The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Everything Is Stupid: Adventure Playgrounds | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Episode Date: June 7, 2018

Ronny Chieng gives his take on the risky rise of "adventure playgrounds" in urban areas, and author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie discusses her book "Dear Ijeawele." Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. June 6, 2018. From Comedy Central's World News Headquarters in New York,

this is the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you so much for tuning in. Thank you everybody. Take a seat. Take a seat. Take a seat. Take a seat. Take a seat.

Our guest tonight is an author, a feminist, and one of the smartest people I will ever talk to. Chimamanda Angozi Adichis here, everybody. But first, some news stories help us understand the world we live in. And some news stories are just stupid. For those, we turn to Ronnie Chang. Thanks, Trevor. For the past few years, I've been intensely watching children in playgrounds. I- I-

R-Roney. Sorry, that sounded wrong. I don't think you were allowed to do that. Okay, calm down. It's for my online child psychology degree. All right? Geez. Sounds just like the cops. Anyway, in my research, I just discovered a really stupid trend. Many communities do everything they can to keep playgrounds safe. The problem is, they may also be stifling creativity. That's why some cities are taking a swing in the opposite direction. So-called adventure playground. At this New York City playground, the toys are tools, real hammers and nails.

I just decided that this is getting really crowded and... That's true. And so the 11-year-old started building an addition to the playground court. Okay, I don't care what you say. That is not a playground. That is a junkyard. Okay? All that's missing is a pit bull with rabies and a fat Albert gang. They're making kids play of hammers and nails. That's not adventure. It's just work.

They're tricking kids into building their own playground. And I gotta tell you, this exact same thing happened to me back home in Asia, right? And by the time we were done playing, we had finished a whole new line of Nikes. And this idea isn't new, all right? Like most American sitcoms and America itself, this is just another British remake. Adventure Playgrounds first blossomed in the UK after World War II, thanks to this woman, Marjorie Allen. She turned London bombsites into places kids could do pretty much whatever they wanted.

Just so were clear, she didn't turn bomb sites into playgrounds. She just brought kids to play in bomb sites. All right? And all that did was teach kids that Hitler built them playgrounds. No wonder we have so many Nazis again. But here's a thing, all right? I don't mind if kids get hurt, okay? Because who cares about that. Wait, wait, wait, wait. I thought you said you were studying child psychology. Yo, do you want me to get a lawyer?

Don't mean finish the segment. All right, geez. It's goddamn deposition over here. I'm just saying, I don't care if parents build the parents try to pretend that it's teaching them something? After taking a sledgehammer to these wood palates, SEMAS! We watched the kids pile up the broken boards and set them on fire. Not that I want them to get hurt, but it's part of growing up, it's part of learning. Oh yeah, that kid's a genius. Um, I don't know if his brain can handle that much learning. I mean, asking

what his favorite number is, it's probably Jellow. And these parents are so committed to hurting their kids, they're bragging about it. Embracing the freedom of adventure play may be easy in theory. Excuse me, guys. But what happens when someone steps on a nail? When it happened to Addison Block, we noticed her mom Jill, let her other daughter, keep playing. We went in knowing that it's a place they could get hurt. It's the type of experience that kids in the city don't always get. I think that's great. You're right, mom. You know, you just can't get good tetanus in the city these days.

You know what else you don't you don't you don't you don't you don't you don't you don't you don't you don't you don't you don't you don't th you don't th you don't th you don't th you don't get th you don't get th you don't get the th you don't get the th you don't get the city the city the the city the city the city the city the city the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their us in the city these days. You know what else you don't get in the city anymore? Polio. Why don't we dig out Franklin Roosevelt's bones and have kids rub up against them? Look, parents just admit that you want to leave your kids alone in a vacant lot because you're sick of them. There's no shame in that. Again, it happened to me all the time. My mom left me at grocery stores and off-trackers and their their their their. their. their. their. their. thops. thirty. thirty. thirty. thirty. their, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, theolks, thirty, thuillape. thirty, thirty, th. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thops. thii. thi. thi. thi. thatets. thatets. thathea, thate. thate. thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks, parlors and the highway, but she never called them playgrounds. Okay? She had the decency to look me deep in my eyes and say, Ronnie, I'm leaving you. And that is called Parenting. Ronnie Check, everybody. We'll be right back.

John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, the weekly show. We're going to be talking about. The election, the election, the election, the election, the election, the election, to to to to to to to to be to to to to to be to be to to to to be to to be to be to be to be to be're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio, on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is a critically acclaimed author from Nigeria whose most recent best-selling book is called

Dear Idiawale, or a feminist manifesto in 15 suggestions. Please welcome, Chimamandang Dhan Gazi Adichie. Welcome to the show. Thank you. I'm so excited to have you here because I've been a fan of your work for a long time. I've been a fan of your words for a long time. I have to ask you before we get into the book, as a person who is considered as one of the most foremost feminists of our time. Why is it that so many people see the word feminist as a negative thing? Because I think that feminism has long been associated

with the most extreme versions of it. So people think a feminist is sort of a crazy woman who hates men and doesn't shave and, right? And so all of these sort of really crazy negative stereotypes I think have been attached to feminism. And so people don't want to associate with it. The people who've said to me, why do you call yourself feminist?

Why don't you just say you're a humanist or an equalist? But that is what feminism is. Right. Feminism is about justice for everyone. You have to name a problem. And the problem is it's women is it's that's that's women is women is women is women is women is women is women is it what it is. Wow. That's fascinating, because that's, in many ways, in many ways, that's the same thing people say about Black Lives Matter, all that they go to one.

Don't you say all lives matter? It's like, well, we know the rest of the lives matter. The problem needs to be exactly. Yes. The book that you have written written here here here here here here here here that that that that that that that that that that manifesto in 15 suggestions and I like that you keep making it easier and easier and easier for people to be feminists. This is a really interesting book. How did this book come about? So a few years ago I wrote my friend had a baby and so she said to me I want her to be feminist I want her to be better than mine what should I do? I was like I don't know. And then so then I thought I tho th I th I th I tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho thr-I tho thr-I thr-I thr-I thr-I thr-I thr-I thr- I thr-I thr-I thr-I to to to to to to to to to to to to to be to be to be their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their to their to to to to to to to their to to to to their their to be their to be their their te. to be their to be their to be to to to to to to to be to to be to be to be fe. to be to. And then, so then I thought I should write her a letter. It was an email that I wrote to her.

And then I decided to turn it into a book, and I made a few changes. But really, it was for my friend. And only after I had a baby, my daughter is two and a half, did I realize how easy it is to tell people what to do about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about about to sort of tell people what to do about child raising when you don't have a child. Right. It's much easier to deal with a hypothetical child

than a real child. But I'm still trying to follow all of the suggestions. It's just that it's more difficult than you would think. What would you say is the most difficult part of teaching a child, or raising a child to be a feminist? You know, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, the, the, thi, thi, thi, th, th, thi, to, thi, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and, the, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is a. the, the, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, that you have to fight against it sort of feels like the universe has a conspiracy against you so you you tell your child you know you don't have to play with dolls but then you go to the store and the girl sections are just dolls right and you know there's still very much that blue and pink binary in the wall and you you try to to teach your child your your your your your your child your child your child your child your child your child your child your child your child your child you know you know you know you that you you you you you you you you the you the child your child your child your child your child your child your child you to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the tell. the the the tell. told told. told. told. toldrying to teach your child that you know you can be whoever you want to be so it can feel as though there's a lot that you need to push

back right right you know from the world but but it's doable I'm very optimistic about how we can change the world what what I've always admired about your words on feminism is that you don't seem to live in a world where it's abstract or it's just extreme like it that the the the the th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th is the the the the the thi thi the the the the th. th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the th. th. th. th. th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th. th. th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to me like you talk about feminism like it's like this is how it is and that's that is the way it is. Like in the book for instance there are some suggestions where you talk about how you can encourage your daughter if she's a daughter to be anything she wants to be to like blue, to play with boys, to toys, etc. But that shouldn't mean that she she she she she she she she she she she she she that she that she that she that she that she that she that she that she that she that she should mean mean mean mean mean that she should mean that she should mean that she should mean. that she should mean. She should mean. She should that she should that she should should should should should should should should should should should should should that she should should be. She should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should should....... that. that she. that she. She. She. She. She. She what feminism is. So when people find themselves caught up

in a conundrum with feminism, like what is the one thing they could say to themselves that just makes it easier to understand? Think of yourself as an individual. Right. Right. There's no, I think that the early feminist in the West shone femininity because femininity had for so long been used as a way to put them down. So women were property, you're supposed to look pretty and stay at home. So I think

when women started to push back against that, they were like, we don't want to be. The problem is if somebody is pushing you to be what you don't want to be, then that's not feminism. So I usually say to women who are thinking about it, just think of your individual self. What do you like? And is that thing causing you harm? Is it somehow, is it reducing your spirit?

Is it making you resentful? Because I think that when there's real equality, resentment will not exist. In relationships where people are unhappy because there's a gender problem, there's resentment. If there isn't a problem, you just, you don't have resentment. You kind of know, it's intuitive, I think.

Would you say then, it's still possible for a woman? I mean, I know my mom always says this to me, but some people struggle with the concept. Would you say it's possible for a woman to say, I'm a feminist, I believe in equality, but I still want a man to open the door for me? I like that gesture, or is that problematic in itself? You know the thing have been raised by her. Trevor, I'm serious. I think everything good in you is because your mother raised you. You know what's funny? Now we don't...

Oh no, I appreciate that, but the way you said it is, it's a beautiful compliment that sounds like an insult. You know, it's just like, everything good in you is from your mom. That rest of that shit is you and your dad. But, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, you, I, I, I, I, th. th. You, I, I, I, th. th. You, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I th. th. th. You, I'm, I'm, th. thi. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. You're th. th. th. tha, tha, tha, tha, you're thi. thi. You're, you're, you're, you're thi. The rest of that shit is you. That's you and your dad. But yeah, but thank you. But how do you respond to that idea? I think I think gestures like holding the door shouldn't be gendered. I think it's a lovely thing to hold the door for everyone. Right. Right. I hold the door for men. Right. quite happy for people to hold the door for me, but I hope they're not doing it because of this sort of idea of shivalry, because shivory is really about the idea

that women are somehow weak. Right, right, right? And need protecting. But we know that really there are many women who are stronger than many men. Right. The people we should protect are people who need protecting, whether men or women. Which is also why I sort of have trouble with the idea of women and children, when women are classified in the same, you know, when there's a tragedy and we say women and children should leave first. I think actually is the people who are weak, unwell, you know, young, who should leave first.

Wow, this is like a more eloquent argument of what some of the guys on the Titanic said. They were like, I think Chimamander would want me to leave with women and children stay behind. But I really do understand what you are saying. Here, there's a fascinating passage in the book. And this was, it's called the seventh suggestion and in this, it's, um, the line, the paragraph starts with, never speak of marriage as an achievement. And then when we skip forward, it says, when Hillary Clinton was running for President of the United States, the first descriptor on her Twitter account was wife. The first descriptor on the Twitter account of Bill Clinton, her husband is founder, not husband.

Because of this, I have an unreasonable affection for the very few men who use husband as their first descriptor. Do you think in that moment it made you feel like, in society we've created a world where the best thing you can be as a woman sometimes is a wife to a man, but a man can have every other achievement? Was that the problem with that idea for yourself? Yes. But it's also the larger question of what we expect of women in public life. I think that there are many people for whom Hillary Clinton is not relatable unless she primarily defines herself in domestic terms, wife, mother, but wife in particular. Because I think it makes people feel comfortable.

I think people are very, people don't know what to do with the idea of a woman who has power or who's seeking power. And so the way to somehow temper that is that is that is that is that is that is th th th th th the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thiiiiiia.e.e.e.e. Ia. Ia.eoliiiiiia. Ia. Ia. I'm thia. Ia. I'm thiia. seeking power. And so the way to somehow temper that is to say, well, wife, I'm a wife, so therefore I'm not that scary. Right. And it's not, I mean, obviously I think marriage is a wonderful thing and it can be, you know, just such a joy and all of that, but it's that we raise girls to marriage in a way we don't raise boys to. And I think there's a problem with that. So you have little girls who, from very early on, are thinking about the wedding dress, right? I don't know how many boys think about the wedding tuxedos. Right. Not at all. Yeah, that's true.

So what it means is that there's an immediate imbalance, I think, in just the idea idea idea idea idea idea idea idea idea idea the idea the idea the idea the idea the idea the idea the idea the idea the idea the idea the idea the idea their their their that that that that that that that, that, that, that, that that that that that that that, that's, that's, that, toe is, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, toe, what is aspirational. And so I think what we should do is in raising boys and girls, teach them that love is wonderful, marriage is wonderful, but none of that is something that one should aspire to. Right, when you say to a girl, oh, you've got your PhD, but when are you getting married. Right, which is a common phrase we, I'm going to raise a feminist, for many people, the immediate connotation that will come to their mind is that means you're raising a daughter. Yeah.

But from reading your work, a lot of the work has to be done by men. Men need to participate. Why is that so important? Because men have to be on board. I think you can change women all you want. If you don't change men, the world then then then, then, then, tha, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi, thi, thi, tho, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi. thi. thr. thr. thr. togu. togu. togu. togu. togu. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th, nothing changes because we share the world, right? It's men and women. And I also think, sadly, that we live in a world where men are more likely to listen to men. Oh. It's true. Wow. You don't think so. So then how do you convince the first man? I think some men have already been convinced. I think people like Barack Obama, example, is a very good role model because he's feminist and he's cool. So he's actually a good, and we need more men like that to speak up. I think men need to speak up, men need to be on board, men need to not think of feminism as something that's attacking them.

So I think some men think that. They need to understand that feminism is something that's good for everyone. Because really, when all of us are released from gender rules, we're all better off. And in the end, it's about justice. Don't we want to live in a just world? So there's some men who've been convinced. More men need to be. Trevor, you should get cracking. I'm gonna call my mom. Thank you so much for being on the show. I really love to see it in to you every single time.

It's an amazing book. I'm gonna call my mom. Thank you so much for being on the show. I really love to see it in to you every single time. It's an amazing book. Dear Ijiawelle is available now. Chimanda Adichi, everybody. The Daily Show with K for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. John Stewart here, unbelievably exciting news.

My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.