Sunday, November 13 – As you can
imagine, only one story on the docket tonight:
president-elect Trump. John began
with the series of sinking realizations he and much of the country had
throughout the week, from the nuclear codes to the Supreme Court. He warned against the idea of any of this
being normal and pointed out how Trump has already started using the “chance”
we’ve been urged to give him (such as tapping a climate-change denier to head
the EPA.) He touched briefly on some of
the different elements that contributed to Trump’s victory, looking
particularly at the media’s influence (with a special focus on fake news circulated
on Facebook.) Finally, before giving a “fuck
you!” farewell video to 2016, he compiled a list of ways people can help in the
years to come, such as by donating to one of the organizations he suggested that
work with LGBTQ people, Latinos, sustainable energy, refugees, Black people,
and more.
Monday, November 14 – Trevor opened with
Trump’s 60 Minutes interview, most
importantly 1) his seeming surprise at how much work being president would
entail, 2) his claim that he’d heard nothing about the harassment and attacks committed
in his name over the past week, and 3) his immediate obfuscation on his main
campaign promises. On that last point,
Trevor reasoned that, if Trump doesn’t deliver on what he promised, even his
supporters will start regretting his election.
Two guests, the first being Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight. Trevor interrogated him on the purpose of
polls (especially when they’re wrong,) and while Silver responded, he couldn’t
answer to Trevor’s satisfaction. Actor
Adrian Grenier talked, not about his acting, but his activism. His Lonely Whale Foundation works to combat
climate change, and he contemplated the prospect of a much more uphill battle with the new administration.
Tuesday, November 15 – The laughter tends
to be mixed with dread/horror now, but at least we still have Ben Carson, with
the former presidential candidate
turning down a cabinet position because he doesn’t think he’s qualified to lead
a department. Trevor resurrected his “Trump
is an African dictator” metaphor again, this time comparing him to South African
president Jacob Zuma. Naturally, in the
last year, the parallels have gotten way more disturbing but remain as apt as
ever. Trevor’s point about how Zuma took
a rising nation and dragged it down was especially good. Quick pre-filmed bit on “Corruption, American Style,” with a classroom of African dictators learning the U.S. lingo for
socially-acceptable corruption, like “rigging” vs. “gerrymandering.” Podcast hosts Desus Nice and the Kid Mero
were the guests. Though I’d never heard
of them before, I liked them quite a bit – both entertaining and thoughtful.
Wednesday, November 16 – I laughed at Trump
“sneaking out” on the press via his motorcade – it was a relatively “nice” bit
of humor before getting back to the nitty-gritty. In this case, it’s about Trump’s transition
team, specifically Steve Bannon as his chief strategist. I’d been waiting for the show to address
this, and Trevor’s disgust did not disappoint.
Also, the weaseling-out non-responses of both Mitch McConnell and Paul
Ryan were gross. The news team held a
memorial service for “facts,” a casualty of the election. I liked the piece; it was creative, pointed,
and in possession of some good wordplay.
The guest, the Washington Post’s Wesley Lowery, discussed his book on
police shootings and his personal journey in reporting on it, which began in
Ferguson and led to the Washington Post’s police shooting database, the only database on this subject.
Thursday, November 17 – After a couple
jokes about Obama’s farewell world tour (needing to spend the next four years
at Oktoberfest; walking through the ruins of ancient Greece, once the world’s
foremost democratic nation,) the big story was Trump beginning plans for a registry of Muslim immigrants/visitors. Hey,
Trump supporter on Fox News – if you’re trying to justify a discriminatory
policy, and you find the words “WWII” and “Japanese” leaving your mouth, that’s not a conscionable policy. I liked Trevor’s brief talk with Jordan about
it and Jordan’s “activism” plans that involved no tangible action. Another two-guest night – meh. First was George Packer, a writer for the New
Yorker, who talked about the working-class white rural voters who played such a
defining role in the election. He was
followed by Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest, who talked about the band’s
decision to get political in their newest album.
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