Scott Sherman — Writer
Epizodoj 65
POM Wonderful v. Coca-Cola
John talks about the Indian election, Pom Wonderful and talks with the former NSA Director General Keith Alexander.
Read MoreCapital Punishment
John talks about the recent issues of the death penalty, François Hollande and the rising issues happening in Brunei.
Read MoreClimate Change Denial
John talks about Eurovision, Ukraine and Russia's relations and interviews Bill Nye about Climate Change.
Read MoreThe Right to Be Forgotten
John talks about the product recall going on at General Motors, the EU Court of Justice "Right to be Forgotten" ruling and updates us on how the Indian election is going with help from Fareed Zakaria.
Read MoreNet Neutrality
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.
Read MoreFIFA and the World Cup
John talks about California Chrome and the Belmont Stakes, FIFA and the 2014 World Cup, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Read MoreImmigration Reform
John talks about US Immigration and interviews Professor Stephen Hawking.
Read MoreBurwell v. Hobby Lobby
John Oliver sheds light on recent Supreme Court cases and discusses gay rights in Uganda with activist Pepe Julian Onziema.
Read MoreIncome and Wealth Inequality
John talks about modern American income inequality, Warren G. Harding's love letters and President Obama's "Day In The Life" tour.
Read MoreIncarceration in the United States
John talks about the Gaza crisis, the decay of American prisons and the gambling addiction problem in Singapore.
Read MoreNuclear Weapons and the United States
John talks about human rights violations in the Middle East, nuclear disarmament and Russia's science satellite that lost communication.
Read MoreNative Advertising
John talks about Uganda's anti-gay laws, the CIA's recent report on their use of torture, the New York Port Authority, Argentina's default on debt and native advertising.
Read MorePayday Loans
John talks about the return of US military actions in Iraq, replacing all passwords due to a global security breach and the terrible practices of the Payday Loan industry.
Read MoreShooting of Michael Brown and Police Militarization
Focuses on the shooting of Michael Brown and police militarization in Ferguson, MO. John also discusses the topic of equal pay for equal work.
Read MoreStudent Debt
John talks about ISIS and student loan debt. Musical group A Great Big World make a special appearance.
Read MoreScottish Independence Referendum
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.
Read MoreUnited States Embargo Against Cuba, Miss America 2015
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.
Read MoreCivil Forfeiture
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.
Read MoreMilitary Translators
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.
Read MoreState Legislatures and ALEC
While midterm coverage is largely focused on the parts of Congress that do very little, vital (and bizarre) midterm elections are going unexamined. State legislators pass a lot of bills, and some of that efficiency is thanks to a group called ALEC that writes legislation for them. It’s as shady as it sounds!
Read MoreThe Lottery
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.
Read MoreMarketing to Doctors
John Oliver discusses the growing issues of pharmaceutical companies marketing directly to and through doctors. Also, since RadioShack has filed for bankruptcy, John has created a farewell message for them. Plus, the online sessions by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to address the public aren't going too well.
Read MoreTobacco
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.
Read MoreElected Judges
The vast majority of US judges are elected, forcing many judges to pander to the electorate and accept campaign money in order to keep their jobs. This seems slightly troubling...
The UK's Labour Party has painted a campaign van pink in an attempt to attract women voters. We are glad they didn't keep going with that strategy.
Read MoreInfrastructure
America's crumbling infrastructure: It's not a sexy problem, but it is a scary one.
Read MoreU.S. Territories
A set of Supreme Court decisions made over 100 years ago has left U.S. territories without meaningful representation. That’s weird, right? Plus, daylight saving time doesn’t actually benefit anyone. Strangely, it’s still a thing!
Read MoreMunicipal Violations
If you have money, committing a municipal violation may pose you a minor inconvenience. If you don’t, it can ruin your life. Also, the New Hampshire legislature refused to make the red-tailed hawk the official raptor of their state... so Last Week Tonight made it the official raptor of the show.
Read MoreGovernment Surveillance
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.
Read MorePatents
For inventors, patents are an essential protection against theft. But when patent trolls abuse the system by stockpiling patents and threatening lawsuits, businesses are forced to shell out tons of money. Also, CNN produced an actual doomsday video to broadcast when the world is ending and it’s incredibly dull. We've enlisted Martin Sheen to help make humanity’s final moments happier!
Read MoreStandardized Testing
American students face a ridiculous amount of testing. John Oliver explains how standardized tests impact school funding, the achievement gap and how often the kids are expected to throw up while taking one.
Read MorePaid Family Leave
Many American companies do not offer paid leave after the birth of a child, which means they probably shouldn’t run sappy Mother’s Day ads. Also, the Japanese have some unhealthy obsession with mascots and John proposes to adopt some of that culture in the U.S. government agencies as well.
Read MoreThe Internet
Online harassment is a major problem, but it’s rarely prosecuted. If only we’d been warned about this in the early days of the internet.
Read MoreTransgender Rights
This week’s gay rights victory was historic, but the transgender community still faces staggering challenges. John Oliver focuses on the “T” in “LGBT."
Read MoreFood Waste
Producers, sellers, and consumers waste tons of food. John Oliver discusses the shocking amount of food we don’t eat.
Read MoreMandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws
Mandatory minimums require fixed prison sentences for certain crimes. John Oliver explains why we treat some turkeys better than most low-level offenders.
Read MorePrisoner Re-entry
John Oliver discusses problems that prisoners face when re-entering the society after they're released from prison. A quick interview with Bilal Chatman shines a light on one such case. Plus, a law proposed in the United Kingdom advocates for a mass surveillance of citizens' online activities, how Department of Defense is paying huge sums of money to professional sports teams to honor veterans during their events, and Washington Redskins file a lawsuit to defend their poorly chosen trademark name by naming other terrible examples.
Read MoreDaily Fantasy Sports
John talks about the recent Paris attacks, China's Singles Day, the Koh-i-Noor diamond and Daily Fantasy Sports.
Read MoreRefugees & Pennies
John reflects on the aftermath of Paris attacks and how it affects refugees worldwide. Plus, he questions the usefulness of the U.S. penny, since minting the coins costs more than they're actually worth.
Read MoreAbortion Laws
John talks about the South Carolina Republican primary, the Supreme Court vacancy and abortion, which theoretically is legal in the U.S., but some states make it practically inaccessible. Plus, how is Hollywood whitewashing still a thing?
Read MoreDonald Trump
John talks about the Egyptian president and economic crisis, the Guantanamo Bay shutdown and Donald Trump.
Read MoreSpecial Districts
Special districts spend more public money than all city governments combined. That's odd considering most of us don't know they exist.
Read MoreEncryption
Strong encryption poses problems for law enforcement, is weakening it worth the risks it presents? It’s…complicated.
Read MoreBorder Wall
Donald Drumpf wants to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Is his plan feasible?
Read MoreCongressional Fundraising
Lawmakers have to raise money to keep their jobs, but a surprising amount of their job now consists of raising money. John Oliver sits down with Congressman Steve Israel to discuss the costs of political spending.
Read MoreCredit Reports
Credit reports play a surprisingly large role in our lives, but even more surprising is how often they contain critical mistakes. John Oliver helps credit agencies see why this is a problem.
Read MorePuerto Rico
Puerto Rico is suffering a massive debt crisis. Lin-Manuel Miranda joins John Oliver to call for relief.
Read MoreScientific Studies
John Oliver on Sticking to the Facts: Media outlets often report new findings from scientific studies, but how many are true?
Read MorePrimaries and Caucuses
Last Week Tonight Tackles U.S. Primaries and Caucuses: The United States selection process for presidential nominees is convoluted — to say the least. Nevertheless, John Oliver reminds Americans that the "middle of the game" is the worst possible time to change the rules.
Read MoreDebt Buyers
John Oliver Takes On Debt Buyers: Companies that purchase debt on the cheap will aggressively collect on it. 'Last Week Tonight’ took a hands-on approach to addressing this issue.
Read MoreRetirement Plans
John Oliver Covers Ins and Outs of Retirement Plans: Saving for retirement means navigating a potential minefield of high fees and bad advice - Last Week Tonight is here to help.
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