BEGAN GETTING ELECTED IN PLACES LIKE PHILADELPHIA, SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK, WHO PROMISED AN ALTERNATIVE TO PRISON.
WE HAD DONALD TRUMP PUSHING A SECOND CHANCE BILL TO LET PRISONERS GET OUT EARLY AND RECONNECT WITH THE CIVILIAN COMMUNITY. AND YOU HAD ALL OF THIS KIND OF EFFORT TO SAY, WELL, WE DON'T REALLY NEED THESE KINDS OF TOUGH CRIME MEASURES. AND THEN, AS THOSE POLICIES BEGAN TO TAKE FRUIT, THE CRIME RATE BEGAN TO GO UP AND PEOPLE'S MINDS BEGAN TO CHANGE AGAIN. >> Sreenivasan: SO, WHETHER CORRELATION IS CAUSATION OR NOT ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, BUT WHAT IS THIS SURGE IN CRIME? WHAT DOES IT DO TO ADVOCATES OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM? >> WELL, WE'RE SEEING A REALLY DRAMATIC EXAMPLE IN NEW YORK. THE NEW MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY, ALVIN BRAGG, GOT ELECTED ON A KIND OF PROGRESSIVE PLATFORM, AND WHEN INSTALLED, TOLD HIS PROSECUTORS DON'T GO AFTER MINOR CRIMES LIKE SHOPLIFTING, AND IF A ROBBER HAS A GUN, BUT DOESN'T USE IT, DON'T GO AFTER HIM.
THAT GOT A REAL PUSHBACK FROM THE NEW POLICE COMMISSIONER AND FROM THE NEW MAYOR, ERIC ADAMS. AND I THINK, WITHOUT BEING A PROGNOSTICATOR, I'M PRETTY SURE THAT WHEN PRESIDENT BIDEN GOES TO NEW YORK NEXT WEEK TO MEET WITH ERIC ADAMS ON GUN VIOLENCE, YOU'RE GOING TO HEAR THESE QUESTIONS BEING ASKED OF HIM, WHAT KIND OF CRIME POLICY ARE YOU GOING TO PURSUE RIGHT NOW? >> Sreenivasan: AND WHERE DOES MAYOR ADAMS, ESPECIALLY GIVEN HIS OWN BACKGROUND AND PERSONAL HISTORY, PLAY INTO THE POLITICS OF JOE BIDEN AND DEMOCRATS? >> THIS IS A REALLY FASCINATING QUESTION. ERIC ADAMS, A BLACK MAYOR OF NEW YORK, BEGAN HIS CAREER IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, FIGHTING POLICE RACISM AND MISCONDUCT, BUT ALSO AS A CANDIDATE FOR MAYOR, ADVOCATING FOR A VERY TOUGH ANTI-CRIME POLICY, BRINGING BACK A UNIT THAT HAD BEEN DISBANDED. AND THE IDEA THAT, THAT A BLACK MAYOR OF ONE OF THE MOST LIBERAL CITIES IN THE UNITED STATES, AND LET'S THROW IN LONDON BREED, THE BLACK WOMAN MAYOR OF SAN FRANCISCO, PERHAPS THE MOST LIBERAL CITY IN THE UNITED STATES, CREATES A FASCINATING POLITICAL CONTEXT BECAUSE WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT CRIME, THE HONEST THING TO SAY IS RACE IS NEVER VERY FAR FROM THAT CONVERSATION. AND TWO BLACK MAYORS OF TWO LIBERAL CITIES ARGUING FOR A GET TOUGH CRIME POLICY, THAT SUGGESTS A REALLY POTENTIALLY FASCINATING POLITICAL DYNAMIC. >> Sreenivasan: SPEAKING OF CRIME, YESTERDAY WE HAD THE FORMER PRESIDENT AT A RALLY DANGLING BASICALLY PARDONS FOR PEOPLE THAT WERE PARTICIPATING IN JANUARY 6 AND WHO WERE EITHER CONVICTED OR CHARGED WITH CRIMES.
>> EVERY TIME I THINK, ALRIGHT, NOW I'VE SEEN THE ULTIMATE, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A BRIDGE TOO FAR, AND THE BRIDGE COLLAPSES LIKE IT DID IN PITTSBURGH. BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PARDONS, YOU'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE WHO PEACEFULLY PROTESTED, WHO WENT TO THE RALLY WHERE TRUMP SPOKE. THE ONLY PEOPLE YOU PARDON ARE PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN ACCUSED OF CRIMES-- SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY, BREAKING INTO THE CAPITOL, COMMITTING VIOLENCE. AND THE IDEA THAT THAT WOULD APPEAL TO THE BROAD BASE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AT ONE POINT WOULD HAVE SEEMED TO ME ABSOLUTELY INCOMPREHENSIBLE.
AND SO, ARE WE WAITING FOR SENATOR McCONNELL OR CONGRESSMAN McCARTHY OR SEAN HANNITY OR ANYBODY TO SAY, NO, NO, YOU CAN'T DO THAT? YOU KNOW, SO FAR, I'M HEARING CRICKETS. >> Sreenivasan: JEFF GREENFIELD JOINING US FROM SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, THANKS SO MUCH. >> THANK YOU, HARI. >> Sreenivasan: MANY PEOPLE HAVE REPORTED PROFOUND CHANGES IN THEIR LIVES IN THE MIDST OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
FOR RECORDING ARTIST TORI AMOS, IT HAS MEANT SEARCHING FOR-- AND FINDING-- NEW INSPIRATION FOR HER MUSIC. NEWSHOUR WEEKEND'S CHRISTOPHER BOOKER HAS OUR STORY. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Reporter: FROM BEHIND THE PIANO, THERE IS LITTLE TORI AMOS HAS BEEN UNWILLING TO APPROACH.
PRODUCING WORK THAT IS BOLD, STRIKING, AND AT TIMES ARRESTING, AMOS HAS SPENT DECADES OFFERING A STEADY, UNVARNISHED ACCOUNT OF THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WONDERFUL, OR HORRIFIC, THAT COME FROM MOVING THROUGH THE WORLD. ♪ ♪ ♪ BUT AS IT HAS BEEN FOR NEARLY EVERYONE, THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS CHANGED THE SCRIPT FOR AMOS, AND THE ARTIST FAMED FOR HER ABILITY TO TACKLE THE MOST DIFFICULT OF TOPICS, FOUND HERSELF STRUGGLING TO FIND HER VOICE. >> I JUST LEFT NEW YORK AND FLEW INTO LONDON. MY HUSBAND AND I, WE SAW OUR DAUGHTER WHO'S GOING TO UNIVERSITY THERE, AND WE MADE OUR WAY DOWN TO CORNWALL AND WITHIN, I DON'T KNOW, A WEEK OR TWO, THE UNIVERSITIES WERE CLOSING. AND, HEY, WE THOUGHT IT WAS JUST GOING TO BE JAMMIN' AND FUN FOR ABOUT A COUPLE OF WEEKS, THREE WEEKS, BUT WE PULLED TOGETHER.
BUT ONCE THE THIRD LOCKDOWN HAPPENED IN JANUARY, 2021, IN ENGLAND, I HAVE TO TELL YOU, I JUST HIT A PLACE OF DESPAIR. WHEN IS THIS NIGHTMARE GOING TO END? AND IT'S THE LONGEST THAT I HAVEN'T PLAYED LIVE IN MY LIFE SINCE I TURNED PRO AT 13. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Reporter: FOR THE PROLIFIC AMOS, HER INABILITY TO TOUR WAS COUPLED WITH A COLLISION BETWEEN THE MATERIAL SHE HAD BEEN WRITING AND THE RAPIDLY CHANGING STATE OF THE WORLD.
THE SONGS ON THE RECORD SHE HAD PLANNED TO RELEASE IN 2020 NO LONGER REFLECTED THE PLACE AMOS NOW INHABITED. >> WHEN I WAS LISTENING BACK TO THOSE SONGS, IT'S NOT THAT THEY'RE TERRIBLE SONGS, IT'S JUST THAT THEY WEREN'T TAKING ME TO THE PLACE I NEEDED TO GO. AND THE SONGS I HAD WRITTEN WERE RESPONDING TO A DIFFERENT WORLD.
♪ ♪ ♪ >> Reporter: IN THE PAST, AMOS SAYS INSPIRATION CAME FROM MOVEMENT, WHETHER TOURING OR TRAVELLING, EXPERIENCE RESULTED IN SONG, A TRIED AND TRUE PROCESS THAT WAS NO LONGER FEASIBLE >> A PART OF MY WAYS THAT I USED TO DO THINGS WAS DYING, AND IT NEEDED TO DIE. I NEEDED TO JUST GO, OKAY, HOW YOU HAVE COPED AND WORKED AT DOING THIS FOR SO MANY YEARS IS NOT AN OPTION. SO, THEN IT WAS LIKE, OKAY, NOW I NEED TO GO SURRENDER.
I NEED TO JUST GO LISTEN TO THE TREES, HONESTLY, SURRENDER YOURSELF, HUMBLE YOURSELF AND JUST, I BEGGED THE MUSES AND... AND THE LAND. I JUST SAID "I'M FEELING LOST." >> Reporter: BUT TUCKED INSIDE THIS STILLNESS WAS A SADNESS THAT AMOS THOUGHT SHE HAD LEARNED TO LIVE WITH: THE GRIEF OVER THE LOSS OF HER MOTHER IN 2019. AS YOU HAVE SPOKEN FAIRLY WIDELY ABOUT, YOU RECENTLY LOST YOUR MOTHER, AND SHE PLAYED A HUGE ROLE IN THIS WORK. >> YES, MY MOM, UM, SHE WAS, SHE WAS JUST LOVE.
SHE WAS JUST A BUNDLE OF LOVE. AND I THOUGHT I HAD DEALT WITH IT. I REALLY THOUGHT THAT I HAD DEALT WITH HER PASSING. BUT IN-- IN THAT THIRD LOCKDOWN IN ENGLAND, I KNOW SHE WOULD HAVE KNOWN WHAT TO SAY.
SHE ALWAYS KNEW WHAT TO SAY ON THE OTHER END OF A PHONE. AND SHE JUST WASN'T THERE. AND I WASN'T BEING THE MOTHER THAT I WANTED TO BE.
AND MY DAUGHTER CAME TO ME AND SAID, YOU KNOW, "I KNOW YOU'VE LOST YOUR MOM, I'VE LOST GRANDMA, AND I MISS GRANDMA, BUT I NEED MY MOM. WHERE'S MY MOM?" AND SHE'S, I MEAN, TALK ABOUT A TON OF BRICKS. FROM THE SOFTEST VOICE, "I NEED MY MOM." AND I THOUGHT, "OKAY, I HAVE TO WRITE MYSELF OUT OF THIS PLACE.
I'M DROWNING IN SADNESS. I'M DROWNING HERE." AND SO, I USED THAT TO WORK WITH. >> Reporter: THE RESULT OF THAT WRITING IS "OCEAN TO OCEAN," AN ALBUM THAT IS AS MUCH AN ACCOUNT OF HER PRIVATE LOSS AS IT IS A RECKONING OF OUR PUBLIC ONE. ♪ WHEN YOU LEFT EMPTINESS ♪ >> THIS PANDEMIC IS CHANGING WHO I THOUGHT I WAS, AND THAT'S NOT A BAD THING, BUT-- BUT REALIZING THAT PARTS OF YOURSELF NEED TO DIE SO THAT OTHERS CAN THEN MAGICALLY BE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW, BORN. AND THAT WAS PART OF WHAT THE RECORD REALLY IS ABOUT: REGENERATION, REALIZING THAT I'M NOT THE SAME PERSON, AND I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE AREN'T THE SAME PERSON, AND THAT CAN BE A GOOD THING, BUT I JUST HAD TO WORK THROUGH THE PROCESS, AND THE SONGS HELP ME DO THAT.
♪ KNOWING THIS MAY HELP YOU MAKE ♪ MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT ON LULLABIES ♪ KNOWING THIS MAY ♪ >> WE WERE ALL GOING THROUGH SOMETHING OVER THE LAST 22 MONTHS, TWO YEARS, AND SOME PEOPLE, I THINK, HAVE BEEN MORE AFFECTED THAN OTHERS, BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS, YOU KNOW, IN DIFFERENT WAYS. IF WE'VE LOST PEOPLE, AND WE COULDN'T GRIEVE PROPERLY, AND THE-- THE RECORD TAKES YOU THROUGH THE DIFFERENT STAGES. THERE IS GOING TO BE THE LOSS BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT AND YOU HAVE TO BE HONEST. IF YOU'RE GOING TO DOCUMENT LIFE, AND YOU'RE GOING TO BE ACCURATE ABOUT IT, SOMETIMES YOU'RE CALLED TO DEAL WITH SOME TOUGH SUBJECTS. SO, WE HAVE TO FIND WAYS TO TRAVEL THERE, AND THEN WAYS, HOPEFULLY, TO UPLIFT SOMEBODY OUT OF THAT.
♪ THEN ON THE BRIDGE UNDER THE TOWER ♪ IN SPATTERDASHES WITH A PLAID UMBRELLA ♪ IT SEEMS HE'S JUST A WELL DRESSED FELLA ♪ >> Sreenivasan: THAT'S ALL FOR THIS EDITION OF PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND. FOR THE LATEST NEWS UPDATES, VISIT www.pbs.org/newshour. I'M HARI SREENIVASAN. THANKS FOR WATCHING. STAY HEALTHY, AND HAVE A GOOD NIGHT.
Captioning sponsored by WNET Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org >> PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND IS MADE POSSIBLE BY: SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III. BERNARD AND DENISE SCHWARTZ. THE CHERYL AND PHILIP MILSTEIN FAMILY. THE ANDERSON FAMILY FUND.
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2022-02-02 18:21
