Tavis Smiley (2004)
Tavis Smiley features a unique mix of news and pop culture to combine for one thought-provoking and entertaining program. A hybrid of news, issues and entertainment, it features interviews with artists, activists, newsmakers, politicians and everyday people. Since its first season, the show has won four NAACP Image Awards for "Outstanding Television, News, Talk, or Information (Series or Special)." Taped at KCET studios, Tavis Smiley is the first West Coast talk show for PBS and is produced by The Smiley Group Inc./TS Media Inc. in association with KCET/Hollywood.
Seasons & Episode
Kenny Loggins.
Joshua Bell.
Dr. Benjamin Barber; Mary McDonnell.
Sociologist Michael Kimmel ("Angry White Men").
Barkhad Abdi; Lupita Nyong'o.
Bruce Dern.
Don Cheadle.
Kenneth Branagh.
Part 1 of 2. "MLK: A Call to Conscience."
Conclusion. "MLK: A Call to Conscience."
Julie Delpy; Robert Hilburn.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Gloria Gaynor.
Itzhak Perlman.
L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti; Chideo founder Todd Wagner.
Chita Rivera.
Teller; violinist Hilary Hahn.
Writer Samuel G. Freedman and former NFL quarterback James "Shack" Harris.
Tavis talks with Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist Angélique Kidjo.
Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014) is remembered.
International law expert Edwin Smith (USC); Béla Fleck.
Dr. Alvaro Huerta; Shelby Lynne.
Part 1 of 2 with Darlene Love and Merry Clayton.
Conclusion. Darlene Love and Merry Clayton.
Jamie Lee Curtis.
Disney animator Floyd Norman.
David Hyde Pierce.
Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Tavis talks with Joel Kinnaman and Joy Bryant.
Tavis talks with P.J. O'Rourke and Amel Larrieux.
Will Forte; Earl Klugh.
Robert Greenwald; Dianne Reeves.
Toni Braxton and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
Sam Polk (founder, Groceryships); Rhea Perlman.
USC professor Robert English on the crisis in Ukraine. Also: actor and writer Steve Coogan.
Harry Lennix.
Physician David B. Agus; actress Julianne Nicholson.
Forest Whitaker.
A 2014 Academy Awards preview, featuring Oscar-nominated guests.
Alicia Keys; Herb Alpert.
Esa-Pekka Salonen; Wayne Shorter.
Gregory Porter; Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite.
Emeli Sandé; Robert Randolph.
Tavis talks with Lawrence Brownlee and Shemekia Copeland.
Scott Adams; Edwidge Danticat.
Tavis talks with Eric Schlosser and Brian Jay Jones.
Tavis talks with T.C. Boyle and Rick Najera.
M. Night Shyamalan; Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Teller; Robert Hilburn.
The allegation that the CIA searched Senate computers is discussed. Also: Marlee Matlin.
Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman ("Harmony").
Journalist Elizabeth Kolbert ("The Sixth Extinction"); comedian Greg Edwards.
Author Peniel E. Joseph ("Stokely: A Life"); Martina McBride.
Tim Conway.
Bruce Jones (Brookings Institution); Dulé Hill and James Roday ("Pysch").
Robert Reich; Benmont Tench.
Errol Morris; Ledisi.
Author Shyima Hall ("Hidden Girl").
Author Miriam Pawel ("The Crusades of Cesar Chavez"); Stanley Jordan.
Immigration issues are discussed with undocumented activist Erika Andiola and Marielena Hincapié? (National Immigration Law Center). Also: Nathan East.
Author Clay Risen ("The Bill of the Century").
Author Saladin Ambar ("Malcolm X at Oxford Union"); Zucchero Fornaciari.
The real-life hero of Hotel Rwanda, Paul Rusesabagina, reflects on his experience, 20 years ago, during one of the worst mass slaughters in modern history.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (Council on Foreign Relations); hip-hop music artist Christylez Bacon.
David Crosby.
Frank Langella.
Sociologist Katherine S. Newman ("The Accordion Family"); composer Hafez Nazeri.
Stewart Copeland.
Ken Burns.
Rosanne Cash.
Ed Catmull (Disney and Pixar Animation Studios); Tatiana Maslany.
Jackie Collins.
Environmental scientist Ken Caldeira (Stanford); author Philip Yancey ("The Jesus I Never Knew").
The crisis in Ukraine is discussed with Robert English (USC School of International Relations). Also: Daniel Beaty.
Tavis talks with Economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and Ian Somerhalder.
Nas.
Author Barbara Ehrenreich ("Living With a Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search for the Truth About Everything"}.
Economist William Easterly; L.A. Opera music director James Conlon.
Mikhail Baryshnikov.
Larry King.
Robin Roberts.
Author Sylvia Longmire ("Border Insecurity"); Harry Hamlin.
Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind.-Vt.); Carla Bruni.
Vermont governor Peter Shumlin; Ken Cook (Environmental Working Group).
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.); Hugh Dancy.
Ralph Nader; John Slattery.
Journalist Jonathan M. Katz ("The Big Truck That Went By"); Connie Britton.
Barbara Walters; Maurice Hines.
Part 1 of 2. Mel Brooks.
Conclusion. Mel Brooks.
The abducted girls in Nigeria are discussed with journalist Omoyele Sowore and Amber Khan (Women for Women International).
Renée Fleming.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.); Jim Parsons.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); Jon Favreau.
"Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner.
David Goodman (Andrew Goodman Foundation).
Author Nell Bernstein ("Burning Down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison"); Ed O'Neill.
A tribute to Maya Angelou (1928-2014). Also: Ziggy Marley.
A tribute to Maya Angelou (1928-2014).
Arianna Huffington; Brian Culbertson.
Elizabeth Kolbert ("The Sixth Extinction"); Daniel Beaty.
Ed Catmull (Pixar Animation Studios); Marlee Matlin.
Ken Cook (Environmental Working Group); Earl Klugh.
Peniel E. Joseph ("Stokely: A Life"); Tatiana Maslany.
James Conlon; Ledisi.
Immigration reform is discussed with Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Cal.) and Jersey Vargas, a 10-year-old California girl whose father faces deportation.
Allison Janney.
Dr. David B. Agus; Clark Gregg.
A tribute to Ruby Dee (1922-2014).
Rob and Carl Reiner.
Former senator Joseph Lieberman; Toni Braxton.
Tavis talks with Sebastian Junger and Carol Leifer.
Author Nomi Prins ("All the Presidents' Bankers"); Noah Wyle.
Educator-civil rights activist Bob Moses; documentarian Stanley Nelson ("Freedom Summer").
One of the most famous chefs in the world, whose innovations have come to define modern American cooking, offers tips for losing weight and feeling energetic.
Sociologist Jennifer Lee (UC Irvine); John Lloyd Young.
Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers.
C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb.
Paul Rieckhoff (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America); bluesman Robert Cray.
Dancer Charles "Lil Buck" Riley.
Tavis talks with Ron Capps, founder of the Veterans Writing Project, and with 10-time Grammy-winning trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval.
Tavis talks with six-time Emmy-nominated British actor and musician Hugh Laurie.
Tavis talks with best-selling authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner and with an original Dreamgirl, Jennifer Holliday.
Tavis talks with former astronaut Buzz Aldrin and with Chaz Ebert about the documentary on her late husband, entitled Life Itself.
Tavis talks with Michael Levi and Elizabeth Economy about their text on China and with award-winning singer-songwriter Yuna.
Law professor Melissa Murray; Jason Biggs.
Beau Bridges.
Journalist Alex Tizon ("Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self"); Sister Simone Campbell, the executive director of NETWORK.
Neurologist Stanley B. Prusiner ("Madness and Memory"); Demián Bichir.