Capital Punishment
John talks about the recent issues of the death penalty, François Hollande, and the rising issues happening in Brunei.
8.2 /10
Climate Change Denial
John talks about Eurovision, Ukraine and Russia's relations, and invites Bill Nye to a statistically representative climate change debate.
8.3 /10
The Right to Be Forgotten
John talks about the product recall going on at General Motors, the EU Court of Justice "Right to be Forgotten" ruling, and updates us on how the Indian election is going, with help from Fareed Zakaria.
8.1 /10
Net Neutrality

Sat, May 31, 2014
This week's topics include the rise of the far right political parties in Europe, the Ukrainian election, Afghanistan, Net Neutrality, Australia's hard-line right-wing Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
8.8 /10
FIFA and the World Cup
John Oliver discusses the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square rebellion and the FIFA World Cup and invites Right Said Fred to send a message to Bashar al-Assad.
8.6 /10
Dr. Oz

Sat, Jun 21, 2014
John highlights recent news such as the problems of tourism in Antarctica, discusses international royalty as a service to Game of Thrones fans and panders to the audience in response to allegations against Dr. Oz.
8.2 /10
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby
John Oliver sheds light on recent Supreme Court cases and discusses gay rights in Uganda with activist Pepe Julian Onziema.
7.9 /10
Income Inequality and Wealth Inequality
John revisits news of a change in Japan's foreign policy, the love letters of Warren G. Harding and CIA's social media activity, and discusses the issues of income inequality in America.
8 /10
Incarceration in the United States
John talks about Gaza (but mostly Anderson Cooper) and about Malaysia Airlines flight 17, then discusses prison incarcerations in America and sings with Muppet-like puppets, similar to those from Sesame Street.
8.1 /10
Nuclear Weapons and the United States
John addresses the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, revisits the subject of international royalty, discusses the safety of nuclear weapons and campaigns to save geckos in space.
8.3 /10
Payday Loans

Sat, Aug 09, 2014
John discusses payday loans and Russia's import embargo on U.S. chicken and soybean.
8.1 /10
Student Debt

Sat, Sep 06, 2014
John provides a eulogy for the mating space geckos, and talks about student debt.
8.1 /10
Drones

Sat, Sep 27, 2014
John discusses U.S. military drones and the Kansas state budget shortfall.
8 /10
Civil Forfeiture
John Oliver shows us how desperate the American law enforcement are to make money out of everyone.
8.6 /10
Military Translators
Translators who have aided the U.S. Military in Afghanistan and Iraq are in great danger in their home countries, but red tape is making it impossible for many of them to leave.
8.4 /10
Sugar

Sat, Oct 25, 2014
John Oliver is back to discuss how the sugar industry rules the world!
8 /10
The Lottery

Sat, Nov 08, 2014
Last Week Tonight features in-depth and critical look at state lotteries. It also looks at the Turkish Prime Minister's Grand Palace and a Salmon shooting cannon.
8.7 /10

Edit Focus

The Dream of Shahrazad

The Dream of Shahrazad

THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD is a feature-length documentary film that brings together the famous story collection THE 1001 (or "ARABIAN") NIGHTS with recent political events in Egypt, Turkey and Lebanon... Description The "Arab Spring" of early 2011 was a momentous global event, raising great hopes for anyone interested in the forward march of humanity. No one, however, is yet sure about the meaning or consequences of these events... THE DREAM OF SHAHRAZAD is a feature-length documentary film which locates the Egyptian revolution - and also recent political changes in Turkey and Lebanon - within a broader historical and cultural framework: that of storytelling and music. More particularly, it looks at the legacy of the famous collection of stories known as THE 1001 (or "ARABIAN") NIGHTS. Weaving together a web of music, politics and storytelling, the film follows a series of unforgettable characters, all of whom draw their inspiration from the NIGHTS and whom, like Shahrazad - the storytelling princess in the NIGHTS who saves lives by telling stories - puts creativity to new political use... A young female Turkish violinist travels to Istanbul, where a charismatic conductor uses Rimsky-Korsakov's SCHEHERAZADE suite as a tool for political education, leading up to a final performance at Istanbul's Topkapi Palace. A young Lebanese woman makes peace with her past by learning the art of storytelling in Egypt. An older visual artist who is obsessed with THE NIGHTS finds his "dream of Shahrazad" manifesting through the appearance of a beautiful young storyteller. Members of a Cairo theatre troupe meet with the mothers of martyrs of the January 25 Revolution and turn their testimonies into new storytelling performances... This richly kaleidoscopic film is at once observational documentary, concert film, political essay and visual translation of an ever-popular symphonic and literary classic. It is a documentary homage to THE NIGHTS, to the SCHEHERAZADE suite, and to the role of a rich historical and creative legacy within huge current political change.

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