A Charlie Rose Global Conversation

Dolly Parton came out of poverty in the mountains of Tennessee to create huge international success and earn honors in country and pop music, movies, business, and philanthropy. Dolly Parton died on Tuesday, August 25. She was 80.Dolly Parton was, most of all, a songwriter, and she wrote songs about her life, beginning with poverty. Music took her out of the mountains.She became, in her success, something even beyond a star—she became much loved. The New York Times, in its obituary, cited the title of its 2019 story: “Is There Anything We Can All Agree On? Yes: Dolly Parton.”Dolly Parton created a character, but she was the first to say, “That’s not all I am.” In a lifetime in entertainment, she toured the world, hosted television shows, and made movies with Burt Reynolds, Julia Roberts, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin.In 1994, she published her memoir, Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business.For all her musical achievements, Dolly Parton was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.In 2006, she received the Kennedy Center Honors.In 2025, her husband, Carl Dean, died.Beyond music, Dolly Parton built Dollywood, a theme park in the Smoky Mountains, distributed books to young people, and supported COVID vaccinations.In a world too often in conflict, it is an appropriate moment to pause and remember a life dedicated to the human spirit.In this conversation from June 5, 2009, Dolly Parton talks about the woman behind the legend.

Mike Murphy wears many hats and possesses many skills, but the one that may fit best is strategist. He has advised some famous and admired Republicans, including John McCain, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush, Tommy Thompson, Chris Whitman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Born in Detroit, he attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He now makes his home in Los Angeles and is co-director of the Center for the Political Future at the University of Southern California. Murphy is also co-host of the popular podcast “Hacks on Tap” with David Axelrod and John Heilemann.With primaries choosing candidates for the midterm elections, it is an appropriate moment to ask: What do the politics of 2026 look like as the midterms approach?We will consider many questions the political world is asking about Donald Trump, look at the primaries so far, and examine the fight between center and left as socialists do well in Democratic contests.

Mark Halperin is a journalist whose world is American politics.He is obsessed with explaining the politics, policy and personality of those who inhabit the world of government, and perhaps more, those who participate in the art and science of elections.Halperin has been around politics and government all his life. His father is Dr. Morton Halperin, a distinguished PHD in International Relations from Harvard who served in the Nixon administration.After graduating from Harvard in 1987, Mark Halperin began in journalism at ABC News, working for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. From 1997 to 2007, he was the political director of ABC News. He started The Note, a popular online political newsletter, which showed the promise and possibilities of digital media in political reporting as it explained not just the story but the ambition of newsmakers and the drama behind the story, as well as news about the people in media.Since 1988, over several decades, Halperin covered politics from the state house to the White House and legislatures and courts for a number of major news organizations, including ABC News, Time magazine, Bloomberg News, NBC News and Showtime.Halperin wrote several best-selling campaign books with his reporting partner, John Heilemann.Mark Halperin lost his place after allegations of sexual misconduct. He has come back to a position of influence as editor-in-chief of 2WAY, the interactive political media platform, where he hosts The Morning Meeting and 2WAY Tonight. He also hosts Next Up, a podcast on Sirius, and publishes his political reporting and analysis through a newsletter, Wide World of News.It is an important moment in politics as primaries choose candidates for the midterms and voters get a chance to express their judgment on the first two years of the second Trump administration.We will talk about many subjects, including President Trump, Democratic candidates, policies, socialism, turnout, polls, 2028 candidates, and issues like the Iran war, the Ukraine war, China, cost of living, White House construction, ICE and artificial intelligence.

David McCullough is one of America's best-known, bestselling, and beloved historians. His books include John Adams, The Johnstown Flood, The Wright Brothers, Truman, The Great Bridge, and The Path Between the Seas. They're all the story of America.His varied television presentations have made him a popular chronicler of our people, institutions, and events. He's received Pulitzer Prizes for Truman and John Adams. He garnered a National Book Award for The Path Between the Seas, the creation of the Panama Canal, and wrote a biography of Teddy Roosevelt called Mornings on Horseback.He received the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. McCullough attended Yale and worked at Sports Illustrated and the U.S. Information Agency before devoting his life full-time to writing.He died on August 7, 2022.David McCullough appeared in conversation with me nine times. To celebrate America's birthday, July 4, we go to the archive for a composite of David McCullough conversations.

America is 250 years old.The ideas that shaped it are even older - ideas like freedom, justice, and respect for the rule of law. Others, like equality under the law, have evolved over time.To better understand the American journey from 1776 to 2026, we're turning to historians like David McCullough and journalists like Bret Stephens.Bret Stephens has been an opinion columnist for The New York Times since 2017. Previously, he served as a foreign affairs columnist and deputy editorial page editor at The Wall Street Journal. In 2013, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. From 2002 to 2004, he was editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post in Israel. Stephens holds degrees from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics.This conversation comes at a pivotal moment, as many Americans are asking fundamental questions about the state of the American idea—and America itself.We'll explore those questions, including the presidency of Donald Trump. Then, tomorrow, on the Fourth of July, we'll revisit an archival conversation with the late David McCullough.Today, I'm pleased to welcome New York Times columnist Bret Stephens.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, we're not the only ones marking a major milestone. The legendary filmmaker and comedian Mel Brooks has just celebrated his 100th birthday.We also have something to celebrate - with your help. If Charlie Rose Global Conversations gains 100 more YouTube subscribers, we'll reach 300,000 subscribers, an important milestone for us.If these conversations have added something to your life, please subscribe and help us reach that goal. Your support will help us continue to make everything we do even better.Thank you. And now, back to Mel.Few people have accomplished as much across so many mediums. Mel Brooks has created some of comedy's greatest masterpieces. In this conversation, he joins Carl Reiner, his longtime friend and collaborator, with whom he created the brilliant The 2000 Year Old Man.His 100th birthday is a wonderful occasion to celebrate his extraordinary life and legacy. In this conversation, we explore many of the moments, people, and ideas that made his world so magical.

America celebrates its 250th birthday this July 4, 2026. It has become a time to ask: What is the American idea, and how is it doing after 250 years?Across America, celebrations and evaluations are taking place. Questions are being asked. We have listened to those voices.We begin this evening with the great historian David McCullough, who died in 2022 after receiving two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Book Awards, and who engaged in numerous conversations with me about his books and the significance of knowing history. His last conversation was about his book The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For.As America marks its 250th year, it is a moment to ask: How are we doing?David McCullough talks about many of the ideas and people who make our history. I was proud to know him and call him a friend.

Clive Davis, the music empresario responsible for so many talents in the music industry, died today. He was 94.

It's an interesting time to talk about the life of Clive Davis as the music industry undergoes so many changes because of the digital revolution. We talked of many things including Clive Davis's philosophy of music, what makes a great talent, his famous parties, and the changes in the music industry.

Interviews from Charlie Rose.com: 9/28/20004/5/2013

Alan Greenspan, a powerful voice in shaping the American economy as Chairman of the Federal Reserve for 20 years, died today. He was 100.Greenspan was a champion of capitalism, markets, and managing interest rates to fight inflation. His critics argued he did not do enough in regulating the new financial instruments that were responsible for the financial crisis.Greenspan, along with his wife, the respected NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell, was a well-known mover and shaker in the Washington social establishment. In his earlier life, Greenspan was an intellectual companion of the writer Ayn Rand and, throughout his life, reflected a fierce curiosity about economic theories and political policy.It is an interesting moment to consider the career of Alan Greenspan as a new Fed Chairman, Kevin Warsh, takes office and President Trump often expresses his combative position in favor of lower interest rates.Here is a conversation from 2007 about his then newly published autobiography, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World.

General David Petraeus is a soldier-scholar of extraordinary talent: a 4-star Army general, battlefield commander, West Point graduate, PhD from Princeton, author of books on warfare, creator of counterinsurgency strategies, and architect of the surge in Iraq. He was famous for building relationships with local populations in war zones.

After service in Iraq and Afghanistan, Petraeus became Director of the CIA. He has held academic appointments at six universities.

He is now an executive with the financial firm KKR.

In 2023, Petraeus co-authored with historian Andrew Roberts Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Gaza.

It is a moment to consider a changing world as wars in Iran and Ukraine continue, the two most powerful leaders in the world met in May in Beijing, and ongoing tension in different nations remains over cost-of-living issues.

We will talk of many things, including the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the competition between China and the United States, the threat of Russia to Europe, the ambition of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu, changes in how wars are engaged, the impact of technology including artificial intelligence, and always the global economy and the cost of living. We will ask about qualities of leadership and the lessons of our time.