The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Jon Stewart & The News Team Talk Media, Trump, Pizza, & Beyond

Episode Date: June 16, 2024

Jon Stewart, Desi Lydic, Michael Kosta, Ronny Chieng, and Jordan Klepper talk about their unique shared experience hosting The Daily Show in this Emmys FYC panel moderated by entertainment journalist Matt Belloni. The crew discusses how the landscape has changed since Jon's first era at the show, what a typical day behind the scenes looks like, their most-asked audience question, and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. You're listening to Comedy Central. Hello.

Look at us. All right. Are you having flashbacks? Yeah, we were, we look nice. You do look nice. Yeah. No jet lag. We're taking this very seriously. All right, so we've got to start with John and the decision to come back because I know I was shocked when I heard the news.

I think a lot of people were shocked. So take us through your decision process and why now, why come back? I was arrested for 32 felonies, 34. As part of the community service to avoid jail time. So I had been doing another program on a more boutique museum service. It was called Apple TV Plus. And I have it.

And I'm sure someone else does. But there weren't. And they felt that it would be better if I didn't say the things that I enjoy saying for them. So I read about that a little. Yes, it actually turned out to be a blurb, I believe in the post. And so I was out of a job, and it turned out Comedy Central was in the midst of what appeared to be something going on with their choice for a new host. I don't know if you read about a little bit of that. You read about that as well.

Yes. And so they called and said would you come back and host the show? And I said no. And then they said well would you do it every Monday and I was like really one day a week and I was like yeah I had had had Matt out started doing that like was there a model or did you was it like foreign like whoa this is something I just considered well we had been I don't know if you I thrown we're at the liberal brunch where we go over a lot of the different. I assume you have her on speed dial. I have her on speed dial and Cornackey.

He gives us the data on how many days a week has, I believe he calls it efficacy. Right. So yeah, so it came together. I was very nervous to come back, not because these guys aren't phenomenal, and I know so many of the people that run the show, and they're still there from when I was there, and they're incredibly talented, but I was tired for working for corporate overlords that were fearful of the, you know, the nice part about Comedy Central in the old days was that were fearful of, of the, you know, the nice part about Comedy Central in the old days was the kind of provocative stuff that we would maybe do. They seem to think, help them, built their brand. Things have changed somewhat.

And so I had to speak with Chris McCarthy who runs it, and to get the sense that this guy would be okay with that. And it turned out he was. And that's been true, your experience throughout working there now? No, once I signed. Please go on. It was a lot of, you know, AT&T is our biggest sponsor. No, it's been phenomenal. And the nice part is like these guys are all, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you know, you, you, you know, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, it's been it's been phenomenal and the nice

part is like these guys are all you know such pros and I've been doing it now for so long and transitioning themselves into the host chair that you know that's a really fun part of the dynamic as well for us so it's been phenomenal and the support there look I've worked there and you guys are in the industry I've worked through a lot of the sea changes th th th th th th 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 th th th the the thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th the th the the th the th the th the th th the the the th the th th the thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi th and the support there, look I've worked there and you guys are in the industry, I've worked through a lot of the sea changes in the industry. I was, you know, we had talked about this a little bit, but with Viacom in the old days of MTV with Tom Freston and Judy McGrath and Doug Herzog and people that believe that the creators meant something. And they really didn't give a shit, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, the, 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, through other regimes where they felt the star was real estate and they really didn't give a shit, you know, what was

built there. That was, to them, that's the star. And so it's really lovely to come back to a place that you feel like values ideas and thoughts and those types of things. So that's the same. We love John that you come back one day a week and appreciate it so much. Thanks, buddy. Fun having it. Every Monday nice and worse. Because we work real hard all day and I'm just like, bye guys.

Right. Have a great weekend. Have fun tomorrow. We still have more show. But what did what did you guys think when you first heard the news? I like he's still alive was a relief? A relief really you know barely my first thought was the guy from half-based Really? Okay, but you must have a very exciting very very exciting. I mean, honestly, it was a big reveal surprise to us, and it was truly exciting. It was wonderful.

And then to work alongside him is great. And then to kiss his ass publicly on the Paramount lot. That's like my dream come true. Nothing's better. Yeah, nothing is better than that. They say, never meet your heroes. I say, meet your hero and immediately get on his payroll. Wow, you've paid them off very well. So you come back. Ronnie didn't answer that just so you're calling it. Everybody else answered.

Everyone just take no. I thought I was a step down, but, uh, yeah, we want had so. Who passed? All right, so you come back and you've talked a lot about what was the same. What was different in coming back to this job nine years later? My bone density. It's a very different environment, very different media environment, very different comedy environment. How is it different?

You know, I don't think it is particularly different. I think, you know, look, when I was there you faced corporate pressure or is, do you mean in terms of what you can say? The culture is different. What's funny is different? We've now gone through eight years of Trump and then Biden. What? And now we're back to the Trump and Biden? th in th in th in th in th in th in the thin in thin in the Trump in thin in the Trump in thin thin thin thuu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thu thi thi thi thi their thi. 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. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. te. te. te. te. te. te. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. We've now gone through eight years of Trump and then Biden, and now we're back to the Trump and Biden show. Like, these are things that could not exist when you were there last time. No, but back when I was there, it was eight years of Bush and the Iraq war and Afghanistan.

I mean, I think we always like to imagine that the time we're in now is just unprecedented. The only thing th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi 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 thi. thi. thi. thi. thi that that that thi that's that's thi. that's thi. that's thi. thi. that's thi thi thi thi thi thi thi th imagine that the time we're in now is just unprecedented. The only thing I would say is the weight of the internet and social media, the ubiquity of it, you know, we are all in that movie. What's the movie, No, Gibson knows what everybody's thinking of what women want. We're in that time now of everybody comments on, you know what everybody is thinking at all times. When I used to do stand up, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show their their their their their their their their their thi, thi, their their thi, their their their the way, the way, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight the weight the weight the weight the weight the weight the weight the weight the weight the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way thi, thi, that, the way wa, the way way wa, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, the weight, thinking at all times. When I used to do stand-up, you know, you'd do a show and there'd be a couple of tables, no matter what show you did, that wouldn't dig it, and that'd be fine. Like, you'd register it, but then you'd go home. In the current social media environment, it's like you ride home in the cab with them. And you just have to sit there the whole time and like, that guy sucks. Did you know he changed his last name from something very Jewish?

You know, like, and you know, it's all. But I, you know, I think there's a whole thing out there of, you can't say anything anymore. And I feel like we say everything. I came up in a time where like standards and practices would call us and say, you can say dildo three times, but that's it. But now, unlimited dildos. Like, I just, I think the whole narrative of like, we all have to be so careful.

I think there's, and there's industries that pop up of people that aren't careful. And that's their brand. Everybody has their place, but we're more inundated with more speech and more variety of speech than ever in the history of speech. The audiences have fragmented though in the last nine years. And social media is one reason, but back when you were hosting before, there was a sense, and I haven't looked at the demos, there was a sense that you were speaking to a bipartisan audience, that you were sort of the king of the liberals, but you would also bring in, you would also bring in a conservative audience as well. And I'm not sure that is necessarily the case in television and media in general these days. That could be. It could be. No, I just I just don't

know and I think, you know, the one thing that we never talk about and you guys can jump in here is the audience. I think the minute you, the whole point of collaboration and being a team and creative endeavors is to calibrate your sensibility so you have the the the the the the the the thiiiii. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their, thi, the in thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the, the, the, thi, the, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the thi, the the the the, the the the the is the the the is the the the the the thean, their, thean, the the thean, thean, thean, the is and creative endeavors is to calibrate your sensibilities so you have an internal barometer of what's good content. The audience, not to offend, doesn't enter into the equation. And if they do, I think you're doing something wrong. This is about honing your ability. They'll tell you if they think it's funny or not, but just because they say that doesn't mean you even necessarily have to believe tell you if they think it's funny or not. But just because they say that doesn't mean you even necessarily have to believe that.

We don't design the show to think like, you know, we want to make sure that we hit the young demo. I remember CNN used to do that for like presidential debates. They would do debates and then, like, CNN would do a debate, and then MTV would co-sponor debate and all the presidential candidates would wear turtle necks. Box boxes of briefs. Right, but the turtleneck because the kids would be like, hey man I don't hear anybody whose neck I can see. Like it's, you know, I think we spend way too much time worrying about that shit and not enough time worrying about the quality. All you can control is the execution of your intention and your content. Everything else is out of your hands. So why spend any time on it?

So what makes a joke or a bit or a segment a daily show joke or bit or segment? Well I mean, to start the day, you look at all the clips and headlines of the news that's happened from the day before. So I would say, in a really non-sexy answer, that's the news that happened of the news from that's happened from the day before. So I would say in a really non-sexy answer, that it's the news that happened from the time the last show ended. But everybody's looking at that huge. Thank you very much, everybody. Michael Costa.

That's the political analysis we need. By the way, still sexy. Don't in any way, Nothing you can't do. To say, yeah, we don't think about the audience. I don't know about you, but when I host, I don't have time to think about the audience. You're trying to write the show, rehearse, find the clips, so the audience does not come in mind. Now, sometimes we'll have a great show and then I'm stupid enough to say in between acts three and four, hey, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi and I thi. thi. thi. thi. thi's thi's thi's thi. thi's thi's thi, I'm thi, I don't thi, I don't tho, I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I'm th. I'm th. I'm thi. to to to to to to to to to to thin, to to to to tothe audience, and then someone says, who could a pizza should we get here? And I go, holy shit, I wish I'd never talk to the audience. Not this audience. Not this audience.

Who are all wonderful? By the way, what kind of pizza should we get here? By the way, what kind of pizza should we get here? Which is the most common question we ever get there? And I'm like, where are you coming in from? And they're like, Ohio, and I'm like, fucking anything, anything you get. Like, go to La Familia and it will blow your mind. Like, you live next to skyline chili. to tell you have one question. that's you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you waited in line for six hours to talk to John Stewart.

You have one question. And that's the one? That's the question? All right, for everyone else, what has been the biggest surprise about working with John? I, you're not allowed to answer. This appears very eulogy like. The lighting's right.

I will say this. I got to work with John 400 years ago. Thank you. Yes. John hired me in... Yes. I was a fan of the Daily Show. I got brought in, John hired me on, and it was, I mean, it was my favorite show, and to be birthed into working on that show career highlight, so much so that I will never leave working on that show

because fear of losing health insurance. So thank you to that. But I would say on a nerdy level, what has been really cool about this new, new era that we are in, like we talk about this. We had a, not to spill industry secrets, we had like a Zoom call with all of us after the first couple weeks, where we all got to to to to to to to to the difficulties, to talk the difficulties, to talk, to talk, the difficulties, the difficulties, to talk, to talk, the difficulties, to the difficulties, the difficulties, to to the difficulties, the difficulties, to the difficulties, to the difficulties, to, to, we all got to talk about the difficulties of hosting the daily show. And I will say hosting a late night show is a weird, lonely, strange job. I got to do it for a little while and I loved it. It was the best fucking job, but it was a lonely, scary, weird job that you had questions

that nobody could fricking answer. And that like first week when we got to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get the to get the the the the to get the the to get the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thoomeck, th. thi, they. And, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, they. And, they, the, the, hoa, hoa, hoa, hoa, hoa, hoa, ho. And, ho. And, ho. And, ho. And, ho. And, ho. And, ho. And, ho. Andicking answer. And that like first week when we got to get on that zoom call and talk about mechanics. And it's not all high-falutin conversations. It's like mechanics of telling a story, the ways in which to filter the news, the ways in which to react to clips that play on the air. There's an art to it. And so it's been really funthis show but to watch it from

a perspective we get to host this thing and it's an amazing vehicle to be behind but to watch like the ways in which you can get better at it and the ways you can filter through it like that has been kind of a remarkable it's like the world's best master class to be a part of and there and being a correspondent is one of the most difficult jobs you can do because you have to be versed in so many different things. These guys all come from improv and stand-up, but you do so many things. But you do so many things.

Some of it mechanical in the field, you take on the mechanical in the field, you take on the certain characters that you play, usually, you know, the high status, or their thiiiiiii, or thi, or thi, or in, or in, or in, or in, or in, or in, or, or, or, their, thi, their, their, thi, their, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th..................... th.. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thi. thi. the. thi. the. th. thi't realize they're in an improv scene. Like, it's a really difficult- The armed people who don't realize- Armed people. I'm going to ask about that, actually, because I'm very curious, hoo-curious thiii. How have you not gotten your ass kicked? Well, I have a couple things.

He's eight-foot-one. It's a somewhat serious question there. How have I not gotten my ass kicked? Well, I have a couple things. One, I'm a white guy at a Trump rally. It helps. I'm a tall white guy and also four security guards. OK. Which is wild. I will say, when we started doing this going out to the field, you didn't need a security guard because you were an improv teacher a week and a half ago. So the idea that somebody want to kill you or murder you

seemed asinine. And yet here we are walking into spaces to talk about politics with four armed guards. But that's what comedy wants in 2024. Yeah. Be honest, we do kick his ass inside the art. It is very true. It is quite violent inside. Sometimes you'll be stupid enough to read the YouTube comments of your piece and it'll

be like, what a stupid question? Why does Costa look like he's sweating and indoors? And I'm like, because the guy was armed and he just told me he hated all my questions. That's why I was sweating. So it is scary, it is scary. And we deserve to to to to th is scary, th is scary, th, th, th, th, th, th is scary, th, thi thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, and it is scary, and we thi, and we thi. thi. thiiiiiiiiiii. thi. thii. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, it is scary, it is scary, it is scary, and we deserve all the credit we get. But to Jordan's point about the Zoom meeting, I remember that with John, this was super helpful and you said, how's it going hosting to all of us? And I said, I feel like I'm wearing my grandfather's suit and my dad suit at the same time,

and you said, if you want to see uncomfortable hosting, watch my first two years hosting the Daily Show. And I'm sure you were saying that to be nice, but that was tremendously helpful, because it's very lonely hosting. You don't have anyone, there's no hosting red phone to call and say, please help me with this. So it's tremendously helpful to have that. I also had to remind that, you know, on that call we were just talking about, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, 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, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, the, and, the..... the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, they. they. the, the, they. the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the show is a very different, now it's about channeling how you feel viscerally. You're no longer playing the role of what the bit may require of you. You're actually trying to, you know, channel things through your own point of view and

bring them out in a much more like humanistic way. And they would say, like, well, you know, it seems to come more naturally to you. And I was like, yeah, you know, I've I've I've I've I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, I've, th. th. 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 the the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the th. th. th. th. the. the. the. thean, the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the the the the the more naturally to you and I was like, yeah, you know, I've only done 2,000 of these and this is your third. Yeah, you, so I'm blown away actually by, A, how incredibly adept they were at it from jump, and then B, how far they've even developed just in that short amount of time since then. It's somewhat disconcerting. 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. One of the things that struck me and one of the things I wondered about when you agreed to come back was whether we would get Daily Show John Stewart or Apple Show John Stewart. Because your persona changed. It was a different version of you and you seem to have pretty seamlessly slipped back into

Daily Show John Stewart. So Apple still owns that John Stewart. And if I are... My phone just buzzed uncontrollably. I don't know why. If I am to use that John Stewart I apparently I will be taken away. Okay. But that's a conscious decision. Yeah yeah yeah. It's funny that you say because I it feels to me like as me me. So I would think it's in my mind I'm thinking oh! that's wrong. that's that's. Yeah. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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, in my mind, I'm thinking, oh, that's wrong. I should have, yeah, but it feels the same to me, but maybe.

But for instance, your interview with Ken Buck the other night, which was fantastic. You got away with a lot of things, yeah, it really is an amazing episode. But you got away with a lot of things in that interview because of the self-deprecation and sort of laughing about certain things and you were, you approached that interview in a way that maybe you wouldn't have. Oh, I see you're saying. Before, at the Apple show, which is much more serious. So the difference is honestly audience. their audience, their their audience. So when you're when you have an audience in an interview like this one you're constantly aware of that they're another character in the play and so the Apple Show is waiting for Goddow this is you know something that's a little

bit more less existential but like when you're sitting in a room with an Oklahoma State Senator and there's no audience, and he's saying to you, no, more guns make us safer and you're like, when? When does that happen? It's a different dynamic than when you have an audience and you're also keenly aware of their patients for the different line of questioning where they might think they want a break, you know. I think it's got more to do

with the environment in some respects. Makes sense. Yeah. Ronnie, I want to bring you in a little bit more here. Yeah, Ronnie. No, sorry I'm just I'm I'm interested in these answers as well. What have you learned just working around John so much last few months? You were asking what's surprising about working with John? Because when I joined the show, I took research very seriously. So I watched old episodes. You hear stories about John. You read the book, the Daily Show, oral history.

And so you get a sense of the working habits of people. But when he when he came back what was surprised, despite knowing academically his strengths, clarity of thought, control of the medium, but when you see that first episode, it's like watching Jordan in 96 direct the offense again. Wait, is that the wizards or is that... No, no, no, that's before the wiz. I'm trying not to do a wizard's thing, but it's, but, it. It, it. It, it. It, it, it, it, it, it, 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, the, the, the, the, the, the, what was, what was, what was, the, thi, what was, what was, what was, what was, what was the, what was, what was the, what was the, what was the, what was the, what was th, the, 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, thi, the, when, when, when, when the, when the, when the, when the, when the, when, when the, when he the, when the, when the, when the, when the, when the, when the, when the 96 direct the offense again. Wait, is that the Wizards or is that? No, no, that's before the Wizards. I'm trying not to do a Wizards thing, but it's... But actually if you look at the Michael Jordan and the Wizards,

this individual performance is actually great. The team, think that officially happens but also interviewing Ken Buck wait if I may is the Apple show when I was with the White Sox is that when I went to play baseball yeah so yeah so just just watching the control of because it's so weird to be sitting right there and you're working with him with him and you don't want to be too kind of like in awe because you have a job to do but you're watching someone who invented modern American satire he invented that all the to'n'e'n'e' that he invented that so he's the guy who, and so he knows exactly how to calibrate every part of the show

to what he wants to say, you know, and so that's a level of control of hosting a daily show that I can only aspire to in my dreams to be able to see all the angles that clearly and execute. Ronnie Chang is so nice, and this is the whole time that you know him, that you're sure when he's fucking with me. Like that's how nice. How many times have we been talking to Ronnie and then I'll walk away like is he fucking? He's so nice. He's right about one thing you you were among the first... Oh I think he was right about more than one thing. All of it. Your version of the Daily Show was the among the first to include the media itself in the in the joke in the criticism. And you were great at it and I'm curious how the media ecosystem has changed since you've been back to, like it used to be

Tucker Carlson was your adversary. Now there's there's a hundred Tucker Carlson's. There's also still Tucker, but there's a hundred of them and the entire ecosystem has changed. How do you approach that? I think they really took the note. Because you know, when I first became aware of you, I think, was those Fox News segments that you used to do. And they were just eviscerating. But it's almost like... Really changed the landscape. It did actually.

I would argue that they did. The thing is, even if it doesn't change the landscape, even if the efficacy, you cannot relent. The difficulty we have with weaponized media is it is weaponized. It's tenacious and it's purposeful. The media has been weaponized for a reason. That's not just something that's a phenomenon of now.

That's, you know, Randolph Hurst in yellow journalism. And, you know, that's that's that's that's the that's their their their that's their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the the the efficacy the efficacy the the efficacy the the the the the efficacy the the the the the efficacy the the the the the the the the the the efficacy 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 th. thefficefficia. thefficia. thefficia. thefficia.efficea.ea.efficea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thefficia. thefficia. th not just something that's a phenomenon of now. That's, you know, Randolph Hurst and yellow journalism and, you know, that's been with us forever. What is generally not as tenacious is the hopefully the corrective course or the, you know, coming back the other way and you can't ever give up the post. There always has to be something as unrelenting and as tenacious. Like, all of this happens in a room. None of this is by accident. Fox News exists because Roger Ailes in 1973 or four said, we will never let something like this happen to a Republican politician, again, about Nixon.

Meaning we will never allow the truth to sail by unopposed. And we will, you know, this has been the purpose of that experiment. Over 50 or 60 years has been the institutions that support the general foundation of American life and freedom and progress don't suit our agenda. So we will build a parallel universe of think tanks and universities and institutions and media. And we will shift, when time is ready, we will throw the switch and shift society onto that, on to that field. And you can only, you can only, you know, you can, you know, you can, you know, you the, you know, 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 the the the the the the the the the the the the the the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda the agenda, 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 tea, toge, the toge, the, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the t is ready, we will throw the switch and shift society onto that field.

And you can only take away its power by demystifying it. It's like, and I don't mean this as a direct one-to-one. In the 1920s, Kuklaus Klan was ascendant. And they were a powerful force in segregation and violence and intimidation and all those different things. And they ended not because people learned that racism was bad or that their views should change. Their ridiculousness was exposed.

Their traditions and their secret handshakes and their stupid symbols and they ended up looking like buffoons and it took the steam out of that movement and and that has to be done even if it doesn't feel like it's working you cannot stop. Even if that... Good night. To the ramparts! Even if that... You cannot. Good night. To the ramparts! To the avid machine! Yeah.

Even if that ridiculousness has melded with the actual pillars of government to where they're calling each other back and forth, saying what should we do do you should do this during the Trump years? Wait say that again. I'm saying that when you when you when you were hosting the Daily Show before there was a clear dichotomy between the government and the media and what we saw in the trump years was the melding of those two where the media was essentially the audience was essentially the the media was essentially the audience, was essentially the, the, the, the, that was happening. Yeah, he's taking his cues from the media and vice versa.

But, but that was happening in the Bushes as well. The right has always been much more organized in terms of the media being a political arm of a movement. The left is too organized. Now, there is some influx of political players within that, but I can tell you the level of collusion between media and politics on the right is far more advanced and far more specific than you would ever see, unfortunately, on the left, some of that having to do with, generally the left being a more fractionalized environment. You know, it's generally the left is a more, you know, fractionalized environment. You know, it's generally the left is just coalitions held together by some idea of, you know,

being nicer. Separate topic, you guys are going on the road for the conventions. Look at you, Segway. fearful. What, you guys, and I learned today, you're going to be the only one. I've never done a convention. What. What. What?? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? What? It? It? It? It? It? It? It? It? It? It? It? It? It? the convention. the convention. the convention. the convention. the convention. the convention. the convention. the convention. 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 the the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th. It is, th. It is, th. It is, th. It is, th. It's, th. th. th. th. the. the. the. Generally, you? Generally, theeee. Generally, you? Generally, you're, you're, you're, you're, you know, you're, you're, you know, you're, you're, you're, and I learned today, you're going to be the only one. I've never done a convention. What? So I will going to leave the stage for this part of the question?

No. Desi, you, we and I, we won the. The three of us were there, 2016. It's going to be incredibly wild. Trump will be sentenced four days before the RNC. Is that right? Four or five days? So that could change things. And according to my clue app...

There will be a delay. According to my clue app, I will also be on my period that week. And I feel okay sharing that with all of you because I'm pretty sure the Republicans are already tracking. So we're in for it. Did you guys get, were you on the convention floor when you guys went in 2016? Yes, yeah, I remember it. I mean, the conventions, for all the rot that exists in the political process, there's something so beautiful about an arena of people celebrating a potential future. So there is a part of me I grew up a presidential nerd as a kid and

so like to be there and and watch this pageantry there's still part of me that has stars of my eyes although I do remember like... Nerd. I mean but I remember being on the floor for the Trump one as well and and the image that I have, you know say a lot of things about Donald Trump, but sometimes they are so right on the nose, you got to give credit. Like the big brother image of Donald Trump's zoomed in head behind him as he was like, I alone can't fix this, we shall go forth. I remember watching it be like, oh well, this can't possibly win. But how funny to be here.

So I'm excited to see the final chapter if you will. Beyond the road is always fun. There's always like a fun energy, I think, with a daily show, makes it a little different, gets everyone out of the comfort zone a bit. The, I do, maybe I'm wrong, but I always, whenever I'm at these conventions or highly political rally events, I'm always like, these aren't normal Americans. These are the political Americans. Like, they almost go to this, like sports, you know what I mean? I don't even know if they care about the country as much as they care about, it's almost

like a event for them. It's almost like a sporting event for them. So when I'm there, that's how I feel like. I feel like I'm in a sports event almost. It's not even about the future or issues or ideals. It's like people who are there to witness their team versus some other team or, you know. I think the Democrats were really smart in a time of violence and upheaval to do theirs in Chicago. Just really. You joke, but there is a potential that, you know, protests and others have happened. No, listen, man, it's, you could, how do you pick the city that in 1968 exploded in protest in a time of anti-war protest? You know, the left is really angry about this Israel-Palestine thing. You know, whothe left is really angry about this Israel-Palestine thing. You know, who would be funny?

I remember we did the Republican, I can't remember it was the convention or the midterms, when did they do it in St. Paul? Was that McCain's year? I think that was the year that McCain did. And this was when Antifa was not quite a branded organization yet. It was still just a bunch of kids in like black bandanas, pre-pandemic so nobody had to yell at them about, Doesn't do anything!

And they had on the bandanas and they had their lawyers' names, but it was a quaint time. We were taping right in the street and these just phalanxes of young activists and you know every few hours they would take out their anger on a Starbucks like you know they'd break a Starbucks window and all the sirens would play and I remember I was walking in the middle of this giant fucking protest of bodies and it's moving and the guy ne next to me turn and he lowers his band down and he goes, oh John Stewart I can't believe you're here in Minnesota this is so fun.

And I was like, you're an anarchist and he's like, oh yeah, but you know if you guys want to to the lake later and if you want to come up. And I was just like, I don't know what we're doing. Guests on the show. You have had not the typical late night talk show guests on Monday nights. Did you, oh I'm sorry, my publicist was not saying no other late night talk show goes out on the road either. Well you guys are the only ones going to the RNC, right?

Yes. And also what people don't realize, and I haven't even done a convention, but I've done plenty of field pieces, is, you know, we have a whole department that is out there in the morning, shooting, editing, cutting, airing, five of the times, you don't thi, five hours, five hours, five hours, five hours, and five, and five, and five, and five, and five, and five, and thi, and thi, and th do comedy quickly, intelligently. We get it right, a lot of the times. You don't always get it right. But that is what is so appealing to me about the daily show. It's like, go, go now and make it happen,

and it's gonna air tonight. And what an opportunity for comedians to work on a show like that. I will say this. You ask what has changed a little the the to the to the to to to expertise that these guys and the technical staff and the editors and the producers and the writers display on a daily basis, an hourly basis, blows me away. Like, it's, I have been there from the primitive evolution of when we used to still edit in the online room, we're like, you could do four roles and if you screwed up a role,

you had to go back and start again. Pre-Avid only had the AP news feed, so you weren't able to dictate what material you did. You were just what was on the AP news feed. Oh, there's a story on health care and the celebration of the Black Nazarene in the Philippines. That's today's show. Like, technology changed the way we were able to do it, but it was still technology at that point. Now it's native and how they're able to synthesize, because this isn't reporting the

news. They're synthesizing a point of view, right? They're creating an essayistic form, multimedia, in that same time frame. And they're doing it with such alacrity and precision. That was the thing when I went back in, I was just like, it reminds me of, I played soccer in college in like, 1982, and now I watch Americans play it now, and I'm like,

oh, like, back when I was doing it, we were still using our hands. Like, it was, like, like, it, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's like, it's like, it's like, it's like, like, like, like, it's like, like, oh, like back when I was doing it, we were still using our hands. Like, it was, like, it's, it, my mind is blown on a daily basis. And Jen Flans, who is our executive producer and has been with the show. So Jen Flans, for those you don't know, predated me. I, when I walked in the door, she was I there. She was, I think, a PA at that point.

She's now the executive producer. She is, you know, she's Mr. Crab. Like, she's the keeper of the recipe of the crushed bag. What are these references? These are old references. Mr. Crabb? Well, my kids like SpongeBob! What are we doing here? Sorry. I'm... What is a day? What is a day at the Daily Show like? Like, give us your, you know... Oh, I think it's only a day. I don't want to know every detail, but give us the sort of cadence.

I'm going to tell you my yesterday. the day, Ronnie was hosting the show yesterday. Ronnie was hosting the show yesterday. Yesterday, I was sitting down with a man in his home who's successfully banned 900 books in Clay County, Florida in the last two years. No, no, you're not supposed to clap. Don't do that. I spent, wrong side. You said successful, I thought you were going to spend three,

three and a half hours at his house, met his wife, and th..... th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, that that, tho, tho, that, thi, that, tho, I tho, I was, I was, I was to to to to to to tho, I was, I was, I was th. th. I was th. I was, I was th. I was, I was, I, I was, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I th. I, th. I, th. I th. I was th. I was th. I was thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thrown, thrown, thrown, thee too, too, too, too. too. too. too, thease thease thi, his wife, pet his dogs, and spoke to him. That was my day yesterday. That's pretty good. But when you're in the studio, when you're in the offices, what is the day like putting together that night show? So my day yesterday? Ronnie, you hosted yesterday? Yeah, walk us through your hosting day. Oh, yeah, you wake up in a panic that you're hosting. Your teeth hurt because you've been grinding your teeth all night because you couldn't sleep. Thinking about having to make TV. And then you run to the office. It's hot in New York now, so you're already sweating.

By the time you get there, someone hands you an espresso, you down it, and then the clock is 9.15 and you're already late, and then you have to... Wait, someone hands you an express? Yeah, I'm sorry, yeah, that's... They told me I could do that, because I was... They were like, you're the host now, you can't have to the host, now you want. What you want? I want to go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go to go and light, to go and lie to go home. 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 to15, we have to preliminary scan the stories of the day. You pick some and then we view it in the big team writing room. All the writers make jokes about horrible things in the writing room, most of which we'll

never seal our day. And then we pick from there, we pick what we think the show is going to be. And then, honestly, it's a blur. It's a the blur. It's a the blur. It's a blur. It's a blur. It's a blur. It's a blur. It's a blur. It's a blur. It's a blur. It's a blur. It's a their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their, and their. It, and their. It, and their. It, and their. It, and the story. It, and the story. It, and their. It, and their. It, and their. It, and their, and their, it, it, their, their, their, their pick from there, we pick what we think the show is going to be. And then, honestly, it's a blur. It's a blur. And then I wake up and then I'm home and the day was over. Before that first meeting of the day, there's an entire department that spends the night before and early that morning collecting all of the latest news footage that they think could potentially work on the show. I always, what I love about it,

I come from the improv world, and like there's a lot of different mindsens, people who come from more straight news, who work in some research elements, you have a comedian, some stand-up's themo. What I've always felt like mentally, the first half of a daily show tod improviser's brain and the second half is a stand-up's brain, which is so fun in that like you get there and you have to be open, you are building stuff, you're throwing ideas out there, you're saying yes to everybody.

Like it's a very open creative space because you have a lot to do that day and then the day kind of switches and it's like make this good now and it's really fun to see people put on those different hats. It goes from yes and to no shut up. Yeah, yeah, the morning is lovely and nice and by the end everybody is selfishly talking behind everybody else's back about how much better they go. Doesn't what? Doesn't want to cut it. Just cut it. John Stewart here.

Unbelievably. My new podcast, the weekly show. We're going to be to be to be to be tholk. tholk. tholk. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the the the the the the the the the th. th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th...... And, th. And, th. And, th. And, the. And, the. And, the. And, the. And, the. And, the. And, the. And, the. the. the. t t te. te. the. the. the the the the the the the the. the. Weekly Show, we're gonna 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. That morning meeting that's at like 945 with the writers, the big, the big meeting. That, to me, is one of the most pleasurable places to be ever in

comedy because you have the clock is started on the day, you have your clips picked, you have a bunch of award-winning writers and producers all in this room yelling stuff out and if you can get that group of people to laugh that that's immediately in the rehearsal script for sure. Now I do a great job of yelling out stuff and the room is just silent, and that is true panic at its worst, you know, but that morning meeting is really fun and it's when the snowball starts for the whole day.

It's like sitting in a room with 35 of your funniest friends. It is truly the best. Yeah, it's what you think about when you think about working in comedy in America, in America, in America, in America, in America everyone's so good at their job and you're scared to say stuff that isn't, you know, it might not be funny. And then you, you, so everyone's like writing furiously and then we rehearse at around 3 p.m. or 2.m. depending on, you know, the day we run it through and you, we do a full- You seem like a prisoner. You were, you were calling a people and then you go to the yard. Pick up trash.

I got shanked. I was shanked. Take a shit in the room. No, it's different when you're there and you know, you don't have the clout of John Stewart in the building. You're just, you're just Ronnie Chang in the trying, you're you're you're you're you're you're you're you're you're you're trying, you're trying, you're trying, you're th, you're trying, you're th, you're trying, you're th, you're trying, you're to put to put to put to put to put thin, you're to put to put to put to to the 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 John Stewart in the building you're just you're just Ronnie Chang in the desk you're trying to you're trying to put on this jacket it doesn't fit you and you're great it's so good I did so good I can't believe you least so good I can't believe you least so good I'm the best I think the thing that people don't realize sometimes is they thin' the the th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I th I thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin' thin' thin' thi thi thi thi thin' thin' thin' their their their thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' is thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. the the the. the the. the. the. the. they're just just just just just just just just just thi's't realize sometimes is they think like, oh, you guys do a late night comedy show, must be so fun.

Like, the biggest thing that is implemented at the show is infrastructure. It's the creative tent post that you need to have in place because this show happens every day, and it's synthesizing a tremendous amount of material from all different portions of this organism. And if you don't have your shit together, it spins out of control really quickly. And it's not enough to make a good show. You have to make that process repeatable.

And it sounds counterintuitive. But the creative process relies on repetition. Hopefully not in a soul crushing way so that there's enough oxygen within that process to still bring in inspiration. But it's the little changes that you make in a production, to to to to to to to to to to to to to make in a to to make to the production to make the production the production to make in a production the production the production to make in a production toection, the production toection, the production to make in a production to make in a production the process to still bring in inspiration, but it's the little changes that you make in a production schedule that allow this show to do all those various things. Like, so when I first got there, the way that we did the show was every writer, it was probably 10 or 11 writers, and they would just write, we'd give them some topics and they would write

10 pages of jokes. And then when they were done writing it, this is around 11 or 12, we'd sit in a room and each writer would read those 10 pages and it would take an hour and a half and I was there for six weeks and then I finally went in one day and went, you know, I can read. And if we did it that way, we'd be done with this by 1130. And then it's about making an iterative process. It's interesting how they talk about its stand-up and its improv. I always look at it as a refinery, which is a really sort of strange industrial way of

looking at making comedy. But the idea is you take your raw materials in the morning and you come in and you dump them all down and the rest of the day is about refining that product into something sophisticated enough that it's worth the audience's time. What you want to make is something, you want, the thing about television is you know, there's a great episode of Seinfeld where they say, why am I watching this? And George says, because it's on television. And the Warren Littlefield character goes, not yet. And that's really the point. Like we're given this ridiculous gift.

We're going to allow you to say whatever the fuck you want to America for 22 minutes or 24 minutes or 36 minutes in a night. And that process is to create those thoughts that are the raw materials and winnow them down to something that when you present it to people, it looks like something effortless but isn't. It's sophisticated. It has, you know, it has, it's been worked. It's, it's the craft has been applied to it to make it something worth your, I was going to say television time, but obviously that's not how people, worth you picking up your phone and looking at it for...

However it is, people watch things. Do takes come easy to you? Like let's look at the Trump conviction. Happen on a Thursday. Yes. Take us through the process that led to your Monday night segment. So that wasn't just about Trump, it ended up being broader about the media and everything else. Because that was a function of insomnia.

So what had been bothering me, there was something, the thing about stand-up, good stand-up, or good comedy, or good art or good anything, is that you can articulate something for an audience that is feeling it in the ether, but has not had either the time or the desire to crystallize it into that resin, that useful articulated resin where you go like, fuck, that's what I meant. And so it had been really eating at me this idea that everything that was occurring in the courts was a repudiation of our entire lived existence in the media over these last eight years. And I just couldn't get my head around what it was, and I was thinking about, oh, the court system has procedures in place.

It has standards of evidentiary presentation that you must meet. And then it is, and those things are standardized. And I realized what bothered me about the media is they had an opportunity to apply the same methodology, because it's not an expertise that the courts are applying. It's a simple methodology of defining reality. That's all they do.

All they do is they bring you in and go, what happened? And then someone starts to say what happens, and someone will jump up and go, I object, and then you have to present, like, the thing that blows my mind, I don't remember when Gwinnith Paltrow got plowed into by Eskier. It was a while ago, but the trial, I think, was last summer. I was delighted to watch that. But when I did, it struck me that being a lawyer blows. It's just you and four other lawyers sitting at a desk going, do you have page 38 AC go to the thing? Did you get that? And it's all just, but that meticulous dissection

and determination of reality is what's missing in our media environment. And it can be done. I don't understand why you don't. It is, it's not a method that's beyond you. It's not because it's happening too quickly. I don't know why it isn't done. I know that television has to be producible and that when you're making it every day seven days a week 24 hours but that's the thing that I think. Didn't you answer your own question where you said that being a lawyer is boring?

Being a lawyer is boring, but presenting your closing argument is what drama and movies is about. So yes, the meticulous defining of it is what we do during the day. It's the refinery. It's taking all those raw materials and testing them and measuring them against reality. And then once you have what you think is a refined product that is the reality that you've helped define right through those procedures then you present it to people in a way that's compelling because now you're presenting

to them a condensed version of us now you're a storyteller now it's a narrative now it's something that you can sink your teeth into and it's be tested so that it has context and fairness and is difficult then to overturn and submarine on appeal because you put in the fucking work. And if we can do it, and we're idiots. It honestly blows my mind. If I see one more newsperson on a meet the press or CBS the morning go, will you say that you will certify the 2024 election no matter what and you're like, what if they're hit by a laser?

Yeah. What is what are you supposed to do with that? Any question, every, almost every question on a political panel should just be met with, I don't know. No one knows. It's the future. But I can help you define the parameters of the present and of the past. So you have that eureka, you have the other ta. You come up with that take. That's right. Do you run into the meeting Monday morning and say I have a take

let's do this or is it workshop like how do you what's the process? Like it's the sunshine boards yes. I'm gonna. John you came in Monday pretty fired up. You did have it. John you did it. John stood up the morning meeting, meaning you stood out of your chair. That doesn't always happen. I was a few minutes late and I have never been late to a John meeting. I had a child care issue and I come in late and I think, oh, I'll just slip in the back door. John was standing right in front of the door. And he was on it. Like he was

going. I kept four years. So I hid in my office and just listened and took notes for about 20-22 minutes, waited for my opportunity to slip in there. One time I stood up in the morning meeting and they said sit the fuck down. Only John gets to stand up. But to be fair there there, there are meetings where I do that and then research will come in like three hours later and go, yeah we looked into that, not true. So I do do that too. Like, but when I get ahead of steam, it's hard. But what I usually will send out, I mean, I literally will bother them on the weekend and I'll just say like, can you guys, because what will happen is this this this this this this this this this this this th. the the the the the the the th. Max, the th. Max, th. Max, th. th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, thi, thi, th. I'll, th. I'll, th. I'm, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I th. I, th. I, th. th. I, th. I, th. I, the, the, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th. th. them on the weekend. And I'll just say, like, can you guys, because what'll happen is this guy Max, who's in charge of, and Max and Justin, who are in charge of sort of the video catalogs,

we'll look to see if sometimes a hunch is wrong. And that's what I meant by, we put it through a process. Like, that's the thing at the show, like, the thing that's thi thi thi thi that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's the the the the thing that's the thing the thing the thing the thing the thing the thing the thing the thing to go, you take things out of context too. No, actually we don't. We work really hard not to. That's not to say we don't miss. But there is an appeals process in place at our show that could be put in place in any news organization. And we don't look at the minute to minutes to see what rates and what doesn't. We just put our heads down and do our work and that can't be that a comedy show has that as its goal and a news show has its minute-to-miniots to look at. Like that's just an upside-down world.

I started asking before and I'll just to finish the thought about guests. How do you think about guests on the show? How finish the thought about guests. How do you think about guests on the show? How do you all think about it but particularly the guests... I go by race. Only Asian guests. Only Asian guests for me. Can I tell? We co-host it. This is John is spot on. Ronnie is like the nicest guy, but you never know if he's joking. And nobody knows. I think Ronnie's that nice. We co-hosted, he's mildly nice. We co-hosted and we were on like a slack channel about who guests were. And Ronnie said, like, I only want because it's Jordan and Ronnie hosting.

I only want half Asian, half white guests. And that's what we got because nobody challenged that as a joke that Ronnie made. Literally I was like, I don't know, he said it. He seemed really adamant. I was like, I think that was a bit he was doing. That's like, anyway, welcome, Representative Andy Kim. Look, there's games and games you play to keep ourselves interested, all right? Part of it is, sometimes, I don't know, we'll see whoever, we'll have an interesting guess. And I do kind of take it upon myself sometimes to be like, we've never had two Asian guys on

TV before, let's try and make that happen. So that is a factor. But, obviously, like, I, like, I, like, I, like, we've never had two Asian guys on TV before, let's try to make that happen. So that is a factor, but obviously, like I tried to get, I've been trying to get conservative people as guests. I managed to get one yesterday, George Conway, although how conservative he considers himself to be now, but was anti-Trunk conservative, just to get some, you know, how conservative he considers himself to be now, but was anti-Trunk conservative, just to get some, you know, a little bit of a, less of an echo chamber, less of a preaching to a choir, let's hear some, you know, outside of, let's see, hear what they have to say. So I'm always trying for that, but it's easier said and done sometimes.

We're trying to trick them, them, them, them, them, their, their, their. We are generally trying to trick them. John obviously Lena Khan seems to have been a choice guest for you given that that was some an idea you had at Apple and it was a great interview. Yeah she's I thought she was fantastic. Yeah she's the antitrust enforcer. Yeah FTC. So do you think are you thinking that way like okay who's gonna who's gonna make headlines? Who's who's going to you you know? to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the to to the to to to to the to the to to the to to to the the to the to the the to to the to the to the the choice the choice to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be to be the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their toecececececececececececececececececececece. to to to to to to their their tre. their treck. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. trust. toe. toea. toea way, like, okay, who's going to, who's going to make headlines? Who's going to, you know, give it back to me? What's your thought process there? I think the thought process for guests is generally also in the same way of trying to,

I think the show works best when it has sort of a clarity of vision and then a very much of flexibility of process and how we get there. But there are broader themes that I think make the show feel more cohesive. And in this moment, I think it's, we talk about Trump as the threat to democracy or that the threats to democracy are autocracy. They're external and they are, you know, in opposition to a democratic system. But I think it may be more interesting to internalize why democracy is vulnerable to that. And so the FTC chairman or Ken Buck or it's about looking at why is it that there is a feeling in America, that the governmentthere is a feeling in America that the government is separate from the realities of the consent of the government. You know, what is it that, where's that disconnect come from?

And then you can explore it in whatever, you know, you can apply that thought to pharma. You can apply it to, you know, what happened in the pandemic? Well, you know, there in the pandemic. Well, you know, there's the conspiracy theories, but there's also the reality that maybe they didn't, they weren't as transparent as they could have been and that caused a lack of trust and an ability to exploit some of those gaps. So what if we applied our process to where those gaps are? What if you look at Trump as a black hat hacker? Exposing where are

the vulnerabilities on this map? And if he exposes them and we've and we go in and we view those vulnerabilities and we can map them and see where you can strengthen them? Well then we can protect ourselves in a way from the ease in which demagogues can take control of the discourse. And so that's, I mean, that's obviously, look, that's the, you know, the broad head. And then our job is, it's always the broad perspective, and then how do you deconstruct that into something usable for production? How do you go in and start to use that?

And so that's what we apply to all the different kinds of stories and things that we look at. That's a loftier goal for guests than guy with a movie. They won't come on. No, because that's, you know, that's what everybody, why are people watching this? And that's what you want to earn every day. It's like in stand-up or in improv.

Like, the whole point is, we've decided to pick a chair that's facing the audience. And if you're not going to take the time or effort to earn that chair every ti ti ti ti ti thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, you thi, you thi, you thi, you thi, you thi, you thi, you're thi, you're thi, you that thi, you're thi, you're that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that's, you that that that's, that's, that's, that thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thin, thi, thi, thi, thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi's thi, you thi, thi chair that's facing the audience. And if you're not going to take the time or effort to earn that chair every time you sit in it, what are you doing? Perfect segue to my last question. You are committed through November. Any thoughts about possibly staying? I mean, it's clearly working. Yeah, John.

Wait, who are you referring to? Clearly working. Yeah, John. Wait, who are you referring to? Yeah, I mean, listen, man, this is ball. And it's, and it's been, you know, fantastic. And the one thing I will say is, I walked away nine years ago because I was burnt. And, and I'm, I don't feel that right now. I feel reinvigorated. I'm with people that are unbelievably talented, unbelievably, thank you. Thank you.

And what they talked about, that meeting in the morning, you know, when people say like, oh, did you miss having a platform? Did you miss the thing? I didn't miss any of that, but I did miss that. I missed that when you walk into a room with just smart, funny people, and just, and go at that creative process. Like, there's nothing like it, nothing.

All right, thank you very much to The Daily Show. 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. Paromount Podcasts.

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.