Seasons & episodes
S30 · E62May 13, 2025 - Matt Wolf 2025-05-13 · 27 min
Jordan Klepper breaks down day one of Saudi Arabia's effort to buy Trump's affection: Arabian horses, a McDonald's food truck, some business deals, and a mid-meeting nap. Plus, Michael Kosta is so taken by the Saudis' lavish welcome he almost forgets about their oppression and orchestration of 9/11. Trump's 2024 campaign blitz through right-wing podcasters and influencers bought him a big win among young male voters, so Jordan Klepper sat down with liberal darling and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker to better understand how the Left can find a bridge into bro culture, and how easily men are sucked into the manosphere by social media algorithms. Award-winning filmmaker Matt Wolf sits down with Jordan Klepper to discuss his new two-part HBO documentary, "Pee-Wee as Himself," which tells the story of the late comedian Paul Reubens in his own words.
S30 · E63May 14, 2025 - Colum McCann 2025-05-14 · 28 min
Jordan Klepper covers Trump's lavish welcome in Qatar and lifting of Syrian sanctions, while RFK Jr. lands himself in muddy waters over swimming in a contaminated creek. Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt and Troy Iwata fight over investigating Trump's $400 million jet vs. the sewage-tainted Rock Creek. The Trump administration is full of corruption, bigotry, and incompetence, but there's one thing about them that Leslie Jones hates the most: They're fucking GOOFY! She breaks down how Elon's dad jokes, RFK Jr.'s sewage-swimming, and everything about JD Vance are only Making America Goofy Asses. Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning author, sits down with Jordan Klepper to discuss his latest novel, "Twist", which follows the people who fix the underwater cables that carry the world's digital information at the extreme depths of the ocean.
S30 · E64May 15, 2025 - Rep. Jake Auchincloss 2025-05-15 · 30 min
Jordan Klepper recaps Trump's visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he was greeted by a lackluster hair dance ceremony, serenaded a Qatari military base with Lee Greenwood, and twisted discussions about drones into a ramble about Sean Duffy and Pete Buttigieg's bicycle. Plus, as his Middle Eastern tour comes to an end, Josh Johnson analyzes whether the president accomplished anything. Ronny Chieng tests out effective altruism by joining the Shrimp Welfare Project to ascertain if sparing shrimp from anxiety and painful death is a productive way to be philanthropic. "If we're going to govern from a place of trust with the American people, we have to show people what we are for, not just what we are against". Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss joins Jordan Klepper to unpack his recent 27-hour markup session of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
S30 · E65May 19, 2025 - Patrick McGee 2025-05-19 · 44 min
Jon Stewart critiques the media spin on Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis, from CNN's shameless promotion of Jake Tapper's book to Fox News's "but"-tainted sympathies. ward-winning journalist Patrick McGee joins Jon Stewart to discuss how Apple built China in his new book "Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company". They talk about Apple "sleepwalking" into this crisis, building a competitive market in Xi Jinping's authoritarian state, the vocational training that boosted rivals, how Trump's attempted Apple boycott backfired, and whether investments may be facilitating the annexation of Taiwan.
S30 · E66May 20, 2025 - Prabal Gurung 2025-05-20 · 41 min
Ronny Chieng covers Trump's cabinet cracking under pressure, from Kristi Noem drawing a blank on habeas corpus, immigration getting the Bravo treatment, Kash Patel and Dan Bongino flip-flopping on Jeffrey Epstein's "suicide", and Sean Duffy finding an air travel solution in a Jesus painting. In the latest edition of Sports War, Ronny Chieng and Michael Kosta go head to head over NYC's street-wide Knicks celebration, the Dodgers' new Japanese pitcher's bathroom requests, and Bill Belichick spending the rest of his life with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson. Prabal Gurung, award-winning fashion designer and author of the new memoir "Walk Like a Girl", describes to Ronny Chieng how his rise through the fashion world of New York began with the support of his family in Nepal, especially his mother.
S30 · E67May 21, 2025 - Simon Pegg 2025-05-21 · 34 min
Ronny Chieng tackles the president of South Africa's uncomfortable White House visit and a MAGA couple shortchanged by a "RUMP" watch. Plus, Trump sets his heart on a $542 billion "golden dome" to protect America from hypothetical attacks, including those provoked by international roast comic Grace Kuhlenschmidt. Lenard McKelvey (aka "Charlamagne Tha God") looks at Republicans' obsession with Trump as a father figure and reminds them that not only is Trump a bad dad to his own kids, he's an abusive dad to Americans. Screenwriter, comedian, and actor Simon Pegg joins Ronny Chieng to promote the final installment of the franchise, "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning". They talk about Pegg's humble beginnings doing standup with his goldfish, how the director Christopher McQuarrie weaved earlier films into the franchise's ending, the power of movie theaters to unite people in experiences, and Tom Cruise's comedic timing while performing epic live-action stunts.
S30 · E68May 22, 2025 - Dawn Staley 2025-05-22 · 30 min
Ronny Chieng covers the House passing Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill", trading Medicaid, food stamps, and the national debt for a waiver on silencer registration fees. Plus, the Big Beautiful Bill (Troy Iwata) can't handle the Democrats' poetic attack on his looks. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is asking undocumented migrants to self-deport for a $1000 stipend, and Al Madrigal is taking her up on the offer. He tells Ronny Chieng how he's living large in South Sudan, the DHS's new favorite war-torn dumping ground. Dawn Staley, basketball legend and head coach of the University of South Carolina women's basketball team, talks to Ronny Chieng about her new memoir, "Uncommon Favor", and how she's built a championship program by valuing individuals over analytics and meeting her players where they are.
S30 · E69June 2, 2025 - Carole Cadwalladr 2025-06-02 · 42 min
Jon Stewart tracks Elon Musk's White House crash, from the high of being Trump's "first buddy" to the low of his black-eyed DOGE send-off. Now that the 100-day honeymoon is over, Jon also checks in on Trump's other struggling cabinet members, like the FBI's burned-out deputy director, Dan Bongino. "I think what is happening in America is they are building a techno-authoritarian surveillance state." Carole Cadwalladr, the award-winning journalist behind the Substack newsletter "How to Survive the Broligarchy," talks to Jon Stewart about how the U.S. government ignored the huge wake-up call that was the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook data breach scandal – a story Cadwalladr broke and which resulted in no legislative protections for citizens' private data. She warns about the unregulated dangers that data-mining and AI pose to individual privacy and freedom, and what people and institutions can do to push back on big tech's authoritarian agenda.
S30 · E70June 3, 2025 - Candace Parker 2025-06-03 · 30 min
Michael Kosta unpacks Elon Musk calling Trump's Big Beautiful Bill a "disgusting abomination"; the head of FEMA learning there's a hurricane season; Social Security chief Frank Bisignano googling "social security"; and Tulsi Gabbard's Fox News-style intelligence briefing makeover. For those airline customers nervous that diverse pilots aren't qualified for their jobs, White Flight's racial support pilots can put their minds at ease. Let a white male stand-in reassure passengers that their plane won't crash from DEI, while the actual pilots do all the work behind the scenes. "I would challenge anyone to love the game of basketball more than me". Candace Parker, three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, joins Michael Kosta to discuss her new book, "The Can-Do Mindset".
S30 · E71June 4, 2025 - Leah Litman 2025-06-04 · 35 min
Michael Kosta dives into the fallout of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill: Elon slamming the "sprawling spending bill" and turning on Trump, Democrats backing Elon's criticisms, and Marjorie Taylor Greene revealing she never read it in the first place. Plus, the Big Beautiful Bill (Troy Iwata) claps back at all the new haters. The Trump administration has pushed out legacy media outlets from the White House press room in favor of more conspiratorial right-wing "new media" figures like Tim Pool: a conservative YouTuber and podcaster passionate about stroking Trump's ego and delivering truthful reporting sponsored by Russian interests. "The next several decades might look like a ‘Hunger Games' for liberal constitutional democracy." University of Michigan Law professor and "Strict Scrutiny" co-host Leah Litman joins Michael Kosta to discuss her New York Times bestseller, "Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes."
S30 · E72June 5, 2025 - Jonathan D. Cohen 2025-06-05 · 32 min
Michael Kosta unpacks the latest in Musk and Trump's messy bromance breakup: Elon doubling down on critiques against the Big Beautiful Bill, Trump's parent-level guilt, Kanye West calling for a ceasefire, and threats of an Epstein files leak. Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt explains that the president is merely playing a game of 7D chess. Students and teachers alike are outsourcing all their work to AI, but Lewis Black thinks kids should stop experimenting with AI in college and go back to experimenting with fun things, like LSD. Jonathan D. Cohen, historian and author of the new book, "Losing Big: America's Bet on Sports Gambling," joins Michael Kosta to break down how legalized sports betting has become such a huge part of American sports culture, industry, and has created a public health gambling addiction crisis, especially among young men.
S30 · E73June 9, 2025 - Stephen A. Smith 2025-06-09 · 39 min
Jon Stewart examines chaos in the MAGA-verse, as escalating ICE raids in Los Angeles erupt in protests, Stephen Miller hunts for nonviolent immigrants, Elon plays the Epstein card on Trump, and the Trump-Elon alpha male war reveals itself as a sensitive baby feud. "I want to be a major player in terms of a voice and a conduit for change. I want to make sure that people know that the BS has got to stop". Stephen A. Smith, bestselling author & presenter of "The Stephen A. Smith Show", sits down with Jon Stewart to discuss why he would rather be a hellraiser than an elected official, how politicians have divided and contributed to the demise of America, and why the messenger matters in politics.
S30 · E74June 10, 2025 - Bryan Cranston 2025-06-10 · 30 min
Desi Lydic has the latest updates from the L.A. ICE protests, including Trump's outsized military deployment to the city, which defies both California Governor Gavin Newsom and the... "Pussy Comitatus Act"? Plus, one soldier sends a letter home from the frontlines of the L.A. war. Where does the public stand on Trump vs. Elon? Grace Kuhlenschmidt and Josh Johnson head out to ask New Yorkers to pick: Team Douche or Team Pedophile? Bryan Cranston joins Desi Lydic to discuss his new movie, "Everything's Going To Be Great," and a busy year of work, including his third film with Wes Anderson and playing a hilarious exec on "The Studio." He shares how he navigates portraying vastly different characters, why he had to really sell himself to get the role of Walter White, and his passion for live theater.
S30 · E75June 11, 2025 - Atsuko Okatsuka 2025-06-11 · 26 min
Desi Lydic tackles Trump's politicized Fort Bragg rally, which screened soldiers for loyalty and waist size. Also, Trump plans a $45 million military parade for his birthday, and Ronny Chieng is pumped to sit courtside at a display of America's military might. Corporate America has been suspiciously quiet this Pride Month due to fear of backlash from the Trump administration. Desi Lydic and Troy Iwata discuss the current muted tones of Pride Month, and how the corporations will have to prove themselves when the pendulum swings back to the gays. Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka talks to Desi Lydic about her new Hulu stand-up special, "Father", including how her lack of housework partly inspired the title, as well as the intentional juxtaposition of her colorful clothes and set with the deeply personal stories she mines for levity.
S30 · E76June 12, 2025 - Jeff Hiller 2025-06-12 · 32 min
Desi Lydic tackles Elon Musk's vague apology to Trump; RFK Jr. putting his conspiracy buddies in charge at the CDC; and Tulsi Gabbard getting AI to do the FBI's homework. Also, Trump celebrated deploying the military on Angelenos with tickets to "Les Misérables", so Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, and Josh Johnson debate whether the president is a Jean Valjean or a Javert. Stephen A. Smith is the King of Takes, but how did he begin his reign? From the Fashion Institute of Technology to Winston-Salem State University, Smith went from the basketball court to print media, ensuring that everyone knew he had all the best takes. After getting a job at ESPN, Smith taught everyone the difference between talking shit and taking shit. Actor, writer, and comedian Jeff Hiller sits down with Desi Lydic to discuss his new memoir, "Actress of a Certain Age".
S30 · E77June 16, 2025 - John Mulaney 2025-06-16 · 50 min
Jon Stewart breaks down Netanyahu's "urgent" strike on Iran's nuclear program, MAGA's sustained focus on battling protesters and immigrants in Democratic cities, and how Trump's unattended parade of weaponry explains America's muted response to the Minnesota assassination. "This isn't the most important message you'll hear tonight, but everyone should fight three teenagers once a year." John Mulaney, actor, writer, comedian, and host of the Netflix show "Everybody's Live," fought three 14-year-old boys on the finale of his talk show and lived to tell Jon Stewart the tale. They get deep into fighting strategies, masculinity, father-son competition, the guy who threw his shoes at George W. Bush, and more. Plus, a game of Daily Show Interview Guest Jeopardy.
S30 · E78June 17, 2025 - Bill Clinton & James Patterson 2025-06-17 · 49 min
Jordan Klepper dives into Trump's Irish exit from Canada's G7 Summit to explore a "better than a ceasefire" between Israel and Iran, and how Trump's threats against Iran's ayatollah started an intra-MAGA beef with Tucker Carlson. Plus, Michael Kosta finds a delicious way to capitalize on the situation in Iran. Was Trump's parade a military celebration or a show of authoritarian power? Jordan Klepper hit the streets of Washington, D.C., to talk to MAGA during Trump's $45 million military parade. Klepper asks folks how they feel about DOGE cuts, the L.A. protests, and whether they showed up to celebrate the military or the president's birthday. "If you don't like who's being elected, and you don't like what they're doing, you got to get out there and fight for it. And one of the things that we try to do in this book is to make people see that."
S30 · E79June 18, 2025 - Matt Berninger 2025-06-18 · 36 min
Jordan Klepper covers the latest on a potential war with Iran, including the fight between Tucker Carlson and Sen. Ted Cruz that was heard across the MAGA-verse and Trump's big decision to ignore the problem and focus on erecting flagpoles. Jordan Klepper and Desi Lydic go head-to-head over the latest sports news: DeMarcus Cousins's outburst in Puerto Rico, Aaron Rodgers's surprise wedding, and Caitlin Clark's return to the WNBA. Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter and frontman of the band The National, Matt Berninger, sits down with Jordan Klepper to discuss traveling back to his Midwest roots in his new solo album "Get Sunk." They talk about burning down the idea of who you are to find your authentic self, how he started writing songs on baseballs, connecting to Taylor Swift's honest songwriting, and how the song "Inland Ocean" is a prologue for the album.
S30 · E80July 7, 2025 - Steve Kroft 2025-07-07 · 44 min
Jon Stewart covers the passage of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill: Republicans bashing then endorsing the megabill, trading tax cuts to sway senators, giving a $40 billion infusion to ICE, boosting billionaires at the expense of Medicaid and SNAP, and more. Former CBS "60 Minutes" correspondent and Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist Steve Kroft joins Jon Stewart to discuss a $16 million settlement in President Trump's lawsuit against Paramount Global, CBS and Comedy Central's parent company. They discuss how an incoming corporate merger and pressure from Trump's FCC may have influenced the settlement, why journalists and legal experts consider it a "shakedown," its impact on freedom of the press, and the one thing Trump didn't get: an apology.
S30 · E81July 8, 2025 - Michael Luo 2025-07-08 · 34 min
The Department of Justice (and Michael Kosta) try to gaslight Ronny Chieng about a suddenly "nonexistent" Jeffrey Epstein client list, Trump lists Benjamin Netanyahu as a reference on his Nobel Peace Prize application, and the TSA ends their foot fetish. Ronny Chieng checks in on the status of Trump's trade war, including the president's half-firm decision on another tariff delay and his new international trade pen pal, "Mr. Japan." "History is written by the powerful, and the powerless are often left out of history." Michael Luo, author of "Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America" and executive editor at The New Yorker, joins Ronny Chieng to discuss the untold stories of Asian American persistence and resilience in the face of bigotry.
S30 · E82July 9, 2025 - Lauren Greenfield 2025-07-09 · 35 min
Ronny Chieng dives into the expanding world of AI: Elon Musk's de-wokified Grok goes Nazi, a Marco Rubio imposter fools government officials, and Grace Kuhlenschmidt appreciates the mediocre world of AI-generated music. Don't worry about Trump's Big Beautiful Bill passing, because Michael Kosta is cracking the code on how you can exploit Medicaid cuts, gambling taxes, and even Alaskan tax breaks to make some sweet dough. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Lauren Greenfield and Ronny Chieng dive into the effects of social media on teens, which she explores firsthand in her latest docu-series, "Social Studies". She shares how she built up enough trust with the teenage documentary subjects to record their phone activities and how their discussion group highlighted children's hunger for in-person conversation and connection with their peers.
S30 · E83July 10, 2025 - Youngmi Mayer 2025-07-10 · 34 min
Ronny Chieng weighs in on Trump's international affairs: a hike in tariffs to help his Brazilian doppelgänger stay out of prison, an Iranian threat to his sunbathed bellybutton, and a light refresher on the pause in aid to Ukraine. Plus, Josh Johnson reflects on Trump's understanding of African culture, from their languages to their love languages. Troy Iwata finds one job that AI can't do: human carpet. Performance artist and professional human carpet Georgio shares examples of his work and gives Troy a crash course in letting people walk all over you. Writer and comedienne Youngmi Mayer sits down with Ronny Chieng to discuss her memoir "I'm Laughing Because I'm Crying". They talk about growing up in Korea under the influence of pro-American propaganda, learning her Korean family history from her "certified yapper" mother, getting bullied for being biracial in Korea, and how she embodied the Korean practice of laughing through trauma in the book.
S30 · E84July 14, 2025 - Kyla Scanlon 2025-07-14 · 44 min
Jon Stewart delves into the MAGA furor over Trump's handling of the Epstein case, Trump's cheap distractions-turned-threats against Rosie O'Donnell, and the president's double standard on red state vs. blue state relief. Plus, Jon demands accountability from Elmo for his antisemitic rant on X. "Most economic problems are political problems at the end of the day." Economic commentator Kyla Scanlon sits down with Jon Stewart to discuss her book, "In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work." They talk about the importance of teaching Americans about the economy in accessible ways, how the government has weaponized people to justify Medicaid cuts under Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, why labor and capital don't have to be mutually exclusive, and why she's optimistic about the future.
S30 · E85July 15, 2025 - Thomas Chatterton Williams 2025-07-15 · 46 min
With MAGA and Democrats demanding answers about the Epstein files and Trump denying their existence, Jordan Klepper charts the president's well-documented history with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, which might be why the president wants the entire thing to blow over. Also, Michael Kosta offers up a defense from Mar-a-Lago. Do you have a moment to talk about the environment with Nick Offerman? "To talk about it only as a matter of identity actually limits our ability to engage non-Black people in the struggle, which is that no American should be OK with law enforcement being able to break somebody, especially a poor person without any resources, the way that they broke George Floyd, whatever color you are". Thomas Chatterton Williams, staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the forthcoming book, "Summer of Our Discontent: The Age of Certainty and the Demise of Discourse", joins Jordan Klepper to discuss his analysis of America's fall from Obama-era optimism.