The Daily Show: Ears Edition - RFK Jr.’s Fiery Hearing, Rethinking Social Media | Filmmaker Rachel Mason

Episode Date: January 30, 2025

Michael Kosta tackles RFK Jr.'s confirmation hearing for health secretary, his questionable stances on vaccines and AIDS, and Bernie Sanders's onesie interrogation. The polio virus (Troy Iwata) shares his excitement about returning to work. Grace Kuhlenschmidt asks New Yorkers if they will finally delete their apps now that Trump-aligned billionaires run various social media platforms, Filmmaker Rachel Mason sits down to discuss her new Max docuseries, “An Update on Our Family.” She explains what attracted her to the story of popular YouTube vloggers who shared their overseas adoption online, the ethics of profiting off your children via content, and how she navigates oversharing on her own social media accounts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news. This is The Daily Show. I'm Michael Kosta. We've got so much to talk about tonight. RFK Jr. tries to act normal for a day. Americans figure out how to live without social media, and we'll tell you the worst way to kill a mouse.

But first, let's get to the latest news on the Trump administration in another edition of the second coming of Donald J. Trump. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] I'm gonna come. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"] I'm gonna come. Today is a big day for Donald Trump's cabinet and the government one, not the one filled with golf trophies he gave himself.

That's because today was the world's weirdest episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, also known as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing to lead the Department of Health. And, look, we all remember the stories about this guy from the campaign, the dead bear cub he dumped in Central Park, the time he sawed off the head of a dead whale and tied it to the roof of his car,

the worm that died after eating part of his brain. Basically if there's an animal corpse anywhere in America, RFK Jr. is probably involved. But what most people are most concerned about when it comes to RFK Jr. is this long history of speaking out against vaccines. And I'm not talking your run-of-the-mill concerns like, should I still get a flu shot if I don't care about getting other people sick, or do I need an HPV vaccine if I only do hand stuff?

I'm talking about RFK Jr. saying things like, autism is caused by vaccines, or that it's just not true that vaccines are why smallpox measles and polio were eradicated or that there are no vaccines that are safe and effective basically putting this guy in charge of America's vaccines is like making Elon Musk a walmart greeter. Honestly, I'm a tell our our of gay junior the same thing I tell myself every morning before I

host The Daily Show. You are not qualified for this job. Don't clap at that. Don't clap at that. Shit. You're clapping because I am. And that's why medical experts around the country are sounding the alarm. Ahead of the hearings, more than 15,000 doctors

have signed a letter urging senators to vote against confirming him. Whoa. 15,000 doctors signed this letter. Of course, we don't know who they are, because they all just signed it like this. But that's a big number. And even his own family is coming out against him,

not only because of his medical views, he's also just not right in the old worm chamber. Caroline Kennedy, RFK Jr.'s first cousin, and the daughter of President John F. Kennedy warning the senators tasked with confirming her cousin to be the nation's health secretary that they should vote no. I've known Bobby my whole life. We grew up together.

It's no surprise that he keeps birds of prey as pets, because Bobby himself is a predator. His basement, his garage, his dorm room, were always the center of the action. Center of the action. Cool dorm room. What's wrong with that? All right?

And while you answer, I'll just take a sip of this delicious looking smoothie that RFK Jr. sent me. His basement, his garage, his dorm room were always the center of the action. Where drugs were available and he enjoyed showing off how he put baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed to his hawks. He was putting baby chickens and mice in a blender? And ladies, you thought it was bad when a guy brought you back

to his dorm room and busted out a guitar. Now, I'm not sure her statement will have much sway, because, first of all, blending food, that's just how you feed a hawk. If you've ever looked at their nests, you see they have a little NutriBullet right in there. And also, we all have a crazy cousin. It's the cousin rule of three, right?

There's a crazy one, a quiet one, and one that we secretly think is hot. What's up, Stephanie? But for real, are there no stories where Kennedy interacts with an animal like a normal person? Just once I want someone to be like, yeah, one time RFK went up to a dog and rubbed his belly. Instead, every story's like, and that's when RFK kicked a miniature horse in his vagina. But with all this baggage, his vagina, but with all this baggage, RFK Jr.

had one important thing he had to do when he sat down for his hearing today. Just try and sound slightly normal for like two hours. Take it away, Bobby. What do you really believe about vaccines? I believe that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated. Man, that velvet voice is good enough for me.

What are you gonna believe? His well-documented decades-long record or the thing he said today when he was trying to get a job? Besides, all his kids are vaccinated. He definitely doesn't regret that, right? Right? Right? What would I do if I could go back in time

and I could avoid giving my children the vaccines that I gave them? I would do anything for that. I would pay anything to be able to do that. That is the worst answer to what you would do with a time machine that I have ever heard. You can't think of anyone else in your family that you would go back in time and try...

and try... and try to prevent a shot from happening. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., no one else. Which reminds me, you know what I've done if I would have had a time machine? I would have gone back and made sure Stephanie and I weren't cousins. What's up, Stephanie?

All right, let's get back on track, because Kennedy was trying to present himself as a new man, but a lot of senators seemed determined to make sure he didn't run too far from his past. Did you say Lyme disease is a highly likely militarily engineered bio weapon? I probably did say that. Did you say that COVID-19

was a genetically engineered bio weapon that targets black and white people, but spared Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. I didn't say it was deliberately targeted did you write in your book and I it's undeniable that African American African AIDS is an entirely different disease from Western AIDS. Yes or no Mister I'm not sure if I. Jesus Christ this guy said so many things that he can't

remember if he said black AIDS is different from white AIDS. White AIDS is so bland. And they put raisins in it. Don't bring that white AIDS to my cookout. This is... You guys aren't sure how to react to the voice? This is the story of the hearing.

Senators would question him on past statements and he would deny them. Now one senator though actually brought receipts, adorable receipts. Your organization is making money selling a child's product to parents for 26 bucks which casts fundamental doubt on the usefulness of vaccines. One of them is dialed unfaxed unafraid. Next one is no vax no problem. Are you supportive of these this clothing which is militantly anti-vaccine? I am supportive of vaccines. Are you supportive of these ones? Wow. Wow.

I never realized how much I would enjoy Bernie Sanders talking about baby clothes. And these little corduroy dungarees. Why do they have pockets? A baby doesn't need to carry around a wallet or car keys. Do you support that? But look, I'm not a doctor and I have no basis for my medical opinions, much like RFK Jr. So if we're going to criticize him, then in the interest of fairness, we here at The Daily Show want to hear from one of his supporters. So for a different perspective,

please welcome the polio virus. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Hello! Hello, Michael. Thank you so much for having me on. Let's hug. No, that's OK. That's OK, Polio. I don't want to get you. But how are you feeling after watching the hearings today? I feel reborn, Michael. Energized. I am excited to get back to work across America. We should celebrate.

Let's breathe on each other. Oh, no. I don't want to get polio. I know the damage you've done to millions of Americans. Millions of amazing Americans. Take FDR, for example. I gave that man something to overcome. You know?

I gave him a signature look. The wheelchair blanket combo, that was all me. Okay. Oh, how about Francis Ford Coppola? He had polio? Yes, and if he hadn't, who knows if he would have gone on and make that movie Megalopolis? That's your Francis Ford Coppola movie?

I know, I know. Yeah, most people say Godfather Part III, but. No, they don't. This is the same thing with RFK. I remember what you've done, and you're not going to be able to trick me into being so friendly right now. Friendly?

That's so sweet. Let's kiss. No. No, thank you. OK, fine. Fine. Just let me spit in your mouth a little. No, no.

Look, I promise it's not going gonna be like Polio was before, you know, with all the canceled pool parties and the iron lungs, they're so clunky. I am working with a whole new team for my comeback this time. Your team? Yes. RFK Junior, the TradWife community, Justin Baldoni's Crisis PR firm.

Okay, I think life would be better if you didn't come back at all. Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. Can we just talk about it over drinks? Maybe we share a toothbrush. Stop trying to infect me, Polio! This is my purpose, Michael! And you need to get on board

because RFK is gonna be confirmed and I'm gonna be everywhere. Schools, hospitals, plane, bus, club, another club, another club, next place. I get it. I get it. I get it. I get it. The point is, thanks to RFK Jr., I'm coming back. So you better kiss your little legs goodbye, because once I get in those neurons, I'm gonna...

I'm gonna be ruining all of... Polio. Wait, are you all right? Yeah, so I just I keep coughing and I'm getting red splotches all over my body. It sounds like you have measles. Did you get your measles vaccine? No. RFK Jr. said I didn't need one.

Did he not know what he was talking about? Oh, no, I'm disappearing. I need true love's kiss! Michael, hurry! Lick my tongue! Oh, you know what? You know what? I'm just... I'm just gonna let him die. Holy oh, everyone. He's dead.

When we come back, we find out what you really think of social media, so don't go away. Whoo! Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause Applause

Applause Applause Welcome back to the Daily Show. You might remember during the presidential campaign, Welcome back to The Daily Show. You might remember during the presidential campaign, Elon Musk jumped like a dork into the race for Donald Trump, and that caused a backlash for his website. The social media platform Blue Sky, a competitor to X,

has gained millions of followers in the weeks following the presidential election, a trend due in part to dissatisfied liberals leaving the Elon Musk-owned X platform. Yeah, that'll show Elon Musk, you know. I'm gonna waste my life pushing a different set of buttons on my phone. Ha ha ha. Tell my kids I never saw them.

Of course, Elon isn't the only social media boss who's drifted towards Trump. Grace Kuhlenschmitt asked New Yorkers what they think about their favorite platforms right now. The world is up in arms about social media companies being run by Trump-aligned billionaires. But are they mad enough to get off the apps? Let's put this on TikTok and find out.

That actually made me so mad. You seem pissed. Yeah. It definitely just feels very propaganda. Incredibly angry to see it so blatantly broadcasted that like the wealth of, I mean, combined wealth of like trillion dollars sits right in front of the cabinet,

next to the president. I mean, do you think the anger is justified? 100%. Yes. Yes. Yes, completely. 100%. I think it's- You guys are so pissed, you're like about is just about 100%? Yes. Yes. Yes, completely. 100%. I think it's you guys are so pissed, you're like about to punch me.

Yes. Calm down. Calm down. Trump sucks, so it's kind of, I don't know, I just feel like he's so weird. He's gonna be pissed to hear you say that, man. No, it's okay. He really likes you.

What apps are you mostly on? Instagram and TikTok, definitely. Okay, gotcha. I'm on Instagram and Snapchat. Okay. Instagram and X. You're a B. Okay, gotcha. I'm on Instagram and Snapchat. Okay. Instagram and X. You're on X. Oh my God.

So if you mostly use Instagram, at what point would you be like, okay, I have to get off this app? When I'm opening Instagram, I'm not being run by Mark Zuckerberg. I'm just like, I'm deciding like, all right, I'm gonna go on here and yeah,

like kind of finding more cooking things So if it's like an amazing one pot pasta recipe you're like it's actually fine I'm like why? This is being monetized to Trump Yeah, I'm like I don't I don't Do you think you'd be willing to pick an app and delete one with me today? We don't even need social media when we have books like this. Like I'll read just a little. Okay. Okay I won't bore you. Tuesday mixed

berries and chia seeds. Wednesday honey and Greek yogurt. So what would it take you to delete the app? Instagram? Oh I mean I deleted it last week I'll probably delete it again. We don't need it. But you you say you keep re-downloading it. I do. So what do you think Mark Zuckerberg could do to make you kind of kick it out? I don't know, it's probably already done enough. Yeah, we probably should delete the app.

Do you guys wanna do it? I read this. Right now? Wait, I saw this post that was like, people get FOMO from not being on social media, but then they get FOMO from real life from being on social media Oh fact No, I need to go back to school over my head. I'll delete with you. Can we do together? Yeah, we'll do it together. This is a beautiful

I don't know if it doesn't count, but for the sake of this, I mean here you can choose one. No, go with Airbnb. Because I don't want to. And stop renting little houses. We'll delete it after one, okay? So three, two, one, delete. Alright, ready? Three, two, one.

You're such a coward. You're such a coward Wow, I really got people to change their minds and delete these apps and divest from billionaires So go ahead and like, follow, and subscribe for more. Thank you, Grace. When we come back, Rachel Mason will be joining us on the show. Don't blow away. Welcome back to The Other Show. My guest tonight is a fellow of mine, and he's going to be talking about the Welcome back to The Daily Show.

My guest tonight is a filmmaker whose new HBO documentary series is called An Update on Our Family. Please welcome Rachel Mason. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend.

I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm going to be a good friend. I'm never on this side ever, so cool. Man, this docu-series is excellent, excellent, excellent. I was mad. I was mad again. I felt something. I had all different perspectives.

What is family vlogging for those of us that don't know? Wow. Well, I'm glad those reactions all happened because that was what we felt while we were working on the show. And I say we because, you know, documentaries are made collectively with a bunch of people. And family vlogging is the practice of filming one's family for a channel, a YouTube channel usually, or, you know or social media generally. Who is watching?

I mean, I don't even want to look at my friend's kids' pictures. But then these families have millions of subscribers and views and brand deals. What's the appeal? I mean, this is why we needed Hannah Cho, who, if you watch our series, guides us through, because she's the ultimate fan, and I had those same questions watching the content,

but realizing this is one of YouTube's biggest verticals. So billions of views are on these videos. It is huge and vast, and that's why in the opening of our series, we actually talk about the draw that shows like the Kardashians or the Osbournes have had for years. And even going back earlier,

there were other shows like on PBS, people sometimes watch, which is, you know, that's where it all started. Like, people watched these families doing their thing, and there is a draw. But I know it doesn't always seem like it, but traditional TV, there are some guardrails. There are producers.

There are people that come over here in between the act and say, Michael, you f***ed up. You're not coming to work tomorrow? Yeah, exactly. But for YouTube, the producer, the writer, the accountant, the HR, it's the mom. It's the dad. Exactly. And it's so...

And the actors are the kids. So let's talk about the E word. I don't know what that is, no. Um... Exploitation is the E word. Oh, yeah, I thought it was... Let's talk about exploitation. Okay, yeah.

These families are profiting financially, but so much of their content is a six-year-old playing in a sandbox or refusing to eat the dinosaur chicken nuggets or whatever. Is this exploitation? I mean, that's the central question here, and I think this also takes us into larger questions about kids in entertainment as well,

because learning about family channels, it really, you know, when I was doing the research for it, I was actually thinking, well, what kid could we find that I could say, what was it like for you doing this? And, you know, there's hardly any who are old enough, although a few that are have come out recently and spoken. But when we were making the series, it was hard to find them.

So I actually realized, oh, well, I guess we could turn to the world of regular entertainment and those kids that grew up on some level on TV. And in a similar way, I had that thought, well, yes, they consented, but did they fully consent? Did they? At age six to, you know... Yeah. Yeah, and you wonder that.

So there's always that dynamic where a parent might really want to do this thing. And, yeah, that question exists around kids. I am terrified to show my kids at all. And that's my moral code. That's not because they're Uggos. Um... Um...

I don't like... I don't like that my daughter is five now starts to notice when the camera's out and behave differently for the camera, right? That was a... It feels to me like the one pure innocent thing that's left is a child's belief in the world and innocence. And to me, this is me watching your wonderful docuseries.

It made me so angry that the parents are taking that from their kids. Is that a fair reaction? I mean, I think that's a really poignant and... I'm trying to get you to say yes, but you're not gonna, because that's what this docuseries does so well, is it gets you to think about a lot of different things. And that was important to you.

And are you a parent, and did that inform you making this? Yeah. No, I have a son who's 12 now, and I think about that because, actually, I think that distinction is also pretty big, weirdly. It's from 6 to 12. 12, like, good luck getting your phone out of a 12. And I think about that because actually, I think that distinction is also pretty big, weirdly. It's from 6 to 12. 12, like, good luck getting your phone out of a 12. You're like, everyone has a phone and they're playing a million games and they're doing

all this stuff. And I had that initial thought, like, you'll never, ever get a phone, ever. Okay, well, how did you suddenly get a phone? And how, you know, it's like this weird thing. And then also, like, you'll never, ever look at YouTube. And there's just like no way to avoid it is what I've learned. So then the question is, well, how do we sort of manage it and put guardrails in place?

And I will say some people that I look at and I'm like, wow, you post all the time. And I'm gonna judge that. But then, you know, I have to say like, there've been a couple of times like, he won a soccer game. I want to show this thing. There's something really cool. And I know some of my friends who I never see

will want to see this thing. And there is the cool good factor of sharing photos. And these apps have made that possible, you know, in this way. So I think there's just this moral question that is needed to be discussed by smart people, like, you know. My daughter in the morning, she'll say, can I watch TV? And I'll say, no.

And she'll say, can I watch you on TV? And I'll say, you know what? That doesn't sound like a terrible idea. She knows that that'll work. Let's talk about the Stauffers. And let's talk about this is the family that the docu-series really focuses on. Tell us a little bit about them and what went down.

Well, in a lot of ways, the Stauffers were almost like an average family vlogger account. They did everything right in the world of what you do and what YouTube actually incentivizes you to do. And they had all the things. You know, you have a charismatic, good-looking couple. You have kids and it all works. And, you know, this sort of set of things that you do for your channel

that work really well in that environment. And so the Stauffers were just chugging along. And as you learn from our series, having kids is good content. So every time they had a kid, it would do well for them. And that is... And not only do well, they can actually see the analytics and see that with these kids and new kids, our viewership goes up, our subscribers goes up,

our money goes up. Yeah. What does that lead to? So then in 2017, after they've been running this for a while, they decide to adopt a kid from China. And there's a myriad of reasons why they decide a kid from China makes sense for their channel and for their family and their life.

And it all is very public. Yes. Extremely public. And the fans are immediately like, -"Woo, let's do this!" -"Yes." As though it's like a group decision. Yeah. And that's the kind of thing

that I think our series really gets into, is like, okay, these really personal things, like suddenly exposed, take on a life of their own and morph. And should these things be even allowed to have this large audience, you know, making a massive decision for your life and for another person's life. And suddenly tons of people are weighing in on that.

I would never see a family at the park and think I can weigh in on their family decisions. But because they've overshared so much for so long, years, I've developed a relationship with them and now I have the right to say, hey, you're doing that incorrectly or... Exactly. And man, is it wild what goes down.

It is, yeah. So what ends up happening is after having him integrated in the family for a few years, they make a decision to dissolve the adoption. Yeah. And I know. I know. Oh, god, hearing you guys make that sound, it's so real.

Wow. You live in documentaries. You're just editing. You don't have real people responding. And I heard that sound. And I thought, we're going to get so many more views on YouTube. Yeah.

That's why I'm sitting right here. That's how I think. Wow. No, but that's how we watch this do you two. That's why I'm sitting right here. That's how I think. Wow. No, but that's how people, that's how we watch the stock series. Like this. Ugh, ugh, why'd they do that? Ugh.

And then of course, I pause it to get a glass of water. My wife's like reading the whole story on Wikipedia, ruining it. But, yeah. And so that's when this thing kind of turns and then the commenters take over, right? Yeah, and so in a way, these two things intersect. You know, the most horrific decision happening

in the family's life and the life of this child, everything is just suddenly, that's their decision. They dissolve the adoption. But then at the same time, the internet crushes them. And I mean, unbelievable. When I, some of the things that drew me into the story were the actual videos in response because they were terrifying.

I was like, oh my God, the level of anger, which is also an understandable level of anger. But when so many people are sending death threats and going crazy on you. How dare you do that to those children? I'm going to slit your children's throat. What? That's right.

Wait a sec. You know, I just would say to all YouTube commenters, you'll have a lot more success with your comment if you don't threaten life or killing. You can make good points without threatening life. But that's not where we're at, is it? No. So let's talk about, you know, in film and TV, there are child protection and laws in place.

Kugin's law, is that right? Yeah. But that does not exist in YouTube or vlogging world. There have been some changes in the last few years, like a couple of states, Illinois, and I think it's Ohio and then also California, have made inroads into changing certain things. In fact, I think one of the laws was actually very much limiting certain amounts of time

on the, when your child is, because a kid could technically work a full eight hour day. Yeah. Or multiple, 12, you know. Work. I mean, that's what's so disheartening to me. It's like the parents are at the playground with their kids and the mom or the dad is going, okay, thanks for watching everybody. It's like, hey, put it down.

Go play with the kid. But that is work. They could potentially make money off of that. Right. I wish I made money when I took my kid to the playground. I mean, playing princess and king and all that shit. And I look at it, after I do it, I look at it and I say, I actually lost money doing this.

Can you family vlog in a ethical way that's non-exploitative to your children? I know you're a director of a docu-series. You're not the ethical leader of the entertainment industry. But you like to tackle ethics in entertainment. No, I'm glad you're asking that question because the thing that sucks so bad is that when I met these people, I actually liked them.

I was like, you're a good person, and I think you're actually doing good by your kids. And they were cool, like, reasonable. And then what I started to realize was that, wow, you got in over your head and this thing snowballed and the industry snowballed and like holy crap like we're catching up to it which is also why one of the greatest comments I thought was by one of the YouTubers himself,

Harold Earls, he said you know YouTube likes to try to pull your content to the edges and we have to fight against it. So I could see there, you know if you're in over your head or the thing is doing this, you're trying. And I was thinking, wow, okay, so you're really trying. Mm-hmm. To be wholesome and earnest, or to at least show that. Well, and that's the other side of it,

is that this world of facade that can feel absolutely ridiculous. And, you know, so I think this, we have regular people that have gotten sucked into, as you said, a complete and total world of entertainment, but they don't have, you know, the guy right there who is like a story producer. You know what? That's not gonna work. Or the executive being like, we cannot do this.

They're just, your fans are wanting this, give it to them. And it's, can it be done ethically? I mean, I wish I actually had an answer to that, Your fans are wanting this, give it to them. And it's, can it be done ethically? I mean, I, I wish I actually had an answer to that, but I think this is where the really big question exists for the social media companies. Like, what do you guys think? Can you do, can we figure this out?

And your job isn't to answer, your job is to help us ask the question. And it's a tremendous docuseries. Thank you for making it. I can't believe how much work must have gone into it. So all three episodes of An Update on Our Family are now available to stream on Macs. Rachel Mason, everybody.

We'll do a quick break. We'll be right back after this. Thank you. That's our show for tonight. Please consider supporting the California Fire Foundation. They're on the ground working with local fire agencies and community organizations to provide support to impacted residents. If you can, please donate at the link below. Now, here it is, your moment of zen.

People are aroused. I haven't seen people so aroused in a very, very long time in terms of going, trying to get this done. So yes, I think democracy will have an effect and we are gonna keep at 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

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