John Oliver is the host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The show is a satirical take on the news of the week and lasts about 30 minutes. Prior to Last Week Tonight, John Oliver was was correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, stand up comedian, and and Emmy award winning writer. Now that Oliver is squarely in the spotlight with his own show, he has used it as a platform to talk about social justice and civil rights concerns.
His show has touched on many of the hot issues of the day like the use of torture by the US Government and LGBT Rights. He has also shed light on less know concerns, such as the misuse of farmers by companies associated with chicken in the US. He devotes a lot of air time on his show to discuss these topics which results in an audience that not only becomes aware of the issues, but becomes engaged. You can see the effect in the blogosphere and search traffic directly after his show airings.
His effect is reaching all the way to the halls of congress. Marcy Kaptur, a congresswoman from Ohio, started working on legislation related to the story Oliver did on farmers. Her recent victory in this battle has secured new protections for farmers. Another congresswoman from Maine stated the Oliver’s coverage on the subject helped to support the legislative action.
John Oliver’s gift seems to be bringing new interest to those fighting in the trenches for change. His show provides a voice for topics big and small and aids the fight for social justice.
Article via Mashable, 5 September 2015
Photo:John Oliver on the NSA Recording Your Phone and E-Mail via: KAZ Vorpal[Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]