The Daily Show: Ears Edition Trump Sends Troops to Portland & Shootings Trigger Left-Right Blame Game | Jill Lepore
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Sep 30, 2025 
Join historian Jill Lepore, a Harvard professor and staff writer at The New Yorker, as she dives deep into the intricacies of the U.S. Constitution amidst a politically charged environment. She discusses the messy trial and error behind its creation and the importance of the amendment process. Lepore warns how the conservative originalist movement has stifled necessary changes, threatening rights like environmental protections and abortion. Highlighting that constitutional ownership requires public participation, she inspires listeners to engage in improving governance.
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Constitution Was Built By Iteration
- The Constitution emerged from long, iterative debates rather than a single inspired moment.
- Jill Lepore emphasizes constitutional creation as messy experiments across decades.
Stewart's Initial View Of The Constitution
- Jon Stewart recounts his impression of the Constitution as a near-sacred, single-inspiration document.
- He then describes learning from Lepore that it was actually bureaucratic and administrative work.
Television-Driven Governing Is Dangerous
- Jon Stewart criticizes impulsive presidential responses driven by television images.
- He uses Trump's decision to send troops to Portland to show governing detached from verified reality.
