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> HELLO, EVERYONE, AND WELCOME TO 'AMANPOUR & COMPANY.'
HERE'S WHAT'S COMING UP.
> AS COVID AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS DRIVE WORLD POVERTY TO NEW HEIGHTS, DEVELOPMENT EXPERT RAJIV SHAH CALLS FOR A NEW GLOBAL INITIATIVE TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR THE WORLD'S 2 MILLION POOREST PEOPLE.
>AND A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT REPORTS FROM HOME.
DIVE INTO THE ANGER PLAGUING AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AND THE THREAT OF MORE VIOLENCE STILL TO COME.
> THEN -- FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE!
TAKING THE LONG VIEW.
THE NEXT CHAPTER IN AMERICAN SPACE EXPLORATION.
WALTER ISAACSON SPEAKS TO NASA CHIEF BILL NELSON.
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> WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM.
I'M BIANNA GOLODRYGA IN NEW YORK FOR CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, WHO WILL BE BACK NEXT WEEK.
> THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION IS MAKING AN URGENT PLEA FOR GLOBAL VACCINE EQUALITY.
WHILE COUNTRY LIKES BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES LOOK TO BOOSTER SHOTS, A STRIKINGLY DIFFERENT PICTURE IN MANY OTHER COUNTRIES AND REGIONS, IN PARTICULAR AFRICA, WHERE STARK NUMBERS SHOW THE EXTENT OF VACCINE INEQUITY.
THERE ARE NOW MORE THAN 8 MILLION COVID CASES THERE AND FEWER THAN 4% OF AFRICANS ARE FULLY VACCINATED.
THREATS LIKE COVID-19 AND CLIMATE CHANGE HURT THE WORLD'S MOST VULNERABLE FIRST, AND SADLY, WORST.
MY GUEST, ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION PRESIDENT, DR. RAJEEV SHAW, HEADED DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA AND JOINS ME ON THE PROGRAM.
YOU COMPARE THE CHARTER TO THE ATLANTIC CHARTER ORIGINALLY SIGNED IN 1941, RENEWED AT THE G7 THIS PAST SUMMER.
EXPLAIN WHAT YOU ARE CALLING FOR SPECIFICALLY.
WELL, FIRST, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME, BIANNA, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE GREAT REPORTING YOU'RE DOING.
THE REALITY IS, LIKE 1941, WE FIND OURSELVES AT WAR.
AND WE'RE AT WAR WITH A PANDEMIC THAT HAS TAKEN 4.6 MILLION LIVES AND THREATENS TO TAKE MILLIONS MORE.
WE'RE AT WAR WITH CLIMATE CONSIDERATIONS AND CLIMATE CHANGE THAT THREATENS TO UNDERMINE OUR ABILITY TO EXIST ON EARTH.
AND WE ARE NOT STEPPING UP IN THE WAY THAT WE NEED TO.
WE NEED MUCH STRONGER WAYS TO COOPERATE AS COUNTRIES, TO REINVEST IN OUR MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS, TO REIMAGINE WHAT IT TAKES TO PROTECT AND SERVE HUMANITY IN THIS MOMENT AS A SHARED GLOBAL COMMUNITY.
SO WE ARE CALLING FOR, MUCH LIKE THE ATLANTIC CHARTER, WHICH WAS FORGED DURING WARTIME, WE'RE CALLING FOR COUNTRIES TO COME TOGETHER AROUND A COVID CHARTER AND RECOMMIT THEMSELVES TO MULTILATERAL ACTION IN MANNERS THAT CAN WORK, CAN BE EFFECTIVE AT ACHIEVING THE GOALS WE NEED TO ACHIEVE, TO BOTH BEAT BACK THIS PANDEMIC AND PROTECT THE PLANET GOING FORWARD.
IT IS ACTUALLY AFFORDABLE AND ACHIEVABLE, AND IT'S ONLY EVER BEEN THE CASE THAT DURING WARTIME, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MOBILIZE TO DO THESE GREAT THINGS.
LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE DETAILS.
BECAUSE YOU'RE CALLING FOR ADVANCED ECONOMIES TO DEVOTE AT LEAST 1% OF THEIR GDP TO FOREIGN AID.
THIS IS COMING AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE'RE SEEING THE UK CUT THEIR AID FROM 0.7% OF GDP TO 0.5%. THIS IS A LOFTY, COMMENDABLE GOAL, BUT IS IT REALLY ACHIEVABLE?
I THINK IT'S ABSOLUTELY ACHIEVABLE.
MANY OF US HAVE WORKED FOR DECADES TO ENCOURAGE AT LEAST 0.7% OF GDP IN INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES TO BE COMMITTED TO FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.
WHEN I WAS IN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION, I VISITED CHURCH GROUPS IN CITIES ACROSS AMERICA, IN RURAL COMMUNITIES, IN FARMLANDS, AND ACROSS THE NATION, PEOPLE I SPOKE TO, WHEN THEY UNDERSTOOD THAT FOR ABOUT 1% OF OUR FEDERAL BUDGET, LESS THAN 1%, WE WERE ABLE TO GET -- YOU KNOW, BEAT BACK AIDS, FIGHT EBOLA, KEEP IT OUT OF THE UNITED STATES, EFFECTIVELY MOVE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE OUT OF POVERTY, OFF THE BRINK OF HUNGER AND STARVATION, THEY DIDN'T ASK ME TO DO LESS, THEY SAID WHY DON'T WE DO MORE?
THAT'S BECAUSE I THINK PEOPLE APPRECIATE EVERYWHERE, ONCE THEY'RE AWARE OF THE FACT THAT FOREIGN ASSISTANCE CAN BE AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO BRING STABILITY AND PROSPERITY TO THE FARTHEST CORNERS OF THE GLOBE, IT'S A SMART INVESTMENT FOR INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES TO MAKE.
AND FRANKLY, IT'S AN ESSENTIAL INVESTMENT TO MAKE RIGHT NOW.
THE THREAT OF NEW VARIANTS OF CONCERN EMERGING FROM DEVELOPING ECONOMIES IS FOUR TIMES THAT OF THE RISK THAT IT WILL EMERGE FROM INSIDE AN INDUSTRIAL COUNTRY'S BORDERS.
SO IF WE WANT TO PROTECT THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY ON WHICH TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS REST IN THE BALANCE, MAKING A MODEST 1% INVESTMENT OF OUR GDP TO FIGHT COVID ABROAD AND TO REINVEST IN CREATING REAL CONVERGENCE ACROSS THE GLOBAL ECONOMY IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL AND ABSOLUTELY AFFORDABLE.
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT.
BECAUSE IT SEEMS A BIT FRUSTRATING THAT WE KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM IS.
WE KNOW WHERE THE PROBLEMS ARE.
AND YET WE CONTINUE TO SEE THEM MANIFEST.
LET'S TAKE JUST A CASE IN POINT, THE INTRODUCTION HERE AND WHAT'S GOING ON IN AFRICA RIGHT NOW.
WE HAVE 5.7 BILLION DOSES ADMINISTERED AROUND THE WORLD, ONLY 2% OF THOSE HAD BEEN ADMINISTERED IN AFRICA.
I WISH I COULD TELL YOU THAT THIS COMES AS A SURPRISE.
BUT PEOPLE HAD BEEN WARNING ABOUT THIS SINCE THE START OF THE PANDEMIC, AND YET HERE WE ARE.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM HERE?
JUST LOOKING AT A GRAPH NOW, WE'RE SEEING THE YELLOW LINE AT THE BOTTOM REPRESENTING AFRICA, WHEREAS YOU SEE THE RED AND THE BLUE REPRESENTING NORTH AMERICA AND THE EUROPEAN UNION OVER 60% VACCINATED.
WELL, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT THAT UNTIL WE GET VACCINATION TO 70% IN EVERY COUNTRY AND COMMUNITY ACROSS THE PLANET, WE WILL NOT HAVE MOVED ON BEYOND COVID-19.
SO THE QUESTION IS, WHY ARE WE DOING SO POORLY WHEN IT IS ENTIRELY KNOWABLE THAT IT'S GOING TO BE HARD TO BOTH AFFORD AND DISTRIBUTE AND ACHIEVE THE VACCINATION TARGETS THAT ARE CRITICAL FOR ALL OF US IN SOME OF THE TOUGHER ECONOMIES AND TOUGHER PARTS OF THE GLOBE?
THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS, THERE HAS BEEN MINIMAL INVESTMENT IN THIS EFFORT.
OUR ESTIMATES, THE IMF HAS ESTIMATED, AND OTHER FOUNDATIONS HAVE ESTIMATED, THAT YOU NEED ABOUT $50 BILLION TO ACHIEVE THE 70%. AND MAYBE ONE-THIRD OF THAT HAS BEEN COMMITTED, AND EVEN LESS HAS BEEN DRAWN DOWN.
ANOTHER REASON IS, THERE'S NO REAL SINGLE POINT OF LEADERSHIP TO MANAGE THE PROCUREMENT, DISTRIBUTION, AND PLANNING AND EXECUTION OF WHAT REALLY SHOULD BE HUMANITY'S BIGGEST URGENT SHARED PROJECT.
YOU HAVE SOME PARTNERS THAT ARE OUT THERE DOING THE BEST THEY CAN.
SOME COUNTRIES DONATING VACCINES, AND THAT'S A GOOD STEP FORWARD.
BUT YOU DON'T HAVE THE SORT OF VAST MOBILIZATION IN A WELL-ORGANIZED, PLAN MANNER.
IN FACT, OF THE 91 COUNTRIES THAT ARE PART OF THE COVAX INITIATIVE, THE INITIATIVE TO TRY TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, ONLY SEVEN OF THEM HAVE REAL IN-COUNTRY PLANS TO DEPLOY THE VACCINE TO 70% OF THEIR POPULATION.
SO THINK ABOUT THAT.
WE'RE QUITE FAR BEHIND.
AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE CALLING FOR REALLY THE WORLD TO STEP UP, INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES IN PARTICULAR, TO RENEW THESE COMMITMENTS, RESET THIS GOAL, AND BE DETERMINED TO ACHIEVE IT BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR.
BUT WHERE IS THE CHAIN BROKEN ALONG THIS TRAJECTORY TO GET THESE VACCINES TO AFRICA, INTO ARMS AMONG AFRICANS PEFL?
WE HAVE THE U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY MEETING NEXT WEEK.
WE'RE HEARING THE U.S. MAY BE DONATING MORE VACCINES.
WE'VE HEARD OF THIS DURING THE G7 MEETINGS AS WELL, A PLEDGE FOR MILLIONS OF VACCINES TO BE DONATED.
YET WE HEAR FROM AFRICAN OFFICIALS AT THE SAME TIME SAYING, LISTEN, WE WELCOME THE DONATIONS, BUT WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO IMPORT THEM AS WELL.
AND THAT'S WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE A ROADBLOCK.
I WANT TO PLAY A SOUND BITE FROM AN AFRICAN OFFICIAL ON THIS EXACT ISSUE.
YOU CAN DONATE TO US IF YOU SO WISH.
BUT OUR BASIS IS NOT DONATION.
THAT MEANS WE WANT ACCESS TO PURCHASE.
WE CALL ON THOSE COUNTRIES THAT HAVE PUT RESTRICTIONS ON EXPORTS, EXPORTS OF VACCINES AS FINISHED PRODUCTS.
EXPORTS OF INGREDIENTS, DRUG SUBSTANCE.
THESE RESTRICTIONS ARE EVEN MORE URGENT FOR US TODAY THAN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
IS HE CORRECT THERE, DOCTOR?
AND WHY WOULD THESE RESTRICTIONS BE IN PLACE?
WELL, HE'S 100% CORRECT.
THE REALITY IS, RIGHT NOW, AS YOU KNOW, THE WORLD'S LARGEST SUPPLIERS OF VACCINE, THE MANUFACTURERS IN INDIA AND SERUM INSTITUTE OF INDIA IN PARTICULAR, ARE RESTRICTED FROM EXPORTING THEIR VACCINE SALES UNTIL INDIAN VACCINATION RATES ACHIEVE SOME OF THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC TARGETS.
THAT IS BLOCKING THE ABILITY FOR COVAX AND OTHER PARTNERS TO ACQUIRE AND DISTRIBUTE ENOUGH VACCINES TO THE REST OF THE WORLD TO ACHIEVE THEIR TARGETS.
AND IN A FUNDAMENTALLY CONSTRAINED SUPPLY ECONOMY, THOSE TYPES OF RESTRICTIONS MAKE IT VERY, VERY DIFFICULT FOR AFRICAN NATIONS IN PARTICULAR TO REACH THEIR TARGETS.
I'D ALSO POINT OUT, AND I THINK THIS IS UNDERLYING THE STATEMENT WE JUST HEARD THAT COUNTRIES ACTUALLY HAVE RESOURCES AT THEIR DISPOSAL, FROM DOMESTIC BUDGETS AND FROM MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS, LIKE THE WORLD BANK AND OTHERS, TO BE ABLE TO ACCELERATE THEIR INVESTMENTS IN THIS EFFORT.
SO THE SPEAKER WAS RIGHT, IN THAT WE NEED THE MARKET TO BE OPEN, WE NEED MARKET MECHANISMS TO BE ABLE TO FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY IF WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO TACKLE THIS PROBLEM.
OKAY, SO THAT IS ONE MAJOR PROBLEM.
LET'S TALK ABOUT ANOTHER MAJOR PROBLEM WE'RE NOT JUST SEEING IN WESTERN COUNTRIES BUT AFRICA AS WELL, VACCINE HESITANCY.
YOU TOOK PART IN ADMINISTERING VACCINES WHEN YOU WERE A PART OF AND WORK THE WITH THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION.
YOU KNOW FIRSTHAND ABOUT THE HESITANCY, AND IT IS REAL.
SURVEYS SHOW EVERY SECOND SOUTH AFRICAN DOES NOT WANT TO GET A VACCINE.
WE HAVE VIDEO OF KENYANS CONCERNED ABOUT GETTING THE VACCINE AS WELL, AND SPEAKING ABOUT THEIR HESITANCY.
I WANT TO PLAY THAT FOR YOU.
DO YOU WANT IT?
NO, NO, NO.
WHY SHOULD I TAKE SOMETHING THAT I DON'T HAVE -- I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WILL DO TO MY BODY?
IF, AND I SAY IF IN CAPITAL LETTERS, IF WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT IT, MAYBE WE CAN DO IT.
BUT FOR NOW, IT'S A NO.
OKAY, SO LET'S SEPARATE THE VACCINE HESITANCY THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE U.S. AND WESTERN COUNTRIES, BECAUSE I WOULD SAY THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT.
WE HAVE ALL OF OUR TOP HEALTH OFFICIALS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS SPEAKING OUT ON A DAILY BASIS ABOUT WHY THEY ARE EFFECTIVE AND SAFE.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO DEVELOPING NATIONS, ARE WE SEEING ENOUGH FROM THEIR HEALTH OFFICIALS, FROM THEIR LEADERS, SAYING THE SAME?
WELL, WE'RE NOT.
AND WE NEED TO SEE MORE LEADERSHIP DOMESTICALLY FROM COUNTRIES ALL AROUND THE PLANET.
I WOULD ALSO POINT OUT WE'VE KNOWN FOR DECADES THERE ARE TRIED AND TRUE WAYS TO GET LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO INCREASE THEIR ADOPTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES LIKE VACCINES THAT ARE SAFE AND EXTRAORDINARILY EFFECTIVE.
THOSE INCLUDE ENLISTING LOCAL LEADERS.
THEY INVOLVE OFTEN ENLISTING LOCAL PASTORS, LOCAL CHURCHES, LOCAL TEACHERS, LOCAL COMMUNITY LEADERS, HELPING THEM HAVE THE RESOURCES TO GO OUT AND ADVOCATE FOR PEOPLE IN THEIR COMMUNITY WHO TRUST THEM, MAYBE TRUST THEM MORE THAN THEY TRUST THEIR NATIONAL HEALTH MINISTER, BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEIR LOCAL LEADERS.
AND THEY LISTEN TO THEM.
I WAS ON THE GROUND IN RURAL LIBERIA WHEN WE WERE CONVINCING COMMUNITIES TO MOVE BEYOND TRIED AND TRUE PRACTICES OF WASHING AND HUGGING AND PAYING RESPECTS TO THE BODIES OF DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.
PEOPLE WHO HAD DIED FROM EBOLA.
AND IT ULTIMATELY WAS LOCAL COMMUNITY LEADERS WHO WERE ABLE TO CONVINCE FAMILIES THAT INSTEAD OF DOING THOSE PRACTICES, WHICH THEY'VE DONE FOR GENERATIONS TO SHOW LOVE AND RESPECT, THAT THEY WOULD BE PROTECTING THEMSELVES BETTER IF THEY ALLOWED W.H.O. BURIAL TEAMS TO COME IN AND REMOVE THE BODIES IN SAFE BODY BAGS AND USE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SANITARY PRACTICES.
PEOPLE WILL CHANGE, BUT YOU HAVE TO MEET FOLKS WHERE THEY ARE, AND YOU HAVE TO INVEST IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
AND RIGHT NOW, THE BIGGEST GAPS IN THE GLOBAL VACCINATION EFFORT INCLUDE A COMPLETE LACK OF ORGANIZED FUNDING AND FINANCING FOR THAT SORT OF COMMUNITY-BASED OUTREACH TO GET FROM 5% OR 20% TO 70% COVERAGE IN 60, 70, 80 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD.
LET'S SHIFT GEARS NOW.
WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE NEED, THE URGENCY OF GETTING AT LEAST ONE VACCINE INTO THE ARMS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD.
IN OTHER COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE U.S., THERE'S A DEBATE AND DISCUSSION, AND THE PROCESS OF THOSE GETTING THEIR THIRD SHOT.
THE FDA IS MEETING AS WE SPEAK ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEY WILL RECOMMEND AND AUTHORIZE A BOOSTER AS WELL.
WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE ISSUE?
YOU HAVE PEOPLE LIKE DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB SAYING, THIS IS NOT A ZERO SUM GAME, THERE ARE ENOUGH VACCINE DOSES TO GO AROUND.
IN HIS MIND WHAT HE SEES, THE DATA COMING IN FROM REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES IN THE UK AND ISRAEL SUGGEST THAT A BOOSTER WOULD BE EFFECTIVE.
YEAH, I THINK SCOTT'S RIGHT TO POINT OUT THAT IT LOOKS LIKE IN SOME CASES, BOOSTERS ARE EFFECTIVE AND ARE NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN HERD IMMUNITY IN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES.
AND I EXPECT MANY INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES WILL MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION.
I ALSO THINK WE NEED MUCH MORE TRANSPARENCY ON THE SUPPLY SIDE OF THE MARKET.
IT TURNS OUT THAT IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN VERY, VERY HARD TO GET PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA ON HOW MANY DOSES ARE BEING MANUFACTURED THAT ARE EFFECTIVE, THAT COULD BE DISTRIBUTED AROUND THE WORLD.
SCOTT AND OTHER EXPERTS I THINK BELIEVE THERE ARE ABOUT 1 BILLION DOSES A MONTH IN THE CURRENT SUPPLY SYSTEM.
AT THAT RATE, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO ALLOCATE TO BOTH A CAREFUL AND APPROPRIATE BOOSTER CAMPAIGN IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE WORLD, WHILE MASSIVELY INCREASING AVAILABILITY OF DOSES FOR REACHING 70% FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD.
YEAH, THEY DID HAVE MISCOMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE FDA OFFICIALS AND THE WHITE HOUSE AS WELL OVER THIS VERY ISSUE OVER THE PAST FEW WEEKS.
LET ME END BY ASKING YOU SOMETHING THAT I KNOW IS VERY IMPORTANT TO YOU.
YOU ARE THE SON OF IMMIGRANTS, YOU HAVE SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY IN INDIA.
YOU'VE REALLY BEEN A PILLAR FOR THE INVESTMENT IN EDUCATION.
EDUCATION IS HOW AN ECONOMY GROWS, AS I HEAR YOU'VE BEEN QUOTED MANY TIMES.
YOU RAN USAID BETWEEN 2010 AND 2015, AND YOU HELPED PUT 8 MILLION GIRLS INTO SCHOOLS IN AFGHANISTAN.
AND POLITICS ASIDE, I'M JUST WONDERING, FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, WHAT IMPACT THE TALIBAN TAKING OVER AGAIN AND THE CONCERN THAT GIRLS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO REACH THE AMBITIONS THAT THEY HAD STRIVED FOR AND THAT YOU HAD HELPED OVERSEE, HOW ARE YOU FEELING ABOUT THAT?
WELL, BIANNA, I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED THAT QUESTION.
I'VE SAT IN RURAL COMMUNITIES IN SCHOOLS WITH YOUNG GIRLS AND THEIR MOTHERS WHO HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEIR ABILITY TO GET EDUCATED, THEIR ABILITY TO GO TO SCHOOL, THEIR ABILITY TO DREAM ABOUT A FUTURE AS AN EDUCATED WOMAN AND A COMMUNITY LEADER, MEANS EVERYTHING TO THEM.
AND TO THEIR FATHERS AND THEIR BROTHERS AS WELL.
AND I FEAR FOR THEM.
I FEAR THAT THEY WILL NOT HAVE NEARLY THE OPPORTUNITIES THEY OTHERWISE WOULD.
I THINK THAT REALITY IS WHY I'M CALLING FOR A COVID CHARTER.
IT'S UNTIL WE REALIZE THAT THAT YOUNG GIRL IN RURAL AFGHANISTAN OR THAT UNVACCINATED MOTHER IN A SLUM COMMUNITY IN NAIROBI OR THAT BUSINESS EXECUTIVE IN SOUTH AFRICA WHO CAN'T GET VACCINATED AND GO ABOUT THEIR WORK SAFELY, UNTIL WE REALIZE WE'RE ALL CONNECTED, THAT BY INVESTING 1% OF OUR GDP IN EACH OTHER'S BASIC HEALTH AND HUMAN WELFARE, AND WORKING TOGETHER TO TACKLE CHALLENGES LIKE CLIMATE CHANGE -- UNTIL WE MAKE THAT JUDGMENT AS POLITICAL LEADERS ACROSS THE WORLD, WE WON'T LIVE IN A WORLD THAT IS SAFE, THAT IS GROWING, AND WHERE THE HOPE AND PROSPERITY REACHES EVERY CORNER OF THE GLOBE.
AND UNTIL WE GET THERE, WE'LL BE DEALING WITH THREATS LIKE THE TALIBAN AND OTHERS FOR MANY, MANY DECADES TO COME.
AND WE'LL BE AT THE MERCY OF A CHANGING CLIMATE THAT THREATENS ALL OF US.
SO I'M VERY, VERY HOPEFUL THAT AS THE WORLD GOES INTO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY NEXT WEEK, AS WE IMAGINE A ROAD TO THE COP-26 AND THE G20 LATER THIS FALL, THE LEADERS WILL, IN FACT, REEMBRACE THE SPIRIT OF THE ATLANTIC CHARTER, RECOGNIZE WE'RE IN THIS TOGETHER, AND MAKE SOME OF THE TOUGH BUT CRITICAL INVESTMENTS AND ACTIONS NECESSARY TO PROTECT ALL OF US.
YOU'VE CONNECTED THIS ALL SO WELL FOR US, DR. SHAH, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'VE BEEN DOING, FOCUSING ON EQUITY AROUND THE WORLD, THANK YOU.
THANK YOU.
> ONE ALARMING IMPACT OF THE TALIBAN TAKEOVER IN AFGHANISTAN IS THE DANGER FACING WOMEN WHO SERVED AS AFGHAN JUDGES.
THEY'RE NOW IN HIDING AND ON THE RUN, LIVING IN FEAR WHAT WAS WILL HAPPEN TO THEM IF THE TALIBAN OR FORMER PRISONERS THEY INCARCERATED FIND THEM.
IN A CNN EXCLUSIVE, ANNA COREN TAKES A LOOK AT THE JUDGES LEFT BEHIND AND OTHERS WHO MANAGED TO ESCAPE.
Reporter: CHILDHOOD LAUGHTER SHARED BY TWO YOUNG SISTERS.
THEY HAVE NO IDEA ABOUT THE DANGERS THEY NOW FACE.
THEIR MOTHER, NABILA, WAS A JUDGE IN AFGHANISTAN, A PROFESSION NOW MADE IMPOSSIBLE FOR WOMEN.
THE TALIBAN HAS TOLD THEM NOT TO RETURN TO WORK.
AND NOW THE WHOLE FAMILY HAS A TARGET ON THEIR HEADS.
Translator: A DAY OR TWO AFTER THE TALIBAN ARRIVED IN KABUL, MY PERSONAL NUMBER WAS CALLED.
AND I WAS THREATENED WITH REVENGE.
THREATENED WITH MURDER.
AND I HAD TO CANCEL MY PHONE NUMBERS.
Reporter: THE FAMILY IS CURRENTLY IN HIDING, IN FEAR OF BEING HUNTED DOWN BY MEN SHE PUT BEHIND BARS.
SOME OF WHOM HAVE NOW BEEN FREED BY THE TALIBAN.
Translator: BECAUSE OF THIS THREAT FROM THE PRISONERS, I CHANGE MY HOUSE ONCE EVERY FOUR DAYS.
I HIDE THERE, AND I TRY TO NEVER GO OUT.
Reporter: HER FEAR COMPOUNDED AFTER A POLICEWOMAN, 8 MONTHS PREGNANT, WAS MURDERED BY THE TALIBAN, ACCORDING TO HER FAMILY.
A CLAIM THE TALIBAN DENY.
NABILA IS ONE OF AROUND 200 WOMEN JUDGES LEFT STRANDED IN AFGHANISTAN.
MANY OF THEM PRESIDED OVER THE WORST CASES OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, INCLUDING RAPE, MURDER, AND DOMESTIC ABUSE.
SOME OF THEM HAD EVEN TRAVELED TO THE U.S. FOR A JUDICIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM.
UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS AND GUNFIRE, A FEW DOZEN OTHERS HAVE MANAGED TO GET OUT.
ONE EXPERIENCED HIGH COURT JUDGE RISKED HER LIFE TO FLEE THE COUNTRY AFTER THE TALIBAN CAME LOOKING FOR HER.
Translator: FIVE MEMBERS OF THE TALIBAN CAME TO MY AREA ASKING MY NEIGHBORS ABOUT ME.
I RELOCATED AGAIN BECAUSE I WAS SO SCARED THEY COULD FIND ME.
Reporter: THIS JUDGE MANAGED TO ESCAPE WITH HER NIECES AND NEPHEWS ON A FLIGHT FROM KABUL AFTER DAYS OF WAITING AT THE AIRPORT.
SHE WANTS TO KEEP THEIR IDENTITY HIDDEN, AS SHE FEARS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS BACK HOME.
THEY LANDED SAFELY IN POLAND AND ARE NOW TRYING TO GET TO THE U.S.
BUT THE JUDGE CAN'T FORGET THE LIFE SHE LEFT BEHIND.
Translator: NOW I FEEL LIKE I LOST EVERYTHING.
IMAGINE YOU HAVE A PERSONALITY, A CAREER, RESPECT, A HOME, A CAR, A LIFE, AND EVERYTHING.
AND SUDDENLY YOU LEAVE EVERYTHING.
Reporter: AS CHAOS AND UNCERTAINTY UNFOLD INSIDE AFGHANISTAN, THE U.S.-BASED INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN JUDGES IS TRYING TO HELP MORE OF THEIR AFGHAN MEMBERS TO LEAVE.
BUT THEY SAY WESTERN COUNTRIES NEED TO DO MORE.
GOVERNMENTS NEED TO BE BETTER, MORE AGILE, MORE GENEROUS, FRANKLY, IN GIVING ADMISSION TO PEOPLE WHO ARE IN DANGER IN AFGHANISTAN.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO ABANDON THEM.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO FORGET THEM.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO LET THE WORLD IGNORE THEM.
Reporter: FOR THOSE LEFT BEHIND, LIKE NABILA, ESCAPE IS THEIR ONLY HOPE AS THEY SEE NO FUTURE IN THEIR HOMELAND UNDER TALIBAN RULE.
BUT SHE HOPES ONE DAY, SHE WILL BE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO THE BENCH.
Translator: WE HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR MANY YEARS TO COMBAT VIOLENCE, OPPRESSION, AND INJUSTICE.
AND I WANT TO CONTINUE WITH MY WORK.
Reporter: HER BRAVERY IN PROTECTING AFGHANISTAN'S WOMEN, DESPITE THE DANGERS, WAS TO CREATE A BETTER FUTURE FOR HER DAUGHTERS.
A GENERATION THAT NOW FACES A DARK REALITY UNDER THE NEW REGIME.
WONDERFUL REPORTING ABOUT SUCH BRAVE, INCREDIBLE WOMEN.
ANNA COREN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.
> WHILE THE FIGHT AGAINST VIOLENCE AND OPPRESSION CONTINUES ACROSS THE WORLD, AMERICA'S RECKONING WITH ANGRY DIVISIONS HERE AT HOME.
JOURNALIST EVAN OSMOS, WHO'S SPENT MUCH OF HIS CAREER WITH 'THE NEW YORKER,' TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO HIS OWN COUNTRY.
OSNOS COMPARES THE U.S. TO A DRIED-OUT FOREST, WHERE AFTER YEARS OF POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FAILURE, A SINGLE SPARK CAN ERUPT INTO A RAGING INFERNO.
EVAN OSNOS, WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM.
WITH THAT IMAGE IN VIEWERS' MINDS RIGHT NOW, IT IS REALLY INTERESTING THAT YOU SPENT SO MUCH OF YOUR CAREER FOCUSED INTERNATIONALLY, TO COME HOME TO A COUNTRY THAT WAS BASICALLY UNRECOGNIZABLE.
IT REMINDED ME A LOT OF WHAT WE HEARD FROM PRESIDENT BUSH OVER THE WEEKEND, THE 9/11, THE 20-YEAR ANNIVERSARY, WHEN HE KEPT TALKING ABOUT THE AMERICA THAT HE KNEW.
YEAH, VERY MUCH SO, ACTUALLY.
WHEN HE WAS TALKING ABOUT IT, I THINK A LOT OF US HAD THAT SENSE OF A KIND OF MOMENT OF AWARENESS, OF REALLY HOW MUCH GROUND HAS BEEN COVERED.
AND THE THINGS THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE HAVE LOST IN THOSE 20 YEARS SINCE 9/11.
HE TALKED ABOUT CHILDREN OF THE SAME FOUL SPIRIT, BY WHICH HE MEANT IN A SENSE THIS IDEA OF THESE INTOLERANCES, THESE REJECTIONS OF THINGS THAT I THINK WE USED TO TAKE FOR GRANTED.
FUNDAMENTALLY, THE WAY I'VE COME TO SEE IT, IS THAT THE THING THAT I NOTICED MOST WHEN I CAME BACK AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AWAY, WE SEEM TO HAVE LOST THIS VERY SPECIFIC AMERICAN TENDENCY TO SEE OURSELVES AS A COUNTRY AS LARGER THAN THE SUM OF OUR PARTS.
THAT PIECE OF IT SEEMS TO HAVE SORT OF FALLEN THROUGH OUR FINGERS.
AND THE PROJECT BEFORE US NOW IS TO SAY, HOW DO WE GET THAT BACK?
AND YOU HIGHLIGHT THREE AMERICANS, WE SHOULD NOTE NOT IN WASHINGTON, D.C. -- ONE A HEDGE FUNDER IN GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT.
ANOTHER, A WAR VETERAN IN WEST VIRGINIA.
ANOTHER, A MAN WHO WAS CONVICTED OF TEEN GANG-RELATED CRIMES IN CHICAGO.
WHY DID YOU SPECIFICALLY SEEK THESE THREE STORIES OUT?
THESE ARE THREE PLACES THAT MEAN A LOT TO ME.
THEY'RE ALL PLACES WHERE I'VE LIVED IN MY LIFE.
GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, IS WHERE I GREW UP AS A KID.
JUST AN EXTRAORDINARILY FORTUNATE PLACE TO GROW UP OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK CITY.
IT'S ALWAYS BEEN PROSPEROUS.
OVER THE LAST 20 YEARS IT HAS IN MANY WAYS BECOME A PLACE -- IT'S KNOWN AS THE HEDGE FUND CAPITAL OF THE WORLD, A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN LEARN A LOT ABOUT WHAT THE IMPACT OF THE FINANCIALIZATION OF THE ECONOMY HAS BEEN IN AMERICA.
CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA, SMALL CITY IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE STATE.
VERY DIFFERENT FROM GREENWICH, VERY DIFFERENT FROM CHICAGO.
IT'S THE PLACE I WORKED AS A YOUNG JOURNALIST, FIRST JOB OUT OF COLLEGE.
IT'S ALSO A PLACE THAT FOR YEARS HAS SENT PEOPLE OFF TO FIGHT ABROAD IN AMERICAN WARS.
IN FACT, IF YOU GO BACK TO CLARKSBURG NOW, YOU CAN BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE IMPACTS THAT THE WARS HAVE HAD AT HOME.
PEOPLE GOING OVERSEAS FOR REPEATED DEPLOYMENTS.
YOU SEE IT THERE ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE LITTLE NEWSPAPER, 'THE EXPONENT TELEGRAM' WHERE I STARTED MY CAREER.
CHICAGO IN ITS OWN WAY HAS OFTEN BEEN DESCRIBED AS THE GREAT AMERICAN CITY, THE PLACE WHERE -- IT WAS FREDERICK JACKSON TURNER 120 YEARS AGO WHO SAID, IT'S THE PLACE WHERE ALL THE FORCES OF THE NATION INTERSECT, BOTH POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY.
AND TODAY IT'S ALSO A PLACE WHERE YOU SEE THE COMPOUNDED EFFECTS OF SEGREGATION AND OF VIOLENCE.
IT'S A PLACE THAT I THINK HELPS US REALLY UNDERSTAND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES YOU SEE IN AMERICAN CITIES.
AND THE STORY YOU TELL OF CHICAGO IS OF A MAN NAMED MAURICE CLARK.
I WOULD LIKE FOR YOU TO READ, IF YOU WILL, AN EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK ABOUT HIM.
YEAH, MAURICE CLARK IS AN EXTRAORDINARY PERSON WHO I MET IN THE COURSE OF MY REPORTING.
AND HE WAS, TO GIVE PEOPLE A BIT OF BACKGROUND, HE WAS A VERY PROMISING YOUNG STUDENT.
HE WAS THE YOUNGEST OF FOUR KIDS.
HE WAS DOING VERY WELL IN MATH CLASS.
HE CAME FROM A STRUGGLING NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND HIS MOTHER SENT HIM ACROSS TOWN TO ANOTHER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
AND THEN WHEN HE HIT ABOUT EIGHTH GRADE, THERE WAS A PIVOT POINT IN HIS LIFE, AS HE DESCRIBES IT.
I'LL TELL IT AS HE PUTS IT HERE.
HE WENT ON A TOUR OF MORGAN PARK HIGH SCHOOL, AND HE IMAGINED HIMSELF THERE.
I SEE THIS NICE, FRESH SCHOOL, IT'S INTEGRATED, WHITING, BLACKING IT'S KIND OF UPSCALE.
THEN HIS PARENTS WERE INFORMED THAT THE SCHOOL BUS THAT HE'D BEEN RIDING STOPPED AT EIGHTH GRADE.
HIS PARENTS DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY FOR THE PUBLIC BUS FARE, SO MAURICE CLARK ENROLLED INSTEAD AT HIS LOCAL SCHOOL, BANGER HIGH, KNOWN FOR TERRIFIC FOOTBALL AND TERRIBLE VIOLENCE.
LOOKING BACK AT THAT MOMENT, CLARK GAVE A SHORT, RUEFUL LAUGH.
'AND THAT STARTED MY LIFE OF CRIME.'
I THINK IT'S WORTH EXPLAINING THAT IN THE YEARS THAT FOLLOWED, HE FOUND HIMSELF IN A HIGH SCHOOL THAT WAS BEING STEADILY STARVED OF RESOURCES.
AT THE TIME, THE PARENTS WROTE A LETTER TO THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD PLEADING WITH GREATER INVESTMENT, AND THEY SAID, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO MANAGE THE LUNCH ROOM, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO FURNISH THE MOST BASIC ELEMENTS OF AN EDUCATION.
AND HE STARTED TO FEEL THAT IN HIS OWN LIFE.
HE SAID THERE WERE KIDS FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD, FROM LOCAL GANGS, WHO WOULD COME INTO THE LUNCH ROOM.
HE WOULD FIND HIMSELF DRAWN INTO THESE ENCOUNTERS.
HE ENDED UP FOLLOWS HIS BROTHERS INTO THE GANGSTER DIS-SEIPLES.
AS HE DESCRIBES IT, IT WAS THE PATH THAT DEFINED THE LIFE THAT FOLLOWED.
THE STORY HE TELLS, AND HE'S BEEN GENEROUS WITH ME OVER THE YEARS IN EXPLAINING HIS EXPERIENCES, TAKES YOU THROUGH NOT ONLY HIS TIME IN PRISON BUT THE STRUGGLE HE FACED AFTER GETTING OUT, THE CHALLENGES OF GETTING INTO THE LEGAL ECONOMY THAT FACE A FELON IN HIS CONDITION.
ALSO, ULTIMATELY, HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS AND THE WAYS THAT REDEFINED HIS LIFE AND THOSE OF THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM.
FOR HIM, HE HAS BEEN REALLY ONE OF THE WAYS I'VE COME TO UNDERSTAND MY OWN COUNTRIES IN WAYS I HADN'T SEEN IT BEFORE.
TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF THAT, I WAS STRUCK BY A POINT YOU MADE IN A RECENT INTERVIEW ABOUT THE BOOK WHERE YOU SAID, WE DON'T SPEND MUST HAVE TIME ON THE ROLE THAT PRIDE AND DIGNITY PLAY IN THE CURRENT DIVIDE.
IT REALLY DOES EXPLAIN THE STRUGGLES, THE STRIFE, THE DIVISIONS WITHIN THE COUNTRY ITSELF.
LET ME TALK TO YOU ABOUT WHAT YOU FOCUSED THE MAJORITY OF YOUR CAREER ON, HOW THE REST OF THE WORLD SEES THE U.S. AND VICE VERSA.
AND I WANT TO GET YOUR TAKE ON JUST THE LATEST NEWS THIS WEEK OF THE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCING THAT HE'S GOING TO BE SHARING SUBMARINE NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY WITH OUR ALLIES, THE AUSTRALIANS.
NOW WE KNOW THAT THAT REALLY ANGERED THE FRENCH.
AND THEY EVEN CANCELED A PARTY THAT THEY WERE EXPECTING TO HOST IN WASHINGTON, D.C., SAID THEY WERE BLIND-SIDED BY THIS, THAT THEY WEREN'T GIVEN A HEADS-UP, SIMILAR TO THE HEADS-UP THEY WEREN'T PROVIDED BEFORE WE LEFT AFGHANISTAN.
AND THEN I THINK IN THE BIGGEST INSULT ONE COULD LOB POLITICALLY, AT LEAST, COMPARING THIS ADMINISTRATION TO THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.
HOW DID YOU INTERPRET ALL OF THAT?
OBVIOUSLY YOU WROTE A BOOK ON PRESIDENT BIDEN TOO.
YEAH, WELL -- CHINA IS A PLACE THAT I TEND TO FOCUS A LOT ON.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE, I THINK, OF A PERIOD THAT HAS COME TO BE UNDERSTOOD NOT JUST IN THE UNITED STATES BUT AROUND THE WORLD AS A REDEFINITION OF HOW COUNTRIES ARE DEALING WITH CHINA.
CHINA WAS THE PIECE OF THIS STORY THAT WAS UNANNOUNCED, IN A SENSE.
THE REASON WHY THE UNITED STATES AND AUSTRALIA AND THE UK HAVE STRUCK UP THIS NEW PARTNERSHIP IS A --
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM.
YES, EXACTLY RIGHT.
IT WAS, IN A SENSE, A WAY OF SAYING, WE ARE FEELING NOW UNCERTAIN ABOUT CHINA'S FUTURE IN THE REGION.
CHINA IS FINDING ITSELF IN GREATER CONFLICT NOT ONLY WITH THE UNITED STATES, BUT WITH MANY OF ITS NEIGHBORS.
AND AUSTRALIA FOR YEARS HAS SAID, WE DON'T WANT TO CHOOSE A SIDE.
THIS FRANKLY WAS A CHOOSING OF THE SIDES.
THEY SAID, WE FEEL AS IF WE ARE GOING TO BUILD A FUTURE WITH THE UNITED STATES.
BUT I THINK, BIANNA, IT IS ALSO A SIGN OF A PERIOD OF UNCERTAINTY TO COME.
CHINA, OF COURSE, IS FEELING THIS AS A MOMENT, A THREATENING MOMENT, WHICH IS NOT TO SAY THAT IT WASN'T A WISE MOVE ON THE PART OF EITHER OF THESE POWERS.
BUT IT WAS A SIGN THAT WE ARE ENTERING A PHASE OF GREATER UNCERTAINTY, PARTICULARLY AS IT RELATES TO CONTROL OF THE PACIFIC.
AND IT'S CLEAR THAT AUSTRALIA WAS FEELING A LOT OF TENSION FROM CHINA AS WELL, WITH INCREASED TARIFFS THAT CHINA WAS IMPOSING ON AUSTRALIA.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE HAVE HISTORIC ALLIES IN EUROPE, IN PARTICULAR FRANCE AND GERMANY, THAT CONTINUE TO BALANCE THIS THAT THIS ADMINISTRATION, AND I WOULD ARGUE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, HAD NOT BEEN PIVOTING TOWARDS.
AND THAT LEADS ME TO THIS NEXT QUESTION, BECAUSE I WANT TO GET YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON THE FOREIGN POLICY PERSPECTIVE FROM THIS PRESIDENT RIGHT NOW.
AND THAT IS THE AUTOCRATS VERSUS DEMOCRACY.
HE CONTINUES TO HONE IN ON THAT.
AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'M HEARING FROM OTHER INTERVIEWS THAT WE'VE BEEN CONDUCTING, WHETHER IT BE OPPOSITION LEADERS IN BELARUS OR EVEN AN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST FROM VENEZUELA, LEOPOLD LOPEZ.
HE STRUCK ON THIS WHEN I SPOKE WITH HIM YESTERDAY.
I WANT TO PLAY THAT SOUND, THEN WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT AFTER.
THIS IS A GLOBAL ISSUE.
IT'S AN ISSUE THAT AFFECS BELARUS, NICARAGUA, VENEZUELA, HOW TO CONFRONT AUTOCRATS THAT ARE TAKING HOLD OF POWER IN COUNTRIES THAT ARE ALSO BEING IMPOVERISHED AND LOSING THE POSSIBILITY TO HAVE A BETTER FUTURE FOR ITS POPULATION.
THERE ARE OPPOSITION LEADERS AND AUTOCRATIC REGIMES THAT ARE LISTENING TO PRESIDENT BIDEN AND TRYING TO USE THIS AS A WAY TO GET TO HIM TO FOCUS ON THE ISSUES HAPPENING DOMESTICALLY FOR THEM.
HOW WOULD YOU RATE HOW BIDEN IS HANDLING THIS RIGHT NOW?
WELL, HE HAS COME INTO OFFICE DRAWING A CLEARER LINE THAN I THINK MANY PEOPLE EXPECTED OF SAYING, LOOK, THIS IS A PERIOD IN WHICH THE UNITED STATES FINDS ITSELF IN A FOOT RACE WITH AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES.
THAT THERE ARE COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD THAT LOOK AT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE UNITED STATES THE LAST FEW YEARS, AT THE DEMOCRATIC DISORDER, AT WHAT HAPPENED ON JANUARY 6th WITH PEOPLE STORMING THE CAPITOL, HAVE LOOKED AT IT AS A MOMENT OF VULNERABILITY AND SAID, THIS IS A CHANCE FOR TO US MAKE A CASE FOR AUTHORITARIANISM.
THERE'S TENSION TO THE IDEA OF BRINGING AMERICAN TROOPS HOME FROM AFGHANISTAN, WHICH MAKES PEOPLE FEEL AS IF PERHAPS HE'S WITHDRAWING WITHIN AMERICAN BORDERS.
THE WAY HE WOULD SAY IT, AND I THINK THIS IS SORT OF RUNNING THROUGH NOT ONLY HIS -- THE DEAL WITH AUSTRALIA, BUT ALSO THE DECISION IN AFGHANISTAN, AND ULTIMATELY THE DECISIONS HE'S MAKING IN DOMESTIC POLITICS, IS HIS BELIEF THAT THE WAY THAT THE UNITED STATES ULTIMATELY WILL PREVAIL IN A GLOBAL COMPETITION WITH AUTHORITARIANISM IS BY FORTIFYING AND REVIVING OUR SYSTEM AT HOME AND DEMONSTRATING ONCE AGAIN THAT YOU CAN BUILD PUBLIC CONFIDENCE AND THAT YOU CAN MAKE OUR INSTITUTIONS FUNCTION.
AS HE OFTEN SAYS, DEMOCRACY NEEDS -- FOR IT TO WORK, FOR IT TO HAVE A -- TO RESTORE THE NAME OF DEMOCRACY AROUND THE WORLD, WE HAVE TO DEMONSTRATE WE'RE WILLING TO RECOMMIT TO IT AT HOME.
THAT IS IN A SENSE HOW I COME TO BRING MY FOCUS TO THE HOME FRONT, TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT WOULD TAKE TO GET THESE INSTITUTIONS FUNCTIONING AGAIN AND REGAIN PUBLIC CONFIDENCE.
RIGHT.
WHAT STOOD OUT TO ME IN LEOPOLD LOPEZ'S COMMENTS WAS THAT THEY WERE DIRECTED NOT ONLY TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, OBVIOUSLY, BUT TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC AS A WHOLE.
HE WAS TRYING TO MAKE THE CONNECTION THAT THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY IS JUST AS IMPORTANT IN THOSE COUNTRIES AS IT IS IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND I'M CURIOUS, JUST FROM THE RESEARCH THAT YOU'VE DONE FOR THIS BOOK OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS, DOES THAT RESONATE AS MUCH AS IT PERHAPS WOULD HAVE IN DECADES PRIOR WITH THE AMERICAN PUBLIC?
YOU'VE SEEN OVER THE COURSE OF THE DECADES THAT THE AMERICAN PUBLIC HAS BEEN LOSING CONFIDENCE IN THE ABILITY OF ITS OWN SYSTEM TO DELIVER.
MEANING THE MID-1960s, FOR INSTANCE, AMERICANS GAVE OVERWHELMINGLY HIGH MARKS IN THEIR TRUST FOR THE GOVERNMENT.
77% OF AMERICANS SAID THEY TRUSTED THE GOVERNMENT.
FAST FORWARD A HALF CENTURY.
YOU GET TO TODAY WHERE THAT NUMBER HAS PLUMMETED, ONLY ABOUT 18% TODAY.
I THINK PART OF THE CHALLENGE BECOMES THAT, FOR AMERICANS TO FEEL GENEROUS AND OPEN-MINDED AND WILLING TO DEDICATE RESOURCES AND COMMITMENT TO BUILDING DEMOCRACY ABROAD, THE START OF THAT, THAT BEGINS WITH REBUILDING CONFIDENCE IN THEIR SYSTEM HERE.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REALLY WAS STRUCK BY AS I WENT AROUND THE COUNTRY, IN WORKING ON THE BOOK, WAS THE WAY IN WHICH THERE IS A GAP BETWEEN THE PUBLIC WILL AND WHAT YOU SEE IN GOVERNMENT.
CASE IN POINT, TAKE GUN VIOLENCE.
70% OF AMERICANS SAY THEY WANT TO SEE CONGRESS DO SOMETHING FUNDAMENTALLY TO PROTECT AMERICAN YOUNG PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY IN SCHOOLS.
BUT WE'VE SEN THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WHEN ISSUES COME UP WHAT WE HEAR FROM CONGRESS IS THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.
WE GET EMPTY WORDS WITHOUT ACTION.
AS LONG AS THAT'S THE CASE, I THINK YOU ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO SEE AMERICANS' ERODING CONFIDENCE.
THE TASK AT HAND IS TO SAY, HOW DO WE REBUILD CONFIDENCE AT HOME?
I HOPE THAT THEN WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A GREATER CONFIDENCE IN BUILDING IT ABROAD.
BUT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE.
YOU HIGHLIGHT THAT, AS WE WRAP UP, WITH ONE EXAMPLE.
THAT IS THOSE WHO ARE COMMITTING TO PUBLIC SERVICE IN THE UNITED STATES.
AND YOU KNOW THAT LESS THAN .01% OF AMERICANS ACTUALLY FOUGHT DEFENDING THIS COUNTRY OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS IN THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN AND THE TOLL THAT YOU BEAUTIFULLY WRITE ABOUT IN THE BOOK THAT IT'S HAD ON THEIR COMMUNITIES.
THANK YOU, EVAN, SO MUCH FOR THIS REPORT RECOGNIZE ARE WE ALWAYS APPRECIATE IT WHEN IT COMES FROM ABROAD.
I THINK IT'S EVEN MORE INSIGHTFUL NOW WHEN IT'S COMING FROM HERE AT HOME.
THANK YOU.
> NOW FROM DIVISIONS ON EARTH TO PURSUITS IN OUTER SPACE.
THIS WEEK SPACEX MADE HISTORY WITH THE LAUNCH OF 'INSPIRATION 4,' THE FIRST-EVER ALL-CIVILIAN MISSION TO ORBIT.
CORRESPONDENT KRISTIN FISHER HAS MORE ON HOW THE CREW ARE GETTING WAY, WAY UP HIGH.
Reporter: SPACEX SAYS THAT THE CREW IS HAPPY AND HEALTHY, THEY'RE CONDUCTING SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS, MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS.
THEY'RE ALSO JUST SITTING BACK AND ENJOYING THE VIEW, ENJOYING A MUCH MORE EXPANSIVE VIEW OF PLANET EARTH THAN JEFF BEZOS OR RICHARD BRANSON, BECAUSE BEZOS AND BRANSON WENT ON A QUICK SUBORBITAL SPACEFLIGHT.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT DISTINCTION ABOUT THIS MISSION IS THAT IT IS THE FIRST ALL-CIVILIAN TRIP TO ORBIT.
NONE OF THE FOUR PEOPLE ON BOARD ARE PROFESSIONAL ASTRONAUTS.
THEY'RE ESSENTIALLY ALL AMATEURS.
AND THEN THE OTHER BIG DIFFERENCE HERE IS THAT THIS IS REALLY THE FIRST TIME THAT NASA HAS NOT PLAYED ANY ROLE WHATSOEVER IN A HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT THAT TOOK OFF FROM THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER'S HISTORIC LAUNCH PAD 39-A.
SO A LOT OF FIRSTS.
BUT WHAT THIS MEANS, THE FACT THAT THIS IS NOT A GOVERNMENT FLIGHT, IS THE FACT THAT WE DON'T KNOW A TON ABOUT WHAT THE CREW IS ACTUALLY THINKING AND FEELING.
SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL LEARN MORE AFTER THEY SPLASH DOWN ON EITHER SATURDAY OR SUNDAY.
UNCHARTED TERRITORY.
THIS MILESTONE INITIATIVE OFFERS A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE OF DISPLAYS EXPLORATION, AND NO ONE IS MORE QUALIFIED TO SPEAK ON THIS THAN NASA ADMINISTRATOR BILL NELSON, ONE OF A HANDFUL OF CONGRESS MEMBERS EVER TO TRAVEL TO SPACE.
HERE HE IS TALKING TO OUR WALTER ISAACSON.
NASA ADMINISTRATOR BILL NELSON, WELCOME TO THE SHOW.
THANK YOU.
CONGRATULATIONS.
THIS WAS A VERY INSPIRING THING THAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK.
THE LAUNCH OF THE COMMERCIAL CREW, THE FOUR CIVILIANS THAT WENT INTO SPACE, LIVED UP TO ITS NAME, 'INSPIRATION 4.'
FOR THE FIRST TIME, NASA WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A SPECTATOR IN THIS.
IT WAS DONE BY A PRIVATE COMPANY, SPACEX.
TELL ME WHY THAT'S BETTER THAN HAVING GOVERNMENT TO IT ITSELF.
WE ARE PROMOTING COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY IN SPACE.
AND I CAN GO INTO THAT.
BUT LET ME TELL YOU, NASA WASN'T A SPECTATOR.
TO GET THAT VEHICLE READY, THE VEHICLE BEING THE DRAGON SPACECRAFT, SO THAT IT'S SAFE FOR HUMANS, NASA HAS BEEN ALL OVER THAT, PARTNERING WITH SPACEX.
WE'RE DOING THE SAME WITH BOEING NOW AS THEY TRY TO GET OFF THE LAUNCH PAD.
TO MAKE SURE THAT THE VEHICLE AND THE SPACECRAFT ARE SAFE.
AND CERTAINLY SPACEX IS PROVING THAT THAT'S THE CASE, BECAUSE THIS NOW, THEY'VE SENT THREE CREWS TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
WE'LL DO THE FOURTH COMING UP IN OCTOBER.
AND THEN IN THE MEANTIME, THEY SEND THIS CREW OUT, NOT ATTACHED TO THE SPACE STATION.
IT'S SHOWING THAT VEHICLE IS RELIABLE.
YOU DESCRIBED HOW NASA'S HELPED DESIGN THAT DRAGON CAPSULE WE SAW ON TV, THAT WONDERFUL THING WITH THE OPEN DOME SO THEY CAN SEE OUT.
TELL ME ABOUT WORKING WITH SPACEX TO DESIGN THAT AMAZING 21st CENTURY SPACE CAPSULE THEY'RE IN.
SPACEX AND ELON ARE AN AMAZING SUCCESS STORY.
NOW, THEY WILL TELL YOU WHAT I'M ABOUT TO TELL YOU, THAT THEY STARTED OUT THINKING THAT THEY COULD DO IT THEMSELVES.
AND FINALLY, THEY REALIZED THAT THEY REALLY NEEDED NASA'S HELP WHEN IT CAME TO HUMANS IN THE LOOP.
NASA LIKEWISE HAS LEARNED A LOT FROM COMMERCIAL COMPANIES LIKE SPACEX.
AND INDEED, WE NOW PURCHASE THE SERVICE OF DELIVERY OF CREW TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
AND IT'S NOW COME ABOUT AS A COST SAVINGS.
AND I WOULD BE QUICK TO POINT OUT THAT NO LESS THAN THE U.S.
AIR FORCE HAS ADMITTED TO ME THAT BECAUSE OF SPACEX DRIVING DOWN THE COST OF LAUNCHES, BECAUSE PRIMARILY THEY REUSE THE ROCKET CORE OF THE FIRST STAGE, THEY HAVE SAVED JUST THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE HAS SAVED $40 BILLION OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS IN LAUNCH COSTS.
SO YOU SEE THERE'S SYNERGY HERE BETWEEN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND THE PUBLIC SECTOR, AND IT'S ALL TO THE GOOD OF MANKIND.
THERE'S A GREAT COMPETITION BETWEEN BLUE ORIGIN, RUN BY JEFF BEZOS, AND SPACEX, RUN BY ELON MUSK AND GLEN SHOTTEN WELL.
OF COURSE, BLUE ORIGIN IS SUING NASA OR IS PART OF A LAWSUIT BECAUSE YOU AWARDED A CONTRACT FOR THE MOON LANDING CAPSULE TO SPACEX.
TELL ME, ARE YOU CONFIDENT THAT THAT CONTRACT WAS AWARDED CORRECTLY?
AND WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT LAWSUIT?
EVEN THOUGH THE CONTRACT WAS AWARDED BEFORE I CAME HERE, THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION IS YES.
AND IN PART IT WAS AWARDED BECAUSE, BEFORE I CAME HERE, CONGRESS DID NOT GIVE NASA ENOUGH MONEY.
AND THEREFORE, THE DECISION WAS MADE IN NASA, THEY ONLY HAD ENOUGH MONEY TO AWARD ONE FOR THE FIRST DEMONSTRATION FLIGHT.
I AM NOW ALL OVER CAPITOL HILL TRYING TO GET THEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE NEED COMPETITION GOING FORWARD, BECAUSE COMPETITION WILL KEEP US ON TIME, IT WILL ALSO BRING THE COSTS DOWN.
AND IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT COMPETITION WITH OTHER COMPANIES, LIKE BLUE ORIGIN AND DIENETTICS AND OTHERS WHO HAVE PUT IN THE BIDS, WE'VE GOT TO HAVE THAT, WE'VE GOT TO HAVE SOME MORE MONEY.
I'VE MADE THAT ARGUMENT TO THE WHITE HOUSE, AND I'VE MADE THAT ARGUMENT TO THE CONGRESS, AND WE'LL SEE IF THEY HONOR THAT.
SPACEX IS CURRENTLY THE ONLY WAY THAT THE U.S. CAN GET ASTRONAUTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
IT WILL BE A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP IN SOME WAYS BECAUSE THE LUNAR LANDER YOU'LL DO IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SPACEX, AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT OTHER COMPANIES TO HELP WITH THAT.
HOW LONG WILL THIS ARTEMIS PROGRAM TAKE, AND WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET TO THE MOON AGAIN?
WELL, THE FIRST TWO ARE ENTIRELY NASA.
THE FIRST ONE IS UNMANNED, AS WE ALWAYS GO THROUGH AND TEST A VEHICLE WITHOUT HUMANS ON IT.
THE SECOND ONE, WHICH IS SOMETIME IN 2023, MAYBE EARLY '24, THAT ONE WILL HAVE A CREW.
AND THEY WILL GO WAY BEYOND THE MOON AND THEN COME BACK TO THE EARTH.
AND THEN THE THIRD ONE IS WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WHERE THE NASA SPACECRAFT ORION WILL GO INTO LUNAR ORBIT, IT WILL BE A MORE OR LESS ONE THAT GOES WAY UP AND COMES DOWN CLOSE.
AND IT WILL RENDEZVOUS IN LUNAR ORBIT WITH THE COMMERCIAL LANDING CRAFT.
THAT WILL TAKE THE ASTRONAUTS TO THE SURFACE AND BACK.
THAT'S THE FIRST DEMONSTRATION.
TO FINALLY ANSWER THE REST OF YOUR QUESTION, IT'S GOING TO BE OVER A DECADE WITH ABOUT A LANDING A YEAR, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE, AND THAT'S WHY WE NEED THAT COMPETITION, TO KEEP IT ON TIME AND KEEP IT AS ECONOMICAL AS POSSIBLE.
WE START DOING ONE LANDING PER YEAR ON THE MOON.
WHEN WILL THAT BE, AND WHAT WILL THE GOAL BE?
WILL IT BE TO HAVE A PERMANENT BASE ON THE MOON?
THE GOAL FOR THE FIRST DEMONSTRATION, ASSUMING THAT ALL OF THIS IS NOT REVERSED IN THE COURT OF CLAIMS WHERE BLUE ORIGIN HAS NOW CONTESTED THE PREVIOUS DECISION -- AND THAT WILL BE A DEMONSTRATION.
BUT THEN OVER TIME, THOSE LANDINGS WILL DO ALL OF THE ABOVE.
THERE WILL BE A HABITAT, THERE WILL BE SCIENCE.
THERE'S GOING TO BE A LOT OF THAT START IS NEXT YEAR, BY THE WAY.
IN COMMERCIAL LANDERS HAVING NASA PAYLOADS, UNIVERSITY SCIENCE PAYLOADS, ALL IN PREPARATION.
AND HERE'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY EXCITING.
WE'RE SENDING THREE MISSIONS TO THE SOUTH POLE.
IT'S THE SOUTH POLE OF THE MOON THAT WE THINK HAS THE WATER.
AND IF YOU HAVE WATER, YOU CAN MAKE FUEL.
HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN.
AND THAT COULD BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR FUELING FUTURE MISSIONS TO MARS.
THIS 'INSPIRATION 4' LAUNCH HAS SOMETIMES BEEN CALLED SPACE TOURISM BECAUSE IT'S FOR CIVILIANS.
IN FACT, THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING A LOT OF WORK.
I STILL WANT TO ASK YOU, WHEN WE CALL IT SPACE TOURISM, IS THAT ACTUALLY A GOOD THING?
DO WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE SPACE TOURISM?
YES.
THE MORE THAT WE CAN GET COMMERCIAL VENTURES OUT THERE, AND THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL, AND THEY BUILD ONE SUCCESS ON ANOTHER, LEARN THAT MUCH MORE, THE MORE THAT THAT OCCURS, THEN THE MORE WE'RE ABLE TOWARD THE END OF THIS DECADE TO TURN OVER LOW-EARTH ORBIT AND THE SPACE STATION TO COMMERCIAL VENTURES SO THEY CAN MANUFACTURE IN SPACE, THEY CAN RESEARCH IN SPACE.
AND NASA CAN GET OUT OF LOW-EARTH ORBIT AND GO ON AND EXPLORE AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING.
BACK TO THE MOON, THEN ON TO MARS.
ON TO MARS.
TELL ME HOW YOU'RE GOING TO DO THAT.
WELL, RIGHT NOW WE COULDN'T SUSTAIN HUMAN LIFE ALL THE WAY TO MARS.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF MILES.
NOT 250,000 MILES TO THE MOON.
SO WE WANT TO USE THE LUNAR HABITAT TO LEARN MORE OF HOW YOU SUSTAIN LIFE.
WHAT CAN WE DO TO KEEP OUR ASTRONAUTS FROM BEING FRIED BY A SOLAR EXPLOSION?
WHICH IS, IN EFFECT, RADIATION.
HOW CAN YOU GROW ENOUGH FOOD SO YOU CAN SUSTAIN THEM?
BECAUSE IT'S POSSIBLE, DEPENDING ON THE ALIGNMENT OF THE PLANETS -- ONCE WE GOT TO MARS, IT'S POSSIBLE YOU'D HAVE TO STAY SIX MONTHS, A YEAR, ON THE SURFACE BEFORE YOU'D COME BACK.
WE DON'T HAVE THAT CAPABILITY YET.
BUT WE'RE RESEARCHING AND DEVELOPING ALL OF THOSE CAPABILITIES.
WHAT DRIVES ELON MUSK IS MAKING HUMANS AN INTERPLANETARY SPECIES.
TO BE ABLE, EVENTUALLY -- BY EVENTUALLY, HE MEANS WITHIN A FEW DECADES -- TO LIVE ON OTHER PLANETS.
IS THAT A MISSION OF NASA AS WELL?
IS IT IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMETIME IN THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, HUMANS CAN LIVE ON OTHER PLANETS?
NASA'S MISSION IS TO VENTURE OUT AND EXPLORE.
THIS IS THE NEW FRONTIER, WALTER.
THE FRONTIER IS UPWARD.
IT USED TO BE WESTWARD IN THIS COUNTRY.
AND AS WE EXPLORE, WE LEARN NEW THINGS.
WE ADAPT TO NEW THINGS.
VERY LIKELY WE COULD CREATE CIVILIZATIONS.
AT THE SAME TIME ALL THIS IS HAPPENING, LET ME REMIND YOU, WE'RE PUTTING UP A TELESCOPE IN DECEMBER THAT'S GOING TO BE A MILLION MILES OUT FROM EARTH, AND IT'S GOING TO LOOK THROUGH A KEYHOLE, AND IT'S GOING TO LOOK BACK, IF YOU CAN BELIEVE THIS, 13 BILLION YEARS, CAPTURING LIGHT FROM THAT LONG AGO, ALMOST AFTER THE BIG BANG.
WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DISCOVER THOSE EARLY, EARLY GALAXIES.
AND WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO DISCOVER THOSE SUNS AND SEE PLANETS REVOLVING AROUND THOSE SUNS.
AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR A PLANET THAT HAS A HABITABLE KIND OF ATMOSPHERE.
WHEN YOU THINK OF THE UNIVERSE, HOW BIG IT IS, THERE ARE UNLIMITED POSSIBILITIES OUT THERE.
THIS IS THE MISSION OF NASA, TO EXPLORE.
HOW WILL EXPLORATION OF SPACE HELP US IN OUR FIGHT ON CLIMATE CHANGE?
WELL, ANY TIME WE HAVE TECHNOLOGICAL BREAKTHROUGHS, IT IMMEDIATELY DOES.
NOW, HAVING SAID THAT, LOOK AT WHAT NASA'S ALREADY DONE.
YOU KNOW, YOU THINK OF NOAA AND THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.
WHO DO YOU THINK DOES THOSE SPACECRAFT?
WE DESIGN THEM, BUILD THEM, LAUNCH THEM.
NOAA OPERATES THEM.
BUT WHAT ABOUT ALL THE OTHERS?
THERE ARE SOME 30 UP THERE MEASURING THE EARTH'S CLIMATE.
WHAT ABOUT THE FOUR OR FIVE THAT ARE TO GO IN THE FUTURE, THAT WHEN WE HAVE THE COMBINATION OF ALL THEM TALKING TO EACH OTHER, WE WILL CREATE A 3D COMPOSITE OF EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING CLIMACTICALLY ON THE EARTH.
BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THE LAND, THE SEAS, THE ICE, AT THE ATMOSPHERE, AND COLLATE ALL THAT INFORMATION.
SO OUR ABILITY TO AFFECT CLIMATE CHANGE TODAY AS A NATION, AS A PEOPLE OF EARTH, IS BECAUSE OF THE NASA INSTRUMENTS THAT ARE UP IN SPACE.
UP UNTIL YOUR PARTNERSHIP WITH SPACEX, YOU WERE DEPENDING SOME ON THE RUSSIANS TO BE ABLE TO GET AMERICAN ASTRONAUTS TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
I KNOW YOU'VE MET WITH YOUR RUSSIAN COUNTERPART, AND YOU AND I CAN REMEMBER BACK IN THE OLD DAYS IN THE EARLY '60s, EVEN, WHEN YURI GUGARIN AND JOHN GLENN WERE UP THERE, A MIX OF COMPETITION AND COOPERATION WITH DIFFERENT COUNTRIES.
TELL ME WHAT COMPETITION AND COOPERATION WE'RE GOING TO HAVE WITH THE RUSSIANS AND THE CHINESE AS WE EXPLORE SPACE.
THIS PARTNERSHIP THAT IS ALMOST A MARRIAGE BETWEEN THE RUSSIANS AND THE AMERICANS IN THE CIVILIAN SPACE PROGRAM STARTED BACK, AS YOU NOTED, 1975 IN THE MIDST OF THE COLD WAR WHEN AN AMERICAN SPACECRAFT AND A SOVIET SPACECRAFT RENDEZVOUSED AND DOCKED.
AND THE CREWS LIVED TOGETHER FOR NINE DAYS IN SPACE.
FROM THAT TIME, WE HAVE ALWAYS COOPERATED IN THE CIVILIAN SPACE PROGRAM.
AND WE STILL RELY ON THE RUSSIANS.
THEY HAVE MAJOR COMPONENTS ON THE SPACE STATION.
WE WORKED IT OUT WHERE WE'RE STILL SENDING OCCASIONALLY AN AMERICAN ASTRONAUT ON THE SOVIET SOYUZ, AND WE'RE GOING TO WORK IT OUT WHERE THEY HAVE A RUSSIAN COSMONAUT THAT IS GOING ON OUR SPACECRAFT.
SO THAT PARTNERSHIP IS SOLID.
I BELIEVE THAT PARTNERSHIP IS SOLID THROUGH THE END OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION, AND WE ARE TRYING TO EXTEND THAT UNTIL THE 2030s.
WHAT'S GOING TO REPLACE THAT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION?
EVENTUALLY, IN THE 2030s, WE HOPE IT WILL BE A COMMERCIAL SPACE STATION.
BECAUSE NASA WANTS TO GET OUT OF LOW-EARTH ORBIT SO WE CAN GET OUT AND EXPLORE.
YOU HAVE HAD THE AMAZING PERSPECTIVE THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE HAVE HAD, OF LOOKING AT OUR SMALL BLUE PLANET WHEN YOU WENT UP ON THE SHUTTLE MISSION AS AN ASTRONAUT.
TELL ME, WHAT DID THAT INSPIRE YOU TO DO, AND DID IT ALSO HELP YOU WANT TO MAKE SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE, THIS ABILITY TO SHEPHERD OUR PLANET, PART OF THE MISSION OF NASA?
THAT WAS CLEARLY ONE RESULT.
WHEN YOU LOOK OUT AT EARTH AND IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL, AND YET IT IS THIS FRAGILE CREATION, SUSPENDED IN THE MIDDLE OF NOTHING.
BUT WALTER, EVEN THOUGH I BECAME MORE OF AN ENVIRONMENTALIST AND WANTED, WHEN RETURNING, TO BECOME A BETTER STEWARD OF WHAT WE HAVE HERE ON EARTH, AS A PUBLIC SERVANT, I SAW SOMETHING ELSE.
AS WE ORBITED THE EARTH EVERY 90 MINUTES, I DID NOT SEE RELIGIOUS DIVISION.
I DID NOT SEE RACIAL DIVISION.
I DID NOT SEE THE POLITICAL DIVISION.
WHAT I SAW WAS THAT WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
AS CITIZENS OF PLANET EARTH.
THAT HAS INFORMED THE PAST 30 YEARS, EVER SINCE I FLEW ON THE SPACE SHUTTLE.
NASA ADMINISTRATOR BILL NELSON, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
THANKS, WALTER.
SO GREAT TO HEAR HIS PERSPECTIVE, SO IMPORTANT TO BE PUTTING CLIMATE FRONT AND CENTER IN ALL ASPECTS OF OUR LIVES.
> FINALLY BACK HERE ON EARTH, WILDFIRES IN CALIFORNIA MADE MORE SEVERE BY CLIMATE CHANGE ARE YOU BURNING PEARL LULLSLY CLOSE TO A WORLD-FAMOUS FOREST.
VISITORS OF SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK WILL HAVE SEEN THIS TREE, THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD, ESTIMATED AT OVER 2,000 YEARS OLD.
FIREFIGHTERS ARE TAKING EXTRA PRECAUTIONS AGAINST THE FIRE TEARING THROUGH THE PARK, WRAPPING THE HISTORIC GENERAL SHERMAN TREE WITH PROTECTIVE FOIL TO GUARD IT FROM THE BLAZE.
WHILE THIS FIRE SEASON HAS BURNED 1.6 MILLION ACRES ACROSS THE STATE, OFFICIALS ARE HOPEFUL THIS SMALL SLICE OF NATURE MIGHT REMAIN UNSCATHED.
IT'S REASSURING TO HEAR THEY ARE AT LEAST OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THAT.
THAT IS IT FOR OUR PROGRAM TONIGHT.
REMEMBER, YOU CAN FOLLOW ME AND THE SHOW ON TWITTER.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WATCHING 'AMANPOUR & COMPANY' ON PBS.
JOIN US AGAIN NEXT TIME.