Super Soul Special: Trevor Noah – Born a Crime

Podcast: Oprah’s Super Soul
Host: Oprah Winfrey
Guest: Trevor Noah
Original Air Date: December 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this special episode, Oprah Winfrey sits down with comedian, author, and former The Daily Show host Trevor Noah to discuss his acclaimed memoir, Born a Crime. The conversation delves into Trevor's experiences growing up as a mixed-race child under apartheid in South Africa, his relationship with his resilient mother, and how humor became his survival tool. The episode explores identity, systemic racism, empowerment, and what it truly means to find your path amid unimaginable adversity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Power of Humor and Resilience

• Comedy as Survival: Trevor explains that comedy was a tool to process pain for his family and community.
  • “My whole life, comedy has always been a tool that I have used to process pain. ... When you're poor, like, being poor sucks, but being poor together makes it a lot better, right?... you start to enjoy the things that you do have, and that is each other.” (02:25, Trevor Noah)
• Living in Community: He recalls that laughter and connection were essential coping mechanisms, even in hardship.

Understanding Apartheid

• A System of Total Control: Oprah reads Trevor’s powerful explanation of apartheid.
  • “Imagine all three of those things happening to the same group of people at the same time. That was apartheid.” (03:44, Oprah Winfrey, quoting Trevor’s book)
• Evil Genius Design: Trevor likens apartheid to “studied racism,” emphasizing the meticulous, insidious nature of division not only between black and white, but within racial groups.
  • “Apartheid was an evil genius plan. It's amazing in its insidious nature.” (04:10, Trevor Noah)

Being “Born a Crime”

• Illegal Existence: Trevor discusses how being born to a black mother and a white father under apartheid rendered his very existence a crime.
  • “I was evidence of my parents’ crime. ... The fundamental problem with racism is that it's an idea that is defeated over and over again by people contradicting what people have been told.” (06:14, Trevor Noah)
• Hidden Childhood: His family had to hide him from authorities to protect him from being taken away.
  • “Sometimes I go hide and then I come out. And then only when I'm writing the book does my grandmother tell me, ‘Oh yes, we, we hid you under the bed, Trevor. We hid you because the police would come and if they found you then they would take you away.’” (05:52, Trevor Noah)

Searching for Identity

• Identity Amid Division: Trevor describes the confusion of growing up as a mixed-race child, identified by the state but not feeling different within his community.
  • “Identifying who you are is one of the toughest things you go through as a human being...compound that with a state that has defined you in a way that doesn't match with the world you're exploring.” (07:20, Trevor Noah)
• Education and Segregation: He shares an experience of being placed in a “smart” (white) classroom at a new school and choosing to join the black students, even when it was discouraged.
  • “I chose to go into the black class. And I'm sitting next to Oprah now.” (10:00, Trevor Noah)

The Force of His Mother

• A Love Letter: Oprah frames the memoir as a love letter to Trevor’s mother, calling her both “badass” and “ganster.”
  • “My mother had me...as a protest. ... I was my mother's punk ass sidekick.” (12:34, Trevor Noah)
• Possibility and Willpower: Oprah reads a moving tribute from the book about his mother’s vision.
  • “The highest rung of what's possible is far beyond the world you can see. My mother showed me what was possible. ... She found her way through sheer force of will.” (13:35, Oprah Winfrey quoting Trevor)

Poverty, Progress, and Gratitude

• Shared Humility: Oprah and Trevor reminisce about growing up using outhouses and how that experience shapes their appreciation for progress.
  • “It's like bungee jumping. I'm glad I did it, but I don't want to do it again.” (14:46, Trevor Noah)
• Family and Legacy: A lighthearted yet profound discussion about upgrading from outhouses to modern bathrooms signifies growth but also grounds their gratitude.

Understanding “The Black Tax”

• Transgenerational Burden: Trevor unpacks the “black tax,” the expectation on first-generation Black success to lift up entire families affected by histories of oppression.
  • “Apart from traces of systematic or systemic oppression...there’s also one underlying issue...the devastation that impacted your generational family.” (17:44, Trevor Noah)
  • “The greatest gift my mother gave me...‘I may not be able to give you one cent in this world, but I promise you, I will not give you the black tax. I will handle it. You go and fly in the world.’” (19:36, Trevor Noah)
• Guilt and Boundaries: Both discuss learning to set boundaries about what must be rebuilt and when to put oneself first in order to help others later.

Uplifting Character Above Opportunity

• Turning Down The Daily Show (at First): Trevor shares his incredible story of being called by Jon Stewart and turning down the initial invitation out of commitment to his fans in the UK.
  • “The voice on the other side says, hi, can I speak to Trevor Noah? ... Hi, this is Jon Stewart. ... I said no. ... I said, this is the greatest moment of my life, but I've worked so hard to get what I have in the uk. These people have bought tickets.” (22:42–24:14, Trevor Noah)
• Character Over Convenience: Oprah relates this choice to a story of Sidney Poitier, illustrating the rare power of holding to personal values even in the face of life-changing opportunity.

The Art and Intention of The Daily Show

• Purpose Beyond the Joke: Trevor emphasizes his goal is to pursue truth and critical thinking through comedy, inspired by mentors like Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock.
  • “Tell the truth, and that's where you'll find the funniest jokes. ... In pursuing the funny, I pursue the truth.” (27:13, Trevor Noah)
• Adapting with the World: He describes the show as an evolving organism that must reflect changing times, aiming to be “like water.”
  • “If anything, I wish for the show to be like water. It should be moving with the same force as it moves through ideas and conversations.” (30:39, Trevor Noah)
• On Outrage and Empathy in America: Trevor expresses concern for America’s growing partisan divide, warning of the dangers when people stop seeing each other as human.
  • “It feels like it is extremely divided along partisan lines. And conversations have shifted to a point where human beings no longer see a human being on the other side of this discussion.” (28:32–29:02, Trevor Noah)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On apartheid’s cruelty and his existence:
  “I was evidence of my parents’ crime.” (06:14, Trevor Noah)

• On his mother’s impact:
  “I was my mother's punk ass sidekick. … My mother was that person for me who stood up at a time when many people were afraid to stand up... she’s the example that I lived my life by...” (12:34, Trevor Noah)

• On gratitude and progress:
  “It's like bungee jumping. I'm glad I did it, but I don't want to do it again.” (14:46, Trevor Noah)

• On the ‘black tax’ and legacy:
  “You cannot give what you do not have. And so sometimes you have to build for ...” (20:23, Trevor Noah)

• On turning down Jon Stewart:
  “I said, this is the greatest moment of my life, but I've worked so hard to get what I have in the UK. These people have bought tickets.” (23:53, Trevor Noah)

• On the show’s purpose:
  “Tell the truth, and that's where you'll find the funniest jokes. … I pursue the truth, and if I find the truth, then the funny will marry with that.” (27:13, Trevor Noah) "If anything, I wish for the show to be like water. … I’m sailing in a direction, aiming for true north, but it’s shifting with the tide, and you’re constantly trying to keep the boat where it needs to go versus where you thought it should go.” (30:39, Trevor Noah)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:06–03:47] - Trevor and Oprah discuss apartheid, its impact, and Trevor’s childhood as the literal evidence of a crime.
• [05:23–07:08] - Trevor describes being hidden as a child and his identity struggles.
• [12:34–14:21] - Tributes to Trevor’s mother and her life philosophy.
• [14:46–16:36] - Reflections on poverty, gratitude, and family continuity.
• [16:45–20:36] - In-depth discussion of the black tax, generational impact, and personal boundaries.
• [22:42–24:32] - The unlikely, character-revealing story of how Trevor first refused, then ultimately took over The Daily Show.
• [27:13–31:38] - Trevor’s philosophy on truth, comedy, and adapting The Daily Show to a changing world.
• [28:32–29:43] - On America’s polarization and the necessity of empathy.
• [30:39–31:49] - Oprah and Trevor agree that creative work must flow “like water” and be guided by something bigger than oneself.

Final Thoughts

This warm, candid conversation is as insightful as it is moving. Trevor Noah and Oprah Winfrey together shed light on the enduring power of resilience, the truth behind identity and injustice, and the unbreakable influence of a strong mother. Full of laughter, hard truths, and powerful takeaways, this episode offers a deep look into how the past shapes us, how humor heals, and how, step by step, it’s possible to rewrite your own story—and sometimes, the story of a nation.