News Satire Roundup: October 23rd-October 26th

Monday, October 23 – Nice opening blurb on the former presidents banding together for hurricane relief; I liked Trevor’s speculation about what George W. Bush and Obama were laughing about.  I thought the continuing story on Trump’s issues with Gold Star families was great, from Trevor’s baffled reaction to Trump getting into a beef with a grieving widow to John Kelly getting in on the tasteless mud-slinging.  The next story, on Fox News’s gleeful coverage of Harvey Weinstein, was really good as well.  Seeing that they still give air time to Bill O’Reilly was just gross, and Trevor did a great job taking them to task for making sexual harassment and assault a “partisan issue.”  Gold Star father Khizr Khan was the guest.  He talked about the inspiration he takes from the memory of his son, why patriotism means so much to him as an immigrant, and why he sees hope for America’s future.

Tuesday, October 24 – I laughed at Trevor giving Melania Trump props for being brave enough to kick off her anti-bullying campaign in a Detroit middle school, because it’s so true – middle schools are lawless.  Good story on Bill O’Reilly being horrible, variously claiming he had “shocking” evidence to totally exonerate him from sexual harassment claims (that he wasn’t going to use because reasons?) and blaming God for not protecting him from the consequences of his actions.  I loved Trevor taking up “$32 million” as an automatic way to shut down any argument with O’Reilly.  Michael had a so-so field piece on the Great Lakes; my favorite part was the brief riff on invasive species.  The guest, country star Margo Price, had an answer for those who have a “shut up and sing” philosophy about mixing music and politics before performing a track from her newest album.

Wednesday, October 25 – Great shade thrown at Amazon’s new let-us-unlock-your-front-door venture.  I enjoyed the story on dissent in the GOP, namely Bob Corker and Jeff Flake denouncing Trump.  I appreciated Trevor’s reminder that the president getting into a Twitter beef with members of Congress is not normal – you have to say it out loud every so often to remember which side of the looking glass you’re on.  Ronny had an amusing tech piece on recent innovations in the food industry.  I loved his appreciation for the facial-recognition food-ordering system in China, for proving “not all Asian people look the same,” and I laughed at his derision that the burger-flipping robot was named Flippy.  Maggie Gyllenhaal gave a great interview – in addition to discussing her new show, The Deuce, she spoke about the recent goings-on in Hollywood and what it’s going to take for change.

Thursday, October 26 – I liked Trevor’s breakdown of the Kellogg’s cereal-box illustration fail, drawing a single brown corn puff to be a janitor (seriously, what the what?)  Good piece on Trump’s recent announcement about the opioid crisis, with Trevor admitting that Trump did something good and then having to retract it when he realized Trump declared it a “public health emergency” rather than “national emergency,” explaining the differences between the two in terms of funds to combat it – yeesh.  I liked Roy’s piece on racist Halloween costumes and the history of blackface, but I wish it had at least made mention of all the other racist costumes out there, which are also rooted in gross stereotypes and terrible historical baggage.  The guests, Miles Teller and Jason Hall, talked about Thank You for Your Service, and more particularly, the responsibility they both felt to get a returning veteran’s story told right.