March 15, 2023 • 22 mins
Kal Penn tackles the EPA limiting toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, the Pentagon blocking the Biden Administration from sharing evidence of Russian war crimes, and OpenAI debuting ChatGPT-4. Radhika Jones, Editor in Chief of Vanity Fair, discusses how she was able to expand the magazine’s reach by embracing the evolution of culture, the importance of elevating new voices.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Comedy Central. Wow from New York City,
the only city in America. It's the show, The Invention News.
He's the Daily Show. With your host down. Then, welcome
(00:32):
to the Daily Show. I'm Concotton. This is my third night,
and let me just say this job is way better
than when I worked at the White House. I can
eat candy for lunch without Michelle Obama judging me for it. Anyway,
we've got a great show for you tonight. My guest
is Vanity Fair editor Radika Jones. But yes, she's wonderful.
(00:54):
I'm wonderful. But there's a lot to talk about, so
let's get into headlines. All right, Let's kick things off
with a big update on artificial intelligence. If you're one
of those people who's worried that AI is getting too
smart too fast, you might want to tell Alexa to
turn your TV off. Artificial intelligence. It just got more real.
(01:17):
Artificial intelligence taking a dizzying leap forward. Open AI, the
company behind chat GPT, which came on the scene just
four months ago, out with its latest innovation, GPT four.
It can summarize articles, craft jokes, and even decipher images.
For example, it can tell us thought if the strings
in this image were cut, the balloons would fly away.
(01:39):
After scanning a picture of what's in your cupboard or fridge,
it can serve up options for a recipe. The previous
version of chat GPT had about a ten percent chance
of passing the bar exam for lawyers. This new version
that's being introduced today has about a ninety percent chance
of passing the bar. Here that here that in four months,
(02:00):
this thing went from being born to acing the bar exam.
What can your dumbass four month old doing? Oh would
you see that? Oh, he looked me in the eyes,
enrolled over. I worked in the White House. And keep
(02:22):
in mind the bar exam isn't just a multiple choice test. Okay,
you have to write essays, you have to know case law,
and you have to learn how to be smug when
you say, oh, yeah, I went to a law school
in New Haven. The point is this thing is learning fast.
Once it figures out how to get drunk and grope someone,
it'll be qualified for the Supreme Court. And the other
(02:48):
big update with this new version is that it can
analyze images like a photo of what's in your fridge.
I don't want that you have too many candy bars,
alerting Michelle Obama. The big picture here is that AI
is gonna do so many things so well that at
some point it's going to put a huge amount of
(03:09):
people out of work. So what do we do. I
have two ideas. One, implement universal basic income, there you go.
Or two and hear me out here, we let the
machines eat all the surplus people. No, okay, yeah, less popular,
I can tell final. All right, enough about machines killing people.
(03:31):
Let's move on to people killing people. Really dark. I
know it's been a year since Russia illegally invaded Ukraine,
and now there's an international effort to hold Russia accountable
in court for war crimes. But you'll never guess who's
standing in the way. The Pentagon is blocking the Biden
(03:51):
administration from sharing evidence of Russian war crimes committed in
Ukraine with the International Criminal Court. Military leaders say helping
the court with the investigation would set a precedent that
could lead to prosecuting Americans. Oh, that's right. Exhausting. The
Pentagon is saying, we don't want Russians to get prosecuted
(04:12):
for war crimes because then Americans could get prosecuted for
war crimes. And I mean, look, I'm just I'm just
spippling here, Okay, But one solution could be that Americans
just not commit war crimes. No, no, never mind, that
was stupid. That's a stupid idea. Stupid idea, that's stupid ideas.
But this, this situation really illustrates how tricky it is
(04:33):
for America to condemn other countries. Like Joe Biden's just
trying to be like, it is never acceptable to invade
another country, and the Pentagon is in the corner, just like, uh,
let's let's add in Europe, in Europe, just to keep
our options open, just in Europe. Anyway, if you, if
you take a step back, it's actually it's kind of
(04:53):
crazy that there even is a concept of war crimes.
I mean, I'm glad there is, but you have to
admit it's weird when you think about it. It's like, yeah,
obviously we'll settle our differences by killing each other. But
let's do it like gentleman pupin. But let's move on
to some good news. For four years, the Environmental Protection
Agency had a pretty tough time under Donald Trump. He
(05:16):
just honestly wasn't a big environmentalist. The only thing he's
ever planted is his ex wife on his golf course.
Oh okay, golf jokes cross the line in apparently. But look,
it's a new day and now like Keihuequan, the EPA
is back in bigger than ever. Here today proposed the
(05:39):
first ever limits on so called forever chemicals in drinking water.
The toxic chemicals, also known as pfast, have been used
in manufacturing for decades. Beef chemicals are used in the
manufacturing of products that we use like nonstick pans, waterproof clothing,
and furniture. They don't break down in the environment, and
experts say they can cause a host of healthy shoes.
(06:00):
The EPA says that proposed limits would say thousands of lives.
This proposed rule will now go through an approval process
for several months, including soliciting expert in public input. So
I look, I'm very glad they're doing this. Elections matter
and all that, but do we really need months of
public input on this? Like who are the local weirdos
who want to keep toxic water chemicals in the water?
(06:27):
And it's this is big government overreach, all right? If
if they get every if they give everybody clean water.
That means they're gonna give trans people clean water. Is
this is I'm all right, I have to say, if
I may, I like the way the chemicals taste, no
(06:48):
wonder I think that we should have separate drinking fountains.
Not no, not not for the toxins, just because well,
you know, anyway, let's let's just be glad that they
found a way to take these chemicals out of our
(07:09):
drinking water. I mean, we could just stop using the
chemicals in the first place, but then I'd have to
scrape egg gunk off my pan, and honestly, I'd rather
die of cancer. For more on this, we turned to
dul Say slow and everybody, I mean, this is this
(07:33):
is free news for all Americans, right, Oh, speak for yourself.
I'm not one of those freaks who drinks water. Everybody
drinks water, no, so not me. I know North chemicals,
did it? Look? This is americle, all right. If something's free,
that means as a catch all right, If an atmosphree,
(07:54):
they're stealing at data, if they're the free trial, they're
hoping you forget so they can start charging you. And
if a couch is free on Craigslist, y'all chee bashes
got bad bugs. Don't you have to drink water though
I don't know survive? Nope, I get my hydration in
other ways. Capri's son straight to queler and you know
(08:21):
the gushy part of grapes, And don't say, come on,
not every free three thing is bad? What about the
free samples at Costco? You can't even get in the
door without a membership. Just standing around that bitch cost money? Okay, Church,
Going to church costs nothing to the past. It takes
up the fourth offering. Okay, all right? What about walk
in the park with someone you love walking the park? Oh,
(08:43):
he's sound broke. Listen. Best case scenario, we're gonna have
to split a uber. Worst case scenario you get married,
have kids, and now your kids got broke jeans that
cost carries off for generation. Alright, alright, fine, fine, fine,
But I know one thing that's definitely free our friendship.
(09:06):
Oh kat, listen, have I taught you nothing? This is
the due say free trial. I mean you want to
keep talking after this? It's gonna cost you seven ninety
(09:27):
nine a month. Listen, this is America, baby, Okay, due,
say sloan. Everybody where do we come back, Well, cure
America's most deadly disease. Don't go away? All right, Welcome
(09:54):
back to the Daily Show. Now, believe it or not.
We are just around the corner from the twenty twenty
four presidential election, and there are so many important issues.
How to deal with China, what to do about climate change,
whether Miley Cyrus can really hold her own hand doesn't
even work. But based on what we're hearing from Republican
candidates and right wing media, there's one issue that looms
(10:16):
larger than all of that. It's the threat posed by
a deadly virus, and probably not the one you're thinking of.
Wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic cans down.
I think it's all because of the woke mind virus.
What if woke race obsession is not a fad, but
instead an incurable brain virus that's infected our country's entire
(10:38):
leadership class. It woke mind virus, the woke mind virus,
the woke mind virus. It is a virus. Yeah, Republicans
are terrified of the woke mind virus. I mean, to
be clear, not terrified enough to support public healthcare to
treat it, but terrified. Well, I am not a doctor,
(11:01):
as my parents remind me daily, but I didn't play
doctor Lawrence Cutner on the hit TV show House, and
I realized, Look, if anyone could find a cure for
the woke mind virus, it'd be those guys. So I
(11:23):
actually feel fine? Am I okay to leave now? Not quite?
And brain's been swollen. I don't have to see that
an all to your personality. I'm so sorry. We believe
that it's the woke mind virus, but we have to
ask you a few questions to confirm. Are you pissed
off that mister potato had doesn't have a penis? No?
(11:45):
Who gives this shit? There's a transit swimmer at the
local eighth grade meet. That's unfair to you. I don't care.
How does this diagnose me? Okay? Last question? Does racism
still exist? Yes? He could start saying Latin X any minute.
(12:06):
I'm sorry, what is going on here? This is the
greatest threat facing civilization? The great doctor Elam Musk says, so,
but I'm not sick, although this nonsense has kind of
given me a headache. Mister morganhal I know that you
don't feel like you have this Morgenthal. It's one of
the MGM names. What the Let me ask you this.
(12:30):
Do you agree that drag shows are a greater threat
than school shootings? No, of course not. And I don't
have any woke mind virus either. I'm just trying to
be an empathetic person. Okay, we're losing him plas. We
need to get you into a CRT scale. Do you
mean to see T scan? No, you know what. I'm
gonna check myself out. Okay, what what happened? Am I? Okay,
(13:04):
let's find out. What are your pronouns? My pronouns, my pronouns.
My pronouns are kiss my ass? Yeah, you're gonna be okay.
(13:24):
Although you do have a upos, I probably should have
many of that. Oh no, all right, stay tuned because
when we come back, my Deca Jones, we'll be joining
out on the shown. I'll go away. Hi, welcome back
(13:56):
to the day show. My guest tonight is be added
in chief of Vanity Fair. Their Hollywood issue is on
newsstands now and available at vanity fair dot com. Please
welcome Radica Jones. Wow. Okay, editor in chief of Vanity
(14:30):
Fair for five years. I know you throw the biggest
party of the year, which is the Vanity Fair Oscar
party that just happened Sunday night. Sunday night, How to go?
We can you tell me about it? Any good stories?
It was great, It was great, It was a lot
of fun. It was a great night in Hollywood. Is
that where Justin Bieber wore a blanket? He did. He
was very I'm not hating on that, by the way,
I would rock a blanket if I could pull it off.
(14:51):
He was very cozy. You know, we want everyone to
kick back, relax, and Justin really embodied that for the night.
So the stories that usually come out of that party
are I think, like a great combination of pop culture, fashion,
things with gravity. I've been myself, and I'm always surprised
when there's you know, elected officials, authors who've won Pulitzers
next to people whose movies you just walked out of.
(15:12):
How do you curate a list like that? Um? For
the record, I watch all the movies all the way.
I don't know about you, kle we we Well, Vanity
Fair is all about the mix because we cover all
those things. We cover politics, we cover culture, we cover entertainment,
m so it was such a cool I mean this year,
for example, we had two Nobel Laureates in attendance. Malala
(15:36):
was there. She produced a film that was nominated for
her an Oscar Um. Nancy and Paul Pelosi were there.
They they joined me for my viewing dinner that I
host before the party, and that was super fun. We
sat with Donald Lover and Michael Keaton. So it's it's
(15:58):
all about the mix, and that's what makes it a
lively and unique event. It's an event that a lot
of people want to get into. And I'm curious, like,
what's the what's the craziest bribe You've ever been offered
for entry to the vanity Farrells. So I obviously don't
want to give anyone any ideas, so I will not
(16:18):
be answering that question. Well, I didn't ask you if
they works. I just asked they never work? No I have.
I'm like, no, no, no, um, it's it's no. I
will tell you that somebody once brought a fake Oscar
to the party. Yeah, So if anyone's in the habit
of like melting gold and you know, just make their
(16:39):
bring to let Lego Oscar statue. That's super cool. Yeah,
try try it, try your luck, is what I have
to say. Did they get in? Um, I don't know. Actually, Um,
it's Lord stopped the story stop. Something that I find
so interesting and dynamic about you is that, in the
five years since you've been editor in chief, UM, Vanity
(17:01):
Fair has increased its footprint. It's uh, it's audience, it's
it's it's readership at a time where most media outlets
are shrinking in dramatic fashion. How did you manage to
grow the brand like that? Um? You know, Uh, it's
We're very proud of it. And and thank you for
saying that, because I feel like when I came to
(17:21):
Vanity Fair, I felt like it was such an important
cultural property and I got to take my role as
editor in chief at a time when our culture was
dramatically changing, the me too movement was just getting rolling,
and um, you know, there were just a lot of
important conversations being had, um among everybody really about kind
(17:42):
of who holds power? Um, who gets to who gets
to have a voice in our country and our culture
and who um and and who do we put on pedestals?
Who do who do we look up to? And and
I felt like Vanity Fair has this really powerful legacy
of you know, being able to shine a spotlight on
people who really matter and people we think are important.
(18:04):
And so to be able to modernize the brand and
make it really fresh and forward looking, make it more diverse.
You know, to me, that just felt like it was
not only was it the right thing to do, but
it was the exciting thing to do. I mean, the
culture is dynamic, it's always changing. You know, you're part
of that. And and I think it's really rewarding not
(18:25):
only for us who are making the magazine, you know,
working on the site every day, curating the social feeds,
making the videos, all those things. It's rewarding for us,
but I think it's also rewarding for our readers because
they really want to be able to discover what's new,
what's fresh. I mean, that was the point of our
Hollywood cover this year. Everybody, everybody on the cover is
(18:46):
under thirty five. It's just like incredibly powerful generation of
Hollywood talent. And you know, you know, Austin Butler on
a Arms, both of them nominated for Oscars this year.
You know, they're young there at the beginning of their careers,
but they're already killing it. People like Julia Garner Jonathan Majors.
You know, it's exciting, I think, to be able to
look to the future through people like that and for
(19:07):
us to be able to elevate them. So that's been
our mission and to have it resonate and to see
the success and see it reach audiences is just really gratifying.
It's an incredible thing to witness as a fan of
the brand and the franchise, especially because as somebody who
works in entertainment, I often feel like I'm fighting when
I'm in a leadership position. I'm fighting to prove to
(19:28):
folks who are a little higher up than me why
I want to cast somebody or hire this particular writer,
especially if they come from a diverse background. And some
of that is institutional, some of that is an epotism
that you're fighting up against. You've really shaken up this magazine.
You have new contributors. The stories that you're telling are
never at the expense of somebody who's not qualified, like
you're bringing in these diverse voices from incredible American and
(19:49):
global viewpoints. Was that hard to do when you got
in the editor seat or was it an easy change?
I mean, I just kind of plowed ahead and did it.
I figured someone would tell me to stop, you know, if, if, if,
But nobody did, and in fact, I had a lot
of support and um, and again when you see it
resonating with readers, with viewers, you know, that's the that's
(20:13):
the proof, I think. Um, I the reason I do
this job is that I like taking risks and and
I like being able to elevate new voices. And you
know I've benefited from that. I want to pass that along.
So UM, I mean, I'm no, I'm happy to say that.
I just I when I came to the magazine, I
(20:33):
said this is what I want to do, and they said,
go for it, and here we are. UM, I want
to wrap up with you. You sort of alluded to
shout outs and I love whether it's your social media
or things that the magazine does highlighting up and coming brands.
And these are incredibly talented oftentimes, Uh you know, communities,
folks from communities of color, young startups, people with really
(20:55):
interesting stories that feed into their art or their fashion.
How do you how do you find those people? Well?
I think that I'm I'm lucky to work with a
team that's deeply curious and just kind of like very omnivorous.
And that's how I feel too. I mean, I don't
think there's I think a lot of the divisions that
we make in our culture a little artificial, you know. Um,
(21:16):
I don't believe in the concept of a guilty pleasure.
It's just a pleasure. So that's so I try to
apply that to you know, the curation of the magazine.
And we do really serious investigative journalism, but we also
are here to have fun and we want our readers
to have fun and enjoy it. And that's you know,
coming back to the Oscar party, like that's kind of
what it's all about. So well, this is a this
(21:38):
is a very fun issue. It's the twenty ninth Annual
Hollywood Issue on Vanity Fair. Please thanks so much to
my my guest Will Up Jobs. We're gonna take very
quick Bright Well, we'll be like back after this. Thank
you so much, as it's pleas. That's our shelf for tonight.
(22:06):
But before we go, please consider supporting the Sunrise Movement
Education Fund. Their youth led movement creates political action on
climate change across America. If you can, please donate at
the link below. Explore more shows from the Daily Show
podcast universe by searching the Daily Show wherever you get
your podcast. Watch The Daily Show weeknights at eleven tenh
(22:27):
Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on
Fairmount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast wo
You're listening to Comedy Central. Wow from New York City,
the only city in America. It's the show, The Invention News.
He's the Daily Show. With your host down. Then, welcome
(00:32):
to the Daily Show. I'm Concotton. This is my third night,
and let me just say this job is way better
than when I worked at the White House. I can
eat candy for lunch without Michelle Obama judging me for it. Anyway,
we've got a great show for you tonight. My guest
is Vanity Fair editor Radika Jones. But yes, she's wonderful.
(00:54):
I'm wonderful. But there's a lot to talk about, so
let's get into headlines. All right, Let's kick things off
with a big update on artificial intelligence. If you're one
of those people who's worried that AI is getting too
smart too fast, you might want to tell Alexa to
turn your TV off. Artificial intelligence. It just got more real.
(01:17):
Artificial intelligence taking a dizzying leap forward. Open AI, the
company behind chat GPT, which came on the scene just
four months ago, out with its latest innovation, GPT four.
It can summarize articles, craft jokes, and even decipher images.
For example, it can tell us thought if the strings
in this image were cut, the balloons would fly away.
(01:39):
After scanning a picture of what's in your cupboard or fridge,
it can serve up options for a recipe. The previous
version of chat GPT had about a ten percent chance
of passing the bar exam for lawyers. This new version
that's being introduced today has about a ninety percent chance
of passing the bar. Here that here that in four months,
(02:00):
this thing went from being born to acing the bar exam.
What can your dumbass four month old doing? Oh would
you see that? Oh, he looked me in the eyes,
enrolled over. I worked in the White House. And keep
(02:22):
in mind the bar exam isn't just a multiple choice test. Okay,
you have to write essays, you have to know case law,
and you have to learn how to be smug when
you say, oh, yeah, I went to a law school
in New Haven. The point is this thing is learning fast.
Once it figures out how to get drunk and grope someone,
it'll be qualified for the Supreme Court. And the other
(02:48):
big update with this new version is that it can
analyze images like a photo of what's in your fridge.
I don't want that you have too many candy bars,
alerting Michelle Obama. The big picture here is that AI
is gonna do so many things so well that at
some point it's going to put a huge amount of
(03:09):
people out of work. So what do we do. I
have two ideas. One, implement universal basic income, there you go.
Or two and hear me out here, we let the
machines eat all the surplus people. No, okay, yeah, less popular,
I can tell final. All right, enough about machines killing people.
(03:31):
Let's move on to people killing people. Really dark. I
know it's been a year since Russia illegally invaded Ukraine,
and now there's an international effort to hold Russia accountable
in court for war crimes. But you'll never guess who's
standing in the way. The Pentagon is blocking the Biden
(03:51):
administration from sharing evidence of Russian war crimes committed in
Ukraine with the International Criminal Court. Military leaders say helping
the court with the investigation would set a precedent that
could lead to prosecuting Americans. Oh, that's right. Exhausting. The
Pentagon is saying, we don't want Russians to get prosecuted
(04:12):
for war crimes because then Americans could get prosecuted for
war crimes. And I mean, look, I'm just I'm just
spippling here, Okay, But one solution could be that Americans
just not commit war crimes. No, no, never mind, that
was stupid. That's a stupid idea. Stupid idea, that's stupid ideas.
But this, this situation really illustrates how tricky it is
(04:33):
for America to condemn other countries. Like Joe Biden's just
trying to be like, it is never acceptable to invade
another country, and the Pentagon is in the corner, just like, uh,
let's let's add in Europe, in Europe, just to keep
our options open, just in Europe. Anyway, if you, if
you take a step back, it's actually it's kind of
(04:53):
crazy that there even is a concept of war crimes.
I mean, I'm glad there is, but you have to
admit it's weird when you think about it. It's like, yeah,
obviously we'll settle our differences by killing each other. But
let's do it like gentleman pupin. But let's move on
to some good news. For four years, the Environmental Protection
Agency had a pretty tough time under Donald Trump. He
(05:16):
just honestly wasn't a big environmentalist. The only thing he's
ever planted is his ex wife on his golf course.
Oh okay, golf jokes cross the line in apparently. But look,
it's a new day and now like Keihuequan, the EPA
is back in bigger than ever. Here today proposed the
(05:39):
first ever limits on so called forever chemicals in drinking water.
The toxic chemicals, also known as pfast, have been used
in manufacturing for decades. Beef chemicals are used in the
manufacturing of products that we use like nonstick pans, waterproof clothing,
and furniture. They don't break down in the environment, and
experts say they can cause a host of healthy shoes.
(06:00):
The EPA says that proposed limits would say thousands of lives.
This proposed rule will now go through an approval process
for several months, including soliciting expert in public input. So
I look, I'm very glad they're doing this. Elections matter
and all that, but do we really need months of
public input on this? Like who are the local weirdos
who want to keep toxic water chemicals in the water?
(06:27):
And it's this is big government overreach, all right? If
if they get every if they give everybody clean water.
That means they're gonna give trans people clean water. Is
this is I'm all right, I have to say, if
I may, I like the way the chemicals taste, no
(06:48):
wonder I think that we should have separate drinking fountains.
Not no, not not for the toxins, just because well,
you know, anyway, let's let's just be glad that they
found a way to take these chemicals out of our
(07:09):
drinking water. I mean, we could just stop using the
chemicals in the first place, but then I'd have to
scrape egg gunk off my pan, and honestly, I'd rather
die of cancer. For more on this, we turned to
dul Say slow and everybody, I mean, this is this
(07:33):
is free news for all Americans, right, Oh, speak for yourself.
I'm not one of those freaks who drinks water. Everybody
drinks water, no, so not me. I know North chemicals,
did it? Look? This is americle, all right. If something's free,
that means as a catch all right, If an atmosphree,
(07:54):
they're stealing at data, if they're the free trial, they're
hoping you forget so they can start charging you. And
if a couch is free on Craigslist, y'all chee bashes
got bad bugs. Don't you have to drink water though
I don't know survive? Nope, I get my hydration in
other ways. Capri's son straight to queler and you know
(08:21):
the gushy part of grapes, And don't say, come on,
not every free three thing is bad? What about the
free samples at Costco? You can't even get in the
door without a membership. Just standing around that bitch cost money? Okay, Church,
Going to church costs nothing to the past. It takes
up the fourth offering. Okay, all right? What about walk
in the park with someone you love walking the park? Oh,
(08:43):
he's sound broke. Listen. Best case scenario, we're gonna have
to split a uber. Worst case scenario you get married,
have kids, and now your kids got broke jeans that
cost carries off for generation. Alright, alright, fine, fine, fine,
But I know one thing that's definitely free our friendship.
(09:06):
Oh kat, listen, have I taught you nothing? This is
the due say free trial. I mean you want to
keep talking after this? It's gonna cost you seven ninety
(09:27):
nine a month. Listen, this is America, baby, Okay, due,
say sloan. Everybody where do we come back, Well, cure
America's most deadly disease. Don't go away? All right, Welcome
(09:54):
back to the Daily Show. Now, believe it or not.
We are just around the corner from the twenty twenty
four presidential election, and there are so many important issues.
How to deal with China, what to do about climate change,
whether Miley Cyrus can really hold her own hand doesn't
even work. But based on what we're hearing from Republican
candidates and right wing media, there's one issue that looms
(10:16):
larger than all of that. It's the threat posed by
a deadly virus, and probably not the one you're thinking of.
Wokeness is a virus more dangerous than any pandemic cans down.
I think it's all because of the woke mind virus.
What if woke race obsession is not a fad, but
instead an incurable brain virus that's infected our country's entire
(10:38):
leadership class. It woke mind virus, the woke mind virus,
the woke mind virus. It is a virus. Yeah, Republicans
are terrified of the woke mind virus. I mean, to
be clear, not terrified enough to support public healthcare to
treat it, but terrified. Well, I am not a doctor,
(11:01):
as my parents remind me daily, but I didn't play
doctor Lawrence Cutner on the hit TV show House, and
I realized, Look, if anyone could find a cure for
the woke mind virus, it'd be those guys. So I
(11:23):
actually feel fine? Am I okay to leave now? Not quite?
And brain's been swollen. I don't have to see that
an all to your personality. I'm so sorry. We believe
that it's the woke mind virus, but we have to
ask you a few questions to confirm. Are you pissed
off that mister potato had doesn't have a penis? No?
(11:45):
Who gives this shit? There's a transit swimmer at the
local eighth grade meet. That's unfair to you. I don't care.
How does this diagnose me? Okay? Last question? Does racism
still exist? Yes? He could start saying Latin X any minute.
(12:06):
I'm sorry, what is going on here? This is the
greatest threat facing civilization? The great doctor Elam Musk says, so,
but I'm not sick, although this nonsense has kind of
given me a headache. Mister morganhal I know that you
don't feel like you have this Morgenthal. It's one of
the MGM names. What the Let me ask you this.
(12:30):
Do you agree that drag shows are a greater threat
than school shootings? No, of course not. And I don't
have any woke mind virus either. I'm just trying to
be an empathetic person. Okay, we're losing him plas. We
need to get you into a CRT scale. Do you
mean to see T scan? No, you know what. I'm
gonna check myself out. Okay, what what happened? Am I? Okay,
(13:04):
let's find out. What are your pronouns? My pronouns, my pronouns.
My pronouns are kiss my ass? Yeah, you're gonna be okay.
(13:24):
Although you do have a upos, I probably should have
many of that. Oh no, all right, stay tuned because
when we come back, my Deca Jones, we'll be joining
out on the shown. I'll go away. Hi, welcome back
(13:56):
to the day show. My guest tonight is be added
in chief of Vanity Fair. Their Hollywood issue is on
newsstands now and available at vanity fair dot com. Please
welcome Radica Jones. Wow. Okay, editor in chief of Vanity
(14:30):
Fair for five years. I know you throw the biggest
party of the year, which is the Vanity Fair Oscar
party that just happened Sunday night. Sunday night, How to go?
We can you tell me about it? Any good stories?
It was great, It was great, It was a lot
of fun. It was a great night in Hollywood. Is
that where Justin Bieber wore a blanket? He did. He
was very I'm not hating on that, by the way,
I would rock a blanket if I could pull it off.
(14:51):
He was very cozy. You know, we want everyone to
kick back, relax, and Justin really embodied that for the night.
So the stories that usually come out of that party
are I think, like a great combination of pop culture, fashion,
things with gravity. I've been myself, and I'm always surprised
when there's you know, elected officials, authors who've won Pulitzers
next to people whose movies you just walked out of.
(15:12):
How do you curate a list like that? Um? For
the record, I watch all the movies all the way.
I don't know about you, kle we we Well, Vanity
Fair is all about the mix because we cover all
those things. We cover politics, we cover culture, we cover entertainment,
m so it was such a cool I mean this year,
for example, we had two Nobel Laureates in attendance. Malala
(15:36):
was there. She produced a film that was nominated for
her an Oscar Um. Nancy and Paul Pelosi were there.
They they joined me for my viewing dinner that I
host before the party, and that was super fun. We
sat with Donald Lover and Michael Keaton. So it's it's
(15:58):
all about the mix, and that's what makes it a
lively and unique event. It's an event that a lot
of people want to get into. And I'm curious, like,
what's the what's the craziest bribe You've ever been offered
for entry to the vanity Farrells. So I obviously don't
want to give anyone any ideas, so I will not
(16:18):
be answering that question. Well, I didn't ask you if
they works. I just asked they never work? No I have.
I'm like, no, no, no, um, it's it's no. I
will tell you that somebody once brought a fake Oscar
to the party. Yeah, So if anyone's in the habit
of like melting gold and you know, just make their
(16:39):
bring to let Lego Oscar statue. That's super cool. Yeah,
try try it, try your luck, is what I have
to say. Did they get in? Um, I don't know. Actually, Um,
it's Lord stopped the story stop. Something that I find
so interesting and dynamic about you is that, in the
five years since you've been editor in chief, UM, Vanity
(17:01):
Fair has increased its footprint. It's uh, it's audience, it's
it's it's readership at a time where most media outlets
are shrinking in dramatic fashion. How did you manage to
grow the brand like that? Um? You know, Uh, it's
We're very proud of it. And and thank you for
saying that, because I feel like when I came to
(17:21):
Vanity Fair, I felt like it was such an important
cultural property and I got to take my role as
editor in chief at a time when our culture was
dramatically changing, the me too movement was just getting rolling,
and um, you know, there were just a lot of
important conversations being had, um among everybody really about kind
(17:42):
of who holds power? Um, who gets to who gets
to have a voice in our country and our culture
and who um and and who do we put on pedestals?
Who do who do we look up to? And and
I felt like Vanity Fair has this really powerful legacy
of you know, being able to shine a spotlight on
people who really matter and people we think are important.
(18:04):
And so to be able to modernize the brand and
make it really fresh and forward looking, make it more diverse.
You know, to me, that just felt like it was
not only was it the right thing to do, but
it was the exciting thing to do. I mean, the
culture is dynamic, it's always changing. You know, you're part
of that. And and I think it's really rewarding not
(18:25):
only for us who are making the magazine, you know,
working on the site every day, curating the social feeds,
making the videos, all those things. It's rewarding for us,
but I think it's also rewarding for our readers because
they really want to be able to discover what's new,
what's fresh. I mean, that was the point of our
Hollywood cover this year. Everybody, everybody on the cover is
(18:46):
under thirty five. It's just like incredibly powerful generation of
Hollywood talent. And you know, you know, Austin Butler on
a Arms, both of them nominated for Oscars this year.
You know, they're young there at the beginning of their careers,
but they're already killing it. People like Julia Garner Jonathan Majors.
You know, it's exciting, I think, to be able to
look to the future through people like that and for
(19:07):
us to be able to elevate them. So that's been
our mission and to have it resonate and to see
the success and see it reach audiences is just really gratifying.
It's an incredible thing to witness as a fan of
the brand and the franchise, especially because as somebody who
works in entertainment, I often feel like I'm fighting when
I'm in a leadership position. I'm fighting to prove to
(19:28):
folks who are a little higher up than me why
I want to cast somebody or hire this particular writer,
especially if they come from a diverse background. And some
of that is institutional, some of that is an epotism
that you're fighting up against. You've really shaken up this magazine.
You have new contributors. The stories that you're telling are
never at the expense of somebody who's not qualified, like
you're bringing in these diverse voices from incredible American and
(19:49):
global viewpoints. Was that hard to do when you got
in the editor seat or was it an easy change?
I mean, I just kind of plowed ahead and did it.
I figured someone would tell me to stop, you know, if, if, if,
But nobody did, and in fact, I had a lot
of support and um, and again when you see it
resonating with readers, with viewers, you know, that's the that's
(20:13):
the proof, I think. Um, I the reason I do
this job is that I like taking risks and and
I like being able to elevate new voices. And you
know I've benefited from that. I want to pass that along.
So UM, I mean, I'm no, I'm happy to say that.
I just I when I came to the magazine, I
(20:33):
said this is what I want to do, and they said,
go for it, and here we are. UM, I want
to wrap up with you. You sort of alluded to
shout outs and I love whether it's your social media
or things that the magazine does highlighting up and coming brands.
And these are incredibly talented oftentimes, Uh you know, communities,
folks from communities of color, young startups, people with really
(20:55):
interesting stories that feed into their art or their fashion.
How do you how do you find those people? Well?
I think that I'm I'm lucky to work with a
team that's deeply curious and just kind of like very omnivorous.
And that's how I feel too. I mean, I don't
think there's I think a lot of the divisions that
we make in our culture a little artificial, you know. Um,
(21:16):
I don't believe in the concept of a guilty pleasure.
It's just a pleasure. So that's so I try to
apply that to you know, the curation of the magazine.
And we do really serious investigative journalism, but we also
are here to have fun and we want our readers
to have fun and enjoy it. And that's you know,
coming back to the Oscar party, like that's kind of
what it's all about. So well, this is a this
(21:38):
is a very fun issue. It's the twenty ninth Annual
Hollywood Issue on Vanity Fair. Please thanks so much to
my my guest Will Up Jobs. We're gonna take very
quick Bright Well, we'll be like back after this. Thank
you so much, as it's pleas. That's our shelf for tonight.
(22:06):
But before we go, please consider supporting the Sunrise Movement
Education Fund. Their youth led movement creates political action on
climate change across America. If you can, please donate at
the link below. Explore more shows from the Daily Show
podcast universe by searching the Daily Show wherever you get
your podcast. Watch The Daily Show weeknights at eleven tenh
(22:27):
Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on
Fairmount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast wo
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.