8.7
5,841 votes
HBO 2014
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There are very few government checks on what America’s sweeping surveillance programs are capable of doing. John Oliver sits down with Edward Snowden to discuss the NSA, the balance between privacy and security, and dick-pics.
The episode was rated from 622 votes.
John talks about the rise of the far-right political parties in Europe, the Ukrainian election, Afghanistan, Net Neutrality, Australia's hard-line right-wing Prime Minister Tony Abbott and the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The episode was rated from 377 votes.
Thanks to tobacco industry regulations and marketing restrictions in the U.S., smoking rates have dropped dramatically. John Oliver explains how tobacco companies are keeping their business strong overseas and how Phillip Morris International in particular is employing some unethical legal practices while suing some of the world's poorest countries. Plus, we've noticed that the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue still exists but can’t quite figure out why.
The episode was rated from 380 votes.
John covers the results of the Scottish referendum that took place the week before and explains why the policy of United States having embargo against Cuba doesn't make sense . The main story focuses on the Miss America pageant and their scholarships to women. John explains how outdated and absurd the requirements for the contestants are and to illustrate these problems, stages his own pageant with the help of a guest star - Kathy Griffin.
The episode was rated from 401 votes.
The Lottery: State lotteries claim to be good for education and the general wellbeing of citizens. But are they? (Spoiler alert: No.) Also, there is a cannon that shoots salmon over dams. It’s awesome. Check it out.
The episode was rated from 408 votes.
Translators who have aided the U.S. Military in Afghanistan and Iraq are in great danger in their home countries, but red tape is making it impossible for many of them to leave. John Oliver interviews FNU Mohammad, one translator who made it out. Plus, since cameras aren’t allowed in the Supreme Court discussions, most coverage of the important cases looks like garbage. John fixes that problem with real animals and fake paws.
The episode was rated from 418 votes.
After winning a legal battle involving a coal executive and a giant squirrel, John Oliver explains how SLAPP suits are designed to stifle public dissent.
The episode was rated from 620 votes.
Main story: how desperate the American law enforcement is to make money out of everyone by using the process called the "civil asset forfeiture," and how it would make for a weird episode of "Law and Order." Plus, John wants to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and how is Columbus Day still a thing.
The episode was rated from 406 votes.
John talks about California Chrome and the Belmont Stakes, FIFA and the 2014 World Cup, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The episode was rated from 443 votes.
John talks about US Immigration and interviews Professor Stephen Hawking.
The episode was rated from 426 votes.
John talks about ISIS and student loan debt. Musical group A Great Big World make a special appearance.
The episode was rated from 393 votes.
Our main story was about Donald Trump. We can't believe we're saying that either.
The episode was rated from 838 votes.
John talks about the NFL's decision on Ray Rice's contract, the international response to ISIS, Scotland's separation from the United Kingdom and Twitter hashtags that are being misused by corporations.
The episode was rated from 410 votes.
Donald Trump spreads a lot of false information thanks to his daily consumption of morning cable news. If only we could sneak some facts into the president’s media diet.
The episode was rated from 1922 votes.
The US Senate Torture Report revealed horrifying details of America's interrogation program. Helen Mirren will fill you in. Plus, information about the 2015 European Games and the Canadian Senate expenses scandal.
The episode was rated from 511 votes.
Sex education varies widely between school districts, leaving many teens without comprehensive information. We made a video that covers what some schools are too embarrassed to teach.
The episode was rated from 601 votes.
U.S. tax law allows television preachers to get away with almost anything. We know this from personal experience.
The episode was rated from 641 votes.
Focuses on the shooting of Michael Brown and police militarization in Ferguson, MO. John also discusses the topic of equal pay for equal work.
The episode was rated from 383 votes.
John talks about human rights violations in the Middle East, nuclear disarmament and Russia's science satellite that lost communication.
The episode was rated from 348 votes.
This episode tackles the hard truth about the history of Police in the United States and the many problems that are faced in fixing those problems.
The episode was rated from 564 votes.Last updated: jul 06, 2022
This just keeps on getting better and better.
Absolutely love this show. Oliver does a great job at really making you think at the very important issues that just constantly get swept under the rug. Highly recommend this show.
For the most part, this is a wonderful show. There have been a couple segments over these initial 2 seasons where he made some questionable statements, but I'll write those off as well-intentioned mistakes.
Now Complete Rubbih this show
Just keeps getting better, in my opinion. John Oliver more often than not gives a very complete 360 view of the topics he discusses, and with rare exceptions I have learned something that I didn't know much about after watching. Well worth a watch.
One of the best shows on TV. Well researched and gives a realistic look at a sad country.
Best f'ing show ever!
This show is awesome. You get the news, but you also get some laughs out of it!! How can you go wrong?
As always remarkable clear and truthful.
After John Stewart left the Daily Show, there was a bit of a hole left in comedic news shows. Trevor Noah is good, but the approach that HBO took with Last Week Tonight lends itself well to this being the successor to what John Stewart started. Weekly shows allow John to dive deeper into a specific topic, and he covers each one of them well, managing to find a slew of relevant topics and uncovering the issues that lie therein. The only issue is that despite the comedy, the inequality, injustice, and frankly the stupidity he uncovers sometimes can leave you frustrated and feeling hopeless that there is little you can do to change things.
When the show started, each episode was an interesting introspective into important but less known or fairly low covered US phenomena, which was educational for me, as someone who does not live in the USA. As of 2021, in the last seasons every other episode discusses US identity politics from the view of mainstream left. The content has ceased to be unique, you can get the same by just opening twitter. Coverage is still probably done with a good quality, and jokes still work most of the time, but the show is just not that engaging anymore. **Don't recommend to start watching now. Several past episodes, like net neutrality ones, are very good.**
This shows ranks below only South Park in uncovering the deep, crazy mess that is politics in and organisation of the United States - and that is high praise. Bonus - social issues addressed as by an adult and mess from around the world!
Like most other late night shows, you will find yourself disagreeing with some (or most) of John's opinions. However, he shines the most when he deals with extremely under-covered topics in very well-researched segments (e.g. Net Neutrality, Corporate Consolidation, MLMs, etc.). As for his comedy, I feel like it delivers most of the time. Of course, some of the jokes are a miss but that's to be expected. Overall, I suggest giving it a try, keeping an open mind and also a healthy amount of skepticism.
People who watch this shouldn't be allowed to vote.
