Biden’s Pardons, DIY Airport Security, Book Bans | Charles Yu
33:18 Share

Are you ready to move your career forward? Make your comeback with Purdue Global and get college credit for your work, school, life, or military experiences. With these credits, you may have already completed up to 75% of your undergraduate degree. You've worked hard to get where you are. It's time to get the recognition you deserve and earn a degree you'll be proud of, one that employers will trust and respect. When you take the next step in your life and career, make it count with Purdue Global, Purdue's

online university for working adults. Start your comeback at purdueglobal.edu. Hi everyone, it's Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb from the Today Show. No holidays like today. From festive performances and great gift ideas to tips for the perfect holiday feast. Join us every morning on NBC and make today your home for the holidays.

Holiday magic is in the air, and DSW's got all the shoes to make your season extra merry. Believe, you've got parties to attend and lists to check twice, so DSW is taking care of the details, like gifts to make their eyes all aglow, styles that bring joy to your world.

Brands everyone wants, like UGG, Nike, Birkenstock, and more. And deals to make your budget bright. Find the perfect shoes for you and yours at a DSW store near you or DSW.com. You're listening to Comedy Central. From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news. This is The Daily Show with your host, Ronnie James!

Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Ronny Chieng. We got so much to talk about tonight. Joe Biden takes a farewell tour. Florida tackles the scourge of reading. And an NYPD is hunting for a master criminal who loves pumpkin spice lattes. So let's get into the headlines. ♪

Let's start with Joe Biden. Who's that? That name sounds so familiar. Anyway, what did he do? President Biden is continuing his historic trip to Angola as he becomes the first U.S. president to visit the Southern African nation. Biden is expected to announce new U.S.-backed infrastructure projects in the region.

including the redevelopment of a major railway that carries critical minerals that are used in batteries and electric vehicles. Oh, I know that look. That's the face I make when I ask someone how their weekend was, and instead of saying good, they actually answer the question. I mean, he looks so uninterested, it would have been less rude to just put on a VR headset at that point. It's like, I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm still listening to you, I'm just on a rollercoaster.

But hey, don't worry. Biden might have at least one fun thing planned for his last few days in office. Tonight, Politico reports that the Biden administration is currently debating preemptive pardons for prominent figures who have spoken out against Trump. Those who could face exposure include Senator-elect Adam Schiff, former GOP Representative Liz Cheney, and Anthony Fauci.

White House officials, however, are carefully weighing the extraordinary step of handing out blanket pardons to those who've committed no crimes, both because it could suggest impropriety and because those offered preemptive pardons may reject them.

Man, pardons are getting so confusing. I mean, it used to be that you had to commit a crime to be pardoned, but now Biden has to do this weird, like, minority report pre-pardon thing where it's like, hey, we know you didn't do anything, but Trump thinks you did something, so I'm going to pardon you for anything you did, even though you didn't do it. It's what our founders would have wanted.

Also, also, who in their right mind would reject a presidential pardon? I mean, do you want to go to jail? That's where Diddy is. Okay, look, if you're going to reject a pardon, just give it to me, okay? I'll take it. Hand it over. I'll probably need it if Donald Trump comes after me for political satire or speaking truth to power or opening a credit card in my roommate's name, all right? Any of those things.

Anyway, let's move on because the story that everyone is talking about isn't in Washington, D.C. It's right here in New York City.

Where manhunt continues for a man accused of carrying out a targeted hit on a health insurance CEO. And investigators have been finding clues in some surprising places. Urgent manhunt. Police looking for the man who gunned down the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. NBC News has learned that the words deny, defend, and depose were on the shell casings at the scene of the shooting. Investigators believe this could be a reference to what's called

the three D's of insurance, a known reference made by critics of the health insurance industry. To write something on something this small, and I mean, John, picture how you would try to do that. Would you take a fine point sharpie? Would you try to scratch it in

Would you train a mouse to write on it with some kind of mouse crayon? I mean, who gives a f*** how he wrote it? It's not important how he wrote it. What's important is that he wrote it, okay? This guy knows that there are so many bullet casings on the streets of New York, and he wanted to make sure we knew which ones were his. Right? And now... Yeah, I don't know...

If we should be applauding that. And now they're trying to interpret what deny, defend and depose means. And it looks like it's either a criticism of the health insurance industry or this guy was just trying to solve the world on his bullets. Honestly, I think all bullets should probably say stuff on them. I mean, how else are we going to get Americans to read again?

You should load up a machine gun with a tale of two cities written in it. I mean, it was the best of times. It was the worst of times. But now the cops just need to narrow down their list of suspects to anyone in America who hates their health care plan and has access to guns. It should be solved in no time.

And there's one other thing that might help them piece this together. The NYPD is processing forensic evidence the suspect left behind at a nearby Starbucks just before the shooting. Okay, you stopped at a Starbucks on your way to your assassination. Like, oh, you know me, I can't even think about murdering until I've had my coffee.

This is helpful, though, because the guy went to the Starbucks. So we now know he's either a tourist or a local who really needed to take a shit. And if he did use the bathroom, they'll definitely have his DNA because 99% of Starbucks bathroom users somehow missed the toilet.

But that's not the only major crime story today. We also have crime in the skies. New questions after an airport security breach. Federal investigators are looking into how a stowaway boarded a flight from New York to Paris at the height of holiday travel. Svetlana Dali managed to bypass the document check podium as well as the gate agent before boarding Delta Flight 264 from JFK to Charles de Gaulle Airport. Dali was caught when a flight attendant noticed that she was going from bathroom to bathroom.

because she didn't have a seat on the plane. Okay, first of all, that's not what a stowaway is, okay? A stowaway has to hug the wheel or hang onto the wing like Tom Cruise. If you're just inside the plane without a seat, you're not a stowaway. You're just losing at musical chairs, okay? And if security's so lax, hey, maybe I should have just left that bottle of shampoo in my backpack instead of trying to smuggle it up my ass. I mean...

Am I crazy? Like, how did she do this? Airport security is so complicated now. Like, they have ropes and the dogs and the machines and people and the scanner that, like, takes your naked photo and posts it on the Internet. Like, what kind of secret agent acrobatics did she have to do to get past all of that? She first used a lane reserved for flight crews and then skirted the standard ID check.

but she went through a body scanner and voluntarily removed two bottles of water that officers discovered in her bags. Oh, that's it? That's it. We... we give TSA $10 billion a year, and all they got was her water. TSA is like, hey, we literally don't care who you are or what you plan on doing. Just do not stay hydrated. For more on this story, let's go live to the airport with Grace Kuhlensmith. Grace.

Grace, how did this woman evade airport security? Beats the f*** out of me, Ronnie. The way she did it made it look like they don't pay attention if you sneak through the flight crew line, but they do pay attention, especially when you yell, OK, what the hell? Grace, we sent you down there to interview the TSA. Why are you under arrest? Because I'm a reporter and I wanted to report on what it's like to get a free flight to the Bahamas for two weeks.

That's how dedicated I am to the pursuit of the truth. Okay, Grace, it's not your job to get arrested sneaking through a flight crew lane. I didn't. They almost arrested me, but then I pointed at a guy and told him he had 3.1 ounces of sunscreen. They beat the living shit out of him, and I got to the gate. Okay, but you didn't have a boarding pass. Yeah, it turns out if you put your phone down on that ticket scanner and just say B,

- I'm gonna let you through. - Okay, but you didn't have a seat. - I actually was able to find a seat way up front, but apparently only the pilot is allowed to sit in the cockpit, which seems super strict. Did something like happen? - Oh, okay, wait.

Wait, so once you got on the plane, that's how they got you? No, I guess they thought I was the pilot, so they let me fly the plane. But my landing, it was a little bumpy, and that's when they caught me. They're super sharp, these guys. Okay, Grace, do you have anything to report on at all? Yes. It turns out there is an interesting new wrinkle to this story, which is I need a pardon. Um...

You know all of this was a fun time? Okay, yeah, I hear Joe Biden's hanging them out right now. Grace Kuhlman-Smith, everyone. When we come back, we ban some books, so don't go away.

For many of us, the holiday season means more travel, more shopping, more time online, and more of your personal information in more places you can't control. It only takes one innocent mistake, even if it's not your mistake, to expose you to identity theft.

Not to worry. LifeLock monitors hundreds of millions of data points every second and alerts you to threats you could miss by yourself, even if you keep an eye on your bank and credit card statements. If your identity is stolen, your own U.S.-based restoration specialist will fix it, guaranteed. The last thing you want to do this holiday season is face drained accounts, fraudulent loans, or other financial losses from identity theft online.

Visit lifelock.com slash iHeart and save up to 40% your first year. That's 40% off at lifelock.com slash iHeart.

LifeLock. For the threats you can't control. Attention parents and grandparents. Are you searching for the perfect gift for your kids this holiday season? Give the gift of adventure that will last all year long.

A Guardian bike. The easiest, safest, and quickest bikes for kids to learn on. Kids are learning to ride in just one day. No training wheels needed. What makes Guardian bikes special? They're the easiest to ride thanks to the thoughtful engineering, lightweight frames, and kid-friendly components. Kids love how fun and easy they are to ride. And parents appreciate the safety features.

like the patented braking system that prevents head-over-handlebar accidents. Guardian bikes are the only kids' bikes designed and assembled in a USA factory, ensuring top-notch quality and durability. They're built to last and make perfect hand-me-downs. Join the hundreds of thousands of happy families by getting a Guardian bike today.

Their holiday sales have begun, offering the biggest deal of the year. Save up to 33% on bikes, no code needed. Plus, get free shipping and a free bike lock and pump with your first purchase after signing up for their newsletter. Visit GuardianBikes.com to take advantage of these deals and secure your holiday gifts today. Happy riding!

This is Holly Frey from Stuff You Missed in History Class. The national sales event is on at your Toyota dealer, making now the perfect time to get a great deal on a dependable new SUV, like an adventure-ready RAV4. Available with all-wheel drive, your new RAV4 is built for performance on any terrain, from the road to the trails. And with plenty of passenger and cargo space, plus available tech like wireless charging, you and your entire crew can stay connected.

Or check out a stylish and comfortable Highlander with three spacious rows of seating for up to eight passengers. And with available features like the panoramic moonroof, you can sit back, enjoy the wide open views with your whole family. Plus, both RAV4s and Highlanders are available individually.

Welcome back to The Daily Show. Book banning fever is sweeping America, but is it possible that book banning may not be great? Michael Kosta has more.

Water skiing while intoxicated, mentioning climate change in government records, reading Maya Angelou in public schools. These are all things that are banned in Florida. That last one is because in March 2022, Ron DeSantis signed the Curriculum Transparency Bill, which made it easier for anyone to request that any number of books be removed from public school libraries. And if there's things like

pornography, the parents have a right to say it should be removed from the school. One individual has made more use of the law than anyone else in Florida. Conservative activist and dirty bookworm Bruce Friedman. You are the number one book banner in the number one state of book banning.

You're the Michael Jordan of book banning. Well, in the last two years, I challenge more than one book every calendar day. How many challenges have you made, would you say? Over 900. So let me ask what your qualifications are for determining this. Do you have a doctorate in literature? No. Do you have a degree in child education and media? No. So why are you...

The Arbiter. A book with blatant sexual activity and over-the-top, grotesque, excessive profanity? Doesn't belong in any of our schools. That's what this is. I hate profanity. Let me offer a counter. The internet, phones, lyrics and songs, movies. Do you think kids aren't seeing that shit? What does it take to control what's coming at your children?

Desire. You have to want it. Okay, and do you have kids in the school system? Yes. You do? He's not allowed in the public school library, so it doesn't matter. Hold on. Your son doesn't use the library at school. That is correct. It's polluted. So you're doing all of this work for all the other kids? Correct.

That's right. Bruce is so good at protecting his own kid that he needs an even bigger challenge, protecting other people's kids. But how do those parents feel about it? What is the big deal about having a random man named Bruce determine which books your kids read? I want my children exposed to different mindsets, different points of view. So if some random person tells me that, no, this is not how you should parent your children, I have a problem with that.

First of all, when we're talking about anything that involves sex at all, it's not children, it's teenagers. These are in high schools. And that's what so many of these book challenges do, right? They take issues of racism, discrimination, sexual assault, and they label them as pornographic just because it makes it easier to remove the book. And he brags about having a list of over 5,000 books that he wants out of our schools. Are there even 5,000 books?

Yes. In the world? I'm not a big reader. So is Bruce protecting innocent kids or forcing his own beliefs on others? To resolve that question, I'd have to do the one thing I had sworn never to do. Join a book club. We've all read this book. Not me. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Written by Maya Angelou. Maya Angelou is a poet, laureate. F*** that part. She wrote porn. But I know a pornographic book. Really? Because it's like...

and his is and he shoots all over her. - All of those would be disqualified content. - Right, but that's not what Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird" sings. - It's pornography. The content violates law.

So Bruce would rather the caged bird just shut up. And some of his other targets are even more surprising and particular. Okay, mixed. A colorful story. Two male characters getting married. That's it. Oh yeah, look at their big old dicks. It happens to be male if you read the rest of the crap. Okay, so they're getting married and then here's the most offensive part. Look what happens here. They have a green baby. What do they do? Shit it out of their butthole? That's their problem.

I don't want to get lost in the mechanics. -All right, so what happened to the challenge? -Failed. It was appealed. -And you immediately appealed. -That's what I do. -So, in your opinion, there's an alien creature in this book.

and it's neither male nor female, and you believe it's part of a greater agenda. That is correct. I'm thinking of a person. Is it a boy? Nope. Is it a girl? Nope. Is it me? Is it you? Okay, now I'm thinking of a planet. If your child was unclear on their sex, how would you resolve the issue? But this is not the issue. No, it's not. I don't even know what the...

you're talking about by challenging this. - Okay, and then it fails and we move on. - Right, but it did fail, the challenge, and you immediately appealed it. - Right, I always do. Anything that fails a challenge, I file an appeal. - And due to Florida law, books are removed while the challenge is appealed. So the little perverts who get off on color blobs and Star Wars aliens are out of luck. But there is a cost attached to Bruce's relentless drive.

We have spent more time and resources on Bruce Friedman than any other person in the history of Clay County. And how are you personally affected by Bruce Friedman? Well, essentially I was the only librarian in the district who was speaking out against the book banning and I guess I got to be too much trouble and they decided to have me removed from the library. So Bruce had you banned?

Maybe. I guess you could say that. Yeah, Bruce's campaign has been so effective. He's not only been removing books and money from the school's budget, but also people from the library. But even Ron DeSantis may be questioning this strategy for helping Florida children. Earlier this year, the governor signed a new bill limiting the amount of challenges any one person can submit. It's been mentioned that it might cost $100 to challenge a book. Yeah.

Would that deter you? Nothing's going to stop me. Bruce, do you think you'll one day write a book about this experience? Sure. And would that book be banned from a public school library? Thank you, Michael. When we come back, Chelsea, you'll be joining me on the show, so don't go away. Attention, parents and grandparents. Are you searching for the perfect gift for your kids this holiday season? Give the gift of adventure that will last all year long.

A Guardian bike. The easiest, safest, and quickest bikes for kids to learn on. Kids are learning to ride in just one day. No training wheels needed. What makes Guardian bikes special? They're the easiest to ride thanks to the thoughtful engineering, lightweight frames, and kid-friendly components. Kids love how fun and easy they are to ride. And parents appreciate the safety features.

like the patented braking system that prevents head-over-handlebar accidents. Guardian bikes are the only kids' bikes designed and assembled in a USA factory, ensuring top-notch quality and durability. They're built to last and make perfect hand-me-downs. Join the hundreds of thousands of happy families by getting a Guardian bike today.

Their holiday sales have begun, offering the biggest deal of the year. Save up to 33% on bikes, no code needed. Plus, get free shipping and a free bike lock and pump with your first purchase after signing up for their newsletter. Visit GuardianBikes.com to take advantage of these deals and secure your holiday gifts today. Happy riding!

This is Holly Frey from Stuff You Missed in History Class. The national sales event is on at your Toyota dealer, making now the perfect time to get a great deal on a dependable new SUV, like an adventure-ready RAV4. Available with all-wheel drive, your new RAV4 is built for performance on any terrain, from the road to the trails. And with plenty of passenger and cargo space, plus available tech like wireless charging, you and your entire crew can stay connected.

Or check out a stylish and comfortable Highlander with three spacious rows of seating for up to eight passengers. And with available features like the panoramic moonroof, you can sit back, enjoy the wide open views with your whole family. Plus, both RAV4s and Highlanders are available in hybrid models. So no matter your style, you can drive efficiently and save on gas. So visit your local Toyota dealer and check out amazing national sales event deals on RAVs,

Highlanders and more when you visit buyatoyota.com. Toyota, let's go places. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What's your perfect night? Maybe you're settled at home, alone, or with loved ones, covered in blankets, about to watch your favorite show. It's cozy, it's calm, and you're ready for a perfect night in. Therapy can feel a bit like that, a place for comfort.

A time when you replenish your energy and take care of yourself. And hey, you can even do it without leaving that same cozy couch. This season is the perfect time to give therapy a try, right from the comfort of home. With BetterHelp, get matched with a tailored therapist based on your needs and preferences, entirely online, designed to be convenient.

flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a therapist and switch therapist at any time for no additional charge. Find comfort this season with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com to learn more and save 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com.

Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight is the author of the best-selling novel Interior Chinatown. He's also the creator and executive producer of the Hulu series. Please welcome Mr. Chao Jie. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Yeah, thanks for coming on the show. Thank you for having me. Man, it's so good to see you again. The first time I met you was on this show. It is, yes. All those years ago. When you were on with Trevor. Yeah, that was Trevor. And you came back. It was really nice. No, I come back to meet all the Asians. Only. Yeah, so you were...

You are my showrunner and executive producer on this TV show, and there was a lot of stuff I couldn't ask you at the time, but now that you're a guest on my show, I got some questions for you. First of all, between me, Chloe Banner, and Jimmie O. Yang, who got paid the most? You don't have to be specific.

But just indicate who was the highest paid one and I'll be sure. Okay. Taika Waititi. Oh, Taika. Yeah, okay. That makes sense. Oh, yeah. Taika was also the director of the pilot and he was the EP on the show as well. And you have a working relationship with him? I do. I do. As we all do, right? We had fun. Yeah. He directed that scene that you just showed. But how did you get...

to work with him? You know, I think a little bit of luck. I mean, I had been working with him on a project that I can't really talk about yet, but the...

script for this. I think maybe his manager or somebody sent it to him. And somehow he read it and liked it enough that he wanted to do it. Oh, so he actually worked on this based on the strength of, it wasn't a pre-existing relationship. It was something you showed him, your work on this project. I think so. Yeah. I don't know. No, it must have been, right? You didn't know him before. You're too modest. You don't want to tell, you showed him the project and it wasn't like you guys were friends before. We weren't friends, but no, but we had, sorry, we had been working together a little bit.

A little bit before. Oh, okay. We never talked about it. I never mentioned like, oh, I have this thing because I felt too weird about it. Maybe like because I'm Asian, I felt weird about like...

Here's this other thing that you might be interested in. And then all of a sudden, I was hearing word like, oh, Taika Waititi might be interested in the pilot. And I just couldn't believe it. I was like sort of descended from Marvel heaven to like come and like, you know, be part of our project, which was really amazing. And that really gave it all kinds of momentum. Right. And how was it like working with him? I asked you. I asked myself. That scene is...

How was it? Oh, it was great. It was great. I thought he was great. I thought he came and he was so creatively free. I've never seen someone who was that. I think we all aspire to be as free creatively as him. Yeah, he's wild. He has the kind of wild creative energy. You can't really harness it. You don't want to. I think that scene is such a good example. It's one of the funniest clips. You showed it. I didn't write that line. Right.

I just came to set a little bit late from, like, I don't know, lunch or something, and you guys were filming that, and I was like, that's really funny. I wish I had... So I don't know who came up with it, you, Jimmy, or Taika. I mean, it's a creative collaboration, but it was me, really. I remember when that... No, I'm just saying. No, no, it's not a creative collaboration.

Well, I mean, we kind of launched into it, but, you know, the problem is, like, I feel like I did the press tour with you for this show, and everyone wants, like, the elevator pitch for this show, which is so annoying, because it's just like, tell me in five seconds, or I won't watch it. But now that we have time, and this is my show now, so freaking, you know, f*** the elevator pitch. Like, tell us what the show is about. Speaking of which, I have to show, I'm wearing Ronny Chieng socks. Oh, okay. Okay.

Sure, for the camera. We've had this... Can you turn it? Yeah, it's on my, by the way. Can you make it clear that... Oh, Christmas colors. We got the Christmas colors. I got green and you got red. I don't know if I can get my leg up. Thanks for trying to sell that. I didn't need you to...

We sell these socks enough on this show, everyone's really angry about it. Paramount's like trying to take a cut of this. Yeah, what's the non-elevator pitch for this show? You would think I would have it down by now. You know, it's a show, I think it's about roles. I think it's about how people, like imagine if you woke up one day and you were living inside of a universe where Spider-Man was real.

and like Spider-Man was on the news and you weren't a superhero, you were just like, oh, there's Spider-Man, right? You're just some Asian guy. You're just some Asian guy in a Spider-Man movie. That's sort of what this is like. It's like Willis Wu, the main character played by Jimmy O. Yang, wakes up, not wakes up, he lives inside of a show that is basically like law and order type police procedural. And that's his reality. And so he's

Essentially, what this season is about is he has a very small role to play, which is really no role. He's a waiter at this restaurant that's in the background of this police show. He has no lines. He's not really in the story. And in the course of the pilot, he says he's kind of drawn into the story. And he has a chance to say, I don't know if I want to accept this.

He's kind of dealing with both how other people have defined him and limited him, and he's also dealing with his own internal kind of limitations. And so he basically breaks out of his role, which is the tagline of the show, "Break out of your role."

But in the course of doing that, he sort of disrupts the whole ecosystem. Because when this guy sort of starts changing his lines, everybody in the kind of world he lives in is a little bit messed up now. And so it kind of has these ripple effects. And that's sort of the non-elevator pitch, which is to say, like, you know, I wrote the book, you know, wanting to kind of tell the story about what it's like to be someone like Willis Wu, you know? Yeah.

A background character. A background character. Someone who doesn't feel like their story really matters. And what does it look like if you take the background character and say...

you know, this story could be yours now if you choose to kind of accept that mission. Right. And how much money did Jimmy make on this show per episode? He's still going at it. Okay, so, because it'll help my contract negotiations. Did he get a companion ticket for this? Could you bring, because sometimes I try to bring my wife on the day, you know.

Yeah. Let's talk about the contract stuff after. One thing I really love about this book is that it's not written, in my opinion, it's not written in a traditional narrative. And as someone who, narrative structure, I mean, you know, because it starts off as a screenplay and then it kind of, you know, it becomes like a, I don't want to spoil it, but it becomes almost like a legal drama. In my opinion, it doesn't,

As someone who's, or anyone out there who's watching, who's trying to write something original, it's kind of out of a template, you know? Because oftentimes when we're making stuff now, I feel like we're just kind of reduced to filling in a template for how a story should go, act one, act two, act three, you know, whatever the Dan Harmon hero's journey. So how did you manage to break out of that role, you know, when you're writing this book? Yeah, I mean, I think it felt like

I don't know, I follow the rule of like right, not right towards my strengths, but right away from my weaknesses. And I'm like, I just always am interested in trying to subvert or change the thing that I'm playing around with. To me, I get bored of my own writing almost immediately. You know, if I try to like put on a serious writer hat and I'm like, oh, this is going to be a good novel. You know, it's like by the second page, I'm already bored. Oh.

So I always have to kind of find a side door into something. I just enjoy taking things and sort of just tweaking them. And so for me, that's what this was, is just like taking the idea of a police procedural, which we all sort of know, and I love them, because it's this really kind of comfortable...

well, well kind of established form. And then you sort of can play around within that. And then meanwhile, the audience can just be like, oh, I'm watching a cop show. This is just a really weird cop show. Right.

And it's also rare that someone who, you know, wrote the book on it and it got adapted into a TV series. It's kind of rare for, like, the author of the book to be so intimately involved in the making of the TV show. You know, not just show running, but actually writing it. With a team of writers, but you were head writing it. So, I mean, would you have trusted anyone else to adapt this, I guess is the question. I should have, probably. LAUGHTER

It's harder than it looks. Probably not. It's so personal in a lot of ways. I think the original inspiration for that book was my mom and dad, who were immigrants from Taiwan. And I had these pages. I didn't know what to do with them. It wasn't even a book yet.

I sent it to my agent. She was like, this is great. And I thought, oh, I'm almost done. And then like eight years later, I finished the book, you know? And I think then Hulu called and they're like, let's make that a show. And I probably should have said,

get someone who knows how to do it, but I wanted to do it myself. And it was an incredible journey, but it's, yeah, it is pretty special they let me do it. Well, I thought you did a great job on it. I was there the whole time. Technically, I'm not your boss right now, so you don't have to say that. That's how you know I mean it. That's how you know I mean it. I got a few more questions for you here. I think this is the only time we'll ever be able to talk about this

on American TV, but why is it so difficult talking about being an Asian man in America? That's a good question. I don't think you're having difficulty. I think... I don't know. I don't know. I watched your special. I think it was during the pandemic, Asian Comedian Destroys American. I remember feeling like...

I kind of like got inspired. I got really just like, you know, you just lit a flame under me because I do think it's really hard. I think you don't, I don't want to like, it's not, I'm not asking for like pity or anything.

trying to be sort of like, oh, woe is me at all. You don't play a discrimination Olympics here. Definitely not. I would lose at that. I mean, I think I'm an incredibly lucky, privileged person. My parents came to America. They live two-thirds of their lives in America. They're Americans. And so I've only lived here. And it's an incredible thing

thing that they could come here and then I could be talking to you here in front of, you know, like about this book that I wrote about them learning how to play the role of being an American. You know, that's an amazing thing to me. So to me, it's hard to talk about because you sort of have to be able to hold two ideas in your head at once, which is

It can be hard being invisible. It can be hard being marginalized. And I'm not a victim at the same, you know, I mean, it's like, I want to talk about how this guy, Willis and his family have stories worth telling. And there's no trauma necessarily. There's no necessarily like some huge tragedy. It's just a story of these people, you know, assimilating and becoming Americans. And, you know, I think, I think it's, it's a complex story. Maybe that's why it's hard. Sure.

Well, there is some trauma in it. I mean, it's not completely no trauma. You're being modest again with the discrimination. I, you know, your background is also very interesting. I mean, I'm just, right now I'm just trying to get a raise from you. So I'm just going to keep complimenting. So, like, people don't know this, but you... They're applauding that. Yeah, I know. They're capitalists. They know what I'm trying to do. Yeah.

So you majored undergraduate. You are majoring in molecular and cellular biology. Yes. And then you got a law degree. Right. Then you worked in corporate law, and then you became a TV writer. Yes. So your level of expertise here is just out of control. So I need some advice from you. OK. OK? Sure. Just speaking to your expertise. Please.

Do you think that the Delaware Supreme Court's recent decision in the match case expanding the scope of the NFW framework to include entire fairness review for non-freeze-out control shareholder mergers will make market responsive consolidation too efficient? Yes. Oh, okay. Go ahead. That's it. Also...

Well, we're talking about legal issues here. Like the fridge in my apartment broke and like the groceries like went off. So like who's responsible for that? Is it my landlord or do I have to pay for that? Or like what's the tenant law on that? I don't know. I was kind of a B student in law school. It's been a long time, Ronnie. You're a lawyer. Yeah, I'm a lawyer. I don't even know what the answer is to that. The New York landlord law is so crazy.

Here's another question for you. A new system-level model revealed that transcriptional scolasticity is required for hematopoietic stem cell differentiation. Are you shocked by these findings? To be clear, I was also a B student in biology. Okay. That's why I'm a writer. Yeah, in Asian, B means A. We know what that means. No, no. Just make...

Tell us about biology. I majored in biology, it's true, at college.

at Berkeley and it was hard. Go Bears, go Bears. And then I did not get into any medical schools. So then you went to law. So I went to law school, yeah. To my parents' disappointment. And you worked in law and then you got into, you went to a law firm and you worked for years and you became a writer. I got to ask the obligatory, like, so, you know, any quick...

advice for all these people out there who are, you know, in the corporate world and they're trying to get into creative industries. Yeah. You know, any words of wisdom? Yeah. Get bees in biology. LAUGHTER

be a bad student and you too could end up on The Daily Show. All right. Listen, Charles, you wrote a great book. You made a great TV show. Thank you so much for having me on it. It's a story that needs to be told. I really appreciate it. Interior Chinatown is streaming now on Hulu and the book is available everywhere. Hey, Charles Yee, everybody. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back after this.

Hey, that's our show for tonight. Now here it is, your moment of death. Veteran affairs officials in Tennessee just got caught having an orgy on the clock. And not just any orgy, 12 people, butt naked, all over each other at work. We paid for that orgy. This was a taxpayer-funded orgy. Veterans Affairs, literally.

Explore more shows from the Daily Show Podcast universe by searching The Daily Show, wherever you get your podcasts. Watch The Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount+. Paramount Podcasts.

That's F.

F-A-C-E-T dot com. This ad is sponsored by Facet. Facet Wealth Incorporated is an SEC registered investment advisor. This is not an offer to buy or sell securities, nor is it investment, legal, or tax advice.

At Diamonds Direct, we have the perfect gifts for the season, starting at around $500. Come and let our experts help you pick out that headliner gift. Or for some fabulous ideas, see the online seasonal gift guide now at DiamondsDirect.com. You can even chat now with a virtual assistant. We've got special financing so you can spread out your payments. Get directions, details, special showroom hours, and our holiday gift guide now.

at DiamondsDirect.com. Diamonds Direct. Your love, our passion. This holiday season, skip the crew socks and ugly sweaters. Shop for Lenovo Holiday Sale and gift a gamer on your list with the PC they really want.

With deals this great, you may end up buying yourself one too. With new Intel Core i9 processors, they'll be able to go beyond performance in game without compromise. Gaming happens with Intel. Head to Lenovo.com now. ♪