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This week (after a gap of some episodes, sorry about that), after an introduction acknowledging Trump's embarrassing UN conference and the Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty, the whole show was devoted to the main story, Brett Kavanaugh's looming confirmation, and the terrible implications if he is confirmed. [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Sep 30, 2018 - 5 comments

Let's catch up a bit, shall we? This was the episode that aired July 8, 2018:

• Trump's "We got more money, we got better brains, we got more houses," etc. speech.
• The week's prerequisite bombshell was the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. As of this writing his position has still not been filled. Oliver reminds us that this has the potential to be really really bad for reproductive and LGBT rights. Democrat hopes to block mean once again playing America's most depressing game show, HOPE SUSAN COLLINS FLIPS AND BE DISAPPOINTED WHEN SHE DOESN'T!!! Jeffery Toobin made a tour of talk shows to make sure everyone's hopes were appropriately dead.
• And Now: For Canada Day, The Most Canadian Thing Imaginable: Polite Interactions Between Professional Curlers At The 2018 Tim Hortons National Championship
• Main story: Gene editing, and how a revolution in technology, "CRISPR," puts it into the hands of people literally working in their garage. Contents: jacked, sexy beagles; work on reviving wooly mammoths; irresponsible biohackers; the hope to wipe out malaria; an Australian man who hates invasive cane toads; a Lyme disease experiment on Nantucket Island; the question of whether deafness and dwarfism are diseases that should be eliminated; and China's pushing the boundaries of gene editing. It's on YouTube (20m).
• And Now: Hey Guys--What The Fuck's Going On With Animals In Florida?

[more inside]
posted by JHarris on Aug 13, 2018 - 1 comment

At the age of 84, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has developed a breathtaking legal legacy while becoming an unexpected pop culture icon. But without a definitive Ginsburg biography, the unique personal journey of this diminutive, quiet warrior's rise to the nation's highest court has been largely unknown, even to some of her biggest fans - until now. RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg 's exceptional life and career from Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films.
posted by jacquilynne on Jun 4, 2018 - 8 comments

This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in McDonnell v. U.S., the former Virginia governor's appeal of his 2014 corruption conviction. On this episode, former federal judge Nancy Gertner tells Dahlia why she believes McDonnell should walk free.
posted by kanewai on May 4, 2016 - 1 comment

Dahlia previews United States v. Texas – this week's big immigration case – with Brianne Gorod of the Constitutional Accountability Center. She also hears from Sen. Al Franken about the latest in the standoff over Obama's SCOTUS nominee, Merrick Garland.
posted by kanewai on Apr 19, 2016 - 0 comments

More than two weeks into the standoff over Merrick Garland's nomination to SCOTUS, GOP leaders show no sign of backing down. Legal scholar Geoffrey Stone tells Dahlia that this stonewalling is not only unprecedented, but unjustifiable as well.
posted by kanewai on Apr 4, 2016 - 0 comments

This week, SCOTUS heard arguments in Zubik v Burwell, the latest challenge to Obamacare. In it, a group of religious nonprofits are challenging the govt.'s workaround for employers who don't want anything to do with getting birth control to their workers. [more inside]
posted by kanewai on Mar 29, 2016 - 0 comments

Last Week Tonight S03E01 Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dies at age 79. Chipotle restaurants face federal investigations over food safety. (LWT produced a small commercial for them.) Main story: Voting (YouTube 14m), and the increased obstacles put in place to make it harder for US citizens to vote in elections. And Now: Newscasters Using Entirely The Wrong Tone. New Zealand's Prime Minister Steven Joyce is smacked in the head by a thrown phallus and is thereafter nicknamed by the New Zealand Herald "Dildo Baggins." Joyce tweeted to send it the GIF to John Oliver to get it over with -- and so they put the image on a flag, and gave the flag to Peter Jackson to wave. And then things got weird.... Yes that's right: Last Week Tonight is back! [more inside]
posted by JHarris on Feb 15, 2016 - 22 comments

Actress Emily Blunt (Sicario (2015)); Supreme Court justice Stephen Breyer (The Court and The World); The Dead Weather performs. [more inside]
posted by numaner on Sep 17, 2015 - 3 comments