One of my favorite pundits is comedian John Oliver. Since leaving “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” he has made his mark on the premium cable network HBO with “Last Week Tonight.” Once a week, John takes a satirical look at news, politics and current events, often laced with “colorful” language, videos and costumed characters. Even though the program is on HBO, the show is available on YouTube and has a huge following.
Each week, John takes on complicated subjects and makes them interesting, from transgender rights to Scottish Independence. Last year, when Net Neutrality was threatened by a ruling from the FCC, John addressed the issue in a 13 minute video that not only went viral on the internet but resulted in tens of thousands of Americans complaining to the Federal Communications Commission and crashing the FCC’s online comment system. He has also had some great interviews. Who else could interview Stephen Hawking and make it funny and yet respectful?
Last week, after the attacks in Paris, John paid tribute to the resiliency of the French, which can no longer be embedded and again, last night, how France has rebounded.
Yes, that is the France we all know and love.
He then took on the attacks and the issue of right wing fear mongering about migrants and refugees, explaining the vetting process Syrian refugees face.
H/t to Heather at Crooks & Liars for the full 10 minutes.
This is the end of the show’s second season and will return on February 14 with 35 more episodes. While we wait for more of John’s witty wisdom, we will be posting some his segments with some pertinent news on the topic.
Until then, there is this