Sunday, December 15 – Another great topic
this week. Hasan looked at the lamentable state of retirement in the U.S. as
the “silver tsunami” of baby boomers continues to age. He covered how each of
the three pillars of retirement that are supposed to be in place have all been
eroding for decades and also examined different types of elder care in a fake
game show he called “Hasan’s Shitty Options” – no surprise that nursing homes,
assisted living, and in-home care are all expensive and under-regulated.
Additionally, we looked at how this retirement instability for boomers will
affect their adult children, who will need to pick up the burden of money,
care, and emotional labor to deal with this situation (and likely wind up
taking out of their own retirement savings to take care of their parents.) I
love the line about the “silver tsunami” washing away millennials and leaving
only quinoa and K-cups in its wake.
Monday, December 16 – Trevor was excited
to have five top pageant winners who are Black women, including the South
African Miss Universe. We also got the Hallmark channel flip-flopping over LGBTQ
ad content, the horrifying existence of “penis fish” (“The little mermaid’s bachelorette
party got crazy!”), and military
cadets flashing white power symbols at a football game. Next was the UK election, featuring Trevor’s puzzlement that the prime minister just lives on a
regular street and various American politicians trying to make the UK’s
election about the US. Jordan returned for the first of a series of
campaign-rally field pieces, venturing again into the heart of Trump country.
It was every bit as absurd and table-flipping as usual, but seeing guys
snickering over Pete Buttigieg was the part that really got to me. The guest,
comedian Dan Soder compared standup specials with Trevor, and the two made each
other laugh.
Tuesday, December 17 – Re: the possible
“second Mona Lisa,” I laughed at
Trevor comparing it to the 16th-century version of selfies – “my
smile’s weird in this one, paint it again!” I loved Trevor’s plan to make the
UN discuss climate change atop a melting iceberg, and we also got a quick blurb
on less-than-flattering casting calls for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series. Good story on barriers between Black people and therapy. I liked the jokes about white therapists not understanding
the stresses of being Black: “So you think people follow you around stores and
you’re invisible, but only to taxis?” The story on “porch pirates” stealing
packages was fun, especially Trevor’s resentment at calling them anything other
than regular thieves. Miss Universe winner Zozibini Tunzi was the guest. I
loved her comments on winning with natural hair and how, for her, changing her
hair for a pageant wasn’t even a question.
Wednesday, December 18 – We opened with an
amber alert that turned out to be a hoax (loved Trevor’s suggestion to have a
“Jussie Smollett alert” issued when that happens,) Spirit Airlines upgrading
their cabins (with full-sized tray tables “for the meal they don’t serve
you!”), and a caricature artist’s sketch of the person who robbed them. Though
the show was taped before the House impeachment vote, we still covered it,
getting in clips of Republicans comparing Trump’s impeachment to Pearl Harbor and Jesus’s crucifixion
(what even?), while Michael tried to sell the Democrats as “super sad” about
the whole thing. Ronny had an interesting piece on how climate change affects
holiday traditions, like the rising costs of Christmas trees amid drier
conditions and increased wildfires. The guest was actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
After Trevor praised his abs, I appreciated his honesty about how he only ever
looks like that for roles.
Thursday, December 19 – Yet another debate.
Good bit on the dwindling diversity – I loved the line comparing the Democratic
primary to a horror movie, with all the Black people getting “killed off”
first. We also covered talk about the economy and everyone coming for Pete
Buttigieg (“What’s a wine cave? It sounds like where Batman goes to relax after
a hard day,”) and Trevor of course had to flex after being quoted onstage by
Amy Klobuchar. Next up was the impeachment, with Trump trying to sell it as “impeachment
light.” Trevor did a great impression of him playing it off like a kid who
falls off his bike and tells his friends he “meant to do that.” Jaboukie and
Desi did a sketch on “538 & Me,” a DNA test that tells you who to vote for;
it got very Us at the end. Great
interview with pundit Mehdi Hasan. He was a big champion of voting for the
candidate you believe in rather than getting bogged down in discussions of “electability.”
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