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).
Big Apple workers who deliver for food apps like Doordash and Grubhub will now receive a number of legal protections provided through a package of new regulations that have started going into effect. These updated rules include more control over their deliveries, pay and tip transparency, a higher minimum pay rate, and access to restaurant bathrooms during the workday. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander joined Cheddar to elaborate on the regulations and how the platform holders reacted. "I have to say it's a mixed bag," he said. "Grubhub actually welcomed the legislation and said they recognize they need to do better by their deliveristas, but DoorDash, unfortunately, has actually been pushing back against the legislation."
Thomas Hoenig, Former CEO of Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and currently Distinguished Senior Fellow with the Mercatus Center, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the Fed's decision was no surprise, but believes the Fed is behind the curve on raising rates.
Legal cannabis businesses are having a hard time surviving in California with the high cost of doing business and a still-thriving illicit market. In response, nonprofit Supernova Women, founded by women of color, is advocating on behalf of Black and brown shareholders in the cannabis industry. Amber Senter, co-founder, executive director, and chairman of the organization, spoke with Cheddar News about calling for changes in the Golden State's taxation system for legal marijuana. "We're really leaning on the legislators now to support the industry and make sure that this industry, in particular craft cannabis, can survive," said Senter.
After being among the hardest-hit industries by the pandemic, restaurants are still having a hard time staying afloat, with owners claiming that business is worse now due to closures from staff shortages and customer decline than it was three months ago. Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, spoke to Cheddar News about how the sector is reaching out to lawmakers for help. "Working with Senators Wicker, Sinema, and a whole host of bipartisan leaders, we're trying to get the Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenished," Whatley said.
Communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change and continuously feel the impacts. Mark Magaña, founding president and CEO of Green Latinos joined All Hands to discuss.
The memoir, "COMPROMISED: Counterintelligence and the Threat of Donald J. Trump", tells a familiar story from a bit of a different source: Peter Strzok himself, former FBI Counterintelligence Agents and Agency Veteran who spent most of his very long career investigating some of the most controversial inquiries, most notably in recent American history. Those inquiries were Hillary Clinton's email to even Trump Russia investigations. Former FBI Agent and Author of "Compromised" Peter Strzok, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
President Biden's first year did not come to the close that he had hoped after last night's Senate vote blocked the voting rights bill, a priority that Biden has promoted since his inauguration. Joining us to discuss the voting rights bill, and many others passing through congress is congresswoman Lori Trahan, representing Massachusett's 3rd district.
