When I read that Jon Stewart was returning to host The Daily Show on a part-time basis, I felt myself visibly cringe.
"Why do this to yourself, Jon?" I thought. Stewart had left the show at what seemed like the right moment: in August 2015, just before American politics got so absurd that it became the punchline rather than the set-up. In a memorable then-final monologue, Stewart pleaded with his audience to guard against "premeditated, institutional bullshit, designed to obscure and distract." The best of Stewart's comedy had always been drawn from that well: exposing the bullshit of politics by layering clips of the same politician saying two hypocritical things, then looking straight into the camera with that wry grin of his. Gotcha.
