The Daily Show: Ears Edition - In the Field with Troy Iwata

Episode Date: April 26, 2025

Get out there and get some fresh air with Troy Iwata as he hits the field for The Daily Show.  Troy embraces the world of professional cuddlers, nvestigates the phenomenon of tipflation, meets Joe Biden's biggest superfan, and dives deep into the Gathering of the Juggalos to find out who the fans and followers of the Insane Clown Posse are voting for.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Human touch. Is it a good thing? Some people crave it. Weird. And now it's easier than ever for them to get it. One of those booming businesses, professional cuddling. Christy is actually a professional cuddler, and Josh is her client.

A lot of times people are just looking for someone to just spend some time with. As one who goes through life avoiding human contact, I wasn't thrilled about meeting someone who made a living from touching other people. I have to admit, it does sound a bit scammy. Seems like you're just ripping off people who've never heard of a body pillow.

It is not just about the physical act of cuddling. The body pillow cannot talk to you, right? I would see the fact that my pillows can't talk back to me as an asset. I totally understand that. But we have a code of conduct. We talk a lot about consent. And how does one become a cuddlist? Do you need a degree like a physical therapist or is it like a fake certification like a sandwich artist? It is fine to be skeptical, but when you have nurturing touch that is very much wanted, your level of oxytocin increases in your body. You're flooded with these wonderful feel-good

love hormones. So touch deprivation is linked to a lot of things. It can be linked to impulsiveness, anxiety, stress, and low job performance. Troy? That's amazing. That's fascinating. What? It seems like you might be a good candidate for professional cuddling.

I'm fine. How do you deal with stress and anxiety? I deal with your anxiety. Okay, well my self-therapy is free and only requires a nearby abandoned warehouse. Whereas these cuddle sessions could cost anywhere from $80 to $150. Who would pay for that? I've been a cuddle client for about two years now. What type of responses do you get when you tell people that you're a cuddle client?

Why would you do that? Is it safe? Is there sex involved? I thought that. Yeah. I've gotten... Desperate? Are you horny? Are you single? None of the above. So you are in a relationship.

I am. So what was your partner's reaction? My partner said, is there something that's lacking here? The answer was absolutely not. It was more about self-care. Now what are the benefits, you know, other than getting rid of all that extra money in your bank account? I just feel more personally resource cared for

Why cuddling when there are so many other obvious ways to deal with your emotions? Like what? Why don't you come observe a session? Okay Okay. How long does this normally go on? This is going to go for about an hour quietly silently I'm not even here hi it's me again. So just to confirm, there's nothing sexual happening here. Would you like to just sit down and ask some questions? Absolutely, I would really enjoy that. Oh, okay. Thank you so much for that. This is up and close VIP in the splash zone. Could you explain how you can participate in something so intimate without wanting to

take it a step further? The most important thing is that if at any point she is uncomfortable, that she will let me know. If I'm uncomfortable, I will let her know. So how do we break down the stigma and negative connotations for all those closed-minded oafs. I think we normalize it by talking about it and just letting people know that there's something that they may not have considered.

You could try a cuddle session. Okay. Well, just... No, no. Right. This is my session. Okay. You should book a session. None, none. Right. This is my session. Okay.

You should book a session. Okay. Okay. I needed a moment before I willingly spooned a stranger. I do see there are benefits. And I have been stressed. We've got climate change, race relations, people drinking orange juice with pulp. Just eat an orange.

But it doesn't mean I have intimacy issues. Okay, maybe there is some stuff I need to work on. Bernadette does seem at peace. And what's the worst that could happen? I get a well-needed nap. Hey! Who the f*** are you? Get out of my house! It was cuddle time. This is amazing. Is it gonna cost extra if I like open up the floodgates a little bit?

Not at all. Dad! Why? Why'd you let me quit piano lessons? The Cuddlist were right. I felt transformed and my hormones were flying high. I was a new man ready to embrace the world through cuddles. Everyone is talking about the hottest new form of inflation, tipflation. Americans are

suffering from so-called tipflation. Now it's being encouraged for a growing number of services. Restaurants, cafes, and even self-checkout kiosks. Tipping is so hot, even the president-elect is talking about it. When I get to office, we are going to not charge taxes on tips. And I don't know about you, but personally, it's been stressing me out. Don't be a cheapskate. This story's never lies on tips. You don't think they deserve a fair weight? You don't deserve coffee? I don't deserve coffee.

So I needed to hear if anyone else is stressed about the uptick in tipping requests and if they're dehydrated from crying, too. It's a little much where you go somewhere and you're seeing tip jars at grocery stores. Anywhere that I go to get lunch or coffee nowadays has an automatic tipping option. The biggest thing is the lowest percentage just keeps getting higher.

I saw even a tip system at a plant store. What have the plants done for us besides give us air to breathe? Yeah. It looks like almost everyone not getting tips agrees about tipping. But do these hospitality workers notice tipping popping up everywhere? It is everywhere. I'm waiting for the MTA now workers to be asking for a tip. Just hanging out the window with their hand out.

Here's your stopping, by the way. Do you have any theory as to why that's happening? People need to live. People are struggling. We see it across the nation right now with so many different industries. All right, so everyone agrees tipping is popping up everywhere and it sucks. So why not cancel the tip? We don't make enough. So we look for the tip to like all come together and make up for what we're not getting by

the hour. And plus people need to realize that when you're tipping the waiter or the waitress, they also are paying out bussers and the bartenders that need to be tipped from that tip that you're leaving as well. Right. It's clear tipping is overwhelming, but how do we escape it? And then I found it.

Lula Cafe, a tip-free haven where all the employees had healthcare and no one carried the decimal point. They just carried food to the table. So I sat down with owner Jason Hamill to hear how he ran a restaurant without tips. Well, we actually do still accept tips at Lula. We do.

Well damn. We employ a dual system of a service charge and tips. Our system takes the reliance on tips away. So there's more pay equity. But you know, we're pretty busy, like sizable restaurants who create that sustainability. But, like, if you're smaller, maybe it doesn't work for you. Okay, I'm running out of f***ing ideas.

But the president-elect did say something. Oh, right, he was gonna get rid of taxes on tips. I think just putting that little bit of money back in our pockets isn't such a bad thing. I think that's their submission to be taxed on it. Love it. I wholeheartedly agree. 100%. thing. I think that's their submission to be taxed on it. Love it. I wholeheartedly agree.

100%. Love. Wow, that was easy. So we just stopped taxing tips. No problems whatsoever. It does feel kind of like it'll incentivize companies to have more TIF workers or workers that rely more on tips than actually the company's paying.

Do you think if there was no federal tax on tips, people would get their entire paycheck in tips? I mean that's certainly a concern. Ugh. Back to square one. What else you got? It would be nice if they just raised the minimum wage. It would just be the service that keeps their actual tips. But also, I think that it's a much bigger issue overall, the federal minimum wage needs to be raised. Easy. Problem solved.

You know, when people that aren't in the industry are talking about it, they're like, well, the owner should just pay them more. But also the food service industry, like the margins are incredibly thin. Yeah, it would be really nice to pay someone $45 an hour. But unfortunately, that would shut down most places. Don't you think that politicians could solve this by just raising the minimum wage? Sure, and maybe some health care, and that could be good.

Yeah. The health care part would be really good. Yeah, there's a lot to talk about. But, you know, we're not here to talk about health care. Well... Okay, so tipping is everywhere, more than ever, but people need tips to make a living because minimum wage is so low.

And taxing tips is bad, but people need tips to make a living because minimum wage is so low. And taxing tips is bad, but we need to raise the minimum wage first so companies don't resort to paying the tipped minimum on even more jobs, which could result in tipped employees needing the consumer to tip more so they can make a living,

which will result in tipping being everywhere more than ever. So how much do I tip to make sure no one starves? It's all on me! Are you okay? Do I look okay? My big takeaway, I still don't know how much to tip. Thank you so much for speaking with me. I don't know what 20% or 25 or 18,

I don't know how much. You can just go ahead and give us the wallet, we'll take care of it. Just give us your wallet. Thank you. In this election, Republicans have their ride or die candidate, who they want to be president forever. And Democrats, they also have a guy.

So the best way to get something done, if you, if it holds near and dear to you that you like to be able to anyway. Four more years. Joe Biden has an enthusiasm problem. The polling shows that Democrats are not enthused. Joe Biden, Democrats are not excited. But maybe we in the media are out of touch? I hit the streets to ask, what do voters really think of Joe Biden?

Not the most excited. I mean, it's okay. I wish I was more excited. On a scale of one to ten. Probably somewhere around a two or three. How would you compare that to, say, seeing some really beautiful latte art? I would put that maybe as a five. Could you point on this graph how you feel about voting for Joe Biden?

Okay, some pain. But if you couldn't tell by the stick and poke tattoos and Warby Parker glasses, these people were all Democrats. There must be something they like about Joe Biden. He's a big ice cream guy. Can't vote against that. What do you think his favorite flavor is? Vanilla, 100 percent.

It's got to be super mid. You know, he's our president. He's our president. Yeah. Slap that on a t-shirt. I love it. I expect him to kind of behave like a president as opposed to like a child.

He definitely is not a child. But then I found one person whose passion whelmed me. On a scale of one to 10, how excited are you about voting for Joe Biden? 11. 11? Oh my God. Is this Joe, Joe Biden?

Or is this like the famous corgi on Instagram named Joe Biden that I'm not aware of? Joseph Robinette Biden. I didn't even know there was this full name. Junior. Oh my God, there's an older one? Wow, who was this guy? Against my better judgment, I follow him to his car.

Oh my God! Oh. Okay. It's a cardboard cutout. Before I get in your car, I have to ask, this isn't a sex thing, right? It is not. Okay, good, yeah.

I didn't think so. Yeah. Oh. Oh my God, you have Kamala too. Do you have the whole cabinet in there? Where's your cutout of Acting Labor Secretary Julie Hsu? Julie? Julie!

Meet Dakota Galban, Joe Biden's biggest and only superfan. Could he hold the key to helping Biden defeat Donald Trump and his MAGA army? Trump has this huge fan club of tens of thousands of really intense weirdos. And Biden has you. Why do you think that is? There's sort of like a cult mentality going on there. I think they have an unnatural devotion to a single person. Right, cult-like devotion to one man. Am I right? Okay.

Let's talk about the cardboard cutout. Why do you keep him in your trunk? Don't you want to just see him in the morning and say, what's up, Joe? Well, my boyfriend isn't as... He's less enthusiastic about... Oh, my God isn't as, he's less enthusiastic about it. Oh my God. Having him watch us at all times.

Oh my God. You have a boyfriend? I do. Okay, setting aside the question of whether the boyfriend was also a cardboard cutout, when did Dakota first realize he was Biden curious? I was a senior in high school in 2012, and I had just come out of the closet,

and Joe Biden had announced his support for marriage equality. And you thought to yourself, he's a little young right now to be president, but maybe in eight years, he'll be ready. At the time, not so much, but this man literally came out of retirement to save our country from white supremacists and fascism.

So you like him more now than when he was just Obama's white friend? Absolutely. Oh. That's a strong endorsement at a time when Joe Biden is so unpopular that somehow hating him is uniting pro-Israel and pro-Palestine protesters. So what does Dakota see in this guy? Is it his swag, his whispery voice, what's left of his hair?

Mostly his policies. There's so many that Chips from. Really? Wow, see, I can't even think of any, so go off. I would think when he came into office, he immediately got to work with the American Rescue Plan. He followed it up with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Chips and Science Act.

The Chips and Science Act? Chips and Science. Oh, you know, maybe we need to make policy more fun. I think you're right. There was his 80th birthday when he had all the candles on his cake. Yeah, I guess we can have fun with glaring reminders of his age. Turns out the things that get Dakota excited are different from other voters. What did he think their problem was? Well, he is an older straight white gentleman

in democratic circles. That's usually not what gets us excited. You know, I don't think there's anything we can do about his oldness or his whiteness, but do you think he would consider exploring his sexuality? Oh gosh. Sure. Joe Biden Tumblr fan fiction aside,

could Dakota get Democrats fired up about Biden? Ooh, not like that. I'm gonna pretend to be someone who's not overly enthused to vote for Joe Biden, and I want you to convince me, all right? Yeah. Okay, I'm ready. Do you love living in a democracy? Yes. Oh, my gosh. I've got the perfect candidate for you to vote for.

Who is it? It's the current president, Joe Biden. Oh. Well, you know, it's a vote for normalcy, insanity, and, you know, keeping the institutions that have built our constitutional republic for centuries. Keeping things the same as they are now.

With minor improvements. With minor improvements. I mean, I guess one thing that's good about Biden is he doesn't have the baggage, you know, say, that Hillary has. You know, I love one thing that's good about Biden is he doesn't have the baggage, you know, say, that Hillary has. You know, I love Hillary. Come on! Maybe I've been focusing on the wrong thing.

Maybe it isn't the voters that need the pep talk. It's Joe Biden. And Dakota has some advice that will shake the political landscape forever. I would say keep doing what you're doing, but do it better. Yeah. Way to pump them up. Well, there's always 2028.

Seriously, can I please sit in the front? No, I'm sorry. Like most presidential elections, this election will be determined by disengaged working-class independent voters from a few Midwest states. So I'm at a gathering of such voters in Thornville, Ohio. Okay, so it's 2024. We have a very exciting presidential election coming up. Very exciting.

Everyone's really, really happy about it. Who are you voting for? No one. None of you vote? None. Are you going to vote? Hell no. Why don't you plan to vote? Because like you're voting for two people who pretty much doesn't care

about your existence. Like there's nothing has been improving. For us low income people it's been **** ****. I have never voted in my life. I never will vote. Juggalos don't get involved in politics. Yes, this is the gathering of the Juggalos, a music festival where young people in America's heartland explore new frontiers in fashion, self-care, and the arts, while enjoying the music of insane clown posse and other popular acts of the murder-clown genre. These tens of thousands of disengaged youths

could be a powerful voting block if only a political party would address the issues they care about. 100% I believe global warming is real. I mean it gets hotter and hotter and hotter to go through the summers. It's 9am and you already have your shirt off. How do you feel about cutting taxes for billionaires? Yes, I think billionaires should pay more taxes. In a way they're sociopathic clowns.

Legalizing drugs, trans rights, being pro-choice, women's rights. I think our ethos are based upon however you want to be, you should be accepted. If you want to be a killer clown. If you want to be a trans killer clown, by all means, please do. I'm really glad that the killer clown community has opened up to the trans community as well. And there's one policy preference the juggalettes feel especially strongly about. Abortion, that's women. That's our fucking audience.

No one has control over that but us. We don't want to keep getting nutted in and having fucking babies all the time. I like to be child free in my 20s. I'm going to put that on a t-shirt, by the way. Yeah. Oh, that would be a killer t-shirt. Unsurprisingly, the juggalos were interested in a third

party candidate. And their pick turned out to be more politically viable than RFK Jr. T-shirt. Unsurprisingly, the Juggalos were interested in a third-party candidate, and their pick turned out to be more politically viable than RFK Jr. The world would be a much better place, in my opinion, if there was a Juggalo in the f***ing White House. I think the clouds would turn pink if a Juggalo came in the community. Honestly, I like how Violent J's mindset works.

Okay. Yeah. Or Shaggy Too Dope. I'd have them up in the White House. I'd say Shaggy as president and then Violent J as second. And that makes sense too, as president Violent J. Might scare some people. Of course the Juggalos would want one of their own in the White House, so I put on my best Juggalo formal wear

to find out if Violent J himself would accept the nomination. F*** that, no. No amount of money. You gotta go places? They give you an itinerary, you gotta get up all early and shit? That's the number one qualification of the president, you have to get up early. Even though Violent J refused the mandate of Commander in Chief, he had clear policy preferences on everything from mass deportation,

F***ed up. Now I remember why I hated Trump, that wall shit. to women's rights, They have the right to be the f***ing shit! Environmental conservation. We think we're the superior f***ing animal on this planet, right? Let me tell you what the superior animal is, a whale. It's the biggest. And progressive taxation.

My mom said the Democrats basically are saying less taxes on the poor, more taxes on the rich. I'm assuming you pay taxes. Up the f***ing anus and I'm happy about it. I pay double what they ask. I was starting to get a sense of where Violent J stood on the issues. But did the head of the Insane Clown Nation see himself in any of the candidates to lead our Insane Clown Nation?

A little pussyholish on the fact that he refused to paint his beard. You know what I mean? Yeah. He's a pussy because he didn't paint his beard. A pussy ho. All right. What about good old DT? F*** him.

Okay. Because he's all about that wall. All right. This is Tim Walz. This is Kamala Harris' VP. Who? Kamala Harris versus VP. Who? Kamala Harris versus her VP.

Vice President? Yeah. I'm absolutely opinionless on that man. Alright, last we have Kamala. I wanted to win because she's a Democrat and I love my mom. Okay. That's it. Really? That's a beautiful sentiment. Yeah.

Yeah. How do you say her first name? Kamala. Kamala? Yeah. Kamala? Like, Kamala. That's fresh.

Sorry, but the mushrooms are kicking in. Oh, sure, sure. I forgot mine. So Violent J is back in Harris. See, not all juggalos are sitting this election out. Now what are the odds he's going to remember to vote on November 5th? Well, man, that's what I'm saying. What in the f***? Thank you. I'm saying. What in the f***? Thank you.

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