A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse, and how to stave it off or survive it. Named after the legendary character "Crazy Eddie" in Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's "The Mote in God's Eye." Expect news and views about culture, politics, economics, technology, and science fiction.
President Trump sent the military to Oregon after seeing a misleading report on Fox News and indicated that everyone in America will soon have access to futuristic medical technology, while the indictment of James Comey represents a chilling escalation of Trump's efforts to punish his political enemies.
I'm starting with the last story, since the other comedians I'm featuring didn't cover it. The game of musical chairs Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump has been playing with the lawyers in the Department of Justice reminds me of what I wrote in Noah, Meyers, Colbert, and Kimmel mock Trump's lawyers for his second impeachment trial: "Trump doesn't want to listen to his lawyers. He wants lawyers who listen to him. He should be careful what he wishes for. I think he's getting them, and they're not that good." I think he cares more that they're good looking and obedient than if they're competent. That means his lawfare is unlikely to result in convictions.
After a string of mass shootings across the U.S., America swaps out “thoughts and prayers” for a left vs. right blame game, Republicans hypocritically criticize the Democrats' “violent rhetoric,” and Trump escalates a nonexistent problem by deploying troops to Portland.
"Why Portland?" Because Hoover Cleveland was watching Fox News showing clips from 2020, not today. The preview image I had for Seeker explains how television entertainment can shape our political opinions and need to replace showed Hoover Cleveland saying "I learn a lot from television." Yeah, and a lot of it is wrong.
That concludes September's blogging. Stay tuned for the first post of October.
Change of plans — the power went out this morning and by the time it came back on, I decided I didn't have enough time or energy to blog about the Daytime Emmys nominees in science and nature, so instead I'm sharing Governors Award: 2025 Creative Arts.
The 2025 Governors Award is presented to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and accepted by its President and CEO, Patricia de Stacy Harrison.
I'm glad to see Dr. Henry Louis "Skip" Gates III up on stage to present. He didn't have to wait to win Outstanding Structured Reality Program to be there. Also, great montage of great moments on PBS over the decades — what a trip down memory lane!
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting received the Television Academy's Governors Award at the 2025 Creative Arts Emmys on Sunday.
Patricia de Stacy Harrison, the longest-serving president and CEO of CPB, accepted the award, which is given to any individual or organization… pic.twitter.com/eukS5eVMI4
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting received the Television Academy's Governors Award at the 2025 Creative Arts Emmys on Sunday.
Patricia de Stacy Harrison, the longest-serving president and CEO of CPB, accepted the award, which is given to any individual or organization that has made a "profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television."
The honor comes as the organization is shutting down its operations after President Donald Trump clawed back about $1.1 billion of funding for public broadcasting.
CPB told employees that a majority of staff positions will be eliminated on Sept. 30, and a small team will stay on until January to complete any remaining work.
The passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 created CPB, an independent nonprofit. The corporation distributed federal funds to PBS, NPR and more than 1,500 public media stations across the country.
CPB was recognized for “more than five decades of service in enriching America’s media landscape through funding and support for educational, cultural and public-interest programming,” according to a statement from the Television Academy when they announced the award.
“For more than half a century, CPB has been a steadfast champion of storytelling that informs, educates and unites, ensuring that public media remains a vital space where diverse voices are heard and communities are served,” commented Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego.
“With this award, we honor CPB’s enduring legacy and its extraordinary impact on the cultural and civic life of our nation.”
Defunding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a lousy thing to do; Elmo and Big Bird are too nice to complain about it, but I'm not! (From an idea by, and featuring, Joyce Jacobson; fair use parody of "Sesame Street" theme by Joe Raposo)
I'm pleased that this year's nominees for feature film, Jurassic World Rebirth, Wicked, and The Wild Robot, are all speculative fiction, one each from science fiction, fantasy, and animation, although The Wild Robot earned two nominations as science fiction in this year's Critics Choice Super Awards. This demonstrates once again that genre entertainment can convey serious messages in the middle of all the escapism. Speaking of serious messages, a combination of environmental content and star power decides these awards and that makes me think that Jurassic World Rebirth is the favorite. Its theme of the importance of biodiversity as natural capital is as strong as the respect for nature in The Wild Robot and stronger as an environmental theme than the animal rights subplot in Wicked. Jurassic World Rebirth also has as much star power as Wicked, although previous host Jeff Goldblum plays the Wizard of Oz, which might tip the balance, and more than The Wild Robot. Sorry, I don't think Lupita Nyong'o in a voice-acting role is enough.
I expect to vote on two of these nominees at the upcoming Saturn Awards, Jurassic World Rebirth, which is my co-favorite with Lilo & Stitch for Best Science Fiction Film and Wicked, which is my choice for Best Fantasy Film. The Wild Robot already won Best Animated Film at the Saturn Awards, but lost to Flow at the Academy Awards. As I wrote in April, I now have Flow penciled in for Best Animated Film at the Saturn Awards. I also now have Flow as a snub for the EMA Awards. I think it had the environmental content, but it was a foreign film with no dialog, so no Hollywood star power!
Now for the nominees I can recommend to my students as extra credit. My pick is Emmy winner Octopus! on the basis of environmental content and star power. I predicted I would see it nominated at the EMA Awards and I was right. The Last Rhinos: A New Hope and Yanuni have as stong environmental themes, but no other awards nominations and no Hollywood stars. However, Yanuni has a compelling personal story, which might be enough for it to upset Octopus!
The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation (Comedy Central)
Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. (PBS)
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Netflix)
Tucci in Italy (National Geographic)
As the promotional images from Twitter/X show above, three shows have two nominations, Conan O'Brien Must Go, The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation, and Tucci in Italy. Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman have just the program nomination. Gold Derby breaks the tie at the top with 60% of experts, 80% of editors, and 79.4% of users voting for Conan O'Brien Must Go, 40% of experts, 20% of editors, and 15.0% of users picking Tucci in Italy, 2.9% of users choosing Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr., 1.8% selecting My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, and only 0.8% thinking The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation has a chance. It may be my favorite, but I'm in a tiny minority.
By awards time, Gold Derby's odds showed every editor, 77.8% of experts, and 81.3% of users consolidating around Conan O'Brien Must Go while 11.1% of experts and 15.3% of users sticking with Tucci in Italy and 11.1% jumping ship to join 1.7% of users for My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman to (sort of) repeat. The consolidated support for Conan O'Brien Must Go turned out to be correct — this time.
Conan O'Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (Netflix)
Sarah Silverman: PostMortem (Netflix)
Your Friend, Nate Bargatze (Netflix)
Your Friend, Nate Bargatze leads with three nominations, followed by Ali Wong: Single Lady, Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years, Conan O'Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and Sarah Silverman: PostMortem at two each, then Adam Sandler: Love You with only this one. Gold Derby's odds give a different order, with every editor and expert along with 81.1% of users choosing Conan O'Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor to win. Critics Choice and Golden Globe winner Ali Wong: Single Lady sits in second with the support of 12.9% of users, followed by Adam Sandler: Love You at 2.7%, Your Friend, Nate Bargatze at 1.5%, Sarah Silverman: PostMortem at 1.1%, and Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years at 0.8%. Based on these odds, whoever wins, Netflix will, too.
The team from Conan O'Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor accepts the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) at the 2025 Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
"Thank you to our friends and colleagues at the Kennedy Center, most of whom are not there anymore." My readers and I know who to blame for that. I wouldn't be surprised if the change in leadership contributed to the vote for Conan O'Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor to support the previous leadership as well as Conan O'Brien. If so, "long live the resistance."
The 67th Annual Grammy Awards - Julio Himede, Kristen Merlino, Gloria Lamb, Ellen Jaworski, Margaux Lapresle, and Kaydee Lavorin (CBS)
The Oscars - Misty Buckley, Alana Billingsley, John Zuiker, and Margaux LaPresle (ABC)
SNL50: The Anniversary Special - Akira Yoshimura, N. Joseph DeTullio, Patrick Lynch, Melissa Shakun, Charlotte Hayes Harrison, and Sabrina Lederer (NBC)
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert - Keith Ian Raywood, Anthony Bishop, and Aaron Black (Peacock)
The Oscars is the defending winner, so it's a nominal favorite, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if SNL50: The Anniversary Special wins instead.
The Oscars, which Conan hosted, won again. Congratulations!
This was originally "A blog about societal, cultural, and civilizational collapse," and I haven't changed that description even as my focus has changed since 2011. I'm returning to the original theme as I feature SciShow asking What Will Humanity Leave Behind?
When humans are gone, nature will reclaim our cities and break down much of what we've built. But some of the things we've made will last much longer than others, and they're probably not the things you'd expect.
I used to work with zebra mussels, so I'm surprised I've only mentioned them once here and that was a dozen years ago. It was about time I mentioned the invasive species again and what it's done to the Great Lakes ecosystem. That counts as a sign of human presence, because the bivalves wouldn't be in North America without human assistance.
While I'm not surprised that glass and ceramics will last millions of years — one of the stories I tell my students is about quartz grains being eroded and redeposited a dozen times over a billion years, and glass is made from quartz — finding out that bronze survives for thousands of years is something that I should have realized long ago. After all, the Bronze Age in Europe ended nearly 3,000 years ago, and the bronze artifacts from then have survived all that time.
Something else I expected as a sign of human presence was plastic. Hank Green didn't list that, but he did discuss spheroidal carbonaceous particles. So there is something special about the soot we produce from burning fossil fuels!
That's a wrap for today's collapse-themed entry. Stay tuned as I return to entertainment tomorrow.
We used to have BILLIONS of these extraordinary trees. Thanks to a tragic twist of fate, now… there are only 4.
Once towering over eastern U.S. forests, billions of American chestnut trees nourished ecosystems, built homes, and sustained Appalachian communities. But in the early 1900s, a foreign fungus arrived, and within decades, nearly all of them were gone.
However, the species never fully vanished. Its roots still survive underground, sending up sprouts that grow, die, and regrow in an endless cycle. These trees are biologically alive, but with most never reaching maturity, they remain functionally extinct.
In the forests of Pennsylvania, Shane Campbell-Staton joins Sara Fern Fitzsimmons from The American Chestnut Foundation to track this tree’s strange afterlife and learn the science behind its potential revival. With the help of rare surviving trees, selective breeding, and even gene editing, scientists and volunteers are working to breed blight-resistant trees.
The chestnut’s comeback will take time. But researchers are making steady progress towards developing American chestnut trees that survive and thrive in the native range they formerly dominated.
This is a story I tell my students about the importance of biodiversity; the more biodiversity, the more possible ways organisms will be able to meet human needs and wants. If a species becomes extinct, biologically, functionally, or economically, other species will be able to meet the need. We lost American Chestnuts, so we turned to other species. That's a very human-centered explanation, but it's incomplete, both because humans never replaced all the uses they had for American Chestnuts and because other organisms didn't fully replace the trees in their lives, either, as the video points out.
I also use this as an example of the limitations of evolution by natural selection. If a trait needed to meet a challenge doesn't already exist in a population, the population doesn't evolve the trait; it goes extinct. Evolution by natural selection is not like how humans imagine problem solving works; nature does not brainstorm solutions. Instead, it picks up existing solutions off the shelf. For what it's worth, that's mostly what humans do, too. mRNA vaccines started off as possible HIV vaccines before they were used for COVID-19, for example. That didn't prevent the researchers from earning a Nobel Prize.
Back to the video. This is a post-apocalyptic zombie story, at least as far as the trees are concerned, if they were able to have an opinion. With the discovery of apparently immune individuals, humans can help the species recover from its zombie apocalypse. That's a good tale of surviving collapse I can use as an inspiration for us humans.
That's a wrap for today's topic. Stay tuned for another evergreen educational entry tomorrow.
The prognosticators at Gold Derby have split on the likely winner, but agree that it's a two-show race between Severance and The Pitt with 60.0% of the editors, 41.7% of the experts, and 64.0% of the users selecting Severance, while half the experts, 40.0% of the editors, and 32.4% of the users think The Pitt will win. The remaining expert (8.3%) and 1.6% of users picked The Last of Us to place third in the odds. The White Lotus has the support of 1.1% of users, followed by Andor with 0.5%, Slow Horses with 0.4%, and both Paradise and The Diplomat with none.
The Pitt accepts the Emmy for Drama Series at the 77th Emmy Awards.
Congratulations to the cast, crew, and producers of The Pitt on a well-deserved win!
Kathy Bates, the only nomination for Matlock, leads with 83.3% of experts, 80.0% of editors, and 71.6% of users expecting her to win. Britt Lower sits in second with 20.0% of editors, 8.3% of experts, and 23.9% of users picking here. Bella Ramsey also has 8.3% of experts voting for her, but only 3.3% of users. Keri Russell has the support of 1.1% of users, while Sharon Horgan, Bad Sisters' sole nominee, only has 0.1%. Lower will only win in a Severance sweep, which the Gold Derby experts doubt will happen.
I was wrong about Lower only winning in a Severance sweep, although Gold Derby was right about that sweep not happening and this being a two-actress contest. Watch Lower win Lead Actress In A Drama Series: 77th Emmy Awards.
Britt Lower accepts the Emmy for Lead Actress In A Drama Series for Severance at the 77th Emmy Awards.
Yes, Queen! Not only were the nominees electrifying, so were you. That's how to introduce a category! Congratulations to Lower, who defied Gold Derby's expectations and mine by winning and writing "Let Me Out" on the back of her acceptance speech. Nice Easter egg!
Every editor, 92.3% of experts, and 82.0% of users want Noah Wylie, while 7.7% of experts and 15.2% of users selected Adam Scott. Pedro Pascal is a distant third with 2.3% of users, followed by Sterling K. Brown and Gary Oldman tied at 0.3%. I'm picking Wylie.
Noah Wyle accepts the Emmy for Lead Actor In A Drama Series for The Pitt at the 77th Emmy Awards.
I'm embarassed to write that I've been a fan of Wyle's since I watched him in both Falling Skies and The Librarians a decade ago and I'm still misspelling his name. Oops. Both of those roles inspired me to think of him as an educated man of action, a characterization that his role in E.R. cemented. He is still that in The Pitt and it paid off with his first acting Emmy. Congratulations!
Carrie Coon currently leads as the choice of 60.0% of editors, 58.3% of experts, and 70.4% of users, but Gold Derby thinks she has competition, as 33.3% of experts, 30.0% of editors, and 13.4% of users chose Katherine LaNasa and 10.0% of editors, 8.3% of experts, and 12.8% picked Parker Posey — a three-way race! A sweep by Severance seems unlikely, as only 1.9% of users made an argument for Patricia Arquette. The users give the rest of the nominees less than a 1.0% chance with Aimee Lou Wood at 0.8%, Natasha Rothwell at 0.4%, and Julianne Nicholson, who has already won an Emmy for Hacks, at 0.3%. I enjoyed Parker Posey the most, but Carrie Coon displayed more range.
I suspect vote-splitting between The White Lotus nominees allowed Gold Derby's second choice to win, which takes nothing away from her performance. Watch LaNasa win Supporting Actress In A Drama Series: 77th Emmy Awards.
Katherine LaNasa accepts the Emmy for Supporting Actress In A Drama Series for The Pitt at the 77th Emmy Awards.
Wednesday and Morticia! It was worth watching this clip for this pairing alone. As for LaNasa, she reminds me of my ex-wife the nurse in a good way. I don't know if I've ever written that before. In this case, it works for making her role more authentic.
Gold Derby's odds-makers see a two-way contest for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, with Tramell Tillman taking 70.0% of editors, 50.0% of experts, and 53.1% of users while Walton Goggins is walking away with 50.0% of experts, 30.0% of editors, and 43.6% of users. That's quite a split! The rest of the field consists of Sam Rockwell with 1.2%, John Turturro and James Marsden tied at 0.7%, Jason Isaacs with 0.6%, and Zach Cherry at 0.1%. My wife and I watched all of The White Lotus, and we found Goggins compelling.
Tramell Tillman accepts the Emmy for Supporting Actor In A Drama Series for Severance at the 77th Emmy Awards.
I think I'd rather watch J.B. Smoove host the Emmys than Neal Bargatze. I'm also glad Tillman won; he gave a great acceptance speech. Not only did he win an Emmy on his first nomination, a personal first, he achieved a historic first.
For his chilling performance as the hypnotic and unnervingly cheerful Seth Milchick in Apple TV+’s genre-defying drama “Severance,” Tramell Tillman won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series, becoming the first Black man ever to win in the category. It was the only acting field that had yet to honor a Black performer in the Emmys’ 77-year history.
Congratulations!
The experts at Gold Derby worried that two nominated episodes for both Severance and The Pitt would split the vote. It's certainly splitting theirs, as 75.0% of experts, 70.0% of editors, and 81.3% of users voted for the "Cold Harbor" episode of Severance while 10.0% of editors and 2.5% of users chose "Chikhai Bardo." Between the two entries, 80.0% of editors, 75.0% of experts, and 83.8% of users are supporing Severance. The Pitt suffers less from vote splitting, with 25.0% of experts, 20.0% of editors, and 12.3% of users picking "6:00 P.M." but only 0.8% of users selecting "7:00 A.M." The White Lotus is fourth among nominees but third among series with 1.4% of users, followed by Andor with 1.1% and Slow Horses with 0.4%.
It looks like vote splitting assisting insider opinion allowed Gold Derby's last choice to win. Watch Adam Randall of Slow Horses surprise in Directing For A Drama Series: 77th Emmy Awards.
Adam Randall accepts the Emmy for Directing For A Drama Series for Slow Horses at the 77th Emmy Awards.
I've been curious about Slow Horses ever since I watched the trailer for its first season, which used "Six Underground" for its background music. This win might be enough to get my wife and me to watch it. Fortuitously, season five premieres tonight.
Speaking of getting my wife and me to watch something...
Severance leads Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, which Gold Derby thinks is a three-way contest, supported by 90.0% of editors, 66.7% of experts, and 81.9% of users. The Pitt sits in second as the pick of 25.0% of experts and 10.9% of users, while this category may be Andor's best chance at an Emmy, as 10.0% of editors, 8.3% of experts, which might be the same person given the overlap between the two groups, and 2.9% of users anticipate its upsetting the two leaders. The rest of the field all have at least 1% support, with The White Lotus with 1.7%, a second episode of The Pitt at 1.6%, and Slow Horses at 1.0%. Vote splitting doesn't seem to be hurting The Pitt much.
My wife and I couldn't get past the second episode of "Andor." It was too slow a burn for us and not escapist enough. On the other hand, the critics and entertainment professionals love it...
Watching Hasan, Tracy Brown, and Wajahat Ali dissect "Andor" and relate it to real-life struggles against occupation and oppression make me interested in resuming the series. I've heard that the show gets more interesting after the second episode and looking at it as a serious political allegory would probably increase my appreciation for it.
My wife and I have been watching the reception for Andor, and are now wondering if we should start watching it again. On the one hand, this win could persuade us. On the other, Disney's treatment of Kimmel convinced us to consider canceling our Disney+ subscription. If we are still upset next month, we will stop paying, Kimmel's return last night not withstanding, which means we won't watch any Disney+ or Hulu content, including Andor. Just the same, congratulations to Gilroy on his win.
That's a wrap for today's post. I plan on taking a break from the Emmys tomorrow and Friday. I expect to return to entertainment Saturday and Sunday, but at least one of those days will be devoted to the Environmental Media Association Awards nominees. Stay tuned.
Previous posts about the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards
John Oliver discusses ABC’s move to pull Jimmy Kimmel off the air, what it has to do with Brendan Carr and the FCC, what it means for free speech in the United States, and which broadcasting giant should open an Italian restaurant. Ok fine: it’s Tegna. With a name like “Tegna” you’ve just gotta serve complimentary garlic knots. End of discussion.
John Oliver basically recapped what Colbert and Klepper already said on a bigger budget with (slightly) better writing, so I'll be a good environmentalist and recycle myself.
Paramount and CBS gave Hoover Cleveland's maladministration plausible deniability when they canceled Stephen's show. FCC chair Brendan Carr's prompting and Hoover Cleveland's approval made the sequence of events and ultimate responsibility much clearer with Kimmel's show being suspended. I think that's why the reaction is stronger for Kimmel than for Colbert.
...
While the FCC has no control over cable and streaming, so it can't threaten Tapper's employer, CNN, media consolidation in the form of the NBC and rumored Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger can still affect them and him.
The merger can affect HBO and Oliver, too, which he recognized. As I wrote in reaction to Jordan Klepper, "This is about billionaires knuckling under to state power for more money. Sigh."
Robert is right; the original version of the riddle game in The Hobbit makes no sense given the powers and history of The One Ring and Gollum's relationship with it in The Lord of the Rings. The new version sets up the sequels. More interestingly, the original tale remains in The Fellowship of the Ring as a cover story, even after it has been replaced in the new editions of The Hobbit. I respect that clever use of the retcon. I also didn't know any of this before I watched Robert's video, so I learned something new. It's always a good day when I learn something new.
Ever wonder why fall feels so different from spring even though they're both equinoxes? Meteorologist Evan Chickvara reveals the science behind why identical daylight hours create completely different weather patterns.
Evan Chickvara does a good job of explaining why temperature lags behind hours of daylight. It takes even longer for water to warm up and cool down than ground, so seasons are even more delayed in Michigan and other parts of the Great Lakes states.
Two times a year, the sunrise and sunset perfectly align with some streets in the heart of Chicago, putting on a show between the skyscrapers. The fall equinox episode of “Chicagohenge” is about to happen, but will the weather mess up the view?
Detroit also has a lot of east-west streets, so we would see the Sun rise and set down our major streets as well, but it's raining here now, so not today. Darn.
A humble, obedient Jon Stewart heaps praise upon America's Glorious Leader, Donald J. Trump, and provides an FCC-approved refresher on the rules of free speech in the wake of Jimmy Kimmel's suspension. Plus, the TDS News Team serenades the world's greatest, large-penised leader.
All Stewart needed to go full North Korean in this segment was to wear hanbok. Fortunately, he didn't have to keep up the schtick by himself all the way through. He was able to hand it off to the correspondents, one of whom, Ronny Chieng, knows something about living in a flawed democracy, having grown up in Malaysia and Singapore, which have similar ratings to the United States as of 2024. It shouldn't be long before the 2025 ratings come out. Let's see how much the U.S.'s number drops when they do. Any bets?
Desi Lydic unpacks the toxic internet landscape in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, where members of the Trump administration have called for people to lose their jobs for criticizing Kirk, the attorney general has seemingly forgotten the meaning of free speech, and Trump only wants to discuss White House renovations. Plus, Michael Kosta offers some solid reasoning for going back to the ‘80s.
I remember the 1980s. Going back would be fun, but only if I get to be 25 again. Otherwise, no.
“It’s both deja vu and PTSD.” Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist and author of the book “How to Stand Up to a Dictator,” sits down with Jon Stewart for a conversation about Trump’s authoritarian attacks on free speech in the wake of Disney taking Jimmy Kimmel off the air in fealty to the president and his hand-picked FCC Chair. Ressa, who in 2020 was jailed in the Philippines for her journalism criticizing the country’s former president Rodrigo Duterte, warns about the similarities between the dictatorship she lived under and the Trump administration. They also discuss how tech companies use authoritarian governments as case studies to inform their algorithms and manipulate democratic elections, and the importance in this political moment for Americans to take peaceful action before their rights are continually stripped away.
Hearing Ressa and Stewart talk about the collaboration between Donald "Hoover Cleveland" Trump's regime and Silicon Valley reminds me of the definition of fascism misattributed to Mussolini, "Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power." While that's a compelling definition, there is no evidence that Mussolini wrote this and his uses of corporatism and corporate power refers to something different from the cyberpunk idea of rule by corporations. Darn, because it would be so useful.
As for Ressa prefering to call the current situation an information Armageddon instead of an information apocalypse and seeing this as a positive, that's certainly a Crazy Eddie position. I suppose I should approve, but I'm not convinced.
On this week's Daily Show Precap, upcoming host Jordan Klepper sits down with writer Nicole Conlan to unpack the Jimmy Kimmel suspension, and describe working on Thursday's special "Government Approved" response episode. They also look ahead to what might be in the news next week, including the UN General Debate, New York Climate Week, and what they're watching to get their heads out of the news.
Speaking of "a merger of state and corporate power," Klepper's take pretty much summarizes the situation. This is about billionaires knuckling under to state power for more money. Sigh.
Enough of the reactions. Follow over the jump for the Emmy Awards won by spinoffs to The Daily Show.
ABC yanked “Jimmy Kimmel Live” off the air following a threat from FCC chair Brendan Carr, and President Trump celebrated his administration’s success in blackmailing media companies in order to silence his critics.
Daddy’s home! Stephen Colbert has appointed Stephen Colbert, former host of “The Colbert Report,” as ombudsman to ensure that the final season of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” remains free from liberal bias.
Best-selling author and CNN Chief White House Correspondent Jake Tapper joins Stephen to discuss the Trump administration’s role in Disney’s decision to take “Jimmy Kimmel Live” off the air. Stick around for more with Jake Tapper and check out his book, “Race Against Terror,” available October 7th.
Tapper is right. Paramount and CBS gave Hoover Cleveland's maladministration plausible deniability when they canceled Stephen's show. FCC chair Brendan Carr's prompting and Hoover Cleveland's approval made the sequence of events and ultimate responsibility much clearer with Kimmel's show being suspended. I think that's why the reaction is stronger for Kimmel than for Colbert.
CNN Chief White House Correspondent and host of “The Lead with Jake Tapper” examines the motives of media corporations who seek the favor of President Trump and the chilling effect of his move to silence critics.
While the FCC has no control over cable and streaming, so it can't threaten Tapper's employer, CNN, media consolidation in the form of the NBC and rumored Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger can still affect them and him.
Seth takes a closer look at Trump's lavish state visit to the U.K. and his administration's attempts to silence critics and crack down on free speech.
My only disappointment was Seth not reacting to Hoover Cleveland finally mentioning him as a target. Maybe he and his writers decided that would just be encouraging Hoover Cleveland. That, or NBC's lawyers told him not to.
Follow over the jump for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's Emmy Awards.
This is the pirate history you were never told. Join host and maritime archaeologist and historian, Joel Cook, as he shakes the barnacles of this wildly popular storytelling cannon. Rogue History will take you through an irreverent and enlightening voyage that unravels historical myths, unearths lost narratives, and reveal fresh perspectives.
We all love pirate tales but what do we really know about the history of piracy? In this episode of Rogue History, we examine the common assumptions we make about pirates. Explore the origin of these myths and figure out which are true and which aren't.
PBS Origins has seven more videos about pirates in the Rogue History series. I'm saving them for future celebrations of this fake holiday. I'm an environmentalist; I don't just recycle, I conserve my resources.
In this episode of Civics Made Easy, Ben Sheehan explores America’s civic knowledge gap and why so many adults and students struggle to understand how our government works. Through conversations with civics education experts and a look at post-WWII civic engagement, he highlights why government literacy matters—and shares practical steps anyone can take to become a more informed and engaged citizen.
The answer is that American schools are no longer teaching civics like they were between World War II and the 1970s, when I was in school. I remember taking U.S. History three times, once each in elementary, middle, and high school. I also took a class in American Government in high school. I was even required to take American Government when I was an education student at Eastern Michigan University in the late 1990s. The community college where I teach required American Government for most students until late last decade. As a science teacher, I may be glad there is so much emphasis on teaching STEM, but I think civics is now being neglected.
In this episode of Civics Made Easy, Ben Sheehan uncovers the surprising – and often overlooked – true history of voting rights in America. From the founding era to Reconstruction to Civil Rights to today, this is the story that may not have been fully taught in school. Case in point: Americans don’t actually have a constitutional right to vote for president…
Whether you're a history nerd, a civic junkie, or just curious about how our democracy evolved, this deep dive will challenge what you thought you knew.
I knew that Americans don't directly vote for President. We vote for electors, who then vote for President. I outlined the process in Joe Biden is the apparent President-elect as Pennsylvania and Nevada called for him: "The real election is the ElectoralCollege, which votes on December 14, 2020. That's followed by a joint session of the new Congress on January 6, 2021." I didn't know that my right to vote is likely to be found in the Michigan Constitution, not the U.S. Constitution. That means that I learned something new, making today a good day.
In this episode of "Civics Made Easy," Ben Sheehan unravels the complexities of American elections, from the agricultural origins of Tuesday voting to the modern patchwork of state and county election systems. Ben breaks down who runs our elections, how they work, why Election Day is on a Tuesday in November and speaks with Commissioner Ben Hovland from the Election Assistance Commission to better understand the inner workings of our elections.
The Penguin had such a headstart on awards that it ended up with nine, one more than Adolescence. Congratulations! Only The Studio beat it with a total of 13, including four major awards, the second most last night. I plan on examining The Studio, Hacks, and Somebody Somewhere on Wednesday. Stay tuned.
The Gold Derby odds roughly follow this order, as The Studio leads with every expert, 80.0% of editors, and 89.1% of users picking it to win, while Hacks has the votes of the remaining 20.0% of editors and 7.8% of users. The rest of the field has 1.0% or less with no users supporting Nobody Wants This. I guess nobody does. On the other hand, it looks like Gold Derby expects the Emmy electorate to vote for one of the two nominees about the entertainment business. I agree. Electorates matter.
The Studio accepts the Emmy for Comedy Series at the 77th Emmy Awards.
I've never mentioned Brad Garrett, one of the presenters, on this blog before. He was one year behind me in middle school and high school and I can attest that he was just as funny then. He even attended UCLA, my undergraduate alma mater, before dropping out to pursue his comedy career, so he and I were students there, too. That connection means I'm always glad to see him on TV.
Enough about the presenters. I haven't watched the show yet, but I'm genuinely happy for Seth Rogan and all the rest of the cast and crew of The Studio. As for the donation to the Boys and Girls Clubs, maybe the Television Academy should institute a swear jar next year.
Now for a category The Studio wasn't going to win.
Every editor, 92.3% of experts, and 95.1% of users at Gold Derby expect Jean Smart to repeat. One expert (7.7%) and 1.8% of users think Kristen Bell will upset Smart. Only 1.7% anticipate Ayo Edebiri winning, followed by 1.1% behind Quinta Brunson and 0.3% under Uzo Aduba. I became a fan of Bell's when she starred in The Good Place, but I think this is Smart's to lose.
Jean Smart accepts the Emmy for Lead Actress In A Comedy Series for Hacks at the 77th Emmy Awards.
Jean Smart either had a good idea she was going to win or was fortuitously behind the scenes for another reason; she wasn't one of the presenters. Just the same, congratulations on her fourth win on four nominations for this role.
Now for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
Every editor and expert plus 88.6% of users expect Seth Rogen to snag his first Emmy. Martin Short has the support of 7.3% of users, followed by two-time returning winner Jeremy Allen White with 3.7%, Adam Brody with 0.3%, and Jason Segal with 0.2%.
I'll get to Stephen's awards later this month. Now for Seth Rogen, who obviously didn't read Gold Derby, or else he would have been prepared. He started off the evening with no Emmys and ended it with four, acting, directing, producing, and writing, all of The Studio's wins on Sunday. Congratulations!
Now for an award that Gold Derby called, barely, but which probably got away from The Studio because of vote splitting.
The prognosticators at Gold Derby think there is a three-way race for this contest. Since the users primarily set the odds, Hannah Einbinder leads with 58.3% of experts, 33.3% of editors, and 68.9% of users. I'm not convinced. Catherine O'Hara sits in second with 33.3% of experts, 60.0% of editors, and 20.5% of users. In cases like this, I tend to go with the editors. Returning winner Liza Colon-Zayas has an expert (8.3%) and 3.4% of users expecting her to return to the podium. Janelle James is close behind with 3.3% of users, followed by Kathryn Hahn at 2.8%, Jessica Williams at 0.7%, and Sheryl Lee Ralph at 0.3%.
Hannah Einbinder accepts the Emmy for Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for Hacks at the 77th Emmy Awards.
That was a fun bit of nostalgia hearing Reba McEntire, Karen Fairchild, and Kimberly Schlapman sing the theme to The Golden Girls. The audience enjoyed it, too. Also, congratulations to Einbinder on finally winning an Emmy for this particular role, although her penultimate statement serves as another example that the Emmys need a swear jar.
After four successful calls, Gold Derby almost completely blew the next category.
Bowen Yang is the only acting nominee from SNL, but he's merely in the middle of the pack according to the odds-makers at Gold Derby. Ike Barinholtz from The Studio leads with 38.5% of the experts and 57.6% of the users, but no editors. I'm not convinced. I'm more confident in the second place nominee, Harrison Ford from Shrinking, who is the choice of 53.8% of experts, all editors, and 32.9% of users. The rest of the experts, 7.7%, and 3.1% of users think defending winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach from The Bear will repeat, which would be my default position in the absence of the odds. Yang is in fourth with 2.7% of users, followed by Colman Domingo from The Four Seasons at 1.7%, Jeff Hiller from Somebody Somewhere at 1.4%, and Michael Urie, the other nominee from Shrinking, in last at 0.6%. I will re-examine these odds when I look at the comedy series nominees next month. I expect the order of the top three to change by then.
I was wrong; the top three have remained the same as Ike Barinholtz still leads with 41.7% of the experts and 57.8% of the users, but no editors. Harrison Ford is the choice of 58.3% of experts, all editors, and 37.2% of users. The experts have abandoned defending winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach, although 2.1% of users still support him. The rest of the rankings haven't changed, either. I think the users are wrong in expecting what passes for a sweep by The Studio and Ford will give Shrinking its only Emmy.
Jeff Hiller accepts the Emmy for Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series for Somebody Somewhere at the 77th Emmy Awards.
If it makes James Marsden, Sterling K. Brown, and Julianne Nicholson feel better, I'll suggest Paradise to the Television Committee at the Saturn Awards as an action/thriller series. Who knows, the acting committee might even nominate one of them, most likely Marsden, for an acting award. As for Hiller, great speech and congratulations!
Now for the first of two awards Rogen won behind the camera.
On the other hand, a near-sweep for The Studio should catch this award in its broom, as every editor and expert plus 95.8% of users have selected The Studio to win Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. The rest of the nominees are not even close with The Bear a distant second at 2.4% of users, Hacks at 1.3%, The Rehearsal at 0.6%, and Mid-Century Modern with none.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg accept the Emmy for Directing For A Comedy Series for The Studio at the 77th Emmy Awards.
I'm glad someone from The White Lotus got on stage; the show was shut out at Sunday's ceremony and only won one Creative Arts Emmy Award. As for Rogen and Goldberg, congratulations!
I close with Rogen's fourth award, which Gold Derby nearly called.
On the other hand, Hacks is about comedy writing as much as performance, so it should be no surprise that most prognosticators at Gold Derby think it will successfully defend Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, as 66.7% of experts, 60.0% of editors, and 75.4% of users predict it will repeat. The Studio is close behind with 40.0% of editors, 25.0% of experts, and 19.5% of users thinking it will contribute to a near-sweep. One of the experts (8.3%) and 2.6% of users are picking The Rehearsal to upset. The rest of the field consists of Abbott Elementary, What We Do in the Shadows, and Somebody Somewhere with 1.2%, 0.8%, and 0.5% user support.
Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory and Frida Perez accept the Emmy for Writing For A Comedy Series for The Studio at the 77th Emmy Awards.
My wife and I are finishing up our series binge of E.R., and I can believe that it would mess up The Gilmore Girls's snow episode, even if it's just a joke. I also think this bit was better at showing the importance of writers than the goofy one for limited series. As for Rogen and the rest of the writers, they understood the assignment and kept their speeches short. Congratulations!
That's a wrap for today's installment. Stay tuned for the next episode on Friday, which will be on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's Emmy Awards, followed by the drama series winners on Saturday. In the meantime, I'm planning on celebrating Constitution Day a day late tomorrow with a sequel to PBS's 'Civics Made Easy' on political parties, Electoral College, and fundraising.
Previous posts about the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards
