The Daily Show: Ears Edition - MAGA Refuses to Call Iran War a "War" as Americans Scramble to Flee Mideast | Geeta Gandbhir

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

Michael Kosta breaks down the first four days of Trump's war on Iran: the U.S. government offers to evacuate Americans from the Middle East via bus, Trump stocks up for another forever war, conservatives quibble over the definition of "war," and friendly fire takes out $300 million worth of U.S. fighter jets. Leslie Jones tackles one of the great mysteries of life: What the hell is wrong with men? She dives into the male loneliness epidemic, misogynistic podcasts, non-human girlfriend alternatives, and dirty buttholes that are keeping men from living their best lives, before serving up some free therapy. Award-winning filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir joins Michael to discuss her two Oscar-nominated documentaries. They talk about the unvarnished interactions captured on body camera footage in “The Perfect Neighbor,” incorporating difficult footage of grief to bear witness to the effects of gun violence, the dangers of “stand your ground” laws in allowing racial bias, depicting the intersection of faith and women’s reproductive rights in “The Devil Is Busy,” and how filmmaking holds a mirror to society to expose new perspectives. --- To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit https://Hims.com/dailyshow Right now, go to https://quince.com/dailyshow for free shipping and 365-day returns. --- (00:00) Headlines (09:51) Leslie Jones on Men (21:57) Director Geeta Gandbhir Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You're listening to Comedy Central. From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only sorts for new. This is The Daily Show with your host, Michael Costa. Magazine a war over whether we're in a war will tell you where your tax dollars really went, and Leslie Jones tries to fix men. Good luck. So let's get into the latest on America's War with Iran. Nothing bad can happen. It can only good happen. We are now four days into this war, and it's going great.

It's definitely not expanding into an ever-widening regional conflict that puts Americans in immediate danger. Overnight, the State Department issuing its strongest warning yet, urging U.S. nationals to depart now. The State Department advising Americans to evacuate from 14 countries covering most of the Middle East. Things are escalating fast. Americans now have to evacuate from Saudi Arabia, Qatar. in several other countries where Louis C.K. does stand up. Of course, the problem with evacuating from a war zone is that all the airports are closed.

And I'm sure our government plan for this. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, help us out. Tell the stranded Americans how to get home. The Israeli Ministry of Tourism is providing bus service from several locations. I'm sorry, you want us to take a bus out of a war zone? In the movies there's a chopper outside and a navy seal comes down on a rope

and he pulls you on board and he says you're gonna make it in time for your daughter's birthday but you're sitting there telling me it's fine take the greyhound there's no Wi-Fi and the bathroom works as long as you don't poop in it by the way

is this the official ambassador outfit these days he looks like the guy who sits outside of a gas station and gives you directions to someplace in the woods where he can kill you But you know what? I'm sure that mass evacuations aside, the rest of the war's going great.

Breaking news. The U.S. Central Command says three fighter jets were shot down by friendly fire from Kuwaiti forces. Sen Khan says all six crew members aboard the jets ejected were safely recovered and are in stable condition. Okay, now I know it's not great that our allies shot our planes down, but the good news is that they were probably using the missiles we sold them, so at least we know they were.

By the way, can we come up with a new name for friendly fire? Shooting your friend's plane down seems like the least friendly thing you could do. Imagine you find your best friend banging your spouse, and he's like, relax, just a little friendly penetration. But you know what? The pilots are okay. We'll just buy some new planes. What do they cost? We should note that the estimates of costs on these F-15 strike eagles

range from anywhere from $30 million per unit all the way up to $100 million. $300 million each who may have lost $300 million in one friendly penetration incident? I mean, look, I live in New York, so I am used to seeing obscene amounts of money wasted on jets, but still, $300 million, $300 million is crazy. Now, but on the other hand, if we watch the video in reverse, I just saved us $300 million, So not bad for the old Costa. And the most upsetting thing about this is that it's all happening under a president who promised that this wasn't going to happen.

I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars. No new wars. We don't need the wars. My personality is going to keep us out of wars. I am the candidate of peace. I am peace. I will stop the chaos in the Middle East. Well, well, well, looks like we caught Donald Trump in a lie. That ought to do it for his presidency, huh? Not bad for the old Costa. You're welcome, America. So to Trump's supporters, I'm sorry, but you have to admit he's gone back on his promise by starting a new war.

This isn't a war. We haven't declared war on Iran. I don't know if this is technically a war. Strategic strikes are not war. Nobody should classify this as war. It is combat operations. Sure, sure. It's a strategic combat operations.

Guys, you can call it. whatever you want. We all know it's a war. This reminds me of how my Aunt Trudy, she used to bring her so-called roommate to Thanksgiving every year. We all knew they weren't roommates. They were soulmates, and they were scissoring. The war with Iran is just like my two gay aunts.

Shown here exactly how they look. By the way, this all seems a little familiar. Where else have I recently heard such a pathetic attempt to not call a war a war? Russian forces began hitting targets in Ukraine overnight. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced what he called a special military operation. He refused to call it a war. Ah, great.

Always good for the country to have the same messaging strategy as Vladimir Putin. We don't need Trump copying more shit Putin does. It's a slippery slope that could lead to the worst possible scenario, Trump going shirtless. And I know they don't want to admit it's a war because that would require Congress's approval. and directly contradict President Trump's promises, but they're also so desperate not to call to war that one conservative newscaster is arguing with his own graphics package.

War with Iran? Maybe it's war in Iran. War from Iran? War via? What if we combine them? Warran? Is that anything? Look, call whatever you want. A war, a combat operation, international fight club.

How long is this thing going to be? going to take. This is not an endless war. This is not endless. The president doesn't believe in endless wars. This is no forever war as Trump critics keep complaining. Yeah, okay, but that's not as comforting as you think it is. Don't worry, everyone. This war will last a number below infinity years. But okay, fine. At least we know this war won't be fought forever. Breaking overnight, President Trump touting that the U.S. has a, quote, virtually unlimited supply of The president posting on truth social in part, wars can be fought forever.

Great news, everyone! Now the war never has to end. I guess I'm happy for Trump that we have unlimited weapons, but it's worth considering what all these weapons cost and whether we could be better spending that money on something else here at home. I mean, we lost hundreds of millions of dollars in a single friendly fire incident.

And some estimates say that the entire war could cost over 200, billion dollars. Yet here in America, people don't have health care. Our infrastructure is crumbling. My local libraries only open two days a week, which means for five days a week, I have to masturbate at home. It's shameful. If there was only some image that could symbolize the confidence I have in our country's elected leaders right now. Yep. Yep, that's it. When we come back, Leslie Jones gives us her opinion. Don't go away. No one should have to go out of their way or overpay to receive high-quality medical care. HEMS provides a modern approach to men's health, offering a way to address ED with personalized treatments made with doctor-trusted ingredients.

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Featured products include compounded drug products, which the FDA does not approve or verify for safety, effectiveness, or quality. Prescription required. See website for details, restrictions, and important safety information. Actual price will depend on product and subscription plan. Great opinions, but I'm not the only one. Studies show that other people also have opinions. So here with another installment of, in my opinion, is our good friend, Leslie Jones. Hello, today I came to talk to you about one of the world's greatest mysteries.

What the hell is wrong with you men? Something is wrong. Too many men don't understand women, don't like women, and are afraid of women. And they think that all their problems come from women. But they don't. To quote the well-known feminist, Jasef Z. The growing crisis nationwide, male loneliness. 14% of American men say they have no close friends,

and 50% say they have three or fewer friends outside of family members. I literally don't got no friends. It's like you gotta go somewhere to make friends. I don't go no fucking where. What am I supposed to like cozy myself up to another man and be like, hey man, you wanna be friends? Do you wanna go play tag sometime? Yes!

What you're supposed to do? I mean, don't use. that voice is kind of creepy, but that's what you're supposed to do. But this is sad. And also, isn't this the whole point of sports? You see another guy

in the same shirt as you. Bam! That's a friend. You like the Giants? I like the Giants. You like the Nix? I like the Nix. You like the Mets? F*** the Mets. Y!

But you were friends for a few minutes. Didn't that feel? nice. Now maybe you're asking Leslie why do you care if men have friends? First of all my name is Miss Jones. You don't know me and it affects me as a woman because men who have trouble talking to other guys can't talk to women either. Pew Research found that roughly half of men surveyed said a key reason they struggled to get a date in the past 12 months was the difficulty of approaching women. 50% of men aged 18 to 24 have never approached a woman in person in their life.

Of young men haven't approached women. As good to a woman, it's easy. I've seen y'all beat a game of Madden in 20 minutes, but you can't take two seconds and say hey to a woman. Hey, easier than video games. We have one button you need to figure out how to prayer. Here are the daddies. Where's the uncles? The older cousins. Y'all don't have no good role models. It's You got these creeps. Women are so ridiculous as people. One of the biggest mistakes we made

was letting women have rights. Women usher in all of the fucking bad things that happened in society forever. Fellas, these toxic podcast guys aren't here to help you. Their entire business model relies on

keeping you alone and angry and buying their sponsor flashlights. And I just found out what flashlights are. Y'all out here fucking flashlights? What happened to socks or pies? Step into women, what are you doing with your time? Why would I go looking for a girlfriend

when I can just go into my room and masturbate? You know you can spend a whole day with an actual woman, right? How long can you spend jerking off? On a normal basis, like six to seven hours, probably like 12 at the max. I'm not superman. So for 12 hours, you're watching pornography. Jerking 9-200 needs to join a union. And this is, even when they're jerking off, they're not even jerking off to real women.

There's a dramatic surge in the use of so-called AI companions. I will be whatever you want me to be. I've gone from sharing experiences with a real girlfriend to sharing. experiences with a synthetic one. Gene shares his house with a total of seven dolls. This is Sherry. I thought, you know, I need some diversity. I need some different ethnic groups in my dull collection.

And this was the most African-looking head that I could find. He looked at his den filled with sex dolls and thought, I need more diversity. They're going to start thinking I'm weird. Boy, I'm speaking for all the black women when I say, we good, homie. Men, you have a problem, and all this crazy is starting to go to your dick. Erectile dysfunction rates have increased from 5% in 1999 to 34% in 2018. The most intense part of this data is this is all for men under 40.

Under 40? At that age, your dick should be able to karate chop a two by four. Just ha-ha-ha-ha. But you know what? I don't blame men who have medical problems. I blame men for is not getting it fixed. 64% of men wouldn't go to a doctor unless a medical condition is considered severe. In sexual areas like erectile dysfunction, men said they'd rather break up with their partner,

avoid sex altogether, or look on the quote, dark web for help. Get your limp, noodle chat. You're sending dickpicks to everyone but you got the! of self-care shows a lack of self-respect. And apparently men aren't taking care of their fronts or their back. Have you heard that some men don't wash their bottom for fear of being called gay? I was dating this guy. So I asked him, I was like, when you're in the shower, do you like spread your cheeks to let the water in?

And he was like, nobody does that. Like, literally nobody does that. And he was, like, arguing with me about the fact that you're not supposed to wash your booty hole in the shower. Like washing the one part of your body where the do-do comes out? So your assholes are welded together with the craziest thing I ever heard. And let me tell y'all something. If you think that you're going to get gay from washing your booty hole, you're already gay, babe.

You're gay. Come on out. Come on out. So many of these problems could be overcome if men would just go to therapy. But since I want, I am offering a special one-time session. Y'all are sexually immature. Women, all their lives, are taught about sexual maturity. And you guys weren't.

But you're fucking adults now. And you are not going to have a better life being a dirty-booty dog-fucking cartoon purve. And to quote, the great philosopher, left to, Oculus Lopez, Lopez. Women don't want no scrubs. A thoughtfully built wardrobe comes down to pieces that mix well and last. That is where Quince shines, utilizing premium fabrics, considered design, and everyday essentials that feel effortless to wear and dependable,

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Go to Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash Daily Show for free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash Daily Show. My guest tonight is an award-winning filmmaker who currently has two Oscar-nominated documentaries, including The Perfect Neighbor. Please welcome Gita Gondabir. Wow, what a powerful film, The Perfect Neighbor, nominated for an Oscar. Most of the film is compiled of body cam footage from law enforcement. Correct.

Tell me about the story and how you compiled that. Sure. So there's a personal connection to the story, which is that Adjika was a friend of my family. And I have family that lives in Florida, and she was close with them. So on the night that she was murdered, we received a call. from my family members down there. It was a distress call. And when I say we, I mean myself, my husband, Nikon Kuanu, who is also a producer on the film,

and my team at Message Pictures, Elisa Payne and Sam Pollard. And so we were immediately on the ground trying to support the family and trying to get the story in the news. And then about two months later, we received the body camera footage. It was through the Freedom of Information Act

that the lawyers for the case, Benjamin Crump, a very famous civil rights lawyer and Anthony Thomas, they were able to acquire the footage and they sent it to us. And they said, can you look through this? There's so much material here. We've never seen anything like it. And it was about 30 hours.

So I used to be an editor. I was the assistant editor on the project. I like to say, I strung it out. And then when we saw that basically this material went back two years. And we see the lead up to the crime. And this beautiful multiracial community, as they were before.

And then we see how one outlier who used, she basically weaponized racism, used manufactured fear, and lax gun laws, and she was emboldened by stay-on-your-ground laws. And the intersection of all those things led to this terrible crime. I was so surprised to learn

that only eight states in the United States require law enforcement to use body cam. And without it, could you even tell this story? Would you even have access to it? So honestly, this story, I think it was such a unique way of telling the story. And we decided to do it through the body camera footage. We had two purposes. We wanted to get the story out to warn the world of the dangers of these laws

and the things that can happen, the tragedies that can occur accordingly. But we also had this pipe dream that maybe we could help the family. that if it was a little independent film, and we thought maybe if we sold it, that we could then support the family with the proceeds. Luckily, that came true. We went to the Sundance Film Festival, and Netflix bought the film.

We were able to give the money to the family. But the body camera footage, we felt was so critical because, again, it was somewhat undeniable. There was no camera crew on the ground directing anything. There was no journalists on the ground. And it's just sort of the unvarnished interactions between the police and the community. And because Susan called the police so many times,

Susan Lawrence the perpetrator, we have this evidence of what unfolded. And there was no way I could have recreated that as a filmmaker. Parts of the film feel like a horror film. And as a viewer, the one scene, that my wife and I, I look at her, she looks at me, and we both are weeping, is when the children learn through law enforcement that their mother's been killed. And it's such a powerful scene. I've never felt anything like that watching a film.

Why was it important to share that scene? Sure. So that scene, again, this is the worst day of these, ostensibly of these children's lives. And it was very difficult for us to watch ourselves. I mean, honestly, we were devastated by it. But Pamela Dias, who's Ajika Owens' mother, and she is honestly the bravest person I know, she said when we obviously wanted her to bless us making this film, she did. And when it was finished, I shared it with her and said,

you tell me what to do here. Do we continue? If not, if you don't want to, this film, it can disappear. And it can just have been my process. And she watched it. She wanted to move forward with it. She wanted to make change in Ajika's name. But that scene to her, she said,

leave that in. This is the true cost of gun violence. People are numb to it in this country. They, again, there's a shooting every day almost. And she was like, people don't understand the grief and the impact of the grief. And if my grandchildren had to go through this, then the world can bear witness. I mean, you watch everyone, but in particular, the children's lives change immediately. As a viewer, Stand Your Ground laws contribute to over 700 additional gun deaths each year. Who are these laws meant to serve? So Stand Your Ground was penned in Marion County.

In Florida, where actually where Ajika was murdered, and they were penned by Dennis Baxley, who is a Republican lawmaker, and with tremendous support from the NRA. So I think that might lead us all to understand who they were meant to serve. And in Florida in particular, the law exists in about 38 states in some shape, form or fashion. But what makes the law so dangerous is, for example, in Florida, if you are anywhere, you don't have to be in your home, but if you are anywhere lawfully and you feel that your life is an imminent danger from, it can be a perceived threat, you have the right to use deadly force without having the duty to retreat. Right.

Now, there is no way bias doesn't play into that. Right. And what you do believe to be a threat. And the duty to retreat saves lives. And racial bias is often at the forefront of these incidences. We have the example of Traylon Martin. Yeah, yeah. One of the most beautiful parts of this community was how often the cops showed up

and the kids were playing outside. Yes. And it was multiracial kids. Yes. And I remember we were watching going, this is what I want kids to be doing. I don't want them on TikTok. I don't want them inside.

They're literally outside running around in the field. I had a logistical question. The vacant lot where they're playing. Whose property was that? So that actually belonged to a neighbor, and they had permission to be there. And as you can see, the children were often supervised. That little community, to me, is the best of us.

That is the American dream. Again, it is a working-class community, but a beautiful community, strong social network. Everyone looks out for each other's kids. I kind of grew up like that where the neighbor could yell at you, but they also loved you. They also looked out for you. They would call your parents on you.

But you know where to go if you were in danger. And you see that with these children. You see that love and support. Yeah. Is there an argument to be made that justice ultimately was served to Susan? I mean, she's in prison right now. I believe she was sentenced to 25 years. Did the system work?

So my feeling is that the justice is bittersweet. Again, Susan, we were surprised because Susan was convicted by an all-white jury in Marion County. Again, the heart of where a stand your ground was born. So we did not expect that, particularly with the precedent of what happened with Trayvon Martin and other cases in Florida in particular. However, I personally feel that the systems that B failed Susan as well. They failed that community, absolutely. But they also failed Susan. She should have never had access to a gun. I mean, they came so many times, and even just watching the body camp footage, you're saying, this person should move or be given professional help, certainly should not have

access to a firearm. She should have been flagged. Yeah. And I think, again, the police were well-intentioned, and they were polite. But I think sometimes our, and my producer says this, Nikon Kwan, too, sometimes our expectations of the police are so low that we mistake their kindness. or politeness for competence. And I think what happened in this case is although they were called multiple times and Susan showed erratic behavior, and she was, again, she was using hate speech against children.

She was doing things that, again, should have been a red flag. She was treated as a nuisance. She was able to weaponize her privilege. And the police, again, brought their own biases to the scene and never saw her as a threat or the community is worth protecting. And the worst possible outcome happened. Yeah. Do we know what happened to this community of kids after the incident?

Yes. So the community, we shared the film with them as well. Prior to it airing on Netflix, it was really important to us. And it was devastating for them to watch, but they believed in what we were doing. They understood why we were trying to share the film. Yep. And they also didn't, their hope is this doesn't happen to another community. They were so close. They were really like an extended family. And it was so devastating for them what happened.

There was only one family left on that block. Wow. The rest of them have moved. I mean, it's really powerful and painful to watch, but I'm hoping it gets all of us to talk and think about trauma. That's right. I mean, this whole community went through trauma, the kids in particular, but it's just such a powerful film.

I want to talk to you about your other film that's also nominated for an Oscar. I mean, my God, you have two more films nominated for an Oscar than I do this year. The Devil is Busy, is up for Best Documentary Short, and it follows a security guard. It's about 34 minutes. It follows a security guard at a women's health clinic in Atlanta, and that's a moving story.

Wow. Tell me a little bit about that. How did you find the security guard, and how did that come about? Sure. So that project started with Soledadad O'Brien Productions. So Soledad O'Brien and her partner, Rose Arce, wanted... They knew that the Dobbs decision was coming, and they knew that Roe versus Wade was going to fall at the federal level.

And we wanted to tell a story that was a window into the impact. Basically, 25 million women have lost health care, reproductive health care, since that decision. And so the outcome is tremendous. It's a terrible, tremendous impact. And so in searching for this story, I also have an incredible producer, Amber Farris, and my co-director, Chris Lynn Hampton,

who is my best friend from college. So this was a family affair also. But we found this clinic in Georgia, and we realized we wanted to make a film that was representative of a day in the life. And Tracy, who is the security guard, really was a window in to that world, but also she's someone who is deeply Christian.

Yeah, that was some of the most powerful stuff. That was fascinating to us because you have protesters every day outside this clinic who are using religion against women, essentially weaponizing it, and shouting parts of the scripture. We realized that sometimes it was wrong, but they were shouting parts of the scripture. They were shouting wrong scripture? Yes. God, that's like what I always assumed, but I never check it. Yeah. But so, like, you know, against, you know, basically yelling at the women who are entering the clinic.

It's an all-day barrage of noise. And on the inside, you have Tracy, who holds the same faith, but has somehow managed to find a place where the intersection of faith and women's reproductive rights can coexist. And that to us, we were like, she is this incredible, she's almost like a unicorn, again, in this sort of battle for women's reproductive health care and justice. And we're hoping that she might be able to open that door

for many others who might be struggling with that, you know, the sort of dichotomy of those two issues. You had such judgment outside, and you had such service to others on the inside. So basically, I've watched all your films this year, and I've cried through all of them. But please, everyone watch them. It's excellent.

The Perfect Neighbors on Netflix. The Devil's Busy is on HBO. One last question. You're up for all these awards. I'm curious creatively, what your motivation is for these films. It's not to win awards. No, honestly, the, I mean, the awards are a huge honor.

Of course. Because these are my peers. And you never know how your peers really feel about you. I'm just going to say that. You're like, oh, you know, like, when they vote for you. Everybody in this building, f***ing, loves me. If we put that to a vote, you'll find out. Yeah, let's not do that.

Let's not do that. Yeah, yeah. But so incredible honor. But I think for me, the most interesting thing is our films that hold a mirror up to our society and present an angle into it that we haven't thought about, that spark ideas and conversation.

And the perfect neighbor, to me, holds a mirror up to our society 100%. It reflects all the ills that right now are plaguing us and really coming from the top down. These are devices, the things that I spoke about, weaponized racism, manufactured fear,

they're deliberately being used by the powers of the be to divide us and to polarize us and turn us against each other. Because if we fear our neighbor, and if we fear and hate our neighbor, then when they are kidnapped and traffic to what is ostensibly a concentration camp,

we might not say anything. So I hope that these films give people a window into a way of looking at things that might shift minds, that might shift hearts. And again, being the perfect neighbor to me is being like that community, being an upstander. You know, again, being in a stander. Again, being involved, caring, not being quiet.

And as Susan said, she was the perfect neighbor. And she claimed it by, she said, you never see me. I'm quiet. I do, you know, I stay in my house. That's not what we need at this time. The perfect neighbor is in the streets of Minneapolis. The perfect neighbor is, you know, again, everyone who is speaking out in this time. Thank you for your films.

They are doing that. Please watch The Perfect Neighbor is available to watch on Netflix. and The Devil is Busy. Is available to watch on HBO Max Gita Gondibir. Just a quick break. I'll be right back after this. And everybody was enthusiastic about it, Germany, everybody. And Spain didn't do it.

And now Spain actually said that we can't use their bases. And that's all right, we don't know. We could use their base. If we want, we could just fly in and use it. Nobody's going to tell us not to use it. 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. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.