Epstein Emails Reveal "Bubba" Bombshell About Trump & Republicans Pretend It’s NBD | Christiane Amanpour

Summary

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The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Episode: Epstein Emails Reveal "Bubba" Bombshell About Trump & Republicans Pretend It’s NBD | Christiane Amanpour
Date: November 18, 2025
Host: Jon Stewart

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Overview

This episode dives into the latest revelations from the newly released Jeffrey Epstein emails—focusing on the social and political fallout, the Republican response (or lack thereof), and the involvement and reactions of Donald Trump and his circle. Jon Stewart and the News Team layer in satirical commentary, historical context (including Pizzagate), and dissect media complicity and hypocrisy regarding elite sex trafficking.
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour joins for a serious, thoughtful conversation about the role of journalism in uncovering systemic corruption, the challenges facing the media in a weaponized, polarized era, and the importance of accountability at all levels.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening: Ridiculing the Latest Epstein Email Revelations

Timestamps: 00:27–06:13

• Stewart jokes about coastal elite scandals, then pivots to thousands more Epstein emails being released.
• Focus on a particularly bizarre email flagged in the news:
  • Mark Epstein writes Jeffrey to "ask Steve Bannon if Putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubba," which Stewart parodies—highlighting the strange specificity and underlying implications.
  • Stewart mocks attempts to clarify “Bubba” is not Bill Clinton:

    "Mark Epstein released a statement clarifying that the name Bubba was not a reference to former President Bill Clinton. Thank you for clearing that up. No further questions, your honor." (03:00)

• Emphasizes Trump’s resistance to releasing Epstein files, then notes Trump’s sudden pivot to supporting transparency, satirically questioning the sincerity.
• Stewart mocks the evasiveness and the obvious motivations behind the shifting positions.

Trump's Contradictions and Deflections

Timestamps: 06:13–12:00

• Stewart lampoons Trump’s claim, "We have nothing to hide," highlighting how, as president, Trump could have released the files at any time if truly transparent (07:00).

• Points out Trump’s circular rhetoric blaming Democrats for Epstein, while his own connections are well documented.

  > “Investigate everyone who had a relationship with Epstein, which includes, if we're being honest, you, Mr. President.” (10:30)
  

• Mocks Ghislaine Maxwell’s list of perks in prison (private meals, unlimited toilet paper), drawing comedic incredulity from the audience.
• Stewart highlights the lack of genuine accountability—suggesting Trump's behavior and Fox News coverage serves only to distract and minimize the importance.

Republican and Fox News Responses: Deflection and Denial

Timestamps: 12:00–18:00

• Fox News almost entirely ignored the new emails, instead diverting attention to unrelated stories (socialist takeovers, pennies, Christian music).

• Republicans claim the emails are “cut and spliced,” “difficult to decode”; Stewart lampoons these as paper-thin excuses.

  > “Have you read these emails? They weren't put together by Navajo code talkers.” (15:55)
  

• Highlights explicit content in the emails, some written after Epstein’s 2008 conviction, demonstrating a sense of elite impunity.

Explaining Media Selectivity: Pizzagate vs. Epstein

Timestamps: 18:00–22:00

• Stewart contrasts conservative eagerness to accept conspiracies like Pizzagate—which were based on wildly speculative code words in Clinton emails—with their present reluctance to interpret explicit Epstein emails.

  > “The Pizzagate conspiracy began with the Clinton WikiLeaks... The original source of all this? A leaked email to John Podesta... ‘Would love to get a pizza.’ My God. Could it be any clearer that John Podesta and his brother are running a family owned child sex ring?” (19:40)
  

• Mocks the lack of self-awareness: “Mentioning pasta doesn’t make someone a pedophile, even if it does make them a ‘pennyfile.’” (21:00)
• Critiques how conspiracies trivialize real problems—in this case, rampant sex trafficking among elites.

Epstein’s Social Network: No Party Lines

Timestamps: 21:24–22:57

• Stewart reviews how Epstein’s contacts span parties, industries, and countries:
  “You get Democrats, Republicans, Silicon Valley billionaires, spiritual thought leaders, Israeli Prime Minister, Saudi Crown Prince.” (21:40)
• Points out that Donald Trump is mentioned more than anyone—over 1600 times—indicating deep involvement.
• Stewart underscores that the connections are not proof of criminality but indicate proximity to power and knowledge.

Christiane Amanpour Interview: The Press, Power, and Accountability

Timestamps: 24:28–44:28

Journalism’s Responsibility and Shortcomings

• Amanpour stresses journalism’s role in exposing privilege and corruption—citing Miami Herald’s Julie Brown as an example.

  > “This is a responsibility of journalism… to just go for the truth and to follow, as they say, follow the money. But in this case, follow whatever.” (26:05)
  

• Stewart expresses concern at shrinking support for local/in-depth reporting due to media corporatization and weaponization.

• Both agree: more “information” doesn’t mean more “insight” or “knowledge.”

  > “We have less insight and less understanding. More information, less knowledge.” (28:49)
  

Navigating Weaponized & Algorithm-Driven Media

• Amanpour warns the media landscape is increasingly weaponized, with algorithms pushing people into echo chambers and away from trustworthy sources.

  > “It’s a pain in the neck... It’s weaponized to a degree that it hasn’t been in my experience anyway.” (29:39)
  

• She urges vigilance: “Just find your news from trusted and credible organizations. Don’t go down the rabbit hole.” (29:27, 29:32)

Corruption vs. Partisanship; Drip-Drip of Accountability

• Stewart and Amanpour discuss whether journalism is too consumed by partisan frames, rather than holding power broadly accountable—agreeing corruption transcends party.

• Amanpour notes the “drip, drip, drip” of scandals and slow accountability prolongs the public’s attention and divides even the base.

  > “It’s the drip, drip, drip nature of all of this... there is a division within maga, within the President’s own base... so it’s a story that keeps feeding itself.” (30:39)
  

• Cites UK’s Prince Andrew as a parallel: severe allegations often yield minimal accountability at elite levels.

The Culture of Invincibility among the Powerful

• Stewart questions if those in power genuinely feel immune—Amanpour confirms arrogance is the through-line among the global elite.

  > “No, no, no, there’s not one law. There is several laws, one for the rich and famous, one for the powerful, one then they’re the ordinary people.” (33:53)
  

American Exceptionalism, Resilience, and Civic Action

• Both acknowledge that, despite everything, the American public continues to resist authoritarian overreach, holding the line where institutions and leaders fail.

  > Stewart: “The best bulwark against authoritarianism in this country has been the American people… for a wannabe authoritarian, [Trump’s] not that popular.” (34:22)
  

  -
  > Amanpour: “Of course people here are fighting it. This is the United States of America. You have a constitution. You have rule of law.” (39:21)
• They stress the need for relentless public and journalistic engagement: “Without fear nor favor, without being political. Being journalists, truthful, not neutral. Just do it.” (36:58, Amanpour)

Risks Facing Journalists Globally

• Discusses the increasing danger to journalists: censorship, layoffs, outright violence.

  > “What's the real danger? Being shut down. Being fired. Being censored. That is dangerous, right? That is dangerous.” (42:46, Amanpour)
  

• Amanpour highlights the Committee to Protect Journalists’ (CPJ) work, noting over 327 jailed and record numbers killed in 2024. (43:00–43:22)

International Perceptions and Final Reflections

• Amanpour notes American global image is tarnished, in part due to dismissive or isolationist policies.
• Warns about the risk of losing vital public service media (e.g., BBC) and the influx of partisan “infomercial” outlets.
• Stresses that journalists must admit mistakes, but societies shouldn’t destroy crucial institutions because of them.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jon Stewart, on the absurdity of the email:

  “Seven of those words are Steve Bannon Putin photos, Trump blowing Bubba. It's a rich text. Literary scholars will secure tenure off the analysis of this text.” (02:10)

• On the hypocrisy of secrecy:

  “If he had nothing to hide, he could have declassified and released these files himself at any time. How do I know this? A legal expert named Donald Jurisprudence Trump said so.” (07:30)

• Mocking special treatment for Ghislaine Maxwell:

  “I've been a free man my whole life. I have never had unlimited toilet paper. Never in my life. I wasn't raised that way. But Maxwell, she's just wiping and wiping.” (09:55)

• Stewart’s take on “difficult to decode” emails:

  “Have you read these emails? They weren’t put together by Navajo code talkers.” (15:55)

• Amanpour on news consumption:

  “Just find your news from trusted and credible organizations. All right? Don’t go down the rabbit hole.” (29:27, 29:32)

• Amanpour on journalism’s moral clarity:

  “It's very clear that there is a conscience and there is a morality to covering these stories. It's very clear. And that the victims, as always, must be heard and must be listened to and there should be, you know, justice, clearly.” (32:12)

• Amanpour on media weaponization:

  “It pains me. The weaponization of the media, the weaponization of speech, the weaponization of journalism…” (27:33)

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Important Timestamps by Segment

• Epstein Email Introduction & Satire – 00:27–06:13
• Trump’s Evasion and Maxwell’s Perks – 06:13–12:00
• Republican & Fox News Response – 12:00–18:00
• Pizzagate vs. Epstein Comparison – 18:00–22:00
• Epstein’s Network & Broader Implications – 21:24–22:57
• Christiane Amanpour Interview – 24:28–44:28
  • Accountability in journalism and government
  • The decline and dangers of media conglomeration
  • Civic engagement and the resilience of the people
  • Threats to journalists and press freedom internationally

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Tone and Takeaways

• The tone is sharp, irreverent, and cutting—balancing topical humor with genuine indignation over elite impunity.
• Stewart uses wit to expose hypocrisy and highlight the gravity of real issues masked by conspiracy and partisan gamesmanship.
• Christiane Amanpour’s segment is earnest, sober, and globally minded—emphasizing both the ethical duty and existential risk for journalism in exposing power and supporting democracy.

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To summarize:
This episode is a pointed, satirical, and ultimately sobering look at elite corruption, political hypocrisy, and the critical, endangered role of robust journalism. It argues that the real fight—against impunity and for accountability—transcends partisanship, and that both the press and the people must stay vigilant, skeptical, and relentless.

Transcript

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[Jon Stewart]

Today you're listening to Comedy Central. From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central. It's America's only source for news. This is the Daily show with your host, Jon Stewart. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Daily Show. My name is Jon Stewart. We have a tremendous show for you tonight. Later on, we're gonna be joined by CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour. But first, we need to talk about the big revelations that have been coming out about the private lives of America's depraved coastal elites. I'm referring, of course, to the Real Housewives of Rhode island trailer, andy Cumming. @ BravoCon. It appears the smallest state might have the biggest drama. And then obviously, there's also thousands more Jeffrey Epstein emails to go through. Let's get into that with another installment of. It's pretty boring stuff. On the premiere of season eight of the Epstein Files, old emails continue to resurface, sparking renewed interest because of exchanges like this one, which really encapsulates the absolutely astonishing nature of this entire affair. I give you. This is an email exchange between Jeffrey Epstein and his brother Mark. In one email, Epstein's brother Mark told him to ask Steve Bannon if, quote, putin has the photos of Trump blowing Bubb. This sentence, maybe 18 words long. Seven of those words are Steve Bannon Putin photos, Trump blowing bubble. It's a rich text. Literary scholars will secure tenure off the analysis of this text. Steve Bannon Putin photos, Trump blowing Bubba. And I know what you're probably thinking. Jeffrey Epstein had a brother. He did, apparently. And to the second thing that you might be thinking, Mark Epstein released a statement clarifying that the name Bubba was not a reference to former President Bill Clinton. Thank you for clearing that up. No further questions, your honor. Before I go, one last thing. Which Bubba was he blowing then? It's not Bubba Gump. That's a restaurant. And you can't blow a restaurant, by the way. That's not a challenge, Mr. President. You see, but these are the kinds of questions that can be answered by releasing the Epstein files, which Donald Trump has been steadfastly against. I don't understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody. It's pretty boring stuff. Did you see the blowing email? It's kind of interesting. I mean, the little taste of that, no pun intended, did arouse again, no pun intended, some curiosity about the rest of. If I may, the load that one I meant. But pressure is building. Is there any way to talk about this story that doesn't sound ejaculate adjacent? People are begging on their knees. No, this is not demanding release. No, this is. But the House of Representatives clearly now has the votes to demand that the Epstein files be released, which is why this weekend Trump pivoted. The president writing on social media helps Republicans should vote to release the Epstein.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Files because we have nothing to hide.

[Jon Stewart]

Oh, nothing to hide. For those of you at home who are watching tonight and have something to hide, whether it be a simple guilty pleasure of the low brow television variety, hello, swinging Mormons, or a body encased in concrete by your sump, at some point the walls will close in, at which point you too will probably find yourself saying, maybe not via tweet. Hey, go ahead, look, I got nothing to hide. But you do. You do. And so does Trump. Cuz guess what? If he had nothing to hide, he could have declassified and released these files himself at any time. How do I know this? A legal expert named Donald Jurisprudence Trump said so if you're the President of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it's declassified. Even by thinking about it. Come on, Donny boy, don't think about it. No, don't even think about baseball. Think about your grandma. Think about baseball. Think about your grandma playing baseball. Don't think about the classified. I declassified it. Oh, I shouldn't have done it, but I did it. I declassified in my pants. It's very clear Trump does not want these things out there, which is obvious even from his nonsensical answers about it in the Oval Office today. We have nothing to do with Epstein. The Democrats do. All of his friends were Democrats. You look at this, Reid Hoffman, you look at Larry Summers, Bill Clinton. First of all, are you okay? And second of all, we've tried to look at those people, but every time we do, your picture comes up. But yeah, investigate everyone who had a relationship with Epstein, which includes, if we're being honest, you, Mr. President. And by the way, investigate the Democrats and maybe you'll find out. Yeah, exactly, investigate them all. And by the way, while you're out there, see if you can find the Democrat who cut a sweetheart prison deal for Ghislaine Maxwell after she told your lawyer she never saw you do anything wrong. Oh, and by the way, never saw Jeffrey Epstein do anything wrong either. Have at it, cuz. The perks that Maxwell is getting in prison would seem sketchy for a run of the mill white collar larcenist, let alone a convicted sex trafficker. Tonight, new details about the list of perks that Ghislaine Maxwell is getting behind bars. Private meals and mail delivery. Cellmates reassigned for privacy. Special visits in the chapel. And the warden helps her send documents and emails. The warden. Hello, Warden, it's Ghislaine. I'm having just an awful time converting this file to PDF. Would you be a dear? Yeah, I'll send the IT guy. Oh, no. You will attend to this personally. Yes, Ghislaine, I'm sorry. Yes, Miss. I'm sorry, am I still on the phone? Yeah. Yes, Ms. Maxwell. And scene. All right. I mean, come on. The warden. And it gets cushier. Literally, one of the perks that I think that people may be surprised is that is a perk is the idea of unlimited toilet paper. The audience literally gasped right now. I've been a free man my whole life. I have never had unlimited toilet paper. Never in my life. I wasn't raised that way. But Maxwell, she's just wiping and wiping. Hello, warden, Would you be a dear? Unlimited toilet paper. It does explain her prison Halloween costume this year. Oh, unlimited. Is it possible that Trump's whole bullshit facade is crumbling? I mean, right now, all he can do is distract from one lie with what is clearly another lie. All I want is, I want for people to recognize a great job that I've done on pricing, on affordability. What planet do you live on? Great job on affordable. My Taco Bell order is now $72, by the way, I still round up for the children. I don't want you thinking I don't round up. This dude is flailing. The normally reliable Trump is even struggling to deliver on his greatest gift, the cutting nickname. Over the weekend, President Trump repeatedly going after one of his closest allies and staunchest defenders, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Calling her Marjorie Taylor Brown because, quote, green grass turns brown when it begins to rotate. You know, I've always said that the best nicknames are the ones you have to explain in parentheses, right? Bubba. Hey, Bubba. Hey, Bubba. He's from the south and he likes being blown. Bubba. But believe me, this is real. The Epstein thing is no Democrat. And you know it's real because Trump's allies are working overtime to distract or in the case of Fox News, not even to mention. When the emails came out, Fox devoted most of their airtime to such urgent matters as the socialist takeover of Seattle, the Treasury phasing out the penny, the Northern lights, the growing popularity of Christian music, and as always, Kamala Harris goes crazy for car. Move over, elite pedophile ring. Kamala's gone Garfield on the lasagna. My God. Any other problems with the emails? Another critique we're hearing from some Republicans is that these emails are cut and spliced. They're taken out of context. Some of them are a little bit difficult. Difficult to decode, if you will. Bullshit, difficult to decode. Have you read these emails? They weren't put together by Navajo code talkers. Here are the emails. Hey Jeffrey rented a huge house in Ibiza, invited lots of girls from Russia, all models. The scout used to scout for Trump, but he doesn't work for him anymore. He's coming with 12 girls and would like to meet you. Or how about this one? I will send you a picture of this Burmese girl. Very pretty. I will bring her to the U.S. yeah, probably not on an H1B. Look, these emails are explicit and they were written post Epstein's conviction in 2008. And even then these motherfuckers felt so invincible that they didn't even think to try and hide any of it. No mafia age. You take care of that thing. No, the donuts are in the container. No even ixnay on the Earl's gay. But suddenly the right is all this is impenetrable. What language be this? So let's go back and remember how this whole dance started. Let me take you back to 2016 when another batch of emails was released and Maga had no trouble busting out the Dakota rings for those emails. The Pizzagate conspiracy began with the Clinton WikiLeaks. The conspiracy theory quickly spread to Reddit and YouTube feeding fake online news stories alleging a Clinton campaign child sex ring. Well, that a child sex, that's an incredibly serious charge. And seeing how the right doesn't like to jump to conclusions on emails, I assume that these emails were pretty concise and clear about the extent of what would be a horrific crime. The original source of all this? A leaked email to John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign chief. It was from his brother and it said simply would love to get a pizza. My God. Could it be any clearer that John Podesta and his brother are running a family owned child sex ring? What else could would Love to get a pizza mean. That was the famous Pizzagate conspiracy when people were so obsessed with finding evidence of sex trafficking, they built a whole code book and applied it to those emails. What they found were numerous references to pizza, a term Urban Dictionary says is slang for child pornography. So somehow they concluded that Podesta and company were speaking in code. These conspiracy theorists started saying that pizza and cheese and pasta were code words referring in fact to child sex abuse. Why did the Podesta emails mention the code word pasta for either little boy or sex 78 times? Why would he mention pasta 78 times other than the fact that he's Italian? He's Italian? What are you. He's Italian. If you try to type podesta into your phone, half the time it will autocorrect to pasta. If anything, 78 times is low. I mean, who knows what this dude is into? But mentioning pasta doesn't make someone a pedophile, even if it does make them a penny file. Hi, I'm comedian and Daily show host Jon Stewart. Sometimes it's a challenge for a comedy show to discuss sex trafficking networks, so you have to find the jokes wherever you can. Generally that does include pasta puns, even if they do make me feel a little fusilli. But the Pizzagate conspiracy wasn't just left to grow on its own. People in Magaworld were very happy to feed that fire. This is tied into Podesta with thousands of emails. There are little kids going in and out of this bathroom. One or two kids. And this is. This is a bar. Besta Podesta the Molesta Qanon. A lot of this stuff these guys have been talking about comes out to be true. Pizzagate, as it's called, is a rabbit hole that is horrifying to go down. Yeah, I think if people thought anytime someone mentioned pizza, they were talking about having sex with kids, yeah, that would actually be terrifying cuz it's the most popular food in the country. But you know what this shit does? It trivializes and tries to politicize what is an actual real problem in this country and this world. And has now put those same influencers in the position to back away from this in present time with far more explicit evidence. This is an email without any context. Once again. Ultimately it's just Epstein trying to pull Trump in and trafficate him. And they've been over him. They've been cherry picked. They know it's there. It's all old stuff. So it's just more gaslighting, more deception as I've always said context is important. As I say on my show every day, the truth is oftentimes nuanced. That's why you gotta be real careful with this shit. And as for Bannon, through these emails, we've learned he was working with Epstein to figure out ways he could rehabilitate Epstein's image. It's amazing with these Podesta emails, it was all they were, the Enigma machine decoding everything. But these Epstein emails now are a New York Times crossword puzzle from a Monday. You can figure this shit out in ink. In fact, the only guy, the only guy, the only guy that I have to give props to is Alan Dershowitz. Not for moral integrity, but this dude's been on Epstein's team from the get go and he's sticking with it. He pleaded guilty to one count of having sex for money with a 17 year and 10 month old person. That's not. Yeah, little. Little rule of thumb for everyone out there. If you ever find yourself counting anyone's age in months, Chances are the person you're describing is still a child. But maybe the most shocking thing about this, and I cannot stress this enough, convicted sex trafficker, is the extent of his social network. We mentioned some of the emails between Epstein and writer Michael Wolff.

[Apollo Sales Representative]

Epstein emailed he received a gift from.

[Jon Stewart]

Saudi Crown PR Mohammed bin Salman. Contacts include liberal academic Noam Chomsky, Echu Barak and Larry Summers and Deepak Chopra, Sun Yi Previn, Woody Allen's wife, Lyndon Thomas of the New York Times, the former Prince Andrew, Ken Starr, Peter Thiel. Look at the names in these emails. You get Democrats, Republicans, Silicon Valley billionaires, spiritual thought leaders. You got an Israeli Prime Minister and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. My God, the range. What it tells you is that a certain stratosphere, the petty differences of class and race and religion fade away. We're left and right, Jew, Arab and Christian, ultra rich and oh my God, is that a rocket? Rich find common ground and show us that we can live in peaceful coexistence. It would be almost beautiful if not for the sex trafficking part. Oh, my God. Elite sex trafficking ring. Is there anything you can't spoil? And I'm not saying these people are all in the ring, but Epstein was a convicted sex offender at the time of these emails. And of course, mentioned in these emails more than anyone else, more than 1600 times. Is Donald Trump. Is that evidence of his guilt? No, but it shows that he's a part of that world. And certainly the circumstantial evidence points to his understanding of what was occurring. But if there are more of you out there that need definitive proof, perhaps this will convince you. It's wrong, isn't it? But it feels so right. Then it's a deal.

[Ronny Chang]

Yes.

[Jon Stewart]

We eat our pizza the wrong way. Crust. Crust. Introducing Steph Crust pizza from Pizza Hut. Oh, my God. They're doing anal. When we come back, Ms. John Amanpour will join me in the studio. Don't go away.

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[Jon Stewart]

Welcome back to the Daily show. My guest tonight, CNN's chief international anchor and host of the global affairs program Amanpour. Please welcome to the program. Christiane Amanp. Thank you. Look at us.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Lovely, lovely.

[Jon Stewart]

Crazy, right?

[Christiane Amanpour]

Crazy.

[Jon Stewart]

What do you do when you're in a newsroom and something like this, not. Not your newsroom because it's sophisticated and urbane, but when something like this email scandal, and it's so salacious and it's got so many layers to it, and it so speaks to privilege and corruption and invincibility at the highest levels. Is that the trifecta for journalists to kind of dig into what is. What is the sense of this?

[Christiane Amanpour]

You know, the journalists have been digging into this from the very beginning. It was great journalists, obviously, who revealed it from the very beginning of when all this stuff started years ago. It was a great journalist from the Miami Herald, Julie Brown.

[Jon Stewart]

Sure.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Indeed. Who broke the actual story of the, you know, sort of not so serious plea deal that he, that he copped all those years ago and lived, as you just said, in a sort of a country club existence. I just think that these are the stories that we have to cover.

[Jon Stewart]

Sure.

[Christiane Amanpour]

That yes, they touch people high, low, all over the place. But nonetheless you can't shy away from it. This is a responsibility possibility of journalism to without fear or favor, without, you know, being one side or the other, to just go for the truth and to follow, as they say, follow the money. But in, in this case, follow whatever. Right.

[Jon Stewart]

Do you think the current media setup is capable of that?

[Christiane Amanpour]

Yes, and I think the current media setup is doing it really. It's not an accident that a lot of the reveals that you're talking about come from FOIA requests.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Freedom of information.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Come from CNN broke some of it a week ago, I think was part of a group of journalists who broke some of it a week ago. And I do believe that journalists are absolutely able to get to the bottom of this and any story. That's what investigative journalists are trained to do to find is there a there there.

[Jon Stewart]

Right. And tell me about the separation. Here's my concern. Yeah, you mentioned Julie Brown and Miami Herald very clearly. The money in this business is moving away from not just international on the ground reporting, but local reporting for people like that, journalists that are in the weeds. But you know, the work that she did, will there be journalists to do that when the money is being funneled into much more weaponized media, much noisier media, media conglomeration.

[Christiane Amanpour]

That pains me. The weaponization of the media, the weaponization of speech, the weaponization of journalism and as you say, the shifting of resources away from this kind of journalism and towards something that's just not as expensive to cover. It takes resources to cover and to conduct serious investigations.

[Jon Stewart]

Investigations, yes.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Not just money money, but people, you know, people who are going to be tasked with not having to do breaking news and standing always and doing these, you know, stand ups outside, you know, wherever and actually going and doing what they do, pounding the streets, using the shoe leather, all those cliches are real. And I think that is something that we have to all really keep in mind that no matter what it is, whether it's a foreign story that I cover overseas, whether it's an investigation over here or wherever, these are the bread and butter of real journalism and it is still happening. But you're right, the resources are very, very stretched. And the other thing you mentioned is the corporatization conglomeration. And you Know, it doesn't always improve the quality of journalism.

[Jon Stewart]

We have more information now, yes. Than I think we've probably had in the entirety of human existence.

[Christiane Amanpour]

But we have less insight and less understanding.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And less knowledge. More information, less knowledge.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

So I always say, and I would say that, wouldn't I, that people really do have to, and I will say it, have to be very careful where they choose their media. Yeah, I'm over there.

[Jon Stewart]

Look, did you just scoff my audience? I did.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Sorry.

[Jon Stewart]

No. Did you just. Down the pipe. Hold on a second. You go to me, you guys are doing. Don't know.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Did I finish what I said?

[Jon Stewart]

Probably, yeah, probably.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Just find your news from trusted and credible organizations. All right?

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Don't go down the rabbit hole.

[Jon Stewart]

But how do you do that when the algorithm has such gravitational pull?

[Christiane Amanpour]

It's a pain in the neck and it's really hard and it's a struggle, and it's a struggle when also. So, as I said, you know, it's weaponized to a degree that it hasn't been in my experience anyway, Maybe somewhere in the past.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

It was like this. But you can barely cover all sides of a story. I mean, you can barely be an actual journalist and cover this side and that side and come up with, you know, what's going on.

[Jon Stewart]

Are we making the mistakes without people.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Saying you're on the wrong side or the right side?

[Jon Stewart]

Are we making the mistake of buying into, for most news now, the right left paradigm as opposed to something more exclusively corruption versus integrity?

[Christiane Amanpour]

I think so.

[Jon Stewart]

Is that something that feels like a business model that would have legs? I think there's such thirst for people to. Corruption is so endemic in these systems, and I think the Epstein case shows it has no party, it has no favor. There is a stratosphere that exists beyond accountability and that feels ripe for not just good journalism, but good business.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And I think, you know, it's the drip, drip, drip nature of all of this. Had it all been done, as President Trump said in his campaign, had they released all the files and this and that, it would have been done and dumped and dusted. Right. And then people would have taken what they could and saw. And you did this evening. But I think it's the drip, drip, drip. It's the sort of story that's going around that there is a division within maga, within the President's own base. And so it's a story that keeps feeding itself because it's just still out there. And I think you can't ask journalists not to Cover this stuff because it's clearly important. I mean, it's not just here.

[Jon Stewart]

No, it's corruption and it's happening in.

[Christiane Amanpour]

The uk, as you know, it's touched members of the royal family. Well, a member of the royal family who has been defenestrated by his brother, the king, you know, the prince.

[Jon Stewart]

Wait, what did the king do to him? I think that. I think I saw that in Braveheart.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Literally. I mean, out of his house, right?

[Jon Stewart]

They defenestrate him.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Maybe he went out the window.

[Jon Stewart]

I don't know. Think about. What's shocking to me is the length of time before accountability. And even then with Prince Andrew being the avatar of all of this, but there's clearly layers and layers underneath it. His punishment is, you are no longer a prince. Like, in what world is this sex trafficking ring? Somehow the only thing that happens is one guy's not a prince and the other one gets all the toilet paper she can use. How. How does that seem just or fair? Listen to anybody watching this.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Listen. As you know, we. And I have spent many, many years covering sex trafficking around the world. I've done pieces on 60 Minutes about sex trafficking from the collapse of the. The former Soviet Union. I've done, you know, the oppression and the victimization and the mass rape of women during war, the abuse of children all over the world. So it is very, very clear that there is a conscience and there is a morality to covering these stories. It's very clear. And that the victims, as always, must be heard and must be listened to and there should be, you know, justice, clearly. So we don't know, I don't know how this is all going to transpire, but you. You hear certainly regarding the UK case, that certainly politicians in the United States have suggested that there might be more testimony required, et cetera.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

So I think that, that justice is being pursued on this and other issues.

[Jon Stewart]

When you are traveling the world and you're getting to interview some of those that are in these halls of power or that live on that plane of a lack of accountability, is it they just breathe it like air or is it evident the utter lack of accountability?

[Christiane Amanpour]

I think, look, from what I have experienced in my life, talking to certain, you know, people of great privilege and often unelected, by the way, where I come from, autocrats. And so, yeah, they're there for life.

[Jon Stewart]

Sure.

[Christiane Amanpour]

So when that happens, you become huge, hugely arrogant because you feel you are entirely invincible. And until some revolution happens or somebody, you know, comes out, so you get.

[Jon Stewart]

Humbled by the people.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Yeah. Yeah. And I find that that arrogance is a very, very common through line, a thread to all the people who I've interviewed in the past who've had other situations to answer to the arrogance, the belief that, no, no, no, no, there's not one law. There is several laws, one for the rich and famous, one for the powerful one, then they're the ordinary people. You know, that's why it shouldn't be like that. And there needs to be rule of law, and we need to stand up for that.

[Jon Stewart]

But in our country, I think that's why we're all so pleased by the humility of our leaders, I think. What do you think of. You know, I've been impressed that the best bulwark against authoritarianism in this country has been the American people. Trump may want the trappings of a dictator. He might want the iconography, he might want all those things, but I find that, you know, for a wannabe authoritarian, he's not that popular, you know, around the world. Despots are generally. They're actually pretty. Usually pretty popular, especially at first.

[Christiane Amanpour]

You know, I was hoping you'd ask me this question, really. Do you know what's happening tonight as we speak? According to Politico, I don't want to be held, you know, to account, but the president is making a speech on affordability tonight. He's answered the people, he's heard the.

[Jon Stewart]

People listen to your news sources wisely. He's on. No, no, you asked.

[Christiane Amanpour]

You asked. This is answering the people. The people spoke at the election.

[Jon Stewart]

That's right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And the president got the message. Now, on what was that? Accountability.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Yeah. We need to hold power accountable. That's what we do. The notion that we should be bending a knee here or bowing there. I grew up in a monarchy. I grew up in a monarchy. I know what's that like.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And I know what it's like.

[Jon Stewart]

My impression is, and this is not. I'm not talking about you, I'm not talking about specific journals.

[Christiane Amanpour]

I'm talking about the Iranian monarchy.

[Jon Stewart]

Exactly. I understand that, but it feels to me like the guardrails of our society in America that have failed us have been saved by the people.

[Christiane Amanpour]

And how. And that's what it's meant to be.

[Jon Stewart]

Exactly. But it hasn't been the corporate leadership or it hasn't been Congress, and it hasn't been the judiciary, although there's been underneath the Supreme Court. But it's been. The president says, I want to be like Orban, and I'm just going to pull people off the air that say things I don't like. And the American people go it. Then I'm canceling Disney, Hulu, and three days later, Kimmel's back on the air. Like. And that's why, you know, people here, they're always saying, like, what can we do? And I always say back, like, you're doing it. Yeah, we're holding a line on this.

[Christiane Amanpour]

It's really good.

[Jon Stewart]

I think much more effectively than people might realize.

[Christiane Amanpour]

I actually agree with you, and I think that's really important. And we have to just keep doing it. It's. We're fighting the headwinds, right? I mean, it's very difficult, but we have to keep doing it. And as I say, without fear nor favor, without being political. Being journalists, truthful, not neutral, just do it. What else do we have to do? What else? What do we have to lose?

[Jon Stewart]

Do you think journalists are honest about and I'm not. You define journalism in a different. Because, you know, the media is obviously not a monolith, but there is a sense sometimes that the journalists are high on their supply as well. There's a little bit of the.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Like, is that a drug thing?

[Jon Stewart]

Yes.

[Christiane Amanpour]

I don't do drugs. Be careful.

[Jon Stewart]

But there's a little bit of the. Democracy dies in darkness. Yeah, but they're not showing light oftentimes. They're just playing into the circus.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Sometimes. Sometimes you can get very caught up in the circus, as you know, in the horse race instead of the policy. I mean, how many times have pundits and polls been wrong about elections? Okay, my point. But often we do do the important good news stories when they're, you know, elections. And I'm talking about around the world now, where there's a triumph of justice, when war criminals are in front of the tribunal and are actually, you know, trying to stand.

[Jon Stewart]

Are we shining a light on the right? If democracy dies in darkness, are we shining a light on the right work, is my question. You have great people that are doing things at great risk to themselves in all kinds of places that are really dangerous. Are we shining the proper light on that work or are we wasting too much on nothing?

[Christiane Amanpour]

I think that obviously you've just answered your own question. You know, guys, be careful where you get your source of news from. Sir?

[Jon Stewart]

Yes, it is true. What? When?

[Christiane Amanpour]

So you grew up in Iran. Yeah.

[Jon Stewart]

What is it about, you know, people say, like, Hungary, Putin, North Korea. Is there something in America that makes those kinds of authoritarian takeovers more difficult? Is it that they're grafting something that's alien to this particular culture. Cuz I do think it's not as easy to do it here. It feels like the people fight it a little.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, no, they do. Are you having me on now? Sorry, are you joking with me? Of course people here are fighting it. This is the United States of America.

[Jon Stewart]

No, that's what I mean.

[Christiane Amanpour]

You have a constitution.

[Jon Stewart]

Yes.

[Christiane Amanpour]

You have rule of law. You have a first amendment right. And if we don't defend it, more fool us.

[Jon Stewart]

Right?

[Christiane Amanpour]

More fool us and more fool everybody if we don't defend our democracy when we have a whole rule of law. I'm not American, I'm just saying our cause. I'm sitting here trying to be polite, but it's up to us, right? Those people don't have the option. When they tried in Iran, all the women, you know, went out in the street and what happened? Beaten down, shot, put in jail. And yet they keep coming out, of course. Killed journalists being killed all over the place trying to do their job. This is deadly serious stuff that we do. And it's really important to realize that, that we're not here playing a game. We're not here to score points or to get, you know, more views on social media. We're here to do a job that's vital. That's vital and protected by the US Constitution that upholds a strong democracy, that creates a healthy democracy. So here's an example. I really hope to God that the BBC is not crushed under the weight of an attack and an assault on the BBC. It's one of the greatest public service television broadcasters in the world. And it's not just news. BBC World Service, BBC Culture, Sports, David Attenborough. I mean, come on. And be careful what you wish for because if you, if you torpedo that, then what do we have? You know, in BBC in England there's a thing called GB News. Actual sitting politicians have shows. Really? Has that ever been, has that ever been, you know, hold into account by the governing body of OFCOM and this.

[Jon Stewart]

Right, sorry, yeah, we do that in this country as well. I mean there is a, there's a revolving door. Oh yeah.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Actual shows?

[Jon Stewart]

Oh, absolutely. Am I thick there, there? No, there are a lot of people that like when they run for president have to stop their show. I mean our, the secretary of the Department of War came from a Saturday morning.

[Christiane Amanpour]

I'm talking about active. Active.

[Jon Stewart]

No, they literally have shows.

[Christiane Amanpour]

He stopped it. Then he became.

[Jon Stewart]

When they announce. But there's all kinds of rules in there about like if you don't announce, you get to stay on your show for the whole thing or they invite the politician to be on their show all the time as just an infomercial. No, there's. Believe me, there's no, America has been.

[Christiane Amanpour]

I haven't been there for a while.

[Jon Stewart]

This may be a surprise to you. We may not be the shining star of an economy that you think we are. Yeah.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Yeah. Well, it's getting a little tarnished. America. The view of America overseas is becoming quite tarnished because this administration seems to want to push its friends away.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Instead of hugging them, instead of keeping them close for strength and allies and fighting, you know, the good fight. You want to make America great again, you have to do it in a team.

[Jon Stewart]

All right? It's all about. So it's just a. We're a hug away from making this world.

[Christiane Amanpour]

I'm trying to be polite. All right. But you've got a big problem overseas.

[Jon Stewart]

Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

You know, America. What's the biggest popular as used to be.

[Jon Stewart]

What is the biggest danger to what you do, to what really good journalists do in this current environment?

[Christiane Amanpour]

Then what's the real danger?

[Jon Stewart]

Yeah. What's the biggest danger?

[Christiane Amanpour]

Being shut down.

[Jon Stewart]

Being shut down.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Being fired. Being shut down.

[Jon Stewart]

Being censored.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Censored. That is dangerous, right? That is dangerous.

[Jon Stewart]

You know, and then there's the real danger that we don't even realize of people that are covering it in actual dangerous places.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, look, the cpj. I'm hosting the gala on Thursday. The annual gala.

[Jon Stewart]

Fantastic organization.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Fantastic. Which protects and supports, you know, stands by journalists all over the world. You know, there are something like 327, if I've got the number Right. Of journalists jailed around the world.

[Jon Stewart]

Right. And how many killers?

[Christiane Amanpour]

20. 24 was the deadliest year.

[Jon Stewart]

Absolutely.

[Christiane Amanpour]

126 were killed this year. 113 have been killed and the year's not out. And it is a dreadful situation. Yeah. When. Yeah. Even democracies screw around with us. It's not okay.

[Jon Stewart]

No, no, no. But you stay with it. And BBC stuff doesn't affect CNN International. You're. You're good.

[Christiane Amanpour]

When we make mistakes, we have to own up to it.

[Jon Stewart]

Yes.

[Christiane Amanpour]

But the answer is not to then to torpedo and crash.

[Jon Stewart]

Right. Everything else.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Very important institution. Yes, sir.

[Jon Stewart]

Are they literally going to evacuate Tehran?

[Christiane Amanpour]

I don't think so. I don't think so.

[Jon Stewart]

For those who don't know, Tehran has been going through a water emergency. As much as those people have had to deal with.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Yes. Now it's.

[Jon Stewart]

Now they've run out of water to Iran.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Yeah. They have they. Have they managed to get through the very brutal summer? The lakes are drying up, but they managed to get through the summer. So they think that they have passed that tipping point of having to evacuate, but it's massive mismanagement and it's climate change.

[Jon Stewart]

Right. And all those things. But in Europe, it looks like that so far. Right.

[Christiane Amanpour]

Well, we're two months past the deadline of having to evacuate.

[Jon Stewart]

Well, I so appreciate you coming by.

[Christiane Amanpour]

I appreciate you having me spending the.

[Jon Stewart]

Time and putting all in that good work for cpj. Amanpour is available to stream in the US and cms. And check out the podcast the X Files. Damien Rubin, Chris Jones on the fork. Take your right back. You do a contest. How does that.

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[Jon Stewart]

There we go. That's our show for tonight. Before we go, we're going to check in with your host for the rest of the week, Mr. Ronny Chang. Ronny Chan. What do you got? What do you got for this week, Ronny? Well, Jon, bad news for Thanksgiving. Turkey prices are up 40% this year. And that's why I'll be giving you tips on how to save money with alternative meats. Like chicken or ham or. No, even better. I'm talking pigeons, baby.

[Ronny Chang]

Yeah.

[Jon Stewart]

Where did you get those? Ronnie, they're everywhere and dumb as shit. All right, all you need is a crust of bread and an empty bag. They just walk right in. Hey, I'll sell you this for 10 bucks. I'm okay. Okay, your loss. And by the way, there are cheaper alternatives for dessert, too. No, Ronnie, I don't think anybody. I'm talking more pigeons over here, man. Ronnie Chang. Pigeon pie. Here it is. Your mom is end. Nobody. The regular MAGA people out there want the truth and they want it from him. And listen, we have to reiterate that he has not been accused of any wrongdoing, any sort of criminal activity. There may be something salacious, it may be unpleasant. I hear your phone. You can just try to turn that off. Can you still hear me? Because I'd love to ask you this question. I mean, yeah, we've all fumbled with our phones at times. 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. Plus, This has been a Comedy Central podcast.