TDS Time Machine | Josh at the Desk 2025

Josh Johnson gives a progress report on Trump’s first year in office based on his campaign pledges to generate more jobs, make Americans rich, improve healthcare, and protect free speech. Naturally, the only person to benefit from these promises is Trump, who now has everything but a normal-looking hand. Lewis Black takes on Gen Z’s nostalgic penchant for the past and the ridiculous “throwback” fads the younger generation is reviving, including cigarette smoking, “dumb phones” to help them think thoughts, tramp stamps, and the mall. Emmy award-winning documentarian Alexandria Stapleton talks to Josh Johnson about producing and directing the Netflix docuseries, “Sean Combs: The Reckoning,” including her shared concern with producing partner Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson not to indict the entire Hip-Hop culture along with the music mogul and how the sense of trepidation among the documentary crew and interview participants has shifted since the release of the series and the arrest of Sean Combs. They also share their personal theories of how Combs, a master of reinvention, might try to rebrand himself upon his release and how Stapleton hopes the series will lead to more conversations that can help push Hip-Hop, society, and justice systems forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Trump closes out his first year as president (again) with a finger-crushing book of accomplishments while he leans into his goal for Year 2: acquiring Greenland. Josh Johnson tracks how Trump’s mumbling about his need to own “Iceland” in Davos morphed into a vague "concept of a deal" with the president who never hears the word “no.” In another edition of Everything Is Stupid, Ronny Chieng details the rise and fall of an alleged scam that anyone with a sane mind could’ve seen coming: former New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s risky and unregulated crypto token, which he compared to Betsy Ross before it crashed spectacularly. “The Copenhagen Test” star Simu Liu sits down with Josh Johnson to discuss his new series on Peacock and his upcoming Broadway debut in “Oh, Mary!” He shares what it’s like to portray Mary’s Teacher on stage, the similarities and differences between acting on film and for a live audience, and his experience in stunt performance, inspired by the greats like Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After receiving a secondhand Nobel Peace Prize from the real winner, Maria Corina Machado, Trump decides peace is for chumps and doubles down on his plans to take over Greenland, angering both Emmanuel Macron and Emmanuel Macron's eye. Plus, while Josh Johnson thinks the president's plan to extort Greenland out of Europe's hands through tariffs will only hurt Americans, Michael Kosta demonstrates how kicking one's own ass is the ultimate fighting strategy. Trump still wants Greenland and is threatening our European allies if they don’t go along with his plan, but this story has been brewing for a while. As Jordan Klepper’s recent trip to Norway showed us, the president’s anti-peace reputation has long been the talk of the town. President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, Artis Stevens, sits down with Josh Johnson to discuss the power of mentorship. They talk about overcoming the barriers of time and perfection by being present, building social infrastructure to change communities, and the correlation between mentorship and educational, financial, and social success. To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit https://Hims.com/dailyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week's Daily Show host Josh Johnson is joined by writer Nicole Conlan to recap the latest news, and preview what's yet to come. Together they try to wrap their heads around the "objectively bad" news cycle, including Trump's aggression toward Greenland, Venezuela, and the residents of Minnesota. They dig in to what individuals can to do be helpful wherever they are, and try to get inside the heads of agro, but outnumbered, ICE agents. Looking forward, they speculate on the upcoming Oscar nominations, and what else the news might have in store for us. To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit https://Hims.com/dailyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Daily Show unpacks the many ways Americans have found to misunderstand and misappropriate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Leslie Jones confronts people on the streets about how they’re celebrating. Dulce Sloan reminds us our heroes aren’t perfect, they’re people. Roy Wood Jr. on the exploitation of the holiday. Vann R. Newkirk II and Trevor Noah discuss the civil rights icon’s real legacy. Charlamagne Tha God is celebrating MLK Day like it's his last, because with this president, it might be. To get simple, online access to personalized, affordable care for ED, Hair Loss, Weight Loss, and more, visit https://Hims.com/dailyshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Josh Johnson's freshman year at The Daily Show desk was filled with deep dives into the unraveling of the Epstein files, Trump's grudge against "treasonous" Obama, an accidental venture into socialism, a strange debate about pedophilia, and the president's ever-shrinking chances of getting into heaven. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Stewart digs into Trump claiming he's the acting president of Venezuela, dividing the country's oil between energy companies, and saber-rattling at Iran and Greenland. Jon also calls out MAGA's hypocrisy when it comes to the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent vs. the January 6 insurrection. Jordan Klepper tackles RFK Jr.'s upside-down food pyramid, Pete Hegseth's latest alleged war crime, and the people of Minnesota fighting back against ICE. Plus, Klepper covers the president's push to take over Greenland and examines MAGA's criticisms of Mamdani's first two weeks in office as NYC mayor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jordan Klepper covers the latest on Trump’s whole milk antics, the president’s push to take over Greenland that has Europe mobilizing, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s burgeoning communist reign in New York City, which has unleashed terrors such as expanded access to childcare and free public restrooms. Grace Kuhlenschmidt breaks down the latest tech from the CES conference: candy that puts voices in your head, razors that botch your haircut for you, robots that can see you but can’t hear you, and a chance to fulfill your dreams of beating up a machine! Actor Wagner Moura joins Jordan Klepper, fresh off of his Golden Globe win for his performance in “The Secret Agent.” Moura, a Brazilian native, describes how the film, which takes place in 1977 Brazil during a heavy dictatorship, was a way for him and director Kleber Mendonça Filho to process their perplexity after their country’s return to dictatorship values with the election of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro in 2018. They also discuss how this period piece resonates with Brazilians today, as well as audiences all over the world who are likewise facing authoritarian threats, the importance of retaining historical memory in order to avoid repeating past mistakes, and why he gravitates towards projects that merge art with politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump gives a Ford factory worker the middle finger and delivers a message of “keep protesting” but only for Iranians, immigration raids escalate in Minnesota, ICE engages in blatant racial and accent profiling, and Jordan Klepper highlights the Minnesotans fighting back with music, costumes, and bologna. Musician Langhorne Slim joins Jordan Klepper to talk about his new album, “The Dreamin’ Kind.” They discuss the importance of dreamers and creativity, especially during uncertain times, how politics have changed the way his older music resonates, collaborating with Greta Van Fleet, and his mission to make joyful music that'll have you wanting to “shake it.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jordan Klepper rounds up the latest indiscretions from Trump's cabinet, including Pete Hegseth adding perfidy to his collection of alleged war crimes, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer bringing back the good old-fashioned political sex scandal, and RFK Jr. making America heart attack again with his upside-down food pyramid, which Troy Iwata breaks down for us. Charlamagne Tha God is celebrating MLK Day like it's his last, because with this president, it might be. Thanks to the Trump administration’s backsliding on the national holiday, MAGA's disparaging remarks against Dr. King, and Elon Musk’s call for white solidarity, Donald Trump’s birthday is in the running to replace MLK Day. Award-winning director and screenwriter Joachim Trier joins Jordan Klepper to discuss his latest critically-acclaimed film, "Sentimental Value." They talk about the influence of early skateboarding films on challenging actors to take risks, developing a cast built on trust with Stellan Skarsgård, Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas and Elle Fanning, using filmmaking as the setting to explore one family’s dynamics, and swapping antagonists for tender characters to bring understanding and hope into a complicated world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices