The Precap | Ronny Chieng - It's Always Epstein Week

Summary

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The Daily Show: Ears Edition — “The Precap | Ronny Chieng — It’s Always Epstein Week”

Date: November 17, 2025
Host: Nicole Conlon
Guest Host: Ronny Chieng

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Episode Overview

This special “Precap” edition features Daily Show writer Nicole Conlon in conversation with the week’s guest host Ronny Chieng. Broadcasting from Miami (for Ronny) and New York (for Nicole), they preview upcoming show topics and reflect on the biggest news stories of the week, blending sharp comedic commentary with genuine political insight. Topics range from the government shutdown fallout, Epstein emails, and the death of the penny to quirky viral moments and global headlines like a possible conflict in Venezuela and Mr. Beast’s new Saudi theme park.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ronny’s Miami Musings and Becoming American

• Ronny’s Impressions of Miami (01:35–03:15):
  • Views Miami as a city of contrasts — wealthy yet shady, full of institutions but also the “underbelly” seen in pop culture (e.g. Scarface, Cocaine Cowboys).
  • Now that he’s become an American citizen, he observes US cities and politics with an “anthropological” eye.

“Miami is an interesting American city...it looks like a city of immigrants, but it’s also a city of MAGA. It’s a city of law and order…and it’s also cocaine cowboy/Scarface/Godfather II.”
— Ronny Chieng (02:04)

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2. U.S. Government Shutdown: Democrats Cave, the Filibuster, and Flight Chaos

The Longest Shutdown Ever (03:33–10:42):

• General Sentiment: Both Ronny and Nicole see political apathy among the public, with only major events like the shutdown affecting regular people (e.g. air traffic control chaos).
• Democrats’ Dilemma (05:07–05:32):
  • Nicole: “So, the Democrat motto is all pain, no gain.”
• Blame Split (05:28–06:09):
  • Nicole notes poll data: 52% blame Republicans/Trump, 42% blame Democrats.
• The Filibuster Debate (06:09–07:12):
  • Ronny highlights the GOP’s surprising reluctance to end the filibuster even when they could gain an advantage, seeing it as “holding onto vestiges of institutional democracy.”
• Systemic Dysfunction (07:12–08:21):
  • Ronny references the intentional inefficiency of the US system: “America’s government is inefficient by design...no one person can quickly seize power.”
• Air Traffic and Essential Services (08:30–10:42):
  • Both agree air traffic control should be deemed essential.
  • Ronny shares his touring struggles:

    “As someone who was flying regularly during the shutdown, it was like, book five flights and see which one goes.” (09:31–10:09)

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3. Epstein Email Revelations: Headline and Fatigue

New Bombshells...Sort Of (11:54–15:21):

• Reactions to the “Epstein Drop” (12:03–13:52):
  • Nicole: “They're just, like, kind of weird.”
  • Ronny: “Is it crazy enough to stop anybody? Because it seems like the American public has either a high tolerance for nonsense now or a low trust of what’s in it.”
  • Commentary on Trump’s long, public links to Epstein — none of these facts budge public opinion.
• The Never-Ending Headlines (14:12–15:09):
  • Nicole: “I used to wait for a new album from my favorite band, now I can’t wait for the new Epstein drop.”
  • Ronny: “It’s never good. It’s never profound. It just makes you sick.”

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4. The Penny Is Gone: End of an Era

US Stops Minting the Penny (15:21–18:59):

• Practical Impact:
  • Ronny: “I moved to America in 2015. I have not used a single coin in 10 years.”
• International Comparison: Singapore eliminated its penny two decades ago — no public uproar.
• Green Energy Angle (17:52–18:09):
  • Nicole: “Maybe this is a move for green energy, because we need all that copper for our grid.”
• Pennies as Souvenirs (18:18–18:59):
  • They joke about policing penny-smashing machines at tourist attractions.

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5. The “Fedora Detective” at the Louvre

A Viral Moment (19:03–21:28):

• Ronny and Nicole riff on a 15-year-old French boy, Pedro Elias Garzon Delvo, dressing like a noir detective and (almost, but not quite) being in the right place for a Louvre heist.

“Shout out to anyone who’s dressing up these days. Bring back some class.”
— Ronny Chieng (19:40)

• Nicole jokes: “He’s going to solve the Epstein files.”

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6. Epstein Files: Will Congress Finally Release Them?

Political Theater and Partisan Branding (22:22–27:13):

• Upcoming Vote: The House is expected to vote on releasing more Epstein files after swearing in a new member.
• Republican Messaging:
  • Ronny: “It’s never infrastructure week, but it’s always Epstein week.” (23:43)
  • Nicole: “Republicans have spent…years cultivating the QAnon-type person...” (24:46)
  • The paradox: Republicans own the “anti-pedophile” issue, while Democrats failed to act when they had opportunity.
• Optimism (or Not) for Action:
  • Ronny: “It sounds like they have the numbers and the political will to release [the] Epstein files this week.”
  • Nicole and Ronny both express skepticism, given the pattern of delay and avoidance.

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7. Potential US–Venezuela Conflict

Rumors of War (27:19–31:41):

• Trump and cabinet members are making noise about military actions in Venezuela, specifically to combat “narco-terrorists.”
• Ronny reflects on the futility and insanity of “extrajudicial killings,” questioning if unilateral action is justified.

“You don’t do extrajudicial killings because you don’t know who you’re killing...that’s why you kind of need the justice system.”
— Ronny Chieng (31:20)

• Nicole: “If we go to war with Venezuela, everybody will stop talking about Epstein.”

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8. Mr. Beast Opens ‘Beastland’ Theme Park in Saudi Arabia

Entertainment and Safety Worries (31:41–34:41):

• Mr. Beast opens a stunt-inspired theme park requiring on-site divers, firefighters, and EMTs.
• Ronny: “I actually thought it would be pretty safe until he said that.”
• Nicole, dryly: “If I went to an amusement park and they were like, ‘Don’t worry, we have a full rescue team, including divers on staff,’ I’d be like, I'm not going.”

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9. Daily Show & Tell: Recommendations

Ronny Chieng (36:01–39:51):

• Recently finished reading 1776 by David McCullough, reflecting on how recent US crises pale compared to the existential struggles the US faced in its founding.

“Whatever moment we live in that we think is the most important...in 50, 100 years, it’s going to be something else completely.”
— Ronny Chieng (39:38)

Nicole Conlon (39:59–40:42):

• Recommends the detective show Ludwig starring David Mitchell (available on Britbox/Amazon), praising his comedic and dramatic talents.

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Notable & Memorable Quotes

• On Political Dysfunction

  “America’s government is inefficient by design…so no one person can quickly seize power and destroy that, take over everything.”
  — Ronny Chieng (07:25)

• On Party Politics & Messaging

  “So, the Democrat motto is all pain, no gain.”
  — Nicole Conlon (05:28)

• On Viral Fame

  “Shout out to anyone who’s dressing up these days. Like, come on. Bring back some class.”
  — Ronny Chieng (19:40)

• On Theme Park Safety

  “I actually thought it would be pretty safe until he said that [about the rescue team].”
  — Ronny Chieng (33:14)

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Important Timestamps

| Timestamp (MM:SS) | Segment Description | |-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------| | 01:08–03:33 | Miami: Ronny’s impressions & anthropological perspective| | 03:33–10:42 | Government shutdown: politics, public impact, flights | | 11:54–15:21 | Epstein emails: headline fatigue, political inertia | | 15:21–18:59 | The penny eliminated: practical and cultural effects | | 19:03–21:28 | Fedora detective at the Louvre | | 22:22–27:13 | Epstein files: impending Congressional vote | | 27:19–31:41 | Venezuela: talk of military action, Ronny’s skepticism | | 31:41–34:41 | Mr. Beast’s ‘Beastland’ and safety concerns | | 36:01–39:51 | Show & Tell: Book and TV recommendations |

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Final Thoughts

Blending their trademark blend of humor and sharp social commentary, Nicole Conlon and Ronny Chieng dissect the news of the week, highlighting the ironies and dysfunctions of American politics, the fatigue of endless scandals, and the small but telling changes in American life (like losing the penny). The episode closes on a reflective note about historical perspective and the fleeting nature of today’s crises — all with plenty of quotable one-liners.

For full context and comedy, catch Ronny Chieng hosting The Daily Show this week.

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Transcript

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[Nicole Conlon]

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[Nicole Conlon]

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[Sponsor/Advertiser]

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You're listening to Comedy.

[Nicole Conlon]

Welcome to the pre cap, where we sit down with this week's Daily show host to preview what's coming up and recap some of the news that we might have missed. I'm Nicole Conlon. I'm a writer at the Daily show, and I am joined today by Mr. Ronnie Chang. Hi, Ronnie. Hello. How are you?

[Ronnie Chang]

I'm okay. Thanks for asking. Thanks for doing this.

[Nicole Conlon]

Oh, this was easy for me. I didn't even have to leave my apartment.

[Ronnie Chang]

Oh, well, okay. Well, then, no, thank you for doing this. I'm in Miami right now.

[Nicole Conlon]

Ooh, are you doing shows?

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, doing some shows. Trying to get with my MAGA people and overthrow the government.

[Nicole Conlon]

Okay, perfect. Well, let me know how that goes.

[Ronnie Chang]

Sure. If I succeed, I'll let you know.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah. You excited about hosting the show this week?

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, always. Always excited to host. I think it's the best job in comedy. Daily Show, Absolutely.

[Commentator/Guest]

A dream.

[Ronnie Chang]

And I'll Miami. What an interesting city, by the way.

[Nicole Conlon]

I've never been.

[Ronnie Chang]

Oh, you haven't been to Miami? You gotta come. It's great.

[Nicole Conlon]

What are you doing while you're there? Aside from comedy?

[Ronnie Chang]

Nothing. Just doing two shows. And then the older I get, the less I'm able to maximize my time in a city before a show. Now it's all I can do to just do the two shows and get out. But Miami is an interesting American city, and this is coming from a place of ignorance on my part. So I'm not saying I'm an expert in Miami, but my impressions of Miami as someone who watched Scarface and Cocaine Cowboys, the documentary sure is that this was always a kind of city where it was wealthy and developed, but also had this kind of shady side to it and underbelly. Yeah, that's kind of never changed. It's always been like this weird extremes. You know, it looks like a city of immigrants, but it's also a city of maga. It's also, it's. It's a city of law and order and like institutions, banking and you know, financial institutions and, and it's a clean kind of developed city, but it's also cocaine cowboy slash Scarface slash Godfather Part 2. You know, like they all kind of.

[Nicole Conlon]

You'Re like a documentary filmmaker who goes to a new culture and you're like, Miami is a land of contrast.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah. You know, but I mean it fits. Right. Because I, I only became American this year. So for me, I still view America like it, like, you know, the way Logical for you.

[Commentator/Guest]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

It's anthropological. It is.

[Nicole Conlon]

Let's talk about some of the stories that we might talk about this week on the show, please. Okay. The big one is that the Democrats caved and the government is reopening after its longest shutdown ever.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, they should. Good. I feel like most Americans are kind of apathetic when it comes to politics. Maybe I'm wrong, I hope I'm wrong. But my general feelings are apathetic. So they never see any real world consequences to the stuff that you and I look at on the news, you know, because what deep into it. Right. So we'll be like, oh, this legislation, oh this congressman. And for the day to day person, I feel like they rarely ever see the effects of this. Whereas for this shutdown, I mean like because they shut down, we couldn't fly to do our, to tell our dumb jokes. You know, airports are insane. So I hope, I hope, my hope is that people actually felt the pain, the kind of consequences of elections a little bit. You know, I'm not sure if they did. And Democrats caving, the moderate position is that it is a painful position to hold because you are withholding genuine kind of food benefits. You know, there could be some real suffering involved. And so can you blame people for caving? I don't know. You know, on the other hand, it's like if you're winning, why did you let your foot off the, off the pedal, you know? Yeah.

[Nicole Conlon]

It feels like a classic Democrat move of like that, like get it, you're trying to be compassionate and you're doing the right thing, but you did the, you had the worst of both worlds of like if you caved immediately, nobody would have lost any food.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yes.

[Nicole Conlon]

And by caving right now, you also don't win anything.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah. It's the worst of both.

[Nicole Conlon]

So it's the Democrat motto is all pain, no gain.

[Ronnie Chang]

But I'm very curious to know, genuinely asking like how much of this shutdown is for people who did care about the shutdown, who are angry about the shutdown, how many of those people would blame Republicans or Democrats? I am genuinely curious because it's not clear to me because Republicans control every branch of government, but yet this shutdown seemed to be a Democrat thing. So I don't know.

[Nicole Conlon]

You know, it's actually not as. It's more evenly split than I thought. It looks like 52% blame Trump and. Or congressional Republicans and 42% blame congressional Democrats.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, see, I don't think that. I think that's still equal. I don't think that's a heavy. And the other thing that's interesting about this shutdown was that they had a chance to remove the filibuster and they didn't.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

So the last semblance of institutional kind of traditional government politics, which is the filibuster even, you know, even in this day and age of complete disruption of politics, the Republicans didn't get rid of it when they could have. Like, if you're playing pure, if you're purely trying to win the system, you would have gotten rid of it. Right. Because now is the time you can. So the fact that they didn't, I feel, is also kind of a little interesting. Right. That someone somewhere was like, oh, we can't do that. You know, to pass legislation, you need an overwhelming majority.

[Nicole Conlon]

Right.

[Ronnie Chang]

And so if you get a filibuster, you're saying that you just need a 51% and we can pass any legislation. And even Republicans were scared to do that. You know, they were scared to do that. I guess, you know, for me, that's kind of like a sign of holding on to the vestiges of, you know, some semblance of the institutional democracy of America.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah. At the same time, it. It feels on brand to me that the. The vestige that we're holding onto is also the most, like, annoying. It is longest part of the American democratic process.

[Commentator/Guest]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

I mean, I read somewhere, like a long time ago that America's government is inefficient by design, so that no one person can quickly seize power and destroy that, take over everything. And I gotta say, I think there's some wisdom in that. So obviously, the downsides, we see it every single goddamn day in America, this kind of gridlock, inefficiency. But I think the positive side of it is that it's just too hard to take over every single part of government, you know, just because it's just so inefficient. Yeah, it's hard. It's hard. To change the Constitution is hard. I would like to ask a lawyer, though, whether the Republicans could get rid of the filibuster, pass legislation, and then reinstate the filibuster before they get out of office. I mean, if you are just purely gaming the system, wouldn't that be the play?

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, it's. Look, you should write to, I don't know, Mitch McConnell and tell Mike Johnson.

[Ronnie Chang]

Mike Johnson? Yeah, Mike Johnson.

[Nicole Conlon]

I got a great idea.

[Ronnie Chang]

Great idea. Yeah. Another thing about the shutdown is, do you think it's time that they just make it so that fucking air traffic control is an essential service?

[Nicole Conlon]

Yes, I think so. It's. I mean, the, the damage was done to air traffic control in the 80s when Reagan fired everybody. And it feels like they've just been like, trying to catch up since then. And so I think they need to, first of all, staff way back up, and second of all, probably make it an essential service.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, I mean, this sounds. Look, the environmentalist in me is like, oh, they stop all the flights. Oh, that's. That's good, you know. Good. The only thing that can stop, you know, capitalism from destroying the environment is.

[Nicole Conlon]

I guess, grounding all of our planes.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah. Free market capitalists who destroy. Yeah, like, grounding all of it. But so that was good, I thought, you know, everyone, chill out. Don't fly unless you have to, you know. But then do you know anybody who.

[Nicole Conlon]

Actually canceled a flight for it?

[Ronnie Chang]

It's too hard to say because some people, maybe they didn't cancel, maybe they just didn't book. So I don't know. I don't know. But I, as someone who was flying freaking regularly during the shutdown, dude, it was. It was like, you know, book five flights and see which one goes.

[Nicole Conlon]

Really? You noticed a big difference?

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, if. Because I was touring for, you know, I was trying to do these dumb jokes all over the country, and so we, we had to book five flights, and then we see which one goes. And then you try to book the first flight out the next morning and you. The who time, you know, you're squeezing your. Because, you know, you're clenching your butt because it's like, am I gonna make this show in time in Chicago? And, you know.

[Nicole Conlon]

But did you make it to all of them?

[Ronnie Chang]

I did. I did make it to all of them. So it. But not, you know, it was definitely like swimming uphill to, you know, try to get these. Because they, they would. Every fight would get pushed back by seven hours, and then you would get there and then they would push it back another three hours, and then you were scared the whole time, you know, wow.

[Nicole Conlon]

But, well, hopefully that's over and you will get to all of your shows on time.

[Ronnie Chang]

That's the most important thing.

[Nicole Conlon]

Not clenched.

[Ronnie Chang]

I'm a single issue voter.

[Nicole Conlon]

You're a single issue voter. Get me to my shows on time.

[Ronnie Chang]

Get me to my show so I can tell these racist jokes. Which party will enable that?

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[Nicole Conlon]

So the other big news this week is that a bunch of new Epstein emails just dropped and they're crazy.

[Ronnie Chang]

And they are crazy, but are they crazy enough?

[Nicole Conlon]

I don't. They're. What is more interesting about them is that they're just, like, kind of weird. And then there's also some that Jeffrey Epstein wrote to. He, like, emailed himself.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yes.

[Nicole Conlon]

And it is a combination of, like, him recording, like, incriminating evidence that he could use against people, but then also just like, ideas that he had.

[Ronnie Chang]

Bits he was using. Some bits he was like, this could be good.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah. Jeffrey Epstein waking up the night after emailing himself being like, what did I mean by that?

[Advertiser/Promo Voice]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

What was. Yeah, yeah. So the emails are out. But again, it's like, does this. Is it crazy enough to stop anybody? Because it seems like the American public has either a high tolerance for nonsense now or a low trust of what's in it. Like, they won't believe it if they see it. So, you know, and it's also the. The what is crazy Is that, I mean, Trump was known to be a friend of Epstein for decades because back in the, back in like the 80s and 90s, it was like the world that Trump traveled in, he was like, you know, the playboy, fun loving rich guy in New York. So when he was womanizing in New York, it was seen as like a, it was like a cool thing, right? Oh, look at this womanizer dude. So he openly talked about womanizing with Jeffrey Epstein. So all this is on the record. You know, he would be like, yeah, the only person who loves women more than me, I think, is Jeffrey Epstein, you know, and we both love beautiful women. And then now it's like, oh, not only were you womanizing, you are straight up, you know, in this is very dark sex trafficking world. So that's why, I don't understand, like, there's no dispute of that. So why, why is, why, why would.

[Nicole Conlon]

The white males make a difference on.

[Ronnie Chang]

Or why do his followers. Will this move the needle is what I'm. I, I don't even know. You know, I feel like nothing moves the needle.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, it's, it is frustrating because it, like they released some of them. Just release all of them. Why are we waiting? Just release all of them.

[Ronnie Chang]

There's more.

[Advertiser]

Okay.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yes, there are more, which is also like this sent a lot of emails.

[Ronnie Chang]

Sure. Yeah. I mean, that tracks right. In the 90s, it wasn't text messaging, it was emailing on your BlackBerry. So you would, you would be kind of emailing everybody. You wouldn't. Yeah, I mean, every time we think we pull up something which is totally disgusting, and we're like, this should be it, right? Like this, this should sink anyone's political career, if not outright land them in jail. And it never happens.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

So I don't know, what are we.

[Ronnie Chang]

Going to see this week, you know, in, in emails? Can we, you know these disgusting emails to come up?

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, that has been. One weird element of this whole thing is like I'm. I used to wait for like a, like a new album from my favorite band and now I'm like, oh, I can't wait for that new Epstein drop.

[Ronnie Chang]

I know, it's so.

[Nicole Conlon]

I can't wait to read what these old perverts are talking about.

[Ronnie Chang]

It's never good. It's never good. It's never, it's never profound. It's always just profane and just, just makes you sick. Everything that comes up always makes you sick.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah. Well, on that depressing note, let's move on to the next story, which is that the beloved Penny the unit of currency is no more.

[Ronnie Chang]

Rip, rip the penny.

[Nicole Conlon]

They're done minting them. Ronnie, how do you feel about the penny going away?

[Ronnie Chang]

I'm surprised that conservatives are okay with this, but I guess they're okay with anything that guy does. But, I mean, objectively speaking, I'm totally down. Get rid of the penny. I personally, I moved to America in 2015. I have not used a single coin in 10 years.

[Nicole Conlon]

Wow.

[Ronnie Chang]

I round up and I, you know, I tip. I round up and tip. I have not touched a coin in 10 years. So I'm all for, let's get rid of the penny, you know?

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, I think it's fine. My big. My question is, like, if we're not making them any more, is everything just going to be, like, in units of five now?

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah.

[Nicole Conlon]

Like, what if you pay for something with cash and it's like 1997 or whatever, do you just not get those three cents back?

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah. You don't get it. Great question. I think they should just stop making things in, you know?

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah. Denomination?

[Ronnie Chang]

Just five cents. Just do it. We in Singapore, they did that, like, 20 years ago, I think.

[Nicole Conlon]

Really?

[Ronnie Chang]

They got. They got rid of the $0.01 coin, so everything was $0.05 minimum, like, in increments.

[Nicole Conlon]

Did that have some weird impact where, like, it made a bunch of people, like, gain or lose money as a result, or did it. Did it not matter at all?

[Ronnie Chang]

Singaporeans are some of the most, like. Like, they complain the most about. And even they didn't complain that hard about this.

[Nicole Conlon]

Okay.

[Ronnie Chang]

And they were. They're like the Karens. They'll complain about everything. And I don't remember anyone being outraged over it just because it was like, it's. So it was actually convenient for the citizen.

[Nicole Conlon]

Right.

[Ronnie Chang]

I think this might be convenient for Americans. I don't know. Do you use coins?

[Nicole Conlon]

No. Almost never. They do. They do seem to amass in my car's cup holders, and I don't know where they're coming from, but we have a bunch. We have, like, a big change jar in our apartment. And pennies are always disappointing because then you go cash it in and you're like, all right, I'm gonna get something. And then it's like 4.87.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, okay. Yeah, I know. So, yeah. IP Penny. I guess you save on metals.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

That you can cop. That's copper, right? Yeah, Pennies are copper. So you can. That's a lot of electrical wiring that you could shift the metals to.

[Nicole Conlon]

I don't know if anything, this is a move for green Energy. Because we need all of that.

[Ronnie Chang]

Right.

[Nicole Conlon]

Copper to go into our grid.

[Ronnie Chang]

Right. And also, I mean, unfortunately, I mean, I'm not happy about this but the way the American economy is like, you can't buy for one penny anyway.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah. It's the only thing pennies are good for is when you go on like a road trip and there's one of those machines where you put a penny, smashes it.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, those things. Now you can do it without guilt. I always felt guilty doing that because.

[Nicole Conlon]

I was like currency.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah. Also I was always like, isn't this illegal to deface money?

[Nicole Conlon]

I think technically it might be illegal. And because nobody gives a shit about pennies, the government was like, it's not worth pursuing.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yes. Because it's legal tender. Like you're not supposed to destroy money. But anyway, there's a. You know, kids are destroying money by the, by the. By the penny in all these tourist attractions. So I guess now you can go and mint more of those penny smashing things.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, yeah. Smash your pennies while you can, folks.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nicole Conlon]

Ronnie, did you see this fedora detective at the Louvre?

[Ronnie Chang]

Yes, I did.

[Nicole Conlon]

He turned out to be a fancy teenager. He was just. He's like a 15 year old kid who loves detective stories and dresses up like that every day for school. Can you imagine being a 15 year old kid who loves detective stories? And a heist happens while you are at the Louvre.

[Ronnie Chang]

Crazy. I know what he. Right, right time, right place, you know.

[Nicole Conlon]

But he didn't solve the crime.

[Ronnie Chang]

No, he didn't solve the crime. But he got a great photo.

[Nicole Conlon]

That's true.

[Ronnie Chang]

And everyone was thought he was somehow involved. Shout out to. Hey. Shout out to anyone who's dressing up these days. Like, come on. Yeah, bring back some class.

[Nicole Conlon]

The thing with him is he had the whole look. It wasn't just the fedora, he had like a suit because like you'll see guys wearing a fedora sometime with like cargo shorts and it's like, what are you doing?

[Ronnie Chang]

What are you doing? Is awful. You look like a. Look like a total loser. But this dude, he didn't even wear. It wasn't just a suit, it was like a full on, like he looked like someone who was. He looked like someone from a Sherlock Holmes like book.

[Nicole Conlon]

Totally. He had the trench coat, he had a fancy umbrella, he had the.

[Ronnie Chang]

He had the tie.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yep.

[Ronnie Chang]

I think he had a three piece.

[Advertiser]

Right?

[Nicole Conlon]

Yes. He's. I'm looking at him now. He's. He's wearing a waistcoat.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, waistcoat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I Mean, good for him. And I mean, he was there, right? When the. He. He was there. He was visiting the Louvre when the robbers hit. Or was he. Did he just walk by after he was visiting the. Lou. Oh, okay. Well, hey, you never know, man. Maybe this guy is involved. Maybe this is just a freaking. He's just a cover story. He goes, oh, just a teenager just hanging.

[Nicole Conlon]

Oh, wow. His name is. I don't know if we're. I don't know if we should say this because he's a minor, but the BBC is talking about it. His name is Pedro Elias Garzon Delvo. Which sounds like a detective name.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, it's a detective name. He will be. So you ever read those young adult, like, detective stories when you were a kid? Secret seven and the Whatever. You know, all the Hardy Boys, the hottie boys.

[Advertiser/Promo Voice]

Right.

[Ronnie Chang]

This guy would be in the hottie boys. You know, they'd be like a kid who likes to dress up and solve crimes and.

[Nicole Conlon]

Except this is just a kid who likes to dress up and solve crimes, but everywhere he goes, he's like, not really where the crime is happening. Yeah, yeah, he's sort of just adjacent to crimes.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, he never solves shit. Just. He shows up for the photo op. Yeah, dude, if this kid shows up in America, be awesome. Imagine him if he. If, you know, he's at some ice raid or like some, you know, what's he doing in. What's he doing in Chicago?

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, he's. He's gonna solve the Epstein files. He's gonna finally get to the bottom of it.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, we gotta send this kid in.

[Nicole Conlon]

No, don't send that kid to Epstein Island. Don't send him there.

[Ronnie Chang]

Send this kid in to solve this guy. You know, Cash Patel should recruit this guy.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yes, Honestly, he. I trust this 15 year old kid from France to do the job way better than Cash Patel could do.

[Ronnie Chang]

No, totally. Totally. Get him in there.

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The doors have double locks. They'll be fine.

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[Nicole Conlon]

I see your connecting rooms are already.

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[Nicole Conlon]

So let's look ahead to the coming week. The big news is that the House is finally going to vote on releasing the Epstein files. They had to swear in their new congressperson, which they were delaying for as long as they could so they didn't have to release any more of the Epstein files. Ronnie, do you think that they will vote to release the files?

[Ronnie Chang]

I guess it's Epstein week at the.

[Nicole Conlon]

It's. It's never infrastructure week, but it's always Epstein.

[Ronnie Chang]

Always Epstein week. Will they vote to release it? Yeah, I think it sounds, it feels like to the credit of the Republicans, it feels like momentum is voting for releasing it. Right. Despite it being weirdly against party agenda to release, it feels like the House Republicans are actually like, we should release this.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah. And there's several very prominent Republicans, particularly like Nancy Mace, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, who are, who are very vocally like, we must release the files.

[Ronnie Chang]

Right. But I mean the. Again, not. I don't. I think it's fair for me to say in general, general, the Republicans for the last eight years have been released the Epstein files. Right. Like they've been at the forefront of releasing Epstein files.

[Nicole Conlon]

I think so. But then it's. I think there's divide within the party.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Right.

[Nicole Conlon]

Because Republicans have spent the past, you know, 10 years cultivating the QAnon type person who legitimately believes like all of this and has thought there was a pedophile cabal in Washington from even before we knew about Epstein. And then there's also the regular Republicans who only care about like power and getting their agenda put forward and like. Right. Lowering taxes and regulations as much as possible. And I think that is sort of like the divide we're seeing.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yes, but. But I feel like the party has always been the very vocally anti pedophile potty.

[Nicole Conlon]

Like what, what a messaging L for the Dems that they didn't get to be the vocally anti pedophile.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, exactly. It's just a weird thing where like everyone's anti pedophile, but then Republicans are like, that's our number one agenda issue.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, that's our brand.

[Ronnie Chang]

They kind of. That's a brand. And so it's weird to be against it now, I guess. But I mean, I'm not, I'm not saying anything revolutionary in terms of pointing out some weird hypocrisy. I mean, if you, you know, if you want to be even handed about it. Like the funny thing about the Democrats is that they, they were, they weren't about that. They didn't focus this hard on Epstein files until now. It's, you know, like what, where were they? Why. Why is this taken so long to release these files? Like they've been, you know, they've had them since for at least, what, at least five years now. Like when Biden was in office, this was never agenda priority.

[Nicole Conlon]

But it is crazy if it's, if it is as bad for Trump as it seems like it would be, it's crazy that the Democrats wouldn't have released that.

[Commentator/Guest]

Sure.

[Ronnie Chang]

Exactly. That's what I'm saying. So here we are in 2025 and now it's again top of the priority. So. But whatever, you know, I'm not complaining. Like go for it. Hope they release it. So and so. Sorry, to answer your original question, it sounds like they have the numbers and the political will to release Epstein files this week. Vote to. Right. I think.

[Nicole Conlon]

I hope so. I mean, we'll see. It's.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

I.

[Nicole Conlon]

They seem to always like find a way to get out of doing it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it falls through somehow.

[Ronnie Chang]

Insane just how hard it is to agree on any issue in America. Like can we agree on releasing Epstein? No, we gotta fight. This is a, you know, it becomes a partisan issue.

[Commentator/Guest]

Like what?

[Ronnie Chang]

Just release it. There's no. Are there no non partisan issues left?

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

In Congress.

[Nicole Conlon]

Well, one very partisan issue that I feel like even a lot of Republicans should be against is it seems like Trump might be trying to drum up a war with Venezuela.

[Ronnie Chang]

Oh yeah? Yeah. So extrajudicial killings like the Tom Clancy novel. Shooting missiles. Shooting missiles at boats coming in from Venezuela. So again, to be even handed. Okay, I guess. No, even then. I can't even, I can't even justify. I'm trying to play devil's advocate here. I don't even know how you justify extrajudicial killings. I arrest them and then, you know.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

Go to court or something. I don't know.

[Nicole Conlon]

I don't know, Ronnie. I think the fact that you can't justify extrajudicial killings makes you a good person. If you can't. Yes. And the extrajudicial killings.

[Ronnie Chang]

I'm trying to. Yeah. I'm just trying to. Yes.

[Nicole Conlon]

And for the best.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah. So it's back. I think you need, you need congressional approval to declare war. So technically it's not a war. It's just a killing. I don't know what. I don't know anymore.

[Nicole Conlon]

Well, but now. So Trump and Pete Hegseth have talked about, like, going into Venezuela, and Pete Hegseth vowed to purge the Americas of, quote, narco terrorists. So, wow. It seems like Pete Hegseth is like, as our Secretary of War is quite hungry for war. And even Maduro, who is the president of Venezuela, is like, he was like, it's gonna be like Afghanistan for you guys all over again and you're gonna be here for 20 years, which is like a crazy thing for the leader of another country that you're talking about to say.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, I don't get. Yeah, I'm trying to think of, like, the best argument you can make for this, as in to justify what they're doing. Because the gut instinct is to, obviously what they're doing is pretty insane if you're trying to stop drugs coming to America. I mean, first of all, the problem is also, like, like, hey, how about Americans, you know, stop doing drugs? You know, how about, you know that. That's some of that. Right? Like, but no, I guess the answer is no. Americans stop doing drugs. No, no, that's the answer.

[Nicole Conlon]

That's out of the question.

[Ronnie Chang]

That's out of the question.

[Nicole Conlon]

To do a 20 year war in Venezuela to stop doing drugs.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah. So that, you know, also is. Yeah. Is there. What is the plan? To go in and take over the country or to just kill drugs cartels?

[Nicole Conlon]

It's not clear. Pete Hegseth said the western hemisphere is America's neighborhood and we will protect it. Sorry. He tweeted that. And then he said the Southern Command mission would defend, quote, our homeland and secure it from, quote, the drugs that are killing our people. And then this is from the Guardian. And then they say it is unclear why Hegseth made the announcement now.

[Ronnie Chang]

Right.

[Nicole Conlon]

I love when, like, serious news sources hear, like, what's going on in our government. And even they have to be like, we don't know what the hell this is. This doesn't make any sense.

[Ronnie Chang]

So I guess the argument in favor is what? Like, these countries need help combating drug cartels, you know, so I guess that's something. But to, to not work with the country to do it is pretty insane to just go in and, you know, unilaterally try to end the drug cartels. Like, you probably should try to partner with. Right. Like, I don't know. I don't know what the. I don't know what the official policy Thing is here, you know, I, I.

[Nicole Conlon]

Well, I think the official policy is if we go to war with Venezuela, everybody will stop talking about Epstein.

[Ronnie Chang]

Sure, that too. And also, you don't know. You don't do. You don't do extrajudicial killings because you don't know who you're killing. I mean, that's just the.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, among other reasons.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, like you don't know who. Many reasons. Not doing. One is, who are you killing? We don't know. What. What is going on? Who are these people? What were they doing? Is it, you know, that's why you kind of need the justice system.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

But. Yeah, I don't know. You caught me at a loss here, Nicole. This one's too hard for me to solve.

[Nicole Conlon]

Well, speaking. Speaking of people putting other people in dangerous situations, Mr. Beast is opening Beastland in Saudi Arabia.

[Ronnie Chang]

Oh, really?

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, it's. He's opening his theme park inspired by his stunts. But there's a catch, and I'm gonna scroll through this article to find what the catch is. We built custom games modeled after our videos that don't exist anywhere else and will have the world's largest prize wall. Wow. It looks like a big, like, laser tag facility.

[Ronnie Chang]

So what the idea is kids from all over the world can go to Saudi Arabia to play Mr. Beast.

[Nicole Conlon]

I guess.

[Ronnie Chang]

I don't. I don't.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, it's. You're Ronnie. You're pretty famous. Have you ever met Mr.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

Beast?

[Ronnie Chang]

No, I've never met Mr. Beast. I. You know, hats off to Ms. To Mr. Beast.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

For all. All he's built. I now met him. I'm, you know, good luck with everything that.

[Nicole Conlon]

One of the. One of the games is called Drop Zone, which positions six people atop trap doors. A button will light up in front of each player, and whoever presses it last will drop.

[Ronnie Chang]

Oh, okay.

[Nicole Conlon]

It seems dangerous.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, it seems dangerous. Seems like not something you want to do in Saudi Arabia.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yes, he says, I just wanted to mention that we take safety extremely seriously. Every challenge. Every challenge was tested by multiple stuntmen, and we have a full rescue team on standby with firefighters, EMTs, and divers.

[Ronnie Chang]

Wow. I actually thought it would be pretty safe until he said that.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yes, exactly. It's if. If I went to an amusement park, they were like, don't worry. We have a full rescue team, including divers on staff. I'd be like, I'm not going. What's happening here?

[Ronnie Chang]

Divers, firefighters, and ambulance and EMTs.

[Nicole Conlon]

Also, every challenge was tested by multiple stuntmen. Yeah, what about just like regular people? I'M not a stuntman. Am I gonna have to be able to, like, dive through a plate glass window?

[Ronnie Chang]

You can survive this if you know how to do a somersault in the air Also, like. Yeah. I mean, these rides seem to be going through multiple elements here. There's like a fire element and then there's a water. Right. Why do you need firefighters and. And EMTs and. And divers. Why do you need firefighters and divers? Those are two opposite.

[Nicole Conlon]

Opposite elements.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah.

[Nicole Conlon]

So. So they got the firefighters. They got. Which is fire, obviously. They have the divers, which is water. They have, let's see, stud men and rescue team, I guess, arguably is earth. They don't have wind. Maybe they'll have like a. A parachute squad.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah.

[Nicole Conlon]

And then you. And then you have heart. And heart is, I think, what all of the attendees bring.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, I mean, it's the same kind of. It's the same kind of team you wish they had outside the embassies, you know, just to save.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah. We're going to send the Mr. Beast Safety Squad into Venezuela.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah.

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[Nicole Conlon]

All right, to wrap things up, we're going to do a segment called the Daily show and tell Ronnie what is something that you've watched or read or listened to or argued about or that's just been on your mind lately that you want to tell people about.

[Ronnie Chang]

Oh, I read. I recently read the book 1776. Oh, from. Oh, shoot. What's his face? David Mitchell. David. Not David Mitchell. David Mikola. David Mikola.

[Nicole Conlon]

God. If David Mitchell of. That Mitchell of Weblook wrote a book about 1776. I would absolutely read it.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah, but you read the David McCullough book. Yeah. 1776. It took me 10 years. I start and stopped it every, you know, every couple of years. And finally I went through the whole thing.

[Nicole Conlon]

By the time you finished, it was 1786.

[Ronnie Chang]

Yeah. And I tell you what, it, it took me until I was 40 years old to be able to appreciate it.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

But it's a real page turner once you get into it. It's pretty crazy. The America. First of all, I finished the book and I thought, oh, this is going to cover the whole American Revolution. It literally covers 1 year, 1776. The book ends at the end of the year and that was a crazy ass year for America.

[Nicole Conlon]

Did you? Probably not, because you didn't grow up here. Did you ever watch the movie 1776? No, it's a musical. The guy who played Mr. Feeney and boy Meets World was in it and it was very Franklin, he was, I think he was John Adams. But it was very much the kind of movie that like when your teachers were like, I don't want to do anything today. They would just roll in and play us. 17.

[Ronnie Chang]

1776.

[Nicole Conlon]

I don't know if that's based on the book or not.

[Ronnie Chang]

So you tell me if this is news to Americans because this was news to me how you feel about this. So in 1776, they. Not everyone in America wanted to separate from England. It was very much majority wanted separate, but not by any means the overwhelming majority. So you had people. So most of this book takes place in New York City and it's, it's kind of, there's people who are, who are with loyalists to the British, people who are rebelling. When the rebels in America said that they wanted to declare independence and separate from England, England sent everybody to invade New York. So within the, within a couple of months they sent ships into New York City and apparently from, from Manhattan you could see the, the New York harbor just filled with British ships. And everyone was scared shitless because they sent the armada to shut down this rebellion. And it was a bunch of part time soldier farmers led By George Washington vs. The superpower of its time, England. And they fought, they were fighting in New York and they were going from New York to Brooklyn back to New York and they would go up upstate and the British had the best ships, so they're trying not to fight. The US had no ships, they had no navy, and the British had every ship. And so it was just like it was, it could not be more one Sided. And Washington was like running back and forth from New York to Brooklyn. And they managed to make some key victories, but they fought to a draw. They lost a lot of people. The US Soldiers had no shoes. It was like, it was just a mess.

[Nicole Conlon]

You don't want that. Especially not in New York City. You kidding me?

[Commentator/Guest]

No.

[Ronnie Chang]

Imagine tennis. My takeaway from the book was this idea that, like, you know, what is that? 250 years ago in New York City, the people, the concerns of the people in America are totally different to what the concerns are right now.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah.

[Ronnie Chang]

And so whatever moment we live in that we think is the most important thing that's happening. And this is crazy. And, you know, in 50, 100 years, it's going to be something else completely. You know, that's my takeaway from it.

[Nicole Conlon]

Well, Ronnie, I'm gonna put you in touch with my dad and then you guys can talk about this book.

[Ronnie Chang]

Oh, he's a US Historian.

[Nicole Conlon]

Oh, yeah. Big time.

[Ronnie Chang]

Oh, yeah. I love to talk about it.

[Nicole Conlon]

Big time. Okay, I'll do my show and tell. I'll keep it quick. You. So you brought up David Mitchell on accident, but I'll bring him up on purpose because he's in a. He's in a show called Ludwig, which is like a detective show. It's a mystery show. And he plays a guy who makes puzzles. And his twin brother is a detective who goes missing. And so he has to take his place and pretend to be his own twin brother to solve his own disappearance. And it's on. I watch it on Britbox, but I think it's also on Amazon prime and maybe like the Roku Channel. And it's really good. He's really funny in it. If you've ever, you know that sketch that's like, hans, are we the baddies? That's. That's David Mitchell. But he does a really good, like dramatic performance in this one. So if anybody out there is listening.

[Ronnie Chang]

One of the all time greatest saturists.

[Nicole Conlon]

Yeah, he's amazing. He's also. I watch Would I Lie to you? A lot. And he's on that show and he's so funny, it's unbelievable. Okay, everybody, that is everything that happened in the world so far. So to see what happens next, catch Rani hosting the Daily Show. This week I've been Nicole Conlon. Thank you for listening to the Pre Cap. Thank you, Ronnie.

[Ronnie Chang]

Thank you.

[Sponsor/Advertiser]

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.

[Ronnie Chang]

This has been a Comedy Central podcast.

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