The Daily Show: Ears Edition - After the Cut 2025 - Part 2

Episode Date: December 19, 2025

Take a peek behind the desk The Daily Show's hosts as they go unscripted to answer audience questions in part two of the best of 2025's After the Cuts. Jon Stewart introduces the show's viral lighting director / Pedro Pascal lookalike, tells a story about spending time with this inspiration George Carlin, how he interacts with faith, and his newfound passion for drumming. Josh Johnson talks about getting recognized in the wrong ways, and Jordan Klepper thinks is okay that we're not going to be okay. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to https://RocketMoney.com/DAILYSHOW today. To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit https://hims.com/dailyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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This is kind of funny. So that is a Pedro Pascal lookalike contest that they did in New York City. So, you know, they've been doing that now. You know, you had a, what's his name there? Timothy Chalomey did a look like, it was a big deal. The Pedro Pascal thing was a big deal. It's more of a big deal, I think, here at the show, because that Pedro Pascal is our lighting designer.

George Gundus. George, is George, George. George. Come on. So, sit out of a second. So, I'm gonna tell you what's crazy. All right. So you're looking at him right now and you're thinking,

I want to fuck him. That's what we're all, that's we're all thinking. I've never noticed that he looks like Pedro Pascal. Do we have a picture of what he looks like around the office? How did you do this? Well, it's pretty funny. Tyler Goldman, stage manager, sent out a group text on maybe Wednesday last week. Where's Tyler? There is. What's up, Tyler? And he was like, yo, you should go in a year of free burritos. And I was like, okay. And I went home on that day, and I forgot about it. And then on Friday, I showed it to my wife. And she was like, yeah, you're doing this.

And my neighbor in my building is a stylist. She has more like still photography shoots. And she was like, yo, I've got pants. I got shoes, here's glasses. She's like, you just gotta get a shirt. And I showed up on Father's Day. You were supposed to like pre-signed up. I did not sign up.

I rolled up and I'm like, yo, I'm here. And they're like, you're gonna win. And so, yeah. I mean, I have to say, like, this is crazy. This is crazy. Like, you really, look, are you guys around the same eight? I'm in, I'm going to be 43 next week. Right.

So I think Pedro might be a little older than me. But, yeah, it's pretty insane. You're a sexier, younger Pedro Pascal. Thank you. It's awfully kind. Awfully kind. Now, you mentioned this on what, he's not been doing a ton of pressure. So women, as you can see, are reacting very, quite frankly,

animalistically and some of the men what did what did your wife say about this what did she say she her position is I'm cool with you getting all this attention yes if I can meet Pedro Muscolle so could I if I could I could I could I could I could I go can we give him a close-up can I think of me which which camera you want there right there right there Pedro right there I'm here right there I'm here though I'm Oh, you're right there. It's my first day. Hey, Quiggs, bring it in for a sec, Quigs.

Is that Quiggs on? Who's on three today? I don't know. Oh, okay, Quigs. Hey, Pedro. This is Pedro No. 5 from New York. It would be a great, great, great gift. If you could meet my wife, Jenny, it would mean the world to her. We need to make this happen.

George, I don't see how Pedro number one could turn down Pedro number five. John, and if I can give you a quick aside. Please. So John mentioned earlier, this has been crazy. This happened like literally 24 hours ago. Right. I've been doing all kinds of press. I'm going to be on like the CBS News tomorrow morning.

Are you really? There's a photo shoot with the, uh, New York Post coming up this week. It's fucking insane. So, none of this bothers me. I've worked in the industry for many years. I've been around famous people. Brilliantly talented, by the way.

Thank you. It's awfully kind. You should see what I look like without his lighting. It's some cryptkeeper shit. But the thing that I was most, not scared of, the most, like, uneasy about was coming here today. To the office? Can I tell you why?

People were going bananas. I know. tell you why it's like a family here everyone here are my dear friends like big brothers and i knew i was going to get roasted by my friends here on the studio floor in particular the most savage person is camera one phil salanto you're a legend phil no way god bless you've you been ball busting quicks get phil let him get away with it there is so let me feel By the way, I'm going to enter Philly Phil and a Jorge Posada. So I come in the studio, I'm talking to David, the director,

a couple other people on the studio floor, Tyler was there. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Philly just walks in the back, and doesn't say hello, anything. He's like, he's like, oh, look, it's the new Hock Tua girl. Most of us know we should take control of our finances. but it's hard to know where to start. Rocket money gives you the clarity and confidence to take that first step, helping you cut wasteful spending and take meaningful action towards your financial goals.

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Getmoney.com slash daily show. What's your question? I was hosting on the Daily show affected your game. Am I recognized on the street? Yeah, yeah, but I'm still, okay, me getting recognized is not like a hardcore, famous person recognized. The way I get recognized is I will be on the train.

And someone will walk up and be like, you do stuff, right? Which is like a description of every living person on the planet, right? And so I'll be like, yeah. And at this point, I still don't know if they know me or if I look like someone. So then I'm like, yeah. And then they're like, I think I saw you like somewhere. And I'm like, well, there are lots of places to be. So somewhere was definitely where I was

at any given point of life. And then they're like, are you like on TikTok? Like they'll say TikTok, they'll say whatever platform. And when I say yes, they're like, I knew I saw your thing, right? So I'm not famous in the like, oh, Josh Johnson. But sometimes I do get like a John Jansen. Look at you. You know what I mean?

So, yeah, yeah, I get recognized sometimes. But I always also, okay, one of the most humbling experiences I had was after I became a correspondent, right? And I was doing a show out of town and this dude walks up and he's like, hey, hey, I saw you on TV just last week. I was like, oh, thanks, man. And he's like, yeah, I just, I love what you do. And you clean up nice in that suit. And I'm like, oh, thanks. Because, you know, I wear a suit for the show. I wear a hoodie everywhere else. And so he's like, you clean up nice with that. With that. suit. You're killing it. I'm like, oh, thanks, man. And he's like, yeah, man, I just love

what you do. I've been going through a hard time. And so, like, watching you has just been really nice. I'm like, oh, thank you, man. Like that. Anytime somebody tells me that, it, like, it fully centers everything that you're trying to do, because you're just trying to do jokes and make people laugh. But people don't just watch this show. They don't just watch stand-up at home. They watch, they watch in hospital rooms. They watch it when they're going through something, you know? And so he's like, yeah, I've been going through a rough time, been watching. and the videos and stuff, and it just always makes me laugh.

I'm like, that's really nice. I'm glad. And he's like, yeah, man, you and Jost. And I did not have the heart to tell this man I was not Michael Che. I was like, oh, okay, yeah, cool. You know what I mean?

We do our best. All right. Yeah. John, who's your community influence and why? Oh, I'll tell you, you know, growing up, it was National Lampoon, it was Monty Python, it was Steve Martin, but really, like, the guy I locked in on was Carlin. That, he was, and I was lucky enough to get to spend time with him. I interviewed him out in Aspen, which, by the way, they did a comedy festival in Aspen.

I don't know if you know this, but Aspen is like 10,000 feet above where people would live. And when you go there, you do feel like it's one of those horror movies where you can't breathe, but everybody else seems fine. And you're just like, and Carlin at that point, I don't know if you know his health history, but he'd had like five heart attacks. And so he and I are walking up in the Aspen Opera House which they made sure didn't have an elevator. And we're just walking up step after step

into the thinner and thinner air so that he can do a comedy show. And at this point he's my age now. He's in his 60s. He's had five heart attacks. And I just remember on like the fourth plateau where before we were going to summit he just he stops and he turns to me

and he gives me, what the fuck are we doing? here man and it was just you have to know who a Josh Johnson the quarterback is yeah yo can I tell you a crazy story this is this is wild okay so Josh Johnson the quarterback had a game I think he was playing for like the 49ers at the time or something like that something happened I don't know what it was

but there was like some fumble or just like people clearly had money on the game. On Twitter, and only on Twitter, I was at Josh Johnson. I did a show of the comedy seller that night, and then I come into work. Like, I came here the next day, and I just happened to, like, open my Twitter during lunch, and I was getting lit up. Like, people were like, people are like, oh, you suck, you should quit. Like, I can't, I can't believe. Like, all these horrible things that they meant to say to him, they were saying to me. And in my head, I was like, my set was fine. Like, I didn't do anything groundbreaking, but I can't possibly be this bad. And it wasn't until another writer was like, do you see the game last night? I was like, what game? No. And he's like,

there's a guy with your name that like fumbled or whatever. And I was like, oh, thank goodness. Like this is, yeah, yeah. But I don't even think that was a, that was a, I think I interrupted your question, actually. No, I just want to know if you've been mixed up with him before. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. In one of the worst ways possible. The only way it would have been worse is if I got mixed up with him with like the IRS, because that man makes money. Yeah. That guy's killing it. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 30 million men in the United States experience erectile dysfunction. It's more common than a bad night's sleep. The good news, Hymns makes getting access to treatment simple so you can feel like yourself again without the stress or awkwardness. Hymns offers access to erectile dysfunction treatment options, ranging from trusted generics that cost 95% less than the brand names to hard mints if prescribed. This isn't a one-size-fits-all care that forgets you in the waiting room. It's your health and goals put first, with 100% online access to personalized treatment plans and with real medical providers making sure you get what you need to get results.

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Hello, my size, human. I'm not your side. I know, that's, you don't think I can spot. that? People who were short are like bus drivers that when we pass each other, we do these. You always clock the short. Yes, go ahead. I know you got into drumming a while ago. I'm wondering if, you know, there's any hobby you want to get into that. Drumming. So it's, uh, when I, when I last left The Daily Show, it's funny you bring this up. We had our, uh, our fourth gig. I'm in a band for the first time at 62.

Here's the best part. I'm not the oldest person in the band. That goes to Big Jim Bova, who is 74. His son, Andy, taught me how to play. This is us at... We did a gig in, I better turn the volume back because that'll go off during the show, and that won't be good. We did a gig last week in Asbury Park, and it was fun as shit. And I didn't realize how much fun it was, because I'd never played an instrument before.

Do you play? A piano. No, you know what I realized? So I tried to learn guitar and piano. I realized, I realized I'm not a finger. I'm a finger guy. I'm a hand guy. I'm this.

I'm not this. It did not come out in the positive way that I meant. You understand what I'm saying. But yeah, go ahead. No, I don't want any other hobbies. I have, I like woodworking and I like playing the drums, and they're both, I like them for the same reason. They are mind-quieting experiences.

So if you have to have a relatively destructive overactive mind, now it's let's play along to Nirvana. And it works out beautifully. Do you still play piano? No, no, I don't. Get out. What do you do? Percussion.

I was just wondering if faith has played a role in life at all life at all. Okay, what else? No, not faith. Cultural. But faith. No. Yeah, no. I wish.

I wish I could get there. I can't. Stephen, by the way, is a faithful Catholic. But I've never been like a belief guy. I've always been this guy. But if he's all powerful, why children die? Like, I'm that guy. It's very fucking annoying.

I'm not against religion. Religion has given the world a tremendous amount of comfort in a world torn apart by religion, mostly. But the important thing, I just, I'm not a believer. Like, I think that's my biggest problem is, I know that there's probably a gap between like, you know, we are here by divine intervention or we're just like bathroom mold that got luckier than other bathroom mold.

Like, I know, I'm sure there's probably a middle ground there. I wish I could. Did you always have it? Did you come to it? Is it something that you had to, like, figure out? I've always been Jewish. No, no, that, yeah. Sure.

But, no, I came to it. The belief. Do I genuinely believe? And the answer is yes. That's all. I wish I could fucking get it. Because every time I'm like, you know what it is for me? I think it's the specificity that fucks me up.

Because like, if you were to say to me like, there's a spirit in the universe and it carries a thing. But it's more like, and he was 33 years old and a carpenter. And I'm like, all right. You know, it's like, The Jewish religion, it's a faith-based thing. And God said, kill your son. And then he came out, and that's why we cut off the top of your dick.

Like, it's that stuff where I'm just like, or they're just like, God doesn't make mistakes. And I'm like, have you seen a scrotum? Like, there's no way that that is, like, I understand the eyeball. Like the eyeball, you think, like, oh shit, that's amazing. But the scrotum, and it's the same process. And I'm just like, boss, what should we do here? and he's like, here's what we're going to do.

We're going to take all the nerve endings and we're going to tie them up in like a ball. And you're like, oh, that doesn't sound very smart, but okay, what are we going to do with the ball? We're going to put it in like a pouch and go like a nice pouch. Like you do like with Chevis, like the nice, the velvet pouch. It's like, no, not a nice pouch. Like a pouch with like hair and weird shit on it.

And then you're like, well, all right. Well, then we're going to put it in like a sternum, like to protect it. He's like, no, here's what we're going to do. We're going to just fucking hang it. We're just going to hang it so that any, asshole can walk by and go, you know, so that's, you know what I'm saying. How much does AI impact your job? Are you afraid of it for the future? I'm not necessarily afraid of, of AI in what I do as far as performance. I think,

I think it's already been very well said that like the things that people, people do for connection and for real experiences, AI can't replace. The other thing that happens with AI that I don't think, obviously someone could lose their job to AI, which isn't really true. Someone gave your job to AI. Like the AI didn't come in the room with legs.

You know I mean? Like AI doesn't have legs to then walk in and be like, I think I'm better. Like that's not, AI is not pitching itself against you. Someone who wants to save the money that they think that you are, wants to replace you. So I think we put it all on the AI instead of putting it

on employers and companies and like a corporate mindset and everything. But when it comes to stand up, people want to show up and have an experience with other people. And I think that that's something that can't be replaced by AI, at least in that sphere, right? As far as writing goes, there are definitely going to be people who would opt to whether it's for money

or for ease because they aren't. great collaborators, work with an AI and try to be better prompt writers than better collaborators and writers. That's all, I guess, well and good. We'll see how far you get with that just because the thing that AI does to people that I don't feel like anyone talks about because it is embarrassing, having the entire world of possibility mixed up in the internet for like A and B testing and for mixing and matching everything that should be copyrighted, right? Having all of the human history that has been digitized and stolen only reveals to you

how few ideas you really have. You know what I mean? When you are sitting in front of a thing that's like, this is a text to image AI, right? Type in anything you want, I'll give you an image of it. First five minutes, you're probably pumping out stuff that seems funny, fun. I'll show somebody this, whatever.

After an hour, you're like, oh, I don't know what I would do with this. But this thing only exists because of the ideas that we have. So it's a vicious cycle that doesn't really go anywhere. And so I think that when the bubble pops, it won't be in some dramatic way where employers are like,

we're hiring everybody back because we were wrong. I think it will just quietly be people realizing that it is a tool, but it is not a replacement. You know, so I don't worry about it in that way. You think we're going to be okay. No! I hope we're going to be okay. we're going to be OK.

And the grander scheme of things, and a long, if you look long term, we're all going to die. So that's maybe some good news. I don't know if I'm an optimist. I will say, like, I get to talk to a lot of different people. We cover the news. You're probably feeling many of the things that I feel when you're inundated with these chaotic stories

of war crimes, sex, islands, people who don't take accountability. It's a scary, strange time we are in. Where I garner a little bit of hope, or where I've seen some of it recently, is I'm doing this special that's coming out on Monday. And for this special, there was a lot of talk about Donald Trump wanting the Nobel Peace Prize. But what we started noticing is that he talks a big gang

about peace, but it doesn't feel like peace here back in home in places like Chicago and Portland. And so we went to Portland where there was protests happening outside an ice facility because of the cruelty that was happening inside. And as a comedy show, it's hard to make comedy out of something like that. It's a dark time. But what they did was

they threw a naked bike ride as a protest to what was happening inside the ice facility. So as a comedy show, we're like, there's dongs, there's boobs, we're going to this thing. We have to do it. And so we went there, and I'm like, oh, nobody's going to show up. It's rainy. It's about 40

degrees out in Portland. I'm like, who's going to show up? up for a naked bike ride. 10 minutes beforehand, a couple people walk out in full Portland, and I see a dong, then a second dong, then a third dong. And within like 10 minutes, suddenly there's hundreds of naked people. Hundreds turns into almost 1,000 people.

Most of them without clothes on, cheering, supporting. And the idea behind this protest was, the Donald Trump administration is trying to frame what's happening as Portland, as a bunch of aggressive agitators starting shit outside an ice facility. But there were so many people there were so upset by this narrative

and so upset by the things that they were hearing was going on inside that facility that they decided to do the most embarrassing thing possible in the worst possible conditions and be naked to show that they have absolutely nothing to hide. And in doing that, I spent a couple hours with folks. There was joy, there was energy, because people weren't gonna become apathetic.

about it. In fact, they found humor and joy in it. And when you see outside of that ice facility is people organically using humor and joy as a way to show an image of peace and life outside of the cruelty that Donald Trump wants to show you. And is that winning right now? It's fighting right now. I think what you need, apathy is all that administration wants right now. And it's so easy to become apathetic by all of the chaos that is out there. But seeing a little bit of what was happening there in Portland about people who are like, f*** it, I'm showing up. That's half the battle. And not only are they showing up, they're like finding

the joy and the humor within that. And so that gave me that nice little chunk of hope. Yeah. Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching The Daily Show, wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount Plus.

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