Sunday, September 23 – We’re back after the
fallout from the NASA mouse conspiracy two weeks ago, ha! After Trump described Hurricane Florence as
“the wettest” “from the standpoint of water,” we looked at the allegations
against Brett Kavanaugh, the inevitable response (the woman who was all, “What
high school boy hasn’t [committed a
sex crime]?” disgusted me,) and the sober notion that we’re not nearly as far
from the Anita Hill days as we might have hoped. The main story was on Facebook in foreign markets,
particularly focusing on Myanmar. The
show did a good job showing how Facebook’s worst qualities – easy means of
spreading false info (especially in a country where Facebook is free on
people’s phones but actual news sites require data,) slow response to
abuse/hate speech – fueled horrific crimes against the Rohingya. I liked the “Truth Facebook Ad: International Version” that closed the show.
Monday, September 24 – Good opening bits on
Rod Rosenstein (with news reporters admitting they don’t know what the news
is,) people injuring themselves in the pursuit of selfies, and a bus driver
arrested for letting kids drive the bus, with Trevor taking the unexpected
viewpoint. Of course, more on Brett Kavanagh. The show looked at the same
horrific “defenses” that Last Week
Tonight did, and I loved the jokes about Kavanaugh’s 35-year-old calendar
that doesn’t have “commit sex crime”
written on it, especially Trevor’s point about whether Kavanaugh, as a judge,
would accept that evidence in his
courtroom. New sports piece from Roy and
Michael featuring a lot of short bits, including a football cornerback retiring
midgame and a hockey mascot that looks like a Sesame Street character on meth.
Writer Jenny Han, the guest, discussed the adaptation of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and
why she feels it resonates with viewers.
Tuesday, September 25 – Quick check-in on
protesters dogging Ted Cruz at a restaurant, Bill Cosby’s sentencing, and
Nelson Mandela’s statue at the U.N., and then it was back to Brett Kavanaugh. First up was the Fox News
interview, with Kavanaugh painting himself as a saint who’s “always” respected
women and Trevor pointing to evidence from that time displaying very little
respect. Dulce reported on the whole
“Kavanaugh was a virgin for ‘many years after’ high school” thing, and I think the
story missed the mark a little, getting too fixed on the virgin aspect for
comedy’s sake. Great piece from Neil
Brennan on how Trump has caused so many “family values” Republicans to defend
sexual predators (along with family separation, adultery, and many other
things.) The guest was rapper M.I.A.,
talking about the journey of putting together the documentary on her life,
family, and music that’s been many years in the making.
Wednesday, September 26 – Opening blurbs: Trump preemptively blaming Chinese election-meddling(?)
for GOP losses in the midterms, Spotify pairing with ancestry.com to make
playlists based on your DNA (loved Trevor’s joke about getting racially
profiled by Spotify,) and a legislative push to regulate leg room on
planes. More Brett Kavanaugh, looking at
the latest allegation as well as dubious entries from his high-school alibi
calendar – I laughed at the whole thing imagining an actual physician named “Dr.
Strawberry.” Roy reported on an
organization that does team-building through simulated survival scenarios; he
tried the tactic on a Trump supporter and a super-liberal, with
less-than-successful results. Guest Bill Gates discussed the importance of foreign aid and offered reasons for optimism
despite our current presence in the darkest timeline.
Thursday, September 27 – Dr. Christine Blasey
Ford and Brett Kavanaugh testimony, of course.
Nice job on the montage of Dr. Ford being polite and cooperative and
Kavanaugh yelling and throwing Democratic senators’ questions back at them, and
I was appalled by Lindsey Graham using his time to grandstand about the hearing
being a miscarriage of justice; Trevor’s reference to Merrick Garland was easy
but apt. As Senate Republicans seem
determined to stand by their guy, Michael came on to offer himself as an
alternative “bland white man” who’ll go along with whatever they want. America Ferrera was the guest, talking about
a new book she’s compiled of marginalized voices sharing their American
stories. I loved what she said about the
American experiment being so much about storytelling, whose stories get told to
represent “American” and why.
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