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Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Uh, Limu is that guy with the binoculars watching us?
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Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
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Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Excludes Massachusetts.
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Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
You're listening to Comedy Central.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Was there ever a moment of empathy that stuck out with you at one of those rallies? A moment of empathy that stuck out with me?
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Something like time?
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
No, that is a good question. You know what? There is one of the last rally. One of the. Well, not even last. This last election cycle. I went to a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and it was terrible weather and we were talking to people in the morning, and as I was talking to people, there's this guy who dresses in a brick suit. Suit. It's a bespoke suit that looks like Trump's wall and he has a handlebar mustache and he dresses like the wall and he's one of the first people in line. And Trump often brings him up on stage, so he's a mini celebrity there. And he started hounding us at this rally and he was livestreaming and he was saying, fuck these guys. Don't talk to these guys. These guys are fake news. And to be fair, he's right. But he sort of trolled us for hours that day. He literally took out a phone and he stuck it into a wall. He's obsessed with walls to try to capture something. Our crew was on a smoke break and he wanted to try to capture something to get them in trouble. And it was a long, hellish day of filming and it was a snowstorm. And so we rushed to the airport and we got snowed into Green Bay, Wisconsin for the night because we usually try to leave. And so we stay in Green Bay and the next day we all leave on different flights. And I go to the airport alone and I show up at the airport and my flight is delayed 3 1/2 hours. And who is there but Brick Suitman? And this is the Green Bay airport, so nobody else is there. And he looks at me, and he says, do you want to talk? And obviously I'm like, no, I don't want to talk. This is a nightmare. And this is before I'm traveling with four security guards. And real talk. Security protocol has changed since the story. But I sat down with him, and for the first half hour, we're all sort of feeling each other out. But then once we got past this fear, his fear that, like, I got a camera crew trying to catch him, and my fear that he's trying to have some sort of gotcha moment with me as well, we started talking about shit. I started to learn about him. I started to learn about me. I asked him about things that I thought were BS about Donald Trump. He was open and vulnerable about things and the weaknesses he saw in Donald Trump. Like, there wasn't a middle ground that we found, but there was a softening in those relations. And I'd like to tell you that, like, Brick Suit guy was crazy, and he's not. He was a smart guy. He was an ideological guy. He was a conservative guy, more libertarian. Loved to be a shit poster on the Internet, but he wasn't an idiot. We talked for three and a half hours, and as we walk, we literally get on the plane. We walk. We're talking all the way up to get on the plane, and I show my ticket to the ticket taker, and she goes, oh, you're in an exit row. And I'm like, oh. And she says, do you accept the responsibilities of being in the exit row? And I say, yes, I do. And then I turn to bricksut guy and I say, I hope this freaks you out. And then you know what happens? He laughs. And to me, that is. That is the whole thing. Like, he wasn't offended. He didn't take it personally. He found humor in that moment. And I'm like, I find optimism in that. I don't know how to recreate three and a half hours in a Green Bay airport with a nemesis of yours, but I know that, like, there's a softening when you remove the cameras, when you move, the fear that this conversation isn't just transaction for a gotcha moment, but an actual conversation about the things that you care about and things you're unsure about. I think that kind of vulnerability, that kind of uncertainty is paramount in any kind of situation that you. You hope to find, any kind of humanity or common ground. And so I think that is there. I don't think we live in a media environment that cultivates that situation, but I think we are humans that necessitate it. And so that has not been erased by Donald Trump, but it has been pushed to the sides of the conversation. And so if we can find a way to allow that conversation to not exist only on the periphery, but somewhere in our own lives, I think we're gonna get through that.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Cool.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Let's do some zen.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Now. I'm gonna bring out somebody right now who is also. He is a correspondent on the show. But he hurt his foot. Yeah, he hurt his fifi. He tripped on a curb. So I'm going to bring him out now very slowly, but I want you to give him encouragement. Michael Kosta, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, yeah, you got it. How's it be? Feels great. Thank you, everybody. All right, hold on. You want to see? Here's my favorite thing about this. His crutches are my height.
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
I'll tell you what I mean.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
How are you feeling?
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
I really did a number on my ankle.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Do you want to tell them the story? So can I tell. Michael is like an actual, like real kind of world class athlete, to be honest. Like, it's kind of unusual for comedy. Like he has a functioning body and face. So when he came in, I thought this was. Michael was like a world class tennis player. And so I thought it was that.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Yeah.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
And it was.
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
I fell off a curb. My wife and the four year old went skiing. I was in charge of the two year old, so I took her to a water park. No one else got injured except for me. I was the only one not doing anything and I fell on a curb. And I'm at that age, John.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
I'm at the age where if I had fallen on a curb, I would no longer be working in show business.
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
Well, and also selfishly, people came over to check on me. I thought, they're really checking on my child.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
So you had your child with you?
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
I had my child with me and she was crying, but she was more crying. Like, how did you fall on the curb.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Anyways?
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
It was a cry of disappointment. But you're okay now. Are you X rayed? Is it broken?
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
I'm not X rayed. I know it's super swollen. I also have to host this week and I just, I get annoyed that you get so much attention on Mondays.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Yeah.
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
So I wanted to hurt myself. But you, you play collegiate soccer.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
I did play collegiate soccer, but I will not to be Self effacing. It was in the 80s when soccer, I mean, the level of we could still use our hands. It was really at that point, American soccer was more like elevated kickball.
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Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
So I made a bet with a gentleman by the name of Jalen Brunson. He's a basketball player for the. We call him the New York Knickerbockers. He's a point guard for our New York Knickerbockers. He and I made a bet about two months ago. His bet was, if the New York Giants lose to the Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season, I I have to wear a Saquon Barkley Eagles jersey to Madison Square Garden. I accepted this bet even though this bet is an inevitability. Like, the Giants suck. Like, the Giants won three games this year and the Eagles are in the Super Bowl. And that was. It's not like that surprised me. It didn't sneak up on me. Like, when he asked me, I was thinking in my head, like, but the Giants suck. But I didn't say, like, give me points. I just went like, okay. And so Saturday night, this Saturday night, I went to the Knicks game in a Saquon Barkley Eagles jersey and an Eagles bucket hat. And I was in my home arena, booed relentlessly. And by the way, like, not just in the arena, on the street. Like, walking by pretzel guys who were like, you choke. So that was my weekend. So good luck in the Super Bowl.
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
What made you want to do entertainment.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Like late night tv?
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
Well, there's like the Bullshit answer of, you know, it's important to question societal's rules. And. And there's the real answer, which is. I'm the youngest of four kids. I'm still trying to get my parents attention. My mom tells this story that we would sit at this dinner table in Michigan and when the sun would go down, the glass door would become reflective. And I could never sit in this one seat because I would just stare at myself the whole time like. And I was like, well, yeah, that's because you guys never looked at me. So I had to stare at myself. I love comedy. Holy shit, do I love comedy. We get to make people laugh. Once your guard is down, we can maybe sneak an important message in, maybe not. It feels good to laugh for once. You feel present moment when you're laughing. There's very few rules in comedy. If I say something brilliant, it's like, holy shit, he's an excellent journalist. If I say something stupid, it's like, relax, I'm a comedian. It's like, it's amazing that people get mad when comedians say things that are truthful and not as mad when politicians do. This is just such a wonderful. I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is a wonderful Midwest town of sensibilities of both sides, very educated. And I just think it just fits perfectly for me and I'm thankful for that and also how I ended up here. Holy shit. This is like. There's very. There's very few places like this. I love late night. I told you when we first met, we came in today, there's no show. There's no show. There's a blinking cursor on a blank computer and we create the show. We, meaning me, I write the show. No, there's two. There's a lot of people, but it's very fun. And here's the thing that's also fun, is that no matter how today went, tomorrow there's a show too. So we'll be back.
Audience Member/Interviewer
What do you say to your critics.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Who are saying that you're being light.
Audience Member/Interviewer
On the fascist message recently?
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Oh, I tell my critics, shut up. You're a fascist. No. So I do appreciate that because I understand the desire, but like, I'm very big on and I know it's annoying, but specificity and nuance and I think if you cry fascism at every administrative overreach, even the ones that are constitutionally okay, you will find yourself out of fascism bullets when the time really comes to remind people of. Because you will, I think what the media has done over the last 10 years is cry wolf to the point where they numbed everybody. It was an anesthetic and it got to where what was the thing they litigated throughout this campaign? He's a fascist. He's a terrible person. Democracy is on the ballot. Guess what lost at the ballot. If you told us democracy is on the ballot, we lost. Well, democracy got its ass kicked by a majority vote. So I'm very cautious about when to know. Like, yeah, hopefully I won't do it the night after Kristalnacht. I'll get it. Like. But it's like, when do you put your dog down? Like it's one of those things. Like you're not quite sure. But I do understand how annoying that is.
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Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
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Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
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Audience Member/Interviewer
Got a question over here in the back. Yep. Over there.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Yep.
Narrator/Announcer
How did you find your interview character?
Audience Member/Interviewer
Some guy just like like skid on the floor when you were singing, what did you say?
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Oh, oh, what are you doing?
Audience Member/Interviewer
This never happens, by the way.
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
So I just walked backstage. I'll speak loudly because I'm not wearing a mic now. But they said that you're very excited.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Today because today you just found out.
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
That you have become an American citizen.
Audience Member/Interviewer
Thank you so much.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Thanks so much. It's a crazy.
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
It's a crazy day.
Sponsor Voice
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Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Thanks, man. Thanks so much. Thank you. Thank you. You're the best. You're the best. All right.
Audience Member/Interviewer
Worst interview ever. Just wouldn't leave. Uh, yeah. It is a crazy experience to become a US Citizen the same day you're supposed to interview Bill Murray. So I guess that's a. It's been a long day. I had to go for the interview. They asked you, like, 100 questions. It's questions which I bet none of you could answer. And I had to memorize how many colonies there were. And there was, like, a state and who's the president right now? It was very difficult.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Because we've already paid for it with our subsidies. Are you fucking saved? Come on. I'll be going to the hospital. You know, it's important to remember who the real heroes are. So my favorite thing out of all that sort of Indy 500 pit stop, trying to keep the car on the road was. And I'm not even sure where who said it, but they just go, you want some duct tape on that? Old electrician's. Old electrician's trick. I'm like, sure. For those of you who watched the show for many, many years, you will know this is the second time that I have going for physical comedy. Cut myself to the point where I need stitches. When did we do it the last time? Margarita blender with you and Oliver. It was a margarita blender with me and Oliver, and I hit it down and, like, just drew blood. And Oliver couldn't have been happier. I'd never seen anything like it. He sat there gleefully watching. And that was more of an artery that was just spurting everywhere. And at one point, he yells at me, it's just a flesh wound. Stop making such a big deal of it. That's not good. I'm probably gonna need to go to the hospital.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
And as for you, Stuart, and your visibly, visibly injured hand, that's a genuine problem. That's a genuine problem.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Don't. That's.
Commercial Voice
That's.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Yup. We better hurry up this bit. Cause I am bleeding out. Mother John. That's it.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Toss it in. He. He can. He can Swab himself down. You're fine. You're fine.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Thank you all very much for being here. There's really. There's no dignified way to do this, really, is there? And by the way, the story that I'm going to tell my wife and children when I get home, very different than the one that there I was on 54th and 10th, an old woman being hounded by thugs and Bulgarians. I swung my fist.
Narrator/Announcer
Tis the season to cozy up with all your favorite holiday movies and shows.
Commercial Voice
You coming where to?
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
The North Pole, of course, Like a.
Narrator/Announcer
Very Jonas Christmas movie. And Home Alone on Disney.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Did I burn down the joint? I don't think so.
Narrator/Announcer
Then snuggle up with the Polar Express and National Lampoon's Christmas vacation with Hulu on Disney.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
I think we're all in for a.
Narrator/Announcer
Very big Christmas treat this season. There's something for everyone with Hulu on Disney Bundle subscription required terms apply. Visit disneyplus.com hulu for details.
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Yeah, up top.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Do you ever get disheartened?
Host/Interviewer (possibly Hasan Minhaj)
Do you ever get disheartened? I'm dead inside, so that helps. A general deadening. I mean, I get bummed out. I expect a lot from this country. I want us to live up to those ideals that they taught me when I was 14 and 15. And it seems day in and day out that those are few and far between. We're farther away from those than I think we've been in quite some time. That being said, I do find hope in going out into the field. I talk to people like this special. This last couple weeks I've been out and about. I've been talking to kids 18 or 19 year olds and to be totally honest, I thought going to talk to kids who are 18 and 19 who are in like the MAGA sphere at these UFC events and what have you. I thought that most of the people I would talk to would be die hard, far right. There'd be an element of cruelty. They'd be celebrating what's happening with the deportations. Like what you're seeing at the highest level to me is inherently cruel and inherently anti American. And I thought that would be reflected in the youth of America. But when I talked to these kids, it wasn't. I was taken aback by how kind and thoughtful they were. They were right wing. They liked Donald Trump for the reasons a lot of people like Donald Trump. He gives him an identity. He seems tough. But when I pushed them on stuff, what they cared about was the image and the attention around Donald Trump. They really weren't attracted to the crueler elements. And in fact, when we would go to these campuses, they were reaching out to people in that sphere. The Charlie Kirks, the older people who would come in into those spaces and preached the cruelty of maga. They were, they were open and sadly there was no left leaning people who were in those spaces to speak to them. But they were kind minds. They were me when I was that age. I think of myself in college. I was listening to Christopher Hitchens. I was, I didn't, I wasn't left or right. I was contrarian looking for a tribe. And I see that. And so when you ask if I'm disheartened day in and day out, but every time I can go out and touch grass, touch kids respectively, and connect with them. Like you realize the politics that we see on the news, the politics and the hyperbole we hear on Twitter or TikTok, like that is a warped perspective of the actual conversations that are happening out there. And not that there isn't cruelty that exists. It is there, but it is implanted on people who are looking for better things. So I just hope we can get to some of those people and some of those better intentions can find their way into the conversation.
Guest/Comedian (possibly Michael Kosta)
Try to ask some advice if you can give to any young immigrants or young students saying how should they define their American dreams?
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
How should they pursue their heavy. I'm gonna have to plug that in the chat. GPT. I don't have any. The dream doesn't die, man. Here's the thing. I want to let everybody know, like we are in a moment of tumult. But you have to keep perspective. That is what the fight is. Nothing of value comes to you without a fight. But in the lens of history, you understand this. Everybody understands this. Like we went through Watergate in Vietnam, they assassinated like every good person we had in like a decade span. Like, this has always been a fight. And even if the guy you wanted or the woman you wanted to be president to get in the position, if you think it won't still be a fight, you're wrong. It's always the arc of the moral. History is long and it bends towards justice, right? But it doesn't bend by itself. It's not gravity. People have to bend it. You have to bend it. And there's gonna be other people trying to bend it the other. And we're not gonna let that happen.
Commercial Voice
Explore more shows from the Daily Show Podcast universe by searching the Daily Show. Wherever you get your podcasts, watch the Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount.
Correspondent/Comedian (likely Trevor Noah)
Plus.
Date: December 17, 2025
Host: (Rotating/interview segment likely led by Hasan Minhaj, joined by Trevor Noah, Michael Kosta, and the Daily Show News Team)
This episode of The Daily Show: Ears Edition is an “After the Cut” special, offering listeners a peek behind the scenes with candid conversations between hosts and correspondents. The team shares stories from the campaign trail, discusses political discourse in America, reflects on comedy’s role in society, and covers personal moments including injuries and new citizenships. The tone is candid, introspective, and consistently humorous, blending personal anecdotes with pointed social commentary.
[01:17–05:27]
[05:28–08:29]
[09:38–11:19]
[11:19–13:20]
[13:20–14:49]
[16:17–20:53]
[17:17–18:37]
[21:59–24:42]
| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |------------|-------------------------------------------------| | 01:17–05:27| Empathy & Dialogue at Political Rallies | | 05:28–08:29| Comedy, Injury, & Life Behind the Desk | | 09:38–11:19| Sports Bets & Public Humiliation | | 11:19–13:20| Comedy’s Purpose & Creative Process | | 13:20–14:49| Media’s Use of “Fascism” & Political Critique | | 16:17–20:53| Physical Comedy Mishaps & Old War Stories | | 17:17–18:37| Citizenship, Identity, and Becoming American | | 21:59–24:42| Hope, Disappointment, & Engaging Youth | | 24:42–25:54| Advice for Young Immigrants/American Dream |
The episode balances humor and gravity. The Daily Show team is candid about their doubts and frustrations with politics and media, but also earnest about finding hope and purpose—whether through unexpected airport conversations, the resilience of the younger generation, or just the simple acts of laughter and connection in comedy.
This episode is a window into the real conversations and big-picture values that animate The Daily Show. It’s an engaging, honest, and often funny look at the circus of American politics, the power of comedy to connect people, and the steadfast hope that something better is always possible—if we keep talking and keep showing up.