GOP Wants Greenland Now, Fires Rage in LA, NYC Rages at Congestion Toll

Summary

The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Episode Summary

Title: GOP Wants Greenland Now, Fires Rage in LA, NYC Rages at Congestion Toll
Host: Desi Lydic
Release Date: January 9, 2025

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1. Introduction and Opening Remarks

The episode kicks off with a playful nod to reality TV drama, highlighting the treacherous nature of political landscapes. Desi Lydic sets the stage for a night packed with pressing political issues and cultural commentary.

2. Donald Trump's Controversial Greenland Proposal

Timestamp: [01:30]

The discussion begins with Desi Lydic addressing President-elect Donald Trump's audacious proposal to purchase or invade Greenland. Lydic sarcastically refers to it as Trump's "Louisiana Purchase," emphasizing the improbability and absurdity of the idea.

Notable Quote:

Desi Lydic [01:57]: "I think that the people of Greenland should be honored. This, to me, could be Donald Trump's Louisiana Purchase."

Trevor Noah humorously questions the strategic value of Greenland, poking fun at Trump's vague rationale for the maneuver.

Notable Quote:

Trevor Noah [02:00]: "Will it be exciting if Greenland was part of the United States?"

The segment underscores the chaotic influence Trump is wielding even before officially taking office, with Desi highlighting the disconnect between Trump's actions and practical governance.

3. Trump's Response to the Los Angeles Fires

Timestamp: [03:17]

Shifting focus to natural disasters, the hosts discuss Trump's handling of the horrifying fires in Los Angeles County. Instead of offering support, Trump blames California's Democratic governor, labeling him as "news scum."

Notable Quote:

Desi Lydic [03:24]: "Donald Trump is reminding people what his special brand of leadership looks like during times of crisis."

The segment features a satirical interview with actor Steve Guttenberg, who humorously claims he's moving abandoned cars to aid firefighters, highlighting the absurdity of seeking help from unlikely figures.

Notable Quote:

Desi Lydic [04:41]: "Holy shit. Steve Guttenberg? The actor Steve Guttenberg moving abandoned cars out of the way for firefighters? That is amazing."

4. New York City's New Congestion Pricing Toll

Timestamp: [07:39]

Desi introduces the topic of New York City's pioneering congestion pricing toll, which charges drivers $9 to enter the busiest part of Manhattan south of 60th Street. The hosts debate the effectiveness and public reception of this initiative.

Notable Quote:

Desi Lydic [07:39]: "So don't go away. Welcome back to the Daily Show."

Trevor Noah expresses frustration over the additional financial burden placed on drivers, especially those commuting for work.

Notable Quote:

Trevor Noah [08:41]: "It's horrible. [08:42] Horrible."

The segment includes humorous takes on drivers' attempts to circumvent the toll, such as removing license plates, which Desi critiques with sarcasm.

Notable Quote:

Desi Lydic [10:30]: "Now, covering your car in license plates, that would be clever. But regardless, don't commit crimes, all right?"

Josh Johnson engages with the public, capturing varied opinions on the toll, ranging from frustration to sarcastic acceptance.

5. Interview with Richard Reeves on Modern Masculinity

Timestamp: [16:02]

The latter half of the episode features an in-depth interview with Richard Reeves, President of the American Institute for Boys and Men and author of "The Book of Boys and Why the Modern Man Is Why It Matters and What to Do About It." The conversation delves into the complexities of modern masculinity, gender inequalities, and societal expectations.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Gender Inequality and Education Gaps: Reeves highlights the growing disparities in educational achievements favoring girls, attributing it to earlier maturation and systemic biases. He emphasizes the decline in male representation in teaching and mental health professions as critical issues.

  Notable Quote:

  Richard Reeves [28:40]: "We need hundreds of thousands more male teachers because I think if we want boys to feel just as we want girls to feel that education's for them, that school's for them, we can't just watch the share of men in our classrooms go down and down and down every year and not do anything about it."

• Toxic Masculinity Debate: Reeves critiques the term "toxic masculinity," arguing that it alienates men and hampers constructive dialogue. He advocates for redefining masculinity without pathologizing it, fostering a more inclusive conversation about men's issues.

  Notable Quote:

  Richard Reeves [25:32]: "If you want to people to really lean into an identity, what you do is you pathologize it. What you do is you say something wrong with being that and then watch what people do."

• Political Polarization: The interview touches on how both conservative and liberal factions mismanage gender-related issues, with conservatives wrongly attributing men's struggles to feminism, and liberals neglecting men's issues to focus solely on women's rights.

  Notable Quote:

  Richard Reeves [23:29]: "Their view is that, well, to be fair, what they get right is they have noticed in some ways some of the struggles that men have. And they then make the move of saying, and we know why. It's because of women's rights."

Reeves calls for a balanced approach that acknowledges and addresses men's challenges without undermining the progress made for women's rights, emphasizing that societal well-being depends on the success of all genders.

6. Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts

In the episode's conclusion, Desi Lydic underscores the importance of addressing both men's and women's issues concurrently to prevent societal fragmentation. The hosts briefly revisit Trump's international ambitions regarding Greenland, highlighting global leaders' rejection of his overtures.

Notable Quote:

Desi Lydic [32:03]: "And Canada’s Justin Trudeau is saying there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States."

The episode wraps up with a call to action, encouraging listeners to support the California Fire Foundation, and promotes other Daily Show content available on Comedy Central and Paramount+.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Daily Show: Ears Edition masterfully intertwines political satire with serious discourse on gender issues. Through sharp wit and insightful interviews, the show navigates the complexities of modern leadership, societal challenges, and the necessity for inclusive conversations that bridge gaps between different demographics.

Transcript

[Trevor Noah]

Treachery, Backstabbing, murder. Emmy winning. The traitors is back for an all new season. Here we go again. Join me for the ultimate game of survival, where making it to the end is a matter of life and death.

[Desi Lydic]

This game is torturous.

[Trevor Noah]

I can feel my blood pressure rise.

[Desi Lydic]

If you carry on with that cocky attitude, you might get yourself in trouble.

[Josh Johnson]

Oh, I've missed this.

[Trevor Noah]

The Treasures streaming January 9, only on Peacock. 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.

[Desi Lydic]

Daily stuff. We've got so much to talk about tonight. The right pretends invading Greenland isn't weird as hell. We've got tips for maintaining your insurrection. And you won't believe this, but New Yorkers are complaining about something. But first, Donald Trump is reminding people what his special brand of leadership looks like. So let's get into our continuing coverage of Trump 2.0 coming for the White House.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm going to come.

[Desi Lydic]

Let's kick things off with President elect Donald Trump. He's not even on America's payroll yet, but he's already causing chaos for free. What a workaholic. As you've probably heard, Trump has decided that his first big policy proposal will be buying or perhaps invading Greenland. It's the kind of nonsense no one should take seriously. But Trump said it, so I guess we're all doing this.

[Trevor Noah]

Will it be exciting if Greenland was part of the United States?

[Desi Lydic]

I think that the people of Greenland should be honored. This, to me, could be Donald Trump's Louisiana Purchase. Same size as the Louisiana Purchase in square miles.

[Trevor Noah]

Greenland.

[Desi Lydic]

Strategically, it makes sense because it's halfway point between our country and the uk so it would make sense to have that for war purposes. Yes, war purposes. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I guess we should annex any place that's halfway between us and somewhere else. This is just so sad. I know she's trying to be supportive, but you could tell. Even Ainsley thinks this is a bad idea. And this is a lady excited to marry Sean Hannity. Can you imagine how exhausting it is to treat every one of Trump's dumb ideas like it's a work of art? Oh, sweetheart, what a beautiful drawing. It looks like the Louisiana Purchase. I'm gonna put it on the fridge. But while the Pentagon draws up plans for a war against puffins, Trump is giving us a reminder about what his leadership looks like during times of crisis. Because while everyone else is Deeply concerned with what's going on in Los Angeles right now. Trump is handling the tragedy like the statesman that he is.

[Trevor Noah]

Donald Trump is now weighing in on.

[Desi Lydic]

The horrific fires in Los Angeles county, and he's laying the blame on California's.

[Trevor Noah]

Democratic governor in a social media post.

[Richard Reeves]

Referring to the governor as news scum.

[Trevor Noah]

And writing he is the blame for this.

[Desi Lydic]

Yeah. In the midst of chaos, Donald Trump is taking action by opening, opening up the strategic nickname reserves. Thank you, sir. Although, quick question for Trump. Do you mean new scum or news?

[Trevor Noah]

Come. I'm gonna come.

[Desi Lydic]

Got it. Even though we can't count on the incoming president, some people are stepping up, and it's always heartening to see everybody coming out to help their neighbors, and I do mean everybody.

[Trevor Noah]

It's an important announcement. I wonder if I could just make here on Palisades Drive. If anybody has a car and they leave their car, leave the keys in the car so a guy like me can move your cars and get them up there so that. So that these fire trucks can get up there. It's really, really important. Thank you. Thank you for talking to us live. Sir, what's your name? My name is Steve Gutenberg.

[Desi Lydic]

Holy shit. Steve Guttenberg? The actor Steve Guttenberg moving abandoned cars out of the way for firefighters? That is amazing. Okay. And not only that, but if anyone abandons a baby, he and two other men will raise it for them. Hijinks will ensue, of course, as great as that is to see, officials are warning that now that the fire has reached Steve Guttenberg, it's only two degrees from Kevin Bacon. Now, if you're wondering why Trump isn't focused on helping Californians, it's because he's focused on the people who need him most. His insurrectionists. Trump didn't rule out pardons for those who were charged with committing acts of violence on January 6, 2021. Are you planning to pardon those who were charged with violent offenses?

[Trevor Noah]

Well, we're looking at it.

[Desi Lydic]

We'll be looking at the whole thing, but I'll be making major pardons. Yes. Yeah. On the one hand, it's absolutely shameful that Trump would pardon these rioters, but you have to remember, these people are his ride or dies. They stormed to the Capitol and they shat on a desk for him. No one's ever shat on a desk for me, not once. And I took out a Craigslist ad for him. It's all about loyalty. Plus, he's going to need a personal army for when he invades Greenland. Those puffers aren't going to pepper spray themselves. Plus, he also wants to give insurrectionists a little treat. They must have been so disappointed when January 6th came around this year and they didn't get the chance to riot. But for anyone out there who over prepared for this year's January 6th, there are still some options for you.

[Richard Reeves]

You were ready to storm the Capitol, but then Donald Trump won the election. Now what do you do with all that insurrection gear? No problem. You can just repurpose all that stuff you were going to patriotically end democracy with. Have too many zip ties, make a belt to carry your tools, or create a timeless necklace for your wife. That extra pepper spray can spice up your dinner. Leftover stun gun, Now a car battery jumper. Use a pipe bomb as a dumbbell. And instead of using that flag pole to beat cops, try using it as a flagpole. That horn helmet is your new coat rack. But keep all that lumber you bought to build gallows, because hanging Mike Pence is always an option. This message was brought to you by your local hardware store. We don't accept returns. Next time, we'll discuss how to get vaccines out of your.

[Desi Lydic]

When we come back, we find out why New Yorkers are not walking here. So don't go away. Welcome back to the Daily Show. Winter in New York is always a magical time to freeze your tits off. But this winter, the city is adding something extra special tonight. A first in the nation toll called congestion pricing now in effect in New York City. Millions of drivers paying $9 to access the busiest part of Manhattan south of 60th Street. Huh, that makes sense. One clap. One person here thinks that makes sense? That makes sense. If you charge more to drive in the city, the roads get less congested. Have a problem with that?

[Trevor Noah]

It's horrible.

[Desi Lydic]

Horrible.

[Trevor Noah]

Tonight are coming down on the hard people that are trying to work and make money. I dropped my wife off at the.

[Richard Reeves]

Apartment on 60th street and I got.

[Trevor Noah]

To pay $9 extra to do that. Whoever's putting that bill together, they need to see a psychiatrist.

[Desi Lydic]

See a psychiatrist? This is New York, pal. Everyone's already seeing a psychiatrist. Look, I get it. New York is already a cr. Crazy expensive place to live. The only reason I had kids was so I could split the rent with someone. And I guess for some commuters who don't have other options, this could be a real hardship. But not everyone who's complaining is quite so sympathetic.

[Trevor Noah]

It really hits home because I live right here on 61st street in this building, and my car is right there Parked in front of my building. And if I want to go to turn around to go uptown to visit.

[Desi Lydic]

My kids who live on 79th Street.

[Trevor Noah]

I have to pay $9 to go around the block.

[Desi Lydic]

Well, I guess that's settled. I'll never see my kids again. Buddy, driving is not the only way to get across 20 blocks. You could take the subway or the bus. Or have you considered legs? Legs? The Ford F150 of the body. But some people aren't just complaining. They're taking action. Although not action like taking mass transit. I mean, action like crime. Some motorists are coming up with clever ways to avoid those toll cameras planted strategically around the city. This brazen driver removed his plates altogether. Wait, how is that clever? He just took off his license plate. So that's clever. But when I avoid my taxes by telling the IRS that I'm dead, I'm a wanted felon. Come on. Not right? I don't think so. Removing the license plates isn't clever. Now, covering your car in license plates, that. That would be clever. But regardless, don't commit crimes, all right? Because Mayor Eric Adams doesn't need another thing to worry about.

[Josh Johnson]

Mayor Eric Adams laughed off a question.

[Desi Lydic]

Asking him to assess how it's working so far. But he also reminded New Yorkers congestion.

[Trevor Noah]

Pricing wasn't his idea.

[Josh Johnson]

I have 99 problems, as you know.

[Desi Lydic]

99 problems. I think those are called indict. I don't know if 99 problems is a song people associate most with. Eric Adams. I'd go with in da club or Club can't handle me, or I'm under investigation for bribes from Turkey. Real hip hop heads know that one. Look, I know that this is a big change, and I get that there are some drivers who are worried about the safety on the subway, but the more people who use the subway, the less room the subway masturbators will have to masturbate. So it works out for everyone. We'll see how it all turns out. Although so far, the news has been pretty positive. The Lincoln Tunnel moving well, it's almost unheard of at this hour to see that. So it could be that congestion pricing has gotten people off the road. Look at that. It's working. And, yes, it's only been a few days, so I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm pretty sure that there will never be any problems in New York ever again. Yeah, I think so. Of course, in a city this big, there's bound to be a variety of opinions about congestion pricing. So we sent Josh Johnson to the streets to get some of them.

[Josh Johnson]

New Yorkers disagree on a lot of things. Yankees vs. Mets, pizza toppings, whether you can poop on the subway or not. But now there's one thing ripping New Yorkers apart more than ever.

[Desi Lydic]

Congestion pricing is official. Drivers are now paying to drive south of 60th Street.

[Trevor Noah]

I had the beta congestion pricing.

[Josh Johnson]

How do you feel about it?

[Trevor Noah]

Not too happy.

[Josh Johnson]

Cars or congestion prices?

[Trevor Noah]

Cars. Both.

[Josh Johnson]

The cars. I don't like the idea of all those New Jersey people being taxed so heavily. Do you think that maybe it should go the other way? Maybe New York should have to pay $9 to get into Jersey? Absolutely not. Nobody wants to go to Jersey unless they have to.

[Desi Lydic]

You need cars.

[Josh Johnson]

Yeah. Because cars are very important. Because as a New Yorker, how else are you going to get where you need to be besides the subway or the. Or the bus or bike? Or like a pedicab or the horse drawn carriage scooters, Segways molar blades are in again. Solo wheels, piggyback rides. You know, some. Some nice walking. Walking with a purpose. Yeah, yeah. We. We need more options. You know, they need the money for the MTA. It's supposedly raised $15 billion a year. So, you know, I definitely feel okay for the city doing this. What type of improvements have you made to the mta?

[Trevor Noah]

Regular service that's completely reliable. Teleportation.

[Josh Johnson]

Teleportation is actually way more likely than the regular service. The first thing I would love to fix is that we have lights everywhere. I don't have to be afraid to walk in a dark tunnel when I get off of work at night. Okay. I would also like to have them have some people maybe help the people that I see walking around naked. I'm very sorry about that. That was. That was me. And that was a hot day. I mean, maybe they could use some of that money, put like some Glade plug ins in the subway cars. That'd be a huge improvement right there. I'm guessing because of the crime rate in the subway is probably not the number one priorities. I guess. But if I'm being mugged on the subway and it also stinks, that's two bad things happen to me at the same time. I want to get robbed somewhere clean.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Josh Johnson]

I think hygiene is important. One of my biggest hopes is that with less cars, with less congestion. Right. It'll make Eric Adams trying to get away from the feds a much cooler chase. There you go. He'll be like, born supremacy level chase. So, I mean, less cars means Less noise. Who would have thought with less noise? I can finally hear jackhammers. I can hear sirens. I can hear like you's and screams and stuff. Yeah, that's, you know, that's showing love.

[Trevor Noah]

In New York, saying you. So, you know, I walk around, say you to this camera, you. That's showing love.

[Josh Johnson]

Yeah. A good you lets, you know not only are you in New York, but you're really alive.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Josh Johnson]

Before we part ways, you.

[Trevor Noah]

You too.

[Josh Johnson]

Yeah.

[Desi Lydic]

Thank you, Josh. When we come back, Richard Reeves will be joining me on the show.

[Trevor Noah]

So don't go away.

[Desi Lydic]

Welcome back to the Daily. So my guest tonight is the president of the American Institute for Boys and Men and author of the Book of Boys and why the Modern Man Is why It Matters and what to Do About It. Please welcome Richard Reeves. Well, thank you for being here.

[Trevor Noah]

Thank you.

[Desi Lydic]

I sure appreciate it. Now, this book of Boys and Men is a reboot of Mice and Men, correct?

[Trevor Noah]

Correct. I thought I'd go back to a literary canon and turn it into a book with so many charts in it.

[Desi Lydic]

Oh, yes.

[Trevor Noah]

Because you may remember Of Mice and Men didn't have any charts in it.

[Desi Lydic]

Right.

[Trevor Noah]

This has got lots of charts.

[Desi Lydic]

I was so happy you made that change. And I've always felt the problem was with the mice. So you corrected that.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm completely wrong.

[Desi Lydic]

Yeah. Well, I guess none of these questions are going to work. Start from the beginning. You. You've spent most of your career researching gender inequality, poverty, family policy, and a lot of your research led you to write this book, which was on Obama's reading list over the summer.

[Trevor Noah]

It was.

[Desi Lydic]

Congratulations. No big deal.

[Trevor Noah]

Thank you.

[Desi Lydic]

I never thought I would say this, but could you mansplain this issue to me?

[Trevor Noah]

Absolutely. I'd be very happy. Happy to, I should say. Actually, it was very nice that President Obama did mention it. It was interesting. That happened in 2024. The book came out in 2022. I am not going to criticize President Obama right here.

[Desi Lydic]

Well, he's never been on trend.

[Trevor Noah]

Okay. But I just wondered if it took a little bit of a while for the subject area to become almost one that he could talk about publicly. Because I think part of the problem here, and this is where I'll start mansplaining, please, is that I think a lot of people, especially women, feel like to talk about the problems of boys and men somehow means you've joined the other side, that somehow that means you've turned against women, that somehow to support women's rights and women's concerns about health care or the pay gap or the lack of women in politics means that you then can't care about how your son's doing in school, about your brother's mental health issue, or about your husband's job. And that is insane. But it is the way that this debate about gender is in danger of being framed and has been for the last few years, which is you've got to choose. And if you want to care about women, you're not allowed to care about men. And sometimes the other way around, too. And that's just crazy. But I think it's part of the problem. And so the book and the work, in some ways, I think I saw too many people who were talking about the issues of boys and men doing so that led them almost immediately to say, and I know who's to blame. The women, the feminists. So of course, if I'm struggling, it's because you're sitting there, right? It's because you're doing better. And that whole zero sum frame, I think, is just getting in the way of a better conversation about it, because most people are perfectly capable of thinking two thoughts at once, right? They can worry about women and they can worry about money, but that's not where they are right now.

[Desi Lydic]

I'm glad you addressed that, because I think there is that feeling among feminists, particularly in this moment in time, when reproductive rights are in peril and, and there's the equal pay and all kinds of things. Women are not the feeling. The immediate gut reaction is, well, let me grab the world's tiniest violin, like, so.

[Trevor Noah]

Sorry, roll your eyes a bit.

[Desi Lydic]

Right? Or roll your eyes a little bit. But you're absolutely right. And the two things can be true at the same time.

[Trevor Noah]

Yes, And I get that feeling. I think it's actually important not to dismiss that feeling. I think that anybody who doesn't find this a slightly difficult conversation, like how do we talk about the rising suicide rates among men, the falling wages among men, the troubles that boys are having at school? How do we do that in a way that makes sure that we don't in any way let up the work we still need to do for women? So I get that. I think it should be a difficult conversation. But just because it's difficult doesn't mean we shouldn't have it, because someone's having it and they're having it online. And I, you know, I'm afraid that the difficulty, the discomfort that many people have had because of their support for women in just acknowledging that there are lots of ways in which A lot of men, especially young men, are also not doing great today. Just failing to acknowledge that it leaves a massive open space for a bunch of other people to come along, possibly online and say, you are struggling, that's the women's fault. Come to my website or vote for me or whatever. And so the neglect of male problems is not good, not only not for men, but in the long run, it's not good for any of us either. It just creates a massive vacuum in our culture and in our politics. And so I'm very frustrated. I understand the hesitation, but unless you go past the hesitation, have this kind of conversation, the fact that we lose 40,000 men a year to suicide in the US now, and that it's risen most among young men since 2010, the fact that that's a problem doesn't mean that the gender pay gap isn't also a problem. And I'm sorry, but anybody who says, I have to choose between caring about those two things, and I'm only allowed to care about one of them, is no one's friend. And I don't care if on the left or the right, we have to.

[Desi Lydic]

Rise together, particularly in this moment in time, coming out of the election. I think many people thought that this election was going to be a referendum on reproductive rights. And as it turned out, it was a referendum on how poorly young people are doing, particularly young men. What do you think Trump says about modern American masculinity in this moment?

[Trevor Noah]

Well, I think the first thing is to say, of course, it was about lots of things, of course, and we're all in danger of, like, I've written a book about men, and so it's in my interest to say it was all about men, I don't think it was mostly about that. But to the extent we saw a big gender gap among young people, especially in voting. So we saw young women move a little bit to the right, but young men moved a lot to the right in this last election. It's the biggest gender gap we've seen in that generation. What I think what that says is that simply by signaling to men, especially to young men, we see you, we like you, we're on your podcasts, et cetera. That was in contrast to a Democrat message that basically didn't have anything for men in it, because it was a sense of like, we're the women's party, we're going to double down on women's rights. And again, it's not that there's anything wrong with that, but if that's all young Men heard. And then you've got these guys over here saying, yeah, we can see you, we can hear you, and we're going to go on the podcast that you're listening to, et cetera. Well, in the end, in politics, something usually beats nothing. And on the Democrat side, I'm afraid to say, we heard deafening silence on these issues because of that fear that would somehow undermine their claim to be a party that was on behalf of women. And actually, what we need is a political party and political leaders who are on all our sides and who don't frame it as a false choice, who care about your son and your daughter.

[Desi Lydic]

That's absolutely true. We can see how the Democrats kind of misstepped in that area, and there's room for growth. What do you think the conservatives are getting wrong?

[Trevor Noah]

Their view is that, well, to be fair, what they get right is they have noticed in some ways some of the struggles that men have. And they then make the move of saying, and we know why. It's because of women's rights. It's because of feminism. It's because of the rise of women over here that we've seen the fall of men over here. That is completely untrue. Like, we rise together or we don't rise at all. We're going to have families together. We're going to make TV shows together. As a society, we can't flourish if either men or women are floundering. We need both to do well. And so what the conservatives do is identify the real problems, in many cases of boys and men, and then completely falsely and inaccurately say, that's the fault of women or the rise of women. And so we have to go back. And so the problem is that so many people feel like there's a right, a reactionary right that says we need to go back to the way it was when your father was around your grandfather.

[Desi Lydic]

Let's go back, make America great again.

[Trevor Noah]

Let's make America male again. Right? Let's bring back the breadwinner male and women who know their place and all of that, because it was kind of simple then, so they harkened back. But on the left, there's a sense of like, well, actually, maybe we don't need men. Maybe men are toxic, and so maybe you should be more like your sister. And actually, if men are given the choice between becoming their father or their grandfather and becoming their sister, then no wonder they're lost. And so we have to find a way to talk about masculinity and men and what's happening to them in a way that is entirely compatible with gender equality. That doesn't give any ground at all on what we need to do for gender equality, but also doesn't say, and I'm afraid people do do this, they say men don't have problems, men are the problem. And if we continue to just see men as problems rather than also having problems, then it's going to be a very, very difficult time for us over the next few years.

[Desi Lydic]

You have, you have strong feelings about the term toxic masculinity. Is that just your toxic masculinity speaking?

[Trevor Noah]

It could be. It's very hard to know. Isn' impossible to know? Well, I didn't used to be so against it, but actually what I noticed is that when you go into a conversation with men and you have that deficit frame, right. So it's basically how can we make you less toxic? Right. I have a vision for you. You could be a non toxic man. That's not very inspiring. I raised three boys to their 20s and I hope I did a better job of saying in the future, boys, you might be actually not poisonous. Wouldn't that be amazing? It's such a fair point. So actually it pushes men away from a productive conversation. You put those two words next to each other. And it also has now become so broadened as a term. It used to be used in a very specific way around crime and so on. And it basically didn't exist before 2016. No one had heard the term before 2016. And of course we kind of know why it might have come in 2016.

[Desi Lydic]

I wonder what happened in 2016 to inspire that.

[Trevor Noah]

Well, actually one thing happened to is that I become a US citizen. Oh, congrats.

[Desi Lydic]

What a time in America.

[Trevor Noah]

And I think we can all agree how great things have gone.

[Desi Lydic]

Yes, thank you for that.

[Trevor Noah]

I came here, so I've been UK by background and so. But so it drives men away. But actually more fundamentally, I think that it gets us into a place where we are just saying how can we take out the bad stuff from men? And that's in no way, of course, to say that we don't need men to kind of do better and step up. But I think that the idea that masculinity itself might have something kind of wrong with it is intellectually wrong, but also politically incredibly dangerous. If you want people to really lean into an identity, what you do is you pathologize it. What you do is you say something wrong with being that and then watch what people do. And so if you want men actually to think less about their masculinity. Parade their masculinity less. Perform their masculinity less. Don't talk about it as toxic. That's a recruiting sergeant for the reactionaries if you do that. So it's an incredibly ineffective, and I actually think now an offensive term, and which is simply stop using it.

[Desi Lydic]

Will you walk us through your girls rule, boys drool theory in your. In your book?

[Trevor Noah]

I don't think I call it that.

[Desi Lydic]

Well, I think that's how I read it.

[Trevor Noah]

Is that how you read it?

[Desi Lydic]

I read it. Girls rule, boys drool. Seriously. Maybe it was just technically Girls rule chapter.

[Trevor Noah]

I think you're womansplaining my book.

[Desi Lydic]

I might be womansplaining your book. Tit for tat. Tit for tat.

[Trevor Noah]

So in the education system now, we have huge gender gaps favoring girls and women. That's relatively new. I mean, that's happened in the last 20, 30 years. But now, if you look at high schools, like the top 10% of high school students, 2/3 of them are girls. There's actually a bigger gender gap on college campuses today in the US than there was in the 1970s, but it's the other way round, right? So we're 60, 40, female, male now on college campuses. And I think a big part of the reason for that is I'll use your language of rule and drool, which is that, like, as every parent can tell you, on average, boys just grow up a little bit later. They mature a little bit later. And I'm not pathologizing them for that. That's.

[Desi Lydic]

Do they ever catch up?

[Trevor Noah]

My. The very good chart I have on this in my book, it only goes up to the age of 25, and we haven't caught up by 25. Oh, wow. The chart runs out and it's actually around things like. And this probably won't come as a surprise to anybody. It's stuff like organizational skill, like, it's stuff like turning your homework in or remembering to pick up your dry cleaning a little bit later. And it's just on the average, like, men and boys are just not as quite developed. One of the reasons for that, by the way, is that girls enter puberty about a year earlier, and that triggers some brain development. And so the very short version of this, and I'm not a biochemist, so I hope this is basically right, puberty causes this bit of your brain to grow, and this bit of your brain is the bit that tells you to turn in your chemistry homework. Right. That was a bit of A simplification. But basically what that means is the average 15 year old girl, 16 year old girl, is older than the average 15 year old boy in terms of her development. I think that's why we see some of these education gaps now. And the reason we didn't see them before was because we were so busy holding girls down in the education system that we couldn't see that. But I think as we've made the education system a bit more equal, what we've actually seen is this greater maturity of girls just starts to show up.

[Desi Lydic]

So what are some tangible solutions that we that could help fix this problem?

[Trevor Noah]

Well, in the education system, the thing I probably feel most strongly about is the fact that the cratering share of male teachers has to be reversed. So since the 80s, we've seen the share of male teachers in our classrooms go from 33% to 23%. There are now more women in STEM than there are men in teaching. The first is great and we need to do more. But how can we just watch the share of men in our classrooms go down and down and down? My son is actually who struggled himself in school. He's actually just started working as a fifth grade teacher in Baltimore. And I couldn't be prouder of it. I couldn't be prouder of it. He actually, he struggled to go to school when he was at school. So I did remind him that as a teacher he will have to go. But that's one. And we need hundreds of thousands more male teachers because I think if we want boys to feel just as we want girls to feel that education's for them, that school's for them, we can't just watch the share of men in our classrooms go down and down and down every year and not do anything about it. And so I applaud the Biden administration's push for a million women into construction. I applaud all their pushes for women into stem, et cetera. That's terrific. Where are the initiatives to get men into teaching men into mental health care? Those are just as important. And we cannot underrepresent men in those key professions. And so my son's an n of 1. We just need about another million men to get into teaching. I've done my bit.

[Desi Lydic]

Well, from your lips to God's ears. Thank you for coming on. Thank you for having this conversation with me. It's an important one and I hope we all continue having it. Thank you for having me. A Boys and Men is available now. Richard Reeves, everybody. We're gonna take a chance right here. Thank you.

[Trevor Noah]

That's our show for tonight.

[Desi Lydic]

But before we go, please consider supporting the California Fire Foundation. They are working on the ground with local fire agencies and community organizations to provide support to residents. If you can, please donate at the link below. Now, here it is, your moment of Zen and David Back to the President elect's demands to take over the Panama Canal, Greenland and Canada. Tonight, the Prime Minister of Denmark, which owns Greenland, is declaring Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either. And Canada's Justin Trudeau is saying there isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States.

[Trevor Noah]

Explore more shows from the Daily Show Podcast universe by searching the Daily Show Wherever you get your podcast, watch the Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount plus Paramount Podcasts.