Sunday, May 7 – John opened with a brief bit of fun
news that gives him joy – a New Zealand political party in a legal battle with
Eminem – before moving onto the far more depressing news of the new health care
bill. He covered some of the bill’s more
horrific points, of course, along with the number of representatives who voted
for it without reading it and/or understanding what it entails. The main story was a blast from the
past: net neutrality, which was the
subject of the show’s first segment to go viral back in season 1. Bless John for explaining the issue in a way
that’s really clear, allowing me to see what the problem is, why the potential
reclassification is a big deal, and how ISPs are being less than upfront about
the whole thing. I thoroughly enjoyed
his digs at the FCC’s Ajit Pai, and cutting through the obstructive rigamarole
on the FCC’s website to give people an easy, direct link they can use to post
their comments was awesome.
Monday, May 8 – More on the health care bill, focusing
on its move to the Senate and the all-white-male team picked to rework it. Michelle showed up to rip apart the ways that,
essentially, being a woman is considered a preexisting condition, and given the
fact that the average man can’t even talk about periods, seriously side-eyed
any notion that an all-male group could make a bill that addresses women’s
health in a human way. Next up, Trevor
celebrated the outcome of France’s election (after showing a montage of
American reporters mispronouncing Macron and Le Pen’s names.) I liked his observation that Le Pen’s outcome
– giving her opponent a good fight but not actually winning – was all Trump
really wanted for himself. He and guest Wanda Sykes had fun together, discussing France’s election, commiserating over Black
people’s aversion to the outdoors, and geeking out for Sally Yates’s testimony
in the Russia investigation.
Tuesday, May 9 – The news was too
recent to explore in depth, but Trevor obviously touched on James Comey’s firing, bringing up the convenient timing re:
the Russia investigation and the “gangsta move” of Trump firing Comey
over his treatment of Clinton. This led
into more on the Russia investigation, focusing on Sally Yates’s testimony and
how Trump ignored the warnings both she and Obama gave him about Michael
Flynn. Hasan did a quick desk piece
addressing snark in the news media. He
argued that, as satisfying as it is, it plays into Trump’s accusations of the
media being biased and urged journalists to keep their game faces on while
reporting on the president. Great
interview with Djimon Hounsou. He had
interesting things to say about a documentary he did on voodoo, and I really
appreciated his anecdote about voicing Black Panther in an animated project so his
son could recognize he had Black heroes to relate to.
Wednesday, May 10 – It was pretty much
all Comey all the time. Trevor unpacked
the stated motivation behind Comey’s firing and the tangled web within it, wha with
the ongoing Russia investigation and the obvious BS happening. I liked his impatience with the euphemisms
journalists were using for “what sort of country” this kind of thing happens in
(“Just say Africa!”), and he did not
mince words about how autocracies begin slowly, step by step. The show also looked at the details of how Comey was fired (by letter delivered to his office when he was out of state,
learning of it himself by seeing it on the news) and the general skeeviness therein. The guest, former Obama senior adviser
Valerie Jarrett, continued to go over the still-developing story with Trevor;
she talked a little about Obama’s relationship with Comey and emphasized the
importance of having a truly independent FBI and Justice Department.
Thursday, May 11 – A fun opener on
South Korea’s election, featuring the candidates dabbing as the results were
announced. The Comey story continued
with the administration’s inability to give a straight story on the firing –
with Trump going the furthest afield, as per usual. Trevor also covered the awkwardly-timed visit
from the Russian ambassador and allowing in press from Russia but not the U.S. Next up was a look at the “multiple Trumps”
narrative, the idea that anything Trump said as a candidate, or on Twitter, or…
or… doesn’t count as “real Trump.” I liked
the graphics showing the different possible “hats” Trump could wear to signify
who we’re getting, and I liked the bit about being fortunate that other
dictators haven’t picked up the same technique:
“That was just Genocide Idi!” was a great, awful line. Guest D.L. Hughley talked humor and
politics. The interview was a little overtly
punchline-y for me, but still enjoyable.
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