John Oliver

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John Oliver Curses Out Oprah, Gives Away $15M

Take that, debt-buying companies

(Newser) - What better way to drive home the topic of debt than to give away $15 million? That's exactly what John Oliver did on Sunday's edition of Last Week Tonight after covering the issue, which, as Oliver put it, is "the reason that Nicolas Cage has made so...

John Oliver Clashes With Chechen Leader Over a Cat

He poked fun at Kadyrov's search for lost feline

(Newser) - It might be wise for John Oliver to steer clear of Chechnya for a while: The Last Week Tonight host ridiculed Ramzan Kadyrov's search for his lost cat on Sunday, and the mockery did not go unnoticed by the Chechen strongman, the Guardian reports. In the segment, Oliver poked...

John Oliver Presents His Alternative to Trump's Wall

Waffle irons would be just as effective, he says in takedown

(Newser) - John Oliver ignored Donald Trump for a long time, then devoted a whole show to ridiculing his candidacy. Now he's specifically going after Trump's plans for a big border wall. In the latest episode of his HBO show, Oliver delivered "what might be the most thorough takedown...

John Oliver Devotes Whole Show to Apple Encryption Tiff

'Think of the government as your dad,' show host warns

(Newser) - First John Oliver took on Donald Trump . Now the HBO host is taking on Apple, the government, and encryption, a safeguard he labeled on Sunday's Last Week Tonight as "the best way to keep people from reading your emails short of making the subject line 'Fwd: Fwd:...

John Oliver Slams Trump for 22 Minutes

Host calls him 'a litigious serial liar' and 'America's back mole'

(Newser) - John Oliver has mostly ignored Donald Trump on Last Week Tonight. On Sunday, his silence came to an end with what Vox calls the "Trump takedown America has been waiting for." He started by calling Trump "America's back mole: it may have seemed harmless a year...

Science Says You're Unlikely to Enjoy New Year's Eve

'High expectation can lead to disappointment'

(Newser) - New York Magazine humbly submits that you cancel any and all New Year's Eve plans and instead stay home, watch some Property Brothers, and conk out early. That's because studies have shown it's nearly statistically impossible to not be disappointed by big New Year's Eve...

John Oliver Cracks 'Most Influential' List for Political Media

Mediaite's ranking of movers and shakers puts Roger Ailes at No. 1

(Newser) - It's been a "contentious, bizarre, and always entertaining primary season" so far in the world of politics, Mediaite notes in its roundup of the 25 "biggest movers and shakers" in the political media arena. And that type of season may have served as the perfect breeding ground...

John Oliver's Foul-Mouthed ISIS Tirade Strikes a Chord

Thank goodness he's on HBO

(Newser) - John Oliver really made use of "HBO’s liberal profanity policy" Sunday night on Last Week Tonight, as Slate puts it. The host, who became a new dad just days ago , opened his show with a discussion of the Paris terror attacks, and he did not hold back. "...

Legal Decision Against Guam Cites ... John Oliver

Ninth Circuit judge cites comedian's HBO show in decision footnote

(Newser) - There's a little-known axiom in Hollywood that says you've only truly made it when you've been cited by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. If that's true (it isn't), then welcome to the A-list, John Oliver. As Above the Law reports, a...

Why John Oliver Has Started His Own Church

He's skewering profit-seeking televangelists

(Newser) - There's a new church in town, courtesy of John Oliver. On his HBO show, Oliver created the awesomely named Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption, reports the Wall Street Journal . As the name suggests, Oliver is using it to skewer mega-churches that exploit their followers for money in exchange for...

Snowden's Password Idea: Strange, but Not Terribly Secure

Cryptography expert says 'MargaretThatcheris110%SEXY' just wouldn't cut it

(Newser) - Edward Snowden recommended last week that people use longer "passphrases" instead of passwords for extra security. One of his suggestions: something unusual and counterintuitive like "MargaretThatcheris110%SEXY." But cryptography expert Joseph Bonneau tells Andy Greenberg, writing for Wired , why Snowden's approach leaves much to be desired. To...

Snowden, John Oliver Explain NSA Spying in Terms of Dirty Pics

HBO host traveled to Russia to meet with whistleblower

(Newser) - Not long ago, Edward Snowden's NSA leaks were the focus of vast media attention. But two years later, "it seems like we've kind of forgotten to have a debate over the content of what Snowden leaked," John Oliver tells his HBO audience, showing them a series...

Springsteen Auctions Guitar, Lasagna for $300K

He headlined this year's Stand Up For Heroes event

(Newser) - The 8th annual Stand Up For Heroes comedy and music mash-up in New York this week raised more than $1 million, and more than half of that was thanks to Bruce Springsteen. He managed to auction off a heck of a night (a guitar he has played, an hour-long lesson...

Jokesters Erect England-Scotland Border Station

Makers aim to add 'a bit of a joke' to independence debate

(Newser) - The vote for Scottish independence isn't until Thursday, but travel between England and Scotland already requires a passport. That is, if you fall for a joke border control station that a photographer erected with some English and Scottish friends. An official-looking sign on a highway reads "Scottish Border...

John Oliver, Sarah Silverman Join Forces to Hit ... Payday Loans

Consumers, do 'literally anything else' for money, they say

(Newser) - On last night's Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver and guest Sarah Silverman took on a very important issue: payday loans. The predatory industry is worth $9 billion and the loans "are terrible for you," Oliver warned, noting that interest rates can be as high as 1,...

John Oliver Mocks Ex-NSA Chief to His Face

Confrontational interview a highlight of debut show

(Newser) - John Oliver's new HBO show debuted last night, and it featured possibly the most aggressive interview anyone's managed with former NSA Chief Keith Alexander. Almost all of Oliver's questions were barbed ("What would you like Snowden to know right now, other than significantly less?"), and...

Daily Show's John Oliver Gets Own HBO Show

He'll be on every Sunday night next year

(Newser) - John Oliver's stint as Jon Stewart's replacement over the summer on the Daily Show has earned him more than rave reviews—he's just scored his own weekly show on HBO, reports Deadline . It sounds a bit like the Daily Show, in fact, billed as a satirical...

Jon Stewart Gets 'Detox' on Return to Daily Show

Has to be saved ... by Stephen Colbert

(Newser) - Jon Stewart returned to the Daily Show last night, but it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. In a pre-taped segment, interim host John Oliver welcomed Stewart back ... only to find he wasn't acting very American anymore. But when his Big Mac defibrillator went too far and turned Stewart into...

Daily Show: NYPD Should 'Stop, Frisk' Wall Street

'I can say that—some of my best friends are white men in suits,' says Jessica Williams

(Newser) - The Daily Show took a judge's ruling that the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy is unconstitutional this week ("Good news," says host John Oliver, "if you happen to be a minority who likes walking") as an opportunity to rip into the practice. But correspondent Jessica Williams...

Daily Show: Florida Needs New Motto

John Oliver slams Zimmerman case: 'The system worked'

(Newser) - The Daily Show returned last night, and interim host John Oliver had a bone to pick with Florida in the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict. The problem, he said: "The system worked exactly as it's designed. How does 2013 Florida have a law that seems cut and...

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