Sunday, March 17 – Naturally, we opened
on the shootings in Christchurch (and the despicable Australian MP trying to
claim Muslims were at fault in the
ultimate victim-blaming.) Next was the
latest on Brexit, with BBC reporters at a loss (you know it’s bad when they
says it’s “quite a lot worse than a bit of a mess”) and Leave supporters in
Parliament categorizing their options as a choice between “turds.” Interesting topic for the main story, which
was on public shaming. The piece had
some nuance, pointing out the good sides of it (like getting corporations to
change shady practices) as well as the bad (like a person’s reputation being
irrevocably tarnished by something the public at large doesn’t fully
understand.) I appreciated that John
brought up the show’s involvement in that and the questions they ask themselves
about who they should mock and how, and the extended interview at the end, with
Monica Lewinsky, was really excellent.
Sunday, March 17 – After an opening
montage of Hasan’s parents and a bunch of aunties and uncles warning him not to
do it, he waded into India’s elections.
It was super-informative for me; I didn’t know a lot of the basics about
just how complicated an election is in such a massively-populous country, and I
learned quite a bit about the major parties involved. It seems dangerous nationalist sentiments are
on the rise pretty much everywhere, and it was insane to hear one politician
discuss the many crimes and scandals involved, saying it’s often a question of
voting for those with the least-credible
murder charges against them (what?!)
Through it all, I liked Hasan’s recurring jokes about how unreliable his
information was, given that he’s obviously a spy for Pakistan/Qatar/Iran – I also
liked what he said about the weird dichotomy of being an Indian Muslim, “something
people love mixed with something people hate.”
Monday, March 18 – First was Trump’s weekend Twitter rants, including raging against an SNL
rerun (and late night TV colluding with Russia??) We also had Apple’s announced streaming
service and J.K. Rowling’s comments on Dumbledore’s sexual history (“No – leave
the Sorting Hat on!”) Some 2020
stuff: Joe Biden almost announcing his run, Bernie Sanders falling in the shower – I
loved the observation that Bernie’s injury showed his “tenacity” while Hilary
Clinton fainting showed her “frailty” – and Beto O’Rourke apologizing for
various slip-ups. Ronny’s brand of
outrage worked well for a piece on the climate march. I laughed at his response to oil companies
claiming there are barely any oil
spills: “Somewhere, there’s a seagull
going, ‘What’s that? I can’t hear you
‘cause my ears are full of oil!!’” The
guest, presidential candidate Jay Inslee, also talked climate change, which is
Issue #1 on his platform.
Tuesday, March 19 – Opening blurbs on Devin Nunes accidentally drawing attention to the parody Twitter accounts he’s suing,
Robert Kraft’s ludicrous punishment (including a class on prostitution?), and a
million-dollar racing pigeon (Trevor’s tangent on the “fortune” congregating on
his balcony every morning was fun.)
Strong story on FAA regulations, following the Boeing 737 Max 8
crash. It’s staggering that they use
safety data gathered by airplane
manufacturers instead of their own.
Neil Brennan had a neat piece on the rise of socialism, arguing that the
ultrarich are more responsible for it than the likes of Bernie Sanders. Great impression of Jeff Bezos the “spoiled
prince” making cities vye for Amazon’s new headquarters: “Entertain me, Pittsburgh.” Producer Will Packer was the guest. He talked about “Black movies” gaining
mainstream appeal and his new documentary on the Atlanta child murders.
Wednesday, March 20 – 100,000 people
trampling poppies in pursuit of selfies is a perfect metaphor for humanity’s
relationship with nature. We also covered
MLB player Mark Trout’s new contract (“He gets $10,000 every time he scratches
his crotch!”) and Mexicans stealing concertina wire from the wall, ending in
the delightful joke, “I put this wall around my house, and Trump paid for it!” The big story was Trump’s ongoing “beefs”
with the late John McCain and Kellyanne Conway’s husband. I loved the bit about how considerate it is
that many of Trump’s lies are so easy to disprove. Desi’s latest women’s history piece looked at
things guys love that women invented. I
had no idea that a woman created kung fu, to deal with street harassers, no
less! I thought the guest, Rep. Will Hurd, had some good things to say about immigration, as someone who represents
a border district.
Thursday, March 21 – Great comparison of
New Zealand’s gun laws, “delivered by Amazon,” and America’s, by “a turtle who
died in 1783.” Fun bit on Joe Biden
floating candidacy/running-mate ideas as “hypotheticals,” and I loved the blurb
on a car chase that ended in a break dance; the bit about everyone in L.A. always
being ready to “audition” was funny, and like Trevor, I instantly knew that the
guy wasn’t Black. Interesting piece on reparations. I liked Trevor’s observation about
legislators’ obsession with timing: “the
window has closed” on reparations, “it’s too soon” for gun reform, “we can deal
with that later” re: climate
change. Roy and Ronny talked March Madness, including the exploding shoe incident.
The guest was Dr. Leana Wen, president of Planned Parenthood. She discussed how Planned Parenthood didn’t
make healthcare political, they’re only responding to the politicizing on the
other side.
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