The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Companies Pay for Their Role in the Opioid Crisis | Greta Thunberg

Episode Date: September 12, 2019

 Corporations are punished for fueling America's opioid crisis, Lewis Black talks about the effects of screen time on kids, and activist Greta Thunberg stops by. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, it's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID. Thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about. All the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a listed that fourth, but in importance, it's probably second.

I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to the Davieso everybody. Thank you so much for tuning in. And thank you for coming out. As always, thank you so much. I'm Trevor Noah. Our guest tonight is a 16-year-old climate activist who sailed across the Atlantic, and thank you for coming out. because she refuses to fly on planes. Greta Tundberry is joining us everybody. Also, on tonight's show, vaping will be illegal. Lewis Black is here to save the future and one of the world's biggest drug dealers is finally paying up.

So let's catch up on today's headlines. Let's kick it off with some big news out of Washington, because the vaping industry may be about to go up in smoke. President Trump will propose banning all flavored e-cigarettes after the CDC reported, at least six people may have died from vaping-related illnesses. Vaping has become a very big business, as I understand it, like a giant business in a very short period of time. But we can't allow people to get sick, and we can't have our youth be so affected. And I'm hearing it, and that's how the first lady got involved.

She's got a son together that is a beautiful young man, and she feels very, very strongly about it. She's got a son. You mean the son she made with you? How on earth does Trump forget that he has a son? He's like the world's worst dad. It's like him and Darth Vader, you know? No, actually that's wrong. At least, Darth Veda claimed a son. He's like the world's worst dad. It's like him and Darth Vader, you know? No, actually that's wrong. At least Darth Vader claimed his son. If Trump was the dark lord, he would be like, look, she is your mother. But look, you can't fault Trump for not being

super eager to claim responsibility for a son. I mean, the dude has been burned twice, let's be honest, you know? But back to the story, back to the story. The Trump administration is planning to ban all flavored e-cigarettes, which I think is a great move. Because clearly these companies have been targeting kids, right? I mean, just listen to the flavors. Got mango, jelly bean, birthday cake.those are clearly for kids, right? Adults don't flavor their drugs. Like I watched knockholes, there was never a moment where someone was like, let me sample your product, man. Ah, yeah, butterscotch, I like it. Moving on.

the today, while 10 Democrats are gearing up for tomorrow's third democratic presidential debate. One candidate, to the tho' to be a thiiiol, thiol, thi, thi, thi, thiol, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thiol-s, thiol-s, thiol-s, thiol-a, tho, too, thi, thi, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, tho, too, thi, thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. thauuu. tod. tod. toda, toda, today, today, too'lipee. too, too, ttttthauu. thau. too, too, too. too. too. too. too, too has figured out a way to have his voice heard. In the race for the White House, presidential candidate Tim Ryan is trying a new approach to reach voters through the music streaming service, Spotify. Ryan released a policy album that people can listen to. It has 10 tracks that include his stand on gun control, immigration and climate change. It's titled on Spotify a new and better agenda. Okay, okay. Tim Ryan has released a policy album on Spotify? Eh! Yeah. I mean it might be a good way to connect with voters but it's going to mess up somebody's date nights. Yeah, because what if shuffle is on your Spotify? You have somebody over, you're trying to set a romantic mood, you know, all of a sudden music's playing, I'll make love to you, then all of the sowns, like, and now my policy regarding the capital gains tax.

Actually, wouldn't it be funny if this actually blew up? And then Tim Ryan had to quit politics becauseto be at the next debate? No, man, I'm opening for Cardi B. Yeah, just be on stage like, New York, make some noise if you like student loan deferment. Finally, let's move on to some news from the worlds of both fosfood and technology. McDonald's plans to speed up the drive-through with new technology, announcing Tuesday, it acquired a Siouxican Valley based., theee and the and the and the. the. the. the. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and I was, and, and, it acquired Apprenti, a Silicon Valley-based

startup. It specializes in conversational, voice-paced ordering technology. McDonald's said the technology understands different accents, and McDonald's expects it to allow for more accurate ordering at the drive-thrue. McDonald's and Apprenti have already run some demos at McDonald's test restaurants. Yes, McDonald's is going to use computers to take our orders at the drive-thru, because they say the AI is going to be more efficient. And honestly, I don't know how I feel about robots working in fast food, because you can't complain if your order comes out wrong.

We're going to be like, I want to see the manager. And then the terminator comes out, yeah? It's like, is to speed up service for people with accents. That's a cool thing. The thing is, I don't think accents were the problem at the drive-thrue. You know what's slowing it down?

Was those picky assholes who want to choose different things? Be like, can I get a number one? But thrown. the number one, the number, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th. th. th. thu. thu. thu. thu. thu. thi. thi. that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, th. that's, th. th. th. that's, that's, that five. Just order the number five. No, I prefer the number one and I amended, okay? I will say this, no matter what, I'm in favor of McDonald's increasing their line efficiency. Because that means it'll give President Trump more time to spend with his wife's son. All right, that's it for the story. The opioid crisis. The opioid crisis. Over the course of two decades, millions of Americans have become addicted to these painkillers. And after years of people demanding that someone be held accountable, the drug companies

are finally starting to pay a price. There is word tonight of a settlement involving thousands of lawsuits tied to the opioid crisis. Oxy Cottonmaker Purdue Pharma has reached an agreement with 22 states and about 2,000 local governments over its role in the deadly epidemic. The company will pay up to 12 billion dollars over time with 3 billion coming from the Sackler family. They own Purdue Pharma and will also give up control of the company. You know, I'll be honest with you, I'm torn about this story. Yes, I'm happy that the opioid companies will have to pay, but at the same time, they misled sick people about how addictive their drugs were,

right? They also lobbied to lift limits on how many opioids doctors could prescribe. And then now that they've made billions of dollars off an epidemic that caused countless debts, they just get to be like, how about we give you some of that money back and we call it even? I think it's bullshit, I'll be honest. I imagine someone broke into your house, stole a bunch of her stuff, and then when you're busted them, they're like, all right, all right, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, all, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, they're, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, th. th. they's, they's, they's, they's, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, th, th, they, they, they, they, they, they, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're they're they're they're thi. they're tho. they're tho. tho. they're tho. they're just, they're tho. they're they're tho.? And then you're like, that's my wallet. It's like, OK, 120, 120. But I get to keep the library card, OK? And even though this opioid crisis has been in the news for the past few years, the family who profited most

from a lot of this devastation has managed to remain fairly anonymous. But now, we're finally meeting the men behind the curtain. For the first time, we're now seen and hearing from Dr. Richard Sackler. The former chairman and president of Purdue Pharma respond to questions under oath. Do you know how much the Sackler family has made off the sale of OxyCon? I don't know. Do you know if it's over $10 billion? I don't think so. You know if it's over $5 billion dollars. I don't think so. You know if it's over five billion dollars? I don't know. But fair to say it's over a billion dollars. It would be fair to say that, yes. Really? This guy's gonna act like he doesn't know if he made a billion

dollars. Get the f-fix outta here man. You see him acting like he's thinking about it. Oh, did I'm acting like he has to count up all his change. Well, I did get that $10 from Grandma. Yeah, I made $150 from the yard sale. Oh yeah, there's a billion dollars from killing thousands of Americans by lying to them about their pain killers. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot that part. Oh, and I got the library card. And the sacklers, they aren't, they aren't, they aren't, they aren't, they aren't, they aren't, they aren't, they aren't, they aren't, they aren't, they aren't, they're they're they're they're they're the only only only only one the only one the only one the only one the only one the only one the only one the only one the only one their 50 o' thi, their $1, their $ $1, their $ $ $ $1, their $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $1.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.00.50.00.50.50.50.50.50.50.50.50.50.50.50.1.50.50.50.1.50.1.50.1.1.50.00.00.00.00. epidemic. Everyone's favorite baby shampoo company has also been told it's time to pay up.

Yesterday, an Oklahoma judge ruled that opioids ravaged the state and order Johnson and Johnson to pay $572 million dollars. The judge said that the company intentionally misled the public about the dangers of its drugs. Johnson and Johnson stock was up as much as 5% since the company was ordered to pay far less than many investors expected. Yeah, you heard that right. Johnson and Johnson's stock actually went up after they were fined $572 million because they expected the punishment to be worse. Yeah, and that tells you something.

It's like a guy coming out of the shower and his girlfriend is like, uh, you've got some explaining to do? I was looking through your phone and who is this puppy you met? It is adorable. You know I love puppies. Why didn't you tell me? And the guy's like, oh, yeah, oh, the puppy. That I'm totally not having sex with, yeah, the puppy. So as it stands, these drug companies are going to pay a bunch of fines, not even admit responsibility, and no one seems to be going to jail. Which is insane when you think about it, right? Like just think about the levels here. Prosecutors want Felicity Huffman to go to jail for cheating in a college admission

scandal. They want to go to jail for cheating in a college admission scandal. They want to go to jail for that. But the people responsible for thousands of American deaths get to walk away with a slap on the wrist. These people are basically very formal drug dealers who are now protected just because they're a corporation. But if you look at someone like Al Chappo, what's the major difference? Be like, oh, it's more violent, yes, but fundamentally, he's a drug dealer. They were drug dealers.

The feds took his money, and he's spending the rest of his life in prison. So if you think about it, El Chappo really only made one big mistake. He shouldn't have been a drug lord. He should have been the CEO of El Chappo, Inc. We'll be right back. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, it's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting, you'll be saying to yourself, TGID, thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the

things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election, economics, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the daily show.

When a new story falls through the cracks, Louis Black catches it for a segment we call back in black. Technology, it's everywhere, iPhones, tablets. Here in New York City, we've even replaced our old phone booths with giant screens, and I'll admit it's a lot harder to take a dump in them, but I usually figure it out. The point is no matter where you look there's a screen and I think it's great. You know when I was a kid all we had to stare at was that thing on my Uncle Harry's neck. It was mesmerizing but surprise surprise the thing we like most is as bad for kids as a weekend at Jeffrey Epstein's. An alarming report that every parent should see how much screen time Dr. is as bad for kids as a weekend of Jeffrey Epstein's.

An alarming report that every parent should see how much screen time doctors say is too much. There's a new danger that doctors are concerned about now. All that screen time is prematurely aging their eyes, and the damage could be permanent. A group of doctors say kids use so much tech that they cannot hold a pen or pencil because they lack the hand strength and dexterity. One doctor arguing that all screen time can even turn kids into psychotic junkies. Psychotic junkies?

Come on! Kids are psychotic junkies! With or without phones! Haven't you ever been to a chunky cheese? Bring out a pepperoni pie and see who doesn't get the shakes. If kids are just becoming crazy now, then why did I get a vasectomy 30 years ago? But apparently kids, having too much scream time, so some parents are forcing their children to take a vow of abstinence.

Thousands of parents are taking a pledge to wait to give their child a smartphone. More than 20,000 people have signed the wait until 8th pledge, committing to wait until the 8th grade to give their child a smartphone. I saw these kids flooding out at the end of the school day, and all of their heads were down and they were completely oblivious to the world around them. That's right kids. Get off your phone and look at the world around you. You're missing all the hate crimes, pollution and sweet, sweet death by vaping.

Wait till eighth grade to use a phone. Good luck with that. If you don't introduce these kids to technology immediately, they might as well be Amish. If I had a kid, if I had a kid he wouldn't be out back milking a cow, he'd be shackled in his room, beta-testing his new blockchain IPO. I don't know what the fuck I just said, but who cares? I'm gonna be rich. Still, I get why regular parents limit screen time.

What really pisses me off is that the parents most worried about the screens are the ones who gave us those screens in the first place. You might think Silicon Valley movers and shakers are consumed by the technology they create, but a growing number of parents in the tech industry are restricting or banning screen time for their kids. Take a look at what some of the people who make those products want their kids to do with them. This private Silicon Valley te. More parents in Silicon Valley are asking nannies to police their child's

screen time. In some cases, the addiction is so bad, they're asked to hide the technology altogether and sign a no-phone contract. Hold on a second. So these screens are fine for our kids, but not for yours. These Silicon Valley people don't get to shield their families from the problems they created. In fact, every time they introduce a new brain-zapping gizmo, they should have to test it out on their own brats first. Hey kids, Daddy made something that might cause cancer. Could you stare at it for me?

These tech pushers need to stand by their own product. That's why I love the Kool-Aid man. Not only is he Kool-Aid, he carries around an extra jug of Kool-Aid, just in case he runs out of himself. Now that's what I call integrity. Trevor? Lewis Black, everyone. Come me right back. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, coming out every Thursday. We're going to be talking about the election, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls?

We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is an amazing 16-year-old climate activist whose solitary school strike for climate outside the Swedish parliament inspired a global youth movement. She recently failed from Britain to New York City in a zero emissions racing boat to participate in the upcoming Global Climate Strike

and UN Climate Action Summit. So ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the Daily Show. Thank you so much. And welcome to New York City. You came here on a zero emissions boat. And part of me thinks that's because you love the climate. The other part of me wonders if that's just your Viking heritage.

Maybe it is. It might be? Tell me why you did that. Why didn't you fly to New York City to come and speak at the UN and inspire people to move forward in the climate change movement. I did it because I have since a few years stopped flying because of the enormous impact aviation has on the climate individually and just to make a stand and I am one of the very few people in the world who can actually do such a trip.

So I thought, why not? Wow. I mean, I know I wouldn't do that as a kid, and I wouldn't do it now. But what is inspiring is your determination. And what's inspiring is that it doesn't just affect other young people. It started to affect older generations in Sweden. In Germany, people are starting to call it the Greta effect, where people are taking more trains.

Since you started this movement, they've said they feel ashamed to fly unnecessarily in Europe. Your mom is an opera singer, and she stopped flying, which means she couldn't perform the way she used to. Do you sometimes feel bad that she can't perform, or are you more excited that she's not part of, I guess, polluting the planet? I don't care, honestly, about how she performs. She...

She... She's doing musicals now. So, I mean, she had to change career, but it wasn't that big. And the planet is the most important thing for you. Yeah, I mean, for all of us, I think it should be. Why? Why do you think... Why do you think young people are so focused on climate change now? There's a definite disconnect between older generations and younger generations when talking about the climate?

Why do you think that is? I mean, I think it is because we, in a way, feel like it is more a direct threat. Others feel like I won't be alive then anyway, so screw it. But we actually know that these consequences will face us during our lifetime. And it is already happening now, and it will get worse. And so I think that is why so many young people especially care about this. And of course, the awareness is not as it needs to be.

It's not as much as it needs to be. People are still very unaware, it's my experience. And so we need to continue, but you can see that among young people, the concern is bigger. What do you think people need to learn about climate change? Many people have heard of the climate warming up. Some people have a small understanding of what it means, but what do you think is lacking in the understanding of this issue?

I think pretty much everything. Because, I mean, we know that some that's that's, I mean, the the, the, the, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, that, that, the concern, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, their, their, is, is, is, is that, is, is the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, the concern, their their their that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is their, their their their the concern is their the concern in the understanding of this issue? I think pretty much everything, because, I mean, we know that something is wrong, that the planet is warming because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and that might lead to that the ice caps will melt and the global temperature will rise and there will be more extreme weather events and so on. But they don't understand how severe this crisis actually is and it is because they have not been informed. I mean, we are right now in the beginning of the sixth mass extinction and people don't know these things. Up to 200 species go extinct every single day.

And people don't even know that we have for a 67% chance of limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. We had on January 1st, 2018, 420 gigatons of carbon dioxide left to 1.5 degrees, we had on January 1st, 2018, 420 gigatons of carbon dioxide left to emit to stay within that target. And now we are already down to less than 360. If we continue at the same emission level as now, we have less than eight and a half years until that budget is gone, according to the IPCC from the SR 15 report. And that is for a 67% chance. And... Wow.

Wow. 67% chance, and we're not even hitting those targets. What do you think people could do and what do you think governments should be doing? I think people should do everything but I think right now if I wish one thing everyone would do it will be to to inform yourself and to try to understand the situation and try to to push for a political movement that doesn't exist because the politics needed tory to push for a political movement that doesn't exist because the politics needed to fix this doesn't exist today.

So I think what we should do as individuals is to use the power of democracy to make our voices heard and to make sure that the people in power actually cannot continue to ignore this. That's powerful. Wow. Do you feel a difference in the conversation traveling from Sweden to America? Is there a different feeling around climate change? I would say yes, because here it feels like it is being discussed as something you whether you believe in or not believe in and

and And where I come from, it's more like, it's a fact. And... And... And... So then I have to ask York City. New York City is quite an assault on the senses when you come from anywhere else. What is the biggest thing that has stuck out to you in New York City? I mean, just everything, all the impressions, everything is so big, so loud, and people talk so loud here. And because when you are on that boat, when I was on that boat,

there is nothing, there's just the ocean, and of course the sound of the waves crushing, but that's it. No, no smells. Apart from sweat. And, all the the sound of the waves crushing but that's it. No smells. Apart from sweat, but... Right. So I remember the first thing I noticed when I... when we came into the harbor was I woke up and suddenly it smelled something.

And of course it was pollution, but it's still something. And that was, it was undescribable to go from this extreme environment. You're disconnected from everything and everyone. You only have yourself in the ocean and the boat, of course. To New York. That is an accurate and brilliant description of New York. It is undescribable and it smells. I think that is fantastic.

I'm excited for your journey. I can't wait to see what else you're going to do. Thank you for making time for us. The next global climate strike will be on Friday September 20th to find or register your local strike. Go to Fridays for Future. Goddell. Great attuned better everybody. The Daily Show with Cover Noa, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and subscribe to the Daily Show on

YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, it's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID. Thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second.

I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.