News Satire Roundup: June 5th

Sunday, June 5 – Trump’s enterprises have been sued 3,500 times.  As John pointed out, TV doesn’t have enough legal drama to cover that.  After adding up every episode of every Law & Order variation, he added other lawyer shows until he ran out, a great way to show how insane that is.  He also looked at Trump University, including tidbits from its skeevy “playbook” and a little on the judge who’s hearing the case, who Trump thinks should recuse himself because he has Mexican heritage (yeah.)  The main story on debt buyers continued the “slimeball” theme.  They buy old debts for pennies on the dollar and rake people over the coals to pay them, even if they’ve passed the statute of limitations, declared bankruptcy, or passed away.  Luckily, John is spectacular; he not only started a debt buying company to prove how disturbingly easy it is, he bought a bunch of debt and had nearly $15,000,000 officially forgiven at the end of the episode.

No Daily Show again this week.  One thing that I want to mention is that I really like how the show has covered bathroom bills and the issue of trans rights over the past couple of months.  I remember when the subject first came up on the show, I was a bit apprehensive; I hadn’t been overly impressed with what little LGBTQ-related stories they’d previously done (or with standup pieces I’d seen from Trevor dealing with LGBTQ people, honestly,) and while this was the first time I’d seen the show and/or Trevor talk about trans stuff in particular, I wasn’t sure how thoughtful the commentary or the jokes would be.

But really, I think they’ve hit it out of the park.  I love that they did an entire episode centered around trans folk, and their continuing coverage of the North Carolina situation, bathroom bills in general, and the Obama administration’s response has been excellent.  Every story they’ve done on this topic, for me, has been funny, informative, hard-hitting, and most importantly, very earnest.  The show is really standing with trans people here, and I’m glad to see that.

A lot of what’s sprung out of this continuing story is crazy and ripe for satire.  North Carolina suing the federal government when the DOJ tells them their law is unconstitutional?  And willing to lose billions of dollars of federal education funding over it?  A man who supports a law to discriminate against people appears on TV comparing himself to Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Jesus?  That’s insane, and perfectly ridiculous.

But the show has made serious points as well, both with and without humor.  Trevor has addressed (and ripped to shreds) each of the various hyperbolic, fearmongering arguments against allowing trans people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.  “But how’s it supposed to work?!  It’s unnatural!!!”  (Progress is often uncomfortable at first, but it’s still the right thing to do.)  “So any man can say he feels like a woman and go into the bathroom to molest my daughter?!”  (There’s no correlation between being trans and being a pervert, and it’s not like perverts have been sitting on their hands waiting for a legal loophole they can use to their advantage – also, there’s never been a reported case of someone being molested by a trans woman in a public restroom.)  “But it’s absurd; why would anyone think this is something we should be doing?!”  (People once said the same thing about interracial bathrooms, and looking back on it now, you’d call that sort of forced segregation absurd.  Again, progress.)  He’s also brought up trans men – specifically, the fact that no one’s bringing them up in all their panicked, exclusionary rhetoric and the gross double standard therein.

News Satire Roundup: May 22nd-May 26th

Sunday, May 22 – Amid protests and a severe economic crisis in Venezuela, President Maduro would be hard-pressed to be less helpful.  In contrast, PM Trudeau in Canada has apparently spent the week apologizing for “Elbowgate,"” in which he elbowed a government representative while trying to help another squeeze through; this might be one of the most stereotypically Canadian things ever.  The main story was on the absolute free-for-all that is the US primary/caucus system.  I knew it was messed up, inconsistent, and not very democratic, but as usual, John handily demonstrated just how far the insanity goes.  I particularly liked his point that many Americans think they have a basic understanding of how the system works but they really don't, and why that's an obvious problem.  Finally, there was a story about Chechnyan leader Kadyrov, who took to social media to deputize the people to find his missing cat – wow.

Monday, May 23 – Opening bit on the leader of the Taliban being killed in a drone strike; I liked the joke that ISIS has been a decoy all this time to make the Taliban think the US forgot about them.  The story on Trump’s appearance at a fundraiser for paying off Chris Christie's campaign debt was amusing.  I loved the bit about children in Africa deciding Christie needs the money more, and Trump shrugging off the threat of a trade war with China is insane but, sadly, not unexpected.  The story on TSA shortages was a bit fluff but fine.  I enjoyed Trevor's horror at adding clowns to a stressful situation, and he had a great riff on a reporter’s “humble bragging” about his reward membership.  The interview with Rose Byrne was a little ho-hum.  I was surprised to realize she was Australian (I’d always assumed British,) and Trevor’s revelation that the Australian soap Neighbours is apparently huge in South Africa made me smile.

Tuesday, May 24 – I liked having single thematic through line for the episode, doing a whole show on the NRA and gun safety regulation.  We started with the new union between Trump and the NRA, which seemed uneasy despite the similar MOs of furthering their aims by exploiting people’s fears; I loved Trevor’s crack about “the smell of demagoguery in the morning.”  The show also looked at the history of the NRA, which originally prioritized gun safety.  Desi had an interesting field piece reporting outside an NRA convention.  The angle, that the Constitution-obsessed group wouldn’t let her exercise her 1st-Amendment right to freedom of the press, was great, and I liked the observation that most NRA are opposed to the words “gun control” but not actual common-sense safety laws.  The guest, Katie Couric, talked about her new documentary Under the Gun.  It was an informative interview that flowed nicely from what came before.

Wednesday, May 25 – The first story looked at Brazil’s assorted crises as the Olympics approach, from political upheaval to horrific pollution to the Zika virus.  I loved the comment that the US wouldn’t skip the Olympics because Americans love winning and going on vacation so much, and Trevor’s gobsmacked reaction to Congress wanting to use Ebola money for Zika was cathartic.  Next came Trump’s latest conspiracy theory (latching onto an old outlandish theory about the Clintons murdering a guy) and revisited others he’s touted – Obama’s birth certificate, connecting Ted Cruz’s dad to Lee Harvey Oswald, vaccines causing autism – with the general thesis of, “And this guy should be trusted with the US military?”  The guest was Cory Pegues, a reformed gang member who became a police officer.  He discussed systemic problems in policing and the importance of not deciding someone’s entire future based on their past.

Thursday, May 26 – Some good jokes on Obama’s visit to Vietnam.  I liked the passive-aggressive technique of only selling weapons to Vietnam when China is watching, and Trevor had an amusing tangent about what Obama does/doesn’t need to carry on him.  The latest on Clinton’s emails was depressing, especially her approval rating dipping below Trump’s for the first time.  Trevor’s right – how on earth did we get here?  Michelle had some advice on how Clinton can get back on top, suggesting that America needs a boss more than a buddy.  Another tale from the Trump archives, this time a chauvinist “women in the kitchen” quote, once again demonstrating why his approval with women is so low.  Reporter Mike Allenwas the guest, talking about – what else? – the insane election.  He discussed the GOP’s resignation to Trump, Clinton’s poll numbers, and pointless but highly entertaining idea of a Trump-Sanders debate.

News Satire Roundup: May 15th-May 19th

Sunday, May 15 – Quick round of Trump stories, including an invitation for John Miller, the fake publicist Trump posed as in the early ‘90s, to come on the show (in a later bit, Trump also took credit for Budweiser temporarily renaming itself “America.”)  The story on the queen’s criticism of Chinese officials allowed John to make a pithy, accurate summation of Britain’s entire colonial history.  We were also treated to a montage of racist/vulgar statements made by the governor of Maine.  The main story, on 9-1-1 centers, did not mess around.  It’s mind-boggling that the technology in so many 9-1-1 facilities doesn’t allow dispatchers to accurate pinpoint locations from cellphone calls, especially since, as John pointed out, the Domino’s app knows exactly where you are.  I wouldn’t say I find it hardto believe that a number of states place so little import on maintaining 9-1-1 centers, but it’s certainly depressing to believe.

Monday, May 16 – Like Last Week Tonight, things kicked off with a Trump story catch-all.  I liked Trevor’s comment that “John Miller” is such a good publicist, he’s completely distracted people from Trump’s tax returns.  More tales of Trump’s misogyny was gross but expected, and the description of the RNC chairman tasked with talking up Trump as “a hostage victim trying to get Stockholm Syndrome” was perfect.  New contributor Eliza did a piece on Trump’s obviously deplorable rapport with Latin@s and the GOP’s desperation to fix that.  I enjoyed the crack about Trump being a telenovela character come to life, although the resulting sketch was iffy.  Anthony Anderson was the guest, talking about Black-ish, and he was great.  I’m so used to watching him play Dre that it was jarring (but nice) to hear him talk as himself – his story about his mom and Obama rocked.

Tuesday, March 17 – Iran thinking Kim Kardashian is a spy is silly, but I loved Trevor’s riff on the US government deciding Iran might be right when they can’t explain why she’s famous.  The latest Supreme Court non-decision prompted a new story on Congress stonewalling Merrick Garland’s nomination hearing; my favorite part was the “one-act play” depicting a recent brunch between Garland and Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley.  We saw the first of a two-part field report by Hasan on Canada’s reception of Syrian refugees.  I hadn’t known that private citizens in Canada can raise money to sponsor a family’s resettlement themselves, but it’s very cool and I loved the panel Hasan talked to.  The guest was Dahlia Lithwick, who reports on the Supreme Court for Slate.  Naturally, she had plenty to say about Garland and the hole the Senate has dug itself into now that the next president will presumably be either Clinton or Trump.

Wednesday, May 18 – Opened on a few easy jokes about a politician who accidentally revealed a few of his porn tastes to the public.  Don’t you hate it when that happens?  I liked the coverage of Megyn Kelly’s interview with Trump, both the ridiculous pre-show hype and the completely toothless interview itself.  Hasan’s second piece on Canada’s acceptance of refugees featured a great interview with Prime Minister Trudeau, who had an excellent sense of when to joke and when to be serious.  The continued rumination of America as a nation of immigrants that loves hating new immigrants was great.  Jason Sudeikis was the guest, and while "”alking super-serious about the Angry Birds movie” is a blindingly obvious joke to pull, both he and Trevor did it so well.  Sudeikis blathering about his “process” was terrific, and I lost it when he started comparing the movie to Braveheart.

Thursday, May 19 – Opening blurb on protests in China.  I liked Trevor’s comment that the government spends its money gluing down bricks instead of addressing the concerns that make people want to throw them.  Trevor had a great monologue on the continuing issue of trans bathroom rights.  In my favorite bit, he compared it to past bathroom debates (against gay people and Black people,) demonstrating how absurd those arguments feel today and asserting that arguments against trans folk will feel just as absurd in days to come.  Roy and Eliza tag-teamed a piece as a pair of Sanders supporters with differing levels of zealotry, looking at violence and threatening remarks coming from some supporters; I laughed at Roy shutting down Eliza’s repeated attempts to give a Black Power salute.  Guest Arianna Huffingtontalked about her new book on sleep and the counterproductive myth that success can only be made by sacrificing it.

News Satire Roundup: May 8th-May 12th

Sunday, March 8 – A quick mention of Trump as the presumptive GOP nominee segued into the Philippines’ election, whose frontrunner has been dubbed the Trump of the East.  Given his penchant for death squads and refusal to backpedal on rape jokes, I’d say they have it worse.  In North Korea, US journalists were treated to top-shelf propaganda as Communist leaders had their first big meeting since 1980.  The main story, on scientific studies, was great.  John lambasted “a new study shows...” pieces that the media loves, by which something like coffee both prevents and causes cancer.  He examined how wild claims are extrapolated from vague findings, data can be manipulated, and studies are touted without replication.  I liked his point on why it’s a problem beyond people thinking chocolate improves fetal health, that yo-yo studies undermine trust in science and lead to dismissing something like climate change as untested theory.

Monday, May 9 – An economics professor accused of terrorism for writing “suspicious” equations on a plane, giving way to our fear of math.  Good story on GOP leadersthrown into chaos by Trump, with some vowing not to vote at all and others completely reversing their prior condemnations in the name of party unity.  I especially enjoyed the hypocrisy of Rick Perry, who once called Trump a “cancer” on the Republican Party, now open to the possibility of being his running mate.  I loved Desi’s Mother’s Day piece on mom-shaming, highlighting the attitude that moms are open season to be judged for everything they do.  She had some nice encouraging words for moms doing their best and a strong “back off” for everyone criticizing them.  Glad to see author Sherman Alexie as the guest.  He talked about his new book, team names like the Redskins, and how Native Americans are largely left out of conversations concerning them.

Tuesday, May 10 – Excellent continuing piece on North Carolina’s new bathroom law.  I like that Trevor pointed out the less talked-of part of the law, which makes it illegal to pass anti-discrimination legislation protecting LGBTQ people, he had a terrific rant on why people are paying so much attention to who’s in the public bathroom with them in the first place, and the obtuseness of the guy with the discriminatory law comparing himself to MLK, Gandhi, and Jesus was just jaw-dropping.  Michelle had a decent bit about where Americans can go if Trump becomespresident.  Apologizing to England and offering to “pay for the tea” was fun.  I don’t watch Scandal, but I loved guest Joe Morton.  His comments on diversity in Hollywood were especially good – not new ideas, but ones that bear repeating until Hollywood finally starts to get the message.

Wednesday, May 11 – Amusing blurb the “scandal” of Queen Elizabeth II’s mildly disparaging remarks about her Chinese visitors.  The story on Trump-esque politicians in other countries was good, both funny and horrifying; I appreciated Trevor’s comments on the perfect storm of fears and frustrations that let leaders like this gain prominence.  The biggest take-away, though, was that Rodrigo Duterte (discussed on Last Week Tonight) did win the presidency in the Philippines.  I liked the story on Sanders’s primary victory in West Virginia – interesting remarks about West Virginia’s voting patterns.  Trevor’s disappointment about the DNC giving Trump the nickname “Dangerous Donald” (a misguided attempt to ape “Lying Ted” and “Crooked Hilary”) was also great.  Nice interview with Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight, talking about polls, what on earth is happening in this election, and his fears for what could happen between now and November.

Thursday, March 12 – It makes me sad that London mayor Sadiq Khan (the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital) has to field questions about Trump, who’s “graciously” declared Khan an “exception” to his proposed Muslim ban.  I loved the story on Trump dithering about releasing his tax returns.  Even though, as Trevor pointed out, it won’t make a shred of difference with his base, the weasely-ness and hypocrisy deserves pointing out, as does Trump being officially “shadier than Richard Nixon!”  Jordan had a good field piece on increasing numbers of Latino immigrants seeking citizenship before the election, in hopes of voting against Trump; of course Fox News suspects a conspiracy featuring the DNC funneling in “illegals” from Mexico and fast-tracking their citizenship.  It’s the only explanation, right?  BJ Novak was the guest, talking, not about acting or writing, but about an app he created.  Pretty decent interview.

News Satire Roundup: May 2nd-May 5th

No John Oliver this week, but I’ll still talk a bit about the show.  One thing I really love is how proactive it is.  In addition to its brilliantly-incisive satire, the show frequently goes beyond commentary and takes tangible action.  I love John’s creation of Jeff the Diseased Lung in a Cowboy Hat – his proposed new mascot for Marlboro – along with the actual billboards and T-shirts he’s made/publicized with Jeff’s image.  I’m still a little stunned that he founded a fake church, not to make fun of religion, but to demonstrate how criminally easy it is for crooked televangelists to get tax exemptions (all of John’s donations, by the way, went to Doctors Without Borders.)  I adore the video he made for a Days of Our Lives-loving teenage refugee from Syria, in which her favorite character is resurrected and her favorite couple reunited; they then dramatically discuss the refugee crisis and mention the girl several times by name.  Aw…

Monday, May 2 – I liked the first story, on people who choose/are chosen by Trump.  Mike Tyson’s recent endorsement was accompanied by a reminder of That Time Trump Dismissed the Woman Accusing Tyson of Rape, and one of his campaign staff has worked in the past with various genocidal dictators collectively known as “the torturers’ lobby.”  Trump sure is making it easy for Trevor to keep up the African dictator jokes.  Guest Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s “Live from Westeros” bit on Trump the Mad King was apt as well.  Ronny had a decent field piece on a possible contested convention.  I like that, as much as the show is horrified by the thought of a Trump presidency, it still dwells on the idea that every primary vote could be thrown out if the delegate numbers don’t add up.  Interesting how Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s interview focused mostly on politics, discussing Denmark’s perception of the U.S. election insanity.

Tuesday, May 3 – We eased into things with a woman accusing Starbucks of putting too much ice in her coffee, a problem that Trevor rightfully pointed out is as first-world as they come.  The show then moved on to Cruz’s uninspiring showing in Indiana, featuring tons of Trump supporters harassing Cruz in exceedingly juvenile ways; I laughed at the graphic of Chief Justice Roberts pulling the “too slow!” trick with the Bible at a hypothetical Cruz inauguration.  I’m glad the show covered the prospective bill requiring women to register for the draft.  It’s so crazy that the whole thing started as a sarcastic remark aimed at blocking the move to allow women in combat positions, and Trevor captured that “this is how governance happens?” dumbfoundedness really well.  I enjoyed guest Josh King, who discussed all that goes into planning out and orchestrating a presidential candidate’s campaign narrative.

Wednesday, May 4 – Well, we’ve come to it; Trump is the presumptive nominee.  I liked Trevor’s comment that the last time a non-politician secured a party nomination, it was because he “beat Hitler.”  I also liked his callback to people asking if he was “ready” to cover American politics, asking now if we were ready for it.  Hasan’s field piece on wage inequality with the US women’s soccer team mostly covered the same info the show presented before, but I liked that we heard it this time from the team members themselves.  Their “no, we are not kidding you with this crap” attitudes were palpable.  Plus, bonus Billie Jean King!  The guest was Bethany Cosentino from the band Best Coast. She talked about sexism in the music industry, from sexist assumptions to harassment to assault, and her position as an unexpected spokesperson for the movement to speak up about it.

Thursday, May 5 – At this point, it does not surprise me in the least that, after all his raving about the border wall, Trump’s attempt to garner critical Latin@ voters consists of tweeting a picture of a taco bowl and the words “I love Hispanics!”  Wow.  Great piece on looking critically at Sanders’s policies, with everyone from correspondents to the cameraman desperately trying to silence Trevor to avoid pissing off Sanders supporters.  I especially liked Desi likening it to poking a hornets’ nest with a lot of student loan debt.  I’ve been enjoying Ronny a lot lately, and he kept it up with a story on assorted consequences of the current selfie obsession.  In what world does it not occur to Snapchat that creating a photo feature that clocks your speed might play a part in car accidents?  Musical performance from a band called The Heavy.  The bands on the show don’t normally hold my interest too much, but I liked these guys pretty well.

News Satire Roundup: April 24th-28th

Sunday, April 24 – The show kicked off with a pair of Obama’s foreign visits – Saudia Arabia (where the king dissed him at the airport) and the UK (where he and Prince George went viral,) followed by a piece on Norway’s less-than-sterling record with migrants, including an apparent belief that Jesus’s call to help the less fortunate doesn’t apply to Norway.  The main story was on Puerto Rico’s debt crisis and the many legal loopholes that contributed to its situation.  It was appalling to hear how the island has been treated like a tax haven for businessmen instead of a US territory whose people are American citizens. Early in the story, John showed Lin-Manuel Miranda speaking to Congress about the crisis and declared, “We owe Puerto Rico for that man!”  Miranda appeared on the show as well, coming out at the end to deliver an amazingrap urging Congress to step in and give Puerto Rico to chance to restructure its debt repayments.

Monday, April 25 – I liked the story on the frenzy of Beyoncé’s latest album drop, especially the remarks on how everyone has latched onto the potential gossip instead of the artistry or social commentary.  There was a story on Cruz and Kasich teaming up to keep Trump’s his delegate numbers below 1,237; my favorite part was the montage of Trump whining about how badly he feels the RNC treats him.  Terrific field piece by Hasan on Sikhs who’ve dealt with Islamaphobia despite not being Muslim.  The piece was informative about Sikhism, displayed the ignorance many have about it, and highlighted some great people who refuse to deflect the Islamaphobia because they’re not going to throw another religion under the bus.  The guest was Danielle Brooks, promoting The Color Purple.  She was great – no surprise – and I loved her story about seeing the original Broadway cast as a teenager, which spurred her to go in acting herself.

Tuesday, April 26 – Excellent story on Virginia’s move to return voting rights to ex-felons.  The show covered it all – racial bias (the sharp increase in laws denying suffrage to ex-cons immediately after abolition was so damning,) a vindictive need to keep punishing people who’ve already served their time, and the unnecessary politicizing of an issue that shouldn’t be about politics.  Guests Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peelejoined in on the action playing a pair of ex-cons.  Trevor talked with Michelle about New York dropping its tampon tax.  The story wasn’t quite as good as I wanted it to be, but I liked the commentary on people euphemizing and talking around menstruation, especially Michelle’s joke about putting menstruation in witness protection.  Key and Peele discussed their new movie Keanu, demonstrated their power over the audience, and talked code-switching.  Do I have to bother telling you that they rocked?

Wednesday, April 27 – More on the Cruz-Kasich team-up, mainly how they’re not exactly following through and Trump isn’t feeling all that threatened.  The show also discussed Trump’s latest classy move, accusing Clinton of “playing the woman's card” and then doubling down on the sexism when Clinton shot back.  It’s so weird for him to fixate on her shouting – at a political rally, the horror! – as if it’s some huge offense, and the show’s dubbed version of Clinton’s whisper rally was great.  So-so “Back in Black” segment on the teeth-gnashing over Michael Strahan leaving Live with Kelly and Michael.  Mainly, it coasted on the inherent absurdity of picturing Lewis as a huge Kelly Ripa fan.  I enjoyed the guest, Buzzfeed writer McKay Coppins.  He discussed the election (of course!) and dished with Trevor about his firsthand Trump experience.

Thursday, April 28 – Nice coverage of the unholy union between Cruz and Fiorina, including the bizarreness of why Cruz did this now and Fiorina’s super-creepy singing (why?!)  I especially liked the crack about Fiorina’s business acumen not knowing where jobs “come from,” only where they “go.”  After a quick demonstration of what Trump thinks “being presidential” constitutes, we were treated to an excellent piece riffing on the idea that a lot of Trump’s quotes sound like rap lyrics.  Featuring Roy as Trump, we got a hilarious rap video full of actual Trump quotes bragging about his wealth, airing his beefs with other politicians, and being casually misogynistic.  It was absolutely perfect.  I wasn’t really feeling the interview with Ricky Gervais – too much nonsense comedy that veered too frequently into awkwardness for it to work for me.