Seasons & episodes
S2 · E32Medicaid Gap 2015-11-01 · 30 min
John Oliver looks at the upcoming local state elections, the results of which could affect the lives of millions of Americans that are looking for Medicaid assistance. Plus, the 'peace talks' held in Vienna, Austria concerning the war in Syria gather nearly 20 countries, but not a single representative from Syria itself. And how Kenny G could help de-escalate the tension between China and its neighbors in South China Sea.
S2 · E33Prisoner Re-entry 2015-11-08 · 30 min
John Oliver discusses problems that prisoners face when re-entering the society after they're released from prison. A quick interview with Bilal Chatman shines a light on one such case. Plus, a law proposed in the United Kingdom advocates for a mass surveillance of citizens' online activities, how Department of Defense is paying huge sums of money to professional sports teams to honor veterans during their events, and Washington Redskins file a lawsuit to defend their poorly chosen trademark name by naming other terrible examples.
S2 · E34Daily Fantasy Sports 2015-11-15 · 30 min
John talks about the recent Paris attacks, China's Singles Day, the Koh-i-Noor diamond and Daily Fantasy Sports.
S2 · E35Refugees & Pennies 2015-11-22 · 30 min
John reflects on the aftermath of Paris attacks and how it affects refugees worldwide. Plus, he questions the usefulness of the U.S. penny, since minting the coins costs more than they're actually worth.
S3 · E1Voting 2016-02-14 · 30 min
John talks about the late Antonin Scalia's love of the Letter of the Law, Chipotle's food safety problems, how Voter IDs laws should be applied to those who write them, and New Zealand's economic development minister Steven Joyce.
S3 · E2Abortion Laws 2016-02-21 · 30 min
John talks about the South Carolina Republican primary, the Supreme Court vacancy and abortion, which theoretically is legal in the U.S., but some states make it practically inaccessible. Plus, how is Hollywood whitewashing still a thing?
S3 · E3Donald Trump 2016-02-28 · 30 min
John talks about the Egyptian president and economic crisis, the Guantanamo Bay shutdown and Donald Trump.
S3 · E4Special Districts 2016-03-06 · 30 min
Special districts spend more public money than all city governments combined. That's odd considering most of us don't know they exist.
S3 · E5Encryption 2016-03-13 · 29 min
Strong encryption poses problems for law enforcement, is weakening it worth the risks it presents? It's…complicated.
S3 · E6Border Wall 2016-03-20 · 30 min
Donald Drumpf wants to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Is his plan feasible?
S3 · E7Congressional Fundraising 2016-04-03 · 30 min
Lawmakers have to raise money to keep their jobs, but a surprising amount of their job now consists of raising money. John Oliver sits down with Congressman Steve Israel to discuss the costs of political spending.
S3 · E8Credit Reports 2016-04-10 · 30 min
Credit reports play a surprisingly large role in our lives, but even more surprising is how often they contain critical mistakes. John Oliver helps credit agencies see why this is a problem.
S3 · E9Lead 2016-04-17 · 30 min
Lead poisoning is a national problem. If only lawmakers were as concerned as the puppets on Sesame Street.
S3 · E10Puerto Rico 2016-04-24 · 30 min
Puerto Rico is suffering a massive debt crisis. Lin-Manuel Miranda joins John Oliver to call for relief.
S3 · E11Scientific Studies 2016-05-08 · 30 min
John Oliver on Sticking to the Facts: Media outlets often report new findings from scientific studies, but how many are true?
S3 · E12911 2016-05-15 · 30 min
John Oliver on 911 Reliability: Things you never want to hear: there are no guarantees when you call 911. Emergency call centers are in desperate need of funding and new technology, so “no guarantees” is the unfortunate reality.
S3 · E13Primaries and Caucuses 2016-05-22 · 30 min
Last Week Tonight Tackles U.S. Primaries and Caucuses: The United States selection process for presidential nominees is convoluted — to say the least. Nevertheless, John Oliver reminds Americans that the "middle of the game" is the worst possible time to change the rules.
S3 · E14Debt Buyers 2016-06-05 · 35 min
John Oliver Takes On Debt Buyers: Companies that purchase debt on the cheap will aggressively collect on it. 'Last Week Tonight’ took a hands-on approach to addressing this issue.
S3 · E15Retirement Plans 2016-06-12 · 32 min
John Oliver Covers Ins and Outs of Retirement Plans: Saving for retirement means navigating a potential minefield of high fees and bad advice - Last Week Tonight is here to help.
S3 · E16Brexit 2016-06-19 · 30 min
John Oliver on “Brexiting” from the EU: There might be an innate British desire to diss Europe, but Last Week Tonight lays out exactly why it’s a mistake to leave the EU.
S3 · E17Doping 2016-06-26 · 30 min
John talks about the aftermath of the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and doping in sports with the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio on the horizon.
S3 · E18Republican National Convention 2016-07-24 · 30 min
John talks about the disastrous Republican National Convention in Cleveland, where politicians were mostly talking about their feelings equating them to facts. Plus, Hillary Clinton's VP pick, the appointment of Boris Johnson as Britain's Foreign Secretary, the resignation of Roger Ailes from FOX and the unauthorized use of songs in political campaigns.
S3 · E19Democratic National Convention 2016-07-31 · 30 min
John covers the rocky Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Plus, the military coup in Turkey and its aftermath, the voter ID laws targeting the minorities and how are tanning beds still a thing.
S3 · E20Journalism 2016-08-07 · 30 min
John Oliver has some bad news about the state of the industry that gives us our news. Plus, the coverage of the Opening Ceremony of Rio Olympics.