The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Justin Trudeau's Blackface Scandal | Edward Snowden

Episode Date: September 20, 2019

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau comes under fire for wearing blackface, Ronny Chieng rants about futuristic technology in bars, and Edward Snowden discusses his book "Permanent Record." Wondery's The Lead: http://wondery.fm/TheLeadDS Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart wherever you get your podcast. September 19th, 2019. From Comedy Central's World News Headquarters in New York, this is the Daily ShowNewisher, everybody. Thank you so much tuning in. Thank you for coming out. That's amazing. Welcome to it. Let's do it. My hand is Trevor Noah. Our guest tonight is the man behind one of the most famous leaks of government secrets in history. Edward Snowden is joining us on the show everybody. Our guest tonight is the man behind one of the most famous leaks of government secrets in history.

Edward Snowden is joining us on the show, everybody. Also on tonight's show, Donald Trump breaks out his shoppy again. Ronnie Chang finds robots in a bar and Justin Trudeau has a very dark past. So let's catch up on today's headlines. Let's kick it off with President Trump's trip to the West Coast. Yesterday, the President popped into California to host some fundraisers, talk about housing issues, and stock up on edibles. But, easily the highlight of his trip was getting to visit his favorite child, the border wall.

President Trump took time from a fundraising trip to visit a chunk of border wall in Otai Mesa, California. He met with several construction workers and was invited to sign the wall, which he did with a sharpie. He boasted about the wall, calling it the Rolls Royce of border barriers. It's designed to absorb heat, so it's extremely hot. The wall the wall the wall the wall the wall the wall the wall the wall to to to to to be. to be. to be. to be. to be. to be. to be. to be a to bea. to bea. to bea. tooomk. tooomorrow. the tooomorrow. tooomorrow. tooomorrow. tooomahahahahahe. tooomomahahahe. tooomkykykyky. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe, toe, toe. toe. to bea. Wea. to bea. I. Wea. I. Wea. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I's to bea. to bea. toa. toa. toa. toa. tooombueueueuea. tooomorrow tooomorrow tooomorrow tooomorrow tooomorrow tooomorrow tooomorrow tooomorrow tookea. tookea. tooomea. toea. to absorb heat, so it's extremely hot. The wall is, you won't be able to touch it.

So if they're going to climb it, they're going to have to bring hoses and waters, water, and we don't know where they're going to hook it up because there's not a lot of water out here. If you think you're going to cut it with a blow-torch-to-tourke one that was hardest to climb. And so begins, season one of Mexican Ninja Warrior. I will say, if you forget the xenophobia and all of the racism, it's pretty cute how excited Trump gets about his wall, right? He reminds me of little kids bragging about what they've built out of Lego, have you ever seen them? You know, they'd be like, it's super strong, and this is for the policeman and they can't

break it, and this one shoots it, the lasers, and there's a booby, and there's a b- a-true, and there's a booby-traph for when to know who built it. See, man, it's so insecure. No other president physically signs their accomplishments. Like, Abraham Lincoln didn't go up to the slaves, like, you're free. Now, hold still. Hold still. There you go. Now, the problem for Trump is that sometimes his enthusiasm

gets him in trouble, because he gets carried away, and he says secrets that he's not supposed to. One thing we haven't mentioned is technology. They're wired so that we will know if somebody's trying to break through. And you may want to discuss that a little bit general. Sir, there could be some merit and not discussing that. Okay? I like that. I like that. That was a great answer.

they're wired. I'll just tell you they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're wired. Again. Tell me that's not adorable. Trump is so excited about the wall that people have to stop him from explaining its weaknesses. It's like, there's a door that opens. If you cut the wire right here, you cut the right where. But we won't tell them as the red one. We won't tell them. And kudos discussing that, sir. That is the nicest way I've ever heard someone say, shut the fuck up. That's what that was.

We should all start using that, right? Yeah, next time you tell your boss that you missed work for a funeral, and your co-workers, like, but you said you were at the beach. You could be like, ha ha, that could be some merit in not discussing that. Bob. All right, let's move on to an alarming new report about air travel. If you have a flight coming up, you may want to be careful about what you drink. Because a new study looked at the water safety from a dozen major airlines, and those airlines with the cleanest water are Alaska Airlines, Allegiant, Hawaiian Air, Frontier and Southwest. While the dirtiest water is found on board Delta, American, United, JetBlue, and Spirit Airlines, that might surprise you, right? The study suggests sticking with bottled water on planes and avoiding the coffee and tea.

You can also use hand sanitizer instead of washing your hands in the bathroom. Yes. Turns out if you've been drinking water on a plane, your bowels may be in danger. And honestly, this was surprising to me. Because I always knew that the water in the bathroom wasn't for drinking, right? You use that to wash your feet, but I didn't know that the water they serve you can also be dirty. Like, how does it get that bad? Do they take the hot towels from business class and squeeze the water into into or economy, is that what they do? He's like, hmm, what does that taste?

Sir, that is the taste of success. And that list was pretty interesting as well. You've got Alaskan at the top, and then all the way at the bottom is Spirit, is Spirit Airlines. And I know, I know some people think Spirredd should s s s should Yeah, normally the only refreshments on Spirit are your own tears of regret. Spirit Airlines, our water is the least of your problems. And finally, tomorrow is September 20th, the big day when everyone is supposed to raid Area 51. And although this thing just started out as a joke,

it turns out they might actually find something. The U.S. Navy now confirms UFO videos made public by the New York Times and a UFO research group back in 2017 are the real deal. Images of that rotating thing captured by U.S. Navy aircraft, sensors locking in on the target. Commander David Fraver saw it firsthand during a training mission, describing it like a 40-foot long, Tick-Tac. The ability to hover over the water and then start a vertical climb from basically zero

up towards about 12,000 feet and then accelerate in less than two seconds and disappear something I had never seen in my life... 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 than two seconds and disappear is something I had never seen in my life. The Navy says it still doesn't know what the objects are and officials aren't speculating. Holy shit! I hope that's a UFO because if it was a giant tick-tag that's even creepier. Well, there's giant tic-tags that's flying around the sky. But you guys understand what's happening here? The US government is officially confirming, officially, that in 2017 the Navy saw a UFO. And I hope, I really hope it isn't aliens, because it would be a really bad time for them to visit Earth.

Yeah, can you imagine? They'll land and be like, take us to your leader. And we'll be like, oh, sorry, he's signing a wall right now? All right that's it for the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines the headlines thethat's it for the headlines. Let's move on to our top story. Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister and Hot Dad in a Disney Channel movie. Ever since he came into office, he has been embraced as woke bay by everyone from liberals to all the women and Trump's family. I mean, look at that. Ivanka's looking at Trudeau the way

Takashi 69 looks at witness protection. And the reason Trudeau's been popular is because he's been a women's right advocate, he's been a champion for environmental reforms, and he's been very active in connecting with minority communities. But now we're learning that he may have connected with minority communities a little too much. Another major story this morning, the re-election campaign of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is suddenly in turmoil

after a photo surfaced of him wearing brownface. This photo newly discovered by Time magazine shows him in brown face nearly two decades ago. The picture from the 2000-2001 year book of a private school where Trudeau was a teacher shows the then 29-year-old wearing a turban, robes, and dark makeup. There are so many problems with this photo. First of all, it's obviously never okay to do black face. And secondly, if you are going to darken your skin at least get the color right okay yeah Trudeau isn't dressed as Aladdin he's dressed as

Aladdin doing blackface that's not the color of Aladdin what are you doing and also Trudeau didn't even need the brown face to make the costume work he's in a full Aladdin outfit at an Arabian night's themed party no one was gonna see him and be like huh white skin Are you the snowman from frozen? So Time Magazine published this photo of Canada's prime minister in Brownface. And in response, Trudeau hopped on his magic hopp and flew straight to a press conference to apologize. In 2001, when I was a teacher out in Vancouver, I attended an end-of-year gala where the theme

was Arabian Knights. And I dressed up in an Aladdin costume and put makeup on. It was something that I didn't think was racist at the time, but now I recognize it was something racist to do. I've always, and you'll know this, been more enthusiastic about costumes than is somehow is sometimes appropriate. Trudeau says he also wore blackface for a high school performance where he sang the Harry Belafonte song, Deo. When I was in high school I dressed up at a talent show and sang Dale with with makeup on.

This is not good man. Because you realize what happened here Trudeau came out to apologize for one black face and ended up admitting to more. He's like I did brown face face for Aladdin and I did blackface when I sang the song Deo. And now if you'll excuse me, daylight's coming and me one go home. It's also funny how Trudeau says he only did this because he's more enthusiastic about costumes, than is appropriate. It's also funny how Trudeau would be the most annoying person on Halloween. It's like if he commits that much, I bet his wife is like, Justin, have you seen my keys? He's like, me, Hulk, thuke? Hea Hulk, eat keys. Hulk, need doctor.

And look, have you seen my keys? toeuke. And look, and look, two instances of blackface would be bad enough. But it turns out, we can't even call this a black face controversy anymore, because apparently Trudeau has been going full body. Video uncovered by Global News, which has been verified containing images of liberal leader Justin Trudo in black face makeup. It's pretty grainy. We are looking at Justin Trudeau in black face makeup. It's pretty grainy. We are looking at Justin Trudo in this video. You can see that he has black face makeup on. It's covering his face, neck, his arms and hands, and you can see between the tears and his jeans there that he also appears to have the makeup down his legs.

He has it on his leg. Like he's wearing jeans, but he still did the legs? This guy's committed. No, because most people do the face, but Trudeau was like black neck, black back, black pussy and black crack. He's like, I'm doing all of it. I mean, aside from the obvious offensiveness of it, having black makeup on your entire body must have caused a lot of problems as well. Like think about it like the whole day what you're leaving makeup on door knobs? Are you getting it on food? It must have been terrifying for any white person he met who didn't know he was in black face. Yeah because if he touched them then you leave a black hand print on them. And white people are the white people thiii white people they th. th. th. th. thi white people are white people are white people are white people are white people are they they they they they th. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white white. their their their their white white. their white white. they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they they are white people are white people are white people are white people are white people are white people are white people are white people are white people are they they they they they're they're they're thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I'm thi. I'm th. I'm thi. I'm thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. they're like, oh my God, I think black people make other people black. Oh my God! I heard about this on Facebook!

So with the Canadian election, just one month away, many are wondering if this black-faced scandal is going to hurt to those chances of being re-elected. And to be honest, I'm just sad to see another black man being brought down. It breaks my heart. You know, when you look at Trudeau and all these new stories of blackface coming out every day, at some point we have to admit that this problem is bigger than some people would like to believe, all right? From the governor of Virginia to multiple TV stars and every frat party in town, it seems that when white people get their hands on brown makeup, they just cannot help themselves. So we need to treat this like the epidemic that it is, which is why today, ladies and gentlemen, I'm proposing a buyback program to get blackface off the streets.

I also think we need red flag laws. If you hear your white friend talking about buying an Afro-Wig for the school talent show, we need to stop that before it happens. And for those people who already have a blackface photo that hasn't come out yet, we need to have one day of amnesty, where you can put it out online without getting cancelled. And don't use this as an excuse to make new black-face photos, okay? I see you white people. Old photos only.

Don't abuse the amnesty day. And last but not least, we need makeup companies to start taking responsibility for the products they sell. Clearly, these things are dangerous. So from now on, all those makeup ads need to be a lot more like this. I want a makeup that's made for me. I want a makeup that speaks to the truth of my color. And I want to look like a black person. Um, I don't think you want to do that. No. No.

And with the new all-shade palette, I can find the shade that fits my tone. It's not just makeup, it's who I am. And I want to go as fresh prints for Halloween. I swear to God if you put that on? Huh? Okay, so look at this color palette right here. You're going to want to stay on this side of the palette. Maybe at a long day to beach you'd be, maybe right here, but that's about it.

I see, actually, because of the racism. Yes. Fenty Beauty. Don't do blackface. We'll be right back, everybody. We'll be right back, everybody. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, coming out every Thursday. We're going to be talking about the election. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls?

We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the Daily Show. The future is coming fast, and it's here now, which means Ronnie Chang is back with another installment of Today's Future Now. Thanks, Trevor. Today our world is in peril.

Climate change is on the rise and our leaders are uninspiring. Which is why, right now, more than ever, we need to come together and our leaders are uninspiring. Which is why right now more than ever we need to come together and drink heavily. I'm talking the hard stuff all day erdic. This entire summer I've drunk nothing but spike seltzer and let me tell you it's the most refreshing way to get fucked up. Hashtag Hot Girl Summer. Okay Ronnie I think you might have a problem with your drinking. No you have a problem my drinking. Okay! in, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi the the thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the thi thi thi thi, and drink thi, and drink thi, and drink thi, and drink thi thi thi th thi th th th th th th th th th th th the the the the the the the th th th th th th th th thi is the thi is thi thin thin thin thin thin thin thin, thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin the thin thin thin thin thin, thr- thin, Ronnie, I think you might have a problem with your drinking. No, you have a problem with my drinking, okay? In fact, drinking is the only thing going right in the world. But now some tech assholes are trying to mess it up.

Think of it as an electronic bouncer. One company is called Patron Scan. And it's used at bars and clubs worldwide. It scans your information when you enter the bar. According to Patron Scanner only collects your name, date of birth, photo, gender, and zip code. Why would you want to give all that information to a bar? Do you really trust them? Guys, it's 2019. Thanks to Facebook, our information is already everywhere. Even Starbucks has my blood type. Cappuccino for Asian O-negative? Yeah, that's me. And aside from the bouncers, there's another thing technology is messing up in bars.

The most important thing, getting the drink. Ever have someone else get served at a bar before you, even though you were there before them? A bar in London is using artificial intelligence to prevent that from ever happening again. The bar is called 5CC Harold and Sons, and the bartenders use AI, artificial intelligence, to determine who is next in line for a drink. The system uses a facial recognition system to put people into a virtual queue.

Seriously, people need technology to help them get served. I already have a system for that, okay? I just go up to the person in front and tell them their mom died. Then, they run out crying, and Ronnie gets gets gets gets gets gets this this this this the gets gets gets their gets their gets their gets their gets the gets their g. the g. thi gets thi gets thi thi thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the the th. their their their their their their their their their their 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. thi. thi. thi. thi. the the the. the. the. the. theeeeeeeeeeeeee. theeeeeeeeee. thee. the. the. the. thethe person in front and tell them that mom died. Then they run out crying and Ronnie gets his gray goose and gaiteray. Ronnie, I can't believe you're lying to people about their moms like that. You know, listen, Trevor, in a bar it's survival of the fittest, okay? If you can get the bartender's attention, then maybe you don't deserve a drink. thrown thin. That's thatter thatter thatat's that's that's that's that's that's, that's, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, th- th- th- th- th--a, that, th-in-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their. Ri. Ri. Ri. Re. Re. Re. Re. Re. Re. Re. Re. Re. Ronnie, thoo. Ronnie, tho'-nusususususususko'-n-n-n-n-n'-n'-n'-a-a-n-a- years in the jungle. It's called evolution. Look it up. And if you're a bartender who thinks all this technology is going to make your job easier, well, think again. Welcome to the tipsy robot where the bartender never underpours, never overpours either,

and isn't much of a conversationalist. That's the robot can make 80 drinks an hour, just about any combination you like, and never gets it wrong. The maker's shaker gracefully moves from bottle to bottle, said to be modeled after the movements of an Italian choreographer. Okay, so you're telling me, these movements were inspired by an Italian choreographer? More like a guy jacking off on the L-train. Also, who cares if his robot can make 80 drinks an hour? Bartenders do more than that. Okay? Can this robot be my friend?

Can you listen to my problems? I need a bartender who will be like, Ronnie, you're too good for your wife? Ronnie, let me talk to your wife. Ronnie, I'm going on vacation with your wife. Ronnie, it sounds like you're having problems with your marriage. No, you're having problems with my marriage, okay? Now, if you excuse me, it's happy hour, and I think someone's mom just died. Ronnie Chang, everybody. We'll be right back.

Thank you. Thank you. You need to stay here. Too much, thank you. Hey, everybody. John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast. The Weekly Show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID.

Thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance, it's probably second? I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative.

Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. My guest tonight is a former NSA contractor who in 2013 leaked classified information, exposing the U.S. government's system of mass surveillance. the new memoir is called Permanent Record, and he joins us remotely from Russia, where he lives in exile. Please welcome, Edward Snowden. Edward Snowden, uh, welcome to the show. Let's jump straight into the book, because I don't know how long you to the show. Let's jump straight into the book because I don't know how long you have in that secret

hideout where you're doing this interview from. It's just my apartment in Moscow. Oh, okay. Well, don't tell us where it is. I mean, I don't want to, don't pull the Trump here, dude, come on. Some people call you a patriot. Others believe that you're a traitor. Do you think this book will change people's perceptions, and what do you see yourself as?

Well, when I set out to write this book, I wasn't trying to change opinions. I was just trying to tell the story of what has happened. And when I'm looking at, like the change of technology. when I'm looking at the change of technology and everything like that, the only way you can get people to pay attention to something that has been an expert conversation for so long that's so complex is to give them characters. So yeah, it's the story of my life, but it's actually about more.

It's a dual history of the change of technology and the change of the intelligence community over time. When people ask me if I'm a hero or a trader, I say, look, I'm just an ordinary person. I'm like you. Whistleblowers aren't, like, you know, we aren't elected. We're not exceptionally skilled. The thing that puts us in place, the thing that makes the disclosure matter are the facts. It's really about what you see th th th th th th I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I the thing that puts us in place, the thing that makes the disclosure matter are the facts. It's really about what you see rather than what you are. So we're kind of elected by circumstance. Right, and one of the things you talk about in the book, in fact, the first line of the book

is you say, I used to work for the government, now I work for the public. What does that mean? Well, I didn't the the the 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 thate thate, thate, thate, thateateateate, tho. thoes, tho. tho, tho, thate, thate, thate, thathe thathe thathe, th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. that, that, that, the that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, thate. thate. thate. thate. thate. that, mean? Well, I didn't realize there was a difference. I grew up in a federal family. My father worked for the government, my mother worked for the government, in the courts after she worked for the courts. She actually still works for the courts. And they, the government just sued me on the day this book hit the shelves. So you can say it was born a crime. Tusha. But yeah, the nice thing about that is the book was not getting that much attention. It was like 25 on the charts. And then the government said, you know, we don't want you to read this book.

They said, God, Sue Snowden as fast as you, do anything, you can't stop it, stop it, stop it. And now we're number one, basically everywhere. So you can say the Attorney General is the best item that I've ever had. The Attorney General has come out and said that you were supposed to pass this book for review. So as somebody who's worked in the defense space, as somebody, as somebody, as somebody, as somebody, as somebody, as somebody, as, as, as, as, as, as, as, as, as, as, to, to, to, to, and, to, and, to, and, to, and, and, to, to, and, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and, the to, to, to, and, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and, and, the, and, and, and, and, and, the, and, the, the, and, the, the, the, the, the, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, they.. they. they. they. they. they. the they. the the the the they. they. too, too, they, they, they, the defense space, as somebody who worked with government secrets, you were meant to submit this book to them, and they are saying they would have passed it

if you just followed the rules. Why do you follow the rules? OK, well, first off, I am a noted rule follower. But while they are technically right, there's no oath of secrecy. A lot of service, which is not to the agenciesage the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency the agency thage they thi, which is they thi, which is they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they are, and they are, and they are, and they are, and they are, and they are, and they are, and they are, and they are, and they, and they, and they, and they, and they, and th. And th. thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, thi, thi, ically right, there's no oath of secrecy, a lot of people think there's an oath of secrecy, there's an oath of service, which is not to the agencies, not to the government, it's to support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, but there is a secrecy agreement, and that's what he's talking about. It's called Standard Form 312. And it basically says no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to thi, thi, thi, 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 the the the the, thi, th know all the secrets and I know where the aliens are, I'm not going to tell anybody about it. However, if the thing that you see in your secrecy agreement conflicts with that oath of service, if the thing that you see is that the government itself,

the agency itself is actually violating that constitution, well, now you're kind of screwed. And then if you try to explain what happened, and if you the th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th you th. thi thi thi thi to to to to to tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel tel to tel tel tel to to tel tel tel tel tell tell tell to tell to tell to tell tell tell any tell tell tell tell tell tell tell tell tell tell tell any, is actually violating that constitution, well, now you're kind of screwed. And then if you try to explain what happened, and if you write a book about how it happened, and how we get out of it, and then you're supposed to send that book to the CIA, and let the CIA kind of edit your life story, would you do that? I would not.

I could safely say I would not. Right. Where do people go? So then where do we go from here? I mean, you became infamous for spilling the secrets. You know, people now know about mass surveillance. But now we live in a world where, as you talk about in the book, you know, surveillance has so many levels to it.

You have institutions that are surveilling us. We have private companies, you know, surveilling us. You see breaches from everyone, you know, Equifax to Facebook. What can people do to protect themselves and their data, or is this something that we should just give up? Well, so this is, you know, a lot of people ask me this and they want like sort of the Edwardwardward operational security guide for like how I would use a phone or how I avoid surveillance. But guys, you don't want to live like me.

You don't want to have ordinary people fighting an arms race against the most well-resourced, the most well-resource intelligence services on the planet. You don't want ordinary people trying to out-engineer these technology companies that are basically earning more money than anybody else on the planet. That's not reasonable. It doesn't make sense. And then when we look at what's happening in Congress, Congress is like, you know, we'll pass some law. By the way, the United States is one of the only advanced democracies on the

planet that doesn't have a basic privacy law. Everybody's like, oh, we got a privacy law the Fourth Amendment. And Fourth Amendment is obviously very dear to me. That's what I stood up and really burned my life to the ground over. But the Fourth Amendment only restricts the operations of the federal government, the state government. It doesn't do squat for you against Google and Facebook. So they say data protection laws, right? And we've had advances since 2013. More communications are encrypted. Now you've got encrypted messengers. We've got lots of ways to be safer, right? But then when we talk about

what all these guys are doing and how they're monitoring all of us, they say, well, data protection laws. But the problem with data protection laws is that it presumes the data collection was okay. And that's the problem. As you might have realized, I was flipping th. th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho thate was okay. And that's the problem. As you might have realized, I was flipping through your memoir before this because that's kind of what spies do. And you wrote, you wrote actually really movingly about something that struck me and it was kind of similar to one of the chapters in my book. Mine was called the Boy, and it's about how I am in my final position, working directly with the tools of mass surveillance. I can see anybody's emails.

I can see what you're texting back and forth. You know, the guys that are working at left and the right of me are turning their monitor to show me nudes of the wife of one of their taa ta thea their their thea their their their their their targets and they say, bonus. But then I see this picture, it was actually video of a child in the lap of his father and the you know it's like a toddler they're smacking on the keyboard and they don't realize what's going on but it kind of glanced at the camera and I felt like he was looking at me. I mean this really shook me because when we talked about surveillance we're talking so much so so so so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much so much.. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their th, th, th. But their thi thi th. But th. But th. But th. But thi thi thi th. But th. But 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 thi their thi. But thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. their their their their their their, but it kind of glanced at the camera and I felt like he was looking at me. I mean, this really shook me because when we talk about surveillance, we're talking so much about abstraction, we're talking about things that don't feel real.

Right. And when I was looking at yours, you mentioned buying a camera, you, the you. It doesn't strike you as anything criminal. Right, but the camera has something inside of it that contains people's memories and their lives. Right, you realized that it wasn't a thing that had been stolen. It was a memory. And that was in the context of one person. I realized that the machine, I was a technologist in the NSA. All of the different parts that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi. thi. I was thi. thi. thoe. thoe. thi. thi. thi. thoea. thoe. thoe. thoe. the thoe. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. the. the. thi. the. thi. the. the. the. th. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the. the. thean. thean. toean. tean. tean. too. too. too. too. thean. thean. It's c. It's c. It's. It's. It's. It's the machine, I was a technologist in the NSA, all of the different parts that I've been working with, all of the systems, they had stolen and were stealing not just one person's memories,

they were stealing everyone's everywhere all the time and they still are right now. And so I got up out of the chair and you know I didn't try to burn down the NSA. I didn't, I've published zero documents. I gave them to journalists and the the the the the the the the the the chair and you know I didn't try to burn down the NSA I didn't I've published zero documents. I gave them to journalists and there's a long complicated thing in the book about how and why and where the lines are. But I wanted not to say this is the way the world should be. I wanted to give it to you. I wanted to say this is what's happening and it really guys, the question for you is how do you want to to to th th to th th th to th th to th th to th to th th th to th to th to th to th to th th to to th the to to to to to to the to the the the their their their to 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. We their. We their their. We. We their. We are their. I. I toe. I toe. I toe. I toe. I toe. I toe. I toe. I toe. I toe. I toe. I their. I the And it really, guys, the question for you is, how do you want to live? We are today being used against the future. We're being used against our children. Everything we do now lasts forever,

not because we want to remember it, but because we're no longer allowed to forget. So then when people read this book, and people read through the life of Edward Snowden and what, and what, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, to, to, and, and, and, to, to, their, and to, and their, their, their, and 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, the. the. the. thea. thooooooooooooomeauuu. toea. today, thea. thea. their their, their, their, the book, and people read through the life of Edward Snowden and what you had to do, as you say, burn down your life to expose these secrets, some might say, well, Edward, why don't you come back to the US and then just fight, you know, the legal system and prove your case, you know, and you've said previously, you can't do that because some of the information you need to fight your case is something that they would not allow you to use in court. But you are at a point now where people know the name, you know, the book is going to be out now now. Do you think you would take your chances coming back to the US and hope that one

juror would see your point of view or are you just living in Russia now forever? Is that your life? No, this is this is a great a great a great a great a great great great a great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great thi this is a great great great great great great great great great great thi. This is a great thi. This is a great to return back to the United States. And I've told the government actually from year one that I only had one condition for returning and that's that I could get a fair trial. Now people go, oh, well, what's a fair trial? What does that mean? And I think that's actually not that hard a question. There are two questions that come up in this case. One was the law broken. the the the the the the thoom. thoom. tho. tho. that. that that that that that that that that 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 I is that I is that I is that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's 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. that's not actually really particularly the interesting question because the law in this case is simply was classified information given to someone who was not authorized to receive it, which is basically any journalist. It's the public. It's everyone who did not know that their constitutional rights were being violated because

that was the secret. But there's another question there, which is, OK, if the law was broken, was it justified? And think about this. If you murder someone, you can tell the jury, well, they were trying to kill me, it was self-defense. The jury can go, well, yes, they did break the law. But it was justified. The government argues that you, there is no justification for telling a journalist no matter what. In fact, they forbid the jury from hearing why you did what you did. You cannot voice this, and don't take my word for it. Just two days ago, the day before my book came out,

there is a whistleblower by the name of Daniel Hale. He is in U.S. prison right now. He was arrested for giving documents that were classified to journalists about the U.S. drone program, extrajudicial killings. And the United States government just filed in the same court that they're going to charge me, the Eastern District Virginia. They just put in a complaint, a filing before the judge that said, we demand that the Eastern District Virginia, they just put in a complaint, a filing before the judge that said, we demand that the court prohibit the jury from hearing and we prohibit the defendant

from saying why he did what he did, because it's irrelevant. And the jury shouldn't be distracted with reasons. So, I mean, that makes a lot of sense. You're in a serious predicament right now. The book is going to come out. you know, the US government is going to fight for you to not get the money from the book. They can't stop the book from coming out, but you are in Russia where you've lived for a long time now. You seem to be in good spirits, which is interesting for someone who's been in Russia for this long. Like what is what is that like? Because I mean. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. It th. It's, th. It's, th. It's, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, to make, to make, to make, to make to make to make 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 th. th. th. th. th. th. th. It, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. It's thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. to thi. thi. to to thi. Like, what is that like? Because I mean, as someone who's not a fan of surveillance, Russia is a weird place

to be enjoying your life. Is there something about Russia? We don't know, is like, are they like cool spots in Russia that more people need to learn about? Is that where Edward Snowden goes to chill? So Moscow is actually a lot more like New York than you might think for good and bad there. The problem is the politics in Russia, the human rights record of Russia are terrible. And a lot of people don't realize, and this is extensively covered in the book, I didn't choose to go to Russia. I was on route to Latin America. The United States government canceled my passport. And then when I was trapped in the Russian airport, I spent 40 days stuck in an airport

because I wouldn't cooperate with the Russian authorities. I don't know what the longest layer of who you guys have ever had, but 40 days. That was not the best part of the time I've spent in Russia. I applied for some in 27 different countries around the world, places like France, Germany, Italy, Norway. And every time they got close to letting me come, the United, the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the United the government, the government, the government, the the the government, the government, to, I'm, I'm, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, because, because, because, I'm, I'm, because, I'm, because, I'm, I, I, I, because, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, Ieauiiauia, Iea, Iea, Iea, Iea, Ia, the the the the the the the the the their, theirea, toea, toea, I'm goingea, I'm goingea, won't, won'tea, won'tea, won'tea, won'tea, I'ma, won'tea, I'ma, I'ma, I'ma, I'm, I'm, Germany, Italy, Norway. And every time they got close to letting me come, the United States government would call their foreign ministry and it would be either then the vice president or then the secretary of state. And they would say there would be consequences if you let this guy in.

Doesn't matter if it's legal, doesn't matter if the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says he has a right to seek and enjoy asylum, there going to be consequences. We're not going to say what they are, but there will be punishment. And so what I ask you guys is you would think, right, former NSA, former CIA, like the last place on earth the government would want me to be is in Russia. Why are you working so hard to keep me here? And I think the reality is it's just a convenient political attack that will never go away. Well, you are truly one of the most interesting human beings on the planet because you have lived one of the most interesting lives on the planet.

But one thing that really struck me from the book is, I think a lot of people don't realize how young and normal you are and were before this happen to you? Like, you're just a young guy who, like, likes computers and plays video games. And like, I know that you actually have to pirate games because you can't use a credit card because then people can track you. So what, like, what games are you, are you like a fortnight person? Are you, like, what games does Edward Snowden play?

I played fortnight recently, and I spent like a week on it and then I got really mad because like they're matchmaking system man. They just put people who don't know what the hell they're doing in. With like the world greatest pros and I'm like come on come on I'm 36 years old man I can't keep up with these 12 year olds. Well, you know what I just want to say thank you so much for your time. The book is illuminating. I think everyone has benefited from what you've done. Before you go, though, I do have one question to that regard. Do you think you've made a difference, or do you think you've just been a big story? Like is our data safer?

Has the government changed its tactics, or was this all for nothing? Do you live in Russia thu thu, and this is covered in the book, it's actually the final chapter is sort of an overview of what's changed. There's no question, the entire structure of the internet has changed since 2013. The world's biggest technology companies, good and bad for privacy have re-engineered the kind of protections that we experience that you don't even see simply because they realized the government was sort of going in under cover of darkness and helping themselves to the buffet without anybody noticing. Our laws have changed.

Our international standards has changed, but the most important thing, and this is what I think people forget is you don't look for some guy to come out thing, and this is what I think people forget, is you don't look for some guy to come out of a building and save the world. That's not how life works. What 2013 did, the most important thing that no one can ever change is before 2013, the idea of mass surveillance. People knew it was possible. There were technologists and academics and people who suspected this was going on, but it was kind of a

conspiracy theory because it was a suspicion. And that distance between suspicion and fact is everything in a democracy. That is all we have in a free society because we can't agree on what is happening, how can we decide what we should do about it? Government in a democracy derives its legitimacy from the consent of the governed. And the biggest problem in 2013 was that consent is only meaningful if it's informed, and they lied to us. Edward Snowden. Thank you so much for joining us on the show.

Good luck in Fortnite. Coming Record is available now. Edward Snowden, everybody. Show with Cover Noa, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, the weekly show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday.

So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID, thank God it's Thursday we're going to be talking about. All the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics, earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday?

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