The Daily Show: Ears EditionStep behind the desk with Jordan Klepper, Desi Lydic, and Ronny Chieng as they connect with the audience After the Cut.
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Yeah, and they told us that John Stewart was coming back. There was such an air of relief and focus in this studio one. They're like, thank god we still have all these small suits. We didn't know what to do with it. Thank god we could use these. He's very tiny. But also I think like we were ready to get started. This year is a dumpster fire and it's more important than ever, and this building is made to comment on the news, talk about it, find Huber in the bullshit, and call out the bs wherever you see it. And John invented it. He built the foundation of this place. And when he walked back in that door, like we had we had a great year without a permanent host, and it was really fun getting to hear so many different voices and so many talented people. But I think John came in and was like, I'm going to do this one day a week.
And I think the.
Rest of the news team is like, hell, yeah, we got your back. We are honored and excited to be here. There's no better place, no other place I'd rather be than right here at this desk. And I think like, you have a team that has got eyes focused on this next election, ready to go.
I know what, no, what if somebody actually what is the audition to be.
On the show as a correspondent.
Let me see what happened with me was I was doing shitty open mics in Australia and then and then Trevor asked me to audition for it. So if you can find Trevor, I think he can help you. I've got any questions, any questions, anybody questions. I'm not like job offers in the back that. Yeah, well if you were a what I'd rather you ask me for a job anyway. I don't know, potato peeler everyday? What's what's the least most useful over there? Yeah?
Do you think that you come into New York affected like your comedy and everything rather than going to.
LA or oh yeah, hell yeah, hell yeah, definitely for sure New York. I actually, when I first got my visa, I was I went to LA. My agent told me to come to LA and do pilot season. And that's a that's an industry term for everyone. There's one guy in the industry laughing or yeah, my agents, I had come to LA do a pilot season, pilot season, means you go into audition room with twenty Asian dudes who look like you, who all went to like Yale drama school, and they're auditioning for like, you know, Sidekick two on whatever and I and I was I was in that. I was in that for one I did that one time and as in I was in that season one time, and I knew, like, man, I'm not going to out act all these actual, trained, talented people. The only thing I can do with my limited skill set is go to New York and be a huge asshole and so and it wont t all about that. So New York, definitely New York is New York to life.
Your most memorable guests, like so far in conversation that you've had over the New York because he's both of me here for a really long time, so kind of for both of you.
Who gets the question that's the most memorable guest?
Oh god, I Right when I started the show, we had Gloria steinem on and she was walking through the hallways and for whatever reason, she didn't know where to go. I don't know. She was just walking around by herself, and she popped into the edit that I was in and she goes, does anyone know where I'm supposed to go? And I was like, I do, and I just started the job, so I didn't know where to take her. Then there were just the two of us aimlessly walking around back hallways. But it was just so it was such a cool moment to actually get to see her and meet her in person, and.
Then well I remember that moment. Then I, as a man, stepped in was like you ladies look lost.
Follow the dude, Gloria steinem come over here, I would say. One of the fun like it is it's such a small little building that you see guests wandering around all the time.
I remember Paul McCartney was here and I know, have you heard him from the Eagles, great great musician, love the Eagles, but he came on. He was one of the few guests where we were sort of told internally don't be in the hallways because sometimes you can find yourself in the hallway bumping into people and be like, oh, hey, President Clinton, I want to say hi, and so McCartney, they're like, stay in your edit base. And I remember hearing Paul McCartney walk through the hallways singing as he does. We get it, We get it, and nobody interrupted with him. You went out. He did his piece and I was editing a piece in an edit bay and he came off the show and he kind of walked through and I saw the back of my on the court of my eye. The door was open. I saw McCartney walk by, and then he came into our edit bay. He turned around, walked into our edit bay and he was like, so.
What's this?
What are you guys playing with? What are you fucking around with him?
What is this? What are you doing?
What are you doing?
Did he get notes?
Well?
I immediately we jumped into bits like I don't know this music, and here sucks.
What do you want to do?
And he started playing the game of making fun of everything in there, and you realized. I realized in that boat it was like he just wanted to play. Like he shows up to places, this creative, fun guy and the world like shuts down around him. Not to bother Paul McCartney, but he was just like this this element of joy that walked through the space, that just wanted people to play with him. And so we told him to get the fuck out, and that was it. Yeah, I haven't heard him, since.
What do you think.
Your life and what should we be looking at ASTI.
Now, well, I mean the biggest issues fit. I mean, obviously we what I would love I love them to do some boring things. I think term limits would be amazing. Right now. I think I'd like them to functionally focus on ways in which we could break this divided quagmire we are in. You can talk about the big issues like we're divided country, all this, all that stuff is true. I think a big problem we have is the way we are set up is a problem. And you have people trying to get into office and stay there forever. It's not a lifetime job. People should be doing that job for a couple of years. In the House, do it for six years, get the hell out, Supreme Court, do it for twelve Let somebody else come in. I think we should be we should talking about ways of which we could rework this. That is more a reflection of the modern political environment that allows more ideas to come in and less stagnation. So whatever we can do to focus on that, I think is hugely important. And then secondarily, I'm I'm always always so flabbergasted that we can't do anything about gun violence in this country, and you watch the news today before we come out here, there's another goddamn shooting, and I think, yet again, we know what we're going to see, and so I think there's issues like that that are so if there is ever a need for a government to step in and protect its citizens, it's on issues like that where we see people harmless, people being attacked by careless people who aren't given enough, whether it's mental health and security. We're also given weapons of war and put in places that they shouldn't be. And if we don't have a society that can look at that issue and put any partisan bickering aside and try to help kids who are scared to go to school, then like, what help do we have in balancing a budget? I think there's basic things for if you want, if you want this community and citizens to believe that government can actually do something for it, that it can be effective in your lives, Like you have to take care of the most vulnerable, and you have to stop being a dip ship who's worried about getting re elected and be a human who's worried about saving a.
Kid's your favorite restaurant in New York we see for a party restaurant.
Uh, potty restaurant.
Okay, wait, yeah, First of all, what's a party restaurant?
Do you mean like potty restaurant? Oh? Like, like what kind of hold? Well, Usually when people ask me this, the first is the first question is do you want white people food or Asian food? That's the first Asian Okay, you don't have to point your Asian firm when you say that. That's right. You can like Asian food without without pointing out Asian people. So you want Asian and then that means you you want like right, so you want noodles noodles? Okay, then go to whala what wala wala wala wala. It's a great restaurant in China. Talk, don't worry about it. Don't worrybout you're not gonna go. You're not gonna go through. But yeah, in Chinatown there's a restaurant called Wayla. You're not gonna go no.
Where buck It's like I can't get in or no.
I'm gonna say it. You're gonna go. Oh that sounds nice. You're never gonna go, so don't worry by You're gonna go eat pizza and all of a sudden time because.
Times Square is the best pizza you gotta go to. Yeah, if I get one recommendation, go to Times spend the rest of your time in Times Square. It's the pizza in Times Square. You'll have a blast Classic New York. If you've changed is great.
You know what, Never convinced someone or being able to show them how incongruous their views are compared to their beliefs.
No, no, no, I don't think that's Uh, that's.
Something I've gotten super close to. I will say though, In the last piece that we did, we went down to South Carolina and we talked to a woman who was there on January sixth. She got arrested for being inside, spent sixty days in jail, and she came out and she changed her opinion, and and it was you give her a run with Blause, right, and now you guys just clap for an insurrection. Tost see how easy it is?
Wow?
Uh?
And so it was.
It was good to talk to her. I think like she was somebody and I did ask her, was like, I don't run into many people who feel like they've been through it and then come out on the other side.
Uh.
And she said, I think jail shook her. Uh, And I think she started doing her own research, as she said, and a couple of things didn't line up, and she felt like she was taken in, and so she felt it was her duty to come out to this Trump rally and talk to people about what she'd been through. They weren't necessarily great at listening to her, but there's a little glimmer of hope in there.
Yeah, of the back.
Do you think that anything will convince them? Otherwise?
Anything will convince them otherwise? Here's what I think. Changing somebody's mind is hard to do. And I think if you are approaching something like I want to change their mind, you ain't gonna get anywhere. I think the problem we have right now is a crisis of certainty. I talk to everybody on all sides. We're very certain about their beliefs. And if you actually want somebody to see something that they haven't seen before and cross that divide into believing something else, they have to acknowledge that they have a sense of uncertainty. And if they're being approached by somebody else, you have to acknowledge that you have a sense of uncertainty. As well, and so I think in order to change somebody's mind, you have to be a bit of a loser to begin. That sounds strange, but you have to concede something to get anywhere. And so is it going to happen on a TV show, doubtful. But with friends and family there's an opportunity one because there is a connection there and hopefully some love. Although I know it's been a hard few years, but I think if you can approach that not from a place of judgment and from a place of uncertainty, concede something that you do I don't know, because guess what, you are probably a lot like me, and you wish you were as certain about the things that you want to be, but you had to put up these guards because people are coming at you with knives all the time, and it feels like the other side is so dangerous, and in many cases they are. But if you can't relate to them like another human being and say, I too, am uncertain about some of these things, then you will never reach them as a human being and asking them to come over to a side of better understanding. So I think our only option is a step towards concession.
Yeah, the danger you talked about.
What was the sariest moment for you?
Sure, January sixth was a funny time. I mean, I would say you a funny January sixth story. I was there on January sixth, working to be clear, and I had four security guards with me because I'm a media and it's twenty twenty and that's what you do nowadays. And I talked to a man who is swinging a pitchfork and he was ranting about revolution. I'm talking to this man with security. We all come around. I talked to this man about swinging a pitchfork, and as I'm interviewing him, we're interrupted by another man who's screaming obscenities at us, and obscenity man gets shushed by pitchfork man, who said, you do not speak for me, leaving me grateful to the more level headed man swinging a pitchfork. And I swear, I swear we made eye contact and he rolled his eyes as if to say, could you believe this? Here's what I have an issue with the pizza debate is Jon Stewart comes on the show and he's a lovely guy.
Right.
He is the loveliest four foot two person you're ever gonna met. Very insightful. He has a lot of insightful things about the way of the worlds, But where he's wrong is on his pizza. His vitriol for Chicago style pizza. I will say, as somebody from the Midwest, to spend a decade in Chicago, you need to understand and appreciate that there are different types of pizza, and the Chicago style is deep a different experience. Sometimes you want to go deeper into something. Sometimes you want to spend time moving through it. You want to work your muscles trying to get through the cheese, the mazzarella, all of the sauce at the time. Sometimes you want to eat it and then feel like you're going to defecate yourself at any moment. Sometimes that experience you want to go through. And so I hold Chicago pizza in high regard at the same time as holding New York pizza in high regard. And I think as a society we need to get to a point where we can enjoy all those types of pizza.
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