This special of Take Two includes some best-of stories from 2016, including the relationship between presidents and the press, a podcast from a prison, and removing gang tattoos.
This special of Take Two includes some best-of stories from 2016, including the relationship between presidents and the press, a podcast from a prison, and removing gang tattoos.
Déjà vu: Donald Trump's Nixonian relationship with the press
Listen
10:17
Déjà vu: Donald Trump's Nixonian relationship with the press
President-elect Donald Trump was scheduled to meet with reporters, editors and the publisher of the New York Times Tuesday. Then, a little after three this morning, Trump tweeted that he was canceling his appointment, claiming that terms and conditions of the meeting were changed at the last minute.
I cancelled today's meeting with the failing @nytimes when the terms and conditions of the meeting were changed at the last moment. Not nice
The scuffle comes on the heels of a Monday summit at the Trump Tower with several prominent tv personalities, during which time the President-elect reportedly excoriated the press.
Based on the President-elect's interactions with journalists this week, what one predict about his relationship with the press in the future?
Take Two put that question to Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center.
Highlights
What has been the standard when it comes to the relationship between the Commander-in-Chief, the President-elect, and the news media?
It's always been adversarial. We should remember that — going back early into our history with newspapers — newspapers were very partisan in the early republic. The kinds of things they said about Thomas Jefferson for example, or John Adams were pretty colorful.
It's the case that we've had this controversial and sometimes adversarial relationship all the way through. We're seeing that play out, but probably at a higher level with Donald Trump than we ever had before.
When you look back, are there any presidents that might offer parallel examples here? Maybe relationships to bear in mind?
Nixon comes to mind immediately. Most people think of him in light of all of the conflicts that he had with the media and with the press.
Very famously, he said as he lost the California governor's race in 1962 that he was bowing out of politics; he was retiring. Then he said as he left the stage that the press wouldn't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore. So he carried that right on through and at the end that was his downfall in the Watergate scandal — the investigative reporting of Woodward and Bernstein for the Washington Post.
Of course, if you feel 'kicked-around' you could see where the press might not necessarily be considered your greatest ally, but in general what is in it for the president? Why would you want to foster a solid and open relationship with the news media?
It's always beneficial for the White House and the President and the presidency as an office to court the press. Access, though, which is what the press wants, means that the president then does not have complete control of his message and all presidents want to have that.
Unless he can control the access, which obviously Donald Trump is trying to do, it defeats the purpose of having the access in the first place. It's a real fine line that has to be walked. Some presidents do it with style and grace — FDR, JFK, Reagan — certainly Nixon and Donald Trump seem not so much.
Press the blue play button above to hear the full interview.
(Questions and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.)
One professor says that most of Trump's border wall is already built
Listen
12:13
One professor says that most of Trump's border wall is already built
Back to that notion of a wall between Mexico and the US.
We heard a lot of talk about plans to build a wall during the presidential campaign.
Now the election is over -- what happens to those plans?
Our next guest insists not only will that border wall BE built... he says much of it, in fact, is already there.
Peter Andreas wrote a column on this for the Washington Post.
He's a political science professor at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Relations.
Andreas spoke with Take Two's Alex Cohen
On the slippery definition of the word "wall"
At first glance the term wall seems very solid, in fact that's precisely why many Trump supporters like it. Because it seems very clear and solid and something formidable, but if you actually look up definitions of what a wall is, it's amazing how fuzzy the term can be.
For example, the Oxford dictionary says it's any high vertical surface especially one that is vertical in scale. By that definition it seems like there's a lot of wiggle room. It could be fencing, concrete, metal barriers of various sorts.
And then you look at what already have along the border: A 2,000 mile long border of which there's some form of barriers along almost 700 miles of it. Portions of it look like a pretty formidable metal wall. The polite word used in the pre-Trump world was a, "fence," or a, "barrier," but many people could also describe it as a wall.
To hear the full conversation, click the blue player above.
Ear Hustle - the podcast produced inside San Quentin State Prison
Listen
9:15
Ear Hustle - the podcast produced inside San Quentin State Prison
Earlier this year Radiotopia, a podcast network run by Public Radio Exchange (PRX), launched an open call for new podcast ideas.
More than 1,500 people from more than 50 countries submitted ideas ... like "The Difference Between," which dives into the world of “information doppelgängers” or "Do Over," a podcast about how your life could have turned out if you’d just done that one thing differently.
But the winner perhaps had the most unusual circumstances. "Ear Hustle," is a podcast produced by a team of three people, Earlonne Woods (left) , Antwan Williams (right) and Nigel Poor (center). Woods and Poor are the co-creators and co-hosts and Williams is the co-creator, co-host and sound designer.
What makes it so unusual is that Woods and Williams are both inmates at San Quentin State Prison in Northern California ... and the podcast is about life behind bars. Here's a promo clip provided by the producers:
We talked about the podcast with Nigel Poor, and how she got involved.
To listen to more, click on the blue bar above.
'The Distance Between Us' introduces kids to the immigrant experience
Listen
13:17
'The Distance Between Us' introduces kids to the immigrant experience
Immigration is a political issue, an economic issue, and often, it's a family issue, too.
In plenty of instances, young children are left behind as parents seek to find work in the United States.
A new book called "The Distance Between Us" explores the lasting impact of families being torn asunder in this way. It's an adaptation of a memoir by writer Reyna Grande, aimed specifically at younger audiences.
The book chronicles Grande's personal experience being left behind in an impoverished town in Mexico while her parents went in search of a better life across the border.
Interview highlights:
On what her life was like in Iguala, Mexico
When I was growing up there, we didn't have the violence that my family who lives there now is experiencing, and all the instability. What my siblings and I experienced was mostly the poverty, the lack of opportunities. Iguala is a very poor town, about 70 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty, and that's what I experienced. And now it breaks my heart to see that the city is changing for the worse.
On what it was like to grow up without her parents around
It was a very painful childhood. I would say that my childhood was defined by my parents' absence. I grew up in fear. Every day I woke up afraid that they might not come back for me, afraid that they would forget me, and afraid that they would replace me. Which actually did happen when they had American-born children and I felt replaced. And my fear increased thinking that now that they were going to have children in the United States, I would ask myself, 'Why would they want me now?'
On the coming to a place of forgiveness while writing the book
Writing the book really helped me come to terms with what happened, and it actually brought me to a place of understanding and forgiveness. It allowed me to look back at my parents' decisions and to understand that they were in a very difficult place. And that the decisions they made, although they caused a lot of trauma in my life, a lot of heartbreak, ultimately those decisions brought me to where I am now... And one of the things that I'm most grateful for, now that I'm a parent myself is that now, I don't have to leave my children the way that they did. And that is the greatest gift they gave me.
On why she decided to adapt her memoir for 10 to 14-year-old readers
I still remember coming to this country through those years— my 10 to 14 years. I really struggled here, learning a language, finding my way in this new society and this new culture. And I turned to books to try to find some answers, and I could never find books that I could relate to. There were no books about child immigrants, there were no books where I could see my own heartbreaks and my experiences. So there was always a yearning and a void inside of me. And when I wrote 'The Distance Between Us,' I knew that at some point that I wanted to adapt it for young readers, especially for our young immigrant children who are going to U.S. schools who might be experiencing the same things I experienced... And I wanted to give them a book that spoke to their own experiences and to tell them, 'Yes, your story matters.'
To hear the full interview with Reyna Grande, click the blue player above.
How Photoshop helped ex-gang members gain a new sense of identity
Listen
10:47
How Photoshop helped ex-gang members gain a new sense of identity
You might have heard of Homeboy Industries, the downtown L.A. based group that helps at-risk youth and former gang members. Homeboy offers a variety of free programs such as mental health counseling, work-readiness training and even tattoo removal.
How those tattoos can change someone's self-image is the subject of a book project that turns the tables on gang life. "Skin Deep" features photographs of heavily tattooed ex-gang members before and after their ink has been removed using Photoshop.
When the subjects see the images of their tattoo-free skin, their reaction is emotional and powerful.
Steven Burton is a photographer and the mind behind the project, which features the photographs of 27 homeboys and homegirls.
Francisco Flores is one of them.
Speaking with Take Two's A Martinez, Flores recalled his life before all the ink. "I grew up in South Central. It was a rough life. Both parents were addicts so I kind of had to fend for myself for most of my life," Flores said, "So, at a young age I got in trouble...then I went to prison. Once I got out of prison my parole officer was adamant about me going to Homeboy industries to get tattoo removal and that's how I started..."
Before he began the removal process, Flores speculates he had over a thousand tattoos all over his body including his face. His eyebrows, eyelids, lips, jawline and cheeks were all covered with ink. He said the sight of him would put people on edge.
"I wouldn't be able to walk up to people," Flores laughed, "I'd be walking on the street and I'll have somebody just jump away from me and grab their purse or grab their kids....I'm like, 'I'm not going to do nothing to your kid, I'm just like you.'"
It was around this time that photographer Steven Burton came into the picture. He was at Homeboy Industries to view a documentary about the organization's founder when he became drawn to the tattoo removal program. He set out to photograph as many 'homeboys' and 'homegirls' as he could.
"The actual photographs themselves didn't take too long, it was like a couple of days. The Photoshop took a long time depending on who I was Photoshopping," Burton said of the project's timeline, "If you could actually see any skin...a lot of times I'd have to take parts of my own skin and then Photoshop them onto him...so in total it took around 400 hours, but then after that the hardest thing was actually to find people again."
Once everyone was tracked down, they were shown the photographs and the reactions were raw and insightful.
In Francisco's initial reaction video, he says he'd rather be labeled a fat guy than a cholo. 'Cholo' is Spanish slang for thug or gangster, and a term that Francisco wants nothing to do with any longer.
"Cholo is just...I'm not that no more. It was my past, but it's not me no more and I still get labeled as that gang member, and it's like...I'm not a gang member no more, I'm a father...."
The tattoo-less images of Francisco had the most impact on his children. He has five, and he explained why they are the main motivation for the tattoo removal.
"I just want to show my kids something different. I just don't want them to see the gang side and be like 'Oh, what's that?' and have them go through it again and be like 'Oh I was gone for so many years out of your life, ' Francisco explained, "And they remember that and then it puts them in a place I don't want them to be. I want them to be happy and remember the good times and not go back and reminisce about the past and all the harsh things that I did and...I wasn't a good person."
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
