Sunday, March 8 – Good update on the
coronavirus. Health officials repeatedly jumping in to correct Trump’s false
statements was depressing, as was Trump’s desire not to let the passengers of
the Princess Diamond disembark because he “[likes] the numbers where they are” (I
really appreciated John saying, “You realize the numbers are also people, right?”) We also got a great bit
on an Indian streaming service censoring the show, leading to John threatening
them with outrageous “Disney facts.” The main story was on sheriffs. As with
most stories on down-ballot offices, we hit the points, 1) most people don’t
even know who their sheriff is, 2) quality ranges wildly and a bad sheriff can
do incredible damage, and 3) a bad sheriff is very hard to remove from office.
The campaign video of one sheriff openly sharing photos of him in blackface on
Halloween (his “it was a different time” was 10 years ago) was staggering.
Monday, March 9 – Opening blurbs on
Kamala Harris endorsing Joe Biden (I loved Trevor branding the primary 2 Old 2 Furious,) two men claiming the
presidency in Afghanistan, and a proposed bill to end Daylight Savings Time.
Lots on the coronavirus tonight. We looked at Italy on lockdown, where even in
the Sistine Chapel, “God is afraid to touch man.” We also had multiple GOP
senators in self-quarantine after exposure at CPAC: “If they test positive for
the virus, they might have to send all of Congress home! And then who will not pass bills?!” Jaboukie
offered some hygiene-safety advice, telling people who still shake hands, “Stop
it right now, you dirty bitches.” Activist/author Mikki Kendall was the guest.
In discussing “hood feminism,” intersectional/inclusive of working-class women,
she discussed the importance of bettering life for everyone by ensuring that
basic survival needs are met for all.
Tuesday, March 10 – Loved Trevor
comparing the volatile stock market to a dog, where every fleeting emotion is forever!!! And always either
horrifically tragic or ecstatically wonderful. We also covered a possible
constitutional change that would allow Putin to run again (great line that a
constitution is only as strong as those who safeguard it) and locusts sweeping
East Africa. Tonight’s coronavirus update looked at social distancing, from
canceled events to school closures to increased teleworking, the latter of
which led into concerns about paid sick leave in the U.S. Next, the show
introduced its bracket for this year, featuring Trump’s “best words,” from the
“oranges” of the investigation to the “United Shaysh”; Trevor incorporating
Trump’s words into his own remarks made me laugh. The guests, authors Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi, talked about their techniques to reach young
people in writing on racism and antiracism.
Wednesday, March 11 – We jumped right into
coronavirus news, covering the pandemic designation (“which is like going platinum
for a virus!”), online myths, and fights over toilet paper – I loved, “People
in first-world countries don’t know what to panic over.” Next was the
Democratic primary, with Joe Biden getting combative yet again with a voter
(sigh.) Describing the candidates as “the old man from Up” and “old Captain America” made me laugh. The first of two
guests was Bill de Blasio. His effort to strike a balance between complacency
and panic on the coronavirus didn’t quite work for me. He cautioned against large-scale
social distancing efforts, but at the same time, NYU was going remote and it
was announced the next day that Broadway will be dark for a month; doesn’t
quite match up. The second guest was rapper Dave Burd, who reminisced about funding
his first music videos with bar mitzvah money.
Thursday, March 12 – It was nearly all
coronavirus tonight. The blurbs included Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson’s diagnosis
(“If I can get to Hanks, I can get to anyone!), closures/cancellations from the
NBA season to Disneyworld, and swarms of Thai monkeys with no tourists to feed
them. We also covered Trump’s address, both his xenophobic response (calling it
a “foreign” virus and banning travel from Europe when the call is now coming
from inside the house) and repeated incorrect statements. As Trevor said, “An
Oval Office address shouldn’t be like ‘Two Truths and a Lie!’” and I loved his
puzzlement over the new travel ban not including the U.K. – “The U.K. has ‘the
border’? Does he mean the water? Does he think the coronavirus can’t swim?”
With the show going audience-free next week, Trevor performed a farewell song.
Guest Octavia Spencer discussed her new series on Madam C.J. Walker and
becoming a producer. (Side note: I like that Trevor’s no-touch greeting for Black
guests is the Wakanda salute.)
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