I am studying journalism and, honestly, I absolutely agree! I get that John doesn't want it marketed as journalism since the stories generally tackle really complicated subject, and often the idea should be that they are shinning light on an obscure topic on which you should do more individual research and at times it might get subjective, but being self aware about the potential bias and the necessity of diving deeper to get the full picture just make it more honest Last week tonight is honestly a big motivation regarding tackling maybe obscure stories of great significance and really made me want to do journalism in the first place

I also love (and John surmised this during this interview and an interview he did with Russell Howard) that when doing LWT Oliver and the team didn't want to just highlight an issue and spend the whole time exploring it and subsequently bring people down. Instead they wanted to explore it, explain it from a logical standpoint with healthy mix of facts and humour, but also present or discuss potential solutions to these issues too, it's refreshing to see. Yet they aren't a 'news show' really, despite critics of segments treating them as such. Instead they are, at their bare bones, a variety comedy show and as such they don't take themselves too seriously which aids them in shrugging off the criticism whilst also being self aware enough to admit when they do get aspects of stories wrong when they do. A refreshing point of view in today's society. They also don't shy away from holding anybody/any issues accountable regardless of political alignment etc. This was a fantastic interview.

It's why I respect his work so much... but in today's trump era I'm not sure it's true. Every day I see trump and his lackies throwing out lie after lie without the least care for accuracy, and it works for nearly half the population. So does it really matter if John is playing by the rules when some of the most destructive forces in society today have thrown out the rulebook and it appears to be working.

@David Kuhn Yes it does matter that John plays by the rules. If for nothing else but to highlight the lies and inaccuracies being spewed by Trumpy and his mafia. It's also to show those that don't support Trumpy and his goons, that there is truth out there. Without that truth then Trumpy will have won the big game, the long con and nothing will matter. It may appear to be working for now and it may continue to work for a lot longer still but it will eventually collapse. He's built a glass house of lies which everyone with a brain can see. The problem for him is that he's also throwing stones and eventually the glass will break.

Hyper Kin I couldn’t agree more, a few of them focus on trump so much they kind of becomes the symbol of anti-trump, which makes them appear much less creditable and bias when they talk about other issues, even when they are actually not, because they have already established that image. The difference of John Oliver is, you know his stance, you know which side he’s on, but he actually focus mostly on issues that affect everyone, disregard your political stance, and shine lights on issues that’s lesser known but nonetheless important and significant.

​@@kuhndj67 - They play to different audiences. Trump's base likes the way he says things, even though what he actually says is utterly meaningless, he just _sounds_ "strong" to them or whatever when he does, regardless of accuracy. Oliver's audience cares about truth, and enjoys his way of making fun of reality, which only works if you understand what that reality actually is. You can't just swap the content or styles between the groups. I think this is also evident on platforms like KZfaq - most right wing content caters to Trump's base, so it's loud and light on facts and citations. Shapiro (and like, any show on Fox), for example, talks loud and super fast because I guess that's what they think "confidence" sounds like, regardless of his actual content. Meanwhile, left wing content here (like, for example, Shaun, or Three Arrows) tends to be more long form with a calmer demeanor that work to break down the facts and build up a narrative that actually reflects reality. Any showman, left or right, comedic or news, has to play to their audience and understand how they engage.

@Hyper Kin - "whether you agree with it or not--"Orange Man bad." It's two faced, is all." Eh, there's definitely some of that, but it's usually built on their previous statements from previous shows - running gags, in other words. Most of the time, including on Colbert's show (which has gone down this route a bit) or on Noah's Daily Show (which is probably the worst in this matter) they say, "Orange man bad... because he did/said this". It's rarely just, "haha, Trump r bad". And then there's Meyers, who is reductive in his monologue/jokes, but goes quite deep into the issues on his Closer Look segments. Regarding Obama, I'd recommend going back and watching some of Stewart's shows in the Obama era. Yes, it was mostly mocking Fox (because literally everything Fox does deserves to be mocked...), but he called out Obama and the Democrats plenty of times, and is famously a huge critic of the likes of CNN. The drone strike thing in particular is a favorite red herring of the right, but really falls flat. Obama got a lot of criticism from the left for that policy, it's not like he was revered as a cult leader who could do no wrong. And it's worth noting that these current callbacks to Obama's use of drone strikes tend to come from people who either don't know or aggressively don't care that Trump's administration has only increased them.

Stacey Robinson Maybe he is constantly worried that the journalist is just trying to get him to admit that he’s a very real threat to how the journalist’s boss maintains power?

Stacey Robinson Because he’s in control of his own show

Well this one is really uncomfortable because the interviewer isn't conversing, he's talking AT him, asking questions but doesn't respond to any of them. It's weird.

@@andreaandrea6716 That's true. He seems quite relaxed with Stephen Colbert. Obviously, they know each other well already but I also think Stephen is a much more skilled and personable interviewer.

@@Stacey_Robinson Absolutely! SO much more skilled (Colbert is so present!) ... I couldn't watch this to the end because this guy is so artificial ... he prob doesn't mean to be, but it's as if he's playing the role of interviewer, but is not a good actor and isn't comfortable in the role ... and it shows. His discomfort was so loud & distracting I couldn't hear what John Oliver was saying.

That's so true. I also love the simmering frustration about certain subjects that eventually boils into justifiable anger. Also the pure silliness of some of the bits.🤣 I didn't notice it till a year ago as it's not really broadcasted in the UK but I pretty much binge watched it all over a month. I wish he would do something similar over here tbh.

That's reductive, to put it mildly.

Trying to keep it simple, Nx Doyle

@@andeladeur2747 ...because u expect mainly burgerican readers? xP

@@Dichtsau no expectations

An deladeur Touchstone the Fool

Multiculturalism does work.

I agree. What’s more is that they tell us why these stories matter and why we should pay attention. It is remarkable how Stewart was able to convey the importance of a topic in the news day after dah

And Minhaj

This between-seasons hiatus is starting to leave a mark on you too, eh? 2 and a half month since the final "full" episode of 2019. When I saw it pop up on my feed two weeks ago, the short push notifications piece... It was almost like big fat ray of sunshine slapped across the nose in the middle of this soggy arctic winter. The product of his (and his team's) work, is like if the McDonalds drivethrough, Whole Foods and Hooters hooked up on Grindr. And 5 years later they're all married, teach (renewable) energy studies at MIT, and have a wholesome, intelligent and only _mildly_ retarded lovechild named Chiijohn.

DemonDarakna I also get to a point where I start searching out interviews, watching old shows...

@@pr0xZen I don't know why he is so special to me but his voice/delivery and mind/wit are equally exquisite. John sounds like a guy who stays up reading and writing and laughing! Not sleeping.

My son was in college during the net neutrality kerfluffle. The professor had a hard time getting the class engaged. My son mentioned the Last Week Tonight episode and was able to pull it up on his lap top for the class to see. Prof. then put the episode on the course syllabus. Hats off to him, his researchers and writers. They may not mean to, but they perform a vital public service.

I do wish there was more immediacy and calls to action in some of their stories. Sometimes the issues they cover are so entrenched they are hard to resolve which I know is the point but their platform is big enough now to drive change on issues with more immediacy and urgency.

Sadly, Net Neutrality continues to creep its way into our lives and people blame it on this or that...no one ever goes back to the root of the problem. It's no wonder we can never resolve an issue in this country; we're constantly fighting the wrong fight and we force legislation that's only goal is to change the direction of something horrible so the horribleness is just delayed and/or comes in a different package -- but the horribleness is coming regardless. People will complain the whole time, but they'll never care enough to get past their finger pointing and taking sides to know what is actually wrong and/or come to a sound conclusion and/or resolution. Are you dizzy...I think I made that complicated, unnecessarily so. lol.

Funny AND factual, although I'd settle for the factual part because SO much of the news is just pointless diversion away from the real things going wrong with the world!

I notice you spell realize the British way. If you're indeed a Brit, do you guys have a way to watch the uncensored version of the show, meaning any parts that "illegally" offend the royalty, which John and Co replaces with nonsense for British consumption? I can't even make sense of how and where that gets applied, but I expect we'll outlaw criticism of Trump as soon as he gets around to it. As for goodwill, HBO is obscenely overpriced, and makes mostly crap I have no interest in, but Oliver and Maher's shows keep me subscribed, and whatever else is worth watching beyond that at least softens how much I hate paying that $14.99/mo. I guess you can call that goodwill? Lol

@@hunglikeahamster3248 No, I'm Swedish. I pay the equivalent of $11, which while it still could be called overpriced is the same as Netflix, so I guess it's different in different regions. I have just been watching Last Week Tonight on KZfaq, but His Dark Materials made me get an HBO subscription. (Beforeigners is also quite good, but I think that one might be only on HBO Nordic because Americans hate subtitles?) I have not cancelled yet... I took a trial for Amazon Prime to watch their Good Omens adaptation (which is wonderful), but I cancelled that as soon as I'd watched the series. That I don't like Amazon played a part in that. (Among other things thanks to Oliver's piece on how they treat their workers.)

@@RikardPeterson $11 eh? Damn. Same as everything else - we pay more. Maybe the Dems will give us a single-payer HBO For All bill if Bernie's elected. Commies. Lol I looked up Beforeigners. Nope. We don't get it. And yes, I hate subtitles. I can either read the movie or watch the movie but I can't do both. Dubs are OK though you lose the real actor's voices and the dubs can be pretty awful. Yes, His Dark Materials was great, as was The Watchmen. Seriously peeved that Watchmen's creator has effectively killed it cuz he's apparently bored or whatever... The only thing I'm looking forward to other than Oliver's return is the next round of Westworld. They sure do drag releases out on HBO. It's a wonder Khaleesi didn't die of old age. As for Amazon I was so glad you went on to say you immediately dropped it. I would chop off a toe before I'd ever give Bezos another dime. I'd already noticed this, but it's fun to see how few characters you need to type in KZfaq search before the thing you're looking for is at the top of the results. You only have to type "John O" before John Oliver Amazon is the first result. :)

HungLikeAHamster I subscribe to HBO just for John Oliver. My shrink, who honestly doesn’t do as much for me as Oliver does, bills me $275 for 45 minutes. I’m not being sarcastic in the slightest when I say Last Week Tonight is the best money I spend on therapy, far and away.

@@dasaauto2024 $275 for 45 minutes? What are you, nuts? Lol Well, Reader's Digest has always said laughter is the best medicine, and I always agreed. From when I was a little kid on... John is pretty unique, blowing several gaskets per show and making us do the same, yet bringing us all back down for a reasonably gentle landing. Meanwhile he's made us better informed and *properly* angry about things we might not otherwise ever contemplate. I hope you get at least some other value from your HBO fees. A show I've found therapeutic is High Maintenance, in its own more passive way. I live on less than $11,000 a year, plus food stamps. So that $14.99 hits me a lot harder. But I get Hulu and Netflix as well. Watch it all on my phone. I decided long ago that even if I was piss poor I wasn't going to live a bare ramen noodle existence. Gotta have *some* perks or there's no point...

That is a very healthy attitude, and one seen far to rarely on the internet, people tend to prefer their echo chambers

Oliver show is based of facts. When you swing that hard at everyone you'd be sued off the air if what he did wasn't based on real facts. HBO would say no. You have to stop. Rating are good lawsuits are not when you are losing.

Mylgphone Elgee He does put his main stories on KZfaq for free, which is a great service and not common, either.

True, good point.

What a wonderfully witty comment! Thanks, made my day!

Eh, i am just having poliamorous relationship with entire bunch of Stewart's comedy kids/disciples 😏 my recommendation for your cheat list is Hasan Minhaj

Jo Laderach we think the same

DarkRonnie [He and his team]

Does Jon Stewart have a show now? I thought he was producing Late Show with Stephen Colbert?

Lorrie What kind of butterflies do they turn into?

It returns on February 16 :)

You better be watching on HBO not free on KZfaq

SpiralEntree For those of us without an income, KZfaq is the only feasible way.

because he is a corporate sellout.,

I love this guy, but this video is not particularly interesting

Remember the smear he did on Jill Stein. Americans are the most propagandized people on earth.

Some medicine just need a shovelful of sugar! lol

kijiji93 Yes, I agree with you 100%. Colbert is the rare type of comedic genius that can do satire at the highest level. His wit is legendary. What he does now is just a small fraction of what he is capable of-and he has to be painfully aware of this, unfortunately. :/

As a journalist, I struggle to understand why you capitalized "Journalist". Beyond that, I don't know why you're surprised. There's no point to satirical comedy if 1) it's not funny, 2) there is no point of view and 3) the point of view is not underpinned by evidence/facts. I would have thought a large or small j journalist would know that. Then again, journalism is not in a healthy place right now.

I agree but I would also like to add that to me, as a non-American, it seems that y'all confuse "being objective" with "showing how both sides could have a point" which is not the same. News can -- and have to! -- be 100% objective without catering to racists' bullshit. If the president lies, the news have to objectively point out what he said was false.

Sam Allardyce praise be praise be

yes please

Rick Mercer - sad that he is gone and awaiting for who will replace him.

Ted Perez the 14th I believe

Oops that’s a Friday. The 16th

Oh really. Is that on his site or somewhere we / I can follow?

Me too! Love John Oliver!

You don’t know Ali Velshi? He is an awesome journalist. You can catch him regularly on MSNBC !