When I was fourteen, I was sentenced to life in prison without parole for a non-homicide crime. I spent two-thirds of my life in prison, eighteen of which were spent in solitary confinement. With the help of Bryan Stevenson and the Equal Justice Initiative, as well as the extraordinary woman who was my victim, I was able to advocate for and win my freedom.
I tell the full story in my new memoir, My Time Will Come, available now wherever books, e-books, and audiobooks are sold (I also read the audio). If you want to learn a bit more about me, check out the New York Times Op-Ed I wrote, my event with Bryan Stevenson last week, or my interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah last night. And order my book here!
For now, I'm looking forward to answering your questions. Ask me anything!
Proof: https://i.redd.it/ung2umhe9rx61.jpg
EDIT: I’m signing off now. Thank you for all of your questions!
Jon Stewart was a classic comedian. His show was funny, sometimes political, but always pointed out the hilarious parts of everything in the mainstream media. I remember the episodes with Stephen Colbert. Super funny. Steve Carell was around too. That was funny.
Trevor just doesn’t do it for me.
I should say - they've had pieces that I thought were pretty good, and Noah himself is a likable, talented and smart person. If you haven't read "Born A Crime", definitely recommended.
That having said, I have no interest in watching the Noah-helmed Daily Show, but I'm having trouble putting in words why, and I'm wondering if other people have thoughts as well. Here are two big things that stick out to me me:
- Has a bunch of irritating Bernouts working there whose thinking bleeds into the writing. This piece is unwatchably unfunny and bad, and this guy's Twitter persona is obnoxious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX6PZNNX1Zk
- Misleads their audience about what works and what doesn't for creating change. There's a lot of "one weird trick" content, or focusing on horse races and campaign optics.
I dunno. I went through long periods watching and then completely ignoring the Daily Show during the Stewart era, and my opinions of its usefulness and quality tended to seesaw. Especially towards the end, there was a lot more "clapter" than humor or insight, but Stewart had an impish sense of humor and an unpredictable kind of outsider's harshness that I thought preserved the show's independent sense of criticism. But now, I view any link to that show with trepidation, and I know I'm only going to get left Twitter conventional wisdom on the topic of the day online. Maybe it was bad for much longer than I realized, and it took the Trump era for me to see that.
What do you all think?
Here's the situation:
Last year, a bunch of fresh grads (my friends) launched a podcast show, Temujin: An Audio Drama. The idea was, the Singapore-based team adapted a Central Asian epic story with an international all-Asian cast and high production values.
And they were just nominated for a Webby for Best Scripted Fiction Podcast! They're the only Asian (and definitely the only Singaporean) project in the running for this category too.
The four other nominees are:
- HBO
- The BBC
- The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
- Rachel Chavkin, the director of Hadestown
The Takeaway:
The Webbys has a People's Voice award, and this team is trying to compete against these other guys! They're currently second place behind Trevor Noah, and actually well ahead of the others, which is truly wild for a local team. Since they're up against pretty established names, they basically need all the support they can get — hence this post!
There's a really good chance that an indie Singaporean team can win out over these big Western brands, which is a pretty big deal. If you have the chance, definitely consider spending just a minute to drop them a vote!
You can vote for their project here:
And learn more about their show here:
https://youtu.be/NeZ4yXyzUG0
All I have to say is wow. I'm going to have to re-listen. This might be Trevor at the peak of his fairness and intelligence and humanity.
First he covers how he's going to get roasted from both sides. Shows a lot of bravery. Then proceeds to talk about actions on both sides. Pretty horrific on all sides.
He goes into an analogy/story that is apt. Talks about a teenager vs a 4 year old. And how the teenager has to learn about proportionate force and with greater power comes greater responsibility.
this is pretty amazing from Noah. And Brave. And probably going to face hate from certain segments .
.
https://youtu.be/NeZ4yXyzUG0
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CNqgHaVD3CK/?igshid=qfnm2w0nuhfo
I realize he’s not a criminal justice expert or anything like that, but I think he’s make a very convincing case that the (general) lack of police officers calling out their own and reporting them for various violent unnecessary acts is a sign of a system not designed to serve the people.
The point of this post is that I’m genuinely curious what people see in him. Those of you that like him and know a bit more about the ins and outs of comedy and the industry, what do you and others see in him? Is this guy an industry plant, or does he bring value to the world of comedy and I just can’t see it?
Here’s how I feel about Noah: I genuinely get annoyed anytime this guy opens his mouth. How can someone so entirely devoid of charisma and talent have reached the position that Noah is currently in? It is baffling to me. I know that comedy is subjective, but to an extent there is a technical side of being a comedian. There is a correct way to structure a joke, and great comedians know how to set up a joke, and catch an audience off guard to make them laugh.
When it comes to Trevor Noah, I can say with complete and total honesty that there has never been a single joke of his that elicited so much as a chuckle, let alone a laugh. But he has a bigger platform than 80% of comedians. How can this be? Does he have connections? Is he just a kiss ass? I didn’t have much exposure to him until I heard him on a podcast about a year ago and he seemed likable as a person so I decided to check out some of his stuff. Turns out it’s cringe inducing.
Even comedians who I personally don’t care for - like Chris D’Elia or Kevin Hart - I can at least understand why they are popular and why people like them. But Noah on the other hand, is entirely unoriginal, uninspired and unfunny to me. This is anecdotal, but I also don’t know anyone in person who likes the guy. Trump was an absolute gold mine for anyone from stand up comics to late show hosts and should have been so incredibly easy to make fun of. But Noah can’t even be remotely funny when the jokes essentially write themselves. He has zero charm and everything from his timing to his mannerisms feel amateur.
Anyway, I look forward to someone changing my view, as he seems like a nice guy.
Clearly they are not that badly off if they are making multimillion-dollar salaries, book deals, endorsements, etc. in this country. Then they pontificate to the rest of us about how we should empathize with BLM this and how bad cops and guns are in America. Do they go live in ghetto areas themselves with the BLM, or do they live in gated million-dollar penthouses?
Seriously, for us Americans to listen to a Brit or a South African tell us all that's wrong with our society is garbage. They ought to either zip it or leave already than stay miserable in oh-so-anarchic America.
Our Story:
We're an independent team of young Singapore-based creatives. Our show, Temujin: An Audio Drama, adapts a Central Asian epic with an international all-Asian cast.
And, somehow, we were just nominated for a Webby for Best Scripted Fiction Podcast! We're also the first Asian production to be considered for this category! In fact, we're the first scripted fiction team from our country to be nominated for a Webby at all.
The four other nominees are:
- HBO
- The BBC
- Trevor Noah
- Rachel Chavkin, the director of Hadestown!
The Takeaway:
This nomination represents an opportunity to signal boost an incredible Asian story, by young Asian creators, in a monumental way. We're also extremely proud to represent the indie audio drama community, and owe so much of this to the support of our listeners on this subreddit.
If you could spare just ten seconds to vote for us in the People's Voice Awards, it would mean the world to our team and community! We're somehow in second place right behind Trevor Noah, so every bit of support goes an incredibly long way.
And listen/learn more about us here!
Our Animated Trailer (best enjoyed with earphones!)
The People's Voice Campaign (we're right behind Trevor Noah!)
Trevor Noah and John Oliver do the same thing that Rachel Maddow and Tucker Carlson do but under the veil of satire. They both share information and opinions from a particular slant that people share and use as a basis for their own opinions.
Just because Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow come on cable news networks and Trevor Noah and John Oliver come on Comedy Central and HBO doesn't mean that they all don't have the same polarizing effect on society, just on different demographics.
I saw a tweet regarding a feud posted by the daily show
I’m not even sure this is unpopular, but the show has been on a while so someone must be watching. The jokes are so unfunny that I’m almost embarrassed for the guy . Cringy, predictable shit . He himself is extremely annoying and I’m not sure how he has a career . Who is watching this garbage .?
George Carlin said it many years earlier. The things that matter in this country have been reduced in choice, there are two political parties, there are a handful insurance companies, there are six or seven information centers.. but if you want a bagel there are 23 flavors. Because you have the illusion of choice!
