You're listening to Comedy Central. My guest tonight is a correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning and a best selling author whose latest book is called Mobituaries, Great Lives Worth Reliving. Please welcome Moroccer.
I love it from this perspector.
Welcome to the show. Well, thank you, and congratulations on another book.
Another book. That's right, right for remembering.
What's fascinating is you you you wrote a book before this there was a smash hit. It was about presidents and their pets.
Right, that's right, and then slash hit part but okay, it was it's about presidential It did very well.
For a book about presidents and was the best performing presidents and their pets.
Xactly. Thank you.
That's a hit in my book.
We have a spend, right.
And you didn't do that again? Is it because Trump doesn't have a pets?
That is true that he's the first president to not have a pet in the White House Chester Allen Arthur burned all of his papers, but so we don't know for sure that he had pets. But my understanding is he had a goldfish. I'm not making this up, but but Donald Trump does not have does not have a.
Pet, right. I mean, look at Fillmore also didn't have a pet.
But he was the vice president of the ASPCA for the Buffalo chapter when he left the White House, so that counts.
What What I always find, really I.
Can't believe freakish about you is that you you just have all of this information in your head. You're like a like a presidential buff like you just you just love information about president, any trivia about President.
Yeah, I love presidential factoids.
And I grew up outside of Washington, d c.
And seriously, when you grow up in the DC area, sort of the president is kind of the above the title film star. I imagine it's the equivalent of growing up in la and looking through the Paramount Gates in a way. But so I've always been fascinated in the presidency.
This book is interesting, though, because you wrote about people in this book. It's like mobituaries, which is a plan on your name, but obituaries as well, great lives worth reliving. You went with all of the people who we almost wouldn't know about, you know. So it's not about Jimmy Cott. It's about someone in Jimmy Cotton's family, you know. It's not about Rosa Parks. It's about another woman of color, black woman who decided to write on a trend when
she wasn't allowed to and it was all white. It's like, why did you choose these characters? How did you find them?
You know, this kind of marginalized history, These people that I don't think got to send off they deserve And it's I know, it sounds silly when we're talking about serious subjects like Elizabeth Jennings the Rosa Parks of New York, but it feels good.
It's fun to know this stuff.
I like that, and and I thought people, especially these kind of pockets of progress that have been forgotten, I think are important to know about. That history doesn't move in a straight line. So somebody like Elizabeth Jennings, Oh, just exactly one hundred years before Rosa Parks, she's booted off of a streetcar in New York City and she hires a future president in fact, Chester Allen Arthur. I can't believe this is the first interview ever were Chester
Allen Arthur has the name checked twice. She hires a young Chester Allen Arthur to defend her in civil court, and she whims and this leads to the integration of New York City's transportation authority shortly after the Civil War, And I thought, that's kind of nuts that people don't know this.
Every single story in this book feels like stories you would want to just have in your brain to be the most interesting person in a room. Yes, right, because no really, because it's like one of the stories that blew my mind here is when you were like, I didn't know the history of the term Siamese twins, right, conjoined twins, but then originally people like Siamese twins, and I didn't know that it came from two twins from the region that was once known as Siam, which was Thailand.
And you tell the story, which is fascinating because they conjoined twins, and then they come to a marry, they brought to America. They're a side show. Then they're going to become slave owners, right, so cheering for them the whole time in the story, and then at some point you're like whoa, They're like.
Oh, I almost completely loved you. I just screwed it up at the last second.
You had to go and become slave owners, right.
But that made it to me.
It's certainly a more complicated story a richer story and a story more worth telling. I mean, they are kind of their immigrants. Their names are Chang and Ang Bunker. They're two of the first celebrities in America. They're once wildly famous. They're pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. They win their freedom, and then they own slaves. And it's sort of like the story of America, the good and the not good all in one. I mean, they pack
it all into that story. And you know, and I was drawn to them because I remembered as a kid growing up, people my age will remember in the Guinness Book, the World Records, there was this picture of them. It's like the picture of the conjoined twins, and there was this whole story behind that.
What is your favorite story, like the everyone you think should know about that they don't know about.
Oh boy, I have so many that I love.
I love the story of Billy Carter because Billy Carter, the younger brother of Jimmy Carter, is remembered by most people, if at all, as kind of a buffoon, kind of a joke, a.
Caricature of a redneck.
And he, in fact, I went and I talked to President Jimmy Carter about him to his widow and his six kids, and they describe a man who was hard working, who was very funny, and we know this from interviews profiles that were done of him, and a man who was struggling with alcoholism and in the last proud chapter of his life ministered to people that could relate to him about this. And you know, here he is in a small, tiny town in southwest Georgia, living his life.
His brother decides to run for president. The media descends, I mean, how would you how would anyone handle that? The business, the family business was then put into a blind trust, right quaint? I know? And those were the days. And so he has no choice but to make his living at being Billy Carter, kind of being a caricature of himself, but a complicated and decent man, like when you really learn about him. And so I wanted to
be generous and I wanted to be compassionate. I think obituaries are the one place in journalism where the rule of thumb is and I think should be giving people the benefit of the doubt.
Well, that's interesting, giving people the benefit.
Of the doubt when you die. I mean, come on, you're gone, right, I mean I mean unless you're.
A war criminal. That's different.
Oh then no doubt, yeah, you know, some doubt or no doubt at all, no benefit of.
Doubt, no benefit of the doubt at all.
No no nice stories about how nothing like puppies and all that it got it.
What if it was like puppy loving war criminal Dead or would you not even include the puppy loving pot.
Two part series?
Ah, War Criminal Dead also love puppies.
Yeah, that's an inset inside eide the story.
If you get that fall, if you get puppies, we want to make sure you get to the war criminal part.
Puppies could not be reach for comment. Thank you so much for being on the show. Really a fascinating book.
Historically, librarians have played a respectable and conservative role in our society. Recently mo Roca Medaw Washington, DC archivist who breaks that stereotype.
The Library of Congress the largest library in the world, hundreds of miles of shelves of books covering every subject in the history of the world except one. But that subject does have a place in this Clinton, Maryland home. Library of Congress employee and archivist Ralph E. Whittington has been compiling his private collection here for thirty five years.
Would you describe yourself as a hardcore archivist.
I'll consider myself a Eurotic archivist.
My business card says that qualit erotic.
I could call it adult, call it legally questionable. Ralph is chief librarian of his own library of pornography, covering every corner, crack, crevice, and fold of this wide open subject. This is your library's main reading room, yes, and it's also your bedroom in your mother's basement.
Yes.
Right, So how much smut are you hoarding in your mother's basement?
I guess five hundred videos, thousands of magazines.
Does the sea of pornography ever distract you from your crocheing?
No, he doesn't bother me with that. I'm upstairs and he's downstairs.
When Ralph was born and you held him in your arms and you looked into his eyes, did you say, one day, this kid of mine is going to be hoarding a basement full of smut?
Oh? No, I never thought of such a thing.
Then Ralph is not just hoarding, implementing the same system he uses at the Library of Congress. He catalogs and files every choice piece of porn.
I'd like to talk to you about poon tang? Is it one word or two?
Poon tang is one word?
What about the title happy ass Lesbians? Will we file it under subject ass or lesbians lesbians? Could it be cross reference under ass?
No?
So the World's Biggest.
Gang Bang is going to appear in the performer index under chong and under the subject index under gang bang and under the title index under the World's Biggest gang Bang?
Whorl as you this title really says it all?
Oh? Yes, Nurse mc kringle never shrinks from a challenge.
So puppets are not just for kids. Tell me about it.
The reason why I Border is the only X rated film that has puppets.
As the actor librarian archivist fan Ralph E. Whittington and has immersed himself totally in his passionate pursuit.
Would you describe yourself as hands on?
Uh?
Now I do, because I made an X rayed film with Chessie Moore.
Was this a dream come true?
Dream come true?
What is it about Chessiemore that captivated you?
Availability?
What does Mama Wittington think of her son's collection?
Well, I feel that he's his own man. I feel that he could have done worse dam.
Every great movement begins with an individual act of defiance. Moses stood up to the Egyptians. Gandhi stared down the British. Morocco met a man in Syracuse, New York, facing the mightiest foe of them all Verse.
Seventeen long months, Fred Craig has crusaded daily against women's discount clothing chain fashion Bug. It all started with these This is what happened to the Fashion Bug panties Fred bought for his wife. After only one.
Wash, they can part.
They shredded.
So he bawled up his panties and demanded a refund.
She's like, yeah, those are underwear, you know, we can't take those back.
No refund. But Fred had found a nobler purpose trashing Fashion Bug. For over a year and a half, he's spent each day outside the mall spreading his message to women shoppers.
I try to return something in there one day, and they treated me like.
Derek, Yeah, because of your behavior, not because of Fashion Bug's clothes.
Don't be dissing them.
If you don't like it, don't buy it.
Encouraged by his supporters, Fred forges ahead single mindedly. Yet somehow he finds time to paint, create helpful websites, and take relaxing drives. Fred's mother stands firmly behind him.
How proud are you proud?
He is a complete idiot for doing what would you prefer.
Fred do with his time work? Your son has a website?
Why in the world would he have that?
For other victims of fashion Bug. The name of the website is www dot fashion bugsucks dot com or not?
What kind of language is that?
Geez Crown.
To evaluate Fred's claims, the Daily Show laboratories conducted a battery of tests to simulate a typical day for a pair of panties. Our conclusion, these panties needed to go back to the store. Oh hi, yeah, I want to return these panties which I bought and they're not working.
Happening.
Oh my god, Wow, that's mud.
After only forty five seconds, Fashion Bug gave The Daily Show a store credit, But for Fred, the battle continues with the support of his family.
This is.
I'm dreading Thanksgiving. That was my favorite holiday. But we're all getting together down my daughter's also and I dread your Fred me in there, because the whole thing of being thankful is the idiot gonna say.
Be talking about fashion Bug the whole time.
Fashion Bug, fashion bug, fashion bug, fashion bug. That's all he thinks about when he goes to bed, That's what he sleeps about. What can I do the next day for fashion bug? Jesus?
Is he nuts?
Really not?
Is he crazy?
Yes?
Is he a lunatic?
No?
So you love yourself yes?
But I don't want to be associated with them.
That's part.
Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to be swept back into office today, doing no small part to his promise to control the violent antics of England's soccer hooligans.
But as Morocer discovered, they're still out there and there are anything but under control.
Soccer is a game of strategy and brace, enjoyed by legions of devoted and impassioned fans. But among these fans is a dangerous wooligan.
Her name.
Peggy Air. This octogenarian thug perpetrated one of the most appalling acts of hooliganism in the UK. Are you a fan or are you a hooligan? Definitely bollins, says psychologist Alex Haslam.
And I don't think the person that in this particular case is someone you would pick out and say that person is a hooligan. But clearly, if you were presented with the facts of the case, this is antisocial and unacceptable behavior.
On Saturday, September two, two thousand, a day that now lives in infamy, Peggy woke up and started drinking. I just thought of how many cubes of sugar, Peggy one, it gets you hopped up?
Yes, not to keep me going anyway.
Anyway, with all that English breakfast junk coursing through her system, Peggy staggered to her hometown soccer stadium. She never made it inside.
You went to the.
Stadium and this woman wanted to look in my bag.
After a brief tussle, security rifled through her bag, and then she took.
Up my aerosol, and she said, this is what we're looking for, isn't it.
That's right. Peggy was carrying a concealed can of aerosol deodorant. Naturally, Peggy was ejected from the game. Peggy's re enactor was mortified. Peggy was unrepentant. Could aerosol deodorant be used to blind somebody? Could it be used to set a fire by lighting a match to the spray? Could aerosolt urdurant be used to rip a hole in the ozone above the stadium.
Let you tell me that rip a hole news.
Peggy Airs?
Are you an eco terrorist?
I don't think.
Peggy was more dangerous than we thought. Peter Carter, Exeter City Grecians administrator blasted Peggy. These hooligans are hot heads. These hooligans are drinking too much. These hooligans are up to no good. These hooligans must be stopped. And that's not all he had to say. I've met one fan in particular who I've quite frankly found unnerving intimidating. I'm speaking, of course, of Peggy Airs. But just what is this hateful granny capable of our cameras caught this ghastly exchange.
Why do you wear those long socks?
Well, I why, Well, I'm in Britain, this is England.
Hey, but you mean me?
You think old englishmen walk around in long socks?
This is what our British correspondents wear.
No soccer fans beware when Peggy Airs gets her fix, sometimes you have soup. God help us all.
Well, the Winter Olympics are are just about over. Yes, that's right, and no doubt the biggest story this year has been the controversy over the Olympic pairs figure skating competition. I can feel your outrage. It's a scandal that raises larger issues of fairness in figure skating judging and judging in general. To get a sense of the big picture, we turn to our daily show senior figure skating analyst Moroka Mo.
Thank you for joining.
Appreciate it.
By indeed, last two week's incident is about a lot more than just a corrupt judge.
It points out.
The inherent difficulty in evaluating athletic competitions that are by nature subjective. It reminds us that figure skating will always come down to a matter of opinion, like all sports.
But actually not like all sports. I mean, baseball is not subjective. It's objective. Yankees nine Orioles three. Yankees win. It's nine to three in your opinion, not in my opinion. In reality, let me.
Give you it.
For instance, John, Let's say the Yankees score nine runs but the Orioles score ten. Wouldn't the Orioles and be considered the victors.
That'd be a different game. That'd be a I mean, yes, they would be the victors in that game.
That you would it, John, or would we just be watching the same game from different perspectives. Think about that, okay, And even if the Orioles did score fewer runs, those runs might have been scored with more flair, more jois de vive, whereas the Yankee runs could have been scored in a clunky and boorish fashion, though the Yankee costumes are much nicer, and that of course would factor into the score for pre.
There's no score for presentation in baseball. The outcome isn't really open for that kind of debate.
Well, John, I think it's just a little simplistic for you to say that the team that gets more runs is somehow the winner. I mean, take ballet. I saw Swan Lake the other day. It came right down to the end. Are you going to sit here and tell me that just because the swan died in the end, he lost.
No, I'm going to tell you ballet isn't the sport.
In your opinion.
Okay.
Sports will always involve an element of artistry, whether it's the complex ballet that is baseball or the complex baseball that is ballet.
Well, we're almost out of time here. Is there any way to make figure skating more objective less subjective.
Well, starting this year, the Skating Union is going to try having fourteen judges instead of nine.
And that's going to make it more objective.
No, but they're also adding sticks to goals in a puck. That should help.
Now the results of.
The results of the two thousand census are in and among the findings, a record number of Americans are fleeing the big city for a lifestyle that can only be found in small town America. But what happens when big city life comes back to haunt them? Morocco found out the hard way.
Pacific City, Oregon.
Right here in Pacific City, there's trouble and that starts with T and that rhins with P and that stands for peauckle one, a cozy seaside hamlet. Pacific City has now been targeted by pinnuckle playing undesirables who have petitioned under House Joint Resolution thirty three to officially declare Pacific City the pnuckle Capital of Oregon. But Pacific Cities upstanding citizens are just saying no the proposal to make Pacific City the pinnuckle Capital of Oregon.
What is your reaction?
Thank it's ridiculous.
We got enough going on here. This town has an Italian restaurant, It has a Chinese laundromat.
Can it tolerate pinuckle players?
It doesn't have an Italian restaurant.
I don't know where they got this idea of this was the peanut Peanut Pinnuckle Capital of the World.
Meet Pinuckle Kingpin Roger Tracy, the mastermind behind the plot to push pinuckle on Pacific City.
The civilization is coming and like it or not, it creates change.
And like it they don't for all the usual reasons.
It does bring in a different class of people, usually.
A different class.
Yeah, and you get more people that are peddling dope and illegal things. They drive too fast, they don't pick up after theirselves, beer cans, pop cans all over the place. They don't pay their taxes, they don't take care of their light bills, they don't pay their rent. Next thing they do is sell their car and then and they lose that money. Then the next thing that happens, they're carrying firearms or something like that.
Keep your nair dowells your rift wraft outside Pacific City, that's right, you.
Don't want wrap.
And they're do wells, we don't need pinnuckle in their kind here.
Huh. It's not only pinuckle.
I don't have nothing against the game, but just the rift draft.
But could the so called rift raft be even worse than imagined? Our undercover cameras were able to infiltrate this pinuckle den where eyewitnessed firsthand the unspeakable depravity that is pinnuckle. Okay, way normally, how rough can can these pinnuckle games get?
Well?
You mean you guys don't have any diamonds.
It looks like the scourge that is peinuckle has firmly taken root best and everyone knows what that means.
It's not unusual to see him take pictures and then with that polaroid camera, and then they pull it out, peel it off.
And just drop it.
Sadly.
This is the future of Pacific City. Goodbye Seaside Hamlet, Hello, Sodom and Gomorrah.
Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching The Daily Show wherever.
You get your podcast.
Watch The Daily Show weeks at le been ten central on Comedy Central.
And stream full episodes anytime on fairmounth plus.
This has been a comedy Central podcast