Jordan Klepper Follows Conspiracies to Their Satirical Extremes
*By Alyssa Caverley*
The world that comedian Jordan Klepper has created on his Comedy Central show might fold in on itself if not for the inherent tension keeping up all four walls of "The Opposition," a late-night political satire.
"I play this heightened character that satirizes the voices on the right and the far right," said Klepper in an interview with Cheddar. Think of Sean Hannity on Fox News, or the bombastic and conspiratorial Alex Jones of Infowars who inhabit a "world that doesn't believe in the mainstream, that's anti-mainstream, anti-facts, anti-reality."
Stephen Colbert's old Comedy Central character was based on a mainstream version of a conservative talk-show host, but as the political commentary has become more extreme, Klepper's comedy had to follow it to the fringes.
"We find the chaos and the thing that frustrates us and we try to expose it by looking at some of the tactics, looking at some of the motivations behind it and expanding it to such a degree that it just feels ridiculous and I think people need that in this day and age when it does feel so dark," Klepper said. "A little bit of laughter can break out of that fear bubble that we live in and hopefully provide a little bit of solace."
As the country's political discourse has grown more polarizing since Donald Trump was elected, Klepper said his show has a role to play in late-night comedy helping to synthesize and understand what is going on by tracing people's own fears and finding the absurdity.
The Comedy Central funnyman joked that many of the far-right talk show hosts he watches are a "bucket of inspiration," providing him with as many conspiracy theories to mock as they seem to feed Fox News and, ultimately, the White House.
Klepper said his show probably wouldn't have registered in quite the same way had Trump not won the 2016 presidential election. He would be talking more about issues than the "orange" man in charge, he said.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/jordan-klepper-calls-out-right-wing-conspiracy-theorists-on-satirical-talk-show).
Florida lawmakers have introduced a controversial bill restricting some discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms with young students. Supporters say the move empowers parents to have more of a say in what their children learn. Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones joins Cheddar News to discuss more.
Congress this week passed a bill that would end forced arbitration for workplace sexual assault and harassment, one of the most significant changes to employment law in years. Cheddar News speaks with Marjorie Mesidor, Sexual Harassment Attorney, who explains that arbitrators are often retired judges or attorneys who "tends to have a more conservative view both to law and rewards."
As the situation with Russia has grown more precarious, the White House urged Americans remaining in Ukraine to leave immediately. The Biden administration that it sees continuing signs of escalation but did not have specific information detailing a timetable for a potential invasion. Kristine Berzina, senior fellow and head of the geopolitics team at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, joined Cheddar News to provide her analysis. "There's talk of an impending phone call between President Putin, President Biden," Berzina said. "That is certainly a good sign to indicate that there would be significant cost."
Terrell Starr, host of 'Black Diplomats' podcast and senior nonresident fellow at the Eurasia Center for Atlantic Council, joins Cheddar News from Kyiv, Ukraine to discuss the mounting tension there.
The White House laid out plans for a $5 billion investment into a national network of charging stations to ease EV driving anxiety. Bruce Brimacombe, CEO of EV infrastructure GOe3 joined Cheddar News to discuss how much needs to be done for drivers to get over the fear of running out of energy. "People need to be able to do what they're doing now," he said. "But that is the way that if you're going to buy an electric car, you got to feel like you're not changing your world." Brimacombe noted that building out the infrastructure between cities was GOe3's own focus.
U.S. automakers are saying that the blockade of the Ambassador Bridge, a crucial border crossing between the U.S. and Canada, is affecting their production lines. Michelle Krebs of Cox Automotive warns that the disruption "couldn't come at a worst time," amid chip and labor shortages in Detroit.
AND DETROIT-BASED AUTO MAKERS SAY THEY ARE SHUTTING DOWN PLANTS OR SCALING BACK PRODUCTION BECAUSE OF PARTS SHORTAGES.
Plans to add affordable housing to a development in Yellow Springs, Ohio, were squashed after comedian Dave Chappelle and other community members spoke out against the project. Chappelle threatened to pull the plug on his local comedy club and restaurant projects if the development had been approved.
David Tafuri, Former Obama Campaign Foreign Policy Advisor & Former State Department Official, joined Cheddar News to break down the latest geopolitical stories from Beijing, amid China's human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims and yet another Russian doping scandal.
Dr. Jennifer Haythe of Columbia University's Irving Medical Center, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss the latest with the pandemic, as the debate over child safety rages amid low vaccination rates and states easing school mask mandates.
