I was so disappointed in Stewart both-sides-ing it. I have friends and loved ones who absolutely are in increasing danger with reproductive rights being taken away and anti-trans legislation on the rise. And what happens if Putin succeeds in Ukraine? Where has Jon been the last 8 years - did he not see the attempt to overturn the election? People overrunning the Capitol to try to hang the Vice President? Kids in cages? Remember that? The Muslim ban? Emoluments? Classified docs in the Mar-a-lago bathroom? There is absolutely existential danger to our democracy and underplaying it like this is normal times and these are two normal candidates is crazy. And yeah, he is a cis, straight, rich white guy. He gonna be just fine either way.
I get that Biden is old. I GET IT. But I'm voting for his whole vision, his whole team, and do we not remember who the last guy appointed to dismantle pretty much anything? They were one worse than the other. I agree with one of the comments over on TDS's Instagram in that I would vote for Biden in a casket over the other guy.
These shows should absolutely have a 5 minute recap of the previous season after these long breaks. It’s crazy that I have to go to YouTube for a recap in order to not feel completely lost when a show returns.
Wow some people really got upset about the two siderism (just saw yesterday's show). I personally thought the 20 minute bit was amazing, but funny is subjective anyway. But to demand that noone points out how outlandish it is that Democrats are in danger of losing to Trump again feels very extreme (i at least took this as the main message- I really doubt anyone still holds hope that there will be a real life Arnold Vinick anytime soon ). This is not even about the two sides of the aisle not being able to communicate; now we bring restrictions on what can be said inside the "camps" themselves? (Alan, I have been reading you for decades, even though you make feel dumb about how many things I miss 101% of the time- just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you 😄)
I totally understand where you and others are coming from in regards to Stewart but I just fundamentally disagree that his schtick in his return or in his run over the 2000's was ever "both sides are equally bad". He made leftist views mainstream to myself and many others as a teenager during the Bush years and constantly railed against that administration, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Fox News. He had Obama on his show seven times and essentially endorsed him without directly saying it. Just because he takes shots at Democrats (who deserve to be criticized) doesn't negate his clear left leaning views and his lack of partisanship is part of what helped him spread those views to a broader audience to begin with.
I thought the point he was getting at was that it's blatantly apparent that Biden cognitive abilities are deteriorating and the DNC's decision to just ignore what we can all see instead of running a different candidate is foolish in an election with the threat of a second Trump term looming. He's right that this election alone won't make or break America. People smarter than Trump will follow his foe-populist right wing playbook in years to come, and many Republicans before Trump campaigned on the promise of overturning Roe v Wade and many currently run on anti-trans sentiments. He's not saying to kick up our feet and not worry about this election, he's saying to worry about every election as long as we live (or until the sun runs out of Hydrogen as he joked)
I don't see myself jumping into daily chats--I'm mostly behind on watching shows and catch up later. So I usually save your reviews until after I've caught up with viewing.
Thank you for your accurate assessment of Stewart's claim that a Trump victory would not be the end of America as we know it: "While a noble sentiment on paper, it’s also one that’s a lot easier for a wealthy straight white guy to make, since he’s far more insulated from many of the things Trump and the GOP want to do — and the rights they want to strip away — in the event of a win in November." This is so right on.
Jon Stewart's comments about how the country will survive were so disappointing. Sure, the country will survive. The country survived the Civil War, too. But that doesn't mean there wasn't lots and lots of death and suffering along the way. Already, right now, women in certain states are facing death and permanent harm due to what the first Trump presidency wrought. A group of them are suing the state of Texas because of it. To dismiss all this cruel and unnecessary suffering that people face *right now* because, 'well, the country will survive' is just beyond tone deaf and infuriating. It's peak rich guy condescension and we already get enough of that from the media. I don't know why we needed any more.
Alan I have a lot of respect for you as a critic, I do. You’re one of the best around. Your Sopranos book with MZS is fantastic. The greatest Sopranos book ever made. I’ve been reading you since 2007. We don’t always agree but I can at least understand your position and criticism. i mention all that to preface what I’m about to say.
That Rolling stone piece you wrote was extremely disappointing. My heart sank as I read it. Seeing you resort to that kind of hit piece. Man. It was full of ad hominem bleh.
Calling Stewart’s return sad? Really? It’s sad? One of the greatest political & media critics of our time returning to a show he made into a cultural juggernaut after he refused to bow down to the censorship of the biggest corporation in the world, and you think of it only it terms of how it looks and feels as a career move? Dude.
Also. This “both sides” thing. That’s the sort of commentary and helped get that Orange buffoon elected in the first place. Both sides are messed up. Both sides are full of idiots. Suggesting Stewart should focus criticism on one side and one side only. I don’t even know what to say to that.
And now even in this article, you mention Stewart is a straight white dude and thus the consequences of a Trump or Republican led victory means he has less skin in the game. When you write something like that, I have to wonder. Do you see other people as selfish individuals only concerned with themselves? Stewart has a wife. He’s a father. He has a daughter and a son. He has multi cultural friends. This idea that because he is a straight, wealthy white dude and therefore that somehow means his vested interests are different from, say, a woman or immigrant. What? No. Come on man. You should know better than that.
I read many Democrats upset Stewart went after Biden. It’s truly some The Emperor Has No Clothes stuff.
Here’s the truth. We should feel incredibly fortunate to have Stewart back in 2024 doing what he does best. Make us laugh & think about how ridiculous life and politics is/are. It’s not sad. It’s a major victory. No one does it better than he does.
Anyways, I had to get that off my chest. To quote Tony Soprano, “Frankly I’m depressed and ashamed”.
I don't mind the occasional invitation to a chat at all. If I didn't want your correspondence I wouldn't have subscribed! I realize this is maybe the most low key Gen X thing I can say but I don't mind email at all.
Completely agree with all of your comments on Jon Stewart. As much as I LOVED the Golden age of The Daily Show, that time came and went and he was wise to move on when he did. We still need something like the Daily Show in the modern world, but cable is dying and there are podcasts, 'tubes, TikToks and (unfortunately) Twitters to compete with and while Stewart may be right, he's also becoming as culturally old as the ancient politicians he's railing against.
On the emails topic, the worst thing that happens is I delete some without reading - it's never going to be annoying enough for me to unsubscribe. And the best thing that happens is I catch some conversations a bit earlier which would be wonderful. So yeah, more emails for me please.
I personally like your current one-newsletter-a-week schedule, since I generally don't have time to read the various newsletters I subscribe to during the week anyway.
The whole genre of Comedy Journalism has always been problematic and it's long past it's sell by date. These types of shows always want to have it both ways. They report (or more accurately "report") on events. They act like they're real news programs, but when they screw up and someone calls them on it they're all like, "Whoa whoa, we're just a comedy program"
I was so disappointed in Stewart both-sides-ing it. I have friends and loved ones who absolutely are in increasing danger with reproductive rights being taken away and anti-trans legislation on the rise. And what happens if Putin succeeds in Ukraine? Where has Jon been the last 8 years - did he not see the attempt to overturn the election? People overrunning the Capitol to try to hang the Vice President? Kids in cages? Remember that? The Muslim ban? Emoluments? Classified docs in the Mar-a-lago bathroom? There is absolutely existential danger to our democracy and underplaying it like this is normal times and these are two normal candidates is crazy. And yeah, he is a cis, straight, rich white guy. He gonna be just fine either way.
I get that Biden is old. I GET IT. But I'm voting for his whole vision, his whole team, and do we not remember who the last guy appointed to dismantle pretty much anything? They were one worse than the other. I agree with one of the comments over on TDS's Instagram in that I would vote for Biden in a casket over the other guy.
These shows should absolutely have a 5 minute recap of the previous season after these long breaks. It’s crazy that I have to go to YouTube for a recap in order to not feel completely lost when a show returns.
Please send as many emails as you can
Wow some people really got upset about the two siderism (just saw yesterday's show). I personally thought the 20 minute bit was amazing, but funny is subjective anyway. But to demand that noone points out how outlandish it is that Democrats are in danger of losing to Trump again feels very extreme (i at least took this as the main message- I really doubt anyone still holds hope that there will be a real life Arnold Vinick anytime soon ). This is not even about the two sides of the aisle not being able to communicate; now we bring restrictions on what can be said inside the "camps" themselves? (Alan, I have been reading you for decades, even though you make feel dumb about how many things I miss 101% of the time- just wanted to take the opportunity to thank you 😄)
I'll ask the same question I ask Trump fans when they tell me all the things he's going to do:
Why didn't he do it the first time?
I totally understand where you and others are coming from in regards to Stewart but I just fundamentally disagree that his schtick in his return or in his run over the 2000's was ever "both sides are equally bad". He made leftist views mainstream to myself and many others as a teenager during the Bush years and constantly railed against that administration, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Fox News. He had Obama on his show seven times and essentially endorsed him without directly saying it. Just because he takes shots at Democrats (who deserve to be criticized) doesn't negate his clear left leaning views and his lack of partisanship is part of what helped him spread those views to a broader audience to begin with.
I thought the point he was getting at was that it's blatantly apparent that Biden cognitive abilities are deteriorating and the DNC's decision to just ignore what we can all see instead of running a different candidate is foolish in an election with the threat of a second Trump term looming. He's right that this election alone won't make or break America. People smarter than Trump will follow his foe-populist right wing playbook in years to come, and many Republicans before Trump campaigned on the promise of overturning Roe v Wade and many currently run on anti-trans sentiments. He's not saying to kick up our feet and not worry about this election, he's saying to worry about every election as long as we live (or until the sun runs out of Hydrogen as he joked)
I don't see myself jumping into daily chats--I'm mostly behind on watching shows and catch up later. So I usually save your reviews until after I've caught up with viewing.
Perhaps a "one email per week" vs. "bring on the emails!" option would suffice.
Thank you for your accurate assessment of Stewart's claim that a Trump victory would not be the end of America as we know it: "While a noble sentiment on paper, it’s also one that’s a lot easier for a wealthy straight white guy to make, since he’s far more insulated from many of the things Trump and the GOP want to do — and the rights they want to strip away — in the event of a win in November." This is so right on.
I'm all for more emails!
Jon Stewart's comments about how the country will survive were so disappointing. Sure, the country will survive. The country survived the Civil War, too. But that doesn't mean there wasn't lots and lots of death and suffering along the way. Already, right now, women in certain states are facing death and permanent harm due to what the first Trump presidency wrought. A group of them are suing the state of Texas because of it. To dismiss all this cruel and unnecessary suffering that people face *right now* because, 'well, the country will survive' is just beyond tone deaf and infuriating. It's peak rich guy condescension and we already get enough of that from the media. I don't know why we needed any more.
Alan I have a lot of respect for you as a critic, I do. You’re one of the best around. Your Sopranos book with MZS is fantastic. The greatest Sopranos book ever made. I’ve been reading you since 2007. We don’t always agree but I can at least understand your position and criticism. i mention all that to preface what I’m about to say.
That Rolling stone piece you wrote was extremely disappointing. My heart sank as I read it. Seeing you resort to that kind of hit piece. Man. It was full of ad hominem bleh.
Calling Stewart’s return sad? Really? It’s sad? One of the greatest political & media critics of our time returning to a show he made into a cultural juggernaut after he refused to bow down to the censorship of the biggest corporation in the world, and you think of it only it terms of how it looks and feels as a career move? Dude.
Also. This “both sides” thing. That’s the sort of commentary and helped get that Orange buffoon elected in the first place. Both sides are messed up. Both sides are full of idiots. Suggesting Stewart should focus criticism on one side and one side only. I don’t even know what to say to that.
And now even in this article, you mention Stewart is a straight white dude and thus the consequences of a Trump or Republican led victory means he has less skin in the game. When you write something like that, I have to wonder. Do you see other people as selfish individuals only concerned with themselves? Stewart has a wife. He’s a father. He has a daughter and a son. He has multi cultural friends. This idea that because he is a straight, wealthy white dude and therefore that somehow means his vested interests are different from, say, a woman or immigrant. What? No. Come on man. You should know better than that.
I read many Democrats upset Stewart went after Biden. It’s truly some The Emperor Has No Clothes stuff.
Here’s the truth. We should feel incredibly fortunate to have Stewart back in 2024 doing what he does best. Make us laugh & think about how ridiculous life and politics is/are. It’s not sad. It’s a major victory. No one does it better than he does.
Anyways, I had to get that off my chest. To quote Tony Soprano, “Frankly I’m depressed and ashamed”.
I don't mind the occasional invitation to a chat at all. If I didn't want your correspondence I wouldn't have subscribed! I realize this is maybe the most low key Gen X thing I can say but I don't mind email at all.
Completely agree with all of your comments on Jon Stewart. As much as I LOVED the Golden age of The Daily Show, that time came and went and he was wise to move on when he did. We still need something like the Daily Show in the modern world, but cable is dying and there are podcasts, 'tubes, TikToks and (unfortunately) Twitters to compete with and while Stewart may be right, he's also becoming as culturally old as the ancient politicians he's railing against.
On the emails topic, the worst thing that happens is I delete some without reading - it's never going to be annoying enough for me to unsubscribe. And the best thing that happens is I catch some conversations a bit earlier which would be wonderful. So yeah, more emails for me please.
I personally like your current one-newsletter-a-week schedule, since I generally don't have time to read the various newsletters I subscribe to during the week anyway.
My only Jon Stewart thoughts are that the only part of his return that made me laugh was Jordan Klepper's bit acknowledging the criticisms of Stewart, and Linda Holmes's review of Irresistible still rings very true as a summary of his political philosophy https://www.npr.org/2020/06/23/875197074/irresistible-chooses-an-inopportune-moment-to-get-glib-about-politics
The whole genre of Comedy Journalism has always been problematic and it's long past it's sell by date. These types of shows always want to have it both ways. They report (or more accurately "report") on events. They act like they're real news programs, but when they screw up and someone calls them on it they're all like, "Whoa whoa, we're just a comedy program"
A few emails a week would be fine