Monday, December 4 – The big story,
naturally, was Michael Flynn’s guilty plea and what that means for the Russia
investigation going forward. I loved the
jokes about just how many people Flynn told about his “treasony” behavior, as
well as Trevor’s admiration for Trump’s lawyer, who will evidently frame
himself for the crime if he can’t get you off.
Good story on the GOP tax bills passing in the House and Senate, with
handy statistics about who will be paying more/less (spoiler alert: the uber-rich are paying way less.) I especially liked the bit about how alcohol
manufacturers don’t need tax breaks because the new tax plan is basically an ad
for drinking. Frankie Shaw, creator and
star of the show SMILF, spoke about
her series, showcasing Boston women, and the duty she felt to be brave in
storytelling when they started shooting on the day after the election.
Tuesday, December 5 – I loved the opening
story about “Facebook for Kids,” with Trevor proposing a kid-friendly Ashley
Madison where kids can arrange for other moms to pack them snacks on the
DL. After a quick note about John Conyers’s
resignation, it was on to Roy Moore and the GOP’s troubling backpeddling on not
supporting a man accused of sexually assaulting minors. I know I shouldn’t be as surprised at this as
I am, but here we are – disgusting. I
really liked Trevor’s theory that Trump is the GOP’s “Christian Grey,” making
them give into their “dark urges” like eschewing their family-values platform
or embracing deficit spending. Desi did
a field piece on preppers, interviewing one of a new breed of liberal
survivalists in addition to the more typical archetype. Journalist Julia Ioffe was the guest, talking
Russia and its perception of what goes on between it and the U.S.
Wednesday, December 6 – First up was Trump
dropping a metaphorical bomb on the question of Middle East peace by
recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Amid the usual “what is the leader of the free world thinking?”, Trevor
took time out to speculate that Trump wears dentures. The latest on sexual harassment in Congress,
with Al Franken potentially stepping down and Roy Moore poised to win; re: the
latter, Roy pitched himself as a write-in alternative, his selling point being
that he’s never been banned from a mall for creeping on teen girls. Next was a story on Russia being barred from
next year’s Olympics for doping, featuring Trevor’s rendition of a generic
nationless anthem for any Russian athletes honest enough to be allowed into the
Olympics as individuals. The guest,
musician St. Vincent, discussed the different personae she’s explored in her
work before performing a number from her newest album.
Thursday, December 7 – First, we looked at
Al Franken’s resignation. I thought
Trevor struck the right tone, acknowledging it as the right thing to happen
while also recognizing Franken’s point that an alleged child molester is the
frontrunner in a Senate race and a self-professed groper still occupies the
White House as he steps down. The next
story, on the Supreme Court hearing arguments about a cake shop that
discriminated against a gay couple, wasn’t as good for me. I feel like it didn’t quite interrogate the
issue enough. I enjoyed In Other News
more, where we got Trevor worrying about New York accepting conceal-carry
permits from other states, a man saving a rabbit from wildfires in California,
and an Atlanta news anchor gracefully responding to a racist attack she
received online. Tiffany Haddish was the
guest, cracking Trevor up with stories from her new memoir and generally being
what Trevor described as human sunshine.
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