The June 17, 2013 episode of the Daily Show focuses on Sarah Palin, the Iranian election, intolerance of Christians, and Linda Cardellini from Mad Men.
The episode begins with John Oliver explaining that, once again, Jon Stewart will not be hosting. He is in recovery from a surgery to get his face switched with Nicholas Cage. The first serious topic, if the Daily Show can ever really be considered serious, is Sarah Palin’s return to FOX News. She left five months ago, and has now been rehired. This quick change around leads Oliver to say that Palin quits things so much, she even quits at quitting. Oliver reserves judgment on Palin’s (new) position at FOX, stating that people can change. He then plays several clips which quickly prove that she has not, in fact, changed at all. Then Oliver has an epiphany, people can ignore her. It may be difficult, but it is possible. Oliver could play clip after clip juxtaposed with clips meant to show her hypocrisy or foolishness. Or, they could just move on to more important topics.
The topic that followed was the recent Iranian election. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was unable to run for re-election, because he has reached his term limit. Out of the six candidates who ran, the Iranians elected a moderate cleric. Oliver points out that this outcome is a mix of positive and negative. On the negative side, the supreme religious leader preapproves all candidates. On the positive side, they did pick the most moderate option. The reactions to the election are mixed in America, as well. Those who see it positively point out the high voter turn out, 72%, and the moderate stance of the president elect. Those who see it negatively focus on their views of it as a fake election, and a fake democracy. Either way, Oliver appears to decide it is mostly positive. He then retires Ahmadinejad’s jacked to the rafters to be retired alongside other, similar leaders, such as Saddam Hussein, and Muammar al-Gaddafi.
The second segment is a special report by Samantha Bee. The Supreme Court will be handing down two historical decisions soon, and gay marriage has taken huge strides in American culture at large. Bee is looked, however, at the people who have slipped through the cracks: anti-gay Christians. In order to explore this group’s plight, she interviews Preacher Matt Slick. Slick argues that Christians are being persecuting for speaking their opinions on homosexuality. He says that they are being persecuted for their “religious orientation.” Bee is not buying any of his argument, of course. Bee takes him on a walk to illustrated just how much intolerance he does not face on a daily basis. She concedes, however, that this is a huge problem…in his mind. She then talks to Todd Clayton who has faced a lot of intolerance and been cut off from the community in which he grew up. She commiserates with him for being discriminated against for being Christian, and he corrects her. He was discriminated against for being gay. His response to Bee’s explanation of discrimination against Christians is to say it is ridiculous.
The guest in this episode is Linda Cardellini from Mad Men. It is an entertaining interview, but Oliver still needs some practice to get up to Stewart’s level. To be fair, Stewart needed that same practice, probably more, when he started. They discuss Cardellini’s first tv appearance, which was on the Price Is Right. She won a fireplace, which she still has. They also discuss the show, and how it romanticizing what was a pretty tumultuous time period, and not a great time period for women (they do not bring up how much worse it was for non-White people). The episode was really good. Bee’s report was by far that best part, and I definitely recommend checking it out. Oliver is doing a good job, and I look forward to seeing more episodes from him.