And it was illegal in his life. That words have power. Before becoming a writer morrison made her way up the male dominated world of new york publishing always fearless she soon realized that she and not the old white males around her was the smartest person in the room i was more interesting than. She turned the status quo of light perception on its head when talk show host dick cavett asked her a provocative question. I prefer. Well im tired of people asking that question. Later Oprah Winfreys book club helped Toni Morrison become a household name her novels such as the bluest eye song of solomon and beloved went beyond bestseller status they contributed to a shift in africanamerican storytelling a style that embraced ruthless honesty. Toni morrison empowered countless readers and will be remembered as a force of nature in the world of literature and beyond. Colleague David Leavitts joins me now as i mentioned this years molnar runs she was a force of nature and its so inspiring just watching her in some of those old interviews you know whats so inspiring about her is that as an author and as a person she stood for dignity in the face of hardship and racism and oppression you know when she started writing when she published her 1st novel as a single mother at age 40 stories about black americans were not considered literature for everyone they were really put in a box but she made stories about black americans World Literature and she showed a lot of people along the way both in america and around the western world that great literature does not have to be just about white people and we sold in the piece barack obama giving her the president ial medal of freedom and indeed weve just heard from obama on twitter he just said Toni Morrison was a National Treasure as good a storyteller as captivating in person as she was on the page a right she was a beautiful meaningful challenge to our conscience and moral imagination what a gift to breathe the same. If only for a while. Well yeah wow it is great for haiti writes quite well what has impact on the United States as a whole where she is largely credited with un censoring big chapters of American History if you will to do with racism to do with slavery and in her books and also shes captured a mayor an africanAmerican History and experiences in a way that a lot of black people in america didnt feel that they had been understood before and when someone. Really understands you really sees your rights great literature about you thats an inspiration and beyond being an inspiration as an editor Toni Morrison made a lot of or. Im on the shelves for many other great black authors including angela davis ok beloved was a most famous book but i know theres another book particularly struck here right well she did write 11 novels she wrote childrens stories she wrote books of essays but actually her very 1st book the bluest eye that she brought out in 1970 is one that people who are still reading and and its a really compelling story about not just racism but internalized racism its about a young girl named pick koehler who grows up in morrisons hometown in ohio and shes taunted by the other kids because of her dark features and her dark hair and her dark eyes so much so that she actually believes that she is ugly and she prays to god for him to give her blue eyes now its also a story about sexual abuse because it is raped by her father and whats really amazing about the way that Toni Morrison tells the story and tells other stories is she puts you so much in the heads of her characters she she doesnt demonize because father she actually humanizes him by telling you about his trauma and that doesnt excuse him but that was really her greatest gift was humanizing her characters do you live its thank you very much Tony Robbins Morrison fantastic rise of a fantastic woman as well thank you for. Moving on and i have to say im not the most relaxed flying but if i had to choose to a full of aerial transports it would be a whole balloon its all my bucket list of things to do and when i see a beautifully designed balloon up in the skies it gets my interest going again like now were off to one of the biggest balloon festivals in the world in france. Playing there yes. The event is one of the biggest of its kind in the world. Haha share ballooning in theseus its the festival and sean played in northeastern france is the place to be. It was started through she years ago by a man from a family with a legendary ancestor. By wrong while the said. I was seeing the true album and. Bush. I mean the story because its my dwelling wrong wrong wrong or spit out what it was. That was in 1793. This year the globe and avalanche saw nearly 500 balloons lift off by the people who call it them a still pretty rare so theres a real novelty element to deal driving of the balloonists from some funky different nations at the launch area over the 10 days of the festival some 500000 visitors will watch them lift off twice a day in the middle of the rain great nature palm. Women are still in the minority among balloonists. One of the full she women pilots is from not feel. With more than 500 hours in the air shes among the most experienced pilots. But even for her this kind of mass launch is a special challenge. A poet telling of course reversed if we all fly alone or if youre fired just because some belongs in the sky its less this. This talent. Private the ones that work on the bones its just its just the tension the tension because you dont want to disturb any other more than of course done done done which my balloon and its. Its usually about so he said again and again said. One of the highlights of the festival is the night when the balloons stay on the ground but are inflated so they glow from within its a special spectacle from an impressive festival in the motherland of hot air ballooning. I just think its got to be the best way to see the earth not just go to pluck up courage to go up in the hall to have a live anyway. Is changing the whole experience a visiting a museum or mentored reality can show you the real painting and an altered version side by side thats exactly what the author vive does it can add a digital there to an artwork thereby opening up a whole new world when it comes to viewing a painting for instance you can now see how the painting changed as the artist painted it. Diving into an image losing ourselves inside it. Is that enough for us. Possible. Here the in the life of the painting by egon schiele it has been revealed thanks to all commented reality the Technology Makes the earlier versions of the work visible not just under an x. Ray but on a smartphone as well. Mentored reality puts digital layers over the actual artwork and you dont need special goggles to see if were still in the here and now but the smartphone allows us to expand what we see download the app hold just phone up to the picture and voila pictures suddenly come to life on walls on the streets and in museums. This is the birthplace of the art after all its one of several startups trying to make a mark internationally with the concept. Its a new art form just like film or photography at the end of the 19th century and were seeing that augmented reality is truly becoming an art medium overturning. The startup is also a Gallery Artists exhibit their works there and give importance for the further development of the app. The artist little has been involved from the start. Painting you reach a point where its just finished with reality you have the added component of time just so you can show something over a certain period of time. Overlap. The picture on the wall is the out word but the combination of it with the digital elements. The process is the most important part but a starting point remains the menu cost of tainting. So perhaps the smartphone is only an intermediate stage and in the future we will stand in front of paintings swiping away certainly these apps are also gimmicks but who doesnt like secret insights and useless bits of detailed information and after all the artworks themselves remain. Soon you wont need to go to a museum with a mixture of Virtual Reality youll be able to experience it all in your living room but i shouldnt say that please support museums they are wonderful institutions and im so over this edition of arts and culture more on the website of course dot com slash culture on facebook. In the amazon if something is going to reach people it comes to light. Even the location also. Results the only training since office many courses place. Under a chance for young people in remote financiers. To make a commitment come true. Through. 1030 minutes dubbed. You know 121 official estimates more than 1200000 venezuelans live in colombia legally and illegally. Its already a wide return to vast weyler. I visit friends is that i dont think id ever go back there to live you know what i live there again i dont know so im not sure. Bearing witness global news that matters. Made for mines. Robots theyre still in the Development Phase of the site but whats going to happen when they grow up. With humans and machines were able to peacefully coexist. Or are we on the verge of a remarkable life fail if we just bumble into this totally unprepared with our heads in the sand fusing to think about what could go wrong then lets face it its probably going to be the biggest mistake in human history. Artificial intelligence is now spreading through our society. Is this the beginning of a cogent digital age. Will we be subjected to continuous state surveillance. Or ai will experts be able to agree on technical guidelines or will this Technology Create deadly new autonomous what systems are going any place the robot collapsed stores aug 14th on t. W. Beijing has issued a strong warning to prodemocracy activists in hong kong saying they should not mistake restraint for weakness the statement came a day off to a general strike the power lies the Territory Police arrested almost 150 people off to violent clashes between protesters and opponents. Of. The uns Refugee Agency says a new italian law penalizing mike and risky ships could stop lives being saved on monday its a race to find on an authorized ships entering