The Daily Show: Ears Edition — The Precap with Jordan Klepper

Date: September 19, 2025
Hosts: Nicole Conlon, Jordan Klepper

Overview

This “Precap” episode offers a behind-the-scenes look at The Daily Show’s upcoming week, welcoming next week’s host Jordan Klepper to discuss anticipation, chaos, and major news shocks affecting late-night TV. With signature wit and satire, Nicole Conlon and Klepper tackle themes of free speech, political interference, industry shake-ups, and coping strategies for living in unprecedented times. Alongside the major headlines, they offer lighter “show and tell” recommendations and share inside glimpses of creating topical, rapid-fire satire.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jordan Klepper’s Twitter Account Hack

• [01:50-04:35]
  Klepper discusses his recent Twitter account hack, reflecting on misinformation and the odd litmus test for friendship that such incidents reveal.
  • Friends’ reactions: Some were immediately suspicious (“Jordan’s always selling laptops” [02:35]), others seemed unsure if it fit his voice.
  • The hack involved inflammatory posts about the Charlie Kirk situation, seemingly aimed at “canceling” Klepper.
  • Commentary on the current climate where manipulating someone’s digital persona to provoke cancellation is now an explicit tactic, especially on platforms that claim to champion free speech.

“...what actually happened was somebody hacked it, and they tried to say terrible things about the Charlie Kirk situation. …there are people out there who are like, oh, if we can manipulate somebody into having a bad take or a bad opinion, that's the kind that can be met with consequences and silenced or at least fired... Which seems like a bonkers assumption... but this week makes it seem like a pretty good assumption.”
— Jordan Klepper [03:17-04:08]

2. Late Night in Crisis: Kimmel and Colbert Suspensions

• [04:41-10:57]
  Nicole and Jordan examine the “indefinite suspension” of Jimmy Kimmel following the recent cancellation of Colbert’s show.
  • The sense of shock and uncertainty throughout the industry.
  • Kimmel’s network demanding an apology and donation to Turning Point USA for reinstatement—putting him in an impossible position between integrity and hundreds of employees’ jobs.
  • The hypocrisy of business leaders, unwilling to stand up to political pressure despite their supposed “free speech absolutism.”
  • Connecting this to wider threats: “We’ve gone from zero to Budapest faster than a lot of people expected.”
    • Allusion to the erosion of democracy mirroring Hungary’s recent trajectory.
  • Satiric banter: “But baths, better stews, thicker.”
  • Blunt assessment of industry priorities—billionaires and merger culture.

“You have an entire political party who has based so much of their identity on being free speech absolutists... At the very least, you'd hope the parts of the Constitution that uphold the ability to have whatever opinion you want... should be protected... the swiftness of it has caught a lot of people off guard.”
— Jordan Klepper [06:10-07:30]

“The world is made up of billionaires who are assholes and only care about themselves… will allow a country to disintegrate and democracy to evaporate because they wanna buy another beach house.”
— Jordan Klepper [08:48-09:21]

3. Making Satire Under Pressure

• [12:57-16:43]
  After a Ground News ad break, Nicole and Jordan describe pivoting towards “pure satire” in the week’s show—styled as North Korean state-run media.
  • The improvisational chaos—hosts, correspondents, even Jon Stewart rallying for a rapid creative response.
  • The cathartic, community aspect of the show’s environment during “scared and upset and frustrated” times.
  • Joy and challenge of writing heightened, meta satire in a climate where reality starts to outpace parody.

“This truly is, it's a new satire. It can use that parody and the tools of satire to kind of speak to some of these things and hopefully find some, some bits in this, this, this dark, strange time... a gift to the show…”
— Jordan Klepper [13:59-14:21, 16:19-16:43]

• The set will be transformed “all gold and stuff,” showcasing the crew’s technical talent.

4. Previewing Next Week’s Headlines

• [17:32-21:52]
  • UN General Debate (“Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development, and Human Rights”)—the theme gets skeptical ribbing.
  • New York’s Climate Week overlaps with UN week; Nicole is participating in two climate-related events.
  • Ongoing fallout from the Kimmel affair and overarching free speech battles expected to dominate.
  • Satirical musings on how the US fares in the “global community.”
  • The role of “spite” as America’s—and Nicole’s—primary motivator for positive change (“If we could do that, but for climate change, I think we'll be in a really good position.” [21:52])

5. Absurd News of the Week: FBI’s Meth Crematorium Blunder

• [23:11-26:48]
  • FBI burned a large methamphetamine seizure in an animal shelter’s crematorium in Montana, exposing staff, animals, and agents to meth fumes.
  • Tangent about tangled law enforcement acronyms (FBI, ATF, DEA).
  • Ends with dark laughter—“funny but also horrifying” is the new norm for American news.

“It's no longer like, we found a water skiing squirrel. It's like the water skiing squirrel was exposed to methamphetamines by our corrupt FBI.”
— Nicole Conlon [25:37]

6. Show and Tell: Media Comfort Food & Culture Recs

• [27:05-33:25]
  Hosts decompress with:
  • The Ballad of Wallace Island — “A lovely, charming and funny British film... it has all of the beautiful, lovely things that British comedians can do.” (Jordan Klepper) [27:10-28:37]
  • Evan Mulroney (@roondawg_firstofhisname on IG), a comedian who’s “like if Putty from Seinfeld yes-anded everything he did... so funny.” (Nicole Conlon) [28:39-29:42]
  • Tribute to Robert Redford (who passed away that week): favorite films (“All is Lost,” “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” “The Sting”), and a reminder that Redford was also a prominent climate activist. [30:27-33:29]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Digital Manipulation:

“It does put a litmus test on which friends of yours, what they expect of you, what voice they expect you to have online...”
— Jordan Klepper [02:08]

On Business & Free Speech:

“In the moments where they could stand up for themselves and be a voice for good and reason, they instead retreat, become nameless, faceless beings who only care about their bottom line and will allow a country to disintegrate and democracy to evaporate because they wanna buy another beach house.”
— Jordan Klepper [08:48-09:21]

On Satire as Coping Mechanism:

“In the chaos of these days when you feel scared and upset and frustrated... to be able to go into work and do something with that is... I would much rather be here today than not here.”
— Nicole Conlon [13:56-13:59]

On American Motivations:

“We're not so good at being leaders, but we are good at being jealous and therefore using our jealousy to get better. Maybe that's a path forward.”
— Jordan Klepper [21:34]

On Animal Shelter Meth Burning:

“It sounds more like a party than it does sort of a crackdown.”
— Jordan Klepper [25:17]

On Loss & Movie Stars:

“There is still something about that classic movie star energy where you just watch some people up there on screen who are just so captivating. It does take you out of things."
— Jordan Klepper [32:34]

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment/Event | |-----------|------------------------------------------------| | 01:13 | Episode starts, Nicole introduces Jordan | | 01:50 | The Twitter hack reveal | | 04:41 | Kimmel suspension discussion begins | | 08:48 | Candid rant on billionaire media owners | | 12:57 | Satirizing American state-run media | | 17:32 | Next week’s preview, UN & Climate Week | | 23:11 | FBI/meth/animal shelter debacle | | 27:05 | Show & Tell: “The Ballad of Wallace Island” | | 30:27 | Tribute to Robert Redford |

Tone & Atmosphere

• The conversation is both earnest and bitingly funny.
• There’s genuine industry anxiety about political overreach, but the hosts rely on sharp self-aware humor (“Bits were so fun. Never again.” [11:16-11:27]) and inside jokes for resilience.
• Satire is the primary toolkit for making sense of political turmoil—“optimism through pessimism.”

Final Thoughts

The Precap with Jordan Klepper gives an entertaining yet sobering snapshot of late night—and, by extension, the nation—at a free speech crossroads. Through revealing dialogue, gallows humor, and cultural recommendations, the Daily Show team not only processes the week’s upheavals but rallies for creative, satirical resistance in the face of accelerating absurdity. The episode is a must-listen for understanding both the mood inside US political satire and the shifting battlegrounds over free speech, media integrity, and democracy.