With finals week upon us college students (or fast approaching), comes thousands of students looking for stimulating study break tools that they can look forward to but not get bogged down by for the rest of the day (sorry, cat videos). To this, I say, let John Oliver come to the rescue.
With his weekly 30-minute show, "Last Week Tonight," Oliver delivers news in a way similar to John Stewart or Stephen Colbert, but unlike these men, Oliver spends the last 20 minutes of each show delving into one big issue that he and his team research tirelessly — and it makes for some incredibly thought-provoking, educational and, of course, hilarious television.
Here are my top five favorite of John Oliver's diatribes over the span of "Last Week Tonight"'s run, and they are just long enough to fit into one hell of an entertaining study break for finals!
5. The Miss America Pageant
...and everything that's wrong with it. Though the pageant markets itself as a "scholarship program," the objectification of its contestants, antiquity of the event, and humiliation is the real takeaway. Also, take a look at 5:09-5:16 — that man is now running for president. Amazing.
4. FIFA and the World Cup
Who knew a soccer organization could be so corrupt? Or, better yet, "comically grotesque"? Oliver goes into how FIFA is racked with greed and arrogance and how it is perhaps the biggest "bully" organization in the world.
3. America's Sugar Industry
You would be correct in assuming there's a lot of material to work with on this topic, and he uses all of it so well. The amount of money that gets put into sugar lobbying programs in the United States is astounding. And I, for one, will not rest until sugar is measured in circus peanuts candy, per Oliver's request.
2. The Tobacco Industry
Spoiler alert: smoking still is not good for you (looking at you, Indonesia). Even though smoking rates in the United States are lower than they have ever been, tobacco is more profitable now than ever before. Why is that?
1. Donald Trump
John Oliver ignored Trump for as long as he could, but this segment alone may be the one silver lining to Trump running for president. With over 40 million hits, swarms of people across the nation got to watch Oliver skewer Trump's candidacy. Spread the word — #MakeDonaldDrumpfAgain.
I hope that these videos can play some small role in keeping you focused. And if not, I hope that you at least learn a little something about these topics, courtesy of John Oliver!
