The Daily Show 2024-06-24
On June 24, 2024, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah aired an episode that took a satirical look at news, trends, pop culture, current events, politics, sports, and entertainment. The show promised to deliver its signature blend of humor and sharp commentary on the happenings of the day.
Transcript
00:00From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news.
00:09This is The Daily Show with your host, Michael Kosta.
00:11Welcome to The Daily Show.
00:12I'm Michael Kosta.
00:13We've got so much to talk about tonight.
00:14We're just days away from the first presidential debate that will change everything or nothing.
00:41So let's get right into our continuing coverage of Indecision 2024.
00:45If you've been tuning out the presidential campaign so far, I get it.
00:54It's boring.
00:55I mean, my grandpa is also a rambling 80-year-old man.
00:58And let me tell you, I keep half an ear open for the word inheritance and I just ignore everything else.
01:04But the presidential campaign won't be boring for long because this week, Trump and Biden will be rambling face-to-face.
01:11That's right.
01:12Thursday is the first presidential debate and these men are going toe-to-toe.
01:16And if you've ever met or seen old men's toes, you know that's going to be a dirty fight.
01:22Finally, the American people will have something to judge these candidates on, aside from the four years that they were both president already.
01:30And Joe Biden, for one, he's ready for battle.
01:34The president this morning continues to be hunkered down at Camp David.
01:37He is fine-tuning his messaging, honing his attack lines.
01:40He's huddling there with over a dozen advisers.
01:43And over the coming days, his prep is expected to evolve from gaming out questions and answers to holding 90-minute mock debates.
01:50Mr. President, how is debate prep going?
01:59Yeah, that's the most dubious thumbs up I've ever seen.
02:03That's the football player as he's being carted off the field.
02:09He's going to be okay, folks. His thumb is working.
02:12But that's right. Joe Biden is holing up at Camp David and doing 90-minute mock debates.
02:17Although most of that is just him walking up to the podium.
02:20And if you're wondering who could possibly prepare him for debating Donald Trump, well, Joe Biden has just the guy.
02:27Attorney Bob Bauer will be standing in for Trump during mock debate sessions, yelling insults at Biden and trying to get under his skin.
02:36You're playing a role. You're trying to make the experience as realistic for the person you're working with as possible.
02:43Really? The guy who plays Santa Claus at the bad mall, this is your Trump?
02:48I don't know if he can replicate the unhinged madness of debating Donald Trump.
02:53The only Biden staffer who could pull that off is that dog that keeps biting everyone in the face.
02:58But regardless of how he prepares, there's one thing Biden can be sure of.
03:03Where exactly he's going to be on that stage.
03:06We're getting more details today about how the high stakes debate stage will look.
03:10Biden won the coin toss and chose to stand on the right side of the stage.
03:15Why the right? There's actually a scientific reason.
03:19When there are two people on stage, TV viewers eyes are drawn to the right side.
03:25Wow. Thank you, science. I mean, hey, any news on a cancer cure?
03:31No. Maybe whenever you're done debating left or right, possibly.
03:36Hey, it may usually be true that viewers eyes are drawn to the right.
03:40But in this case, they'll be even more drawn to the neon man ranting about how toilets don't flush anymore.
03:46Thanks to transgender swimmers. But I do like this coin toss thing.
03:52You know, why stop with the debate side? Let's have the coin determine who wins the election.
03:57Yeah, it would be so much less stressful than five months of campaigning.
04:01Just flip the coin. Heads, it's Trump. Tails, it's Biden.
04:05If the coin bounces and rolls into the sewer, it's RFK Jr.
04:10Anyway, that's what Joe Biden is up to.
04:13But preparing for the debate is not the only way to prepare for the debate,
04:18because Joe Biden's opponent, well, he's taking a different approach.
04:22Almost everything that President Biden is doing, Donald Trump is not.
04:25There are no mock debates. There are no rehearsed punchlines or pivot points.
04:30The former president also didn't take any time away from the campaign trail.
04:33Tell me a little bit about how you're preparing for the debate. Right.
04:36Because we see that President Biden is out of Camp David. You're on the campaign trail.
04:40What's your strategy for the debate?
04:42Well, this is really the best strategy right here. We have all these people screaming questions.
04:46OK. First of all, no one's screaming questions.
04:52You're elevated on a platform talking at people the whole time.
04:57How convenient is it that Trump's debate prep is holding rallies, the thing he wants to do anyway.
05:02It's like when finals were coming up and you had that one friend who would say,
05:06you know, I retain information better when I'm high.
05:09You know, it's like just to be clear, that was my friend. That wasn't me.
05:15Of course, when you don't prepare for a debate, you run the risk of losing the debate.
05:20So it helps to lower expectations a little bit.
05:23Trump appears to be lowering expectations and making excuses ahead of the upcoming presidential debate with President Biden.
05:30So I'm not underestimating him. I'm not underestimating him.
05:34I assume he's going to be somebody that will be a worthy debater.
05:38Maybe I'm better off losing the debate. I'll lose the debate on purpose.
05:41Maybe I'll do something like that.
05:44All right. Don't lower expectations that far.
05:49Maybe I'll lose the debate. Maybe I'll shit my pants and run off stage crying about how much shit is actually in my pants.
05:56That's how you'll know I've won.
06:00But this brings up an interesting quandary for the Trump campaign.
06:03Right now, Trump is saying Biden is a worthy debater.
06:07But don't forget, for the past three and a half years,
06:09he's been saying Biden is a demented moron with the brainpower of a Love Island contestant.
06:14So how are Republicans going to explain it if a guy they say has jello for brains really does beat Trump?
06:21Well, don't worry. They have a plan.
06:24The Trump campaign and the Trump allies, they keep floating this conspiracy that Biden is going to be amped up on drugs.
06:31They're going to need to goose him and juice him.
06:33A lot of Red Bull, a lot of caffeine pills.
06:36He's on Adderall or he's on Ritalin.
06:38Excedrin that has caffeine in it.
06:40Hopped up on B12.
06:41IV fluids.
06:43Monster energy drink.
06:44Or something.
06:45Or something.
06:46Whatever happened to all that cocaine that was missing a month ago from the line?
06:53Whatever happened?
06:55Look, we all know what happened.
06:57That dog snorted it before it bit someone's face off.
07:01Seriously, is conservative media now just wildly speculating that the president is on drugs?
07:06Could be cocaine, could be Adderall, maybe both.
07:09At this point, Fox News is basically my friend's group chat about Justin Timberlake.
07:14So yes, the Republican talking point is that if Biden does well, it's because he's taking performance-enhancing drugs,
07:21which is just such a stupid conspiracy theory.
07:24Because first off, if Biden's body could handle even half of what they're saying, he's the strongest man alive.
07:31He'll win the presidency and the Kentucky Derby.
07:35Just by the way, Trump isn't really one to talk.
07:38Because in the same speech where he claimed Biden is mentally incapacitated, he was going around saying things like this.
07:44And my stupid people, when I wanted to refute it, they said,
07:48Sir, don't dignify it with a refuttle.
07:54Refuttle or refuttle?
07:56What the hell word would that be?
07:58Refuttle?
07:59They'll say, he didn't know.
08:00Refuttle or refuttle?
08:01But they don't know either.
08:03It's neither.
08:04It's neither of those words.
08:08What do you mean they don't know?
08:10No, I don't know what fake word you're trying to say.
08:14This dude's entire brain is just squiggly red spell check lines.
08:19And then his mouth always tries to refuttle every thought he has.
08:24That's the big difference between Biden and Trump.
08:27When they make a mistake, Biden will correct himself.
08:29Whereas Trump will deflect and call everyone else an idiot, which, to be honest, is more relatable.
08:36It's like when I get too drunk and then I accuse everyone else of being drunk instead of just focusing on the road.
08:41Right.
08:42So thank you for laughing.
08:46So on one hand, Biden's taking the whole week to prepare.
08:49And on the other hand, Trump's raw dogging it to very different approaches.
08:54But which one's right?
08:56For more on the debate over whether to prepare for a debate or just to wing it, let's go to Desi Lydic and Troy Iwata.
09:09Desi, you're for preparation.
09:12Why is that better?
09:14Thank you, Michael.
09:15Preparation is the better approach because it gives you the tools you need to lay out your position,
09:21project confidence and do this thing with your thumb.
09:25Because, as Thomas Edison said, genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.
09:33Thank you.
09:35Very wise.
09:37Troy.
09:41Troy, why are you pro winging it?
09:44Because I'm not a dork.
09:47While Desi was in the nerd zone, I was eating a double cheeseburger in a pool staring at a cloud that looked like a double cheeseburger.
09:55And what did all that studying do for her?
09:57I can also quote Thomas Edison, if you build it, he will come.
10:03He did not say that.
10:04That's from Field of Dreams.
10:06You know, I did like that movie.
10:07I'm going to give a point to Troy for that.
10:09Now, Desi, it's a good movie.
10:11Desi, try again.
10:12Try again.
10:13OK, OK, preparation gives you the best chance of crafting your answer.
10:18All right.
10:19And I will prove it.
10:20If I were prepping Joe Biden to answer a debate question on inflation, here's what I do.
10:25I'd arm him with the six point economic plan that addresses rising costs, job creation, affordable housing, tuition costs, abortion rights and always, always landing on a charming story about a factory worker named Jack.
10:39Yeah, this is what I'm talking about.
10:41Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
10:42Do you do you really want the queen of library town talking about a plan?
10:46Or do you want someone like me who just says, don't worry, I got this?
10:51Yeah.
10:52See, Desi, it seems like he's got this point to Troy.
10:56You know, that is not a point for Troy.
11:00What he's saying is empty.
11:01Someone who prepares for debate is someone who prepares for everything.
11:05And that's what you want in a president.
11:07Look at this cat that I drew.
11:11It has swords for arms.
11:12Isn't that cool?
11:14Dude, that is awesome.
11:16Another point for Troy.
11:18Cats.
11:20You're not selling me on preparation right now.
11:22OK, OK, fine.
11:23You know what?
11:24I'm nimble.
11:25I can see that being unprepared is winning this debate.
11:27So let me tell you this.
11:29In my preparation for being prepared, I also prepared a scenario where I am unprepared.
11:34Huh?
11:35OK, look at me.
11:37I don't really care about this.
11:39I'm easy, breezy, lemon squeezy.
11:42OK, let me just stop you there.
11:44That was so bad.
11:45I'm going to give another point to Troy.
11:47I mean, breathe.
11:49Seriously?
11:50Look, yes, OK, policy is boring.
11:53Preparation is nerdy.
11:55But this country needs people that are prepared to run it.
11:59A debate isn't some Bravo reunion.
12:01It's where candidates outline their policies and platforms, their belief systems.
12:06So yes, running the country is the one test you have to study for.
12:23Counterpoint, I'm on the right side of the TV screen.
12:26You know what?
12:27Troy wins.
12:28Troy wins.
12:29Desi Lydic and Troy Wada, everybody.
12:31When we come back, we learn all about Jeff Bezos.
12:34Don't go away.
12:55Welcome back to The Daily Show.
12:57Next week will be exactly 30 years since Jeff Bezos founded Amazon.
13:02Forever changing the way we try to desperately fill the empty hole in our lives
13:06while destroying local businesses and the earth.
13:09But who is the real man behind the internet mogul?
13:13Let's find out in a new brand new Daily Show-ography.
13:17America has always been home to titans of industry.
13:21But only one capitalist in history has ever been this much of a dork.
13:26I'm Jeff Bezos.
13:28I'm the founder of Amazon.com.
13:30This is The Daily Show-ography of Jeff Bezos, history's most powerful nerd.
13:40Born to teenage parents in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Jeff's identity asserted itself early.
13:45I was a very nerdy and good student.
13:49I liked school.
13:50His favorite place in the world was Radio Shack,
13:53where he developed an appreciation for technology, cheap garbage from China,
13:57and underpaying workers.
14:00After graduating from high school as valedictorian,
14:03Jeff attended Princeton, one of the best colleges for nerds.
14:07Socially, I was a little awkward.
14:09I didn't really date much until, like, my last year of college.
14:14Actually, I set sort of a formal plan to date.
14:16I had all my friends set me up on blind dates.
14:19None of them worked out very well.
14:20Yes, despite many positive reviews from his friends,
14:24women found the actual product wasn't what they had been led to believe.
14:29After college, Bezos joined a Wall Street hedge fund.
14:33On Wall Street, Bezos also found something almost as good as money,
14:37his future ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott.
14:40She would later tell Vogue magazine it was Jeff's laugh that made her fall in love with him.
14:47Hey, sometimes love is blind and deaf.
14:52It was around this time that Jeff noticed that the world was changing.
14:56I came across this startling statistic that web usage was growing at 2,300% a year.
15:01So I decided I would try and find a business plan that made sense in the context of that growth.
15:06And I picked books as the first best product to sell online.
15:11With a quarter million dollar investment from his parents, a garage to work from,
15:15and MC Hammer khakis, Bezos launched his empire.
15:20Within a few years, Amazon went from online bookseller to Wall Street darling
15:25to the so-called everything store.
15:27Third-party vendors could sell literally anything on Amazon's website,
15:31from stuff to put in your butt to stuff you shouldn't put in your butt,
15:35but will anyway because you're not a coward.
15:39Amazon was taking the world by storm.
15:41And while Bezos was still literally the nerdiest person in the world,
15:45My watch updates itself from the atomic clock 36 times a day, if that gives you any indication.
15:50he was driving Amazon into the future.
15:54A future of non-stop growth.
16:00How did Jeff Bezos transform himself into a life-size Oscar statue?
16:04By using his big nerdy brain to devise the perfect growth plan to expand his business and his body.
16:12Since starting Amazon, Bezos has amassed a net worth of $200 billion.
16:17Money that he's used to make the world a better place.
16:20Sure, he spent some of it on a super yacht that has its own yacht and the world's fastest jet
16:25and like a shit ton of mansions, exotic food, a prehistoric bear skeleton
16:28and some gigantic clock that only ticks once a year, but he also gave back.
16:33Jeff Bezos paid zero federal income taxes for two years.
16:37Maybe not to his country, but he has given nearly 1.5% of his net worth to charity.
16:43And while he didn't share much of his wealth with Amazon workers,
16:47he definitely helped them to boldly go where no one has gone before.
16:51Amazon workers have to pee into bottles because of Amazon's stringent quotas
16:55keep them too busy to go to the bathroom.
16:57You know what they say, teach a man to fish, he eats for a day.
17:01Teach a man to piss in a bottle while he eats his fish, he only has to take a two-minute lunch break.
17:09Jeff's plan was working perfectly, but there was one thing his plan didn't take into account.
17:15That all his success would go to his head.
17:19The National Enquirer obtained nude photos of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
17:23The pictures and racy text messages from Bezos to his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez
17:28led to the end of his marriage.
17:30With one stupid mistake, Jeff lost the thing that was most important to him in all the world.
17:36$38 billion.
17:39Jeff had hit rock bottom.
17:41He had literally showed the world his dick.
17:44But soon he would bounce back by showing the world his bigger, shinier, rocket-powered dick
17:50and riding it to the cosmos.
17:52Tonight, mission accomplished, Jeff Bezos launches into space
17:55in the first unpiloted, fully civilian suborbital flight.
17:59Yes, Bezos accomplished his boyhood dream and same day shipped himself into the stars.
18:05Bezos had finally done it.
18:07He finally made space travel seem uncool.
18:11I also want to thank every Amazon employee and every Amazon customer
18:17because you guys paid for all this.
18:19And now the world knows the real Jeff Bezos as well as Jeff Bezos knows himself.
18:26I always worked really hard. I was nerdy.
18:29You were nerdy.
18:30I was nerdy. That hasn't changed, by the way.
18:35When we come back, Paul W. Downs from the hit show Hacks will be joining me, so don't go away.
18:58Welcome back to The Daily Show.
19:00My guest tonight is an Emmy-winning writer, actor, and co-creator of the hit Mac series Hacks.
19:07We are a great team because you think outside the box.
19:10Yes, inside that box are skills like calendar, texting the right person back,
19:14scheduling that you do not have a handle on at all, but that's okay
19:17because sometimes the most innovative visionaries struggle with executive functioning.
19:21You are not an assistant.
19:23You are a manager and a great one.
19:27So please stay here with me and be my partner.
19:31Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. I thought you were a man. They're gay.
19:34What? I am a man.
19:35But you said partner.
19:36Leave us alone.
19:38Please welcome Paul W. Downs.
19:42Hello. Welcome, Paul.
19:52How are you?
19:54Holy moly.
19:55Wow.
19:56Congrats on the success of Hacks.
19:58Thank you so much.
19:59We laugh. I laugh so hard at the show.
20:02That's the goal.
20:03So much of this season is about acquiring or attempting to get a late night show.
20:10Yes.
20:11Did you reach out to people in late night?
20:13Did you not have my e-mail and you were nervous and then you got it,
20:17but then you still didn't want a cold e-mail?
20:19How did it work?
20:20You know, I know you have a lot going on.
20:22You have a lot of news to read.
20:23You have a lot of things to do.
20:24So we did have, we had a bunch of consultants on the show that had worked in late night.
20:28So we had a peek behind the curtain from our writers.
20:31Because it is, I mean, I'm, I feel like you're writing about the comedy industry
20:37and it's singing to me.
20:39But then I'm going, is the rest of the country also understanding and laughing at all this?
20:44But it feels like you've really done that.
20:46That's good.
20:47How have you created a show about show business that my friends in Michigan like also?
20:51Wow.
20:52And they're idiots.
20:54I love them.
20:55No.
20:56I, you know, I think because it's a show about people who have been kind of cast aside by the industry,
21:02I think it's really relatable because you know what it's like,
21:05or a lot of people know what it's like to be on the outside of something and want to break into it.
21:08And, you know, this woman, Deborah Vance, played brilliantly by Jean Smart,
21:13you know, is this Vegas stand-up and kind of had to carve out her own path outside of show business.
21:19So I think because of that, you know, people who want to do creative work
21:22or people who want to do something and have a craving for something really understand that.
21:27Her drive, her ambition, yet her selfishness.
21:33That's one thing I also got to ask you about.
21:35Does one have to be selfish to be successful?
21:39I'm asking, basically, I'm asking myself that question.
21:42But it comes up in Hacks.
21:44Oh, yeah, it's a major theme.
21:45I hope not because I'm an angel.
21:49So I mean, I hope you don't have to be, but, you know,
21:53I think you have to be selfish to a certain degree in that if you are somebody like the characters in the show,
21:59you have to really be married to your work.
22:01You know, it's like really all about devoting yourself 150%.
22:04So in that way, I think, yeah, you kind of do sacrifice things in your life.
22:08Was it important for you to create a show where women from different generations are interacting?
22:14Because that's one thing that I, when I was looking at Hacks and not just laughing with it,
22:18and I was saying, I was like, holy shit, these are just two totally different age groups interacting,
22:22which is pretty rare on TV.
22:23Yeah, I mean, that was the thing for us is we had never seen a show,
22:26I mean, other than maybe Mother Daughter or something,
22:29where there were two people that were so different that became friends.
22:32Yeah.
22:33So that was really one of the, like, most interesting parts of the dynamic.
22:36Also, it let us explore different ideas from their frame of reference, which would be so different.
22:42Yeah.
22:43And so we can do that over and over again in a way that hopefully is, you know,
22:48sensitive to both of their points of view.
22:49Nobody's ever 100%, right?
22:51Yeah.
22:52Well, that is what's fun is you, as soon as I'm liking Deborah, she breaks my heart.
22:56Yeah.
22:57And then, you know, yeah, so you've done that very well.
22:59Thank you.
23:01That term in stand-up comedy, it's an insult.
23:03It is.
23:04It means you are telling old jokes, you're not being creative.
23:08Right.
23:10How do you know?
23:11Exactly.
23:13Honestly.
23:16Edit that.
23:20I know because I'm fearful of it.
23:22Yeah.
23:24You know, the worst thing you can be called is a thief.
23:26The second worst thing you can be called is a hack.
23:28Yes.
23:29So how did this term in the title happen?
23:32And sometimes I wonder if it's accurate for the show.
23:35Am I right to question that?
23:37No.
23:38Okay.
23:40Absolutely not.
23:41That's why you're here.
23:42I'm here to ask you.
23:43No, I mean, it is interesting because we kind of called it that in the beginning.
23:46It was sort of like a temporary title.
23:47Okay.
23:48But it is like this thing of, and you see people on Late Night actually,
23:51a lot of times comedians I find, or I think we can all agree,
23:55sometimes go on Late Night and they still kill.
23:57And they're so funny because they're in touch with what's going on in culture.
24:00And then there are some people that age out.
24:02And some people that you get are on and you're like,
24:04why is this person still doing it?
24:06Or why are they still telling the same joke?
24:08So in the beginning of the show,
24:10this young writer interviews for this job with this older standup and says,
24:15I would never want to work for a hack.
24:16Right.
24:17But what she learns in the course of the show is that a hack is somebody
24:20who does the same thing over and over again.
24:22Yeah.
24:23But our character learns and grows because of her relationship with this younger person.
24:27And vice versa.
24:28I mean, the younger person is an entitled Gen Z person that learns the value of hard work
24:32and gets up earlier.
24:34You know, there's a lot of things that she gets back from Debra.
24:38You create, co-created.
24:41There's a lot of, you know, you write on it.
24:43Yeah.
24:44You've directed, right?
24:45Yep.
24:46And you're in it.
24:47Yeah.
24:48That's a shitload of stuff.
24:49Too much.
24:50Too much stuff.
24:52Wearing all the hats.
24:53How do you compartmentalize?
24:55Is it too many things?
24:56You know, they all kind of go hand in hand for me.
24:59I mean, being able to perform is the most fun.
25:03But also having written it, it gives it a little bit more of a freedom
25:07and an effortlessness when I am performing.
25:09Directing is something that, you know, I think when we write,
25:12we write visually and we think about the way that the show looks
25:14and how it's composed.
25:15And so that is also something that feels like it's just integral to the work.
25:20But it is the hardest part.
25:22What is?
25:23Directing is hard.
25:24Directing is really hard.
25:25Oh, my God.
25:26Yeah.
25:27Because you have to, like, think about time and, you know,
25:28there's a whole crew of people that are making this thing happen
25:29and you're deciding if you can move on or you'll get another take.
25:31It's just like, that stuff is much less fun than saying lines.
25:35I mean, you're also dealing with talent.
25:37But in yourself, you're dealing with yourself.
25:39And that's the hardest.
25:40You ever think about that?
25:41Yeah.
25:42Like, God, this guy Paul is such an asshole to the director.
25:44Absolutely.
25:45Yeah.
25:46I am the most demanding of the director.
25:47And I'm the hardest on the actor Paul.
25:49Yeah.
25:50Exactly.
25:51There's a line in episode one, season three,
25:54where you're at the JFL Just for Laughs Festival, which—
25:58Rest in peace.
25:59Rest in peace.
26:00It's now bankrupt.
26:01Yeah.
26:02But there's, like, young people at the bar,
26:04and one of them's looking around and he says,
26:07God, it feels so 80s in here.
26:09Yeah.
26:10And I laughed out loud.
26:11Who wrote that and what does that line mean?
26:12I have to tell you that that was improvised by that actor.
26:15Are you serious?
26:16Yes.
26:17I give credit where credit is due.
26:19Shit.
26:20Thank you.
26:21Now he's a co-writer.
26:22Now he's a co-writer.
26:25Yeah.
26:26Jordan improvised that.
26:28And that's the thing.
26:29We try, because myself, my wife Lucia Agnello,
26:32and Jen Stasky, who created the show,
26:33we all come from improv and sketch comedy.
26:36And so when somebody brings something to the role
26:38that makes it better, we're like, great, let's use it.
26:40So we're constantly adapting.
26:41I feel like you and your co-star in the scene that was showed
26:44are improvising a fair amount.
26:45Is that accurate or does it just feel so natural?
26:47Yes.
26:48But in the scene that you just saw,
26:49that was completely scripted.
26:50It was.
26:51That was very, very scripted.
26:52Because there were so many, you know,
26:53that woman who was taping us had like, you know,
26:54there was a lot of moving parts to that scene.
26:56But we do improvise a fair amount.
26:58That's great.
27:00That, I told you backstage, but that episode
27:02really resonated with me.
27:03Because as a comic, it's like, get to JFL.
27:05Get to Just for Laughs.
27:06And holy shit, you guys nailed it so well.
27:08Thank you.
27:09But there's also a little bit of a dig
27:11there on this show called On the Contrary
27:15that Hannah's character plays.
27:17And it's a man wearing an Uncle Sam hat.
27:19And they're talking about how important comedy is
27:22and how it changes society.
27:24Oh, yeah.
27:25And I'm watching it and I'm looking around here
27:28and I'm seeing the red, white, and the blue.
27:32Yeah, yeah.
27:33And then I was thinking, you know,
27:34one of the things I like about Debra's comedy
27:37is that it isn't always important.
27:40It isn't always changing the world.
27:42And I want to know what your thoughts are on,
27:44is comedy important?
27:45Is it meant to be?
27:47Does it need to be?
27:48Can we just do a joke where we do fart noises
27:50in our armpits sometimes?
27:51My favorite joke.
27:52My favorite joke.
27:54Yeah, I think that, I think comedy is important
27:57even if it's not satire and it's not political comedy.
28:00I think it's important because, I don't know,
28:02that thing of, like, getting together with people
28:04and laughing, it does bring people closer together.
28:06I know that sounds so woo-woo, but it's true.
28:09I mean, don't you guys feel connected?
28:11Yeah.
28:12Don't you guys feel like...
28:16Yeah, it was fun.
28:18Was the Daily Show in there when you were thinking about that?
28:21Oh, there's DNA in the Daily, yeah,
28:23there's absolutely Daily Show references in there.
28:25Actually, speaking of the Daily Show,
28:27tell us quickly, you have a little bit of experience
28:29in this building.
28:30Well, I met Ilana Glazer from Broad City,
28:33who I worked with on Broad City, on this street
28:36because we both auditioned to be on-camera interns
28:39on the Daily Show, and neither of us got it.
28:42LAUGHTER
28:44That's why I made her bring it up, because, no.
28:46But it's OK, it's OK.
28:48I do love that.
28:49It worked out.
28:50Because that's where you met her.
28:51We met on the street.
28:52She had met my wife, Lucia, and she said,
28:54hey, you're Paul, and I said, yeah?
28:56And she said, I know Lucia,
28:58and I'm just like her but three years younger.
29:00LAUGHTER
29:02And I was like, is this a time travel thing?
29:05But you know what, that's very Ilana,
29:07it's kind of classic Ilana.
29:08That's so funny, because this is also part of the reason
29:10why everybody I meet on the street,
29:12I keep in touch with for years.
29:13Yeah.
29:14Because you never know.
29:15Thank you for coming.
29:16The Hacks is awesome.
29:17I love watching it.
29:18Everyone should watch it.
29:19Hacks is available to stream on Max.
29:21Paul W. Downs, everybody.
29:23We're going to take a quick break.
29:24We'll be right back after this.
29:25APPLAUSE
29:27Thank you.
29:28APPLAUSE
29:35That's our show for tonight.
29:37Now here it is, your Moment of Zen.
29:39You've got to get out and vote.
29:41Just this time.
29:42I don't care.
29:43In four years, you don't have to vote, OK?
29:45LAUGHTER
29:46In four years, don't vote.
29:48I don't care by that time.
29:50But we'll have it all straightened out,
29:52so it'll be much different.
29:54Sorry.