The Precap | Jordan Klepper on Xi's Pandas, Tuberville's Furry Pilots & Trump's "Super Intelligence" Branding Fail

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Do you ever think about switching insurance companies to see if you could save some cash? Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it at progressive.com.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and Affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states.

Randall Otis (0:19)

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hello, and welcome to The Precap, a daily show podcast where we sit down with this week's host to recap some of the latest news and preview what's coming up next. I'm Randall Otis, I'm a writer at the show, and I'm joined today by your host this week, Jordan Klepper.

Jordan Klepper (0:51)

Randall, how are you?

Randall Otis (0:52)

I'm doing pretty good. I'm all right.

How are you?

Jordan Klepper (0:56)

I'm good. I'm ready. I'm ready. Big week.

Randall Otis (0:58)

You're excited to take on?

Jordan Klepper (1:00)

You know what? I've been through a nor'easter.

It was the weekend of the nor'easter, and we battled it, and New York has come back stronger. At least the enclave that I've been in came back stronger, and or got into work today, and so I'm ready to face whatever metaphorical storm hits The Daily Show offices this week.

Randall Otis (1:24)

Well, there's been a lot of metaphorical storms, Jordan, so I'm glad you're prepared.

Jordan Klepper (1:28)

You have to be, you know? Or you have to... you kill the part of you that gets scared by the chaos, so you make yourself dead inside, and that prepares you for the storm, metaphorically.

Randall Otis (1:38)

And some of us just have no fear, because we're adults and can face the world as it is, but you can do whatever you need to do.

Jordan Klepper (1:44)

Oh yeah, no, I'm inside of a little child who has had to kill the part of him that's alive so that he can face the onslaught of the news, but you do you.

Randall Otis (1:51)

And that's what you get at The Daily Show, little boys hosting news programs. Tall, long little boys.

Jordan Klepper (2:00)

I'm just the lankiest of little boys. Just stretch me out, put me in a chair, lower that chair down. You know what I noticed for the first time? I've been at the show for a decade plus, been behind that host chair for a couple years now, and last week, I believe, I saw, I had to do a promo in the desk right at rehearsal, and I saw them switch out the chair, my chair, with Desi's chair, and I realized that my freakish height forced them to have a chair that could go very low so that Desi could look like a normal person and I could look like a normal person. We're not sitting in the same chair.

Randall Otis (2:36)

It's okay. I also noticed that at rehearsal, and I'm glad that's the explanation, because in my mind, I thought Desi was like, I don't want to touch anything he's touched. Get that chair out of my sight.

Jordan Klepper (2:46)

This is now, I read into it, it was a height accommodation, but you think it was simply like, oh my God, this guy has sullied.

Randall Otis (2:53)

I have a mind of malice and paranoia, so yours is a much better, nicer description. That's probably true.

Jordan Klepper (3:00)

I think it's high. Well, because I've seen John, they bring on a ladder and John just stands on top of a ladder to do the show.

Randall Otis (3:05)

Then they forklift the ladder up, because he's that small down.

Jordan Klepper (3:08)

Then they lower the audience. The audience has to get lowered about a good four feet that they're looking up. Then with the cameras in the right place, then it looks normal.

Randall Otis (3:17)

Yeah. If you haven't been to the show, John is so short that everyone looks down on him like you're looking into a tank at an aquarium.

Jordan Klepper (3:26)

Yes, exactly. Then he does tricks.

It's like the ways in which, remember how they used to do when they would do surgery. They would seat everybody up and they would look down into the body. Exactly. It's a situation like that.

Randall Otis (3:38)

Before we get into the news, I will say as a writer, this is a difficult thing. I have a problem with sometimes because part of comedy is making self-effacing jokes. But you're writing for someone else.

When you write a self-effacing joke for someone else, it is you writing an insult.

Jordan Klepper (3:58)

Yes.

Randall Otis (3:59)