Sunday, November 10 – The latest on Stupid
Watergate II pivoted to the original Stupid Watergate with Roger Stone’s trial.
Stone’s claim that a “prepare to die” text was “taken out of context” was truly
mind-boggling. We also got a fun And Now This of Fox News pundits misattributing
a quote about liberals and conservatives to Churchill. The main story hearkened
back to an earlier one on the coal industry, specifically the frivolous SLAPP suit coal magnate Bob Murray hit the show with. It was a great springboard for
talking about these damaging lawsuits, targeting critics who often can’t afford
the costly legal battles that the wealthy complainants don’t intend to win in
the first place. And of course, it was a perfect excuse to hurl more insults at
Murray, from “what it would look like if an egg undressed you with its eyes” to
the climactic musical number making a bunch of outrageously-comedic false
claims about him.
Sunday, November 10 – New Patriot Act! The latest block kicked off
with a strong episode on mental health coverage. After a fun cold open in which
Hasan stressed himself out while trying to record a guided meditation (“What
about the 1% of germs that Purell doesn’t
kill?!?”, he examined the different ways insurance companies avoid paying for
mental health treatment, despite federal law requiring parity between physical
and mental healthcare. Companies not maintaining accurate lists of in-network
therapists was absurd (one study called every name on a list of hundreds and
succeeded with less than a fourth of
them – some of the wrong numbers went to dead people, and one went to a
McDonald’s.) The worst, though, was a family who already lost one daughter to
suicide being told that resident treatment for their younger daughter wasn’t “medically
necessary” because she hadn’t tried to attempt suicide often enough – horrific.
Monday, November 11 – We opened on the
repeal of a ban on Marines carrying umbrellas, followed by another
gender-reveal party mishap (loved the line, “Is this how they’re revealing that
the pregnancy was an accident?”) and a widespread phone error that resulted in
a bunch of Valentine’s Day texts only getting delivered recently. Next up was
Michael Bloomberg considering a presidential run, ‘cause of course we need more
Democratic candidates. I liked the bit about Bloomberg being so rich that Jeff
Bezos was making orders with him, and
the Batman analogy was great. Two guests – first was Rep. Jim Himes. I
appreciated what he said about the difference between a quid pro quo and
extortion, and the importance of using the correct word. We also got Anna Kendrick, promoting her new Christmas movie and talking about the benefits of
being a producer (fewer hair extensions, isn’t without resource if the director
is terrible.)
Tuesday, November 12 – Opening blurbs on
the Disney+ launch, gender bias on the new Apple Card (loved Trevor’s comment
that something might actually be done about this because it featured the
whitest, richest discrimination victims ever,) and the coup in Bolivia. I
really liked the piece on book deals for Trump insiders, especially Trevor’s
remarks on John Bolton dangling secret info about Ukraine but apparently saving
it for his book instead of testifying before Congress. Roy attempted to bring
some happy news with a trio of animal stories (including an airport therapy pig
and a jailbreaking cat!), but they kept reminding him of the depressing aspects
of the world. The guest, director Noah Baumbach, talked Marriage Story and the awkwardness of not realizing Scarlett
Johansson was going through a divorce until moments before he pitched her his
movie about divorce. Whoops!
Wednesday, November 13 – We jumped straight
into the public impeachment hearings. I liked how one representative put paid
to the “Trump was too incompetent to commit extortion!” defense by asking
whether attempted murder/robbery/etc. is still a crime. The clips of a
Republican representative who kept harping on Hunter Biden was something else,
and I loved Trevor’s comparison with interrupting the police during a
breaking-and-entering investigation to ask them to figure out who stole your
yogurt from the break room. Roy and Jaboukie had a fun piece playing real
estate agents for Trump’s childhood home. Despite their monetization
suggestions (museum for Trump supporters, rage room for Trump haters,) they
couldn’t get anyone to bite. Daniel Kaluuya was the guest, promoting Queen & Slim. I loved what he said
about his project choices, saying he prioritizes “singing great songs” over
“being a great singer.”
Thursday, November 14 – Sigh – another presidential candidate. As Trevor said, the point isn’t to keep replenishing
the stock! I loved the bit on Bernie Sanders making changes after his heart
attack, especially Trevor’s speculation that his staff convinced him to change
his wardrobe based on “doctor recommendation.” We also had quick blurbs on
flooding in Venice and exorbitant prices to sit on Santa’s lap. Next was Fox News’s coverage of the impeachment hearings. Their efforts to deter viewers from watching the
testimony were gross, and I loved Trevor’s comment on their intensive focus on
Beghazi compared to “What even is a
Ukraine?” Another two-guest night. First was Steve Ballmer, a billionaire who doesn’t have nightmares about Elizabeth
Warren. The second guest was Jeff Garlin, discussing his practice of improvving
his standup; Trevor thought that, in the age of climate change, it was
“wasteful” to throw good jokes away.
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