The Daily Show: Ears Edition Jon Stewart's Post-Kimmel Primer on Free Speech in the Glorious Trump Era | Maria Ressa
18 snips
Sep 19, 2025 
Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist and CEO of Rappler, joins Jon Stewart to discuss the challenges of free speech under authoritarian regimes. They draw parallels between the U.S. and the Philippines, highlighting the erosion of institutions and the consequences of complacent governance. Ressa emphasizes the role of tech algorithms in facilitating manipulation and how these tactics are used by authoritarian leaders. She urges Americans to take peaceful action to safeguard their rights in this precarious political climate.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Journalism Led To Arrest Warrants
- Maria Ressa recounts being jailed and facing multiple arrest warrants for her journalism.
- She uses her personal legal battles to illustrate how regimes target journalists to silence truth-telling.
Institutions Can Collapse Fast
- Maria Ressa warns institutions can collapse rapidly under an assertive executive, as happened in the Philippines.
- She highlights the legislature and judiciary failing through inaction and targeted pressure, not constant overt rebellion.
Act Now To Reclaim Rights
- Ressa urges citizens to reclaim rights now because losing them makes restoration far harder later.
- She emphasizes peaceful action as necessary to protect democratic freedoms before erosion becomes entrenched.
