Tag Archives: John Oliver

Mediaite recaps: Despite the loud cries from the scores of Bernie Sanders faithful, it seems likely that now the stage is set for the final two contenders for the White House to go head-to-head. The developments that have propelled Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to the forefront of their parties have been steeped, often, in deep controversy. The primary and …

John Oliver notes that Uber drivers can often pinpoint your location more accurately than some 911 systems. Via Gizmodo: Many of the call centers that handle your emergency calls are powered by out-dated technology. John Oliver thinks that’s “fine if you’re describing a Radio Shack, but a little scary if you’re calling a place that handles emergency situations.” He reckons …

Yahoo recaps: On Sunday’s Last Week Tonight, John Oliver debunked scientific studies that make outrageous claims. Oliver pointed to an example of an all too familiar subject of studies: Coffee. “In just the last few months, we’ve seen studies about coffee that claim it may reverse the effects of liver damage, help prevent colon cancer, decrease the risk of endometrial …

TIME recaps: John Oliver turned his attention southward on Last Week Tonight to discuss Puerto Rico. The U.S. territory is in a massive financial crisis, facing nearly $70 billion in debt, with a poverty rate of nearly 45%. “Puerto Rico is like the last Tower Records: everything’s overpriced, everyone’s being laid off, and there is still a really weird number …

Stick around for the Sesame Street singalong at the end. Via Salon: “Last Week Tonight” host John Oliver last night centered his main segment on lead — as in the element that’s effectively poisoned the drinking water in Flint, Michigan. “Unfortunately, the problem is not just in Flint,” Oliver explained, citing a USA Today Network report that “found lead contamination …

TIME recaps: This week, Last Week Tonight tackled credit reports, or as John Oliver calls them, “the basis for the single most important three digit number in your whole life other than 311, the Beatles of rap-rock.” Credit reports can affect many aspects of your life, including whether banks will lend you money or whether a landlord will rent you …

Mediaite recaps: The deep-dive on Sunday night’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver took a look at the role of money in politics, but not in the we-all-know-there-should-less-money-in-politics sort of way. Instead, the segment examined the hours lost to congressional fundraising, and the mind-numbingly dull process for elected officials to ensure that they stay competitive in their reelection bids. Oliver …

The Week recaps: Last Week Tonight took a break for Easter, but John Oliver posted a special web-only video to celebrate the holiday. And he created it, he said, “in one of YouTube’s most entertaining forms. I’m talking, of course, about YouTube conspiracy videos, science fiction for people who don’t understand they’re watching science fiction.” Whenever he watches one of …

The Daily Beast recaps: On Sunday’s edition of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver demolished Trump’s silly wall plan. “The border wall is one of the few policy proposals Trump has talked about in detail, so instead of mocking or dismissing it out of hand, tonight let’s take a serious proposal by a serious presidential candidate seriously,” announced Oliver. …

Mashable recaps: Apple’s refusal to create a backdoor that would help the FBI get into an iPhone that once belonged to a terrorist caused a number of reactions from businessmen, IT experts and politicians. Few, however, have the ability to summarize different aspects of a complex issue (and throw in a few jokes) as comedian John Oliver, who dissected the …

Florida’s primary is next week and yesterday I spotted the above banner plane over Miami Beach. I can’t find a news account of who paid for the message, which picks up on John Oliver’s suggestion that Trump only be referred to by his original family name. Winter Party attendees whooped loudly as the banner came into view.

The Washington Post notes that last night John Oliver devoted 22 “brutal” minutes to eviscerating Donald Trump. Oliver also has a plan: Oliver offered a novel strategy for those who wish to battle Trump: refer to the candidate by “Drumpf,” what one biographer said the Trump family name was before it “evolved over the centuries.” Indeed, Gwenda Blair, the author …

Via Raw Story: On HBO’s “Last Week Tonight,” host John Oliver ripped into Republicans for their ever-evolving reasons for trying to hold off voting on a new U.S. Supreme Court justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia. GOP presidential contender Ted Cruz established an arbitrary 80-year time frame during which he said no president ever got a hearing for a …

TIME sets up the clip: Even idiots should have an equal vote, according to John Oliver. On his return to Last Week Tonight, Oliver jumped right into election year issues, specifically so-called voter ID laws, which have proliferated in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to curtail the Voting Rights Act. Proponents of such laws argue that requiring …

John Oliver last night added fuel to a long-running “dump the penny” campaign. TIME reports: On the last episode of Last Week Tonight of the year, Oliver called for a small change that could have big results for the U.S. economy — ending the penny. According to Oliver, 8 billion pennies are produced each year, and in an ironic twist, …

Gothamist recaps: John Oliver took full advantage of the linguistic freedoms afforded by HBO to unload an incredulous, obscenity-filled rant against the perpetrators of the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night. Kicking off his Sunday broadcast of “Last Week Tonight,” Oliver warned viewers that their ears were about to be scorched by a “moment of premium cable profanity,” …

Last night John Oliver ripped into Republican leaders who oppose expanding Medicaid coverage in their home states. Raw Story recaps: According to Oliver, 20 Republican-led states opted out of accepting what is essentially free money from the federal government in order to provide needed health care for residents who can’t afford health insurance. One state that has had overwhelming success …

John Oliver appeared on CBS this weekend where he declared that he has no interest in interviewing Donald Trump. This afternoon Trump responded in typical fashion by falsely claiming that he’d rejected Oliver’s invitation to appear on his show. The Late Show immediately called him out on the lie on social media, but even if Trump’s supporters see that, they …

Vox recaps last night’s segment: Americans do not typically think of Canada as a particularly riveting political subject; journalist Michael Kinsley once joked that the most boring headline imaginable would be “worthwhile Canadian initiative.” But this year’s Canadian federal election, for which voting is today, is both important and, if you’ve been following its twists and turns, pretty interesting. John …

Mediaite recaps last night’s show: “Perhaps the clearest sign of how little we want to talk about mental health is that one of the only times it’s brought up is, as we’ve seen yet again this week, in the aftermath of a mass shooting, as a means of steering the conversation away from gun control,” Oliver said. After playing clips …