The Daily Show: Ears Edition - A Conversation with Trevor Noah and the World's Fakest News Team
Episode Date: June 11, 2018Trevor Noah, Roy Wood Jr., Ronny Chieng, Dulce Sloan, Michael Kosta and Desi Lydic discuss the making of The Daily Show and share behind-the-scenes stories. Learn more about your ad-choices at https:...//www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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And now, please welcome your moderator, Jesse David Fox, of Vulture.
Hello, hello, hello.
Thank you guys so much for coming to this Daily Show with Trevor Noah panel.
We're going to talk about the Daily Show with Trevor Noah with the people that make it.
And also hello to those on Facebook live. At the end, there'll be time for some audience questions, so, uh, start thinking about the Daily Show Trevor Noah with the people that make it. And also hello to those on Facebook Live.
At the end, there'll be time for some audience questions, so start thinking about those, but
also pay attention.
But right now we're going to bring out the people who make the show.
And first, of course, is Trevor Noah.
Desi Lydic.
Ronnie Chang,
Dulce Sloe, Roy Wood Jr.
and Michael Colsta. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you guys for joining us here.
Thank you for having us.
I thought a good place to start was to run through how a typical show goes.
That's my favorite thing.
Thank you guys for joining us here.
Thank you for having us.
I thought a good place to start was to run through how a typical show goes.
But I want, so I want to talk about Tuesday's episode because it was after a week off and after Memorial Day.
But I think a good place would be, how was last week when you're not making the show, are you all watching the news?
Do you try not to think about it at all?
I think it's a combination of both. I mean, I find I pay less attention to the daily mechanations of what's happening on the news news.. thue thue thue thue thue th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thii. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi to th th 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 th the th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th the the the the the th thi. It is thi. It was after the to to to to to the to to to to toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooe to to to the the mean, I find I pay less attention to the daily mechanations of what's happening on the news,
but I'm always in tune with what's happening.
And now, you know, it used to be a story where you could escape the news,
so you would go for a vacation overseas and you'd lose all touch with what's happening in America.
But now, genuinely Donald Trump has become such an international phenomenon that when I travel, people ask me
about what's happening because it's happening to them as well.
So there's no escaping it.
You just have to lightly, I guess, you know, indulge in it and be like, I'm not working, I'm
not working, I'm not working, I'm not working, I'm not working.
I'm not working.
Do they ask you because you're Trevor Noah or because you're American? People, you'd be, like, that's the great thing about the Daily Show now is, you know, we're in 133 countries and territories and so we have people from everywhere, from Norway
to Denmark to, you know, South America, South Africa, you have people from all over the world
going, hey, what the hell is going on?
Yeah.
Do the rest of you end up watching news when you're off? I usually go back to Kentucky and visit my my my to visit my to visit my to visit my to visit to visit to visit to visit to visit to visit to visit to visit to visit to visit my to visit my 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 to to to tooom.. I, 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 to the the the the thea.ooooome.e. the the tooome.oome. tooome. tooomea. the news. It's a whole other news there. I mean you can't
avoid it like Trevor said even if you want to avoid it I you know I enabled
notifications on my phone and so I just get it anyway whether you want it
or not. I get on Instagram and watch drag queen and cooking videos.
I have a the same answer I had, so.
So, talking about Tuesday's episode, Trevor,
I want to focus on the monologue,
but, you know, literally, like, what time are you getting in,
and what is your mindset after a long break?
Well, when you come in from a long break, the most difficult part of creating the show
is figuring out what to catch up on, what to start building towards, and then how to combine
those two ideas into one show of the day.
So when we come back on Tuesday, it's also strange because it's Memorial Day, there's so you're not coming back on a Monday, so you don't like kick off the week the week the week the week the week the week the week the week the week the week the week the week the week, the week, the week, to, to, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to ca, to ca, to ca, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to catch, to, to catch, to, to, to, to catch, to, to catch, to ca, to ca, to ca, their.e.s.s.s.s.s, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the you're trying to figure out which pieces of the news are best going to be, you know,
are going to work best for that episode on the day.
And we also live in a world where now we've accepted that the news is always changing.
There is no such thing as the news.
It's just news.
It's happening, it's evolving. 5.30 p.m. Somebody's indicted for something. They've pled guilty about something else and you have to think of how you're going to include that in the show.
So what we work with is like a foundation. We go, this is what the news is right now.
You know, I look at it like the weather. I go like right now it's sunny, but at any time it could change. So how did you, when you sort of went to the morning meeting, how to decide the to decide the the to decide the the to decide the to decide the the the the the the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, the news, like, the news, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th., sort, threathea, the th th th th th Spider-Man story? And then the whole next section was sort of about clarifying the story about lost immigrant children
and then getting to Trump's actual policy.
How was that sort of the thing that you felt was what you had to focus on?
Well, that was easy for us because that was really one of those rare times when
the zeitge seemed to be focused on one issue. And that's always what we the the the the th was what we the the the th was thi the thi the thi was the the thi, thiwiwi, thi, the whole thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the whole the, thi, thi, the whole next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next next thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the, the, the, the next theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeean, theeeeeeean, thi, thi, thi, thi, times when the zeitge seemed to be focused on one issue.
And that's always what we're trying to do on the daily show is be in a space where
we're having the conversation that connects best with what people are talking about, and
then at times we're also jumping out of that and creating episodes that speak to an
idea that maybe we have.
And so Mama Du, who is the man in France, from Mala, the man, their, ththe man in France from Mali who was, you know,
climbing the building and saved the little baby, that story was viral.
And then, you know, Emmanuel McCown, taking him to the, you know, to stand in front of the press,
the press, and he gives him the citizenship.
And that becomes such a huge story that is inevitable that we're going The story of the 1,500 lost children that weren't actually lost is something that blew up on social media. And that's a little bit harder because
it's not happening on television. Sometimes stories break online. And now because you have
a president, that presidents online, you have to figure out how do you, how do you, how do you... And the clips, the clips of the tweets. And then people can delete. 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 stories. And, their, their, their, their s. And, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes, sometimes. And, because, because, because, because, stories. And, stories. And, stories. And, stories. And, stories. And, stories. And, stories. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, their., and then people can delete the tweets, and then it's like it never happened, but it did, we all felt it, but it's gone,
you know?
So it's like, imagine if someone could shoot you
with dissolvable bullets, that's what it feels like,
so that's what it feels like,
so thii's the show is canceled over Twitter. What do you do, how do you sort of reassemble?
The show is canceled? Ah, shit.
Michael Costa, everybody. That's basically, you see this one-my favorite show? This is what
basically happens in the building. Everyone has a little piece of information at a different time. Sometimes you go into a meeting and you don't, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you're not, you, you, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, see, the the, the, their their the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, the, the, the building. Everyone has a little piece of information at a different time. Because sometimes you go into a meeting and you're not in touch with what's happening
in the news.
And so you'll come out and have Michael's reaction or somebody else's reaction.
And it's just a building. And now it goes from what do you think about it to what do you think about the reaction
to the cancellation?
Yeah, immediately before the story, you didn't know the story was going to be the story, and
you know, like, it's over. Right. Right. Right. Right. So then, from that point
on, what to the monologue monologue written and how involved you considering that
like everything is sort of in your voice that's a little bit more conversational?
Well, the first thing is we don't write monologues at all.
The daily show for me in this iteration is really a conversation that connects to the news.
You know, we're all absorbing the same news, we're all affected by the same news in different ways. Some of us directly or indirectly. And so really
what it is is a conversation that is transferred to the to the camera and
then to our audience. So it'll be a conversation with myself and Roy like, hey
did you see this? What do you think? Why do you think that? What happened? what happened, etc. etc. It'll be, Desi and myself chatting through something, Ronnie will come and say, Dole say, will chase me down a hole and tell me a crazy story.
And so, and so, and so really it's just about figuring out how to have that
conversation with the audience and, and, and in such a way that like the show
feels like it has a purpose, but it also doesn't feel stayed and, and then
stuck in a certain format that, really suit what I would like to do.
So is it sort of they'll write a collection of jokes and then you sort of weave it into a more...
Well rather we'll go the other way around. I'll go what's the news, what are the facts, what's the truth, and then we'll put the jokes on top. That's thethrough their final stages and also what does it like to sort of talk about immigration so seriously and then the end the last act is you talking to Johnny
Knoxville about doing a fall in a movie.
Like when you get to that point how are you feeling that?
I feel like that's that's balance and that's life.
I feel like that's balance, you know, life is about immigration, you know, life is the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their life is about life is about life is about life is about life is about life is about life is about life is about've always loved. That's what I enjoy about the daily show, is we're not one-dimensional.
You know, we can have fun.
I think it's very important for myself as a human being
and for the show, I feel, to exist in a very honest space
where, yes, we may live in a world where at times we are terrified
because of Donald I forget what
I'm trying to get to in the end. So it's really the balance that we're trying to create.
So it's actually great to me to have a serious story about immigration and migrant children and refugees and then Johnny Knoxville coming on at the end of to to toeh...... I I toeh. I toexh. I I toexh. I toexh. I's toeckh. Ink. toeckh. thixic. the toeckh. the theckh. toeckh. toeckh. thozyn. theckereeckeree. thoes. thoes. the. the. the. the. the. I the. I I the. I the. I I I the. I I I the. I I I I the. I I I the. I I I the. I the. I the. I the. I the. I the. I the. I's the. I'm the. I'm the. the. theananann't theann't toean. Andeann't toean. Andeann't theann't theann't theann'tands of pieces. About as eyeball falls out. Yeah, that was a, that's a real
thing. He blew his nose and his eye fell out. I was like everyone has different
problems. Yeah. So Roy you also had a piece on the show. You did? Yes. Yes, I did. You made a, your
version of a Starbucks training video. Because Tuesday was the day they closed down to give racial bias training.
Can you talk about sort of the thought process and then all that coming together?
Well, a lot of that was cooked up by the writers in the weeks prior.
So about two weeks before, as I call it, training day for Starbucks. We figured
out what would be the best way to tackle that. What would the world look like without
Starbucks for a day? What would the training be like? And there are a lot of different
ideas thrown around the building as far as what's the best way to tell that joke or what's the
best way to figure that out? And then knowing the training the training the training the training the training the training the training the training the training the training the training the training the training the training the training the best way to tell that joke, or what's the best way to figure that out? And then knowing that the training video would be internal,
what would the training video look like?
And so then that became working out the beats
of what this training video would look like,
and run it out of coffee shop,
and we shot a full-blown mock Starbucks video,
which, according to a lot the the the the the to a lot to a lot to a lot to a lot to a lot to a lot to a lot to a lot to a lot to a lot to a lot to a lot their to a lot Starbucks employees on Twitter, and you can verify this, was about
80% spot on to exactly what they saw in the stores on that day.
So you know, we know our audience.
So Roy, I've interviewed you before and I know sort of how meticulous you are with
your writing, but all of you, especially that coming from stand-up where you have months or years to work on material before it, to their to work on, to to-a, to to to to to to to to to to to to to to th. th. th. th. thi, thi, thi, their their their their their their to to to to to to be, to be, to be, to to to to be, to to be, 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 th., their their their their their their their their their their their their their their, their, their, their, their-a-a-s.a-s, the-a-s, the-au.a, their-a, their-a, the with your writing, but all of you, especially coming from stand-up where you have months or years to work on
material before it gets on TV, what is it like to have things that you know it might be you
write an hour before it goes on? How has it been for all of you to sort of adjust to that speed and
except, well this is the thing that's now ready and this is, we have no choice to put it on. Well, I know the biggest difference for me, coming from the world of stand-up into the
Daily Show was relinquishing the idea that I would have to create everything on my own.
And that's what's really fun about working in the Daily Show.
As Roy says, an idea can come from anywhere, it gets amplified by the building, we work as a team, as a family, and so every piece has everyone behind it trying
to make it as good as possible.
So Costa could come into the meeting with a great idea that I end up using on the show, or
I could say something that he does in his piece, and Doolsay could have something that
she creates for herself and then we amplify that. And it's really trying to learn how to use as many people to, to, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use, to use as much, to use as much, to use as much, to use as much, to use as much, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, to their.a, tooomorrow, toe.e.coe, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, coa, in essence, simulate time. Because with stand-up, you have your time.
You have months to write a joke and to figure out
what your story is going to be with the Daily Show,
as the name implies, we are showy.
So, thank you.
So you have to find a way to create as quickly as possible and simulate trying
to get through that process artificially.
Do you have, how's it been for anybody else?
I know for me it was very, because like most day jobs I've had one, I didn't care, two,
I just do customer service, I don't care if your lights come back on.
But I know for me, like when you come in, it's not someone sitting you watching down, it's
a trading video, if you sit in the morning meeting and like, okay, here you'd go.
And so to see the process and to see these are the stories that we've picked, it's some
stuff that they pick doesn't always go on the show, but if you get an idea from something, you can grab one of the writers and say, hey, what do you thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, th, thin, thin, thin, thin, th thin, thee, thee, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the, the th, the thin, thin, thin, th, th, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, thean, the, the, the, the, the, they, they, the writers and say, hey, what do you think about this? And then it's like me and Josh Johnson, one of our writers, who's an amazing
comic, anytime I get an idea, I go to Josh, because I know how he is as a stand-up, and
I can, and we kind of think the same way, but I'm not a writer, the show. So I can go to him with my stand-up brain and his writer brain and then we can kind of come up with an idea or we go, nah, that
ain't gonna work. I think also the to me the biggest difference in terms of
stand-up versus doing a show every day is knowing and respecting when the
process is complete. I think Trevor uses a phrase, pencils down.
It's just at a certain time of day,
this is the joke, this is as good as the joke can be,
and this is what we have to put on TV.
You don't have the luxury of time and constantly polishing.
Sometimes that joke is the joke.
And it may have been a better way to tell it and you'll think of it walking home at 930 that night.
But when it's time to tape, it's time to tape. So you can't labor all day over one joke when
you have another 29 minutes of show to concern yourself with.
There's also a show tomorrow. So as terrible or great as it was over and the show starting again tomorrow. So you can't worry too much much to their to their their their to the show. their the show. And, th. And, th. And, the th. And, thin, thin, the thin, thin, thin, the thin' tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, the thin' tho, tho, the tho, their, so, so, so their, so their. So, so their. So, so their. So, so their, so their. So, so their, so their, so their. So, so the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th thin, thin, thin, thin, toda, today, today, today, today, today, today, today, today, today, somea, so today, so today, so today, so tomorrow, so you can't worry too much about it. But for me personally, I hate giving other people control of my comedy, and it was something that I really have
and still struggle with, because as a stand-up, it's 100% us. But you do it a couple
times with the writing staff who is fantastic, and you realize they know a lot of
stuff too, and then you start to trust them and makes it a lot easier. Thank you everybody.
I'm Michael Costa.
Yeah.
Dulce, Michael, you also had a sketch that came from the Starbucks events a couple weeks
ago.
Can you kind of describe what it was and how that manifested itself?
That was one of those situations where you're in your office working and you get a text and you're just like, hey come look at this
thing, you're like okay cool. So sometimes stuff is working while you're working
and it's you didn't know what was happening and not to say that I mean I never know
what's happening but it's, the best way to put this not take too long. So they came at me with it and I was just like oh this th th th th th this this this th th this th th th th this th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. that's like, that's like, that's like, that's like, that's like, that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that I that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's thi, I thi, I thi, I th. that's thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I that's thi, thi, I that's thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. that's that's that's thi'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 what's the best way to put this and not take too long? So they came at me with it and I was just like,
oh, this is perfect, because there has to be a way
to describe that where it's not everything said.
So you had to find the most basic way to do a 911 call with the stupidest thing.
And it's like, oh, there's black people being loud.
I'm like, when are we not loud?
So that's why I love that sketch so much,
because it was those little things.
It wasn't something like I'm walking in a dark alley,
and there's a black man with a hoodie.
It's like, black people are the calls that kill people.
Those little calls like that where it's like, oh I'm walking in broad daylight and I saw black dude cross the street.
He was suspicious. That boy could die.
So that's why I like there was still the joke behind it, but there was still the gravity underneath it of these are the exact same calls that could cause problems for people.
Yeah, I think that's one thing at the Daily Show which I noticed after joining is it kind
of focused my comedy into what are you trying to say? There's a lot of like what are you...
Oh. Someone bring their dog? It's a real dog.
I thought I got heckled by a dog.
It's like being in the office.
There's like a thousand dogs in that place.
Bring your dogs up here.
We want the dog up here on this stage.
I'll take them home.
I'll take their dog. No, I love dogs, what you're talking about? Ronnie, Ronnie, you do not like dogs.
I love dogs.
What do you mean?
Yeah, I love touching them.
And we have like 17 of them in our building.
We're a dog-friendly office.
Ronnie, I met my dog and said,
how long is he going to live?
That's the first thing he said to. I was curious, I was curious how th curious how th curious how th curious how th curious how thuuu how 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 tho tho tho thi thi thi thi thi tho. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th that th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th that that that that that that that that that that that thi. thi. thi. thi. to to to to to to to to to to to tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I th. the. th enjoy his presence. How much longer this dog had on the earth?
I was, I'm sorry, was it?
Sorry for loving a dog, man.
Yeah, so dogs are awesome.
And...
You're talking about focusing your account.
Oh, yeah, focusing...
Yeah, focusing...
Yeah, I think one of the questions we asked a lot of daily shows,
what you're trying to say.
And that's something that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, thi, I was thoomoomoomomomomomomomomomomomomom. I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, tho, the tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, I think one of the questions we asked a lot of daily shows, is like, what are you trying to say? And that's something I never, never thought about when I was doing stand-up.
Because when I started doing stand-up, it was like, just, just laugh.
And then now it's like, now it's like, what are you trying to say with that?
What, what ultimately you're trying to say to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, the joke, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, the joke, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, the joke, to say, to say, because, because, to say, because, to say, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, when to say, because, because, when you, to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, the the the the the the the the the the the th th th th th thtrying to say. On that sketch very quickly, the first costume they gave me was just a normal outfit.
And I was planning on just wearing a normal outfit and then they brought in the cop uniform
and it's really funny to see the sketch now. I mean, without the cop uniform. I mean, without
the cop uniform. I mean, I'm basically just setting up Duelsay to be funny in that sketch, which is great and super fun the the the the the the thuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. thu. thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thu, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, I's thi, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the, the, thea, thean, thean, thean, thean, theaa, thea, thea, thea, the, the, I mean, I'm basically just setting up dual-say to be funny in that sketch, which is great and super fun,
but the cop outfit really adds authority to it.
And it was a great change, and initially thinking about it now,
just me and my outfit, it would still would have worked,
but it was a great call to just make me a white cop
and throw over turn your lights back on. But when I first saw him, I'm like, yes, this is what a call center looks like.
This is perfect.
But we had to put him in the cop uniform.
So I don't know who made the change, but when I saw him.
I was like, why is he in a cop? I'm like, nobody's going to know where to know where the the scoan't is to to to to to to to to to to to to to the the the the to the the the the the to the the the the the the the the the the the the to to to to their their to to to the the their. their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their their their. their their their. It. It's their. It's their. It. It. It. It. It. It. It. It's the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to. I. I to. I to. I to. I to. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I was. I keep with me at all times. And blue lights in his car.
I'm sorry.
Beyond the sketches, obviously the correspondence do the field pieces.
Desi I'd like to talk to you about one you did recently.
I really love, which I feel is particularly makes sense in San Francisco because it's about raw water.
Oh yes.
A lot of raw water.
There's a bathroom in the back.
Can you talk about going into that and how you sort of approach it, knowing that
this guy's going to be a real idiot? Well I don't think he's an idiot necessarily.
I think he really believed in what he was doing. It was just all wrong.
I, first of all his name is Mukonde, but his real name is Chris.
So once we found that out, we're like, this guy is the perfect character for a field piece.
Ironically, I got food poisoning on my way to film this, and I figured I earned myself probably like 17 poop jokes. So
karma was not on my side necessarily but it he he he was he it's so interesting
doing field pieces like that because it's like you can sit across
from someone and completely disagree with everything that they stand for and everything that they're doing but yet there's
always some connection that you might have with the other person you're really
I don't know you're really trying to hear them out and you you try to
see them for their good intentions but yeah he was
did you know he was a truth or before the interview or like
let's see what else he believes in the th th th th th th th th th and th and th and th th th and th and th and the th and you th and you the the th and you th and you the th and you th and you truther before the interview or you're like, let's see what else he believes
in and you found that out?
We, he mentioned the third, finding out all of his information on the third page of Google,
which was a beautiful surprise.
We were not equipped for that.
We knew going in that he was sort of anti-science, but yeah, that was a fun gem we found out
on the day.
How do you all approach field pieces?
And Trevor, how do you think of field pieces
that they fit into the show?
I think whenever building a field piece,
I try to look at, like Ronnie says, what we're trying to say, what the story is going
to be and what the larger issue is that the story will speak to.
So with all our correspondence, we're lucky to have people who are talented and in different
ways at executing a piece.
So one thing I truly love about Desi is she has an amazing ability to delicately draw out
all the crazy you have as a human being.
So whenever there's someone out there who is genuinely just like a mad person
who believes everything they say, Desi is the best person because I don't know how
she draws it out of them, she makes them feel completely at home and without mocking them,
just Desi being Desi, she brings out the best or the worst in people.
And so, and this is Desi even in the office. Like when the the the the the the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their there's there's there's there's there's their. We's there's there's there's there's there's there's is someone's. I's is someone's is. I's is someone's is. I's is someone's is. I's is someone's is. I's is. I's is someone's is there's is their. I's is their. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the best or the worst in people.
And so, and this is Desi even in the office.
Like when Desi meets you in the office,
she'd be like, oh, is that your outfit?
And you're like, is this a compliment?
Or you don't know?
It's not a compliment.
That's not.
That's Southern.
That's how Dessie is. building a field piece, you know I always like to start with what is the story, who are we speaking to, why are we speaking to them, what are we trying to do,
and what is the larger conversation that this is about. So the piece that
Desi was on was about raw water. You know a young man who doesn't believe in
science and believes that we shouldn't be drinking the fluoride because it because it brain washes us and so he wants to drink to to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink to drink the to drink the the to drink the the to drink the the the the the the the the the the the the their. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th the. thra. thra. tri. tri. tria. tria. tha. tha tha tha. tha. tha. thea. thea. thea. th or something like that. $32 a gallon. And but really the story for me was the larger issue
is about the anti-science movement.
You know, a group of people who have found anecdotal stories
that propel ignorant ideas that are harmful to the world that we live in.
And it's a fun, light way to tackle that subject without just going in and fighting about science or water or vaccines.
And that's really what we're trying to do with every single piece,
is engage with a story in a different way
that happens on the outside of the studio.
What is there anything else you guys think about before you're going to a field piece? I think for me, when I'm going out, it's about making sure that you really get an understanding
of who this person is.
Because the thing that I, at least from my time on the daily show, it's not always just about
what they think, it's who is this person.
Because then you can better draw connections to how this person got to this place, how they
got to this belief, how they got to this belief,
how they got to this point of view.
Because I think somewhere underneath all of that, with every field piece, there is still
a desire to understand people who feel the way they feel.
I legitimately want to know why you think you can just sell water out of a creek for $32. And just going, what you're doing is bad, it's no, who are you,
walked me through this journey, how did you get to this place?
And I think that's the thing that I try to make sure we come back with,
on the pieces I do at least.
Ronnie, speaking of your hatred of dogs, you did a death piece a week's Don't tweet that, it's going to become on my Wikipedia page, god damn it. It's not true.
You did a death piece a few weeks back that I thought was so vital,
I need to talk to you, which was your vicious takedown of Possefort Donut,
the new Michigan police cat.
Yeah.
How did this story come to you and why you're like, I need to talk about this on television. Well, because we need to take people down.
It's really, the aim of the show is to take people down on a daily basis.
And on this particular day, the victim of my raft was this cat who wanted to be a police officer in Michigan.
That's, no, it was a kitten, not a cat.
I'm sorry. It was a cute little kit to then. But carry on, Ron. Well, I mean, first of all, the show,
okay, the show is such a machine.
It's been going on for so long,
and every part of the machine is really, really good at our jobs.
There's some people there since Kilborn.
People there since before John Stewart.
So the machine keeps turning and produces ideas for everybody.
And sometimes you initiate the idea, sometimes you just jump into it.
In this particular case, someone told me about this cat thing.
And then we started riffing off it.
And then next thing you know it was an act, and then it made it onto the show.
And I can't believe we got an entire act out of it, to be honest.
I think sometimes it's also about tapping into what we think each correspondent likes and who they are.
So in this instance it was there's a police department that has a cute little kitten that they've
deputized and they've said this is our police cat and we thought who hates cute animals? And then Ronnie was the perfect person to handle that story.
So, with Trump in the White House, there's sort of a lot of questions of like what comedians
should be doing and how they should be focusing.
What is the value of a story like this that is sillier that, you know, might have a larger
point about local news but doesn't directly tap in.
What, for all of you, why is important to do a thing like this every once in a while?
Well I don't think it's important, I think it's who we are.
We laugh.
We have fun.
We have silly stories that we share with each other.
And that's what we're trying to create on the daily show is a space where
we share with our audience. I do not want to think to think th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thin thin thin thin thin thin thin' thi not thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. I'm thi. I thi thi thi the the the the the the the the the the th. I I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I th. I thi thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thi. I'm thin. I'm thin. I'm theanananananan correspondence and friends as one-dimensional human beings.
Because our day does not consist solely of rage.
There are funny stories that come across our worlds where we just enjoy it.
You know, we're living and we're human beings.
And so I think it's really fun to have fun in the midst of everything that is going
on around us.
And maybe that's something that I brought with me growing up. I grew up in South Africa, and when I was growing up,
the country was going through a tough time with apartheid,
and then apartheid ended when I was six years old,
but still the country was in a really, really rough place for many years.
But I don't remember a time when myself and my family weren't laughing.
We always loved. And that's something that I've that I I I've that I've that I've that I've 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've that I've that I've that's that's that I've that I've that I'm that I'm that I'm that I'm that's. that's. that's. that's that's that's that's that's that's th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th th th th th th th thereen there something that I've always believed in, is you shouldn't lose yourself because of the situation you in.
You can react to it, you can be honest about it,
you can be serious when you need to be.
But the whole purpose of the daily show for myself
is to provide a space for my audience
where you can come into it,
you can process the news,
we can engage in this space together with like-minded or similar-minded individuals and at the same time remind ourselves of
the fact that we can laugh, we can enjoy ourselves.
Because without that, I think we would exist in a world of perpetual rage and I don't think
that's healthy because if you go down that road you just forget who you are and who
you were trying to be in the first place. I've heard you talk about how, in line with that, I've heard you talk about how it was important for you not to have
sort of intro pieces be angry.
Can you talk a little bit about making that decision?
Especially coming from John Donoghnot, he was not angry all the time,
but especially towards the end he was sort of known for a righteous anger in a certain way?
Can you talk about deciding to go that direction? Well that's one of the best pieces of that advice John Stewart gave me. I remember
when John announced he was leaving. I was lucky enough to be working on the
show when John was still there and before he announced his departure and I
walked into his office and I said, hey what's going on? Are you being pushed out? thea? told me to the. thrown. th th the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, they, the, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, they, I'm they, I'm their, their, their, their, their, their their, their their, their, their their, their, their, they, they, I they, I they, I they, I they, I they, I they, I they, I they, I they, I they, I thr-I. I thr-I's thr-I's, I'm thr-I's, I'm too. too, I'm try, I'm toe. too, I'm th. told, I'm th thr-I'm thr-I'm th said, no, I'm leaving. And I said, why, though?
And he said, I'm leaving because I'm tired.
And he said, I'm tired of being angry.
And he said, I'm angry all the time.
I don't find any of this funny.
I do not know how to make it funny. And I don't think the host of the show, I tho, I tho, I tho, I, I tho, I, I tho, I tho, I tho, I tho, I tho, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't thin, I don't tho, and, and, I don't thin, and, and, and, and, and I don't tho, and, and, and I don't tho, and, and I don't tho, and I don't tho, and I don't tho, and I'm tho, and I tho, and I the show, and, and I the show, and I the show, I the show, I the show, I the show, I the show, I the show, I the show, I the show, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I don't thin, I don't ti.... ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti. ti, I'm ti, I'm thi, funny. And he said, when you become the host,
live and relish within that joy,
like relish that moment,
relish the fact that you can make jokes about these things.
Because he said, because there will come a day
when you are too angry to laugh.
But don't rush to get there.
You're young and you're fresh.
And so enjoy the moments when you still have the energy.
And in many ways it reminded me of what my mother used to say to me.
She'd be like, you know, like when you're a young parent, you can chase your child.
You can chase them and you can beat them because you have the energy.
But when you're the the the the to get over it. And so, you're the to be here to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the to, the, to, the, the, the, the, to, the, to, the, to, to, the, 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 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 to to the to to to to to to to to to the're just on the other side. And so my mom said, but then when you're older,
you don't have the energy for kids anymore,
you don't have the energy for that.
You don't have the energy to be as angry.
And so I realize that I have a space
that I exist in as a human being where I use laughter,
and we, by proxy as the show,
use that same laughter as a mechanism to help to help to help to help to help to help to help to help to help to help to help the the the the the the use that same laughter as a mechanism to help us deal with the very real world that we are living in.
It doesn't minimize what's happening, it doesn't trivialize it, but it gives us a tool to
deal with what's happening.
And that's what's really important to me is existing in that space.
So I don't chase the anger.
I also don't fake.
Why don't thiii. fake the anger. So you know when people be like, why aren't you more anger? It's like I'll be angry when I'm angry. I'm not going to fake, I'm not playing a character on TV.
I am myself as Trevor and I think, you know, the team can agree with that is like who I am.
the try and I'm try to get that as close to who I am all the time. So I want Costa to go on TV and have a feeling that is completely foreign to what he believes in. I want Desi to imbue a piece of herself in every single
piece. I want Ronnie's rage to come through in the charming way that it does. And that's
what's really important to me is having that feeling and the authenticity in
the show. And for the rest of you, what is it like having Trevor sort of exude that philosophy?
He smells great.
I'll tell you something.
Like Trevor, Trevor is very metered.
He's very centered and that's pivotal to the show.
It's pivotal to the joke's landing. Because there are days where I to the show. It's pivotal to the jokes landing,
because there are days where I come in the work
and I'm mad, like there's no jokes at all,
and I'm in the morning meeting,
can you believe they did?
What?
Duh?
And Travis is, yes.
And that calm, you're able to be more surgical in where you hit your punchlines.
And I think that's something that it's just, it's a, it's a skill that I don't think I'll ever
possess at this point in life.
Yeah, he pulls the apartheid card a lot.
Yeah, it's very hard.
Yeah, he's seen this all before, but no, I think it's very
much an important part of the show is maintaining a level of calm in the midst of all
of this because that's the only way you'll be able to truly clearly see where the lines
of humor are and being able to extrapolate that bit of humor from something that may be, on some days very heavy. I Trevor has changed, being on the show has changed the way that I take in news.
Because when we were, when you were ever thinking about doing a field piece,
Trevor, Trevor said to me, you know, he's like, don't think of this person is wrong.
Think of when you're even pitching a field piece, think of that person's perspective first and come from that way that that that that way the way that way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the way the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show the show th show th show that show that show that show that show that show that show that show th show tho show tho show the show the show the show tho show the show the show the're even pitching a field piece, think of that
person's perspective first and come from that way. And if you can think of their perspective,
then you can find the funniest way to do it because you understand them. So it's really,
I'm way less angry at the news since I've started working at the Daily Show because I'm just like, these people are just crazy. But before it's like they're crazy,
you can do a hard line disagreement against them.
But when you're thinking about people not wanting to let other kids
into their school, you're like all these people are racist and wrong.
But then you take a second and go, okay, I can see why they don't want
that. Even though it makes the to the the the thin the thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin thin' thin' thin' thin' thin' to to to to to to to to to to to thi thi. tho tho tho to tho to tho tho thi. thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I their their their their their the the the the the the the thi. I thi. I thin, I thin. I'm the. I'm the. I'm toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. I th. I it makes no sense to me because you're being racist and wrong but if I take the second and go okay if I wanted to do a story on this I could
start from seeing their perspective and get the funniest thing out of it
because I'm not judging them as people and parents I'm understanding where
they're coming from so that's what stopped me from being so mad all the
time it's just I can take a second to see their perspective and their their their their their their their their the time. It's just I can take a second to see their perspective and then be pissed.
It's also funny because sometimes I will say like one of my role models in that is Michael
Costa funny enough. So no, genuinely, you know, when you live in the news for a lot, it
does take, you know, it does take its toll. I think American news has been created in such a way that it is designed to gin up rage. You know, I think the panel is a perfect example of that.
It's designed in such a way that it's not about information, it's about stirring up emotion.
You say this, you say that, now we fight.
That's not something that is usual in news all over the world.
It really is entertainment driven. And I remember when I went to see Michael Costa out of 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, is, is, is not, is not, is not, is not, is not, is, is, is not, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, and, and, is, and, is, is, is, and, is, is, and, is the thr, is not, thrii.e.e.ei.ea, thr.ea, thr.ea, thr.ea, thr.ea, thr-s, I was in the back of the comedy store,
and he got on stage, and I remember,
like the feeling I had when I was like,
oh yeah, this is what you're trying to do with comedy.
You're trying to use comedy to dismantle
pre-conceived notions of how the world should be.
You're try to use comedy to make people laugh about things they shouldn't laugh about
and then process information that they may have been resistant
to all along.
And that's something I had always believed coming from South Africa.
We have audiences that never lived together
because of the country we were in.
And comedy was one of the first places where you saw diverse audiences in South Africa. Black, white, Indian colored everyone in one space together.
That had never really happened before in the country and comedy was
where people together.
And so Costa, even till this day, in a morning meeting,
there'll be times when everyone is angry together.
And in the back of the room, Michael Costa, he'll just like, the thoult a little thing. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. It's, th. th. th. th. to, to be. toe. toe, toe, th. th. toe. the to be, the the to be, to be, too. the to be, th. to be, to be, th. th. th. their. their. their, their. And, their. And, their. And, their. And, the the the their. And, their. And, their. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, to be to be to be toe. And, toe. And, toe. And, toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. the ice. It'll diffuse the entire feeling of the situation,
where you go like, oh yeah, oh yeah,
that's another way to see it.
And sometimes by using that comedy to process what's happening,
instead of going, no, you go, okay, fine, yes,
I will take your points of view.
So, you know, like, for instance, somebody says, America has mass shootings because
because of pornography.
And America has mass shootings because there are too many doors,
school shootings, we need fewer doors,
because the doors is too many places the shooter can go.
And your first instinct is you're like, you're stupid, you idiot, you can't,
and then you go, and then someone like Michael will be like,
well, I mean, let's talk about porn. And you be like, the th th th th th th, you th, you th, th, th, th, th, th, thi thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi, thi, thi, tho, thin, thi, thi, th, tho, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, tha. And, tha. And, tha. And, tha. And, tha. And, tha. And, tha. And, tha. And, th. mean, let's talk about porn. And so, you be like, what do you mean?
It was like, well, I mean, I don't know about you.
Sometimes I watch porn and I'm like, I want to go shoot.
And it's like, it's just a fun feeling that's weird and different.
And you realize that if you accept, if you accept a ludicrous premise,
oftentimes that's the best way to expose how illogical it it. And that's really what you're trying to do a lot of the time is go,
okay, fine, I accept exactly what you're saying.
I take it.
I agree with you.
Let's let's go with that.
And then you end up reaching a better conclusion.
That doesn't just, I think,
limit itself to, I disagree with you. to theat the illogagagagagagagag. And let, to to to to to to to to to to to to to, to, to, to, to, to, to, that, let, let, let, let, let, let, let, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, I, let's, let's, let's, I'm to, I to, I to, I to, I to, I to, I that, I that, 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, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I...... I. I thin. I. I tak. I tak. I'm tak. I tak. I tak., let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's tak., let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let's, let yes, I agree with you and let me take it to its illogical conclusion and you come to find that this is ridiculous.
I was talking to Dan...
Give it up for Michael Costa watching porn everyone.
Big porn lover.
Just trying to keep those jobs in America.
By the way, I've done a lot of stand-up comedy and that night that Trevor was talking about,
I wanted the Daily Show, I was just doing a normal set in a Saturday night,
and to watch Trevor sit and come in the back was one of the scariest sets.
Because I was like, if this goes shitty, there goes my chance.
So, uh, it's a great memory for me.
That's when I actually met Trevor, it was when he got to see me to see to see to see to see to see me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me to see to see to see to see to see to see to see to see to see to see to see to to to to to the to to to the to the to the the the the to to the to the the to the to the the the 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 here I am sitting now so I'm very thankful for that set so
so.
Aw.
I was talking to Dan Amira who was a former colleague of mine who's a current writer for the
Daily Show and he was telling me about the ooh jar which is a little jar used to take out when the
audience ooed instead of laughed which you of sort of the claptor conundrum, which was when people clap instead of
laugh. Can you talk about this jar and sort of how do you get
people to laugh now instead of just sort of visceral respond?
Well, I think it's just being the change.
Just be who you want, you know, to be in the world. And so I've come to realize I do not begrudge my audience for ever feeling a certain way. 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 to to the the to to to the to the to the the to to the the the to the to the toe and the the the the to the the the to to toe and toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. toe. 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 theaqeckeckecklefeckleaqeckleaqeckleaqefficeckleaqeckleaqaqaqa'am.a'am.e.e.e.e.e.e.u. Iaqe. Iaqe. I so I've come to realize, I do not begrudge my audience
for ever feeling a certain way, because I know
that I'm lucky enough to work in a comedy building.
And so my resistances are built up to the news that
that comes in, and somebody's going to make me laugh in the course of the day.
But my audience may not have that luxury.
They may be inundated by negative news that that that that that feel angry. And so when they come to the daily show, you have to find ways to chip away at that to
leave people feeling better about the day and the world that they live in.
So the U-JAR for me was just like a fun little idea where one day the audience ooed, like
you said I said something. And you know, because now we're, because now, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because, because now, because now, because now, because now, because now, because now, because now, because now, because now, thi, because now, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th thi, thi, th th th the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the reality, up is down, everything you say could be real.
You know, like if I said to you,
oh no, Donald Trump has locked Melania in a basement,
your first instance is not like that's crazy.
You're like, wait, did that happen?
And then you go like, no, no, that didn't happen.
So like you're in a weird world where a lot of the news that's out there that seems like a joke is real. So you have to try and recalibrate reality for people
to reset that. And the ooh jar was one of those things where I would say a things. I would say
a thing and the audience would be like, ooh, and I was like, oh I take your ooh and I put
it in my jar. And I, you know, it was just like a live audience. And so sometimes the live audience forgets that they're there
and that they're part of a show.
And so the audience, they would be like, oh yeah,
oh yeah, we're here, he can see us.
We forgot that.
We forgot that we're here.
And that's where that's where they came from.
And that's the thing again again again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the in the current climate, is how sort of its international perspective. For the American-born correspondence,
what have you learned from the international-born members of the cast?
And from the international, what have you learned from the American?
I've learned that Ronnie hates dogs.
But what I love about that is that I can talk to Ronnie about the fact that I don't really like dogs either. I mean, they cute, but why they they they are 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'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 their their their their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. What their. What their. What their. What their. What. What their. What their. What. What their. What their. What. What they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're they're their their their their to to to to to to toe. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their that I can talk to Ronnie about the fact that I don't really like dogs either.
I mean they cute but why are they at work.
So, no, it's interesting because I think about my perspective, I think about, you know, I can only
come from the perspective of being a black woman and being a black woman born in America, but when you're interacting
with a black person who's actually from Africa,
and my mother went through segregation,
integration, but it ended when she was about five or six years old,
and to talk to someone who is around my age,
because apartheid segregation are the same thing.
So to talk to someone who's actually my age who has gone through it,
and then his perspective on America is completely different because
you know, I was in a, this is a country that the,
the country's mostly white and they are in power.
But when you're coming from somewhere where the country is mostly black but white people are in power, it's to talk to Trevor and have him see things that I can't see because
he came from somewhere where his culture was the majority. And so his way of seeing racism
in America is different because he saw more of his own people where he was from.
I mean, I'm from Atlanta where they make black people.
So it's not like I was from somewhere like in the sticks.
Like, ooh, a black person where? Nah.
The mayor's name is Keisha. We're not playing.
And I'm not joking, look it up.
But I think that's been the best part for me, it's that he's not,
we're both angry because it's messed up,
but his perspective on it is different.
Because like, Royce from Birmingham, I'm from Atlanta, so we have the same perspective
as southern black people.
And to talk to another black person who sees, not racism in a different way, but just in a different perspective, that's thi th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi the thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi he he that that that that that that that that that that that he that he that that's not that that that that he's not that he's not that he's not that he's that he's that he's that he's that he's that he's that he's that he's that he's that he's that he's that he's th. th. th. th. th. thi. thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. thi, thi. thi. thi's the the the the thean theananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananananan's not theanananananananananan's that's theanananan's the. to talk to another black person who sees not racism in a different way,
but just in a different perspective has been very good for me because it's not like I'm
checking my anger, I'm checking my perspective.
And I've been able to learn about racism in the United States based off of Trevor's perspective
of it.
For me, so Ronnie and I share an office.
We're the only correspondence and I share an office.
We're the only correspondence to share an office.
We call it the rush hour room.
Yes, the rush hour room.
That's for real. That's what we call it.
It's not, there's offices right next to mine.
He loves animals.
I will say that. He loves animals.
But what happens over the coursetime. He loves animals. I will say that. He loves animals.
But what happens over the course of a day is that Ronnie and I sometimes, you know, there's
stuff coming out to computer speakers and we can both hear what the other one is doing.
And through that, there's been a lot of, cross-cultural learning. And so through that, and talking with Ronnie, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, they about, they about, and, they about, they about, they about, they about, they about, they about, they about, they about, they about, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, and, their, and, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, they.a, they.a, they.a, their stuff, theyrowne.a, their stuff, their stuff, their stuff, their, that happens and what's going on in Southeast Asia with regards to just how a lot
of Asian culture with regards to hierarchies and some degree of racism is not
that dissimilar from what I went through in the South in terms of there being
these types of things and we'll have serious conversations about that
and then there's days where I'm showing him videos on World Star Hip Hop.
And.
Not a World Star.
And bringing him up to speed on a lot of craziness.
I walked in their office.
This is what it's like we're going to the other show.
I walked in their office one time.
They were watching Chris Rocks,
newest special with Chinese subtitles.
Talk, talk. And Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and to, and Roy, and to, and Roy, and to, and Roy, and to, and Roy, and to, and Roy, and to, and Roy, and to, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and Roy, and to, and to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, I, to, I, I, I, I, I, to, I, I, I, I, I, to, I, I, I, I, talking, and Roy was saying, what's the symbol for the N-word?
It was so great!
That's what they're talking about.
And it was so great?
And wasn't it like, and I got to say, I learned some things that day too.
About how Chinese people say the end word.
We all learned, what was it?
I don't want to say it. No, no, no, no, don't say to say to say to say. Don't say. Don't say. Don't say. Don't say. Don't say. Don't say. Don't say. Don't say. Don't say. Don't say, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, the the th. the the the the the the the the symbol. th say th say thi. the symbol. the symbol. the symbol. th. the symbol. th. the symbol. the symbol. I. th. I. the symbol. I. I. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. 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 thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. the the thi. the the the the thi. thi. the symbol. thi. the the thword. We all learned, what was it, ghost? I don't want to say it. No, no, no, no, don't say the N-word.
What was the translation?
No, I don't want to say that either.
No, I really don't want to say either.
Wait, wait, wait.
Wait, wait.
We can't say, yeah. I was trying to remember. He's learned something. Yeah, I'll show, we say Roy and I'll show Roy about, I'll update her on the Malaysian
election, which no one cares about.
And in America.
I have not asked him once about that, not one time.
Yeah, and then he'll let me, he'll try to get me to understand what, you know, Corey
Holcomb is saying this stuff like what the sauce mean, what is sauce?
And he'll...
Swag, baby, come on.
Yeah.
And what is, I don't know what that means either, but, you know, yeah, you just learn
how much closer and similar we are as a people than we are different.
Sure.
Ultimately, what I want.
We learn how there's the end word in every language is what we mean.
Like I always knew there was.
Yeah, also Roy took me to, in Cleveland, Roy took me to my first waffle house to have grits.
Yeah. That was a good time.
That's the one place I hate about living in a Yankee Hell Hall. Um, known as New New York City is that I can't get
grits no one knows what I'm talking about but the fun part about is I get to
tell what people that New York's very racist and that I appreciate in a way
that no one can understand. Yeah and it's interesting about sorry just as
international people like it's weird because we came here I don't want to be here you know so I obviously think that here thi thi th th th th th th th I thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the the the the the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their they. thi thi. thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. I thi. thi. I thi. thi. I thi thi thi. No one thi. No one, I don't want to speak for travel, I came here because
I wanted to be here, you know, so I obviously think that here it's better than where I'm
from, don't tweat that.
And don't let them know why I said that.
It's on Facebook Live, it's over, Ronnie.
It's over.
It's over.
Ronnie hates animals. And he hates, but my point is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. I, thi. I thathea. I thi. I thi. I, thi. I, thi. I, thi. I, thi. I, thi. I, thi. I, th. I, th. I, th. It's th. It's, th. It's, th. It's, th. It's, thi. It's, thi. It's, thi. It's, thi. It's, thi. It's, thi. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. It's better. that that approach to how I do comedy.
Because when I come here, I genuinely am like,
this place is awesome.
This is the best, it's the NBA.
I'm always like excited to meet people and like, yeah,
it's the NBA.
This is the NBA.
No, in Asia, we think of America as the NBA. So they just love black people? India is black people.
America is where you go to be the best at whatever you're doing.
That's how we think of it.
Unless you're from here.
It is.
Finally, somebody admits it.
Yeah.
And the Chinese name for America is Maygua.
That directly translates into English as beautiful country. That's
the Chinese name for America, beautiful country. That's what we say when you say America,
we say beautiful country. Have you been into a beautiful country? And then you finally
come here. And then you finally come here. And everybody hates it. So it's time for audience
questions we want to start lining up to that mic over Costa. So it's time for audience questions.
We want to start lining up to that mic over there.
But we'll start with the Facebook.
Live question while they're lining up.
From Carmen, what is the quickest?
The quickest we've put together a story or a joke right before it went live.
The quickest we've put together a story, a joke before it went live, I would say it was probably five minutes before we went out.
Like we had the show, we were ready,
we were going out to tape, and then it was literally someone
will come running in.
Oftentimes it'll be the head writer, Dan Amara,
he'll be like, this just broke,
we've got to do something, and it's like, say five minutes, three minutes, sometimes even two minutes before we tape, we will have something or we'll have something and the show we're already in the midst of taping
it and so then I'll start speaking about it and we'll put it up online between the scenes
because the show is always living so it'll be any time all the time. Mike. Oh, hi. Hi there. I'm Sarah. I'm a teacher in Virginia in Virginia and I tea to teach thea ttaea to ttae at thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. thea. the the thea. thea. their their their their their their their their their their their their their. their. their. their. their. their. their. I'm their. I'm their. I'm their. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. A. I's. A. I's. I's. I's. I's. I's. I'm ttttte. I'm te. I'm te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. I'm t. I'm t. I'm Sarah. I'm a teacher in Virginia and I teach American government in politics.
And I was wondering, what are your tips on teaching Trump?
What are your tips on teaching Trump?
Two 80 graders.
Oh, I thought you've been teaching him.
I was going to be like, you sit him down.
Get something, low-cut, teeth up. whole charge. I will not like to catch a whole charge. I think I think for myself, I don't
know because I'm not a teacher, but I will say one thing that has helped me in even teaching
Trump to the building, and that's maybe coming from an international place, is understanding
that Trump may be unique to America in this time or in this period, but really he is an all-too-common leader in the world. There are many leaders leaders thiiiiiiiiiiiiii th thi thi thi thi th th thi thi thi th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi the the the the thi the the the that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is that is a that is a thi thi thi. thi. the the the the the theeeee. theee. theee. theee. theeeee. that is that is that is that is that is that world. There are many Trumps in the world. There are many leaders that gin up hatred and demagoguery.
There are many leaders who have found a way to make themselves synonymous with the idea of
the country, similar to what he's done with the flag, where he's made it seem like he
is the flag and the flag and the antham and it's all one things and you cannot criticize him without criticizing the country. Those are all things that are all too familiar when you come from many developing nations.
So for me, if you really want to teach the kids about Trump,
teach them about world leaders from other place,
teach them about Gaddafi, teach them about world leaders
that are almost exactly the same as him, just in a different context
speaking a different language.
Thank you. I th about. I th about. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I've read your audio book.
And by the way, that means, and I mean that personality-wise,
because I know someone will take it out of context
and be like, oh, you're saying the same atrocities.
I'm not saying that.
I'm saying personality-wise.
I'm saying Donald Trump hasn't done the same thing I think personality-wise, you will find many similarities between them.
Thank you.
I've listened to your audiobook so many times and your mom's my biggest fan.
Thank you very much.
Thank you for what you do teaching as well.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for being a teacher.
Hello.
I got two questions.
thanks.
I got trying to figure, what, sounds like you get one question, sounds like you have zero questions.
Can you get a selfie?
No.
What is that?
That's not a question.
Yeah, we'll grab a selfie up times.
We'll grab a selfie up tocks.
My second question is, I'm a big fan of Black Panther,
and I recently watched it. And I know that you, that you, you, you, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that that that's that's that's that's that's a that's that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's, that's, that's, that's a that's a that's a that's a that's, that's a that's a that's a that's a that's a that's not a that's not a that's not a that's not a their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their.... th. that's not a their. th. that's not a that's not a th. that's not a that's not a that you should have told people was that you were in Black Panther,
and most people didn't realize that.
I feel like it's, is this you like taking me down?
Is that what's happening right now?
It's my turn.
Hey, man, I got rent to pay.
You can't take him down?
But I'm curious to do like the director of Black Panther, I came to know before he was directing Black Panther.
I've been a fan of him since a Fruitvale Station.
There's an amazing, amazing guy, came onto the show.
And you know, I connected him with some friends of mine
in South Africa, and he went into the country,
and he did his research about South Africa
and cost up people,
etc. to create the characters, I, I, I, I, I, and, and, and, and, I, and, and, and, I, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, I, and, and, and, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, and, the the thapaph.. thaph. tham, tham, the the tham, th. the th. th. th. th. th. I, th. I, the th. I, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, than, than, than, thr. thr. thr. than, than, thananananan, thanananananananan, thananananananananananananananam, than, than, than And so I guess when the movie was in its final stages,
he said to me, hey, do you just want to do like a fun little came
as a voice?
And I said, oh, I would love to.
And that's how that came about.
But I didn't want to like, I didn't want to like,
to like spoil it or anything and be like I was just like just if you yeah, it's just enjoy it like it
I didn't need it I didn't need for anyone to know that if that makes sense
It was just because I just love the movie I was just like this is gonna be fun
All right, thanks cool Well, we're gonna take another question from Facebook live and we'll probably have only have time to try to the chain. Figured it would be you.
So you can decide amongst yourselves who will get to ask it.
Noel from Facebook Live asks, he remembers watching election night and seeing the expressions
on Trevor and Roy's face, realizing what's happening.
Can you describe that feeling that night?
Wow.
The feeling on that night was one that was, uh, it was surreal. It was surreal because I, I, I think, I that I that I th, I th, I th, I th, I th, I th th th th think, I think, I think, I think, I think, I th th think, I th th think feeling on that night was one that was, it was surreal.
It was surreal because I think I had fallen into the trap of listening to everyone around
me.
Like I'd listen to the polls, which I think is a horrible thing in America.
I don't think anyone should listen to the polls.
I don't think the polls should be publicized.
It should only be for political campaigns and nobody else. I don't think you should vote because of what they say the vote is going to be, but
I'd like, I'd always said throughout the race in the show, I'd always said, guys, I think
Donald Trump is doing a lot better than people are saying he is.
And because of the news and because of everything, people were like, no, no, this is not, he's not going........ th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the the th. th. the the th. the the the th. th. th. the thr. I, th. I, thr. I, th. I, thr. I, thr. I was, th. I was, th. I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, I was, 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. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I was. I was. I'd. I'd. I'd. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to the building because I felt a visceral pain and a shock within the building.
Like I know the thing that broke my heart the most was a lot of,
you know, my colleagues who were women in the show who said, like,
I felt like I've lost.
I felt like I've been betrayed by a piece of my country.
And so that, that for me, was the visceral feeling that I had where I was like, oh shit, like it got real. You know, that was the moment that I think we shared on the live show.
Yeah, and I think on camera we had talked about me maybe, I legit wanted some pepto, and then
we thought well maybe we should put the bottle of pepto on the desk as kind of a visual representation of the mood and of the sentiment.
But then as the numbers kept coming in during the show, he just kept saying, you know what,
add another bottle of pepto the desk.
And I think we ended up like three and a half bottles or something like that.
Okay, so beyond just in terms of anger you talked about from CNN, Fox News, One American,
who's MSNBC, they talk about how much they talk about Trump and politics.
And then you also talk about John Stewart getting tired of being angry and stuff like that.
Do you see a point where you just don't have another joke about him being orange?
You just don't have anything else. No matter the fact that it's still the daily news, you just, you to to to to to to, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, thua, thua, thua, thii, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, and, the the the, the, the, the, their, their, their, the the the the the the the their, their, thi, thi, thi, and, thi, and, and, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thr, thr, throoooooooooomomorrow, thin, thin, they, they, they... And, they, they, they,that it's still the daily news, you just don't want to do it anymore and you want to move on.
I think I can see a point where I go,
like I would no longer talk about him being orange
and I might switch to tangerine or another shade.
I don't think we'd ever run out of jokes about Donald Trump. But what I have come to do and we work on this on the show all the the the the the the the the the the the the tod today tod today tod today today today today today today today today. to to to to to to to to to to to tooes. too. 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. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. to. to. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. tel. te. tel. to. to. to. to. to. to. I to. I to. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. to do, and we work on this on the show all the time, is my firm belief
is that this should not be the story of Donald Trump.
This is the story of America, and it's the story of America reacting to Donald Trump.
This is the story of everybody and how they're reacting to the force known as Donald
Trump. So it's the story of Republicans. What is the Republican Party going to be after Donald Trump?. Is. Is. Is. Is, th. Is, th. th. Do, th. th. Do, th. Do, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, the thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is my thi, is my thi, is my thi, is my thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, thi, the the thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. My thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi. My thi, thi, thi, thi, to the force known as Donald Trump. So it's the story of Republicans.
What is the Republican Party going to be after Donald Trump?
Do they really stand for their conservative values?
Do they really believe in small government?
Or are these things that they've just espoused throughout time
to get to a different goal, to cut tax for the rich people, etc. Like, so for myself, what I've come to do is I've come to acknowledge and
accept this. Like, they'll tell you on the show, there's many times where I've gone, like,
let's not talk about Trump at all. But then what you're doing is, like an ostrich, you're
burying your head in the sand. We can't ignore the force factor of what we do. So if you look at the shows, and we genuinely, we analyze this
and we work hard on this, yes, Trump may be a continuous character
that will always be in the story of America.
But we speak about everything on the show.
So we're engaging in the stories of Parkland and the kids and how they were protesting
and how they were moving their cause forward.
We were speaking about Starbucks. We speak about police shootings, police brutality in America.
We speak about the Me Too movement. We speak about inequality in America. We speak about the me-to-spoena.
We speak about the me-to-movalui in America. We speak about what's happening in the world.
We spoke about the French elections. We were speaking about what is happening in Asia and Australia. We speak about everything. The one constant though that crosses through our time
is going to be Trump.
And because he's president of the United States,
we do not have the luxury of ignoring him
because with one flick of a pen,
he can start a trade war.
And now you can't just say,
oh, we're not gonna talk about the fact
that now Canada is appealing to the world trade to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to the World Trade Organization to fight against what Donald Trump has just done. So I think that's really the case, is we've come to realize that, look, this person
is here, he is real, it is going to be a constant. We will continuously jab and have fun with
this. And similar to South Africa, we had a president by the name of Jacob Zuma, and there's
a time when we just accepted. This is going to be the president president president presidentout our lives and our comedy, but there are other things happening.
And so I know when we create the show, yes, you will always see Donald Trump as long as
he is president of the United States, but you will also see every single other issue that
we feel is as important as it needs to be, and that's why we put it on the show.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you all Thank you. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. John Stewart here.
Unbelievably exciting news.
My new podcast, The Weekly Show.
We're going to be talking about the election.
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Ingredient to Bread Ratio on sandwiches.
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