I think America is going to have to think through whether it wants to uplift the political dialogue or advance an approach that divides and, frankly, can lead to violence.

America somehow thinks that leadership relates to governance, and it certainly does. But society is much bigger than governance, and some of the truly great leadership of our society is outside the governance arena.

I have a long-term interest in the humanities.

There are words bandied about that are being misused - words like 'socialism,' words like 'communism,' words like 'fascism.'

My mother, a teacher, encouraged me to use my creativity as an actual way to make a living, and my father, a Mississippi physician, did two things. First, he taught me that all human beings should be treated equally because no one is better than anyone else, and he never pressured me to become a doctor.

You make knowledge relevant to life and you make it important for children to learn things that will really relate to things going on in their lives, and not abstract.

When I was in my 20s, I started frequenting record stores, and there was one in particular called Tropicalia in Furs in New York City. It's closed now, but it was one of those magical places where you would walk in, and the owner would start playing you records and not let you leave. It was such an education.

When was the last time you saw a musical about people at war with each other?