The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Ronny Chieng breaks down an eventful Election Day, including a woman going into labor at her polling station, a MAGA voter applauding Trump for his “incredible fraud,” Haley Stevens upholding her tradition of changing all her political beliefs, Don Jr. worrying about Ohio gaining statehood, and Trump getting asked the most important question this midterm: Who is his best-looking administration official? Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt and Troy Iwata hit the streets of NYC to poke into who people voted for.

Election Day 2026 is finally here, which can only mean one thing: it's time to start stressing about 2028! Josh Johnson takes a look at the growing field of will-they-won't-they candidates for the next presidential race: JD Vance is saddled with an unpresidential name AND a lousy sense of humor, Gavin Newsom endures the humiliation ritual of fly-fishing with Jake Tapper, and Sen. John Kennedy positions himself as America's anti-goober candidate. Whoever the 2028 nominees may be, the important thing is we're only two years and seven minutes away from finally talking about 2032.

Award-winning novelist, Min Jin Lee chats with Ronny about her latest book, "American Hagwon." The two discuss hagwons, the specialized Korean skill schools at the center of Lee’s novel, bond over the traditions of respect, sacrifice, and discipline embedded within Asian culture and education, and debate the real value of an elite higher education. Plus, Lee breaks down how her novel’s exploration of an immigrant family enduring financial instability attempts to answer the question of why bad things happen to good people.

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Haley Stevens breaks ranks with Democrats by endorsing Mike Rogers, who she once called a "nightmare," right before the midterms, news networks question the polls they use to disappoint us every election cycle, and Trump is STILL talking about the reflecting pool. Jon Stewart breaks down the election week headlines and warns against overconfidence in a 2026 blue wave — because the media can't kick their poll addiction, even though they know it hurts.

Michael Lewis joins Jon to discuss his new book, “Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State,” which unveils an inside look into DOGE’s inner workings and champions the civil servants who got in its way. Lewis and Stewart dive deep into stories of the brave civil servants who “blocked” DOGE, including the wild U.S. Institute of Peace standoff where a security guard locked DOGE staffers in a wing of the building until D.C. police showed up and escorted him out. Lewis also shares how DOGE’s young operatives targeted the people he calls “the best among us” and why he somehow walked away from it all optimistically.

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This week's hosting trio, Michael Kosta, Ronny Chieng, and Jordan Klepper, dive into the midterms as Election Day approaches, examining how Trump's unalloyed Muslim-bashing and bizarre butt rants are playing with his MAGA rallygoers versus the broader electorate. They discuss how Democratic candidates in high-stakes races like Michigan and Texas have evolved to meet the political moment, the outsized influence of Elon Musk, and the dubious ethics of Democrats' "Dan" shenanigans in Alaska. Plus, the hosts consider the possibility of Trump challenging the midterm results and share their latest reading and viewing recommendations in a round of Daily Show & Tell.

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The Daily Show airs weeknights at 11/10c on Comedy Central.

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Catch all of the past week's great guests in one place.

Investigative journalist Matthew Cole sits down with Jon Stewart to talk about his new book, “Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed’s Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East.” Cole’s book chronicles a five-year investigation into Jared Kushner’s alleged “secret financial agreements and arrangements” made between Trump’s son-in-law and the rulers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Cole points out that Kushner’s lawyer unequivocally and emphatically denies everything in his book, but Cole remains “very confident that I have the story right.”

BAFTA-winning comedian and actor Morgana Robinson chats with Jordan Klepper about her new film, “Ali G: Who Iz I.” The two discuss what it was like to stay in character through long shooting days, how they pulled off the raunchy hijinks in the film, and what the audition process was like for such a unique project. Plus, Klepper learns some new NSFW British slang.

Legendary musician, artist, and author David Byrne chats with Jordan about his new book “Sleeping Beauties: Why Good Ideas Go Dormant and How They Wake Up.” The two discuss Kafka, Melville, and other historical luminaries whose greatest works often went overlooked until their rediscovery later on, how modern hubris repeatedly ignores wisdom of the past, as well as Byrne’s research process for unearthing these forgotten stories. Plus, Byrne shares his writing process behind the song “Let Me Sell You A Dream,” which he wrote and performed for the documentary, “Musk.”

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and actor Tracy Letts joins Jordan to talk about his new film, “I Play Rocky,” which chronicles the making of the 1976 film, “Rocky.” Letts shares why he doesn’t buy the legend that Sylvester Stallone wrote the entire “Rocky” screenplay in three days and what it’s like to film in the same Philadelphia neighborhoods where the original was shot. Plus, Letts explains the wonders of his digital movie collection of over 12,000 titles and what he learned performing improv in Chicago.

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Catch up on the latest headlines with The Daily Show News Team.

Jon Stewart dives into Trump’s midterm closing arguments, which featured an array of Islamophobic attacks against Abdul El-Sayed, bragging about oil companies' profits amid high gas prices, a quid pro quo for sick veterans, and a look into who the “you” is that Trump claims to represent. Jordan Klepper weighs in on Obama’s Cheesecake Factory diss that had MAGA obsessing over the restaurant chain, the d**k pics and ass talk eating the midterm elections alive, uproar over a second “Dan Sullivan” on Alaska's Senate ballot, and Republicans' last-ditch fearmongering campaign, including Ted Cruz calling El-Sayed a "jihadist leprechaun."

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The Daily Show airs weeknights at 11/10c on Comedy Central.

Stream full episodes on Paramount+

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Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices