The things human beings have figured out how to do boggles the mind sometimes, especially in the realm of medicine.
It wasn’t terribly long ago that people with a severe injury had to liquor up, bite a stick, have a body part sewn up or sawed off and hope for the best. (Sorry for the visual, but it’s true.) The discoveries of antibiotics and anesthesia alone have completely revolutionized human existence, but we’ve gone well beyond that with what our best surgeons can accomplish.
Surgeries can range from fairly simple to incredibly complex, but few surgeries are more complicated than separating conjoined twins with combined major organs. That’s why the recent surgical separation of conjoined twin boys with fused brains in Brazil is so incredible.
The twins, Bernardo and Arthur Lima, are almost 4 years old and have never seen one another’s face. They’ve spent their lives conjoined at the top of their heads, facing opposite directions. Born as craniopagus twins (joined at the cranium), their brains were also fused together, making their separation extremely complex. According to the BBC, they’ve been cared for at the Instituto Estadual do Cérebro Paulo Niemeyer (Paulo Niemeyer State Brain Institute) in Rio de Janeiro for the past two and a half years.
Surgeon Noor ul Owase Jeelani is the founder of medical charity Gemini Untwined, which funded the surgery. He helped lead the team of nearly 100 medical workers who worked for months to prepare for the boys’ separation, which was one of the most complicated of its kind.
Jeelani told the BBC that it was the first time surgeons in separate countries practiced by operating in the same “virtual reality room” together, wearing VR headsets.
“It’s just wonderful,” he said. “It’s really great to see the anatomy and do the surgery before you actually put the children at any risk. You can’t imagine how reassuring this is for the surgeons. To do it in virtual reality was just really man-on-Mars stuff.”
Watch Jeelani explain how they prepared for the procedure:
Prior attempts to separate the twins had been unsuccessful, making the surgery even more challenging due to scar tissue. However, after multiple surgeries that took more than 33 hours collectively, the boys were successfully separated in June.
“It was without a doubt the most complex surgery of my career,” said neurosurgeon Gabriel Mufarrej of the Paulo Niemeyer State Brain Institute, according to EuroNews. “At the beginning, nobody thought they would survive. It is already historic that both of them could be saved.”
Jeelani told the BBC that the boys’ heart rates and blood pressure were “through the roof” for four days after the surgery—until they were reunited and touched hands.
According to Reuters, Bernardo and Arthur are the oldest twins with fused brains to be successfully separated. They will spend the next six months in rehabilitation.
Congratulations to the Lima family and to the global team that combined dedication, perseverance and the miracle of modern technology to create a brighter future for these young boys.
Teachers are almost always teaching even when it’s not in their lesson plan.
Those that were born to be teachers find teachable moments everywhere and one woman found herself in one of those moments. Though this one was likely just a bit more personal than she probably would’ve liked.
Emily Elizabeth posted a TikTok video about how she found herself in a predicament in front of her classroom full of 10 and 11-year-old kids. The teacher explained that she was noticing a lot of commotion and whispering among the little girls in her class while she was wearing white pants. After reminding the girls to stay on task, the whispering continued, prompting Emily to be more direct.
That’s when one of the girls asked to speak with her privately dropping the bomb that no one that gets periods wants to hear in public.
“She goes, ‘I’m sorry Ms. Emily, but I just want to let you know that I think you might have got your period,'” the teacher recalls.
But instead of freaking out or being flustered, Emily decided to swallow her embarrassment and use the moment as a teachable experience. She promptly told the concerned girls that it was fine and that she had a change of clothes that she could wear. Just before excusing herself, the boys noticed something was wrong so they curiously asked. Emily informed them that she had gotten her period and while she was annoyed, she was perfectly fine.
One of the boys even sent her an email double checking that she was okay in a less public way. The sweet reaction from her class warmed her heart and the hearts of viewers.
“That boy who emailed…his parents must be incredible,” one commenter says.
“You set an excellent example! And to not hide it from the boys who asked because that would have spoken SO LOUDLY to the boys and girls about normalizing periods,” another writes.
“The email, you sound like an amazing teacher with an amazing group of kids,” someone says.
Teachers are almost always teaching even when it’s not in their lesson plan.
Those that were born to be teachers find teachable moments everywhere and one woman found herself in one of those moments. Though this one was likely just a bit more personal than she probably would’ve liked.
Emily Elizabeth posted a TikTok video about how she found herself in a predicament in front of her classroom full of 10 and 11-year-old kids. The teacher explained that she was noticing a lot of commotion and whispering among the little girls in her class while she was wearing white pants. After reminding the girls to stay on task, the whispering continued, prompting Emily to be more direct.
That’s when one of the girls asked to speak with her privately dropping the bomb that no one that gets periods wants to hear in public.
“She goes, ‘I’m sorry Ms. Emily, but I just want to let you know that I think you might have got your period,'” the teacher recalls.
But instead of freaking out or being flustered, Emily decided to swallow her embarrassment and use the moment as a teachable experience. She promptly told the concerned girls that it was fine and that she had a change of clothes that she could wear. Just before excusing herself, the boys noticed something was wrong so they curiously asked. Emily informed them that she had gotten her period and while she was annoyed, she was perfectly fine.
One of the boys even sent her an email double checking that she was okay in a less public way. The sweet reaction from her class warmed her heart and the hearts of viewers.
“That boy who emailed…his parents must be incredible,” one commenter says.
“You set an excellent example! And to not hide it from the boys who asked because that would have spoken SO LOUDLY to the boys and girls about normalizing periods,” another writes.
“The email, you sound like an amazing teacher with an amazing group of kids,” someone says.
Sometimes we’re not in the mood to be touched, and the same goes for our pets. While cats are notorious for snubbing humans who dare to touch them without explicit affirmative consent for exactly 3.5 pets, dogs are different. Dogs like to get head scratches, butt pats and for some reason slapped on the ribs somewhat aggressively. I don’t know why dog owners do the last one but I’ve seen it enough to think it’s a thing that dogs enjoy.
The point is dogs generally want you to pet them as often as humanly possible and until it feels like your arms are going to fall off. They try to climb up on your lap because being as close to your cornea as their snouts will allow is comforting to them. But apparently, dogs also get into moods where they don’t want to be touched by their humans.
Weird, right? A chocolate lab on TikTok is simply not in the mood for pets and his reaction to his owner attempting to pet him has commenters in stitches.
The dog, Colby, looks as if he’s trying to relax when you see his mom’s hand reach out to pet him. He doesn’t break eye contact with his human, Morgyn Seigfried, as he gently pushes her hand away with his back foot. She tries several times, and each time Colby has the same response.
“Let’s not make this more embarrassing than it has to be,” one commenter wrote.
“He said pet me…WITH YOUR EYES,” another person said.
While some were imagining what the dog was saying internally, others just found it hilarious, especially because he uses his hind leg to reject the affection.
“Such a boss move to use the back leg and not the front paw,” someone wrote, complete with a crying laughing emoji.
“The fact that he used his rear leg makes the exchange even better,” another commenter said.
Colby is clearly over Seigfried’s need to touch him, as you can see for yourself below:
The Hollywood Bowl is one of the country’s most iconic venues, so naturally, a ton of great artists are set to perform at the Los Angeles spot this fall: The 1975 (on October 2), The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie (October 13), and Boygenius (October 31) are just a few examples. Once you’ve chosen which shows you want to see and you’ve secured your tickets, the next pressing concern is how you’re gonna get there.
If you opt to drive, the venue has a dedicated webpage for helping to navigate parking. Probably their most important note: “Parking at the Bowl is extremely limited and may sell out in advance! All lots are stack parked and there is no early exit. Lots open three hours before the start of each event. If inventory is still available, cashiers accept cash or credit card.”
The venue has four lots (A, B, C, D), and prices for parking vary by lot and by event. On the Hollywood Bowl parking page, spots are sold per show and there’s a handy interactive map that shows what spots are available and how much they cost. The page also notes, “All parking lots are available for advance purchase until they are sold out.”
Learn more about parking at the Hollywood Bowl here.
Nothing says midsummer like a gooey and delicious peach cobbler. And while it is officially fall, it was still 80-plus degrees and sunny outside when I made this, which is still very much summer vibes even though it was the first day of October. Seasonality aside, being able to make a good cobbler is a must for any home cook’s arsenal. The marriage of soft, spiced, sweet, and fruity pie filling topped with biscuit- or scone-like topping is a delight.
Add a little vanilla ice cream when it’s still warm from the oven … chef’s kiss!
While some of the more tart fruits (green apples and berries) work better with rich crumble toppings, peaches are sweet and bold enough to stand up to the thickness of a good quickbread topping. I’m not saying you can’t make a great peach crumble too. I’m just saying that cobbler is the best way to go for that extra oompf.
Below, I’m going to break down my favorite recipe — swapping a good dose of bourbon in, rather than vanilla. It’s a very old-school way to get deeper flavors into pie fillings that goes back centuries. Keep in mind, real vanilla was a huge luxury until very recently, so vanilla-forward flavoring agents like bourbon were almost always used instead. The bourbon also adds a little extra depth to the mix that takes this recipe from general “pie spices” to something a little more nuanced.
There are other small tricks I’ve picked up through the years too. I tend to actually top my cobblers with cut biscuits/scones instead of a thick layer of topping. I’ve found that the more space you have for steam to escape, the more the pie filling thickens. It also lets the topping stay fluffier and more layered since you aren’t rolling it out as much (to stretch it to the size of a whole baking dish). The “cobbles” on this cobbler are textural masterpieces with crispy and crunchy tops, delightfully layered and buttery middles, and gooey and soft bottoms. They’re also thick without being dense, which is ideal.
The best of all of this is that your kitchen/home is going to smell amazing while this is baking in the oven. Does all of this sound good? Of course, it does! Let’s dive in!
Bourbon Peach Cobbler
Zach Johnston
Ingredients:
Zach Johnston
Serves: 12
Filling:
8-10 yellow peaches
1/4 cup bourbon
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 cup AP flour
A quick note about the peaches. You’ll want to get ripe peaches that still have some heft to them. Do not use mushy peaches. Since you have to skin and slice these, you’ll want them ripe enough to just give a tiny resistance when you squeeze them.
A good vanilla-forward bourbon to use is a standard Buffalo Trace Bourbon. It’s affordable, widely available, and goes deep on the vanilla while adding plenty of barrel spice and a hint of orange.
Topping:
2 cups bread flour (sifted)
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter (frozen)
1 cup fresh buttermilk (whole)
1 egg white (lightly beaten)
Extra granulated sugar
What You’ll Need:
Large bowls
Large pot
Paring knife
Large baking dish (9 in. x 12 in. x 3 in.)
Rolling pin
3-inch biscuit cutter (or water/pint glass)
Large spoon
Fork
Grater
Cookie sheet
Method:
Preheat oven to 375F.
Baking time: 45-60 minutes
Resting time: 1 hour (minimum)
Prep the Peaches:
Zach Johnston
Bring a large pot full of tap water just barely to a simmer (do not bring it to a boil).
Prepare a large bowl with ice water and have another empty large bowl waiting.
Use a paring knife to score a cross in the bottom of each peach.
Gently place about three or four peaches in the barely simmering water. Let “simmer” for about 60 seconds or until you see the skin start to pull away from where you scored the cross.
Fish the peaches out with the spoon one at a time and add to the ice bath.
Gently pull away the skin from the spot where you scored the peaches — it should slide off very easily. Place the skinned peaches in a waiting bowl.
Repeat until all peaches are skinned.
Filling:
Zach Johnston
Using a paring knife, slice the peaches off the pit, making a wedge shape and working your way around the pit. (Use the same bowl the peaches are already in while you do this to save all the delicious peach juice in one place).
Once all the peaches are pitted and in medium wedges (closer to the size of a tangerine wedge than an orange one), add in the bourbon, sugars, spices, salt, and flour.
Use a large spoon and mix until a thick and dark sauce forms around the peaches.
Pour the mixture into the baking dish.
Topping & Build:
Zach Johnston
Add the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt to a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to integrate the dry ingredients.
Grate the frozen unsalted butter into the bowl.
Use a fork to gently mix the butter into the flour mixture. (Make sure not to use your hand too much as it’ll warm up the butter).
Add in the buttermilk one-half cup at a time to hydrate the flour/butter mixture, using the fork to bring things together until you have a very shaggy dough.
Pour the whole mixture onto a wooden surface and bring it together with your hands until a dough just forms (again, don’t overwork this with your warm hands).
Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it’s about 1/2-inch thick.
Use the biscuit cutter to cut out four biscuits. Re-roll out the dough and cut two more.
Place the biscuits (cobbles) on the peach filling and brush with a whole egg white (make sure to use it all) and then sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Place the dish on a cookie sheet (it will boil over while baking).
Bake (45-60 min. at 375). Rest. Serve.
Zach Johnston
Bottom Line on the Bourbon Peach Cobbler:
Zach Johnston
I wish you could smell this. It’s delightful. The taste is exactly what you’re looking for in that it’s sweet, syrupy, and full of vanilla-laced and fall-spiced goodness.
The cobbles/biscuits add a wonderfully fluffy and crunchy textural variance that just works with the pie filling. Had I made these biscuits on their own, they’d rule. On this cobbler, they’re extraordinary.
Yes, this took a minute to prep and bake, but it wasn’t overly taxing. All told with the peeling, mixing, and prepping, I spent maybe 30 to 40 minutes getting this in the oven. My oven ended up taking 50 minutes to bake. The hardest part was waiting an hour or so to actually dig in. But this was such a crowd-pleaser in my house that I’ve already been ordered to make it again next weekend.
Los Angeles rapper Blueface has reportedly been sentenced to five years in prison for a 2022 strip club shooting in Las Vegas. According to Law & Crime Network, the rapper was handed 24-60 months for shooting and grazing a man’s hand during an argument outside the club last October.
As Ahsoka barrels into its season finale this week, the latest live-action series has left Star Wars fans with plenty to chew on as the show threatens the status quo of the galaxy far, far away. Ahsoka takes place just after the events of The Mandalorian Season 3 as the New Republic struggles to build a peace-oriented and effective government following the destruction of the Empire in Return of the Jedi. However, that mission is threatened by leftover Imperial remnants and an even greater danger in the form of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen).
After being teased in The Mandalorian, the iconic Star Wars villain made his live-action in Episode 6 of Ahsoka finally answering the question of where Thrawn disappeared to in the series finale of Star Wars: Rebels. The ruthless Imperial strategist was blasted to an unknown location alongside fledgling Jedi Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Ahsoka Episode 6 revealed that location to be the planet of Peridea, nestled in a separate galaxy that Star Wars fans have never seen before. But the planet is holding a dark secret that is “calling” to the mercenary Jedi Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) that could be an even more grave threat than the return of Thrawn.
While the secrets of Peridea have yet to be revealed by Ahsoka, the show has dropped some clues and Easter eggs that could hint at what’s in store for the finale. Let’s break down the biggest theories and predictions as well as drop one of our own.
What Is Calling Baylan Skoll?
For most of his screen time on Ahsoka, Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll has stared off into the distance as something clearly troubles his thoughts. Don’t get us wrong, it looks badass as hell thanks to the late Stevenson’s imposing figure and natural gravitas, but it would be nice to know what the heck is going on.
As eagle-eyed fans noticed in Episode 6, the temple where Thrawn meets with the Night Sisters is littered with Zeffo symbols from hit video game Jedi: Fallen Order. The Zeffo are an ancient species who were wildly adept at wielding the Force. While on Peridea, Baylan finally tells his apprentice Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno) that he’s been feeling something from the planet calling him and whatever it is, the Night Sisters don’t want to go near it. The Zeffo could easily fit that bill, or something that even scared them out of their space pants…
The other major theory is that Baylan is being called by Abeloth, an extremely powerful and immortal Force entity, who’s also called the “Bringer of Chaos.” Considering Ahsoka Episode 7 was titled, “Dreams and Madness,” Abeloth is also a solid bet. Baylan has often spoken of a power greater than anyone has ever seen that can reshape an entire galaxy, and a full-on Force goddess sounds like it would do the trick.
Lucasfilm
Ezra Bridger Has Been ‘Possessed’
Now, we’re venturing a little more into wild speculation. Going into Ahsoka, there were already theories that Ezra Bridger turned to the Dark Side. The character was tempted by Darth Maul during his time on Rebels, and maybe years in exile pushed Ezra over the edge.
However, that doesn’t appear to be the case based on his live-action debut so far. He seems genuinely happy to be reunited with Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and is living peacefully with the Noti. That said, Ezra does exhibit some possibly suspicious behavior. For starters, he’s extremely eager to get off Peridea. Although being in exile probably sucked. During a showdown with Shin Hati and Thrawn’s Night Troopers, he adamantly refuses to take his old lightsaber when Sabine offers it back to him. Ezra then proceeds to take out troopers left and right — and block Shin’s lightsaber — using nothing but the Force. But, again, this could all be explained by his time in exile. Ezra was forced to adapt. (We’re so sorry.)
By themselves, Ezra’s eagerness to leave and his refusal to use a lightsaber have easy explanations. But then there’s the matter of the Night Sisters. They were able to easily locate Ahsoka in orbit, but not Ezra over the past ten years? Thrawn also had little interest in going after a Jedi who could sabotage his plans. Was the Grand Admiral conserving resources, or were he and the Night Sisters afraid of Ezra because he now has a power far greater than the Dark Side? During the skirmish in Episode 7, Baylan Skoll notably stayed far away from Ezra as well. Granted, Baylan could have needed to get his pensive stare on again, or maybe he sensed something in the missing Jedi.
The Time Travel Theory
One of the problems going into Ahsoka is honestly a problem with a lot of Star Wars stories: We know how it ends. In this case, should Thrawn resume control of the Empire, which is looking increasingly likely, we know that he’s ultimately defeated and the First Order is running things in the Sequel Trilogy. Granted, there’s a roughly 20-year gap until that happens, so that leaves plenty of storytelling possibilities. But what if Ahsoka jumps completely over that problem?
Thanks to Episode 6’s use of The World Between Worlds, Ahsoka has essentially brought the potential of time travel to live-action Star Wars. However, the series doesn’t have to get that hand-wavey to solve the Sequel Trilogy problem. By visiting Peridea, Ahsoka’s characters have traveled to a whole other galaxy and will presumably have to return at some point. Who’s to say when they return it will be around the same time they left? What if they returned after the events of the Sequel Trilogy? This would lean Thrawn’s rein of power wide open and untether Ahsoka from the canonical restrictions that these Star Wars shows get tangled up in.
Granted, this prediction probably won’t happen because that’s a whole lot of narrative leap-frogging, but it is an exciting idea to consider.
Shin Hati Is Mara Jade
This last prediction is the biggest long shot yet, but not completely out of the realm of possibility. With the live-action debut of Thrawn, Dave Filoni is setting the stage for his live-action Star Wars movie that seems to be pulling heavily from Heir to the Empire books. The early ’90s book and its two sequels were one of the first and most memorable stabs at imagining a post-Return of the Jedi world before being knocked out of canon by the Sequel Trilogy.
Also included in Heir to the Empire is a fan-favorite Star Wars character named Mara Jade. Known as the Emperor’s Hand, Mara served as Palpatine’s secret weapon before becoming entangled with Thrawn’s regime. However, her allegiance to the Empire slowly waned and she eventually became a love interest for Luke Skywalker after embracing the Light Side of the Force.
Ever since Ahsoka‘s debut, Star Wars fans have been hoping for a live-action Mara Jade to be retrofitted into the story just like Thrawn. But what if she’s already here? In Episode 7, Ahsoka offers to help Shin who’s seemingly been abandoned by both Thrawn and Baylan. Shin could accept that aid in the season finale and in doing so potentially reveal her real name: Mara Jade.
Again, this one is a huge long shot, but not for nothing, actress Ivanna Sakhno did pull off red hair in The Reunion. That’s half of the character work right there, plus Sakhno has been winning rave reviews for her performance as a fledgling Dark Jedi apprentice.
The Ahsoka season finale starts streaming October 3 at 9 ET/6 PT on Disney+.
Media day is always an exciting one around the NBA, as it marks the beginning of the new season and all 30 teams feel a wave of optimism about what is to come.
How quickly that feeling of optimism dissipates varies from team to team, but it is always fun seeing players mostly in a good mood and ready to get the season underway. The teams take advantage of that excitement and players being in good spirits to put them through their paces in front of the camera, knocking out most all of the photo shoots and in-arena entertainment videos for the upcoming year. For star players, that means a particularly large workload in front of the camera and as media day has become a bigger operation, teams have started doing more than just having players do stuff in front of a green screen.
In Atlanta, they want to quite literally get fired up for the season and had Trae Young and others shoot some photos and video in front of pyrotechnics, and poor Trae was not prepared for how aggressive the flames would be.
I want to know what Trae was told was going to happen and what he was expecting here, because it clearly wasn’t giant columns of fire shooting off behind him. As someone who used to work concert security and would occasionally end up closer to the pyro than I wanted to be, I can respect this reaction because those things are jarringly hot. Maybe next time they should at least show the guys what the pyro is going to do before the first shot.
I don’t know who is on the Daily Show host selection committee over at Paramount and Comedy Central, but it really feels like the people want Roy Wood Jr and that he’s the best person for the job.
Every (E-V-E-R-Y) conversation I have about the subject ends in the same place: “but they gotta give it to Roy.” On social, all I saw around reports that the search was going “back to square one” with another round of guest hosts when it comes back on October 16 were posts that asked a variation on, “Why don’t they just give to Roy?” And yet…
The decision-makers hear the chatter and see the tweets too. They know Wood Jr. crushed it as guest host and as host of The White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD). They know the resume too: the eight years spent becoming a Hall Of Fame level Daily Show correspondent, the three stand-up specials (specifically Imperfect Messenger, an absolute clinic on cooking a something-for-everyone feast of social commentary, pop culture, and observational comedy). They know about the stirring documentary he produced on the fight over racist statues (The Neutral Ground).
Those decision-makers also know that the guest host experiment has worked really, really well, but the carousel can’t spin forever. And it probably shouldn’t spin up until early 2024 (when a new permanent host is set to take over), either.
The case for Wood Jr. to be the final pick has always been strong, but he’s not the only one. During the strike, the rumor was that Hasan Minhaj was leading the field for the permanent host chair. Then he got called out in Clare Malone’s stunning article in The New Yorker for exaggerating certain elements from his comedy specials. Since then, there have been reports that Minhaj is still in the running, an article from The Wrap where former Daily Show staffers talked about why he shouldn’t be, and a Variety story pointing to the scandal as a reason the Daily Show is starting “from square one” with the search while also indicating that he is still a candidate. With everything that’s happened, though, it’s hard to imagine Minhaj getting the job, especially with the reputational damage he’s taken on over the last couple of weeks and the unique expectations that come with hosting The Daily Show.
The ‘Daily Show’ Needs A Fake News Truth Teller
Getty Image
In 2004, Rolling Stone ran a Jon Stewart profile titled, “The Most Trusted Name In News.” In 2008, a New York Times headline doubled down, asking, “Is Jon Stewart The Most Trusted Man In America?” Perhaps proving the point of these articles (and others), Stewart was tabbed by Time Magazine’s online readers in 2009 as America’s most trustworthy anchor. It wasn’t very close. Stewart scored a 44% with NBC’s Brian Williams getting 29%. This was before Williams’ 2015 scandal for exaggerating the events of a helicopter flight in Iraq, something that dimmed his star power and irrevocably tainted his trustworthiness.
Like Stewart (a “fake journalist” before the term became corrupted), Roy Wood Jr. would probably bristle if you were to call him a journalist. His father, Roy Wood Sr., was a journalist, an iconic one, so he knows the difference between that job and what he, Stewart, and other Daily Show alums do and have done with their “fake news” work. I think he also knows that there is high value in the way The Daily Show contextualizes the news through the lens of satire and comedy — cutting through the noise in ways that others either will not or cannot do.
“We’re also kind of guiding people through the news, and in some cases, it’s bad news, Sometimes it’s good news,” Wood Jr. told us earlier this year when discussing his stint guest hosting the show. “I think the first night, I jokingly called myself Uncle Roy, just kind of on some, ‘That’s what your uncle does. Your uncle helps you, the good uncle. The good uncles help you through tragedies and problems and issues in the world.’”
We’re stuck in a moment where a more literal and dangerous breed of fake journalists work to gaslight the audience, muddying the difference between true and false. There’s no wink and nod, just a chaotic glint in their eyes. Thank God we’ve got real journalists doing their jobs and pushing back on that within the well-established and necessary parameters of their profession. But it’s not enough, we also need trusted “fake journalists” in the Stewart mold who can operate outside of those boundaries and throw a few elbows while calling out the absurdity of it all; making us laugh while making it all make sense.
Telling Truth To Power
CNN
The moment that made me believe completely in Roy Wood Jr. as host of The Daily Show came during the White House Correspondents Dinner when he got groans for a joke about nonsense drag queen groomer conspiracy theories and inaction on gun control.
Roy Wood Jr.: 'Drag queens are not at a school to groom your kids. Stop it. And even if they were, most of them kids are going to get shot up at school — Don’t groan, pass legislation.' #WHCDpic.twitter.com/13wJQcjFC8
At another point during the dinner, Wood Jr. said, “Everybody knows how you do politics, we don’t pass laws. You make a promise to voters and then you don’t do it. That’s what the great leaders in this room understand. You know how to make things not happen.”
Wood Jr. has a healthy amount of skepticism when it comes to politicians. He’s impatient with politics as usual. His give-a-damn is always showing, even when he’s going for the laugh. It never feels heavy-handed or condescending. His week as guest host offered several proof points.
Look at the Cop City in Atlanta segment and his Long Story Short segment on whether it’s time to retire four-year colleges. Or the interview with Senator Corey Booker (NJ-D), which was particularly noteworthy for how Roy pushed on Democrat efforts to stifle Senator Tim Scott’s police reform bill, demonstrating (as he did during the WHCD) that he’ll call out Democrats too. All this and a world-class blow job for coupons joke in a segment about Bed Bath & Beyond the week prior. I don’t know what more evidence is needed, but I’ll drop this cut of his best food segments to make it a rout. Clearly, there’s an aptitude for all of it.
And yet…we’re “back to square one” with the host search.
I’d guess that when the next round of guest hosts is announced, Roy Wood Jr. will be on it and he will, predictably, crush the opportunity. Again. And then we’ll wait. For a sign, a decision, or for someone else to make an offer because they can also see what we see.
Wood Jr. has never been shy about saying he’d look at other opportunities. To be honest, I’ve been as shocked as I am impressed by how honest he’s been about that (and his reverence and ambition for The Daily Show) when I’ve interviewed him over the last few years. But I’ll remind you that CBS has an opening at 12:35, that there are 165 streamers out here still trying to stand out with an election on the horizon. Maybe it’ll be an acting job. He was great in Confess, Fletch. Talent doesn’t sit on a shelf for long.
I’ll wrap on this thought: the flood of distractions and general election nonsense is rising. We need someone who can credibly call out the bullshit in ways unique, impactful, and too hilarious and smart to be mistaken for preaching. We need someone real in an era of unrealness, essentially. We need Roy Wood Jr. as the host of The Daily Show before he takes another job.
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