The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Trump Extorts DOJ for $230M While Gov’t Workers Scramble to Make Ends Meet | Ryan Holiday
23 Oct 2025
While thousands of government employees are working without pay during the ongoing government shutdown, Donald Trump is squeezing $230 million from the Department of Justice as compensation for the "damage" of being federally investigated. Michael Kosta breaks down the conflict of interest that's so bad, it even has legal experts saying "duh," and Troy Iwata gives a peek into what new grifts the president is cooking up in his corruption lab. Protein is everywhere now: Doritos, ice cream, cereal, air. Lewis Black takes a look at the new health craze tricking Americans into thinking they can have their protein-filled cake and eat it too, and asks what could happen if you consume too much protein (hint: it involves s**tting your pants). Ryan Holiday, creator of “Daily Stoic” and author of "Wisdom Takes Work," sits down with Michael to discuss teaching children Stoicism by example, how wisdom calibrates courage, discipline, and justice, the difference between schooling and true education, and the spectrum of Stoicism in public figures from Abraham Lincoln to Elon Musk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Full Episode
You're listening to Comedy Central.
From the most trusted journalists at Comedy Central, it's America's only source for news.
This is The Daily Show with your host, Michael Kosta.
Welcome to The Daily Show. I'm Michael Kosta. We've got so much to talk about tonight. Trump cuts himself a bonus check. Louis Black gets jacked. And we'll tell you why your DoorDash order just got rerouted to Newark. But first, let's kick things off with our ongoing coverage of Shutdown Showdown 2025 down. Locked up, locked down, and closed for business.
The shutdown has lasted for over three weeks now, which you may not have ever noticed because they keep forcing federal employees to come back into work without pay. People like TSA screeners, veterans doctors, and most importantly, the brave guards who keep the Epstein files from being released. Thank you, heroes.
But other federal workers have been furloughed, which means they don't go to work at all. These jobs are less essential. And we probably won't even notice they're gone. And remind me, which kind of jobs are furloughed?
Roughly 1,400 employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration, which safeguards the country's nuclear stockpile, now on unpaid leave. Only 400 workers remain on the job. Great.
America's nuclear weapons are now unguarded. That may sound dangerous, but don't be nervous. The nukes have air tags on them. Also, just to be safe, they put up a sign outside the nuclear stockpile so no one's going to go in there. And for those folks who do have to work without pay, well, they have to get creative to pay the bills.
The shutdown is also putting a strain on the people who make sure we get to our destination safely. Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since October 1st.
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