bluetoast

Plus, multiple people were offered the job and rejected it. It's not like already established people are dying to try to fill Jon Stewart's shoes. It's hard work. Trevor Noah was probably like the 20th choice, if that.

slop101

Has Trevor Noah been that much of a disaster?

Paff

He does have a repetitive style. But I think the real reason I haven't been laughing as hard the last few weeks is that he's chosen extremely dull topics.

BDB

I tune in and enjoy it every week, it's incredibly informative, and also amazing to see some
of the segments he comes up with.

JeffTheAlpaca

Maybe not but who is watching the Daily Show now?

It has no buzz and almost has become completely irrelevant now.

Noonan

It's gotten a lot better now that he's more comfortable. I think letting him do the opening as a stand-up act rather than behind the desk helped. The Nightly Show is a whole other conversations...

Jay G.

The show went long last night, probably due to the extended bit on Trump University at the beginning, so my DVR cut out in the middle of the Debt Collection segment. Fortunately it's on Youtube:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxUAntt1z2c

MikahC

The whole episode was [insert preferred profanity here] fantastic. I had to cringe a bit on the debt buying segment as I was personally involved as a consultant in a project to sell hundreds of millions of dollars of delinquent debt. Very often when I have personal knowledge of things covered in the press and on TV, I end up thinking they get it quite wrong. But this segment was essentially right on the... money.

And since I care a lot about privacy and security, it doesn't escape my attention that by simply setting up a company (via the internet) and web site, John Oliver was able to buy names, social security numbers, etc. of tons of people for pennies on the dollar ... legitimately. I wonder what damage black hat hackers could do with such a trove.

Deftones

yeah, mine cut off too.

Hiro11

Debt collection on purchased paper can be a scuzzy business, but the stunt was more than a little self serving. $60K in ancient charged-off debt is worth... $60K, not $15MM. Also, this was not a victimless event, someone paid for those medical costs. That someone paying for the debt was you and me, not John Oliver. There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Jay G.

It's highly unlikely that anyone would ever be able to collect the full $15 million, but it's likely worth a little more than $60,000, given that there are debt collectors that will buy debt packages like that. As Oliver pointed out, even collecting on just 1% of that debt would double your money.

And those costs were written off years ago, so they technically don't exist except as an abstract concept, which is why the original creditors sold them off for pennies on the dollar.

It was a clever stunt, and it wasn't the same as giving away $15 million in actual cash or prizes, but it also had a real effect on the people in that debt package being saved from being harassed, again, for debts that happened years ago and possibly weren't even there's, or were erased with bankruptcy, or possibly even paid off.

Paff

I think the more important way to look at it is that it's $15 million that the sleazy debt collectors DON'T get.

Like Jay G mentioned, the original people who were owed this money settled the debt for a very small amount. However, it's not the original debtors that they settled with, but rather anyone who'd pay it. ANYONE. Oliver illustrated some of the sleazy tactics, and also how unsecure this is in the fact that an HBO comedian could buy the debt, not a reputable bank or loan company. If someone stiffs the person they owe money to, then shame on them (the person who owes the money). But if the debt can be sold for pennies on the dollar, then it's patently clear that being shorted is not really doing them any harm. So in that sense, it IS a victimless event.

Troy Stiffler

Good one last night. Predatory car loans. I've observed this for awhile now. And I would have done it in the past. But I got into a $1000 car a couple years ago, and it's still alive and well. Fuck that game where you stretch yourself out to drive a car.

In addition, they're packaging sub-prime auto loans the same way they did with home loans. Good times.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4U2eDJnwz_s" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

BDB

It really seemed the same as Pay day loans etc, interestingly had just watched the big short over the weekend, so the sub prime stuff was fresh in my mind.

Troy Stiffler

I was in a position where Wells Fargo wanted to loan me $200k for a condo at 17% in 2008. And I get the same mailings he's talking about, where I'd end up with a nicer car a 20% or more. The public transportation estimates are accurate too. I rode the bus around Phoenix for a couple years in the early 2000's. It would take 1-2 hours to get to the mall that's a 10 minute drive away. The best bus route takes a big loop around. You have to sit at all of the stops. You have to walk to the bus stop.

My suggest for anyone who wants a car but cannot afford one... Go buy an old Corolla, Cavalier, or Metro. Get it as "stripped down" as possible (the less electric running around, the more dependable). And then buy a Mitchell manual to go with it. Do repairs yourself. Use it for your commute. I have a 2002 Cavalier that works great for this. Though I hate doing repairs, so I take it to a garage.

Embrace the thriftiness of the car and don't be ashamed of it. Laugh at the people who stretch out their finances so they can drive around in an average car they can barely afford.

Jay G.

After about a month off, and an Emmy win, Last Week Tonight is back this evening.


I particularly liked his back stage interview at the Emmys:

Jay G.

Season Finale last night. In an unprecedented move, the entire episode focused on the election, with not even a "quick recap" at the beginning, and as a result, the full episode was posted on Youtube:

BDB

I understand he needs it, but I really miss his show when they are off air.

feenst

I was watching old Colbert Late Show clips on YouTube and the episode came on as an ad.

Jackskeleton

the amount of research the show does in their stories is something that rivals Frontline some times. While I miss it as much as you, I can totally see why they need the time off to get that material together for that half hour of comedy injected news source cause man, turning that into comedy sometimes just looks so painful of a process.

Trevor

I love Oliver's humor and morals more than almost anything, but tend to agree with the theory that he and his ilk gave us Trump.
http://thefederalist.com/2016/11/11/...-donald-trump/

Jay G.

I call BS. Trump is not their fault. FOX News was already spitting out biased BS and calling it "news" long before most of the comedians named even had shows.

Oliver did note the problem of media, and their own role in it, in the latest episode. While he does qualify that they fact-check thoroughly, there can be a problem in getting news and info from solely sources with viewpoints you agree with. It's more of a personal responsibility issue though, rather than a problem with a responsibly run show having a clear bias.

mcnabb

I am not a Trump supporter so I don't want you to think I am defending him or FoxNews. Even FoxNews didn't see Trump's rise as most of their Pundits are Establishment types who didn't agree with Trump on Trade, Foreign Policy and Immigration.

The only people on FoxNews that were really beating the drum for Trump were Hannity, Judge Jeannine and a few minor pundits like Eric Bolling. Megyn Kelly, Charles Krauthammer, George Will, Bill Kristol, Dana Perino, Greg Gutfeld were pretty much Anti-Trump throughout the campaign.

Trump tapped into that Democrat Blue Collar Voter that hasn't voted Republican since Reagan/Bush in the 80's. That is what everyone in the media missed (including most pundits at Fox) is that he wasn't really speaking to Conservative Republicans and that is why he kept winning despite not being fully endorsed by Paul Ryan and most Republicans in Washington.

Nobody thought Trump would take PA, MI, and WI and that was because he tapped into those voters, and no matter what John Oliver, FoxNews, CNN or anyone in the media said about Trump being crazy, they had their minds made up months ago about him because they felt so disillusioned about everything in Washington.

Trevor

I think it's not so much the last year of (justifiable imo) Trump bashing that swung voters, but the last dozen or so years of most late night comedy being conservative bashing.

Jay G.

From what I've read, it wasn't so much that people switch sides, but some previously disillusioned voters, particularly white males, came out to vote for Trump when they previously hadn't for older elections.

Anyway, I can agree that a lot of media outlets missed the sort of "hidden" support for Trump, but I don't think they "gave us" Trump. Trump isn't the product of "conservative bashing" by particular outlets, but by his savvy exploitation of certain voters' fears and distrust of the establishment and their previous disenfranchisement. He gave simple, clear answers to the problems and fears these people have. And it wasn't noticed by the mainstream media because it was driven a lot via social media and their echo chambers.