This is the magic of John Oliver. It’s been only 14 episodes so far (the show is slated for 19 this season) but the Last Week Tonight team has found a way to take a seemingly complicated issue, remove the talking points and cultural baggage surrounding it, break it into understandable parts—and then slowly rebuild it. It’s an ingenious formula that’s making a difference in the real world.

“Making a difference” isn’t hyperbole. The FCC’s website actually crashed from overwhelming web traffic the day after Oliver’s segment originally aired.

It's only been 14 episodes?! Wow! Every single one of them was good. Every single one. 

great show.

And the Atlantic article explains why it's an important show:

Yet for all of his strong opinionating, the show’s nowhere near as polarizing as you might expect. Though he does lean left socially, Oliver, who’s English, still approaches his topics from the viewpoint of an outsider sneakily peering over the hill (in this case across the pond) with his binoculars. It’s refreshing in this partisan age to hear from a commentator with a point of view, but not a political agenda.

For example, Oliver’s rant about wealth inequality was equal parts praising and criticizing. His ultimate point revolved around American optimism, “one of the things that I love the most about this country.” That's in contrast to his home nation, where, he says, “We’re raised in a rigid class system where we have all hope beaten out of us." Yet he turns the idea around, showing the dark side of the American dream: “Your optimism is overwhelming positive except when it leads you to act against your own best interest.”

The lack of commercial breaks coupled with its status as a weekly show also offers logistic benefits that allow Last Week Tonight to make a greater impact than many programs. Oliver’s able to go on and on about a topic uninterrupted. He also doesn’t have to report on the news of the day, freeing him from the pressures that lead others to produce superficial, quick-hit coverage. With his time allowances he’s able to truly delve into issues that much of society has either forgotten about or not paid enough attention to in the first place.

I love that rant about wealth inequality:

It is surprising and wonderful how well John Oliver's format works:

The lack of commercial breaks coupled with its status as a weekly show also offers logistic benefits that allow Last Week Tonight to make a greater impact than many programs. Oliver’s able to go on and on about a topic uninterrupted. He also doesn’t have to report on the news of the day, freeing him from the pressures that lead others to produce superficial, quick-hit coverage. With his time allowances he’s able to truly delve into issues that much of society has either forgotten about or not paid enough attention to in the first place.

The most recent episode, for example, focused on the business of payday loans. Sure we’ve all seen those commercials promising fast cash, but how many people have given them a second thought? But Oliver took 16 entertaining minutes to dissect the payday loan scheme, exposing the multiple fallacies that drive the multi-billion dollar industry.

Segments like these prove out the wisdom of a line Oliver gave when talking about the FCC: “The cable companies have figured out the great truth of America: If you want to something evil put it inside something boring.” And if you want something done about evil, Oliver has found, you find a way to make it interesting.

Thanks for introducing me to this Geege. This eloquently sums up a lot of issues for me. 

How long is each episode? I guess there are only clips on YouTube then?

The episodes are just 30 minutes!  It's amazing how much ground he covers!  Yes, his episodes are available on YouTube.

Perfect. Thank you!

Happily!