Jon Stewart – One of My Favorite People - What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast

1. 0:00 – 0:03

   Intro

   1. JSJon Stewart0:00

      [upbeat music]

2. 0:03 – 1:05

   Mic fidgeting, table noises, and settling into the conversation

   1. JSJon Stewart0:03

      I've thinking about this a lot and, and trying to, to wrap my mind around-

   2. TNTrevor Noah0:08

      Was the mic killing you? Sorry.

   3. JSJon Stewart0:09

      Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry. Sorry. I've, I've been thinking about this a lot.

   4. TNTrevor Noah0:13

      [laughs]

   5. JSJon Stewart0:13

      In my finger.

   6. TNTrevor Noah0:14

      You can pull it with you.

   7. JSJon Stewart0:15

      I'm gonna-

   8. TNTrevor Noah0:15

      You can-

   9. JSJon Stewart0:15

      I'm gonna hold on to it

   10. TNTrevor Noah0:16

       ... that's what I wanna do.

   11. JSJon Stewart0:17

       You know what it is?

   12. TNTrevor Noah0:17

       I wanna get like a dynamic mic.

   13. JSJon Stewart0:18

       I, I, I probably rock a little bit too much.

   14. TNTrevor Noah0:20

       I wanna get like a dynamic one-

   15. JSJon Stewart0:21

       I'm gonna sit quietly

   16. TNTrevor Noah0:21

       ... that moves with people.

   17. JSJon Stewart0:22

       Yeah. I'll try not to fidget. I'll just sit.

   18. TNTrevor Noah0:25

       No, I'll just keep watching you work.

   19. JSJon Stewart0:25

       You know what happens at, at when I'm taping is the sound engineer just keeps telling me to not rock my desk, 'cause I have a tendency to, like, do this, and this, and this.

   20. TNTrevor Noah0:33

       You make the sounds.

   21. JSJon Stewart0:34

       That's right. Sounds.

   22. TNTrevor Noah0:36

       I, I would hit the buttons. That was mine.

   23. JSJon Stewart0:38

       You would hit the buttons?

   24. TNTrevor Noah0:39

       Yeah. Well, you know, you have the buttons on the bottom of your suit.

   25. JSJon Stewart0:41

       Ah.

   26. TNTrevor Noah0:41

       And so I would always be doing this-

   27. JSJon Stewart0:42

       Okay

   28. TNTrevor Noah0:42

       ... on the desk.

   29. JSJon Stewart0:43

       Yeah, yeah.

   30. TNTrevor Noah0:43

       And then they to- I think they told me this week, ugh, week three of hosting.
3. 1:05 – 3:50

   Introversion, staying home, and “purposeful” social interaction

   1. TNTrevor Noah1:05

      This is What Now? with Trevor Noah. Welcome, friend. How are you?

   2. JSJon Stewart1:19

      Thank you. Nice to see you.

   3. TNTrevor Noah1:20

      Well, you-

   4. JSJon Stewart1:20

      I g- this is exciting to do this without headphones on. Like, I so don't do podcasts where you go and sit with people.

   5. TNTrevor Noah1:28

      I'm shocked that you leave the house, to be honest.

   6. JSJon Stewart1:30

      I don't do it very often.

   7. TNTrevor Noah1:31

      Yeah.

   8. JSJon Stewart1:31

      Only for you.

   9. TNTrevor Noah1:33

      That, can I tell you-

   10. JSJon Stewart1:33

       There's very few people

   11. TNTrevor Noah1:33

       ... I really take that as a, yeah. I was thinking that the other day. I was like, "Jon doesn't go anywhere."

   12. JSJon Stewart1:40

       That's correct.

   13. TNTrevor Noah1:41

       I met you not going anywhere.

   14. JSJon Stewart1:43

       [laughs] That's true.

   15. TNTrevor Noah1:45

       [laughs]

   16. JSJon Stewart1:45

       That's, it's one of the worst reputations to have because when you do show up somewhere, people are just like, "What? So what's going on?" Like, it almost feels like your parents have come home-

   17. TNTrevor Noah1:54

       That's hilarious

   18. JSJon Stewart1:54

       ... and they're like, "What's... Why are you here?" And you're like, "I am allowed to go out. I just mostly choose to not go out."

   19. TNTrevor Noah2:00

       Have you always been that way?

   20. JSJon Stewart2:02

       Yes.

   21. TNTrevor Noah2:03

       Why?

   22. JSJon Stewart2:03

       Uh, it's one of the reasons I think I got into stand-up. I am very, which seems sort of contradictory, but I'm very introverted. And so I don't, I don't get energy from socializing actually.

   23. TNTrevor Noah2:19

       Oh, yeah, no, I'm the same. Okay.

   24. JSJon Stewart2:20

       You're the same. Okay.

   25. TNTrevor Noah2:21

       Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm the same.

   26. JSJon Stewart2:22

       So, like, when I was younger, I would bartend to give me the illusion of being out. So I worked in bars forever because you felt like you were out.

   27. TNTrevor Noah2:34

       Yeah.

   28. JSJon Stewart2:35

       But you didn't have the idea where you had to, like, sit with somebody and socialize. You were doing something. You were wor- so you could focus on task at hand. Comedy's same way. You show up, it's a Friday night, it's a Saturday night, people are out, they're on dates, they're having fun, and what are you doing? Looking at my notes.

   29. TNTrevor Noah2:53

       [laughs]

   30. JSJon Stewart2:53

       "What's that? No, no, no. I'm going on in five."
4. 3:50 – 8:04

   The call that changed everything: Jon recruits Trevor for The Daily Show

   1. TNTrevor Noah3:50

      No, no, no. You know, you know what I think it is? I, it's, it's funny. Um, look, I mean, I only really came to the US properly when you brought me. You know? You called me.

   2. JSJon Stewart4:00

      I called you on the phone.

   3. TNTrevor Noah4:01

      It's still the most random call of all time, Jon.

   4. JSJon Stewart4:03

      And still the one that I still don't understand. I called up Trevor. I saw your stand-up. I saw, like, two minutes of your stand-up, and I was like, "That guy could do my job. This is very upsetting."

   5. TNTrevor Noah4:15

      What stand-up was this?

   6. JSJon Stewart4:16

      It was-

   7. TNTrevor Noah4:16

      'Cause I was only, I was only doing, like, South African stuff back then.

   8. JSJon Stewart4:18

      No, no, no. It was a special that you had done.

   9. TNTrevor Noah4:21

      From South Africa, though?

   10. JSJon Stewart4:23

       I believe it was from South Africa.

   11. TNTrevor Noah4:24

       Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   12. JSJon Stewart4:25

       But I watched it. You know, I, I've been doing this for a long time and we always have tapes and we're always looking for new talent. And there was a authenticity, but also an insight. Like, there was just... You had, uh, you had it. Son, let me tell you something.

   13. TNTrevor Noah4:47

       [laughs]

   14. JSJon Stewart4:48

       I don't know how to define it, but you had it. It wasn't the dimples.

   15. TNTrevor Noah4:53

       [laughs]

   16. JSJon Stewart4:53

       It was a whole other thing. Uh, it was... No, I just remember the material was so, like, insightful-

   17. TNTrevor Noah5:01

       Oh, man, thank you

   18. JSJon Stewart5:01

       ... but well de- like, and there was a warmth. There was all these things that I thought like, "Oh, that dude." Like, that doesn't just happen. You can't fake that. You can't... There is a certain level of artistry, craftsmanship, those authentic- those things that come together, and you smell it, like, immediately. And, and, and y- also the converse. Like, I can pop a tape in and go like, "Oh, the audience is nervous for that poor fellow." [laughs]

   19. TNTrevor Noah5:29

       Oh, yeah.

   20. JSJon Stewart5:29

       Like, that's-

   21. TNTrevor Noah5:30

       Yeah, yeah, yeah

   22. JSJon Stewart5:30

       ... take that out. It was, it's sort of like, uh, what is it? Dave Portnoy's One Bite: Everybody Knows the Rules. Like, same thing with comics a lot of times. Like, One Bite: Everybody Knows the Rules, and you watch it and go like, "Eight six. Nine two." You had that, and it's rare. And I'd watched enough tapes to know that it was rare, and I go, "Who's that guy?" And they go, "This guy Trevor Noah." And I go, "Let's have him do this show." And, uh, they said, "Well, he's not, you know, he's not from here. He's from S- uh, let's call him." And I was like- I'm Willy Wonka, and I'm about to call this dude-

   23. TNTrevor Noah6:04

       [laughs]

   24. JSJon Stewart6:04

       ... and blow his fucking mind and say like, "Son, your, your ship has come in."

   25. TNTrevor Noah6:10

       [laughs]

   26. JSJon Stewart6:11

       And so we call Trevor and we're like, "Jon Stewart of The Daily Show, New York City. And, uh, we'd like you to come in and do a bit for us." And you're like, "Well, my world tour doesn't end for another two months." [laughs]

   27. TNTrevor Noah6:24

       [laughs]

   28. JSJon Stewart6:24

       And I was like... And it took me a while to figure out like, "Oh, this opportunity, uh, is an enormous, uh, constriction of Trevor's visibility and a giant pay cut."

   29. TNTrevor Noah6:34

       No, but you know what-

   30. JSJon Stewart6:34

       [laughs]
5. 8:04 – 11:16

   Comedians on the phone & The Daily Show’s strange international context

   1. TNTrevor Noah8:04

      So, so you call me. And this was like, it w- I think what I, what I remember most about it was the comedy of the conversation. Because you called me like, "Hi, can I please speak to Trevor, Trevor?" I was like, "Oh, speaking. Where?" You're like, "Hey Trevor, this is, um, my name's Jon Stewart. I'm a comedian from New York City, Jon Stewart. You said you may or you may or may not know me." I said, "I'm sorry, I don't, I don't know you."

   2. JSJon Stewart8:21

      Yes.

   3. TNTrevor Noah8:21

      And you said, your wording was so specific and it was so funny. You said, "Nor should you have."

   4. JSJon Stewart8:26

      [laughs]

   5. TNTrevor Noah8:27

      "Nor should you have." [laughs] It was so self-effacing, I loved it. You said, "Nor should you have." And then, um, you said, "Well, I, um, I, uh, host a little show. I run a little show, uh, in New York City. It's, uh, called The Daily Show." And, uh, and I was like, "Oh, I've-"

   6. JSJon Stewart8:43

      Pause for applause.

   7. TNTrevor Noah8:44

      No, but then I said-

   8. JSJon Stewart8:45

      [laughs]

   9. TNTrevor Noah8:45

      ... "Oh, I've heard of that show." And you said, "As you should. As you should." [laughs]

   10. JSJon Stewart8:49

       [laughs]

   11. TNTrevor Noah8:50

       And I remember in that moment thinking, "I don't know who this person is," but I've talked about this with every comedian.

   12. JSJon Stewart8:56

       Yeah.

   13. TNTrevor Noah8:56

       Like comedian. There is a silliness that comedians possess and you know, you know when I felt it is like, um, I remember when I did Comedians in Cars with Jerry.

   14. JSJon Stewart9:04

       Yes.

   15. TNTrevor Noah9:05

       Right? Jerry said to me, "I am yet to meet a comedian who answers another comedian's phone call in a normal voice."

   16. JSJon Stewart9:12

       Yes.

   17. TNTrevor Noah9:13

       We all have like a, "Aruga."

   18. JSJon Stewart9:15

       Right.

   19. TNTrevor Noah9:15

       "Johnny boy." "Well, hello there." There's just like a-

   20. JSJon Stewart9:19

       Yeah

   21. TNTrevor Noah9:19

       ... comedians we, we, it doesn't matter what it is.

   22. JSJon Stewart9:21

       Yeah.

   23. TNTrevor Noah9:22

       There's a silliness.

   24. JSJon Stewart9:22

       I always answer as the Queen.

   25. TNTrevor Noah9:24

       There you go.

   26. JSJon Stewart9:24

       Always. "Hello."

   27. TNTrevor Noah9:26

       You see?

   28. JSJon Stewart9:27

       "Yes, Jon Stewart's not here right now, but I'll see if I can rise him." [laughs]

   29. TNTrevor Noah9:31

       This is what I mean. So it's almost like a, it's, it's, it's the badge that we, we, we have at work.

   30. JSJon Stewart9:37

       [laughs]
6. 11:16 – 16:14

   Cancel culture, context collapse, and the algorithmic weaponization of jokes

   1. TNTrevor Noah11:16

      But can I tell you, I genuinely believe one of the things that has happened, a lot of people ask me about cancel culture.

   2. JSJon Stewart11:23

      Right.

   3. TNTrevor Noah11:23

      Always.

   4. JSJon Stewart11:24

      Right.

   5. TNTrevor Noah11:24

      I'm sure they've asked you.

   6. JSJon Stewart11:24

      Always.

   7. TNTrevor Noah11:25

      And the thing I keep saying is, and I genuinely believe this, I don't think there's such a thing as cancel culture.

   8. JSJon Stewart11:31

      Mm-hmm.

   9. TNTrevor Noah11:31

      I think people criticize someone if they don't like them. I think people have more platforms to criticize now.

   10. JSJon Stewart11:36

       Yes.

   11. TNTrevor Noah11:37

       Right? Before people would write a letter, like my mom used to do that. She would write letters to the broadcaster.

   12. JSJon Stewart11:42

       Oh, in upset.

   13. TNTrevor Noah11:43

       Yeah, yeah, like-

   14. JSJon Stewart11:44

       Yes

   15. TNTrevor Noah11:44

       ... the letters-

   16. JSJon Stewart11:45

       Letters to the editor

   17. TNTrevor Noah11:46

       ... one I remember was-

   18. JSJon Stewart11:47

       Letters to-

   19. TNTrevor Noah11:47

       ... she wrote a letter, there was a, a South African Arby's essentially in South Africa.

   20. JSJon Stewart11:52

       Mm.

   21. TNTrevor Noah11:53

       And they had a hamburger.

   22. JSJon Stewart11:54

       Mm.

   23. TNTrevor Noah11:55

       And the ad was Handel's Messiah, right?

   24. JSJon Stewart11:58

       [laughs]

   25. TNTrevor Noah11:58

       So it's like, "Hallelujah, hallelujah, halle-" It was that vibe, right? My mom only knew that song. As a church song

   26. JSJon Stewart12:06

       Right

   27. TNTrevor Noah12:07

       And I'll- she- this woman looked at me and she said, "Did they just-

   28. JSJon Stewart12:11

       Sacrilege

   29. TNTrevor Noah12:11

       ... sell a hamburger using the Lord's music?"

   30. JSJon Stewart12:15

       Yes.
7. 16:14 – 26:03

   Trolling economy, dehumanization, and social media as ultra-processed speech

   1. JSJon Stewart16:14

      Of course. And that is the economy that's grown up around it. So what they do is they try to find the thing that they think will be most upsetting. Now, obviously, it loses its efficacy after a while. Like, for me, the funniest part was, like, my dog Dipper died. I don't know if you ever met Dipper.

   2. TNTrevor Noah16:37

      No.

   3. JSJon Stewart16:37

      I used to bring him to the show.

   4. TNTrevor Noah16:38

      No.

   5. JSJon Stewart16:38

      Three-legger. He's g- the greatest dog in the world. He died. I announced it on the show. I was blubbering it. And people on social media started responding very positively. So I did a thing I never do, which is post some shit. Here's some pictures of me and my family when we first met Dipper. We met him at a shelter down on Crosby Street. And people started in the comment section of those pictures responding with pictures of dogs they had lost. They are sort of so-

   6. TNTrevor Noah17:05

      Oh, man

   7. JSJon Stewart17:05

      ... the first picture was like, "This is, you know, Coco, our Cavalier King Charles. I hope that she and Dipper are playing at the Rainbow Bridge." And, uh, you know, "This is Mr. Muggles. You know, our Cocker Spaniel."

   8. TNTrevor Noah17:21

      Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   9. JSJon Stewart17:22

      And then the third one was, "Why did you change your name, Jew?"

   10. TNTrevor Noah17:25

       Oh.

   11. JSJon Stewart17:26

       And I was like, oh, right.

   12. TNTrevor Noah17:28

       Ugh.

   13. JSJon Stewart17:28

       It's got nothing to do with their lives are s- whatever it is, either financially or emotionally, that's their job.

   14. TNTrevor Noah17:40

       But some of them, you know what the worst thing is?

   15. JSJon Stewart17:42

       Yeah.

   16. TNTrevor Noah17:42

       Some of them aren't even real. That's the scariest thing, Jon.

   17. JSJon Stewart17:45

       Quite possibly.

   18. TNTrevor Noah17:46

       No, like-

   19. JSJon Stewart17:47

       But a lot of them are-

   20. TNTrevor Noah17:48

       Yeah, no

   21. JSJon Stewart17:48

       ... not only real-

   22. TNTrevor Noah17:49

       Yeah

   23. JSJon Stewart17:49

       ... but become famous.

   24. TNTrevor Noah17:51

       Yes. That's, that's true.

   25. JSJon Stewart17:53

       Yeah.

   26. TNTrevor Noah17:53

       That's true. But I, I think that's what makes it sad for me is when we go to context.

   27. JSJon Stewart17:58

       Yeah.

   28. TNTrevor Noah17:59

       I, I've seen this happen to you. I spend a lot of time analyzing online.

   29. JSJon Stewart18:02

       Right.

   30. TNTrevor Noah18:02

       I don't spend time actually online. I don't care for it much.
8. 26:03 – 31:48

   Jon’s aversion to social media, furniture-making, drums, and quieting the mind

   1. TNTrevor Noah26:03

      We're gonna continue this conversation right after this short break. [upbeat music] I remember when I first came to The Daily Show. This is before I was... Yeah, this was when I came and I met you and we were doing segments together.

   2. JSJon Stewart26:22

      Right.

   3. TNTrevor Noah26:22

      You didn't wanna be on Twitter-

   4. JSJon Stewart26:24

      No

   5. TNTrevor Noah26:24

      ... you didn't wanna be on Instagram, you didn't want... You know?

   6. JSJon Stewart26:26

      No.

   7. TNTrevor Noah26:27

      You, you just had like... It wasn't even like a loathing, it was almost a-

   8. JSJon Stewart26:30

      [laughs]

   9. TNTrevor Noah26:31

      It... No, loathing at least means you're, like, against it.

   10. JSJon Stewart26:34

       Right.

   11. TNTrevor Noah26:34

       You, you almost had a ugh.

   12. JSJon Stewart26:35

       Yeah.

   13. TNTrevor Noah26:36

       This thing.

   14. JSJon Stewart26:37

       Yeah. For me it felt like socializing. Like, I don't... I like purpose.

   15. TNTrevor Noah26:45

       Being on social media felt like socializing. Okay.

   16. JSJon Stewart26:47

       I like purpose. I like purposeful interaction, I like pur- I like intention. I like projects, I like making things. I like, you know, woodworking, music, like-

   17. TNTrevor Noah27:00

       You still make furniture, by the way?

   18. JSJon Stewart27:01

       I- I- once, uh, we moved, I don't- no longer have my, my furniture-making equipment.

   19. TNTrevor Noah27:07

       Yeah.

   20. JSJon Stewart27:08

       Uh, but I loved it. Like, I-

   21. TNTrevor Noah27:10

       'Cause I heard this about you and I was like-

   22. JSJon Stewart27:11

       Yeah

   23. TNTrevor Noah27:11

       ... "This, this can't be like real."

   24. JSJon Stewart27:12

       No, it- it's, it's real.

   25. TNTrevor Noah27:14

       What did you make?

   26. JSJon Stewart27:15

       Oh, God. Dressers, uh-

   27. TNTrevor Noah27:17

       No, Jon

   28. JSJon Stewart27:17

       ... bed- yeah.

   29. TNTrevor Noah27:18

       I thought you were gonna tell me, like, a little-

   30. JSJon Stewart27:20

       No, no, no.
9. 31:48 – 39:16

   Mentorship and the burden of The Daily Show: Yoda, Twilight Zone, and expectations

   1. TNTrevor Noah31:48

      You've blown my mind.

   2. JSJon Stewart31:50

      Really?

   3. TNTrevor Noah31:51

      Yeah, because I've always seen you, especially in my life, as, like, a, like Yoda. I always call you, I call you Jewish Yoda, you know?

   4. JSJon Stewart31:58

      He means that because I'm- I'm short-

   5. TNTrevor Noah32:00

      [laughs] No

   6. JSJon Stewart32:01

      ... and incredibly old.

   7. TNTrevor Noah32:02

      No.

   8. JSJon Stewart32:02

      Maybe 900 years.

   9. TNTrevor Noah32:03

      [laughs]

   10. JSJon Stewart32:03

       And slightly green.

   11. TNTrevor Noah32:05

       [laughs]

   12. JSJon Stewart32:05

       I don't know what the lighting's like in here, but the reflection off that plant.

   13. TNTrevor Noah32:08

       We clearly have very different perceptions of Yoda.

   14. JSJon Stewart32:10

       [laughs]

   15. TNTrevor Noah32:11

       For me, it was because here I was, this random straggler in the universe.

   16. JSJon Stewart32:16

       Right.

   17. TNTrevor Noah32:16

       And I was just, like, doing my thing.

   18. JSJon Stewart32:18

       Yes.

   19. TNTrevor Noah32:18

       Yoda comes along and goes, "Hey, I'm gonna teach you how to raise a spaceship out of the mud."

   20. JSJon Stewart32:23

       But I-

   21. TNTrevor Noah32:24

       I go-

   22. JSJon Stewart32:25

       The force, the force was strong in this one

   23. TNTrevor Noah32:26

       ... you see, I'm like, "I don't even know what the force is."

   24. JSJon Stewart32:29

       The force was, oh.

   25. TNTrevor Noah32:29

       I don't know what the force is.

   26. JSJon Stewart32:30

       You were tapped in.

   27. TNTrevor Noah32:30

       Yeah. And then-

   28. JSJon Stewart32:31

       [laughs]

   29. TNTrevor Noah32:32

       ... I learn how to use a lightsaber, and then the next thing you know, it's Darth Vader and Palpatine in my life.

   30. JSJon Stewart32:37

       [laughs]
10. 39:16 – 49:17

    Diaspora, safety, Israel, and the danger of ‘you’ll never be safe here’ narratives

    1. TNTrevor Noah39:16

       What do you mean in your diaspora? What's that?

    2. JSJon Stewart39:17

       When I wasn't doing The Daily Show, when I wasn't doing, you know-

    3. TNTrevor Noah39:19

       Oh, I've only heard of diaspora used, like, as an African thing.

    4. JSJon Stewart39:22

       Oh, really?

    5. TNTrevor Noah39:22

       Yeah.

    6. JSJon Stewart39:23

       Oh, it's a big Jewish thing.

    7. TNTrevor Noah39:24

       Huh.

    8. JSJon Stewart39:24

       The Jewish diaspora. By the way, oh, we'll get into that later. I'm- the Jewish diaspora thing. I've been really considering this in my head. It's something we can talk about later.

    9. TNTrevor Noah39:33

       Oh, we should definitely talk about it.

    10. JSJon Stewart39:34

        All right. You wanna talk about it now?

    11. TNTrevor Noah39:35

        We can talk about it right now.

    12. JSJon Stewart39:36

        All right, let's talk about it right now. So I've been thinking about this. This is in a larger context of good Jew, bad Jew, right? So I'm not, I'm not, I'm clearly not religious.

    13. TNTrevor Noah39:45

        Okay.

    14. JSJon Stewart39:46

        I sometimes admire people of faith. But I can't get there. Like, I know it's sort of like faking orgasms for me. Like, there's a certain like, yeah, like... And I'll do the, people will say like, "Oh, bow your head in prayer." And I'll be like, "Hmm." And then we'll, you know, we'll do a moment of silence. And I'll- but in the silence, I'm really like, "I wonder, is anybody... Oh, look at that dude over there." You know, I'm not really silent. So I don't, I don't get it. But I am Jewish. Like, it just is. It- it is what it is. And it's born of that. That's my family. They were Jewish. Their parents were Jewish. Whatever it was. But this idea somehow, and it ties into Israel, that whatever you were born as, you won't be safe unless you are somehow ensconced in some version of an ancestral home, I think is a really dangerous precedent.

    15. TNTrevor Noah40:40

        Hmm.

    16. JSJon Stewart40:41

        I think the idea that we must go home. Like, this is my, where I pointed, that's where I'm from. That's my home.

    17. TNTrevor Noah40:50

        Right.

    18. JSJon Stewart40:51

        Like, I can, I can triangulate where I'm at. This is where I feel most comfortable. Uh, this is where I'll always gravitationally come back to. I don't live in a diaspora. I've been to Israel. I was like, "Wow. That's impressive. I could see why they wrote the Bible here. It looks very- [laughs] That's a lot of mountain. That's a lot of desert." Like, but I reject the idea somehow that communities of people aren't whole unless they are able to repopulate some ancient version of where they believe is their source. Does- does- does that make sense?

    19. TNTrevor Noah41:40

        It does. It does make sense.

    20. JSJon Stewart41:41

        And I don't know if that's applicable to the African diaspora, but for me, I think it's a dangerous precedent to tell people that they will never be safe unless they are somewhere else.

    21. TNTrevor Noah41:59

        Mm-hmm.

    22. JSJon Stewart42:00

        I always feel like, well then, the job is to make us all safe here.

    23. TNTrevor Noah42:07

        Mm-hmm.

    24. JSJon Stewart42:07

        Because this is my home.

    25. TNTrevor Noah42:08

        Yeah.

    26. JSJon Stewart42:09

        If- if that... So that- that's what I've been-

    27. TNTrevor Noah42:13

        Chappelle said something to that effect which I, which I really appreciated. He said, "We have to do a better job of making Jewish..." Uh, and I paraphrase him, "our Jewish brothers and sisters feel so safe that they do not need to defend Israel regardless of what it does because they feel like that's the only place where they will be safe."

    28. JSJon Stewart42:31

        That's right.

    29. TNTrevor Noah42:31

        You know, which- which I- I think was a really poignant-

    30. JSJon Stewart42:32

        Because it does. It- it puts you in a moment where you say to yourself- Ah, I have to because they're fighting for me
11. 49:17 – 59:43

    Discernment, stereotype vs racism, and the empathy gap across groups

    1. JSJon Stewart49:17

       ... no matter. Right. And it's the thing also that, and when it mixes and when it c- creates something new and unique, beautiful. And it, it has so many colors to it. And it reminds me that so much of all this, you know, when you say like, "Oh, they viewed Jews a certain way," or, "They might view Blacks this way or African Americans this way." No one has discernment for what they aren't. Your only discernment is for, like, I can te- if I can look at Jews and be like Sephardic, Ashkenazi, Reform. The, like, I can break down. I was in, uh-

    2. TNTrevor Noah49:56

       I love that. No one has discernment for what they aren't

    3. JSJon Stewart49:59

       ... I- you can't. It's, it's the hardest thing in the world.

    4. TNTrevor Noah50:02

       Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

    5. JSJon Stewart50:02

       Because it's-

    6. TNTrevor Noah50:02

       Yeah

    7. JSJon Stewart50:03

       ... it's hard enough to have empathy for what you aren't-

    8. TNTrevor Noah50:05

       You know what reminds-

    9. JSJon Stewart50:05

       ... let alone discernment

    10. TNTrevor Noah50:06

        ... it reminds me of someone said this once. We were having a conversation and someone said, I... It was, it was a white person, and they said, white liberal pers- very liberal, very, very liberal.

    11. JSJon Stewart50:14

        Mm.

    12. TNTrevor Noah50:14

        Very liberal Jew.

    13. JSJon Stewart50:15

        Upper West Side.

    14. TNTrevor Noah50:16

        Very liberal.

    15. JSJon Stewart50:16

        Although not for the school. Not our school. You shouldn't. Please.

    16. TNTrevor Noah50:19

        Well, that's different because-

    17. JSJon Stewart50:20

        [laughs]

    18. TNTrevor Noah50:20

        ... the kids, you gotta understand, they know each other

    19. JSJon Stewart50:22

        ... they, they have to be together.

    20. TNTrevor Noah50:24

        No, they know.

    21. JSJon Stewart50:24

        And if-

    22. TNTrevor Noah50:24

        It's very different

    23. JSJon Stewart50:25

        ... here's the other thing, too, is you don't want other kids slowing them down.

    24. TNTrevor Noah50:27

        It's, it's-

    25. JSJon Stewart50:28

        Because they also-

    26. TNTrevor Noah50:28

        ... it's unfair to them, to be honest

    27. JSJon Stewart50:29

        ... they wanna be gastroenterologists.

    28. TNTrevor Noah50:31

        It's, it's really unfair.

    29. JSJon Stewart50:32

        You know Max.

    30. TNTrevor Noah50:33

        It's really.
12. 59:43 – 1:11:29

    Coalition politics, grace, and how liberals (and Trump-era conservatives) police belonging

    1. TNTrevor Noah59:43

       I remember saying this to the team at the show all the time.

    2. JSJon Stewart59:46

       Right.

    3. TNTrevor Noah59:46

       I'd say, "If there was one thing I would change about American politics, especially for liberals-

    4. JSJon Stewart59:53

       Right

    5. TNTrevor Noah59:54

       ... especially for liberals, is liberals have a really, uh, uh," for lack of a better term, it's like it, it's, it's a really black-and-white system of being in and out.

    6. JSJon Stewart1:00:05

       Mm-hmm.

    7. TNTrevor Noah1:00:06

       And I find Republicans or conservatives, maybe because they're more religious, they believe more in the, the story of redemption. They believe more in, like, "You didn't mean that? Well, atone-

    8. JSJon Stewart1:00:17

       Oh, that's interesting

    9. TNTrevor Noah1:00:17

       ... and you can come back in."

    10. JSJon Stewart1:00:19

        That's interesting.

    11. TNTrevor Noah1:00:19

        You, you know, do you know how many times I heard very Christian people say... I would say, "How could you support Trump?" And then they would say to me, and I, I get it completely, they'd go, "He's not a perfect vessel." And they'd say, "Go read the Bible. The Bible is littered with stories of imperfect men delivering a perfect message." And I would be like, "Damn." And I would envy that for liberals 'cause I would go-

    12. JSJon Stewart1:00:41

        Right

    13. TNTrevor Noah1:00:42

        ... you know how many times liberals would not consider the possibility that the person they are in lockstep with- ... slipped or tripped or didn't even-

    14. JSJon Stewart1:00:51

        I might actually be an imperfect person

    15. TNTrevor Noah1:00:52

        ... you might find they did something that made sense-

    16. JSJon Stewart1:00:55

        Yeah

    17. TNTrevor Noah1:00:55

        ... and it affected you in a way that you thought, "And I'll go back-"

    18. JSJon Stewart1:00:58

        So here's how the liberal mind fights back against that very message. So as you're talking, right? It's about the grace of faith and how it teaches you to forgive and, uh, and to feel redemption, uh, through imperfect vessels.

    19. TNTrevor Noah1:01:18

        Yeah.

    20. JSJon Stewart1:01:18

        It's such an important part of growth. And as you're talking the whole time, I'm like, "Yo, the Bible, you know, talks about slavery." I mean, the Bible, you know, they... it's literally instructions for slavery in the Bible. So I mean, you know, you use that as a... So you immediately... And it is. It's a f- it's a flaw, but it's a thing in my mind, and it's why faith... It's why I'm so faith resistant. I can't let-

    21. TNTrevor Noah1:01:43

        Oh, interesting

    22. JSJon Stewart1:01:43

        ... my brain stop the litigation.

    23. TNTrevor Noah1:01:49

        I'm full of faith.

    24. JSJon Stewart1:01:50

        Yeah, I can't.

    25. TNTrevor Noah1:01:51

        You see, that's a weird one, is like I, I'm not particularly religious, but I'm-

    26. JSJon Stewart1:01:54

        Right

    27. TNTrevor Noah1:01:54

        ... an example is, like, I play football, soccer every week, right?

    28. JSJon Stewart1:01:58

        Yeah.

    29. TNTrevor Noah1:01:58

        Play here-

    30. JSJon Stewart1:01:59

        Still?
13. 1:11:29 – 1:15:40

    Criticism as love: Biden’s age, “both-sides” accusations, and stress-testing institutions

    1. TNTrevor Noah1:11:29

       I don't know that that's... Have you found a solve for that, have, or do you just, you just take it on the chin and you keep it moving?

    2. JSJon Stewart1:11:35

       I think you take it on the chin and you keep it moving. I mean, I think the, the way that I try and-

    3. TNTrevor Noah1:11:39

       Like, you made Biden old.

    4. JSJon Stewart1:11:41

       I know. But by mentioning it, I, I handed the election to Donald Trump.

    5. TNTrevor Noah1:11:45

       You did, Jon.

    6. JSJon Stewart1:11:46

       I believe, uh, uh, his, his niece, Mary Trump, referred to me after that as a threat to democracy.

    7. TNTrevor Noah1:11:54

       Oh.

    8. JSJon Stewart1:11:54

       Which I thought was an appropriate level of-

    9. TNTrevor Noah1:11:57

       [laughs]

    10. JSJon Stewart1:11:58

        ... of, of threat assessment. It's one of those things. So there's, there's... It's sort of there's two things to it. One is we both operated kind of artisanal shit talkeries. Like, that is what we do.

    11. TNTrevor Noah1:12:12

        Yeah.

    12. JSJon Stewart1:12:12

        That's what I do. I have an opinion. I try and frame it within a certain comedic tableau.

    13. TNTrevor Noah1:12:17

        Yeah.

    14. JSJon Stewart1:12:18

        So when people wanna talk shit back, I don't have a whole leg to stand on to be like, "What?"

    15. TNTrevor Noah1:12:24

        Yeah, yeah.

    16. JSJon Stewart1:12:24

        "How dare you talk shit to the man who just talked shit about the thing that I wanted to talk shit about?" The second part of it, though, is the reptilian nature of people when they feel that fear. They're very comfortable attacking who they think are the other team.

    17. TNTrevor Noah1:12:43

        Yes.

    18. JSJon Stewart1:12:44

        And they think that if you give them any solace, they don't view it as that might be a constructive, a constructive lens by which to view, like a stand-up comic. The... What's the worst thing that a stand-up comic can be? Fragile. If the audience is worried for the comic-

    19. TNTrevor Noah1:13:03

        Yeah, that's the worst feeling

    20. JSJon Stewart1:13:04

        ... you're not gonna listen. Well, that's what Biden was in that moment. He would come out, and I don't care who you were. Like, you were worried.

    21. TNTrevor Noah1:13:10

        No, you were.

    22. JSJon Stewart1:13:11

        You felt it viscerally. Mentioning that as a way of maybe saying to people either, A, prove that this is the wrong emotion that I'm feeling, or B, get someone in there that has the wherewithal to take on this, I would think would be viewed constructively. But it was viewed, uh, utterly destructively. You know, in terms of it bothering me, like, nobody likes to be yelled at a lot.

    23. TNTrevor Noah1:13:38

        Yeah.

    24. JSJon Stewart1:13:38

        But I think I've been doing it long enough that the, the thickness of the skin, like, I don't dwell on it in maybe the way I would have when I was younger. But the second part of it is, I remember the war on terror. I like America in that fight over Al-Qaeda. Big fan. But I criticized America [laughs] quite frequently. That doesn't mean I wanted Al-Qaeda to win, or that doesn't mean that I think... It means that I hold my beliefs and the people that I want to carry the flag for that to a very high standard. And, and that standard, if not met, I think, in the same way that I try to hold myself to a high standard.

    25. TNTrevor Noah1:14:22

        Yeah.

    26. JSJon Stewart1:14:23

        And f- when failing to live up to it, I'm very critical and, and try and grant that forgiveness. But th- the point being, if you love something, if you believe in the idea of something, you have to stress test it. It's like anything else, man. What's, what's the toughest part about comedy is it's not the writing, it's the rewriting.

    27. TNTrevor Noah1:14:50

        Yeah.

    28. JSJon Stewart1:14:50

        It's the editing.

    29. TNTrevor Noah1:14:51

        Yeah.

    30. JSJon Stewart1:14:51

        And why do you do that? You do that because you think you can make it better.
14. 1:15:40 – 1:23:11

    The Daily Show’s fact-checking culture, DEI reframed, and Democrats vs Republicans on outcomes

    1. JSJon Stewart1:15:40

       Did it surprise you that at The Daily Show there are so many fail-safes of fairness and context?

    2. TNTrevor Noah1:15:46

       Yeah.

    3. JSJon Stewart1:15:46

       Like, that's what... People say, "You guys take everything out of context." Like, d- have you met Chods? Like-

    4. TNTrevor Noah1:15:51

       [laughs]

    5. JSJon Stewart1:15:52

       Adam Chodakoff, who's the guy who does our, our research. He's been there forever. He's an institution, uh, at the show.

    6. TNTrevor Noah1:15:57

       These are the, these are the credentials of Adam Chodakoff. Chods was the keynote speaker at the World Fact Checkers Conference.

    7. JSJon Stewart1:16:06

       [laughs]

    8. TNTrevor Noah1:16:07

       This is... We- these are the levels we're talking about. Like-

    9. JSJon Stewart1:16:09

       Yes

    10. TNTrevor Noah1:16:10

        ... this is a person-

    11. JSJon Stewart1:16:11

        In Chods we trust.

    12. TNTrevor Noah1:16:11

        Yes. And this is a person where, and you know as well as I do, like, if you work or host The Daily Show, you will at some point have to fight with this man.

    13. JSJon Stewart1:16:19

        That's right.

    14. TNTrevor Noah1:16:20

        And he-

    15. JSJon Stewart1:16:21

        And he will say, "You can't really say that because the source that that's coming from-"

    16. TNTrevor Noah1:16:24

        Man, let me tell you something.

    17. JSJon Stewart1:16:25

        "In truth, that's a liberal... You know, you gotta, you can't trust that fact. You gotta-"

    18. TNTrevor Noah1:16:28

        Let me tell you something.

    19. JSJon Stewart1:16:29

        Yeah.

    20. TNTrevor Noah1:16:29

        But what he really taught me, more than most human beings, he taught me how to deconstruct data. He taught me how to deconstruct information. He taught me how to make the argument stronger as opposed to relying-

    21. JSJon Stewart1:16:40

        Yes

    22. TNTrevor Noah1:16:40

        ... on the first instinct of the argument.

    23. JSJon Stewart1:16:41

        That's right.

    24. TNTrevor Noah1:16:42

        Because-

    25. JSJon Stewart1:16:42

        And when he says that, you don't say to him, "What are you both sides-ing it? You're playing for the other team." No, he's challenging you-

    26. TNTrevor Noah1:16:50

        Yeah

    27. JSJon Stewart1:16:50

        ... to be better.

    28. TNTrevor Noah1:16:51

        Yeah.

    29. JSJon Stewart1:16:52

        That's it.

    30. TNTrevor Noah1:16:53

        Yeah.
15. 1:23:11 – 1:31:27

    Apartheid’s shadow: Musk/Thiel, grievance politics, South Africa’s farm inequality, and repairing systems

    1. TNTrevor Noah1:23:11

       That's one of the biggest things I, I try and explain to people about Elon Musk, uh, Peter Thiel to a lesser extent, but still, the boys who came from South Africa, they've-

    2. JSJon Stewart1:23:21

       Oh, God, that's right.

    3. TNTrevor Noah1:23:22

       Yeah. They, they've all been touched. I'm, I'm fascinated by it because I don't think it's coincidence that these guys have all lived in and around apartheid South Africa-

    4. JSJon Stewart1:23:34

       Right

    5. TNTrevor Noah1:23:34

       ... and have now gone into the world and have, are starting to export-

    6. JSJon Stewart1:23:38

       With a vision of how it should be

    7. TNTrevor Noah1:23:39

       ... Yeah, yeah, yeah. And many, many of the elements sound exactly like apartheid South Africa, and what you're saying now is one of the biggest slights that a lot of white people felt in South Africa-

    8. JSJon Stewart1:23:49

       Right

    9. TNTrevor Noah1:23:49

       ... the ones who weren't honest, 'cause a lot of the honest ones were great about it. But the ones who weren't honest would go, "It, you could, you used to be able to get a job in this country." And I remember asking my mom once, I was very young, and I said, "Mom, I, um..." S- I, I asked her. She, she would always say, "Shame." This is what she'd say. We'd be at the traffic lights, and there'd be a homeless person, Black, w- you know. But the white ones, she'd always say, "Shame." And I said to her one day, I said, "Mom, you give money to both, but you always say, 'Shame,' when you give it to the white homeless guy. Why?" And she said, "You know why, baby. Because they don't know how to be poor." And I was like, "Damn, that's harsh."

    10. JSJon Stewart1:24:26

        [laughs]

    11. TNTrevor Noah1:24:26

        And she said, and I was like, "What do you..."

    12. JSJon Stewart1:24:27

        Oh.

    13. TNTrevor Noah1:24:27

        I said, "What do you mean by that?"

    14. JSJon Stewart1:24:28

        Yeah.

    15. TNTrevor Noah1:24:29

        She said, "It's not just that they don't know how to be poor, Poti, but they've been told-

    16. JSJon Stewart1:24:34

        Yes

    17. TNTrevor Noah1:24:35

        ... that the world was supposed to work a certain way."

    18. JSJon Stewart1:24:37

        Yeah.

    19. TNTrevor Noah1:24:38

        "And now that it's not working that way, I can't imagine what it feels like." She says, "But as Black people, we've been told that our job is to suffer, and so we suffer, honey. We suffer, and we try to not suffer, but we believe as Black people, Gromota, which means we, we suffer. We are suffering." And she said, "So I feel so bad for them because the only thing worse-

    20. JSJon Stewart1:24:58

        Right. This should've worked out for them

    21. TNTrevor Noah1:24:59

        ... She says, "The only thing worse than being in a bad position is being in a bad position when you were told that there was no bad position."

    22. JSJon Stewart1:25:07

        Right. That you were the default inheritor of the kingdom.

    23. TNTrevor Noah1:25:10

        And now you go to your point. It's because of the D.E.I.-

    24. JSJon Stewart1:25:14

        Sure

    25. TNTrevor Noah1:25:14

        ... it's because of the, it's because. Now we're gonna see with young men, women are gonna get jobs. Oh, it's because they're women. It's like, no, they studied more.

    26. JSJon Stewart1:25:20

        Look, look what happened. All these women start going to college, Title IX, all that.

    27. TNTrevor Noah1:25:23

        Yeah.

    28. JSJon Stewart1:25:23

        And all of a sudden they start kicking the shit out of men academically, and everybody's like, "See? The, the terrible, uh, the trials and tribulations of the American male." And you're like, "Right." 'Cause- Now there's competition

    29. TNTrevor Noah1:25:36

        Yeah. And competition in the thing, by the way, that we were never better at them at.

    30. JSJon Stewart1:25:40

        Right.
16. 1:31:27 – 1:34:02

    Who owns the essentials? Oil, water, oxygen, and the endgame of privatized reality

    1. TNTrevor Noah1:31:27

       ... if, and you, can you imagine if you said to Americans, "Hey, let me ask you a question. All 330 something million of you- This is your country. Why is it that the oil underneath it can belong to one person?

    2. JSJon Stewart1:31:42

       Right.

    3. TNTrevor Noah1:31:42

       He has his straw and he goes, "It's your straw."

    4. JSJon Stewart1:31:45

       [laughs] "I drink your milk. And you drink your milkshake." And [laughs]

    5. TNTrevor Noah1:31:49

       Why, why, why is that allowed? And someone will be like, "No, because-

    6. JSJon Stewart1:31:52

       Socialism

    7. TNTrevor Noah1:31:52

       ... you know how hard it is to drill, and you gotta get the..." And I go, "Yeah, yeah, I get all of that." But I, I'm s- I'm just saying acknowledge that you've accepted a reality. You know, when you'll realize it is when you follow its ultimate conclusion. Water. Like, if you said, "Okay, Trevor, I'll give you some oil." I'm like, "Ah, what do I do with oil?"

    8. JSJon Stewart1:32:06

       Right.

    9. TNTrevor Noah1:32:06

       I don't know what to do with oil. But water now, the same trajectory has started moving, right? Now-

    10. JSJon Stewart1:32:11

        Right

    11. TNTrevor Noah1:32:11

        ... more and more water is owned by corporations.

    12. JSJon Stewart1:32:14

        Yes.

    13. TNTrevor Noah1:32:15

        And slowly, slowly the municipal water supplies are getting shittier. They're not looked after as well. Now your tap water's not as drinkable.

    14. JSJon Stewart1:32:23

        Getting saltier.

    15. TNTrevor Noah1:32:24

        Yeah. Less and less American water is... Which by the way, it was the, it was the A standard. A lot of people may not know this, and a m- a lot of people may take it for granted because they've always been drinking the water from the tap.

    16. JSJon Stewart1:32:34

        Right.

    17. TNTrevor Noah1:32:34

        It's not normal everywhere in the world.

    18. JSJon Stewart1:32:35

        Right.

    19. TNTrevor Noah1:32:36

        Quality goes down qui- at some point you have to buy bottled water. At some point you have to buy water.

    20. JSJon Stewart1:32:41

        Right.

    21. TNTrevor Noah1:32:41

        But no one goes, "Where does the water come from?"

    22. JSJon Stewart1:32:43

        Right.

    23. TNTrevor Noah1:32:43

        "Why are we even paying for it?" And people go, "But Trevor, you gotta under-" Then I go, "Okay, let's play this game and go to the ultimate conclusion." What if I found a way to extract oxygen from the air? What if I found a way, what if I made a machine-

    24. JSJon Stewart1:32:57

        Mm-hmm

    25. TNTrevor Noah1:32:58

        ... that could suck all breathable oxygen out of the air, and I now had it in my machine.

    26. JSJon Stewart1:33:04

        And you would have it.

    27. TNTrevor Noah1:33:04

        I had it in my machine. And you-

    28. JSJon Stewart1:33:06

        No one else has it. You've cornered the market on-

    29. TNTrevor Noah1:33:08

        I've cornered the market

    30. JSJon Stewart1:33:08

        ... breathable air.
17. 1:34:02 – 1:39:52

    Magic wand question: rebuilding trustworthy information ecosystems (and why Jon won’t run)

    1. TNTrevor Noah1:34:02

       Um, I know I gotta let you go at some point, but, um, if you had a, a magic wand-

    2. JSJon Stewart1:34:08

       Mm

    3. TNTrevor Noah1:34:09

       ... what's one thing you think it change... It's, I know one thing won't change it all.

    4. JSJon Stewart1:34:12

       Oh.

    5. TNTrevor Noah1:34:12

       But in this moment in time.

    6. JSJon Stewart1:34:13

       I would use it to make more magic wands.

    7. TNTrevor Noah1:34:16

       Ah.

    8. JSJon Stewart1:34:16

       You know?

    9. TNTrevor Noah1:34:16

       You see, this is why you're brilliant.

    10. JSJon Stewart1:34:18

        Uh, well, the temptation is always with the magic wand is to go global and to do the whole, you know, "And we all have a world of plenty."

    11. TNTrevor Noah1:34:26

        Yeah.

    12. JSJon Stewart1:34:26

        It's an Eden where... And, and this time in the Eden we decide, let's, you know what? How about this? Let's just not plant an apple tree. Maybe the whole idea is if we don't put the apple tree, the Eden doesn't get spoiled. So I will, I will not take the easy way out, which would be to wave the magic wand as a panacea.

    13. TNTrevor Noah1:34:47

        Mm-hmm.

    14. JSJon Stewart1:34:47

        'Cause I think it just doesn't... There's probably nothing for us to have insight with. There's not much of a meal in that.

    15. TNTrevor Noah1:34:54

        Hmm.

    16. JSJon Stewart1:34:54

        If I just... What, what would you do? And it would just be like, "Ice cream and pizza, Trevor. That's what I would do." I, I think what I would focus on is information ecosystems. Because ultimately people are creatures of free will, and that's the joy of humanity. And so to steal the free will with a magic wand almost makes this entirely an exercise in The Good Place, where you're-

    17. TNTrevor Noah1:35:25

        Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm with you

    18. JSJon Stewart1:35:26

        ... you're in somewhere and you're, and you're bored. There is a, there is a beauty in the not knowing. There's a beauty in the finite nature-

    19. TNTrevor Noah1:35:34

        Mm-hmm

    20. JSJon Stewart1:35:35

        ... of all that we have. And there's, and there's a beauty in the resourcefulness that is necessary because life is fucking hard. It just, it's, it's hard. It's a challenge.

    21. TNTrevor Noah1:35:46

        Yeah.

    22. JSJon Stewart1:35:48

        So I think the thing that I would wish for is not an instruction manual, but an information ecosystem that allowed those who, who would wish to access it and see it, to be able to make those decisions about their future and about the future-

    23. TNTrevor Noah1:36:14

        Oh, I hear what you mean. Yeah

    24. JSJon Stewart1:36:15

        ... with the good data.

    25. TNTrevor Noah1:36:16

        Yeah, yeah. I'm with you.

    26. JSJon Stewart1:36:17

        Not the data that's been-

    27. TNTrevor Noah1:36:19

        I'm with you

    28. JSJon Stewart1:36:19

        ... co-opted and warped and-

    29. TNTrevor Noah1:36:20

        Yeah, yeah. I'm with you

    30. JSJon Stewart1:36:21

        ... because ultimately the machine's only as good as the input.

Episode duration: 1:39:53