News Satire Roundup: May 26th-May 30th

Sunday, May 26 – You might call this episode something of a deep pull, although, as Hasan pointed out, it really shouldn’t be.  He looked at cricket, a sport that’s way more popular than most Americans would think (the last time India played Pakistan in a final, the equivalent of 9 Superbowls’ worth of people watched.)  Specifically, he discussed corruption in the Indian Premiere League, which has a huge hand in the sport blowing up but which has subsequently grown to rule the entire international cricket scene with an iron fist.  I really liked Hasan’s discussion of cricket as a colonial export, both as it was originally intended by the British and how formerly-colonized nations (like India) have since used it as a colonizing force themselves.  It was also fun to watch the devolution of Lalit Modi, once the IPL’s Mark Zuckerberg and now “that uncle” that every brown person ever has gotten into infuriating arguments with.

Tuesday, May 28 – First was Theresa May’s resignation (loved Trevor’s riff on 10 Downing St. just being on a regular city street,) a rash of recent deaths on Mt. Everest (good point about people paying $11,000 to possibly die,) and El Chapo’s requests in prison (great jokes on people “reverse-McGuyvering” prison-break scenarios from everything he asks for.)  Next was Trump’s trip to Japan, from his “authentic Japanese cultural experience” of golf and cheeseburger (loved the child-of-helicopter-parents comparison) to his shrugging off Japan’s concerns about North Korea’s missile tests.  Amusing story on The Daily Show being referenced on Chinese news, with Roy coming on to “prove” Trevor’s secret allegiance to foreign powers.  Great interview with Reese Witherspoon.  I loved what she said about starting her own production company and making stories about female characters she would want her daughter to see.

Wednesday, May 29 – Good opener on Mitch McConnell’s “movie villain” hypocrisy on filling a hypothetical Supreme Court justice seat in 2020; Trevor had him down.  We also had opening blurbs on production companies pulling out of Georgia due to its new abortion laws, and a weatherman railing against viewers who complained about tornado coverage interrupting The Bachelorette.  The big story was Robert Mueller’s public statement, in which he kind-of-said that Trump obstructed justice – Trevor’s parallel to asking a partner if they have herpes was perfect.  Ronny did a piece on the church trying to attract millennials through technology.  I laughed at outsourcing prayers to Alexa, and I loved the bit on not wanting to risk whether a VR baptism “counts,” salvation-wise.  The guest was Dr. Jill Biden.  She discussed her memoir (featuring Air Force Two pranks!) and her goals for education in her husband’s campaign.

Thursday, May 30 – We started with the U.S.S. John McCain being kept out of sight from Trump (loved the speculation on new military technology being used just to keep Trump from seeing things he doesn’t like,) attempts to rebrand natural gas as “freedom gas,” Drake being disruptive at a play-off game, and a doctored video of Nancy Pelosi on Facebook.  Next up was many Democrats coming around to impeachment after Robert Mueller’s address; I loved the note that Trump thinks impeachment requires both a high crime and a misdemeanor (“we need to catch him for shoplifting, or this thing goes nowhere!”)  New abortion laws were a jumping-off point for Neal Brennan to look at the GOP’s relentlessness, arguing that Democrats need to be less nice and more unshakable if they want to get things done.  The guest, designer Christian Siriano, talked body diversity in fashion and mentoring up-and-coming talents.