Sunday, December 8 – Today, Hasan looked
at Asian-Americans and voting. They’re the fastest-growing group of eligible
voters in the country, with the power to flip districts when they turn out in
numbers, but they’re almost completely ignored by the U.S. political system.
Hasan examined the “chicken and egg” cycle of politicians ignoring
Asian-American communities and low voter turnout, and he didn’t neglect how
being ignored also extends to presidential candidate Andrew Yang (that MSNBC
graphic for a Democratic debate that listed every participating candidate except Yang was especially damning.)
Hasan interviewed Yang about that, and Yang was also a pretty good sport during
some man-on-the-street Chinatown interviews. Additionally, Hasan interviewed
Cory Booker, who takes time to reach out to Asian-American communities beyond
pandering. (Hasan’s campaign slogan pitch? “Cory Booker: I’ll Let Your Cousin
In.”)
Monday, December 9 – First was a New
Jersey bill to make kids learn cursive, a banana that’s considered “art” (great
crack about buying Michelangelo’s David
and it turning brown and mushy a few days later) and Trump’s insistence that
Americans have to flush low-flow toilets “10 to 15 times.” Some Democratic primary stories: Joe Biden challenging an old man to a pushup contest at a town
hall (loved the Black Panther Challenge
Day jokes,) Pete Buttigieg’s closed-door fundraisers, and the scandalous reveal
that Elizabeth Warren earned money from a
job she had. New sports piece from Michael and Roy. I liked the bit on Russia
being banned from global sports, with Roy’s comment that sports were the
“after-school program” keeping Russians out of trouble and now they’ll just do
more meddling. The guest, Kelly Marie Tran, discussed both the ugliness and the
support she experienced after being cast in Star
Wars.
Tuesday, December 10 – I liked the bit on
Finland’s new prime minister, the youngest to hold the post. Also, it’s wild
that people steal mattresses from
5-star hotels, and Trevor was on fire with his jokes about the video game that
lets you play as Jesus (“Resurrect him!”) Naturally, the House drafting
articles of impeachment got a lot of focus. We also looked at the DOJ
investigation into the Russia
investigation, which Trump straight-up ignored and denied the reality of; how
does this even work for him? Lewis had a great Back in Black on dubious
Christmas offerings for Jews, from Hallmark “Hanukkah” movies that are just
Christmas movies in disguise to Auschwitz-themed
Christmas ornaments??? Alfre Woodard and Aldis Hodge were the guests,
talking about their new movie on capital punishment and the toll it takes on
people who carry out these executions on behalf of the state.
Wednesday, December 11 – Great jokes on Time
honoring Greta Thunberg’s climate activism by printing her picture on millions
of magazines and shipping them around the country on airplanes. We also looked
at the (rightful) backlash over “plantation weddings (why is this a thing?!)
Next was a story on the 18-year pattern of administrations lying about the war in Afghanistan. It was disturbing to have so many officials admit they had no
idea why we’re there, what we’re doing, or who our “enemy” is. I loved Trevor’s
plan to funnel some military spending into American schools or hospitals by
claiming the Taliban is hiding there. Ronny had an unnerving piece on
whole-body donation, which is of course being exploited by people who use it to
sell body parts (featuring a long discussion about a bag of dicks.) The guest
was Lupita Nyong’o, promoting her new children’s book about a girl learning to
love her dark skin.
Thursday, December 12 – Opening blurbs on
recently-discovered cave art (“This beautiful artwork is fading away! Look,
when I scrape at it, it comes right off!”), a dangerous promposal mishap, and a
Christmas photographer who specializes in kids crying on Santa’s lap. Good story
on the “asshole” behavior of the family Trump, naturally involving Trump
mocking a teenage girl on Twitter, Don Jr. shooting an endangered sheep (with a
laser scope!), and the Trumps having to attend a court-ordered class on how to
run a charity without stealing from
it. Dulcé reported on recent workplace studies, from people who quit because of
a bad boss to people who go to work when they’re sick (“You used up a box of
tissues in an hour. Either you’re sick or I need to check your browser
history!”) Solange Knowles was the guest. I liked her remarks on taking
inspiration from Black cowboys to create new work that she feels epitomizes
Americana.
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