Fox News Clarifies Trump Loves “Miners” & Female Reporters Are on Trump’s S**t List | Annie Leibovitz

Summary

The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Episode: Fox News Clarifies Trump Loves “Miners” & Female Reporters Are on Trump’s St List | Annie Leibovitz**
Date: December 11, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Daily Show, hosted by Debbie Lydic and Desi Lining, delivers sharp political satire and media critique, focusing on Donald Trump’s recent rally performance, his treatment of female reporters, and bizarre Fox News moments. The show then shifts gears with Lewis Black’s raucous “Back in Black” segment on 2025’s wildest TikTok trends. The highlight of the episode is a compelling, insightful interview with iconic photographer Annie Leibovitz, discussing her powerful new photo collection "Women."

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News Headlines & Trump Coverage

Trump’s Rally: Affordability, Insults, and "Miners" Confusion

[02:02–07:16]

• Trump's Rally Tone & Recurring Biden Jabs

  • Trump continues to use “Sleepy Joe” and “Crooked Joe” nicknames for Biden, despite Biden being out of office.
  • Debbie Lydic jokes:
    • “Get over Joe Biden already. It’s like if Mike Tyson was still showing up at Evander Holyfield’s house trying to bite his other ear. And not for nothing, Joe Biden is retired. Now he’s allowed to be sleepy. What’s your excuse?” (02:53)
  • Trump claims: “Let me tell you, Black people love Trump. I got the biggest vote with Black people. They know a scam better than anybody.”
  • Lydic’s sarcastic reply:
    • “Okay, that’s racist. White people get scammed too… At this point, white people falling for shit could be its own Oscar category.” (03:55)

• Fox News Gaffe: “Miners” Caption Confusion

  • Trump says, “Do we love minors? I love minors.” (04:40)
  • Debbie quips about the awkward closed-captioning moment:
    • “You can actually see that the person doing the closed captions is also confused. And then ee. Oh, delete, delete, delete.” (05:19)

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Trump vs Female Reporters

[05:26–07:16]

• Verbal Tirade Clips:

  • Trump is heard berating female reporters:
    • “You are an obnoxious. A terrible. Actually, a terrible reporter. It’s not the question that I mind, it’s your attitude… Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? You know nothing about nothing… Quiet, quiet, quiet. You’re really obnoxious…” (05:47–06:32)
  • Lydic exclaims:
    • “This guy is exhausting. It’s like he won’t stop until he gives every woman in the country resting Melania face.” (06:45)

• On Trump’s Attitude Toward Women:

  • Trump: “…When she gets up there with that beautiful face and those lips that don’t stop. Up, up, up, like a little machine gun.” (07:02)
  • Lydic, sarcasm fully engaged: “Never mind. I’ll take the insults.” (07:16)

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Satirical Analysis: “Manopause”

[07:30–10:11]

• Send-Up of Trump’s Behavior:
  • Michael (field reporter):
    • “Isn’t it obvious? The moodiness, the sweating, his sleeping problems, the brain fog… The president is going through menopause.” (07:35)
    • Jokes about “Dude-o-pause,” “Manopause,” and outrageous symptoms.
  • This sketch satirizes media attempts to explain Trump’s volatility, lampooning the medicalization of men’s emotions.
  • Standout comic riff:
    • “There was a time in his life when those folds were as tight as a drum. Smooth, supple, sopping wet. But now he’s going through a bottle of neck lube a week just to feel anything at all.” (08:26)

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Lewis Black: “Back in Black” – 2025’s Strangest TikTok Trends

[12:21–18:41]

• Slang Sensation “6, 7”

  • Black rails against 2025's bizarre dictionary entry, the phrase “6, 7.”
    • “Seriously, what is wrong with these kids? I mean, I thought RFK Jr. was supposed to be curing autism, not making it worse...” (13:59)

• Teen Craze: Senior Assassin

  • High schoolers are “shooting” classmates with water pistols in a game called “senior assassin.”
  • Black’s take:
    • “A school shooter’s culture is not your costume. But in a way, it’s nice to see kids having some fun with traumatic events.” (14:50)

• Kool Aid Man Challenge

  • Teens break through fences imitating the Kool-Aid Man.
    • “Off evolution. We’ll take it from here. Back in my day, if you got brain damage, at least it came with a scholarship to Florida State.” (15:29–16:09)

• Heartwarming or Weird?: Picking Up Teenagers One Last Time

  • Parents pick up their fully grown teens in TikTok videos.
    • “I think we can safely assume one thing — that man is divorced.” (16:51)
    • Self-deprecating: “I remember the last time my dad held me — it was when I was one minute old. And then he said, are you sure this is mine?” (16:57)

• Black’s Satirical Challenge

  • Proposes his own trend: “the Pickin Up Lewis Black challenge. What happens is you come over and carry me wherever I need to go.” (18:08)

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Interview: Annie Leibovitz on “Women”

[20:03–36:55]

Introduction and Cultural Impact

• Debbie Lydic: “My guest tonight is a legendary photographer whose powerful new collection… is called Women. Please welcome Annie Leibovitz.” (20:03)
• Leibovitz responds, self-effacing:
  • “I don’t know how I got talked into this.” (20:30)
  • “I love this show, and you’re amazing.” (20:54)

The Demi Moore Photograph & Representation of Pregnancy

• Lydic wonders at the historic 1991 pregnant Demi Moore cover:
  • “At that time, I had never seen pregnant women being shown like that… and there she was, just standing in her beauty and power and strength.” (21:17)
• Leibovitz reflects:
  • “We really didn’t know what we were doing… at the end of our cover sitting, I said, do you want me to photograph you nude with the second baby? And she said, sure, that’d be great…” (21:50)
  • On Susan Sontag’s influence: “Susan Sontag, actually, said, ‘this is really important.’” (22:07)
• Discussing Rihanna’s pregnancy reveal:
  • “She took it to a whole new place… she’s so smart, such an interesting person. She’s really mesmerizing.” (23:17)

Research, Portraiture, and Creative Process

• Leibovitz on research:
  • “You have to know who you’re walking in to see and how they’ve been photographed before and who they are and what they do. I always think I’m photographing not so much what someone looks like but what they do and who they are.” (24:31–24:52)
• On capturing “superpowers”:
  • Lydic: “You have a way of illuminating their superpower…”
  • Leibovitz: “I’m there with the other person. It’s a very psychological situation… as I get older, I really want us to look as best as we can, whoever we are.” (25:26–26:13)

Drive and Career

• Leibovitz:
  • “I love what I do… Rolling Stone, then Vanity Fair, then Vogue… my brothers and sisters seem to have the same problem, really. We’re all very ambitious, driven, kind of workaholics.” (26:29–27:15)

Male-Dominated Field & Early Days

• “I wasn’t really aware of it as much. I used it to my advantage because no one really took me seriously or thought I could do anything… you could really be somewhere and no one really paid you any attention.” (27:36–27:59)

“Women” Collection: Scope, Generations, and Representation

• On the creation of “Women”:
  • “…Hillary Clinton came to me over a year ago and said, we want to commemorate the original women’s book from 1999…I thought, well, maybe it’s out of print, let’s reprint it.” (28:26–28:53)
  • Key moment: Las Vegas Showgirls series led to the realization: “let’s do the book on women because we don’t know what we look like.” (29:48–30:06)
• Diversity of subjects:
  • “It’s not just celebrities and star athletes. You have inspiring women from all walks of life… there is a difference between—we couldn’t have done this book 25 years ago.” (35:19–36:07)
• On societal change:
  • “We are really in this quiet, roaring confidence, as Chimamanda says… I just think we’re an incredible set of people right now as women, and it’s much different from 25 years ago.” (36:03–36:19)

Notable Subjects & Their Stories

• Michelle Obama:

  • “She’s so incredible. I think she also told me she was just…driving a car by herself now, and she was just really finding herself.” (32:45–33:36)

• Leibovitz’s mother:

  • “She was afraid of being older… didn’t like the picture at first. My father said, I don’t like the picture because she’s not smiling. But it’s an amazing photograph over time because when I look at it, I realize it really feels like the camera’s not there… there’s no camera there. And I think that’s really what you want to achieve in a portrait.” (34:01–34:52)

• On the Showgirls photos:

  • “I don’t think it’s two different people. They’re the same person… I’m still trying to sort it out, but it’s mesmerizing to me.” (31:26–32:24)

Closing Thoughts

• Lydic: “This is such an incredible collection of beautiful photos… do not go backward, whatever the White House wants to bring our way.” (36:19)
• Leibovitz: “No, it’s a tough time. But that’s what’s interesting about Gloria’s essay—she addresses that… We’re not going backward.” (36:30–36:46)

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Notable Quotes by Timestamp

• Debbie Lydic:

  • “Can you just try being nice to a woman just once?” (06:58)
  • “Never mind. I’ll take the insults.” (07:16)

• Lewis Black:

  • “Every time I think we might be reaching the end of civilization, I open TikTok. And remember, we already have.” (13:02)
  • “A school shooter’s culture is not your costume.” (14:50)

• Annie Leibovitz:

  • “I always think I’m photographing not so much what someone looks like but what they do and who they are.” (24:52)
  • “I don’t think it’s two different people. They’re the same person… I’m still trying to sort it out, but it’s mesmerizing to me.” (32:24)
  • “There’s no camera there. And I think that’s really what you want to achieve in a portrait.” (34:52)

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Interview Timestamps & Segments

• Annie Leibovitz Interview Start: [20:03]
• Demi Moore Photo Discussion: [21:17–23:10]
• On Research/Portraiture: [24:20–25:35]
• Drive/Family Background: [26:13–27:15]
• Women in Photography: [27:26–28:15]
• Showgirls Series and Book Genesis: [28:26–30:06]
• Michelle Obama & Leibovitz’s Mother: [32:32–34:52]
• Collection Diversity & Societal Change: [35:19–36:19]

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Episode Takeaways

• The show blends political satire, media commentary, and cultural introspection with impeccable comedic timing.
• Trump’s rallies and Fox News stumbles provide rich material for daily satire, especially concerning communication missteps and gendered animosity in politics and media.
• Annie Leibovitz’s insights on representation, storytelling, and the evolution of women’s place in culture cap off the episode with profundity and optimism.
• Lewis Black’s “Back in Black” segment captures the absurdity of contemporary youth trends and viral fads, putting society’s quirks under a comedic microscope.

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For anyone who missed the episode, this summary highlights the sharp wit, biting commentary, and meaningful reflection that define The Daily Show’s Ears Edition.

Transcript

[Desi Lining]

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[Debbie Lydic]

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[Desi Lining]

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, Desi Lining.

[Debbie Lydic]

Welcome to the Daily Show. I'm Debbie Lydic. We've got so much to talk about tonight. Donald Trump wakes up on the wrong side of the tanning bed. Lewis Black gets a restraining order on the number six and seven. And great news on the gender gap. Female reporters are now earning 20% more insults than men. Go girls. Let's get right into the headlines.

In this year's elections, Donald Trump has decided to focus less on bringing back the Rush Hour franchise and focus more on real kitchen table issues like affordability. So last night, he held an affordability themed rally at where else? A casino. A place where people famously leave with more money than they came in with. This is an important issue that affects all Americans. So, President Trump, let's hear your solution.

[Desi Lining]

Which is better, Sleepy Joe or Crooked Joe?

We have 20,000 people. I say which you like, Sleepy Joe or Crooked Joe? Typically, Crooked Joe wins. I'm surprised, cuz to me he's a sleepy son of a bitch. You know.

[Debbie Lydic]

Dude.

Get over Joe Biden already. It's like if Mike Tyson was still showing up at Evander Holyfield's house trying bite his other ear. And not for nothing, Joe Biden is retired. Now he's allowed to be sleepy. What's your excuse? And we will continue to talk to our farmers, continue to understand exactly what.

[Desi Lining]

This looks like and what is necessary.

[Debbie Lydic]

The final thing I'll say is. 12 billion.

12 billion. I didn't fall asleep. You fell asleep. How are you falling ASleep live on TV in your own cabinet meetings? You got to at least put on a pair of those glasses with ey.

But okay, so we got the Biden stuff out of the way. Then it was time to finally talk affordability.

[Desi Lining]

Let me tell you, black people love Trump. I got the biggest vote. I got the biggest vote with black people. They know a scam better than anybody. They know what it is to be scammed.

[Debbie Lydic]

Okay, that's racist. White people get scammed, too. Haven't you seen the Fyre Fest documentary? Or the Theranos documentary? Or the Tind swindler documentary? Or the Lularoe documentary? At this point, white people falling for shit could be its own Oscar category.

But I love how Trump is like, black people love me. And that's why I came to the blackest area I could think of, the Poconos.

And stop bragging. You only won 13% of black people. My potato salad polls higher with black people. The secret is crazin.

So he got a little off track with Biden and black people, but at least no one was thinking about the Epstein files anymore for minors.

[Desi Lining]

Do we love minors? I love minors.

[Debbie Lydic]

We know. We all saw the birthday card.

By the way, I was watching this on Fox News last night, and I had the captions on because I'm Gen Z, don't Google it. And this is completely real. The way that it aired. You can actually see that the person doing the closed captions is also confused. And then ee. Oh, delete, delete, delete.

Whoopsie. That's what Fox gets for hiring Prince Andrew to do the captions.

But you know what? Just let Trump do his rallies where he's in his element. He prefers it. I prefer it. And I'm pretty sure most of the press pool at the White House prefers it because it hasn't been a good time over there lately, especially for the female reporters. President Donald Trump has gone on a full rampage recently of berating and insulting female reporters.

[Desi Lining]

You are an obnoxious. A terrible. Actually, a terrible reporter. It's not the question that I mind. It's your attitude. The way you ask a question with the anger and the meanness is terrible. Argentina's fighting for its life, young lady. You don't know anything about it. Are you stupid? Are you a stupid person? You know nothing about nothing. Quiet, quiet, quiet. You're really obnoxious. You don't listen. You never listen. That's why you're second grade. I don't even want to take a question. It's a waste of time. You're totally unprepared. You ought to go back and learn how to be a reporter. I took a cognitive test, and I aced it. I got a perfect mark, which you would be incapable of doing. Goodbye, everybody. You too.

[Debbie Lydic]

Mr. Trump. Just quick follow up. What the is your problem?

God.

[Desi Lining]

Jesus.

[Debbie Lydic]

This guy is exhausting. It's like he won't stop until he gives every woman in the country resting Melania face.

Can you just try being nice to a woman just once?

[Desi Lining]

We even brought our superstar today, Caroline. When she gets up there with that beautiful face and those lips that don't stop. Up, up, up, like a little machine gun.

[Debbie Lydic]

Never mind. I'll take the insults. For more on President Trump's recent outburst, we go live to the White House with Michael.

Michael, what is going on with the president? Why is he being so awful towards women?

[Desi Lining]

Isn't it obvious? The moodiness, the sweating, his sleeping problems, the brain fog. Desi, the president is going through menopause.

[Debbie Lydic]

All right, Michael, men don't go through menopause.

[Desi Lining]

Well, we don't call it menopause when a man gets menopause. We call it Dude. O. Pause.

[Debbie Lydic]

Why not call it manopause?

[Desi Lining]

Hey, don't dudesplain manopause.

But you're right. Menopause is better. But this is a difficult time of life for men. You have the bloating, the thinning hair, and, of course, the vaginal dryness.

[Debbie Lydic]

All right, Michael, this is silly. Trump doesn't have a vagina.

[Desi Lining]

Oh, he doesn't, does he? Then what do you call this? You know.

You know.

There was a time in his life when those folds were as tight as a drum. Smooth, supple, sopping wet. But now he's going through a bottle of neck lube a week just to feel anything at all. And what do you think that does to a man?

[Debbie Lydic]

I'm sorry. I feel so ignorant. I had no idea.

[Desi Lining]

Yeah, well, maybe you should have. And you didn't even ask me if I scored a goal in my hockey game last night. I'm sorry, Desi. I'm sorry. I didn't even have a hockey game last night. I myself, sorry, am going through the early stages of manopause.

[Debbie Lydic]

Wow. Well, that's very brave of you to be so open to talk about it.

[Desi Lining]

Well, we have to break the silence, Desi. We have to end the stigma.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Sure.

[Desi Lining]

Do you know how many gynecologists have told me it's all in my head.

That I should just Take an aspirin and stop texting them pictures of my stool.

[Debbie Lydic]

I hope just one.

[Desi Lining]

34.

[Debbie Lydic]

Wow.

[Desi Lining]

34 doctors. No one will treat me. And don't even get me started on trying to get insurance to cover. You have no idea how hard it is for a man to get proper health care in America.

[Debbie Lydic]

Yes, of course. Okay, so let me ask you this. Is there anything that can treat the symptoms of menopause?

[Desi Lining]

The only thing that's been giving me any relief are these estrogen patches. These are the same ones I see Trump wearing all the time.

[Debbie Lydic]

I thought those were band aids.

[Desi Lining]

Oh, well, what do you think makes more sense? That Trump's getting a continuous stream of low dose estrogen or that he's got a wound on his hand that hasn't healed for like six months? No, he's getting estrogen now, if you'll excuse me. At my age, my neck's not gonna lube itself. So excuse me. Just moved in.

[Debbie Lydic]

Disgusting. Michael Costa, everyone.

When we come back, Lewis Black tells us about the trends of 2025. So don't.

[Desi Lining]

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[Debbie Lydic]

Welcome back to the Daily Show. When a news story falls through the cracks, Lewis Black catches it for a segment we call back in Black.

[Desi Lining]

Everyone who knows me knows I love TikTok. I'm always ticking and talking. Or as my doctor calls it, stroking out. And why do I love TikTok? Because every time I think we might be reaching the end of civilization, I open TikTok. And remember, we already have.

So before what's left of our tiny ADH adult brains leaks out of our pre diabetic ears, take a look at the hottest TikTok trends of 2025. And our first ones is the kids say is dumb af. If you're the parent of a child of a certain age, the new Dictionary.com word of the year will probably sound familiar. It's the slang phrase 6, 7.

Goody. The word of the year is not even a.

What'S the number of the year? Red.

Please tell me more.

[Debbie Lydic]

The slang phrase 6, 7. It's sweeping America and annoying parents and teachers everywhere.

[Desi Lining]

6, 7, 6, 7.

Seriously, what is wrong with these kids? I mean, I thought RFK Jr. Was supposed to be curing autism, not making it worse. And this is why I only hang out in bars. The kids in there would never say 6, 7. They've seen some shit. But this year's trends weren't just stupid. They were also downright upsetting. Why is this high school student sprinting to her car? She's worried about getting shot not with a gun, but with a water pistol. It's part of a nationwide high school craze.

That'S triggering warnings from authorities.

It's called senior assassin. Teenagers ambush their unsuspecting classmates with water pistols.

When you shoot somebody, they're out. Oh, that is offensive. Listen, kids, a school shooters culture is not your costume. But in a way, it's nice to see kids having some fun with traumatic events. Maybe after this they could do a 911 themed trust fall. Never forget about teamwork.

I knew you would. I knew you would. But hey, at least no one's actually getting hurt. Which is more than I can say about these.

It's the classic TV commercial for Kool Aid. And now it's being copied in a destructive social media challenge called the Kool Aid man challenge. Ben, hello.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Is the latest homeowner to have his property vandalized.

[Desi Lining]

He didn't know what caused the damage until he screened surveillance Video taken from across the street. It shows three youngsters running right through.

[Debbie Lydic]

The fence.

[Desi Lining]

Off evolution. We'll take it from here.

These kids are getting a horrible deal. Back in my day, if you got brain damage, at least it came with a scholarship to Florida State.

But fine, go ahead. Give yourself brain damage. Just make sure to protect your kidneys. You'll probably need to sell those down the road. And if you thought 2025 ticked, tick tock trends couldn't get any weirder. Oh, how wrong you are. In a new tick tock trend, parents are picking up their grown teenage children one last time before they get too big. Say uppie.

[Debbie Lydic]

And I'm gonna pick you up.

[Desi Lining]

I think we can safely assume one thing. That man is divorced.

I'll be honest, this made me kind of emotional. I remember the last time my dad held me, it was when I was one minute old. And then he said, are you sure this is mine? Always brings a tear to my eye. But really, before TikTok, how did we even watch strange men lift up their fully grown sons? Oh, right, Binoculars.

What show did you think you were coming to?

On the bright side, if these TikTok trends will finally expose and eliminate the dumbest among us, I'd like to help. Maybe there's still time this year to start my own trend.

What up, squad? Uncle Lou here with the coolest new trend of 2025. It's called the Pickin Up Lewis Black challenge. What happens is you come over and carry me wherever I need to go. Then you wait outside until I'm ready to go to the next bar. I'm getting emotional just thinking about it. You can start by picking me up around 6. Seven assholes.

Desi.

Lewis, Flack, everyone.

[Debbie Lydic]

When we come back, Annie Leibovich will be joining me on the show. So don't go away.

Close your eyes, exhale, feel your body relax, and let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh, they're so fast.

[Annie Leibovitz]

And breathe.

[Debbie Lydic]

Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw the discount they gave me on my first order. Oh, sorry. Namaste. Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order.

[Desi Lining]

1-800-Contacts.

[Debbie Lydic]

This episode is brought to you by Ulta Beauty. Holiday cheer is here. And Ulta Beauty has gifts for everyone on your list. Treat them to fan favorite gift sets from Charlotte, Tilbury and Peach And Lily go all out with timeless fragrances from ysl, Ariana Grande and Carolina Herrera. And you can never go wrong with an Ulta Beauty gift card. Head to Ulta Beauty for gifts that make the holidays brighter and even more beautiful. Ulta Beauty gifting happens here.

Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is a legendary photographer who's powerful new collection of career spanning work is called Women. Please welcome Annie Leibovitz.

[Annie Leibovitz]

I don't know how I got talked into this.

[Desi Lining]

Are you kidding?

[Debbie Lydic]

How did we talk you into this?

[Annie Leibovitz]

No, I still am trying to figure that out.

[Debbie Lydic]

This is. Yeah, well, you'll be asking yourself for the rest of this interview.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Okay, well, just pick me up wherever I start to, you know.

[Debbie Lydic]

Oh my God, things start to fall.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Out of the side of my mouth or something.

[Debbie Lydic]

You're kidding me. You are an absolute dream. I am. You are a legendary photographer.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Well, I love this show and you're amazing, so.

And we're waiting for you to have your own show. Tell John that.

[Debbie Lydic]

Oh, did you hear that? Paramount, John, Paramount. I just wanted to make sure we were rolling on that. Annie's a legend, so we do what she says. Okay?

[Desi Lining]

Okay.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Okay.

[Debbie Lydic]

That's very kind of you to say. Your work, it was so important to me. Coming up, I remember vividly seeing the Demi Moore photograph being very pregnant and it was just the most jaw dropping, exquisite photo at that time. I had never seen pregnant women being shown like that. It was like always with a laundry basket covering their bellies as though it's a shameful secret. And there she was, just standing in her beauty and power and strength.

[Annie Leibovitz]

We really didn't know what we were doing when we did it. I mean, quite honestly, I. In fact, I was sent out by Van a fair to do a cover and they said, well, you know, unfortunately Debi's pregnant, so you'll have to like, you know, come in tight and you know, do what you can. You know, do the best you can.

[Debbie Lydic]

Yeah.

[Annie Leibovitz]

And I happened to know Bruce and Debi and had photographed them before and done some private pictures of them when she was pregnant with her first child. So at the end of our cover sitting, I said, do you want to. Let's, you know, do you want me to photograph you, you know, nude with the second baby? And she said, sure, that'd be great. And then I was looking at her and I was thinking, you know, this is kind of interesting. This could be. This could be. Maybe if you cover yourself in the right places, this could be a cover. Brought it back to New York. And it was Susan Sontag, actually, who said, this is really important. And, you know, we went to Tina Brown and we made sure Demi was comfortable with it, and we did it. And, you know, it was funny because we said, how do we talk about this? You know, what did we do? We didn't quite know what we did. And it was. It turned out to be so important. What's interesting is Rihanna, of course.

[Desi Lining]

Yes.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Who? I mean, you know, I don't know if we could pull that picture up.

[Debbie Lydic]

We do. We have. I mean, good God. Come on.

[Annie Leibovitz]

I mean, you know. I mean.

I mean. And, you know, she took it to a whole new place.

[Debbie Lydic]

Oh, yes, she did. Now, just so you know, when I was pregnant, I thought that's what I looked like. Turns out I look like I was just having a severe allergic reaction for nine months. I mean, that. It's such a moment. It's such a beautiful photo.

[Annie Leibovitz]

No, I mean. I mean, first of all, she. You know, she announced that she was pregnant with her second baby at the super bowl, and then the third one with, you know, at the Met Gala. So, I mean, she. The way she walks around, you know, it's so beautiful. I mean, she's so smart, such an interesting person. And I've tried to write about photographing her, but you just get sort of taken in. I mean, she's really mesmerizing. She's just an amazing person.

[Debbie Lydic]

And it's what you pull out of your subjects, too. You're known for doing.

[Annie Leibovitz]

No, no. I feel like I'm dragged behind a car with.

[Debbie Lydic]

Oh, come on.

[Annie Leibovitz]

You know, with her. She's amazing. She's so smart.

[Debbie Lydic]

You're known for doing an immense amount of research on your subjects. What does that look like? Are you reading?

[Annie Leibovitz]

You've done research, too. I've noticed. You've done a very good job.

[Debbie Lydic]

Well, thank you. That's very. That's very kind. But how does that. What does that look like for you when you do research? Are you shadowing or.

[Annie Leibovitz]

You know, it's just. I don't understand why people don't think you don't do research. I mean, you have to. I mean, you have to know what. Who you're walking in to see and how they've been photographed before and who they are and what they do. I mean, I love. I always think I'm photographing.

Not so much what someone looks like, but what they do and who they are.

[Debbie Lydic]

The thing that I find that's common in all of your photos, particularly in this book, which we're gonna get to is that you're not just showcasing a woman as being beautiful. And they are, they're all beautiful. But it's like you have a way of illuminating their superpower. Whatever it is that they have, whether it be strength or depth or intrigue or a sense of humor. Is that, is that something that, that is planned out for you, or does that happen in the moment? Do you just have to be there to see it?

[Annie Leibovitz]

You know, I, it's interesting because I'm not too sure myself, you know, what it is that I'm, I'm doing. I'm pretty direct and.

You know, I stand on the shoulders of so many great portrait photographers that I have it in the back of my head how I'm seeing something. But it, you know, I'm not alone. I'm like, I'm there with the other person. And it's a very psychological situation. They have to sort of come to terms with themselves and how they imagine they want to be seen. I think we, especially as I get older, I really want us to, to look as best as we can look whoever we are. I mean, it's hard to explain. I can't explain it.

[Debbie Lydic]

No, you did, you did. I want to talk about your drive because you talk about coming up as a young photographer having verve and this insatiable drive. Where does that come from? Is that because you came from a big family, one of six? Where does that come from?

[Annie Leibovitz]

I mean, I think I just, you know, it sounds very corny, but I love what I do and I've been doing it a long time and I've had incredible vehicles to ride on to work with, you know, starting with Rolling Stone magazine and then Van A Fair and then Vogue. And, you know, I just, I love what I do and I love photography more than anything in the world. And, you know, I studied, you know, Cartierson, Robert Frank and.

Became interested in, you know, the world of, you know, Helmut Newton. And I mean, it's just a great. So I, I don't know, I just.

My brothers and sisters seem to have the same problem, really. They're all, we're all, you know, very, very ambitious, driven, kind of workaholics, I guess, you know, kind of.

[Debbie Lydic]

Well, it's worked out.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Yeah.

[Debbie Lydic]

What was it like coming up as a young photographer?

[Desi Lining]

Being.

[Debbie Lydic]

Being in a very male dominated field, probably often being the only woman in a room.

[Annie Leibovitz]

I wasn't really aware of it as much. I used it to my advantage because I, you know, no one really took me seriously or thought, you Know, you know that, you know that I could do anything, you know, so you could kind of wander around. I mean, the early work was repetage and more journalistic and so you could really.

Be somewhere and no one really paid you any attention. And I love it. And then as I got better known, it got a little harder, you know, suddenly my subject was walking up to me and starting to talk to me and I said, no, can you just please stay on the other side of the roof.

[Debbie Lydic]

You do your job, I'll do my. You could wear a mustache, you could go undercover. Just a little disguise. I want to talk about this incredible collection. It's a two volume series.

[Annie Leibovitz]

So I have an incredible publisher, Phaiden, that lets me kind of do kind of what I want to do, more or less, you know. And what happened was, is Hillary Clinton had come to me over a year ago and said, we want to commemorate the original women's book from 1999. And then I thought, well, that's incredible, maybe it's out of print, let's reprint it. And so I'm going to show you.

[Debbie Lydic]

So this is too cool. We have some.

[Annie Leibovitz]

It's too cool.

[Debbie Lydic]

It's also. Not only will you feel strong looking through these photos, but you actually will physically get strong. It's a little.

[Annie Leibovitz]

It's really important to get these, get these babies out of the box.

[Debbie Lydic]

Build that upper body strength.

[Annie Leibovitz]

It's true, but. So we reproduced and reprinted the exact first volume, which was with Susan Sontag. And by the way, it's funny, but I wasn't too sure I wanted to do a book on women. I thought it was too broad of an idea. Too big too, you know, I didn't see how we could do it. And then I went out to Las Vegas and did those photographs for the Showgirls.

[Debbie Lydic]

Yes, we have those. We can put them up.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Yeah, I know, you have to rub out some parts, right?

[Debbie Lydic]

Oh, yes, slight blurs.

[Annie Leibovitz]

But what was amazing is it turned me around. I went back to New York and I said to Susan, let's do the book on women because we don't know what we look like, you know.

It was a surprise. So this book, we just totally shrunk it a little bit and we reprinted it exactly the way it is. It's kind of like a. It's not really a time capsule, but it's really a moment in time. But I thought, you know, why aren't we. Why don't. I've done all this work since, since 1999 on women. I mean, never want to separate women from men. It's just that women's stories need to be told, and we have a lot stories of men, and it'd be nice to have. We need more stories on women, which is why.

Thank you.

So look who I got to. Gloria Steinem and Chimamanda.

[Debbie Lydic]

Chimamanda wrote a beautiful passage.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Amazing.

[Debbie Lydic]

Both of them wrote beautiful pieces. For this book, I just want to reference in the Showgirl series what was so spectacular about that. When you look at the photos, they're side by side. You have the woman. You have the showgirl in her makeup and her costuming and the version that she presents to the world, and then you have the authority, authentic version of her. Both are beautiful. I would argue that the authentic is more intriguing.

[Annie Leibovitz]

I think this is open to discussion, you know, because. And, you know, because I know you were interested in. Has a photograph change from you over time. And I think the Showgirls, I think they still kind of. I'm still trying to sort of understand them on some level, but I met them the night before and in their dressing rooms in their costumes, and they came into the studio the next day. Susan McNamara came in first. And this is true. I said, can I help you? I didn't know who she was. I really didn't know who she was. And she was one of the showgirls. And so I just was so spellbound by the fact that the women came in out of costume and unrecognizable from their. In their costume. So, you know, I don't think it's two different people. They're the same person. It's just, you know, I'm still trying to sort it out, but it's mesmerizing to me.

[Debbie Lydic]

And that was the series that made you think, oh, this could actually be a book.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Yeah, maybe we could do this book.

[Debbie Lydic]

Yeah, yeah. And you also shot an incredible photograph of Michelle Obama. Oh, yes. There she is.

[Annie Leibovitz]

So Michelle agreed to be in the book. And I got a call from her office, and she said.

We photographed for the new book, and we got a call from her office, and she asked if she could wear jeans. And I said, sure. You know, and so I had no idea what we were, you know, sort of getting ourselves into. But she's. She's so. She's so incredible. You know, I think she also told me she was just, you know, driving a car by herself now, and she was just really finding, you know, herself. This is a woman that the first lady that I photographed several times for the covers of Vogue during those eight years. So to see her is this sort of finding, refinding herself. It was really very beautiful.

[Debbie Lydic]

Beautiful, very free, very liberating photo. And then one of your favorites, from what I understand, is the photograph of your mom.

[Annie Leibovitz]

I end up talking about that because inevitably I get this question, what's your favorite photograph? I don't have a favorite photograph, really, but this photograph of my mom, which was done for the first time, the first volume.

[Debbie Lydic]

Yes.

[Annie Leibovitz]

She's the age I am now, and she was afraid of being.

Older. She was nervous. She was afraid of being photographed. She was afraid that she was gonna look older or be older. And then we also have this problem in my family where my mother would always make a smile for pictures. So I was determined not to have her have her smile. And so she didn't like the picture at first. And my father said, I don't like the picture because she's not smiling. You know, but it's an amazing photograph over time because when I look at it, I realize it really feels like the camera's not there. And she's really, like, looking, you know, looking at you. There's no camera there. And I think that's.

That's really what you want to achieve in a portrait, is there's no camera there. Yeah.

[Debbie Lydic]

And I also love that you said that, you know, she was sort of the life of the party and bubbly and charismatic. But what you loved so much about this particular photo is that it showed her intelligence because she was such an intelligent woman.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Thank you. You're doing your research. I love that.

[Debbie Lydic]

I learned from you.

[Annie Leibovitz]

I learned.

[Debbie Lydic]

Learn from the best.

[Desi Lining]

Yeah.

[Debbie Lydic]

This is such a. Such an incredible collection of beautiful photos. And this isn't. It's not just celebrities and star athletes. You have inspiring women from all walks of Life. You have CEOs, you have a NASA mathematician, advocates.

[Annie Leibovitz]

Can I say, if you get the opportunity. I wish I put it more in the front of the book, the bios, which are little haikus on these women in the new book, An Astounding Group of Women. I mean, it could have gone on and on and on and on. And this is just a small selection, but there is a difference between. We couldn't have done this book 25 years ago. And we are really.

You know, in this quiet.

Roaring confidence, as Chimamanda says. I mean, I just think. I think we're an incredible set of people right now as women, and it's much different from 25 years ago.

[Debbie Lydic]

Yes, that's reassuring to hear. And hopefully we continue to Gloria will tell us. And do not go backwards. Whatever the White House wants to bring our way.

[Annie Leibovitz]

No, it's. It's a tough time. It's a tough time. But that's what's interesting about Gloria's essay is she addresses that.

[Debbie Lydic]

Yes.

[Annie Leibovitz]

And she's lived a long life and she said we're not. I have to believe her. We're not going backwards.

[Debbie Lydic]

That's right. That's right. Which is the optimism that we all need right now. I am so grateful for your work. Thank you for doing what you do.

[Annie Leibovitz]

I can't wait.

[Debbie Lydic]

Thank you for being here.

[Desi Lining]

You're an absolute delight.

[Debbie Lydic]

Women is available now.

[Desi Lining]

Annie Leibovitz.

[Debbie Lydic]

We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back after this.

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[Annie Leibovitz]

Your Planet is now marked for death.

[Desi Lining]

Marvel Studios the Fantastic Four First Steps is now streaming on Disney plus. We will protect you as a family. Light em up. Johnny Marvel's first family is certified fresh on rock and tomatoes. That is fantastic. And critics say it's one of the best superhero movies of all time. Marvel Studios the Fantastic Four first steps now streaming on Disney. Rated PG 13. What time has it been? It's clobber time.

[Debbie Lydic]

That's our show for tonight. But before we go, please consider donating to One Simple Wish, a charity that grants wishes to kids in foster care. If you can, head to the link below to grant a wish or donate to their holiday wish fund. Now, here it is, your moment of Zen.

[Desi Lining]

I told you I was about to say that. You know, because I love the weave. The weave. You know what the weave is? Go here. Bing, bing, bing, bing. You always have to get back to the right location, but otherwise they'll criticize you for straying from the speech. If I. By the way, if I read what's on the teleprompter, you'd all be falling asleep right now.

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.

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[Annie Leibovitz]

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[Desi Lining]

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