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What Now? With Trevor NoahThere’s No I In Trevor Noah | What Now? with Trevor Noah Podcast
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Chapter summaries
WhatsApp Banter and Episode Setup
The episode opens with a debate about WhatsApp and COVID misinformation spread by African aunties. Trevor then introduces the "If I Ruled the World" format and his guests, Christiana Mbakwe-Medina and Ben Winston.
- •Trevor jokes he would ban WhatsApp because of COVID misinformation from relatives
- •Format: each guest names one thing they'd change if they ruled the world
- •Guests are Christiana Mbakwe-Medina and executive producer Ben Winston
- •Playful banter about colonial backgrounds and British politeness
Where Has Trevor Been? Travels and the CIA
Christiana asks where Trevor has been, and he admits to meeting a senior CIA military operations official while traveling. Ben recounts bumping into Trevor in Dubai Airport after his trip to Bhutan and Japan.
- •Christiana jokes about Trevor being a CIA asset
- •Trevor says he met one individual at the CIA, not the whole organization
- •Ben and Trevor met at the Dubai Airport business center
- •Trevor had been in Bhutan and Japan
Trevor's Pitch: Shut Down Social Media
Trevor announces that if he ruled the world he would ban social media, while keeping the internet, TV and radio. He argues it makes people unhappier and that algorithms shrink people's view of the world, and Ben pushes back about giving individuals a voice.
- •Trevor defines social media as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter/X
- •Humans overestimate happiness from things and underestimate unhappiness
- •Algorithms create a feedback loop that contracts our view of the world
- •Ben says social media gives individuals the power to tell their own stories
- •Trevor says the internet would still allow people to share opinions
Trevor's List of Reasons and the Pushback
Trevor lists his reasons: misinformation, loneliness, and a fractured collective reality. Christiana argues social media only exposes existing fractures caused by hypercapitalism, and the three trade examples of good things it brought.
- •Reasons: faster misinformation, artificial connection, fractured collective reality
- •Christiana says loneliness stems from a hypercapitalist culture, not just social media
- •Ben likes Instagram's Close Friends feature
- •Christiana met her husband on Twitter, and Trevor says good can come from bad things like prisons
Ben's Under-16 Ban and the Vote on Trevor's World
Ben says he would regulate or ban social media for under-16s because of kids' insecurity and bullying. He also describes how TikTok's algorithm knows him better than he does, and both guests vote no on Trevor's proposal.
- •Ben focuses on bullying and insecurity among kids
- •Ben says adults can just avoid Twitter if they're threatened
- •TikTok's algorithm recommended him a show about a Detroit pawn shop
- •Ben worries a ban creates a vacuum filled by something else
- •Christiana would rather doom scroll on TikTok at 1 AM than live without it
Christiana's Plan: Abolish Private Schools
Christiana proposes abolishing private schools and assigning every child a school by blind lottery, with community volunteering required. Trevor worries about losing community, and the group debates donations, funding and parental involvement.
- •A blind lottery would push rich parents to make all schools good
- •Mandatory community volunteering with background checks
- •Trevor asks whether kids would lose neighborhood community
- •Christiana argues rich people already commute to private schools
- •No donations allowed, but she wants parents' time and social capital
Funding, Zip Codes and Diversity Dilemmas
Ben questions where the money would come from, and Christiana points to military spending. Trevor explains the zip-code funding logic, and Christiana discusses her own dilemma over diverse private schools versus less diverse good public ones.
- •Christiana says the money exists, citing bombs and the F-35
- •Trevor says school quality in the US depends on zip code
- •Ben worries about the burden on state schools if private school money goes
- •LA schools are under-enrolled
- •Christiana describes the diversity dilemma for affluent Black and Asian parents
Loopholes, Public Pools and the Vote Against Schools
Trevor warns that wealthy parents would find workarounds like pods or speakeasy schools, and uses the history of American public pools as a cautionary tale. Ben and Trevor both vote no, though Ben values the points on community and Trevor suggests a school-swap amendment.
- •Trevor predicts underground or pod schools
- •Christiana says parents are too lazy to homeschool for long
- •Trevor says integrated public pools closed as private pools rose
- •Ben credits his Jewish primary school for his identity
- •Trevor says he would vote yes with a school swap
- •Both vote no
Ben's Plan: A Mandatory Day of Rest
Ben proposes that everyone observe a seventh day of rest with no electricity, phones, driving or work, drawing on his Orthodox Jewish upbringing. Christiana relates to it through her childhood Sunday family meals.
- •Ben's earlier throwaway ideas included floor toilet flushes, a slow lane and universal plugs
- •Everyone rests on the same day, with exceptions for life-and-death services
- •Ben remembers time with his dad on Shabbat
- •Christiana remembers Sunday meals after church
- •Ben says it would be good for the environment, family and community
Enforcement Questions and Trevor's Objections
Trevor probes how the day of rest would be enforced, and Ben accuses him of being cynical rather than optimistic. They argue over fines, people who live far from family, and Trevor's concern about forcing a single day on everyone.
- •Trevor asks what happens to people who don't rest
- •Ben says rule breakers would be fined but not on the day itself
- •Trevor argues modern people live far from family
- •Ben says communities and walking would fill the day
- •Trevor loves the sentiment but fears differing preferred days
Amendments, Generators and the Final Vote
Christiana wants electricity for music, and Trevor votes no at first, predicting unrest among rival days. Ben concedes household generators, which brings Christiana and then Trevor to yes, and Ben wins.
- •Trevor jokes there is no I in the show and refers to the mugs saying "with"
- •Trevor's first vote is no, fearing a day of revolution
- •Christiana votes yes if there is electricity for music
- •Ben offers limited household generators, modeled on Orthodox hot plates
- •Trevor votes yes and plans a generator-powered concert
- •Ben wins the game
