Xi Makes Trump Climb Stairs, Learn Ancient Greek History & Tremble Over Taiwan Talk | Boots Riley

Summary

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The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Episode: Xi Makes Trump Climb Stairs, Learn Ancient Greek History & Tremble Over Taiwan Talk | Boots Riley
Date: May 15, 2026
Host: Jordan Klepper & The Daily Show News Team
Guest: Boots Riley

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers a sharp, comedic take on President Trump’s recent summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, exploring the international pageantry, cultural misunderstandings, and underlying tensions—especially concerning Taiwan. The crew mocks both American and media ignorance regarding China, with a running gag about who’s "expert" enough to comment. In the tech segment, Grace Kuhlenschmidt highlights the absurdity of our AI-driven future, from pasta-snooping devices to crime-fleeing robots. The episode culminates in a fascinating and funny interview with filmmaker and musician Boots Riley, whose new film I Love Boosters explores the intersection of street fashion, capitalism, and community through an offbeat, political lens.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trump in China: International Humiliation and the “Thucydides Trap”

• [01:11-07:02]

  • President Trump’s visit is greeted with media attention, robot encounters, and cultural faux pas.

  • Trump’s limited grasp of world history is humorously exposed when President Xi references the “Thucydides trap” (the historic risk of war as a rising power threatens an existing one).

  • Trump’s attempt to translate geopolitics into fast food metaphors is lampooned:

    "That’s my president, putting his understanding of geopolitics into fast food terms." – Jordan Klepper [04:26]

  • Amidst ceremonial welcomes, Trump’s struggles with stairs are mocked as metaphors for diplomatic stumbling.

  • Tension rises in private talks, as Xi warns Trump that mishandling Taiwan could cause a “collision or clash”:

    "Xi telling Trump if the issue is handled poorly, the two countries will collide or even clash." – News clip [05:16]

  • Trump, usually outspoken, appears shaken and nearly silent when pressed by reporters post-meeting:

    "What happened in there? That was like asking Tiger Woods how the drive home went." – Klepper [06:05]

2. Running Gag: Who’s the “China Expert"?

• [07:09-12:55]

  • Jordan tries to loop in Ronny Chieng as a “China expert” because of his heritage; Ronny rightfully pushes back:

    "I don’t assume you’re the expert on Slender Man just because of how you look. Okay?" – Ronny Chieng [08:19]

  • Josh Johnson jumps in, making comically incorrect Asian references, confusing Japanese and Thai culture for Chinese and spewing pop culture gibberish:

    "To fully understand the China summit, you must first understand China. It's a proud but suspicious culture driven by the fear that at any moment, Godzilla might show up..." – Josh Johnson [09:12]

  • The team riffs about Asian stereotypes, with everyone showing how little they grasp, poking fun at American ignorance.

  • Ultimately, no one wants the responsibility or has the answer for the China-Taiwan situation, highlighting the complexity—and comedy—of U.S.-China relations.

3. “Tech Yeah” with Grace Kuhlenschmidt: Robots, Pasta, and AI Absurdity

• [14:15-19:32]
  • Grace delivers a sardonic overview of current tech news:

    • Prego's “spy” device at the dinner table:

      "You know how at dinner your sister’s always calling your mom a dumb bitch? Now that will be forever preserved in the Library of Congress’s sauce aisle." – Grace [15:11]

    • A dancing humanoid robot delays an airline flight:

      "If you don’t want to sit next to a suicidal maniac, then don’t fly Southwest. But I will give them credit for letting Bebop board the plane before everyone else. Listen, military veterans deserve our respect. Just not as much respect as dancing robots." – Grace [16:22]

    • Delivery robots injuring cyclists (and fleeing crime scenes), robot monks in South Korea, and jokes about religious robots and Roombas.

  • The segment plays up the surreal collision of technology, safety hazards, and cultural traditions.

4. Interview: Boots Riley & “I Love Boosters”

• [21:21-34:41]

  • Jordan Klepper welcomes Boots Riley, whose new movie, I Love Boosters, spotlights shoplifters who redistribute fashion to the community:

    “Boosters are folks that shoplift and sell at a discount price. As a broke rapper for many decades, I’ve definitely had to have [them] around me...because staying fly is part of the job requirement.” – Boots Riley [21:36]

  • The film is described as “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure directed by Karl Marx with Looney Tunes energy”—a mix of irreverent comedy and sharp political critique.

  • Boots’ creative process:

    "I want to make a visceral impact, and I want that to lead to action afterward...the movie isn’t over when the movie’s over. The movie, to me, lives on with what it makes you want to do in your life." – Boots Riley [23:03]

  • On critiquing capitalism from within the system:

    "There is no such thing as outside of capitalism…My goal is not just to get myself outside of capitalism, it’s to have the working class overthrow the ruling class, right?" – Boots Riley [26:52]

  • College and community screenings have been "raucous," with a highly engaged audience:

    "I've watched it 35 times since we premiered it at South By...and it hasn't got old to me yet. Mainly because of the audience." – Boots Riley [28:57]

  • The music in the film, collaboration with Tune-Yards, and original songs by Keke Palmer and Riley’s daughter are discussed.

  • Boots gives advice to young politically-engaged artists:

    "Have something you’re more passionate about than making your art to make your…as a reason to make your art. Secondly, realize nobody knows what the fuck they're doing. We’re all trying to figure it out." – Boots Riley [31:09]

  • Klepper praises the film’s inventiveness and urgency, Boots calls on listeners to see the film on opening day and spread the word:

    "If you see the trailer and decide you wanna see it, I need you to go there May 22. If you see the movie and like it, I need you to tell people about it. Cause we need movies like this to get out there." – Boots Riley [34:20]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On U.S.-China Relations & Taiwan

  • "If you want to step up to us with all this doocidities crap, then why don’t you do sit on Deez Nuts." – Jordan Klepper [05:32]
  • "Our president’s definitely not gonna walk out of those talks looking like he's in a hostage video." – Jordan Klepper [06:02]

• China Expert Gag

  • "I'm not your China expert. I'm not even from China." – Ronny Chieng [08:19]
  • "If I wasn't a China expert, how would I know every member of the Wu Tang Clan..." – Josh Johnson [11:44]

• Tech News Absurdity

  • "In tech, incredible, robots can flee a crime scene just like us." – Grace Kuhlenschmidt [17:32]
  • "If not, he’ll be reincarnated as Guy Fieri’s colonoscopy camera." – Grace, on the robot monk [18:36]

• Boots Riley on Art and Politics

  • "All the art that I’ve ever made is about trying to help people find the tools to change the world around them.” – Boots Riley [24:13]
  • “There were a lot of times when it has not been working, but I’m staying in it to do it because I was seeing slight payoffs that weren’t in money… people talking about [how] the music affected them.” – Boots Riley [31:09]
  • “Nobody knows what the fuck they’re doing. We’re all trying to figure it out.” – Boots Riley [31:09]

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Trump in China, Geopolitical Gaffes, and Summit Recap:
  [01:11-07:02]
• “China Expert” Running Bit with Ronny Chieng & Josh Johnson:
  [07:09-12:55]
• Tech News (“Tech Yeah” with Grace Kuhlenschmidt):
  [14:15-19:32]
• Boots Riley Interview – “I Love Boosters”, Art, & Activism:
  [21:21-34:41]

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Episode Tone & Style

• Sharp, fast-paced, and layered with irony and self-awareness.
• Constant meta-humor on American cultural ignorance and media clichés.
• Tech news and interview segments mix political seriousness with relentless, absurd comedy.

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This episode is a great listen for those looking for political satire, commentary on tech and labor activism, and a deep-yet-funny dive into the creative process behind radical art. Boots Riley’s insights stand out, and the host’s irreverent approach keeps weighty topics entertaining and accessible.

Transcript

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[A]

It's America's only source for news. This is the Daily show with your host, Jordan Klopper. Welcome to the Dadley Show Upjohn Club, where we got so much to talk about tonight, America and China. Try couples therapy. Your fettuccine Alfredo might be spying on you. And how much does Donald Trump know about ancient Greek history? The answer will not surprise you. So let's kick things off with Trump's trip to China in another edition of Trump Meets World. International Humiliation.

[B]

One after another.

[A]

President Trump is in China right now, and the whole US News media has gone along with him. Which means we at home are getting a rare look at some of China's cultural wonders.

[B]

This is the Family Mart convenience store in Beijing. Inside is a Galba robot. The dominance of AI Beijing is trying to lead the way in AI and also in humanoid robots.

[A]

Let's go inside.

[B]

This is the first of its kind for this kind of interaction. If you want to. Hello, Can I get a sausage, please?

[A]

A sausage? You went to China, home of one of the most famed cuisines in the world, and ordered a convenience store sausage? Brad, you're making us look weird in front of our future overlords. Although it could be worse. Usually when someone at Fox News asks someone to grab their, it comes with a $10 million lawsuit. So, by the way, look at that robot just standing there in the back. I love that even in our tech future, there's still one guy at work that does absolutely nothing. But as for the summit itself, Trump's welcome got off to a nice start when he was greeted by children upon children upon children. But then things took a turn for the worse when Trump was confronted by stairs upon stairs upon even more stairs. But after all the greeting and the stair climbing, it was time for the actual summit. A chance for President Xi to explain his position in simple, clear terms. Donald Trump could understand. President Xi said that he hoped the two countries could avoid the so called Thucydides trap.

[C]

It's a historic reference about a great

[A]

power being threatened by the rise of another. Damn it, Xi, you're going to hit President Trump with a Thucydides trap. Now you're making it go up a flight of stairs. Come on. All right, President Trump, don't let this guy history mog. You show him you can communicate in equally sophisticated terms.

[B]

Chinese restaurants in America today outnumber the

[A]

five largest fast food chains in the United States all combined. That's a pretty big statement. Yeah, that's my president putting his understanding of geopolitics into fast food terms. He gives a summit speech like a third grader who got assigned China for his geography project. In conclusion, China is a land of contrasts. And I brought Panda Express for everyone. I gotta say, it appears to be a good sign to see all this bridge building, because I was under the impression that our relationship with China was growing increasingly tense and bitter, especially over Taiwan, which China wants to take back and we want to keep independent. But I'm sure all the goodwill between Xi and Trump carried over into their closed door meeting about Taiwan.

[C]

During a two hour closed door meeting, Xi reportedly delivering a stark warning to Trump on the issue of Taiwan, which China sees as its territory. Xi telling Trump if the issue is handled poorly, the two countries will collide or even clash.

[A]

Ho, ho, ho. Tough talk. President Xi, perhaps you've forgotten that you're talking to America, the country that's just about to start kicking Iran's ass any day now. And if you want to step up to us with all this doocidities crap, then why don't you do sit on Deez Nuts. Now I know Donald Trump's not gonna take a tongue lashin like that. Our president's definitely not gonna walk out of those talks looking like he's in a hostage video.

[B]

How were your talks, sir?

[A]

Wait. Holy shit. What happened in there? That was like asking Tiger woods how the drive home went. All right, dt, do you want to expand on that? Maybe. Maybe defend Taiwan? Talk about Taiwan. Great place. Incredible. China's beautiful. Yeah. What happened in the meeting? That made him really not want to talk about Taiwan. He's out there like, don't you guys want to talk about anything else? Jeffrey Epstein, I got a lot of redactions. I got time. Let's chat. So after day one of this trip, I definitely have way more questions than answers. What does Xi say to Trump behind closed doors? Can our two nations avoid the famous two centipedes trap? How many Chinese restaurants are there in the U.S. hell, I don't even know if Bret Baer ever got his sausage.

[B]

This is the first of its kind here, and they say there are going to be many different iterations, so there's a real big back and forth.

[A]

He got his sausage. Yeah. Oh, yes. And look, it's just a. It's just a loose sausage on a plate. Yum. The robots are like, I know you are going to eat this with your hands, you American pig. For more help understanding the summit and the complexities of China, let's go live to Ronny Cheng. Ronny. Ronnie. Ronnie. Of course we have to check in with you for this. Yeah. What do you mean, of course you're checking in with me? Why? Why of course? Well, I mean, you've got. You have your expertise. Yeah, yeah. In what you are. When I'm thinking of you. When I'm thinking of you, I think you are your expertise. You have been what you are. You're Chinese, right? Yes, but. Well, that doesn't mean I'm the China guy, okay? I don't assume you're the expert on Slender man just because of how you look. Okay? Okay. Mean, but accurate. But as long as you are here, why don't you help with this? I need information. No, no, no. I'm putting my foot down, all right? I'm not your China expert. I'm not even from China.

[B]

Hey, Jordan, I think I can help. Wait, who.

[A]

Who is that? Who is that? Wait. Josh Johnson. It's Josh Johnson. Hello.

[B]

From Beijing. Or should I say Konichiwa, Jordan?

[A]

Okay, great. Fantastic. Josh, you can be our China expert. What can you tell us about the US Summit with China?

[B]

Jordan, to fully understand the China summit, you must first understand China. It's a proud but suspicious culture driven by the fear that at any moment, Godzilla might show up and tap dance on everybody, all right? I'm talking stumping out buses like cigarette butts.

[A]

Oh. I mean, that is truly fascinating. Wait, wait, wait, hang on.

[B]

The

[A]

Godzilla is Japanese, you dipshit. That's not Chinese. Okay, yeah, I'm. I'm sorry, Ronnie. I thought you said you didn't want to be the China expert. Yeah, I didn't want to be, but I mean. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Then let our continue.

[B]

Thank you, Jordan. Yesterday, Trump and G sat down for dinner of a traditional Chinese dish, Pad Thai noodles. These.

[A]

Whoa, hold on, hold on. Those are Thai. Pad Thai. Pad Thai. Thai. Like Thailand. I'm so sick of Americans making no effort to differentiate the countries in Asia. Oh, I'm sorry, Ronnie. That sounds like something a China expert would say. But I was under the impression you weren't one.

[B]

Yeah, why don't you leave China to the Chinese experts? Or as Mr. Miyagi said in the

[A]

art of war, Hadouken,

[B]

that is.

[A]

Don't applaud that. That is so. That is so ignorant. I don't even know how to reply to that. All right, you know what? Fine. Forget it. I don't give a shit.

[B]

Thank you. This summit comes at a tense time for President Trump, who wants China to help with the Iran war, while China wants America to help Huntrix fight all the demons.

[A]

Okay, okay. That's. That's K pop. Demon Hunters.

[B]

Yes, indeed. It seems that Ronnie's son has learned much from me, his Chinese sensei. Interesting fact, Jordan. The K in K pop is actually an ancient Chinese symbol which translates to ka. Chinese.

[A]

Okay, this is very helpful. This is very helpful. I'm learning so much. Thank you, Josh. No, you're not.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Everyone is getting dumber. The K in K pop stands for Korean. Josh, you don't know shit about China.

[B]

It's not my fault. I'm the second most Chinese guy in the office.

[A]

Okay, what the does that even mean?

[B]

I don't know, but if I wasn't a Chinese expert, how would I know? Every member of the Wu Tang Clan all

[C]

watch.

[A]

Watch.

[B]

The rza, the Jizza, Ghostface Killer, Method Man, Raekwon. How many can you name?

[A]

Okay, okay. Well, you took all of them. And knowing Wu Tang doesn't mean you know more about China. Capodona. Master Killa. Inspector Deck. You got old, dirty bastard. Holy shit. I know more about China than I thought. Suck it, Ronnie. Yeah, suck it, Ronnie. Shut up. Shut the up. Goddammit. Alright, fine. I'll be the China expert. Okay? Okay. Yeah. If you want to. Awesome. If you want to. So, as the China expert, how do you think America should navigate the Taiwanese independence and the threat of war with China? Okay, you know what? I'll pass. I'll pass on this one. And how about you, Josh? You fix Taiwan, alright?

[B]

Happy to. Now is Taiwan one of the demon hunters?

[A]

Okay, Rodney, Jake, and Josh Johnson, everybody. When we come back, Grace will give us the latest in tech news. Don't go away. You thought this was your Run Club era. Turns out it was more of a thinking about Run Club era. The good news, Someone's marathon training is about to start. Sell your workout gear on Depop. Just snap a few photos and we'll take care of the rest. They get their race day fit, and you get a payout for trying. Someone on Depop wants what you've got. Start selling now, Depop. Where taste recognizes taste. Welcome back to the Daily Show. Technology will one day kill us all. But until then, it's pretty cool. To find out more, we turn to Grace Kuhlenschmidt in our ongoing segment, Tech. Yeah,

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What's up to all my computer geeks, AI freaks, and tech companies harvesting my medical data? Can one of y' all tell your girl why her stool's so pale? I'm Grace Kulenschmitt, and this is Tech. Yeah. Where I tell CPU all about the biggest stories in tech. Let's start our techscapade with pasta. It's Italian for noodles. I know when it comes to tech, pasta might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But if you think gnocchi can't low key be techie. Your macaroni.

[A]

The popular pasta sauce company Prego is joining the tech world by officially launching

[C]

a device that sits on your table and records dinner conversations.

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The Connection People.

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It will record your dinner chats, and then you can upload them to be

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preserved in the Library of Congress.

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Mamma mia.

[C]

That's a spicy listening DaVinci. Seriously, this is all awesome. You know how at dinner, your sister's always calling your mom a dumb bitch? Now that will be forever preserved in the Library of Congress's sauce aisle. I can't wait to start using it. Although, full disclosure, I did drop my Prego thingy into a boiling pasta of spaghetti sauce. But no big deal. I brought it to the Prego genius bar, where an old Italian woman chased me with a wooden spoon going, what's the matter, you? This is my house. Moving on, as I always say. You've heard of the movie Snakes on a Plane? Well, now it's a robot. You've heard of the movie Snakes on a Plane? Well, now it's a robot. The humanoid named Bebop even had his own seat.

[A]

At first, everyone was delighted as the humanoid entertained them before boarding the Southwest Airlines flight in Oakland. But when he took his seat on the plane. The fun ended. Turns out his lithium battery was too big and had to be removed, delaying the flight for an hour.

[C]

What? Delayed by an hour? That's awesome. These flights are so expensive. You should get more time. Personally, I don't care if this robot delays the flight or if his battery's a fire hazard or that he keeps trying to kick through a window. If you don't want to sit next to a suicidal maniac, then don't fly southwest. But I will give them credit for letting Bebop board the plane before everyone else. Listen, military veterans deserve our respect. Just not as much respect as dancing robots. Of course, robots aren't just flying the friendly skies. They're also driving the unfriendly grounds. Delivery robots have been making an appearance in cities across the country. But a man from New Jersey was injured in an accident with one Sarah

[A]

Ahern saw a food delivery robot pull into this street in Jersey City, directly into the path of a man on a bicycle.

[C]

I saw him go through the intersection, and the next thing I saw, he was in the air.

[A]

She says the cyclist came crashing to the pavement while the robot tried to drive off.

[C]

In tech, incredible, robots can flee a crime scene just like us. And good luck giving the robot the electric chair. They went to high school together, but these minor incidents are just the cost of the progress. Imagine the world we'll soon be living in. An AI Assistant orders you lunch. Within minutes, a delivery robot is at your doorstep, covered in cyclist blood. You answer the door in nothing but a towel and invite the robot in. But, oh, no, you don't have any cash on you. You ask the robot if there's another way you can pay for your pizza. And the robot says no and drives. Wow, that's hot. Now, speaking of desire, this next robot just gave up all its earthly ones.

[A]

This is Gabby, who's just become the first robot monk to be ordained at a Buddhist temple in South Korea. At a ceremony in Seoul, he pledged to devote himself to the faith.

[C]

Being a Buddhist monk is not an easy feat. You need to be bald and have hands, and this fella is doing both in. In a major way. And you know, this robot will be a good robot monk, because if not, he'll be reincarnated as Guy Fieri's colonoscopy camera. Now, not to toot my own horn, but I've always known that robots wanted to be religious. But you all said it was inappropriate to put a yarmulke on my Roomba and call it a joomba well look who's laughing now, Rivka. My Joomba while she watches Seinfeld. It's her culture. Well, that's all for this edition of Tech. Yeah. Join us next time when I name drop a bunch of products in the hopes I get some free stuff. Kindle MacBook, Pringles haircut.

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Race Ghoulishman. Everyone. When we come back, Boots Riley will be joining around the show. Don't go away. Expedia and visit Scotland.

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You can watch the record breaking phenomenon at home. You're clearly barking at Zootopia 2. Now available on Disney. Rated PG. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My guest tonight is a musician and filmmaker whose latest film is called I Love Boosters. Please welcome Boots Riley. This is a movie.

[B]

Oh yeah.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

This is a movie. This movie has everything. I enjoyed this movie so much. There's so much I want to talk about. I don't want to spoil anything because a lot of surprises in this movie. But for people who haven't seen this, what is I Love Boosters.

[B]

Well, boosters are folks that that shoplift and sell at a discount price. So it's something that as a broke rapper for many decades I've definitely had to have around me in order to stay fly. Cause staying fly is part of the job requirement.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so I wanted to write about stuff from the perspective these folks that kind of hold the community together. Right. We have, you know, fashion is the big fashion houses are inspired by stuff from the street, by black communities, by people of color, things like that. But those communities can't afford it. Right. So this was a way to talk about fashion that I hadn't seen. I mean we talked about before.

[A]

It talks about fashion. I mean this movie talks about fashion, talks about capitalism. It's super funny. This feels like sort of a Pee Wee's big adventure. As if it were directed by Karl Marx with a bunch of Molly in the background with Looney Tunes. With some Looney Tunes energy, honestly, like, the playfulness and the sketch element of this, I thought was so refreshing and vivid. I'm curious also, knowing that I Love Boosters was a song 20 years ago that you wrote, and now it is a movie. I'm wondering, I mean, in taking so many genres, so many ideas, like sort of what is an order of operations for how Boots Riley gets to a film? I love Boosters.

[B]

I'm thinking about feelings. You know, I want to make a visceral impact, and I want that to lead to action afterward. Right. Like, I don't. The movie isn't over when the movie's over. The movie, to me, lives on with what it makes you want to do in your life. Right. So I'm thinking about stuff from the personal level, what's around my character's world and how that is connected to the larger world. And to me, a lot of my stuff is comedy and also absurdist. And all of that is about contradictions, and that's what we're living. And tragedy and comedy, they both have irony in them. And those contradictions, pointing those out, that's basically what we do when we're talking about politics, you know, I'm telling you, I mean, that's what y' all do here, right?

[A]

Yeah. So although I find it so fascinating here, like, you talk about, you start with trying to figure out what you want the audience to do, and is that beyond just, like, the emotion that you want them to feel?

[B]

The emotion is the way you. From doing music for so many years, and I got known as a lyricist. You could know, like, you could have just the rawest lyrics ever. And besides, like, the lyric nerds, most people are gonna be like, yeah, but what does the beat sound like? What is the beat? Can I dance to this? Am I not in my head what's going on? And it's that visceral feeling. And to me, it's all. I mean, that's what art is connected to, being in the moment. But what is the moment and what are we hiding right here? Right. So all the art that I've ever made is about trying to help people find the tools to change the world around them. And right now, what we need to change the world around us is a mass militant, radical labor movement. One that uses the withholding holding of labor as a tactic and strategy to be able to have policy change. We have a world in which you have the US And Israel saying, how dare you say that? We're committing Genocide. And they are while then the next day saying that we're about to commit genocide on some mother tomorrow, right? And they can do that and just play in our face because they know we feel powerless. And that feeling of powerlessness is a material one. It's real. Until we have that kind of movement where we can shut down profit, where we can do the things that we, that affect power, then we're going to be powerless. And so I'm, you know, I just write with my opinions in there. But my opinions are also funny, right? Because it has to do with these things. And what I'm thinking is not very far off from what most people think in the world. It's just sometimes struggle, class struggle is edited out of film.

[A]

I feel it is amazing watching you make this film and the skills you have to get messages like that across in such digestible, interesting and also complex way is remarkable. But how do you have a film that critiques the capitalistic system, system, but also has to exist within the capitalistic system? Making a big bud, making a big movie that you want to be seen by a lot of people that is taking aim at capitalism. How do you balance working within that to critique it?

[B]

There is no such thing as outside of capitalism, right? So if I'm going to work, I'm working inside of capitalism. Every thing, every, you know, some small independent company, some big company, they're all part of capitalism. And my goal is not just to get myself outside of capitalism, it's to have the working class overthrow the ruling class, right.

[C]

And

[B]

get to a system in which the people democratically control the wealth that we create with our labor.

[A]

So.

[B]

If we don't have that, I'm not like, oh, okay, let me work with the nicer capitalist, the guy with the friendlier smile. You know, it's about making, helping to make that movement happen. Because we can't, you know, do anything unless we have that as a, as a backup.

[A]

Now you've taken this film out to colleges in the last couple weeks, right? I assume part of that is to have a conversation with younger, thoughtful, energetic people. And I'm curious if that was the intent and also what some of the responses you've gotten in trying to start this conversation.

[B]

Some of that is the intent. But also colleges have budgets to bring the film out there, so it's extra promotion. But we, because we also invited whoever else was around in the community and we used that as the jump off point. But it's been, we also, we did community screenings as well that were outside of the college. But it's been raucous. It's been like people are laughing through the whole thing and like sometimes laughing over certain lines. And that's good because they gotta come back and see it again. But yeah, it's been. I've watched it 35 times since we premiered it at South By. I've watched it with the crowd 35 times since then and it hasn't got old to me yet. Mainly because of the audience.

[A]

What have you been surprised by? That wasn't necessarily your initial intent, but now you're seeing it in front of an audience and now they're responding. Is there anything that caught your eye?

[B]

I mean, you know, a lot of stuff. I'm like patting myself on the back like, yeah, I knew that. But there's a lot of little things. Like there's a part where Lakeith Stanfield's character pops up on a phone and it's just a little thing and it, you know, I thought it would cause a smile, but it causes people to break out laughing. You know, things like that that you find. But I don't really have anything that without seeing it, you'd understand what that was.

[A]

The collaboration, the music in it is great. And as a musician, you work with tune yards. What is that process like overseeing? You work with tune yards in your other.

[B]

So I've worked with tune yards for the score on Sorry to Bother your and for the score on I'm a Virgo and it's, you know, I start sending them Pages when I'm 20 pages and start talking about this. And for this one, I was originally very inspired by Deep Cut, Emir Kustarika's Black Cat, White Cat and the score to that. And so we were talking about that, but as I'm writing, they're making score pieces. A lot of the score is demos that they made while I was writing the script. So it's really good because then we'll use those pieces while were shooting all that sort of stuff separately. There is. So that's the score, but there's a soundtrack that Keke Palmer has out on it. And it's a song, it's a bunch of songs that my daughter wrote with her.

[A]

Is that right?

[B]

Yeah. And so that there's a five song EP soundtrack that's out for that now. And the tune yard score comes out on the same day as the release of the movie.

[A]

I'm curious as somebody who has. Has found a way into the system to articulate true political beliefs that you have. I talk to a lot of Young people who want to get to a place like that and don't necessarily see a path for that. Like, do you have advice for people who hear stories like yours? Somebody who is so attached to a movement and being able to articulate for one.

[B]

I came out of a disciplined party. I was in a disciplined organization, and I came in to do it art, because I have this passion. So one thing I'd say for any artist is to have something you're more passionate about than the art itself. Because, you know, if the main thing you're passionate about is making art, then that's gonna be like talking to someone who's passionate about talking. You want to get out of that combo real quick. And so with that, that's guided me, but it has also, you know, I. I have. It has not been working for. There were a lot of times when it has not been working, but I'm staying in it to do it because I was seeing slight payoffs that weren't in money or weren't in things that were easily able to be registered. But people talking about what, you know, how the music affected them, and then with. Sorry to bother your, you know, people messaging me saying how they. How it made them get involved with things and how it made them get involved with unions and strikes and things like that. So. And it should be said, From 2020 to 2024, we had the largest strike wave that there had been in the United states since the 70s. Thousands of strikes all over the place. And. And it was largely under reported. And during that time, that's when I got messages from people being like, oh, we didn't think our workplace was going to go on strike. We didn't think or form a union. But we played sorry to bother you and everybody voted for it. Right. So the advice is have something you're more passionate about than making your art to make your. As a reason to make your art. Secondly, realize nobody knows what the they're doing. We're all. We're all trying to figure it out. The answer to most of your questions to me is really. I don't know.

[A]

Right. Oh, Jesus. Why did you just say that, Boots? It'd be so much easier for the editors to put together, you know, and

[B]

we're all here trying to make it. And especially in your art program practice, you gotta figure that out. And for me, I've had a lot of iterations of figuring out things. A lot of what I'm doing here on this movie is, I think, pushing cinema in a certain way because it's not, you know, in order to make you even care about it. I realize I have to be an artist. It took me a while to admit that I was an artist. And for me, I want to see something new. I want to see it do something new. And there's so many moments in here where even where I and the audience is like, I've never seen anything like that before. So for me, I have to keep being inventive to be, you know, because I want to be in the moment, talk about the contradictions that exist right now and talk about what we can do about it.

[A]

Well, it is a remarkable film and I truly have never seen anything like it before.

[B]

Thank you so much.

[A]

I love boosters.

[B]

And I want to say, look, May 22nd, we're gonna be in 2,500 screens across the U.S. that means it's a make it or break it. If you see the trailer and decide you wanna see it, I need you to go there. May 22. If you see the movie and like it, I need you to tell people about it. Cause we need movies like this to get out there.

[A]

I love it. May 22. I love moosers Boots. Riley, we're taking a quick break. We'll be right back.

[C]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. You know those friends who support your preference for podcasts over music on road trips? That's the energy State Farm brings to insurance. With over 19,000 local agents, they help you find the coverage that fits your needs so you can spend less time worrying about insurance and more time enjoying the ride. Download the State Farm app or go [e-mail]. like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

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[A]

That's our show for tonight. Now here it is. Your moment is there. As you know, the president just landed

[B]

in China a few hours ago.

[A]

So I always, you know, you may know that because of Secret Service protocols that I don't travel outside of the country with the President of the United States. So on days to day, I sometimes feel like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. I walk into the White House and it's very quiet and no one's there. And it takes me a second to

[B]

realize exactly what's going on.

[A]

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,

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This has been a Comedy Central podcast.

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