Sunday, March 8 – We opened on the GOP’s desperate attempts to slow the Trump train before moving onto a pair of small-time politicians in Texas taking a page from the crass demagogue book: a man who calls himself “Donald Trump on steroids” and a woman who insists that Obama used gay prostitution to fund a drug habit in his youth. Crazy story about a controversy involving an interview with Gloria Steinem in a Land’s End catalogue. Pro-life advocates were so adamantly opposed that Land’s End pulled the interview, even though it never mentioned abortion. What the…? The main story was on special districts – not as epic as last week’s piece on Trump, naturally, but I always appreciate a thorough Last Week Tonight education on a topic I know little about. The piece was very informative about special districts’ large influence despite their small size, as well as the limited oversight that allows their power to be abused.
Monday, March 7 – The latest Trump news, naturally, involved him bragging about the size of his penis at Thursday’s debate. Not to mention, we also got the GOP’s not-so-secret plan to foil him by keeping the field scattered enough that he can’t get a majority of delegates before the convention, where they can then oust him, as well as the insanity of the other candidates going on about what a danger Trump would be as president right before they promise they will support him if he ends up being the Republican nominee. Ayiyi. I really enjoyed the story about Carson dropping out of the race. Sleepy Carson cracks are always fun, and I liked Roy trying to salvage Carson’s previous reputation as surgeon/Black hero, an admittedly tall order. Nice interview with Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson of Broad City. Both were fun and down-to-earth, and I liked hearing their perspective on the creation of their show and why people connect with it.
Tuesday, March 8 – Trevor’s amusement over a U.S. airstrike of a terrorist graduation ceremony was weirdly infectious; a nice, darkly funny segment. The Peanuts story was a lot of fun. Who knew Charlie Brown and Obama went so well together? I loved comparing Congress to Lucy with the football. Jordan’s piece, wondering if white children who grew up on Obama can imagine a white president, was goofy but entertaining. When they talked politics, I wondered how much was the kids vs. coaching from the show vs. repeating what their parents have said. We got a “Back in Black” segment from Lewis on papers recovered from Bin Laden’s hideout. Some good stuff, especially Lewis’s indignation at a jihadist job application and his commentary on Bin Laden’s concerns about climate change. Ellen Page was the guest, promoting the documentary series Gaycation. I liked her a lot – she spoke really eloquently about her experiences on the series and the situation of LGBTQ folk around the world.
Wednesday, March 9 –I’m such a sucker for Sanders graphics; I loved the picture of him giving a victory speechdressed like Ebenezer Scrooge after being woken with the news that he’d won. Great story on the help Flint has received since the Michigan primary, as well as cities with similar water crises that haven’t benefitted from the increased visibility of heavy campaigning by presidential candidates. I loved the remark about America’s water being browner than the Oscars and Trevor’s plan to have the candidates drink the local water at every town they visit. At this point, Trump stories always mix some dread with the humor, but I liked the absurdity of his latest victory speech rebutting Romney’s claims about his failed business ventures. As Trevor and Jordan pointed out, why darethe media to fact-check your assertions when they’re so easy to refute? Wow. Not a Sacha Baron Cohen person, so the interview was a bit meh.
Thursday, March 10 – Trevor’s Sanders-Clinton comparison (he’ll fly to the stars even if the rocket explodes, she just wants to make it to Akron in one piece) was so apt. Fun story on Justin Trudeau and Trevor’s weakening defenses to the Canadian PM’s charms. He’s right – cuddling with baby pandas isn’t playing fair. I wasn’t a fan of Ronny’s field piece on a church, temple, and mosque setting up shop next to each other in Omaha. Even though I know correspondents are being satirical, it still bothers me when they act demeaningly toward marginalized people, and Ronny’s feigned wariness of the imam made me uncomfortable. I liked the new segment pulling old gems from the “Trump archives.” His 1999 comments about the poor (a big chunk of his current base) were of course awful, and I love what Trevor had to say about it. Guest Padma Lakshmi was terrific. Her book sounds neat, and I liked her remarks on media and body image.
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