This book brings together nineteen essays on the many moments of Zen to be found in the artful humor of The Daily Showand The Colbert Report. Want the real deal on fake news? Want to know how Jon Stewart stacks up against public intellectuals past and present? How The Daily Show hones your critical thinking skills in the war on bad media, bullshit, and political spin? Want to know more about The Daily Show’sphilosophy of religion? About what “truthiness” really means? Or how far down Stephen Colbert’s irony goes? It’s all right here. More than just fake news, The Daily Showhas achieved an undeniable cultural significance. What better way to plumb its depths than with the razor-sharp, media-savvy minds of our Senior Philosophical Correspondents?

Holt (philosophy and pop culture, Acadia U.) and fellow contributors stay true to the comic tone of television's prolific fake news series The Daily Show with Jon Stewart while discussing the show in a philosophical context. Nineteen chapters address how fake news can convey truth (as well as its potential harms), how Jon Stewart's taking on of powerful figures pays homage to Socrates and other public intellectuals, The Daily Show's dismantling of political rhetoric, its treatment of religion, and philosophical themes in spin-offs The Colbert Report and America (The Book). Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

"The Daily Show and Philosophybrilliantly shows how rabid partisanship, ineffective media, shoddy public discourse, and hyperbolic book blurbs spell doom for America."

Dave Baggett, editor of Harry Potter and Philosophy and Hitchcock and Philosophy

An entertaining and insightful examination of the Emmy-award winning American satirical news show, broadcast on Comedy Central in the US, and (in an edited edition) on More4 in the UK and CNN International around the world.

• Includes discussion of both The Daily Showand its spin-off show, The Colbert Report

• Showcases philosophers at their best, discussing truth, knowledge, reality and the American Way

• Highlights the razor sharp critical skills of Jon Stewart and his colleagues

• Faces tough and surprisingly funny questions about politics, religion, and power head on

Jason Holtis Assistant Professor at Acadia University. He is author of Blindsight and the Nature of Consciousness(2003).

Acknowledgements.

Introduction: Great Book, or the Greatest Book?.

Segment One: Headlines: Faux News is Good News:.

1. Amusing Ourselves to Death with Television News: Jon Stewart, Neil Postman, and the Huxleyan Warning: Gerald J. Erion (Medaille College).

2. The Fake, the False, and the Fictional: The Daily Show as News Source: Michael Gettings (Hollins University).

3. The Fake News as the Fifth Estate: Rachael Sotos (New School for General Studies).

4. The Good, the Bad, and The Daily Show: Jason Zinser (Florida State University).

Segment Two: Correspondent’s Report: Jon Stewart (Not Mill) as Philosopher, Sort Of:.

5. Jon Stewart and the New Public Intellectual: Terrance MacMullan (Eastern Washington University).

6. Stewart and Socrates: Speaking Truth to Power: Judith Barad (Indiana State University).

7. Can The Daily Show Save Democracy? Jon Stewart as the Gadfly of Gotham: Steven Michels and Michael Ventimiglia (Buffalo State College and Sacred Heart University).

8. Jon the Cynic: Dog Philosophy 101: Alejandro Bárcenas (University of Hawaii at Manoa).

Segment Three: Regular Feature: Critical Thinking and the War on Bullshit:.

9. Public Discourse and the Stewart Model of Critical Thinking: Roben Torosyan (Fairfield University).

10. The Daily Show’s Exposé of Political Rhetoric: Liam P. Dempsey (Dalhousie University).

11. Bullshit and Political Spin: Is the Medium the Massage?: Kimberly A. Blessing and Joseph J. Marren (both Buffalo State College).

12. Bullshitting Bullshitters and the Bullshit They Say: Andrew Sneddon (University of Ottawa).

Segment Four: Interview: Religion, God, and Darwin:.

13. The Challenge of Religious Diversity in “This Week in God”: Matthew S. Lopresti (Hawaii Pacific University).

14. Contingency, Irony, and “This Week in God”: Brad Frazier (Lee University).

15. Evolution, Schmevolution: Jon Stewart and the Culture Wars: Massimo Pigliucci (Stony Brook University).

Segment Five: Checking in with Stephen Colbert/Your Moment of Zen: Beyond The Daily Show:.

16. America (The Book): Textbook Parody and Democratic Theory: Steve Vanderheiden (University of Minnesota Duluth).

17. The Daily Show/Colbert Report Guide to Neologizing: Jason Holt (Acadia University).

18. Truthiness, Self-Deception, and Intuitive Knowledge: Amber L. Griffioen (University of Iowa).

19. Stephen Colbert, Irony, and Speaking Truthiness to Power: Kevin S. Decker (Eastern Washington University).

Senior Philosophical Correspondents.

Index