On Sunday night, John Oliver's commitment to cover the previous week's big news ran up against his desire for his new HBO show, Last Week Tonight, not to get canceled. His commitment won, and he spent about 10 minutes talking about the death penalty. On a comedy show. He said he knew the risks.
First, Oliver bribed viewers by promising a video of hamsters eating tiny burritos if they sat through the segment (it's pretty cute). Then he mixed humor in with his history and ethics to keep the subject palatable. Here's an example: "The death penalty is one of those things that is natural to want, but that you shouldn't necessarily have," he said at one point. "Like the McRib." If you support capital punishment, Oliver probably won't change your mind. But whatever you believe, he'll make you laugh, often in spite of yourself. (Obligatory warning: There are two gratuitous F-bombs, and a terrible fake Texas accent.) --Peter Weber
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The state of Britain's Armed ForcesThe Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fishUnder the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
-
Sudoku medium: April 21, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
