This episode of The Daily Show: Ears Edition covers several US stories. Desi Lydic opens with Jensen Huang's resignation as Nvidia's CEO and with Democrat Scott Colom's Senate win in Mississippi, which the show ties to a protein-themed ad and to a federal judgeship that was blocked.
Reporter Grace Kuhlenschmidt then follows a group of older women in Cape Cod who clean underwater garbage from ponds. The main interview is with historian Heather Cox Richardson, who compares the 2026 midterms with earlier eras of political change, including the 1890s, and argues that holding leaders accountable and governing for most Americans can go together.
In this episode Desi Lydic, Grace Kuhlenschmidt, Heather Cox Richardson
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From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news. This is The Daily Show, with your host, Desi Lydon.
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Desi Lydon. We've got so much to talk about tonight. One Mississippi went blue, Mississippi. We meet— We meet the women saving the world, and Jensen Huang is leaving Nvidia to spend more time with his mistresses. So let's get into the headlines. Let's kick things off with the big news. Earlier this week, we talked about the sex scandal involving Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, and a guy who was told by the sales girl, "Nyah, you're totally pulling off that jacket."
So Huang was caught having an affair with a woman who turned out to be a Chinese spy, which is officially the coolest thing that can happen to someone who's good at math. But as it turns out, that Chinese spy wasn't the only place he was dipping his chips.
This morning, Jensen Huang resigning, effective immediately, as the CEO of the world's most powerful chip maker, Nvidia, a stunning fall from grace. It comes after The New York Times reports Huang had another affair, this one with an Nvidia executive who reports to him.
A second affair? Well, you gotta step down now. Cheating on your wife is one thing, but we draw the line at cheating on your mistress. Sir, I hope you learned your lesson. We have breaking news, folks. Reuters now reporting that the ousted Nvidia CEO, Jensen Huang, had an intimate relationship with a second employee. A third affair? Cheating on your mistress you were cheating on your mistress with? This man is a nesting doll of adultery.
It's just amazing that just a month ago, Huang was considered the most dignified of all the tech CEOs. Now the news has to bring out Steve Kornacki to break down every district Huang busted and nutted. Meanwhile, Nvidia has named an interim CEO to clean up this mess, and as always, it's a woman. Congratulations to the new CEO, Colette Kress, and her new boyfriend, the little Russian guy from Rocky and Bowling Park.
Let's move on. The midterm elections went terribly for the Republican Party. They lost all their— They lost governor races. They even lost Landman. It's Landman now. So the Republican Party needs to do some soul-searching, and one of their elder statesmen had some very deep thoughts about it.
This was not a normal midterm election loss. If you think that, congratulations, you're stupid. And let me put it another way. A smart man washes his hands after he urinates. A wise man doesn't urinate on his hands.
Do I not understand how men pee? You guys just peeing in your hands and throwing it in? Is that why there's always pee on the seat? Anyway, whatever he meant, Republicans must be absolutely pissing in their hands right now, especially after what happened last night.
NBC News calling the Mississippi Senate race projecting a win for Democrat Scott Colom.
Whoo! Mississippi! Mississippi! I didn't have Mississippi turning blue in my wildest dreams. In my wildest dreams, I turn myself blue and have sex with an avatar lady in the Eminem store. This win gives Democrats their biggest Senate margin in decades, but that's not even the most historic part of it.
He will be making history, becoming the first Black senator elected in Mississippi in 150 years.
You know what they say, once you go Black, 150 years later you go back. And by the way, if you're a Mississippi Republican, don't feel too bad that Cindy Hyde Smith lost this race. Based on how much she likes dressing like a Confederate soldier, she's been celebrating losers her whole life. But look, Mississippi really needed this win.
Everybody knows about their reputation, and I mean everybody.
You heard the senator-elect speech. Describe how you're feeling right now.
I'm from Africa. I'm glad I'm here because what I used to hear about Mississippi when I was back in Africa, it's not good.
Geez, they talk shit about Mississippi all the way in Africa? Mississippi's racist reputation gets around more than Jensen Huang's dick. We don't even talk about Mississippi in America. We just teach our children how to spell it and then move the on. Although, I do feel bad for this man's relatives back in Africa, who are about to receive a big box of Cindy Hyde Smith victory shirts.
That doesn't deserve applause. That doesn't deserve applause. What's even more incredible is that Scott Colom originally didn't even want to run against Hyde Smith. He wanted to be a federal judge. But guess who blocked his appointment? Cindy Hyde Smith. And she was pretty smug about it on election night when she thought she won.
I blocked Scott Colom from being a federal judge, and you blocked him from being a U.S. senator.
Make sure you get a video of me bragging about this because I'm going to want to watch it later. So she blocked him from a job, then he took her job. This isn't just a huge day for Mississippi or a huge day for Black Americans. It's also a huge day for petty people who live for revenge.
So we know why Scott Colom ran, but how did he win? Part of it could have been him putting out the best ad of the midterm election.
On the price of beef continuing to go up.
You know, you have so many proteins to choose from.
Pick another protein? Shit. I'd rather pick another senator instead.
Pick another protein? She done lost her damn mind. I'd rather pick another senator.
Pick another protein? What the.
Pick another senator instead.
What an ad. Also, what a confusing timeline we're in. Democrats are team beef and Republicans are like, maybe try tofu. Also, I think every commercial should have someone saying, "Sheesh." Do you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis? Sheesh. You need Skyrizi. But while some people believe that the ad sealed the deal, let's all just take a moment to honor the man who really made this possible: President Donald J.
Trump. Mr. No, no. No, no, no. Mr. President, only you had the moral courage to up this country so bad it ended racism in Mississippi. You and your dumb brain had a vision. An America so riddled with corruption and diarrhea lettuce that it made white men drive their Confederate flag pickup trucks to Robert E.
Lee High School and say, "I'm voting for the Black guy." In a way, does that make you the civil rights hero of our time? No, of course it doesn't. But in another way, does it? Still no. But thanks to the accidental role you played in advancing racial equality, future Americans will look back on your legacy and say, "Now, that. That was a president who had piss all over his hands."
Sheesh. When we come back, we find out a new way to save you. Welcome back to The Daily Show. Pollution is becoming such a problem.
It can seem hopeless, but a surprising group of women are taking it on. Grace Coolen-Schmidt has more.
The Environmental Protection Agency has one job: to protect. It's in their freaking name. Yet.
The EPA is outlining plans for an aggressive rollback of key environmental regulations. The agency said it will target more than two dozen rules and policies.
The biggest rollback of regulations to date.
Luckily, we don't need no stinking EPA because we have something even better.
Old ladies are channeling their energy to help the environment.
The group's called OLAW.
That's right, old ladies. So I sat down with these little old grannies trying their little old hearts out to do what the EPA can't. First, I just want to let you all know that I love the Golden Girls and Butterscotch, so I think we'll be best friends at the end of this. I'll take it. So OLAW stands for old.
Old.
Old.
Ladies.
Ladies. Against.
I am.
Underwater.
Garbage.
Garbage.
Ugh.
We are underwater because that's a place that people don't usually look.
Underwater garbage? But with their dainty brittle bones, how much trash could they possibly remove?
6,000 pounds. We're averaging 350 pounds per dive.
Oh my goodness.
We find pressure-treated lumber that's got arsenic.
We found car batteries.
Rubber tires.
The Corvette.
Cinder blocks are my greatest goal because they're heavy as hell.
And then how did an 80-pound blue toilet get in six, seven feet of water?
And then there's the bikini parts. Do you find the top? Do you find the bottom? That tells you something too.
It tells me someone's having fun.
Right.
Oh my God. It's a dream. It's a dream. Well, why are you doing this though? Why don't you just leave it to the EPA?
I mean, the EPA needs better funding. They need individuals who actually believe in the word pee for protection.
They don't have enough old ladies doing the job.
Absolutely.
And when it comes to members of OLAW, age is just a number.
It's really important that we don't pay attention to the stereotypes.
You know, I just hiked Mount Kilomanjaro for the second time.
Wow. I used to think about turning 70 when I was younger, and I thought, oh, I'm just going to get weaker. Oh, to be 70 again. No, 70. Oh, I'm still having sex at 70.
That's fun.
There is no resource that is more underutilized than women over 65. Margaret Mead said there is no power in the world like the zest of a postmenopausal woman. We are that power.
Wow. These women were a true inspiration and proved that we too can make a difference and be really horny in our 70s.
All right. Your begging has paid off. I'm in. I want to be a trash lady.
You have to try out.
All right, let's do it.
You're going to swim half a mile in under 30 minutes.
Let's make it five miles. Let's make it 10. I got this. Did I do it? Did I make a world record?
You've gone two feet.
For some reason, they only allowed me in the kayak, but it didn't matter because I was ready to save the freaking planet one pond at a time. So is one of your qualifications to be able to lift out a 200-pound lesbian out of the water? It is, actually. Okay, good. These iron-old maidens weren't fooling around. The effort and energy they put into cleaning up the underwater crap was empowering and at times frightening. We have two cinder blocks. There's so many cinder blocks. I'm starting to think that some of these women have killed their husbands.
You know, I can't even go in the water anyway. I'm on my period. What does that have to do with anything? Chart. The elch and rock. I don't think you're right.
Susan and her crew really loved their trash, and their excitement with each piece discovered made me wonder if the O and OLAW stood for something else.
This one has a lot of beer cans. Others have more bottles. Every pond has a different surprise for us.
It was time to see the fruits of their labor.
Oh my God. How drunk is this town?
And also learned just how gross cape cutters are.
This is why we're doing what we do. Yeah. This is it.
And as the old saying goes, one man's trash, oh my God, how did this get in the trash? Is another man's. Keep seas.
Thank you, Grace. When we come back, Heather Cox Richardson will be joining me on the show. Welcome back to The Daily Show. My guest tonight is an historian and author of Democracy Awakening and the newsletter Letters From an American.
Please welcome Heather Cox Richardson.
You're like a Beatle around here. That's rock star vibes.
History's cool. What can I say?
Well, you make history cool. I got to tell you, I'll be honest. I wish I paid more attention in history class. I was clearly snoozing. But holy hell, am I so grateful to have access to your wisdom right now in this moment of American history.
Well, thank you. But I think history really only becomes real to you when you get old enough to see the bigger picture so that you can figure out where things fit in sort of the light bright of human experience.
Well, yeah, it really is so your work is so important right now. Your Letters From an American is the most read politics newsletter on Substack. You have a combined 7 million readers. I didn't even know I didn't even know 7 million Americans knew how to read.
Well, it is a funny thing, isn't it? Right? You know, I think that in this moment, people are looking for the actual facts of what this country is and what it's been and how you change it. And so it turned out there was a huge readership for people who were able to say, this is how it works. This is how it's worked in the past, and this is how it can work in the future. Who knew, right? But it's there.
Who knew? Well, so, okay, we're a week and some change right after the midterms. As an historian, how are you looking at this particular moment?
Scott Colom, baby.
Yes.
Yeah, and earlier you were showing that incredible ad he had about choosing a different protein. But you know, the other ad that he had about Medgar Evers and just walking through his house and saying he died for the right to vote. Why don't you exercise it? I wonder if that was just as powerful because what this election was really about was the American people saying, hey, wait a minute. It's our government, not your government, and this is our opportunity to take it back.
And I think that's what we saw.
That's right. Were the results surprising to you?
A little. Yeah, yeah. The results, I think most of us have PTSD about watching election results. And I was hoping that we would have enough in the Senate that we would be able to push through legislation in the next Congress. But as those numbers kept going up and as the dominoes kept falling, I kept thinking, I just have waited a very long time to see this, and I did not expect to see it happen. What about you?
Oh, well, I was feeling cautiously optimistic, but I was overwhelmed.
Yeah.
Overwhelmed and really, truly feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.
And I have to say, not to belabor the point, but when Scott Colom was still in the game, by the time I went to bed that night, you realized it was something that we have not seen in our lifetimes and that people haven't seen for a very long time. And that's really exciting, right? To sit there and say, you know, we really can that we really can change the direction of our country if we choose to participate in it. And that's what makes this election so incredibly exciting is that recognition that all the cards are in the air and we get to catch them and figure out how we want them to go back down.
That's right. And I have to say, I don't think we have blue waves like this without scholars like you walking us through these moments and guiding us.
And people like you informing people about what's happening because that actually matters a lot, right? A lot more than you. It's a team. But that's what's so cool about this is it's a team where everybody is bringing their A game to whatever it is they do best. And when you do that, you create new things. Exciting new things.
We are in such an exciting time right now. Is there a moment in history that you can point to that is reminding you of this particular moment?
There are a lot of them. You know, the 1850s, I talk a lot about, the 1890s, and then the 1930s. But in this particular moment, for a number of reasons, it's the 1890s that really springs out to me, in part because that was a moment too where you saw the rise of this extraordinary wealth that made it very clear that they were going to control the future, both of the economy but also of politics. And there's a moment when the American people realize, for a number of reasons, in part because of new media that comes up and informs people about the way the country really works, people take a look around them and they say, wait a minute, this is not the way a society should work.
And they begin to organize at the local level, primarily women organizing at the local level, both in the Black community and the white community, to say, this is not the way we should be living. And that tends to make people recognize how important democracy is. And we get the rise of the progressive era in which Americans take back their government and say, we want the government to regulate business, to provide a basic social safety net, to promote infrastructure, and to protect civil rights. And boy, doesn't that look kind of like where we are?
I'm curious, in this moment right now, the Democrats have the control soon.
Soon.
Soon. How do they demand accountability and justice without taking their eye off of governing for the people and really producing real policy results?
But don't you think they're the same thing? I mean, accountability for the people who are taking control of our system by, oh, I don't know, breaking laws is also part of saying we need to get our government to be protecting the rights of individuals to have access to the things they need, first of all, to survive, but second of all, to thrive. Equal access to resources of education and health care and decent pay and housing and all the things that are really what a government is supposed to do.
So I look at the idea of requiring accountability for law breaking as being the other side of the same coin of saying we need to have a government that works for the majority of us. And I think it's not even you can walk and chew gum at the same time, but it's actually sort of doing it both together, right?
Well, I hope they can. Do you think they can?
I actually think they can. And you know what else I think? I think it's going to be fun to watch them because key to accountability are hearings. And there will be all the usual spin that you see in a hearing, but isn't it going to be interesting to find out who was behind the contracts for tearing down the east wing of the White House?
Oh, I'm popping popcorn right now.
Totally. Totally.
We can have a viewing party. There you go. You put out a newsletter every single day.
Night.
Night. You write at night?
I write all day and I put it out at night, yes.
Okay, so you write during the day. How do you sit down and write every single day? Aren't there days where you just want to take a nap?
Every day.
What are your writing rituals? Do you have any quirky writing rituals?
I wake up every morning and I pick up my phone, which is to the left of my bed, and I hold it up in front of me and I literally say to my husband, what fresh hell awaits me today? And that is the ritual that starts the day. And then I read all day long. And then I try to get some repetitive exercise during the day because it helps me think. And then I just start to write. It's a habit now.
Yeah. That's so healthy. I wake up the same way. What fresh hell are we about to get into? But then I take a shot of bourbon and it slows me down a little bit if I'm being honest. So many of us turn to you to be a steady guide during this time. Who are the people that you turn to?
So, you know, people ask me this, and I think it's really important to be clear that I am the mouthpiece for other people. Like, I am bringing my A game as a writer and as a historian, but it's not ever been about me. It's been about the community around me that asks questions and provides support and reinforces my faith in democracy. So I don't feel like I need that kind of a mentor or that kind of a teacher, that I am just embedded in something that is so big and so strong that I don't get depressed about what I write.
And I just feel like I'm part of the team.
Is it a prescription? Could ask my doctor about?
No.
Here's a bit of an oddball question for you, but I'm dying to know. You're throwing a dinner party. Okay, you can invite three.
Do I have to clean my house?
No. No, you don't have to clean your house. You can invite three historical figures, dead or alive. Who would you invite? But here's the curveball. Donald Trump invited himself and he's also sitting at the table.
Oh, that's so much fun. Okay, so first of all, do they have to be honest? Like, so if they come to my table, they're going to talk honestly.
Sure. Like, you give them a truth serum or something?
Well, yes. Because some of them, like the one.
You're such a writer. You're inventing the rules. You're writing the rules.
That's how it works.
Let's go with it.
But the person that I would most like to meet in history is Booker T. Washington because he lived in so many worlds. And he lived in worlds that literally could shoot him between the shoulder blades when he got up and walked out of his house in the morning. And he navigated all those worlds. And I think that is absolutely fascinating. But we know that he did that by not being honest in a number of the different faces that he wore. So I want to know how he did it. And you couldn't know how he did it unless you were going to be honest.
Now, but you've got Donald Trump there. So Booker T. Washington could take Donald Trump in a heartbeat. That's not a problem.
Yeah. Well, here, let me throw in another.
But then do you want somebody big or forceful or I mean.
It could be any of the above, but now let's put Donald Trump in a straight jacket.
Oh, that's totally fun. All right.
So that makes it interesting.
Now you're killing me because I would like to have at a dinner party Abraham Lincoln, right? Because why not, right?
Of course.
But Teddy Roosevelt would totally take him. He would just totally take him. So that's a hard one. But of course, Lincoln was a good fighter too. You know, that's a bad question to ask a historian because I could literally do this all night.
I'll see myself out. Too hard. It's too hard to make. You can invite one more person. I changed the rules. You can invite four people.
Yeah, but that's not good because I can't have Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln. They wouldn't get along. So give me Teddy Roosevelt to tackle Donald Trump. And then I want to have somebody like Phyllis Wheatley or Fannie Lou Hamer's too easy. Somebody from the late 19th century who could never imagine where we are today.
Oh, that's good.
And that give me Redcloud, maybe. Somebody who's going to look at the place we are now and say, explain to me how we got here because this is not what I imagined.
Oh, that's good. Would you be serving alcohol?
Lots of alcohol.
Lots of alcohol.
And you know what? That knocks out Lincoln. So let's go with.
Okay.
Yeah.
Would you invite me to one of your dinner parties? Forget this history thing. I would love to sit down.
Would it be fun to be able to do that?
Yeah.
You know, to have anybody you wanted at their table?
Oh, I would.
Who would you take?
Well, I'd probably let's see. I have to go through all the housewives. I'd be thrilled to sit down and have dinner with you so we can talk longer. I really, really appreciate you being here. You are.
Well, thank you.
So incredible at what you do. Thank you.
And thank you for everything you do.
Aw.
The team matters, right?
You can subscribe to Letters From an American: Heather Cox Richardson. Oh, here we go. We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be right back after this.
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There's a lot riding on this. I do believe he's one of those unique visionaries and we've had them before. I'm concerned that the reaction against this is going to be the throw-the-kitchen-sink approach and might have real consequences. I care more about his pipeline of chips than where he's laying pipe, quite frankly.
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Desi Lydic dives into Mississippi turning blue for Senator-elect Scott Colom, how protein and blocked federal judge appointments took his opponent Cindy Hyde-Smith down, Trump’s accidental role in advancing racial equality, and Jensen Huang’s mistress getting out-mistressed by two new reveals.
Under Trump, the EPA has been shirking its responsibilities and rolling back regulations. But one group of Cape Cod women is stepping up. Meet the Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage, aka OLAUG. By diving into ponds and hauling out crap (from cinder blocks to tires to toilets), these iron old maidens are pouring their hearts into doing what the EPA won't. Grace Kuhlenschmidt spent a day with OLAUG, whose stereotype-defying exploits inspired her to suit up and help save the planet one pond at a time -- if she can just pass the tryout.
Historian and “Democracy Awakening” author Heather Cox Richardson chats with Desi about her work on the political state of America and her most-read Substack politics newsletter, “Letters from an American.” The two discuss how the historic 2026 midterms compare to past eras of American political change, how the Democrats’ road to progress requires holding corrupt leaders accountable, and historical figures (dead or alive) Richardson would invite to a hypothetical dinner party with her and Donald Trump.
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