The June 24, 2013 episode of the Daily Show focuses on financial regulation, the media coverage of Edward Snowden, and White House Down with Maggie Gyllenhaal.
The episode begins with a discussion of financial regulation. John Oliver spends some time outlining the situation. A few e-mails were recently found that show that two big credit agencies were accepting money to approve some of the risky practices that tanked the economy. The e-mails make it clear that these individuals knew exactly what they were doing and the risks. There have been efforts in the past to try fix this, such as Senator Al Frankin’s efforts. However, the bills and proposals have always been gutted.
Jason Jones turns in a report where he interviewed an American banker and a Canadian banker. The American banker, John Tabacco, is extremely opposed to regulation. Any financial reform will make the United States look like Canada. Jones, who is Canadian, returns to Canada to interview Peter Aceto. Aceto explains that the heavily regulated financial sector protects Canada’s economy and banks. It works so well that Canada did well during the internet bubble burst and the Great Depression. Tabacco argues that the bubble and bust pattern the U.S. economy takes is exciting. Aceto argues that there is nothing exciting about people losing their savings, homes, or anything else. The report ends with Jones asking Americans and Canadians what they think of bankers. Americans call them cockroaches, greedy, scum, and a number of other horrible names. Canadians call them extensions of the family, trustworthy, good people, and a lot of other positives.
The second segment is about the media coverage of Edward Snowden’s location. Snowden had been in Hong Kong, and the U.S. had been trying to get him extradited. However, Hong Kong stopped returning their calls. Snowden was reportedly taking a flight to Moscow, Russia and then Cuba. However, they lost him at the Moscow airport and no longer know where he is. According to Oliver, instead of waiting for new information, the news stations are guessing and babbling about the topic.
The guest for the episode is Maggie Gyllenhaal promoting her new film, White House Down. Gyllenhaal and Oliver talk about the film and whether the Snowden story is just a viral marketing plan for the film. They also talked about Gyllenhaal’s daughter and the difficulties of raising a daughter in New York City. It was an interesting interview, and an interesting episode. I am still enjoying Oliver in the anchor’s chair, but I cannot help looking forward to Jon Stewart’s return.