The fact that this was Snowden's first major media interview back then just shows how amazing/underrated John Oliver is. I heard someone in some interview reveal that 'Snowden's people wanted to do this only with Oliver as he does the best journalism'... That's exactly what you get from this whole episode. It's both funny and smart, without painting Snowden either as a hero or a villain. You do see that Oliver has a soft spot for Snowden, but his journalistic ethics stop him from looking too biased.
it took a Snowden to leak this info. It took a Oliver to frame it in a concerning way to the american public. Much like his framing on the picture he gave Snowden.
@@strangebrew1231 "federal handlers" lmao you must think highly of news anchors if you think they're all secretly in league with the feds. Also john would've shut the fuck up about coal if that was true.
@ Raven Rose... agreed... it really shows what are priorities are and that gives a good clue as to why we're so stupid. Ask this same group of people when "Black Friday" is and I'll bet 99% of them will get that right.
So it's the END OF WORLD again... darn... I missed the last one, and the one before that and the one before that etc. I'll mark April 8th on my calendar so I won't have to bother with cleaning my house or doing my dishes that day... and if YOU'RE WRONG that means that YOU ARE THE ANTICHRIST... and I will report you to the Pope's secret Jesuit hit squad and they will take you out... I marked your site
All the best episodes were in 2015. When he started talking about Trump's every move - something for which information is obvious and satire unnecessary - it was all downhill.
John translating the serious and complicated issues into idiot friendly explanations is a MASSIVE service to this country. Its 2021 and this sadly is as relevant as the day it was published.
but the people only care about these in movies and don't want to know about this difficult topic even if it's important,it's just so boring that people not even give a shit.
***** Yeah, but the US government is naturally very insistent that they don't. And foreign Western media (such as here in Europe) really wants to follow the US lead in such cases. Besides selling fear of the "other", sells much better than selling fear of the US government. They also need to have space for all the useless junk people seem more interested in. Like who Paris Hilton has fucked now. Who the fuck cares? We have two lying and horrible people that should be put in jail running for the presidency of the US. And you want to talk about how big some shallow idiots butt has become? Civillian's are being MURDERED by a foreign government in the middle-east, and that isn't worth even a damn side note?
Best quote towards the end of the video: "You shouldn't change your behavior because a government agency somewhere is doing the wrong thing. If we sacrifice our values because we're afraid, we don't care about those values very much."
This was posted in 2015, it is now 2019 and the US has the most corrupt and compulsive lying president and criminal and treasonous administration in US history and supported all the way by the Republican party that refuse to facilitate impeachment proceeding of a Republican, no mater what, and the US leads the world in shootings, mass shootings and mass school shootings while criminal Trump makes a mockery of the US and democracy every day!
I just want to say, even 7 years after this interview, you're not forgotten Snowden. What you did was incredibly brave, and incredibly patriotic. Every now and then I think about you and wish that you will soon be pardoned
I was 100% in Snowden's corner in the beginning, now I'm not so sure. Only after re-watching this interview today, after having seen it when it first aired. He decided to open the pandora box and make the American people aware of what our government was doing, and the fact virtually no one in America even knows who he is tells me he failed miserably. Only making life no better for anyone else, and a total living nightmare for himself.
@@Gambit22003lol there was literally a movie made about him, maybe back then “no one” knew who he was but that’s ridiculous to say now. And also, you have the benefit of hindsight. Super fun to have I know, but try putting yourself in his shoes at that place and time. Had he done nothing, said nothing and kept his head down I would’ve called him a coward. Instead he risked his *entire life* to try and expose the fact that the US government is spying on literally everyone. And now he can’t go home, because he tried to make the world a better place. People like you kinda disgust me. You sit here with the benefit of hindsight and have the audacity to criticize him simply because he’s not famous, like Beyoncé or some bs. Wtf is wrong with you? THOSE are you values? You value someone only if they’re rich and famous? You don’t actually care about their actions or intentions, just whether or not some redneck hillbilly knows your name? Maybe you’re right, maybe Americans aren’t worth protecting.
@@Gambit22003 I'm not really following how his message not getting the sucess he wanted somehow should mean you aren't in his corner anymore or that he isn't brave for it lol.
Makes me want to cry when i see how easily people forget. This guy took such a huge,massive risk and did it to protect people's freedom and that's how he's being thanked....
Noïl Paprika look how they treated Hillary over crimes trump is getting away with. Obama with the Tan suit and Trump has Kurds killed. Look how they made Dr Christine Ford a villain and the drunk, a fucking hero. Republicans in power need to be gone. Not just from office but from the face of the earth. They have voted against the best interest of America for companies who want to make a quick dime from you human piñatas. They always vilify those who fight the corrupt. I don’t even have to go through history before and after King to make a point about it.
Toori Baba You’re watching John Oliver and you’re talking all this shit which was debunked ages ago. This isn’t a Fox News segment and trump isn’t watching.
@@sabastian4858 He is not defending her. And you are stupid if you think he is. He is saying that she was made to be worse than she is, when Trump has done MUCH MUCH worse things..... And people compare her wrongdoing to his - there are no comparisons, it's like comparing theft to mass murder and saying "Well both guys are the same"....
@@JuICyBLiinGeR Obama killed thousands of innocent people in the Middle East with the drone program & Trump is doing the same. Until people realize all Presidents are violating human rights & don't keep assuming their side is the moral side. Nothing will change. Clinton, Bush, Obama & Trump have all committed war crimes. Trump increased drone strikes by over 400%. Obama dropped so many bombs one year (27,000) that we nearly ran out of bombs & took us from being in 2 countries militarily to 7. Bush got us into Iraq & Afghanistan, in turn killing thousands of civilians in the region. Bill Clinton killed over half a million Iraqi children through sanctions & his secretary of state (Madeleine Albright) said "it was worth it." The people in charge aren't going to take away their own military powers. The people need to realize that it's not the person in office but the office itself that needs to change.
It was only on my second watch of this that I actually realised *what* John was doing here: forcing Snowden to dumb down all of this important information in a way the average American would care about, understand, and remember. It's fucking genius. How did I miss that on my first watch through?
I still wish he would've done it in a way that was more respectful to Snowden, and at least I hope he was notified beforehand of John's intent and what he was going to do. I like what he was trying to do but the way he did it was very offputting for me. But maybe he did a good job at making me sympathize more with Snowden? I dont know I just had very mixed feelings.
Consider the average is 100...50% is below that....ah, average conversations about the weather and average STUFFY STUFF is...well, do you get it? I want the general average to raise, and/or the up 50% just realize the vigilant- care they need to ALLOW(f'ed up, right? allow.) the lower 50% to live their perception of reality...to much is given, much is expected. Can the smart be those on the protective side of the rest...ah, please.
As stupid as they are its not completely their fault. You have poorly designed and underfunded school systems that get worse every year making them more stupid. Mass poverty and and overworking culture that makes putting food on the table and paying rent your sole purpose of existence. More sugar, salt, fat and other unnecessary crap being shoved into almost every food source making the country more obese, lethargic, unhealthy and lazy. Add all this up and being spied on would be the last of an average joe's concerns. The american government and corporations have successfully broken down the American fighting spirit and their desire for freedom when it comes to these matters.
This was like torture. You basically sacrifice your life for this cause and here comes a guy showing you no one gives a fuck... A bit too harsh from John
This is the happiness I get is he will never get to to return to the US and yes his relevance was a flash in the pan. Enjoy Russia sounds like an amazing new homeland.
You have to understand John Oliver is a comedian and Snowden knew this going into it. Oliver did a brilliant job of taking a serious matter and displaying it to an audience in a way that they understand and can sympathize with while maintaining his comedic performance. This is why I love John so much, and I am sure Edward was satisfied with the way his message was translated into terms that a majority of America could understand.
***** I dont agree with "stupid being normal". I agree with people being more and more concearned about the important issues and be able to debate about those issues, but not all concepts are easy to grasp for everyone. Its kind of like how Neil deGrasse Tyson is able to "translate" astrophysics' terms to people who are interested in it, but do not understand the complexity of its language/concepts. So i agree with Khorothis . Hopefully, this will get people more involved because they can relate to the problem.
Khorothis I found that in Academia or even high level corporate world (ive worked in both) that people do have issues relating back to the populus. I believe its in our best interest AND responsibility to translate their expertise to the average layman.
It took me a while to get what Oliver was after - personalize the data, and suddenly the American Public is interested as hell as to what the Government is doing with our data. That was a clever mechanism. I think a story about the making of this episode would be fascinating.
its a well known issue that very few humans care about anything that doesnt IMMEDIATELY affect them. Its why "save the world" stories are almost never as compelling as "Save your Family", and coincidentally why so many apocalypse movies focus on the main character trying to save their family. We cant relate to a big picture problem
Same, I was a bit shocked at how crass Oliver was being at first, but he was exactly right at the end. Most American’s only care about things that relate to them.
@@BobTheTesaurus I believe they make these types of movies too make Americans THINK that we as a country are united and to make us belive that as Americans we are always prevail. Belive that the heroes (government)will always save America when enemies attack = you as a citizen will not question your heroes (governments) real intentions, because they are here to protect and save you.
@@Vespyr_ what's your challenge? Snowden didn't answer the questions in regards to his treatment of classified documents & the responsibility of knowing the contents of the documents before handing them to media outlets & whether placing trust in those outlets to properly vet the info was the best decision
This episode might possibly be the best thing I've watched on UA-cam since its inception. In purposely trivializing the issue, it tables its seriousness in clearer ways than most news outlets did.
I hope Edward Snowden knows by now that not all Americans are oblivious to his many sacrifices for us. It so saddened me to see him watch how oblivious people were when asked who he is. He is a hero, NOT a traitor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And, thanks to John Oliver for his comical take on a very serious issue, while also bringing the subject matter to a level all people can understand. Much respect for both of these men.
Watching Edward’s reaction to the videos John showed him of US citizens not even remotely being aware of or caring about the information he revealed or the sacrifices he made absolutely broke my heart
Sometimes a hero doesn't want to be seen doing the heroism, as to them the act of heroism isn't about making sure someone is watching or talking about them next day. Snowdon has an odd awkwardness about him, like the person in a group who laughs after everyone else is long finished..I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't score on the spectrum..And b4 anyone attacks me I score as well..actually most if not all artists, mathematicians, etc score so not an insult but a badge of honor in my mind at least. He has "loosened" up over the years since this was done tho.. And he is a hero of mine and a true patriot to what America and her citizens! I believe that his face was showing two thoughts simultaneously, possibly 3. 1 he was glad they didn't recognize his name because he didn't do it for fame, 2 affirmation that in fact Americans are illiterate to what their country does in their name but yet know every single thing their neighbors done the past week, an and sadness at the realization of the previous one was beginning to sink in that he risked everything not for money or his own UA-cam channel,but the people he risked everything for only were con being laughed at due to the size of their sausage. A sadness most common sense literate are feeling now or should be.
@@AjarnSpencer it’s not even about attention, he sacrificed what he did to spread awareness-so seeing how unaware people still were probably made all the sacrifice feel a little pointless
I felt so bad for him, when he watched that video footage. I can't imagine what is like to fight for what you believe to be a cause in favor of all American citizens, lose your job, lose your house and even country, and then see some random people having no idea who you are. It probably hurts a lot.
mequable well he actually is quite happy with the outcomes of his actions. He stated many times (and even briefly in this interview) that he didn't anticipate his revelations to bring so much attention overall. Despite those folks on Times square not giving a damn, his actions have clearly influenced the political discourse a lot.
This is why John Oliver is the greatest. His journalism is just outstanding. Making issues relatable, funny but without taking away the story’s essence. This was absolutely brilliant.
I can literally see the frustration of Snowden trying to explain this complex concept and I really applaud Oliver for making it a situation everyone can understand with added humor that people will remember
This is amazing. At first I couldn't tell what John was trying to accomplish, shooting Snowden down like that, but the goal was magic. If successful, this could have a big influence in the push to get this program shut down or changed. :O
And if he keeps it up, he might end up having an 'accident' because he was a terrorist, as he was trying to "stimulate the crowds of simpletons to riot against the government", or something like that... Damage control at it's best... >:P "Calm down people, we don't have your dick picks! That doesn't mean some of our people don't keep them stored on their private data drives, nor that we don't have access to them, it also doesn't mean we didn't see them BUT! We *don't* have them here, so don't riot or we'll publish them so everyone can see your dicks! Right here, right now! And it doesn't matter if you're a woman - if you have a dick, we'll show it to the world! So keep calm and carry on, and in two years you won't even remember this, as we'll simply cover it up and everything will be fine once again! 'Cause 'Murica! Fuck yeah! Freeedoooom!" xD
Nah, I doubt that. Politically motivated hit jobs aren't a thing in this country. At least not these days. There's really no point. Most any slimy thing our politicians want to get done, they can do within the system without a problem. The only thing they actually fear is losing their jobs. So they just pass the bills that people get angry about so people stop caring and move on to whatever thing they were doing before.
The best interview I have ever seen. Here are two very intelligent people making great points, explaining things clearly and using humor to doing it. Never has reporting made so much sense to me. If this were what the news were like and this team of writers and reporters were informing the general public, the common man would understand what's going on. Snowmen came across as likeable and very smart. He seemed to realize that the "dick" analogy actually might have been a good way to illustrate the problem in a way that the average guy can give a shit about their privacy. I applaud the Last week tonight team! Thanks for this!
EytschPi42 It's important that you don't receive all of your information from satirical news such as Last Week Tonight or The Daily Show because sometimes they will twist information in order to make it humorous. I have witnessed John Oliver do this a few times.
EytschPi42 THe truth about whats happening to this country and on this planet is right infront of everones face, are u kidding? THe "mainstream" media is so blatantly misleading you would have to be a complete imbecile, or a willfully ignorant coward not to see through it within the first hour off watching, listening or reading.
Charlie Rocci The point of satire isn't to twist information to make it humorous. The art of satire is to take the real information and find the absurdities within it. I know what you mean, I've watched a lot of Oliver too, but I think he just uses a bit of absurdity (adding an analogous absurd example people can relate to) in order to hammer home his point about the real information. He is talking to a satire-immune American audience after all ;)
EytschPi42 in countries where nearly all the news are regurgitating the government viewpoint it is often the case that the hard truths come in the guise of comedy or sarcasm
The interview was SURPRISINGLY good! I like that John did not go easy on him. It was a little sad to watch at times, but honestly, I think this might be some of John's best work.
37M worldwide => not many american znd the interview in the street, in a city like ny of all made it clear: people neither care, know or understand about it znd that was years back so elt make it clear: the guy sacrifice his life ..... for nothing, 0, nada
John is a pure genius. Some may have found that interview stupid, crude, offensive, but he got Snowden to explain the programs in simple easy terms. Its brilliant.
Eduardo Saldana He probably didn't need to be made aware, because I'm pretty sure he watched Comedy Central and follows Last Week Tonight like we do. But he was smart enough to understand the strategy of the interview.
It's pretty incredible what an amazing good sport Snowden is about the tone of this interview; the patience and acceptance he showed in navigating John's shenanigans is fascinating. His message and actions are so profound, and despite having his life ruined by his conviction to his morals, he still manages to have a great sense of humor. What a guy...
He chose John Oliver out of a multitude of different options. He knew what he was getting into and decided that Mr Oliver had the most effective and neutral approach.
@@griffindowns8426 donno about neutral. John olivers greatest strength is his ability to pick a side, but seem like he's giving both sides. The world is never black and white, it's shades of grey, if the news makes you feel like "this is pure good/common sense" or "this is pure evil/dumb" you know you are being manipulated.
in Snowden's book "Permanent Record" he talks about his childhood a bit and even as a young man he was incredibly patriotic, it's really a testament to his love for this country and gives a lot of insight into why he's doing all this- I think his intentions are admirable and he writes with the kind of grace and intelligence he shows us in this interview. highly recommend as a quarantine read!
Watching this episode (again) in August 2021 is almost surreal. It saddens me, as an indictment on myself, that I don't know Snowden's status right now, but he is surely a national treasure. Without taking anything away from Snowden, John Oliver must be an international treasure.
Its actually not the media. They just do what they think the people want to be informed of. And the people dont want to get bothered by important news. They just want to be entertained. Otherwise Trump wouldnt be President. I follow him on Twitter just because it is fucking hilarious. And i am not even American.
Maybe also a possible explanation why we have, esp after this clip, the feeling that Americans (yeah yeah....not all of them, of course) are pretty uninformed, uneducated or just plain "stupid". Looks like America is all about lowest entertainment....sad
+Demogorgon White I don't think John Oliver was trying to 'destroy him' more then he was attempting to bring a topic that most people are ignorant about to light in an entertaining manner while still actually being informative. Its sad, but as John Oliver so eloquently put it, "People just don't give a shit" about the serious matters that we are faced with these days...
ezekeil33 I realise that. And he did real good job making Snowden explain things in understandable way. Then again first part of interview seem a bit agressive. Just like MobyDickI said: You can see the man heart breaking when he realises that people in USA don't give a shit.
ezekeil33 I agree, besides these sorts of interviews usually have off-camera conversations to bring everyone to speed. It's not that candid. This interview was very well done, it's funny, it's catchy, it's important and it allows for the message to get more coverage. However, I think it still sad that the message was only temporarily noted. Security has only gone up, and resistance has not been that much more significant. It's pitiful, and it's going to get worse.
+Demogorgon White Take away the comedy from it, this was a pretty hard-hitting interview. Dude was pretty harsh, but at the same time, I think Oliver is actually sympathetic to Snowden on this, and I daresay I see more journalistic integrity here than with reporters and commentators that are not comedians.
It's sad isn't? When the media is corporate owned and linked to the government agenda, that's what you get. Everybody is in each-others pockets. Keep the American public afraid and keep them distracted. John Oliver is a fucken journalistic hero. Props to HBO as well, for letting him even do this kind of show.
I think "Welcome to America: where the comedians are the journalists and the journalists are the joke." would be more appropriate, but your version works too.
"If we sacrifice our values because we're afraid, we don't really care about those values." Said by a man, a hero, who threw his entire life and any safety he might have in service to his values. Mr. Edward Snowden cares about his values.
@@sillygoose635 Thank you! You can even tell that John thinks so as well. People want to fight any criticism of this man and I get why. Regardless of people's opinions of this man's motivations/actions, we all should be able to admit that he made mistakes. What person in that position wouldn't make some errors in judgment?
That interview was actually somewhat genius. John Oliver's forcing of the topics forced Snowden to answer in such a way that people would actually give a shit about. Nice!
Old comment but yeah. Oliver was a mastermind in this interview, because he kept the context simple. Oliver knows that the government is pretty good at twisting words, and they did that with Snowden, so he kept the subject extremely simplistic and relatable. Not only that, he pretty much entered a "common american" character, where he didn't want to learn, nor did care about other people, except himself. That made Snowden change the entire perspective to how to address. Because Snowden didn't put any of that in a simple term, he is the "wikileaks guy". After Oliver made the transition from complicated government issues with "simple governamental abuse", Snowden is now hailed as a hero, which by the way, he deserves.
Actually this interview was very annoying for me. It really bothered me how John Oliver oversimplified this important issue, nearly turning it into a joke. It seems to me that Snowden was annoyed as well. Are dick pics really the most important problem here?
Of course it is not the most important thing. But what Oliver did here wasn't about going through everything like a more serious news outlet, but simplifying things for the mass to be able to understand what the problem is in a general way, something that had not been done before, and which is a fundamental step if you want it to change, since the more people understand a problem, the more they are to be able to have a somewhat informed way of talking about it. Even if it's about dick pics, people can understand and basically extrapolate the concept of "government is spying on all americans".
blingbling is not about being arrogant but yes unfortunally for the majority of people in certain countries unless you explain things in an extremely basic way including metaphors so people understand how it can affect them. The reality is the American public focuses on the wrong things and ignores the important ones most of the time. Goverment access to your everything doesn't seem like a big deal now because we have a fairly okay goverment (well... ill get back to you on that). But if you read any novels like Farenheit 451 and 1984, those society are not that many centuries away from our society. That public survey explains it better than anyone. You dont have to be doing illegal things to be worried that the goverments knows way to much about us. China is going to literally put scores on people that will not allow them to travel if its bad or get better internet if its good. Seems harmless right? But that is a dangerous precedent. Its not that irracional that some people don't love the idea of the goverment having too much access to its people. In the majority of phones now you even speak about lets say "cupcakes" to someone in front of you and then youtube starts suggesting cupcake recipes. We were literally talking about this yesterday in our bookclub. It may seem harmless that through your phone theres no privacy (even by just having it in your pocket) now, but again: dangerous precedent.
Was it scripted...I’d say no. Was it edited so answers line up with questions to follow a narrative that the show wanted? Absolutely. Still a great interview.
@Gordon Fornow I think he was trying to act in a way that would get across to us, the audience, how these issues can seem disinteresting if they do not relate immediately to something an average american citizen cares about. It did make me cringe, but the fact that a bunch of adults in Times Square had no idea what Snowden did is telling. The public doesn't seem to care all that much, and I think the only way they had to get viewers to understand not only how important it is to care, ut also how dickish not caring comes off was Oliver acting like that. I may be looking too hard into this but Oliver suddenly fucking up to this scale is a bit strange
You can see the sorrow in eyes when John shows him the recordings of people in NY asking if they knew who he was. It's so upsetting how uneducated Americans truely are. This man is a hero for this country. He gave up so much for us just to have him be forgotten. Well, if you ever see this Mr. Snowden, there are people here in this country, who appreciate what you did and what you sacrificed to give awareness.
+supercoolguy43 Too bad she wasn't educated enough to figure that out on her own without someone having to tell her about it. She probably does not see the irony.
it's depressing to see how Edward Snowden is basically forgotten in the US. But then I remember my government didn't even have the balls to do a live interview with him and instead kissed the US' ass even after we found out that the NSA spied on our chancellors phone. "spying on friends is not ok" was the harshest words our leaders could find - it's infuriating
I'm greek so pretty much anyone can Google how our national security changed its qualifications (to easier ones) to have our prime ministers PERSONAL SECURITY as chairman of our national security organization and LITERALLY SPY on political opponents. I don't understand how Americans are so fucking naive and don't understand that spying on your people without any litigation or even any criminal suspicion is extremely dangerous for democracy
@@gho5trun3r68 When parents have the attention span of a cat thrown on the floor at a Stompin' Tom concert, they teach their little clones to be the same... Most folks 'hear' the newscasts but the stories are presented one after the other, and in such quick succession the general population doesn't actually get a chance to really LISTEN to what is being relayed, nor are they given time to critically think over such things, so they don't. Ergo misinformation and the world of media relations.
the way John Oliver Dumbed this highly important conversation down and added humor to it so the layman could have a much deeper understanding and invest personally in the problem is brilliant. He deserves to slap a face and win an Oscar.
Ahhhh, fantastic. It's always a good day when I see a half hour John Oliver video in my subscription box! I've actually decided to be the NSA for Halloween this year by. All you need it do is follow strangers, take copious notes on their movements and, when discovered, don't say anything intelligible.
King Bumi I think the correct response would be, "I'm not actually reading the notes I'm collecting, I'm just acquiring metadata about the notes that are passing through my hands..."
Yes, yes,yes! The very best discussion by John about the most inanely irrelevant government function imaginable. God could balance the budget by anesthetizing the congress long enough to get this off budget now!
27:22 It finally clicks on Snowden where John Oliver was headed. That's such a great moment, I bet Snowden wondered why he accepted the interview at first and you can see he's uncomfortable and uneasy for most of it. But when JO makes it click, it's fantastic
I'm fairly sure Snowden would have known exactly what he was getting into before the interview even took place. The only time the uncomfortableness is at the fore is in the direct aftermath of the revelation that the average American apparently had no idea who he is which would be disheartening and uncomfortable for anyone. I'd imagine that even the request for an interview was probably framed as it being an attempt to get people to understand exactly what the importance of Snowden's leak was without all the technobabble getting in the way and effectively dumbing it down to the absolute simplest terms.
After reading this and re-watching it I actually loved that moment even more! I can even give the plausible deniability that we DIDN'T see the photo in the folder...That COULD be a way to actually tell him what's actually going on...just a theory of mine after a second viewing...I could be wrong though
Indifference is a pretty powerful tool. That being said, Snowden's efforts did not go to waste for everyone. The rise of privacy-focused services exist and are fairly popular because of his doing. It's important to keep reminding everyone of this, especially in the age where everyone is becoming more and more tech-savvy.
John Oliver is going for laughs to support his take on the story. He deliberately interviewed idiots on the street who aren't capable of understanding the gravity of the situation, but there are plenty of people who do. Snowden did sacrifice a lot. The fact that too many people don't even know who he is, let alone how important his whistleblowing was, is indeed disheartening. But sometimes taking heroic action means you pay the price, despite the fact that you've exposed nefarious activity committed by the powerful. Ultimately, what Snowden did has had a major impact in our awareness. We need to keep talking about this, or government oversight will continue to drag its feet in taking corrective measures. The people's ignorance and apathy are the battleground.
Why do you think we now have end to end encryption for some apps? I'm not sure I'd trust the encryption but it's a start. Snowden has made a difference. The fact he's on this show prices he made a difference. And credit to John Oliver for interviewing him and helping to communicate to people that the government can see your naked body and those of your family.
@@Google_Does_Evil_Now a very unneeded change honestly, why would we care if the govt sees us naked. they're only doing their job on tracking possilbe terrorists, spies, etc. yes it "violates our rights" but what is it really violating if nothing gets uploaded publicly, why is it bad honestly when the president himself is tracked where he goes and still has boundries of over using his power. I rather stay honestly safer from possible terrorist
Here is my opinion based on my findings. My findings include, my own research, this interview, and the film. Edward Snowden acted with conviction when the NSA and other agencies were acting unconstitutionally. Had he wanted a payday it would have been considerably easier, considering how many of our leaders sell out on a regular basis and continue in positions of power. He is a hero of our age and, if you do not see it now, I suspect we may later. I couldn't imagine giving up my home, my status, and my way of life for a people that generally, don't give a shit about me. For what it's worth, thank you Mr. Snowden, you have my appreciation and respect.
The guy had it all. A high paying prestigious job and a beautiful model wife (google her). He sacrificed it all just because his morality couldn't allow him to live with the fact of knowing that people were spied on without their attention. A true hero in every sense of the world.
Nathan Homistek he’s an American Hero ofcorse the government doesn’t like leaks but I am proud someone had the balls to tell us the truth about stuff we already suspected was happening & what they’re really capable of
I admire Snowden so much. If people read his book, an easy read, they would understand why he did what he did. His intentions were good and he rally didn't expose any dangerous secrets. He also has a great sense of humor, and he is so intelligent.
Actually the House Intelligence Committee explained why Snowden is a traitor and a fraud in a rare bipartisan report in 2016. They found Snowden caused tremendous damage to U.S. national security. He was not a whistleblower and was a poor performer and a disgruntled employee. He was and remains a serial exaggerator and fabricator and The NSA and other U.S. intelligence agencies have not done enough to prevent another massive unauthorized disclosure. I think to say a person who breaks the law is a hero is a bit crazy.
@@user-vl9mj8th9c The audience being recorded is the studio audience. In which there definitely is one. I think you're confusing our post-Covid reality with pre-Covid reality. This was recorded FIVE years ago.
If this was shown on screen to a live audience, then there is a natural lag time from the video to the viewing. Especially when something is coming from Russia. But I suspect this was shown in the studio when John was there.
Well, our government screwed us over as well, the BND (foreign surveillance) declared everything on the Internet foreign and gave tons of data to the NSA, because they did not have the technical knowledge of the NSA. So they let German data be analysed by the NSA... Of course they said "We carefully filtered any German data", well, that German data is defined by the statement on the top. So we owe a lot to Snowden, and that was only one if the direct impacts, I could rant over an hour how the NSA is hurting global internet security, but that is for another time.
Charles Shilling What if I told you, I have no clue who you are taking about, I guess by the name it's a German celebrity, we don't really care about more than boring German politics, Ukraine, middle East and soccer, I get really mad when soccer is on top news before 120 kids being kidnapped by Boko Haram. Oh, and the NSA affair was on top news as it was hot, now you rarely see anything about it.
+kaustubh upadhyay Thats what you get from Andrea Mitchell! That Greenspan whore that MSNBC bought. Actually, calling her a whore is an insult to the word "whore".
Fifth-Why such anger towards her? Please feel free to share articles etc to show how she has harmed you. Lets open this up to the 18 people who 'liked' the comment. Why do you hate AM so much?
Its like the stunts they talk about on Newsroom happening in real life fucking ridiculous how bogus our news and media has become there is no moral or ethical duty to inform its all about ratings money and entertainment
Watching Snowden realise that yeah, if he'd thought of it in terms that the general public public would understand it, the way people who havent learnt all the nuance and the lingo of what he took and shared, then maybe the people would be outraged, is great. Once again, the last week tonight team has managed to, with humour, make a topic that is convoluted and indepth and so important, understandable to the masses, and then allows those people to realise what the higher ups gmhave been doing right under their noses.
it's the responsibility of journalists to parse it in a way that is understandable. If a body didn't understand what Snowden did, perhaps they might consider changing to a different media source.
Same kind of thing happened during the Democratic Convention last year. The news was about to show Bernie supporters protesting when CNN just had to cut to Boys To Men or whatever that hack group is called who were performing inside.
I feel like while John Oliver comes across as harsh/dismissive towards Edward Snowden in the interview, he knows that Snowden is vastly more intelligent than the majority of Americans and often forgets that when he talks about government surveillance, so John was trying to get him to 'dumb it down' as much as possible so the average American could care about it.
@Senna Taylor Well he was. Snowden just made a huge sacrifice and for the common person to not even know what his sacrifice meant is just heartbreaking. From a higher standpoint, I think John just did Snowden a favor: not make his sacrifice go to waste. I'm not an American, but me knowing all this perhaps wouldn't matter to Snowden. American kids would though.
At 23:07 , johns face should tell you the actual atmosphere during thqt time and that everything was a skit mixed with an interview. Im guessing it was edited to look harsh but ultimately was meant as a comedy segment.
@@zfazzershroudvietcynide64e58 it was actually pretty well done. He oriented the information in a way average people would care about. Do you think normal people would pay attention to him talking about the inner workings of foreign surveillance when they didn't even care enough to know who he was?
Oliver was harsh and dismissive because he wants to keep his job. Had he acted sympathetic or supportive of Snowden, he would have been sacked by next week.
its funny how they wont tell the ppl how to contact the previous youtubers. but as i always say- dont give up. they block me soon enough. just watch me. excuse misss spells as it may happen in forums as a single mom i am usually rushed
I like to think he only cut Snowden off when he felt he was headed towards saying something that was dangerous or too difficult for people to understand.
On a serious note, Snowden IS a hero and the reason he is in exile is because he is absolutely right. He did something very dangerous - he embarrassed the US government.
He gave up his freedom to expose the Government abuses of the law. No one went to prison. We still have the Patriot act and MTG rants about mask wearing. We are a cartoon version of who we used to be.
@@jnielsen90 well proving it is what they would've needed to investigate & dole out some charges so that was a big deal, showing proof. but nothing happened
I find it amazing that there are people out there who don't know or don't really know who Edward Snowden is. Or the significance of his sacrifice. He is true patriot and an American hero.
@@FakeAssHandsomeMcGee_ They got programs designed to fight against whistleblowers and alike, to prevent something like the Snowden case from happening in the first place. Snowden HAD NO RIGHTS with what he did, all of this shit happens behind closed doors. He got away to safety and the information in question was not prevented from leaking. He did everything the right way, the only way he could have.
Yet noone gives a shit. Of we were smart we'd ALL get rid of our smart phones. Collectively say we don't want this shit. I didn't vote or ask for this. I thought this was our country?
I agree completely. He sacrificed his life, just so we can be informed on how we are being governed. Like it or not we are surveilled but we should know how and when.
I feel like he was hard on Snowden. But in the end Snowden appeared to have enjoyed it, and it actually got some good information out in a easy form, so 10/10 would put you on the list again.
Grina Jadall you gotta remember that Snowden asked to be interviewed by Oliver. And there's a reason for that. He knew that there was a disconnect between what is going on and what people understand about what's going on. He'd seen LWT and knew what kind of power it has in simplifying complex topics into a way people care about and understand. It might have seemed harsh but they both knew what they were getting into and what was going to happen. These things don't happen without planning and prep. And you can see how much Snowden's enjoying it at the end. You can actually see the moment he's like "wait this could work". This interview is one of the reasons the show won a Peabody award
You...you guys have heard his insults to people before right? I mean, he’s insulted Britain a million times and it’s his home land. He is always like this, it’s John Oliver.
John Oliver is my hero. The fact that he did all this just to reveal the truth and to explain it in layman's terms for the general public is amazing. And Snowden is such a profoundly intelligent man who clearly wants to protect the American people even if they have no clue. He's 32 and already wiser than most of the politicians who fumble -- I mean run this country. "People should not change their behavior just because a govt agency somewhere is doing the wrong thing." To not compromise your own values just because of something the government is doing -- that is the most American thing I've ever heard. I think the Founding Fathers would've loved this guy.
I generally like John Oliver's comedy, but THIS show with its interview of Ed Snowden was AWESOME journalism with comedick overtones. BRAVO!, great expose'
"You shouldn't change your behavior because a government agency somewhere is doing the wrong thing. If we sacrifice our values because we're afraid, we don't care about those values very much."
Considering that John is a comedian and this is a comedy show, that interview was actually a pretty powerful piece of journalism. Even within the context of comedy.
Kodasa Sinclair Yes, but at least a great effort was made, and at the end of the day we know more about this man and what he did for the american people. 'Think they should show him their support and respect now...
What a Swagget*The passage of this bill is an indication that comprehensive reform is possible.* *But it is not comprehensive reform in itself* Did you?...
i felt bad when john was showing snowden those clips. everyone is still so ignorant when he gave up his safety and home for their rights. snowden is a hero, and he's cute to boot
I know right? It looked like he was slowly being crushed by realisation of how little an affect he's had on people, despite the significance of what he did.
I really don't think "lol" is a good thing to tag on to the end of that sentence. It's like saying "the world is doomed, lol," or "my life is over, lol," or "the government is tracking my phone-calls, emails, and internet usage, lol."
@@DJMMLJ But the scariest part of all this _is_ that a bunch of morons in "Intelligence" can, and do, access anyone's data. The scope and extent of Snowden's leaked documents, however, went beyond mere domestic surveillance. Edward isn't some dummy, though, just because he "got lucky" because some moron made it easy for him to exfiltrate hundreds of thousands to over a million sensitive gov documents from the U.S., AU, U.K., and Canada. He's proved his intellect, and understands the absurdity of his situation, through extensive interviews over the years, which have sparked debate over privacy and security. What I will say is he should come back and accept his fate like Chelsea Manning did. She exhibited more courage than Snowden by not running.
@@DJMMLJ That just proves how important it was to release this information. If Snowden was given access so easily and other employees were so irresponsible our privacy was really in danger. The Government wasn't even trying to protect our data. Someone could have really exploited it but, he just released the documents to the media.
Edward Snowden has my undying support and respect. He made a choice and stood on it, knowing what kind of life he was going to be living afterwards. That’s something not many, if any, of us are willing to do. I’m sure he misses home and everything he once knew, but he decided to make it a point for all of us to be able to know what our country’s government is doing behind the scenes. I can’t be mad at anything he did; I’m mad we as a people don’t know anything past his name and whatever the government chooses to tell us to believe about him. He’s a hero in my eyes. A historical badass for the ages. Much love to John Oliver for going to Moscow and holding this interview. Edward, the day you can come home (if that day ever comes) I’ll be ready to celebrate. You’re a hero. Period.
This episode fully encapsulates why John Oliver is such a great presenter/comedian/journalist. The show’s comedic undertones that couple the equally jarring potential outcomes of pressing urgent or otherwise important issues presented in the show demonstrates the failure of conventional media to properly inform the public without a slant or intention in their reporting and the willful ignorance of people to not concern themselves with topics that are not already watered down into simple contextual terms they can recognize as significant in their everyday lives.
@@railpressureflip oh yeah for sure dude. how many more people are informed about the NSA leaks after this video who wouldn't have been previously? it can't be many, right? edit: shit i just saw the views
John is taking in the role of the average American, in other words he is acting like an uncaring idiot. It’s a nice way to make people change their opinions without even knowing they’ve changed their opinions. You have someone who gives a smart and astute argument backed up by information and evidence and then have someone represent an opposing party to that argument act like a moron and/or say things that can be easily disproved by the other person. There is a nice example of this in Assassins Creed Odyssey where you are trying to lower support for an Athenian politician or something like that and Socrates invites you on stage to play the role of the moron. You attempt to make claims that Socrates can easily disprove and so on.
you know as a system engineer that understands a bit on what Snowden talks about I love this interview so much. I love how John found a way to explain it with him, so that people that have Zero technical knowledge can get the importance of his sacrifice. Thanks Snowden for all you did!
How can Americans, even New Yorkers not know who Edward Snowden is ? I live in Germany and every 4th Grader knows who he is... Gosh how about watching the news ?
+SanchoKobe watch some tedtalks. americas media doesnt give shit about important news first cause britney news or whatsoever are cheaper than going to iraq or cover stories like this, if the propaganda does its job by keeping americans stupid and uninformed then the rest of the world thinks that is better than that and only americans have to pay, every fucking country recycles old and/or edited reportages to save money, propagandized people and leave us in apathy and oblivion, capitalism is safe and our minds closed to let politicians etc divide and conquer since the dawn of humanity. its not a new world order, or other effectively organised new age shit conspiracies to terrorizing people like grimm fairytales its the world order since humanity started to write
It was a hyperbole for USA Id say that about 40-50% if population knows about the issue, but as the 2 years have passed we are still immobile, about the NSA constant surveillance relying on 'if i dont search anything bad ill be dine online'... sacrificing 'little' freedom for safety...
+Tristan Möller Not all news is this informative. Most is just Grade A United States BS. And that is why those of us who care enough, go searching for sources usually foreign sources of real world news. Because American news only cares about what the fuck Celebrities are doing, funny videos, and is Kanye running for president?
+SanchoKobe "as uninformed as possible"... You do realize that this video is about the stuff you think the Government / Media is trying to hide from you, right? Also, I'm 40. I don't know a single person who could give a rats ass about Justin Bieber
+Ulises Medina Oh man, Kanye West should definitely run for president. That's just about the only way this election year could be any more hilariously dreadful.
Hero hahaha hardly... Troops fighting for your lives overseas and dying for their country are heroes. A guy sneaking around copying every little goodie he can as fast as he can, fleeing and running away like most thieves and buglers, and dumping all out there screaming I did it for everyone!!! Not reading what he stole and releasing it all anyway then begging a country that violates its neighbors sovereignty for protection (Cold War enemy again) refusing to come home a face the music like we expect our children to do when they break the rules. Congratulations your ""hero" is a coward and a traitor, enjoy your dick pic....
If you're in the USA, support the ALA (American Library Association). They have a pretty blatant history of standing up to government efforts at privacy invasion
boss 630 Pewds. We call Pewdiepie Pewds. It's Felix, the youtuber with the max subscribers. He had done a meme video on this and since then it became an inside joke.
Lol kayla wants to get it on with snowden ! Lol California threat group removed !! Harassers !!! Harassed the people here !! Took them years to figure out its Not a good idea to threaten people here !!
The fact that this was Snowden's first major media interview back then just shows how amazing/underrated John Oliver is. I heard someone in some interview reveal that 'Snowden's people wanted to do this only with Oliver as he does the best journalism'... That's exactly what you get from this whole episode. It's both funny and smart, without painting Snowden either as a hero or a villain. You do see that Oliver has a soft spot for Snowden, but his journalistic ethics stop him from looking too biased.
exactly this. comedy/satire shows somehow always do the best job at researching a topic and actually make it enjoyable to watch the resulting report
it took a Snowden to leak this info.
It took a Oliver to frame it in a concerning way to the american public.
Much like his framing on the picture he gave Snowden.
Oliver's really asking some uncomfortable questions with full confidence.
As far as journalism goes really Andrew Callaghan is doing the best. Oliver and most of MSM are just parroting what their federal handlers tell them
@@strangebrew1231 "federal handlers" lmao you must think highly of news anchors if you think they're all secretly in league with the feds. Also john would've shut the fuck up about coal if that was true.
Holy shit is this so well done. I could not stop laughing during the second half of that interview.
Hey! It's Bruce Willakers! Fancy seeing you here.
BruceWillakers :D Didn't know you watched this series. I'm right there with ya'! Also, good taste in comedy ;)
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Anyone remembers Justin Long's birthday?
trepid23 June 2nd! HOW DARE YOU FORGET! He's going to be so upset this time! ugh...
I do not care that this is from 2015; I still think this is one of the best Last Week Tonight episodes ever
@ Raven Rose... agreed... it really shows what are priorities are and that gives a good clue as to why we're so stupid. Ask this same group of people when "Black Friday" is and I'll bet 99% of them will get that right.
So it's the END OF WORLD again... darn... I missed the last one, and the one before that and the one before that etc. I'll mark April 8th on my calendar so I won't have to bother with cleaning my house or doing my dishes that day... and if YOU'RE WRONG that means that YOU ARE THE ANTICHRIST... and I will report you to the Pope's secret Jesuit hit squad and they will take you out... I marked your site
I'd argue that it's the best episode. But that's just my opinion
All the best episodes were in 2015. When he started talking about Trump's every move - something for which information is obvious and satire unnecessary - it was all downhill.
I agree, these days whenever i see a non-trump episode i get happy.
John translating the serious and complicated issues into idiot friendly explanations is a MASSIVE service to this country. Its 2021 and this sadly is as relevant as the day it was published.
True even though It was a bit heavy handed at times
23:00 Crushed soul
Poor Snowden, he is an actual modern day hero.
but the people only care about these in movies and don't want to know about this difficult topic even if it's important,it's just so boring that people not even give a shit.
+mad bro yeah make a movie with Bruce Willis of his story and maybe people would start giving a shit
lol, that's genius. go snowden!!! I'd hide you in my house if only the CIA wasn't tracking me right now :(
Omar Martell Guys they are making a movie about Snowden, that is supposed to be released this year (October I think). Though not starring Bruce Wilis.
***** Yeah, but the US government is naturally very insistent that they don't. And foreign Western media (such as here in Europe) really wants to follow the US lead in such cases.
Besides selling fear of the "other", sells much better than selling fear of the US government.
They also need to have space for all the useless junk people seem more interested in.
Like who Paris Hilton has fucked now. Who the fuck cares? We have two lying and horrible people that should be put in jail running for the presidency of the US. And you want to talk about how big some shallow idiots butt has become?
Civillian's are being MURDERED by a foreign government in the middle-east, and that isn't worth even a damn side note?
3 Years later and that "If you weren't on a list you are now"
John Oliver's dead cold stare response; still gets me
Deanna Delmar So does Hillary to be fair. Anytime someone is about to speak out against her or Bill they end up dead.
Good to know I'm not the only one re-watching old lwt shows
Oh he was very likely on a list already
Best quote towards the end of the video:
"You shouldn't change your behavior because a government agency somewhere is doing the wrong thing. If we sacrifice our values because we're afraid, we don't care about those values very much."
@@desireeochoa1354 Because I love america thats why!
@@ANURAGIAM You Are A True Patriot. 🇺🇸❤🇺🇸❤
truly
Amin brother, Amin you should just accept it as you accept that the sky is blue.
This was posted in 2015, it is now 2019 and the US has the most corrupt and compulsive lying president and criminal and treasonous administration in US history and supported all the way by the Republican party that refuse to facilitate impeachment proceeding of a Republican, no mater what, and the US leads the world in shootings, mass shootings and mass school shootings while criminal Trump makes a mockery of the US and democracy every day!
I just want to say, even 7 years after this interview, you're not forgotten Snowden. What you did was incredibly brave, and incredibly patriotic. Every now and then I think about you and wish that you will soon be pardoned
Amen to that!
I was 100% in Snowden's corner in the beginning, now I'm not so sure. Only after re-watching this interview today, after having seen it when it first aired.
He decided to open the pandora box and make the American people aware of what our government was doing, and the fact virtually no one in America even knows who he is tells me he failed miserably. Only making life no better for anyone else, and a total living nightmare for himself.
@@Gambit22003lol there was literally a movie made about him, maybe back then “no one” knew who he was but that’s ridiculous to say now. And also, you have the benefit of hindsight. Super fun to have I know, but try putting yourself in his shoes at that place and time. Had he done nothing, said nothing and kept his head down I would’ve called him a coward. Instead he risked his *entire life* to try and expose the fact that the US government is spying on literally everyone. And now he can’t go home, because he tried to make the world a better place. People like you kinda disgust me. You sit here with the benefit of hindsight and have the audacity to criticize him simply because he’s not famous, like Beyoncé or some bs. Wtf is wrong with you? THOSE are you values? You value someone only if they’re rich and famous? You don’t actually care about their actions or intentions, just whether or not some redneck hillbilly knows your name? Maybe you’re right, maybe Americans aren’t worth protecting.
It just shows how degraded we have become in the West...that's no fault of Snowden.@@Gambit22003
@@Gambit22003 I'm not really following how his message not getting the sucess he wanted somehow should mean you aren't in his corner anymore or that he isn't brave for it lol.
Makes me want to cry when i see how easily people forget. This guy took such a huge,massive risk and did it to protect people's freedom and that's how he's being thanked....
Noïl Paprika look how they treated Hillary over crimes trump is getting away with. Obama with the Tan suit and Trump has Kurds killed. Look how they made Dr Christine Ford a villain and the drunk, a fucking hero. Republicans in power need to be gone. Not just from office but from the face of the earth. They have voted against the best interest of America for companies who want to make a quick dime from you human piñatas.
They always vilify those who fight the corrupt. I don’t even have to go through history before and after King to make a point about it.
Learn more about Snowden he isn't what you think
ua-cam.com/video/hwAfysr-0pI/v-deo.html
Toori Baba You’re watching John Oliver and you’re talking all this shit which was debunked ages ago. This isn’t a Fox News segment and trump isn’t watching.
@@sabastian4858 He is not defending her. And you are stupid if you think he is. He is saying that she was made to be worse than she is, when Trump has done MUCH MUCH worse things.....
And people compare her wrongdoing to his - there are no comparisons, it's like comparing theft to mass murder and saying "Well both guys are the same"....
@@JuICyBLiinGeR Obama killed thousands of innocent people in the Middle East with the drone program & Trump is doing the same. Until people realize all Presidents are violating human rights & don't keep assuming their side is the moral side. Nothing will change. Clinton, Bush, Obama & Trump have all committed war crimes. Trump increased drone strikes by over 400%. Obama dropped so many bombs one year (27,000) that we nearly ran out of bombs & took us from being in 2 countries militarily to 7. Bush got us into Iraq & Afghanistan, in turn killing thousands of civilians in the region. Bill Clinton killed over half a million Iraqi children through sanctions & his secretary of state (Madeleine Albright) said "it was worth it." The people in charge aren't going to take away their own military powers. The people need to realize that it's not the person in office but the office itself that needs to change.
It was only on my second watch of this that I actually realised *what* John was doing here: forcing Snowden to dumb down all of this important information in a way the average American would care about, understand, and remember. It's fucking genius. How did I miss that on my first watch through?
I actually thought he was very rude and asked myself why Snowden kept up with his bullshit until I realized this
I still wish he would've done it in a way that was more respectful to Snowden, and at least I hope he was notified beforehand of John's intent and what he was going to do. I like what he was trying to do but the way he did it was very offputting for me. But maybe he did a good job at making me sympathize more with Snowden? I dont know I just had very mixed feelings.
Sad but 100% true and appropriate.
Consider the average is 100...50% is below that....ah, average conversations about the weather and average STUFFY STUFF is...well, do you get it? I want the general average to raise, and/or the up 50% just realize the vigilant- care they need to ALLOW(f'ed up, right? allow.) the lower 50% to live their perception of reality...to much is given, much is expected. Can the smart be those on the protective side of the rest...ah, please.
@E Fox you didnt get it, you're getting pissed off on your own dude. rewatch the video.
Jesus, you can see the soul leaving Snowden’s eyes while he watches the New York interviews.
As stupid as they are its not completely their fault. You have poorly designed and underfunded school systems that get worse every year making them more stupid. Mass poverty and and overworking culture that makes putting food on the table and paying rent your sole purpose of existence. More sugar, salt, fat and other unnecessary crap being shoved into almost every food source making the country more obese, lethargic, unhealthy and lazy.
Add all this up and being spied on would be the last of an average joe's concerns. The american government and corporations have successfully broken down the American fighting spirit and their desire for freedom when it comes to these matters.
He knew, but it's one thing to know, and other to actually see it.
This was like torture. You basically sacrifice your life for this cause and here comes a guy showing you no one gives a fuck... A bit too harsh from John
This is the happiness I get is he will never get to to return to the US and yes his relevance was a flash in the pan. Enjoy Russia sounds like an amazing new homeland.
@@cameron398 seems very relevant to you, given that you're commenting on an 8 year old video...
You have to understand John Oliver is a comedian and Snowden knew this going into it. Oliver did a brilliant job of taking a serious matter and displaying it to an audience in a way that they understand and can sympathize with while maintaining his comedic performance. This is why I love John so much, and I am sure Edward was satisfied with the way his message was translated into terms that a majority of America could understand.
So Americans only 'understand' serious issues if they are wrapped up in comedy?
they also understand them if they're not wrapped up. They just don't bother dealing with them.
+edgehill66 pretty much yeah...
Absolutely
pretty much, yeah. well, it's not so much "understanding" as it is "giving a shit."
John Oliver, teaching smart people how to translate their smart ideas to concepts everyone can understand and relate to.
Khorothis Perfect video description mate.
Very smartly put mate!
***** I dont agree with "stupid being normal". I agree with people being more and more concearned about the important issues and be able to debate about those issues, but not all concepts are easy to grasp for everyone. Its kind of like how Neil deGrasse Tyson is able to "translate" astrophysics' terms to people who are interested in it, but do not understand the complexity of its language/concepts. So i agree with Khorothis . Hopefully, this will get people more involved because they can relate to the problem.
Khorothis haha I read it in John Olivers Cadence tone!
Khorothis I found that in Academia or even high level corporate world (ive worked in both) that people do have issues relating back to the populus. I believe its in our best interest AND responsibility to translate their expertise to the average layman.
It took me a while to get what Oliver was after - personalize the data, and suddenly the American Public is interested as hell as to what the Government is doing with our data. That was a clever mechanism. I think a story about the making of this episode would be fascinating.
its a well known issue that very few humans care about anything that doesnt IMMEDIATELY affect them.
Its why "save the world" stories are almost never as compelling as "Save your Family", and coincidentally why so many apocalypse movies focus on the main character trying to save their family.
We cant relate to a big picture problem
Same, I was a bit shocked at how crass Oliver was being at first, but he was exactly right at the end. Most American’s only care about things that relate to them.
@@BobTheTesaurus I believe they make these types of movies too make Americans THINK that we as a country are united and to make us belive that as Americans we are always prevail. Belive that the heroes (government)will always save America when enemies attack = you as a citizen will not question your heroes (governments) real intentions, because they are here to protect and save you.
@@BobTheTesaurus especially in the US! In Europe people are more aware of the problem.... 🤷🏻♀️
@@BobTheTesaurus people say the selfish gene doesn't exist, but we see it everywhere.
Man, John was AMAZING in this interview. Like, he was 100% serious, and asked the hard questions.
hard questions
You can see where his heart breaks, when he realizes his message did not get across.
26:03
I was thinking that too! :(
when did he say biggest traitor?
+Dan K 16 08...when snowden entered the room.."the most famous hero and or traitor"
It's at around 22:40
Got to applaud how easily Snowden adapts his explanation to fit the context he was given. That’s an excellent skill.
Well, he did work in intelligence. So this kinda tracks.
He's straight bllshtng. Changing the subject & dancing around instead of answering
I was thinking the exact same thing
@@foreversocal1 Congratulations, you are wrong.
@@Vespyr_ what's your challenge? Snowden didn't answer the questions in regards to his treatment of classified documents & the responsibility of knowing the contents of the documents before handing them to media outlets & whether placing trust in those outlets to properly vet the info was the best decision
This episode might possibly be the best thing I've watched on UA-cam since its inception. In purposely trivializing the issue, it tables its seriousness in clearer ways than most news outlets did.
I hope Edward Snowden knows by now that not all Americans are oblivious to his many sacrifices for us. It so saddened me to see him watch how oblivious people were when asked who he is. He is a hero, NOT a traitor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And, thanks to John Oliver for his comical take on a very serious issue, while also bringing the subject matter to a level all people can understand. Much respect for both of these men.
I love the fact that you interviewed him. Though I would have preferred if you had let Snowden talk more
Check out the ted talk he did. He talked a lot there
Google it lol
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=lkIjVcTqGtO9ugTXm4G4Cg&url=www.ted.com/talks/edward_snowden_here_s_how_we_take_back_the_internet%3Flanguage%3Den&ved=0CB4QyCkwAA&usg=AFQjCNF8hz-o4_tJz1IEZNeksJprribAIw&sig2=V_diCW6ZIosQisUYe-YDUA
Problem is, as much as John Oliver brings disturbing news to the public eye, he still is the host of a comedy show.
***** why is that a problem?
Watching Edward’s reaction to the videos John showed him of US citizens not even remotely being aware of or caring about the information he revealed or the sacrifices he made absolutely broke my heart
Sometimes a hero doesn't want to be seen doing the heroism, as to them the act of heroism isn't about making sure someone is watching or talking about them next day. Snowdon has an odd awkwardness about him, like the person in a group who laughs after everyone else is long finished..I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't score on the spectrum..And b4 anyone attacks me I score as well..actually most if not all artists, mathematicians, etc score so not an insult but a badge of honor in my mind at least. He has "loosened" up over the years since this was done tho.. And he is a hero of mine and a true patriot to what America and her citizens! I believe that his face was showing two thoughts simultaneously, possibly 3. 1 he was glad they didn't recognize his name because he didn't do it for fame, 2 affirmation that in fact Americans are illiterate to what their country does in their name but yet know every single thing their neighbors done the past week, an and sadness at the realization of the previous one was beginning to sink in that he risked everything not for money or his own UA-cam channel,but the people he risked everything for only were con being laughed at due to the size of their sausage. A sadness most common sense literate are feeling now or should be.
Same thing today. New people.
showed me he likes attention and it dented his ego
@@AjarnSpencer it’s not even about attention, he sacrificed what he did to spread awareness-so seeing how unaware people still were probably made all the sacrifice feel a little pointless
I felt so bad for him, when he watched that video footage. I can't imagine what is like to fight for what you believe to be a cause in favor of all American citizens, lose your job, lose your house and even country, and then see some random people having no idea who you are. It probably hurts a lot.
yeah, it was pretty bad
mequable well he actually is quite happy with the outcomes of his actions. He stated many times (and even briefly in this interview) that he didn't anticipate his revelations to bring so much attention overall. Despite those folks on Times square not giving a damn, his actions have clearly influenced the political discourse a lot.
aaron west Yes, apples are also red.
Yeah Mikhail, but to be confused with Julian Assange? He must have thought "son of a bitch".
I agree. It's scary what the average intelligence level must be in the USA. People are too busy sending dick pics. ; )
This is why John Oliver is the greatest. His journalism is just outstanding. Making issues relatable, funny but without taking away the story’s essence. This was absolutely brilliant.
*brillent
I can literally see the frustration of Snowden trying to explain this complex concept and I really applaud Oliver for making it a situation everyone can understand with added humor that people will remember
that's the impression i got too, excellent and a very important episode
Yes. Yes. Yes!
You achieved the remarkable goal of the MERITS of this whole interview.
(and lots of people have made excellent comments here)
This is amazing. At first I couldn't tell what John was trying to accomplish, shooting Snowden down like that, but the goal was magic. If successful, this could have a big influence in the push to get this program shut down or changed. :O
And if he keeps it up, he might end up having an 'accident' because he was a terrorist, as he was trying to "stimulate the crowds of simpletons to riot against the government", or something like that... Damage control at it's best... >:P "Calm down people, we don't have your dick picks! That doesn't mean some of our people don't keep them stored on their private data drives, nor that we don't have access to them, it also doesn't mean we didn't see them BUT! We *don't* have them here, so don't riot or we'll publish them so everyone can see your dicks! Right here, right now! And it doesn't matter if you're a woman - if you have a dick, we'll show it to the world! So keep calm and carry on, and in two years you won't even remember this, as we'll simply cover it up and everything will be fine once again! 'Cause 'Murica! Fuck yeah! Freeedoooom!" xD
Nah, I doubt that. Politically motivated hit jobs aren't a thing in this country. At least not these days. There's really no point. Most any slimy thing our politicians want to get done, they can do within the system without a problem. The only thing they actually fear is losing their jobs. So they just pass the bills that people get angry about so people stop caring and move on to whatever thing they were doing before.
Alex Harris
It was just a joke :P But I I must say, I do agree with your opinion on the subject.
Haha, sorry. Sometimes you never know what things people are willing to believe on the Internet. XD
Alex Harris Or they could be a major thing that theyve gotten really good at covering up...
It's now December 2019 and Snowden's words still carry a lot of gravitas. It's tragic how quickly people forget.
Thanks, KGB
Hello from the future. We fucked up.
Kenna hello from the future... You already know
This is an award winning episode, and why I watch John Oliver. Well done.
I will go ahead and toss in a "Bravo" note from my end, if I can, please?🙏😂
The best interview I have ever seen.
Here are two very intelligent people making great points, explaining things clearly and using humor to doing it. Never has reporting made so much sense to me. If this were what the news were like and this team of writers and reporters were informing the general public, the common man would understand what's going on.
Snowmen came across as likeable and very smart. He seemed to realize that the "dick" analogy actually might have been a good way to illustrate the problem in a way that the average guy can give a shit about their privacy.
I applaud the Last week tonight team!
Thanks for this!
EytschPi42 It's important that you don't receive all of your information from satirical news such as Last Week Tonight or The Daily Show because sometimes they will twist information in order to make it humorous. I have witnessed John Oliver do this a few times.
EytschPi42 THe truth about whats happening to this country and on this planet is right infront of everones face, are u kidding? THe "mainstream" media is so blatantly misleading you would have to be a complete imbecile, or a willfully ignorant coward not to see through it within the first hour off watching, listening or reading.
Charlie Rocci The point of satire isn't to twist information to make it humorous. The art of satire is to take the real information and find the absurdities within it. I know what you mean, I've watched a lot of Oliver too, but I think he just uses a bit of absurdity (adding an analogous absurd example people can relate to) in order to hammer home his point about the real information. He is talking to a satire-immune American audience after all ;)
EytschPi42 in countries where nearly all the news are regurgitating the government viewpoint it is often the case that the hard truths come in the guise of comedy or sarcasm
Vu8
The interview was SURPRISINGLY good! I like that John did not go easy on him. It was a little sad to watch at times, but honestly, I think this might be some of John's best work.
Wish he would do other interviews in the same style and manner....brilliantly done
John did a good job forcing Snowden to describe the topic in a way that me, an idiot, could understand, probably.
Hey Edward Snowden, at least 21 million of us have watched this. your message is getting across, and we have you (and John Oliver) to thank for that.
Mad regards of appreciation to BOTH Edward and John... From up here, in the frosty air of west coast Canada!
Up to 37 million views now! Probably even more considering HBO!
And your junk.
37M worldwide => not many american
znd the interview in the street, in a city like ny of all made it clear: people neither care, know or understand about it
znd that was years back so elt make it clear: the guy sacrifice his life ..... for nothing, 0, nada
This piece deserves the highest journalistic accolade. John Oliver is brilliant.
John is a pure genius. Some may have found that interview stupid, crude, offensive, but he got Snowden to explain the programs in simple easy terms. Its brilliant.
Didn't get that.
MangoMotors Snowden was definitely made aware of what type of interview it would be
candice greene Hhahaha! I see what u did there :)))
Vaibhav Gupta "John Oliver answers brillent UA-cam comments" was a segment
Eduardo Saldana He probably didn't need to be made aware, because I'm pretty sure he watched Comedy Central and follows Last Week Tonight like we do. But he was smart enough to understand the strategy of the interview.
It's pretty incredible what an amazing good sport Snowden is about the tone of this interview; the patience and acceptance he showed in navigating John's shenanigans is fascinating.
His message and actions are so profound, and despite having his life ruined by his conviction to his morals, he still manages to have a great sense of humor.
What a guy...
Well he had to. Snowden realized part way through the interview that John was trying to help him out. Took him long enough.
Balls of steel! Respect.
He chose John Oliver out of a multitude of different options. He knew what he was getting into and decided that Mr Oliver had the most effective and neutral approach.
@@griffindowns8426 donno about neutral. John olivers greatest strength is his ability to pick a side, but seem like he's giving both sides. The world is never black and white, it's shades of grey, if the news makes you feel like "this is pure good/common sense" or "this is pure evil/dumb" you know you are being manipulated.
@@ericjourdain892 now, literally balls of steel!
in Snowden's book "Permanent Record" he talks about his childhood a bit and even as a young man he was incredibly patriotic, it's really a testament to his love for this country and gives a lot of insight into why he's doing all this- I think his intentions are admirable and he writes with the kind of grace and intelligence he shows us in this interview. highly recommend as a quarantine read!
i wonder how he thought about jan 6...
Watching this episode (again) in August 2021 is almost surreal. It saddens me, as an indictment on myself, that I don't know Snowden's status right now, but he is surely a national treasure. Without taking anything away from Snowden, John Oliver must be an international treasure.
The interruption for Justin Bieber "news" is a symbol of what is so wrong with the media. Jaw dropping!
couldn't agree more!!!
Its actually not the media. They just do what they think the people want to be informed of. And the people dont want to get bothered by important news. They just want to be entertained. Otherwise Trump wouldnt be President. I follow him on Twitter just because it is fucking hilarious. And i am not even American.
Maybe also a possible explanation why we have, esp after this clip, the feeling that Americans (yeah yeah....not all of them, of course) are pretty uninformed, uneducated or just plain "stupid". Looks like America is all about lowest entertainment....sad
south park level shit
You can literally pinpoint the moment when Snowdens heart breaks in half.
Moby Dick I I was watching this and thought "Wow. Olivier just destroys him." Luckly in the end it wasn't so bad.
+Demogorgon White I don't think John Oliver was trying to 'destroy him' more then he was attempting to bring a topic that most people are ignorant about to light in an entertaining manner while still actually being informative. Its sad, but as John Oliver so eloquently put it, "People just don't give a shit" about the serious matters that we are faced with these days...
ezekeil33
I realise that. And he did real good job making Snowden explain things in understandable way. Then again first part of interview seem a bit agressive. Just like MobyDickI said: You can see the man heart breaking when he realises that people in USA don't give a shit.
ezekeil33 I agree, besides these sorts of interviews usually have off-camera conversations to bring everyone to speed. It's not that candid.
This interview was very well done, it's funny, it's catchy, it's important and it allows for the message to get more coverage. However, I think it still sad that the message was only temporarily noted. Security has only gone up, and resistance has not been that much more significant. It's pitiful, and it's going to get worse.
+Demogorgon White
Take away the comedy from it, this was a pretty hard-hitting interview. Dude was pretty harsh, but at the same time, I think Oliver is actually sympathetic to Snowden on this, and I daresay I see more journalistic integrity here than with reporters and commentators that are not comedians.
Welcome to America: where the comedians are the journalists and the journalists are the comedians.
It's sad isn't? When the media is corporate owned and linked to the government agenda, that's what you get. Everybody is in each-others pockets. Keep the American public afraid and keep them distracted. John Oliver is a fucken journalistic hero. Props to HBO as well, for letting him even do this kind of show.
Very well put! Let me quote you on that :)
Beautiful! I loved that!
This is satire. Political satire is notably good at pointing out problems everywhere, not just in the US.
I think "Welcome to America: where the comedians are the journalists and the journalists are the joke." would be more appropriate, but your version works too.
"If we sacrifice our values because we're afraid, we don't really care about those values."
Said by a man, a hero, who threw his entire life and any safety he might have in service to his values. Mr. Edward Snowden cares about his values.
He was incompetent.
@@sillygoose635 Thank you! You can even tell that John thinks so as well. People want to fight any criticism of this man and I get why. Regardless of people's opinions of this man's motivations/actions, we all should be able to admit that he made mistakes. What person in that position wouldn't make some errors in judgment?
@@letsplay7828 at the end of the day he is a hero who did the right thing, and anyone honest can admit that of course he made mistakes
That interview was actually somewhat genius. John Oliver's forcing of the topics forced Snowden to answer in such a way that people would actually give a shit about. Nice!
Old comment but yeah. Oliver was a mastermind in this interview, because he kept the context simple. Oliver knows that the government is pretty good at twisting words, and they did that with Snowden, so he kept the subject extremely simplistic and relatable.
Not only that, he pretty much entered a "common american" character, where he didn't want to learn, nor did care about other people, except himself. That made Snowden change the entire perspective to how to address.
Because Snowden didn't put any of that in a simple term, he is the "wikileaks guy". After Oliver made the transition from complicated government issues with "simple governamental abuse", Snowden is now hailed as a hero, which by the way, he deserves.
Actually this interview was very annoying for me. It really bothered me how John Oliver oversimplified this important issue, nearly turning it into a joke. It seems to me that Snowden was annoyed as well. Are dick pics really the most important problem here?
Of course it is not the most important thing. But what Oliver did here wasn't about going through everything like a more serious news outlet, but simplifying things for the mass to be able to understand what the problem is in a general way, something that had not been done before, and which is a fundamental step if you want it to change, since the more people understand a problem, the more they are to be able to have a somewhat informed way of talking about it. Even if it's about dick pics, people can understand and basically extrapolate the concept of "government is spying on all americans".
blingbling is not about being arrogant but yes unfortunally for the majority of people in certain countries unless you explain things in an extremely basic way including metaphors so people understand how it can affect them. The reality is the American public focuses on the wrong things and ignores the important ones most of the time. Goverment access to your everything doesn't seem like a big deal now because we have a fairly okay goverment (well... ill get back to you on that). But if you read any novels like Farenheit 451 and 1984, those society are not that many centuries away from our society. That public survey explains it better than anyone. You dont have to be doing illegal things to be worried that the goverments knows way to much about us. China is going to literally put scores on people that will not allow them to travel if its bad or get better internet if its good. Seems harmless right? But that is a dangerous precedent. Its not that irracional that some people don't love the idea of the goverment having too much access to its people. In the majority of phones now you even speak about lets say "cupcakes" to someone in front of you and then youtube starts suggesting cupcake recipes. We were literally talking about this yesterday in our bookclub. It may seem harmless that through your phone theres no privacy (even by just having it in your pocket) now, but again: dangerous precedent.
I actually hated this interview. Came away liking Snowden a lot more and Oliver a lot less.
The way Snowden handled this interview so smoothly is incredible.
I'm pretty sure this interview was scripted. We don't know the real Edward Snowden and never will. I still have a positive opinion of him.
@@lordflufffluff There are many other interviews with him and you can see just how well balanced and intelligent the guy really is.
Was it scripted...I’d say no. Was it edited so answers line up with questions to follow a narrative that the show wanted? Absolutely. Still a great interview.
He has a great joe rogan interview
@Gordon Fornow I think he was trying to act in a way that would get across to us, the audience, how these issues can seem disinteresting if they do not relate immediately to something an average american citizen cares about. It did make me cringe, but the fact that a bunch of adults in Times Square had no idea what Snowden did is telling. The public doesn't seem to care all that much, and I think the only way they had to get viewers to understand not only how important it is to care, ut also how dickish not caring comes off was Oliver acting like that. I may be looking too hard into this but Oliver suddenly fucking up to this scale is a bit strange
You can see the sorrow in eyes when John shows him the recordings of people in NY asking if they knew who he was. It's so upsetting how uneducated Americans truely are. This man is a hero for this country. He gave up so much for us just to have him be forgotten. Well, if you ever see this Mr. Snowden, there are people here in this country, who appreciate what you did and what you sacrificed to give awareness.
Aurora Octane
There's a little gray arrow at the top left of your comment that let's you edit your comment.
Lol
You are so true
+supercoolguy43 Too bad she wasn't educated enough to figure that out on her own without someone having to tell her about it. She probably does not see the irony.
Aurora Octane
There is also a button that allows you to reply to comments.
The look on his face when John asks "What was UNICEF doing?" slays me lol
19:09
So funny 😂
You can see the pain in Snowden's eyes.
poor Edward Snowden, the look on his face like "is this what I sacrificed my freedom for"
I noticed that also.
Yeah, that kinda broke my heart
+Aida Aman this is fake
+G Mail sure, it is. And the Bowling Green Massacre is real
KRealm and look on the bright side, Jonh here helped him out through the manic of Dick Pics.
Snowden totally missed a chance to call it "Junk mail"
Ha! Good one!
Genius! lol
You did it for him and that's all that really matters. So thank you.
I BROKE THIS COMMENTS LIKE BUTTON!!!
XD
it's depressing to see how Edward Snowden is basically forgotten in the US. But then I remember my government didn't even have the balls to do a live interview with him and instead kissed the US' ass even after we found out that the NSA spied on our chancellors phone.
"spying on friends is not ok" was the harshest words our leaders could find - it's infuriating
The way you describe your leaders reaction. It's almost like our NSA has dirt on all your politicians lol.
I'm greek so pretty much anyone can Google how our national security changed its qualifications (to easier ones) to have our prime ministers PERSONAL SECURITY as chairman of our national security organization and LITERALLY SPY on political opponents. I don't understand how Americans are so fucking naive and don't understand that spying on your people without any litigation or even any criminal suspicion is extremely dangerous for democracy
It's also depressing to hear people get Snowden confused with Assange and WikiLeaks.
@@gho5trun3r68 When parents have the attention span of a cat thrown on the floor at a Stompin' Tom concert, they teach their little clones to be the same... Most folks 'hear' the newscasts but the stories are presented one after the other, and in such quick succession the general population doesn't actually get a chance to really LISTEN to what is being relayed, nor are they given time to critically think over such things, so they don't. Ergo misinformation and the world of media relations.
Can I hear what government to which you are referring?
Edward Snowden, laying aside his courageous achievement, seems to be a really likeable guy. Fantastic interview.
Yeah, this made me want to meet him.
Snowden is an actual hero. Respect.
Edward Snowden perfectly aligns into the "chaotic good" category.
You pay a tribute to Dark Souls and your profile photo is Shameless season 4 ending, you made my fucking day
Pretty sure John Oliver does as well
+makiiavely well it's a D&D reference, not a Dark Souls reference...unless it's the name of the user?
same
the way John Oliver Dumbed this highly important conversation down and added humor to it so the layman could have a much deeper understanding and invest personally in the problem is brilliant. He deserves to slap a face and win an Oscar.
Ahhhh, fantastic. It's always a good day when I see a half hour John Oliver video in my subscription box! I've actually decided to be the NSA for Halloween this year by. All you need it do is follow strangers, take copious notes on their movements and, when discovered, don't say anything intelligible.
#Protip
Don't follow strangers; that's asking for trouble.
beth12svist
If you get caught, just say "I'm not going to do anything bad with this information!!"
thesheepthatwentmooo omg
King Bumi I think the correct response would be,
"I'm not actually reading the notes I'm collecting,
I'm just acquiring metadata about the notes that are passing through my hands..."
John Oliver did in a comedy interview more a better job of explaining this issue than every news outlet combined.
Comedy like Mark Twain's comedy ;3
Brilliant man.
Fully developed trumpanzee,maybe you should have watched "Frontline".
Immigrants. What would we do without them?
LMB222 nothing considering the fact that practically everyone in the US (unless you are Native American) is technically an immigrant
This was the most amazing episode of this show ever, that Snowden interview was the best thing i've ever seen.
bakerXderek Well, hellow there good sir.
Cheeaahh!
Yes, yes,yes! The very best discussion by John about the most inanely irrelevant government function imaginable. God could balance the budget by anesthetizing the congress long enough to get this off budget now!
Much agreed
Snowden is a set up. ua-cam.com/video/RB2bu18lVFw/v-deo.html
This is such a brilliant way to educate the American population. Journalists and media organizations need to take notes.
27:22 It finally clicks on Snowden where John Oliver was headed. That's such a great moment, I bet Snowden wondered why he accepted the interview at first and you can see he's uncomfortable and uneasy for most of it. But when JO makes it click, it's fantastic
yeah, i was feeling bad for snowden there for a bit
I'm fairly sure Snowden would have known exactly what he was getting into before the interview even took place. The only time the uncomfortableness is at the fore is in the direct aftermath of the revelation that the average American apparently had no idea who he is which would be disheartening and uncomfortable for anyone. I'd imagine that even the request for an interview was probably framed as it being an attempt to get people to understand exactly what the importance of Snowden's leak was without all the technobabble getting in the way and effectively dumbing it down to the absolute simplest terms.
I think it clicked a couple of minutes on the dickpic interviews. Assuming he did not know beforehand.
After reading this and re-watching it I actually loved that moment even more! I can even give the plausible deniability that we DIDN'T see the photo in the folder...That COULD be a way to actually tell him what's actually going on...just a theory of mine after a second viewing...I could be wrong though
I actually feel pretty bad for Snowden here, he sacrificed a lot for something he believed in and so many people dont even care,,,
People take comfort in lies rather than the harsh truth
Indifference is a pretty powerful tool. That being said, Snowden's efforts did not go to waste for everyone. The rise of privacy-focused services exist and are fairly popular because of his doing. It's important to keep reminding everyone of this, especially in the age where everyone is becoming more and more tech-savvy.
John Oliver is going for laughs to support his take on the story. He deliberately interviewed idiots on the street who aren't capable of understanding the gravity of the situation, but there are plenty of people who do. Snowden did sacrifice a lot. The fact that too many people don't even know who he is, let alone how important his whistleblowing was, is indeed disheartening. But sometimes taking heroic action means you pay the price, despite the fact that you've exposed nefarious activity committed by the powerful. Ultimately, what Snowden did has had a major impact in our awareness. We need to keep talking about this, or government oversight will continue to drag its feet in taking corrective measures. The people's ignorance and apathy are the battleground.
Why do you think we now have end to end encryption for some apps?
I'm not sure I'd trust the encryption but it's a start.
Snowden has made a difference.
The fact he's on this show prices he made a difference.
And credit to John Oliver for interviewing him and helping to communicate to people that the government can see your naked body and those of your family.
@@Google_Does_Evil_Now a very unneeded change honestly, why would we care if the govt sees us naked. they're only doing their job on tracking possilbe terrorists, spies, etc. yes it "violates our rights" but what is it really violating if nothing gets uploaded publicly, why is it bad honestly when the president himself is tracked where he goes and still has boundries of over using his power. I rather stay honestly safer from possible terrorist
Here is my opinion based on my findings. My findings include, my own research, this interview, and the film. Edward Snowden acted with conviction when the NSA and other agencies were acting unconstitutionally. Had he wanted a payday it would have been considerably easier, considering how many of our leaders sell out on a regular basis and continue in positions of power. He is a hero of our age and, if you do not see it now, I suspect we may later. I couldn't imagine giving up my home, my status, and my way of life for a people that generally, don't give a shit about me. For what it's worth, thank you Mr. Snowden, you have my appreciation and respect.
The guy had it all. A high paying prestigious job and a beautiful model wife (google her). He sacrificed it all just because his morality couldn't allow him to live with the fact of knowing that people were spied on without their attention. A true hero in every sense of the world.
@@rollingthunder8630 I think his wife is also in Russia.
Nathan Homistek he’s an American Hero ofcorse the government doesn’t like leaks but I am proud someone had the balls to tell us the truth about stuff we already suspected was happening & what they’re really capable of
*ONE QUESTION: Why is Edward Snowden constantly reading from a prompter or a cardboard?!*
warequalsnofuture never seen him do it once 🤔
I admire Snowden so much. If people read his book, an easy read, they would understand why he did what he did. His intentions were good and he rally didn't expose any dangerous secrets. He also has a great sense of humor, and he is so intelligent.
Why don’t ya marry him?
Lol jk I’m actually going to read his book
Actually the House Intelligence Committee explained why Snowden is a traitor and a fraud in a rare bipartisan report in 2016. They found Snowden caused tremendous damage to U.S. national security. He was not a whistleblower and was a poor performer and a disgruntled employee. He was and remains a serial exaggerator and fabricator and
The NSA and other U.S. intelligence agencies have not done enough to prevent another massive unauthorized disclosure. I think to say a person who breaks the law is a hero is a bit crazy.
“Actually it’s entirely believable” was such a good line that it took the audience a second to laugh so hard
did he call Snowden a can of smelly soup?
@@user-vl9mj8th9c The audience being recorded is the studio audience. In which there definitely is one. I think you're confusing our post-Covid reality with pre-Covid reality. This was recorded FIVE years ago.
If this was shown on screen to a live audience, then there is a natural lag time from the video to the viewing. Especially when something is coming from Russia. But I suspect this was shown in the studio when John was there.
@@marlenen6130 i
@@willsofer3679 no iinn. My o
I am german and I think Mr. Snowden is a hero.
Frank Schleicher I'm American and I consider him a hero as well :D
Well, our government screwed us over as well, the BND (foreign surveillance) declared everything on the Internet foreign and gave tons of data to the NSA, because they did not have the technical knowledge of the NSA. So they let German data be analysed by the NSA... Of course they said "We carefully filtered any German data", well, that German data is defined by the statement on the top. So we owe a lot to Snowden, and that was only one if the direct impacts, I could rant over an hour how the NSA is hurting global internet security, but that is for another time.
I am American and I think Manuela Schwesig is sexy
Frank Schleicher I'm from Sweden, And right now I'm not wearing any pants.
Charles Shilling What if I told you, I have no clue who you are taking about, I guess by the name it's a German celebrity, we don't really care about more than boring German politics, Ukraine, middle East and soccer, I get really mad when soccer is on top news before 120 kids being kidnapped by Boko Haram. Oh, and the NSA affair was on top news as it was hot, now you rarely see anything about it.
they interrupted a serious plea for public debate on section 215 with Justin Beiber news??!!!! Excuse me, I am going to go throw up now....
+kaustubh upadhyay Thats what you get from Andrea Mitchell! That Greenspan whore that MSNBC bought. Actually, calling her a whore is an insult to the word "whore".
I don't know what was the worst part, because of HIM or because was in Florida....
Are you fucking serious.
Fifth-Why such anger towards her? Please feel free to share articles etc to show how she has harmed you. Lets open this up to the 18 people who 'liked' the comment. Why do you hate AM so much?
Its like the stunts they talk about on Newsroom happening in real life fucking ridiculous how bogus our news and media has become there is no moral or ethical duty to inform its all about ratings money and entertainment
Watching Snowden realise that yeah, if he'd thought of it in terms that the general public public would understand it, the way people who havent learnt all the nuance and the lingo of what he took and shared, then maybe the people would be outraged, is great. Once again, the last week tonight team has managed to, with humour, make a topic that is convoluted and indepth and so important, understandable to the masses, and then allows those people to realise what the higher ups gmhave been doing right under their noses.
it's the responsibility of journalists to parse it in a way that is understandable. If a body didn't understand what Snowden did, perhaps they might consider changing to a different media source.
One of the best peices of journalism I've ever seen. It's a perfect interview. Kudos.
will broccolo #Ifeelyou
will broccolo I wasn't expecting Jon to be able to keep it comedic whilst keeping it a rather tough interview.
If was a perfect mix of both. Kudos.
Okay, not gonna lie, at 13:00 I literally yelled "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" At the screen.
Same kind of thing happened during the Democratic Convention last year. The news was about to show Bernie supporters protesting when CNN just had to cut to Boys To Men or whatever that hack group is called who were performing inside.
DatK9 You do realize this is being cut and pasted?... Lol
Justin Biever is NOT a good distraction. Lol
I feel like while John Oliver comes across as harsh/dismissive towards Edward Snowden in the interview, he knows that Snowden is vastly more intelligent than the majority of Americans and often forgets that when he talks about government surveillance, so John was trying to get him to 'dumb it down' as much as possible so the average American could care about it.
@Senna Taylor Well he was. Snowden just made a huge sacrifice and for the common person to not even know what his sacrifice meant is just heartbreaking. From a higher standpoint, I think John just did Snowden a favor: not make his sacrifice go to waste. I'm not an American, but me knowing all this perhaps wouldn't matter to Snowden. American kids would though.
At 23:07 , johns face should tell you the actual atmosphere during thqt time and that everything was a skit mixed with an interview. Im guessing it was edited to look harsh but ultimately was meant as a comedy segment.
oliver is stupid when it comes to interview
@@zfazzershroudvietcynide64e58 it was actually pretty well done. He oriented the information in a way average people would care about. Do you think normal people would pay attention to him talking about the inner workings of foreign surveillance when they didn't even care enough to know who he was?
Oliver was harsh and dismissive because he wants to keep his job. Had he acted sympathetic or supportive of Snowden, he would have been sacked by next week.
This is one of John's best interviews ever! Well worth the 20-hour round trip.
I Wish he would have let Edward talked fully and more, I would have liked to hear what he has to say about what Murica does.
citizenfour explains his opinion a little bit more. A great watch if you want more on Snowden.
but where would that have left snowden, it cannot be about our carnal need for information as so gracefully put.
its funny how they wont tell the ppl how to contact the previous youtubers. but as i always say- dont give up.
they block me soon enough. just watch me. excuse misss spells as it may happen in forums as a single mom i am usually rushed
I like to think he only cut Snowden off when he felt he was headed towards saying something that was dangerous or too difficult for people to understand.
good point
To anyone interested 2000 rubles comes out to $30.11 USD. $1 = 66.42 rubles.
Look up that period of time exchange rate
Alright, 30 bucks is a fair bet
Welp, now YOU are on The List.
It would have been double of that at the time, as I am pretty sure back then a dollar was 30 rubles
Yes an answer!!
On a serious note, Snowden IS a hero and the reason he is in exile is because he is absolutely right. He did something very dangerous - he embarrassed the US government.
He gave up his freedom to expose the Government abuses of the law. No one went to prison. We still have the Patriot act and MTG rants about mask wearing. We are a cartoon version of who we used to be.
@@jnielsen90 You know that logical and intelligent are not something that describes a majority of us americans.
@@zarqornd6881 I tend to agree
@@jnielsen90 well proving it is what they would've needed to investigate & dole out some charges so that was a big deal, showing proof. but nothing happened
@@jnielsen90 they ant the only ones who have been doing that
I find it amazing that there are people out there who don't know or don't really know who Edward Snowden is. Or the significance of his sacrifice. He is true patriot and an American hero.
I think the way he handled it is what turned people against him.
@@FakeAssHandsomeMcGee_ They got programs designed to fight against whistleblowers and alike, to prevent something like the Snowden case from happening in the first place. Snowden HAD NO RIGHTS with what he did, all of this shit happens behind closed doors. He got away to safety and the information in question was not prevented from leaking. He did everything the right way, the only way he could have.
Lyaz Sickness, accept, you know, the treason.
@@FakeAssHandsomeMcGee_ Only brainwashed idiots who worship the government turned against him. Normal folks see Snowden as a hero.
Snowden deserves to be heard. He should be considered a hero and given a medal.
how sad Snowden looked when he noticed people are really stupid and uninformed about a serious matter such as surveillance
Edward Snowden is a true American hero. It’s important to inform ourselves of all the information he sacrificed his life for.
Yet noone gives a shit. Of we were smart we'd ALL get rid of our smart phones. Collectively say we don't want this shit. I didn't vote or ask for this. I thought this was our country?
I agree completely. He sacrificed his life, just so we can be informed on how we are being governed. Like it or not we are surveilled but we should know how and when.
I feel like he was hard on Snowden. But in the end Snowden appeared to have enjoyed it, and it actually got some good information out in a easy form, so 10/10 would put you on the list again.
TYKUHN2 yeah, he was a sick
ya, the way he was talking to Snowden was disrespectful .. sadly
i usually like him and this channel
Grina Jadall you gotta remember that Snowden asked to be interviewed by Oliver. And there's a reason for that. He knew that there was a disconnect between what is going on and what people understand about what's going on. He'd seen LWT and knew what kind of power it has in simplifying complex topics into a way people care about and understand. It might have seemed harsh but they both knew what they were getting into and what was going to happen. These things don't happen without planning and prep. And you can see how much Snowden's enjoying it at the end. You can actually see the moment he's like "wait this could work". This interview is one of the reasons the show won a Peabody award
Bec Horrigan Great comment Bec!
You...you guys have heard his insults to people before right? I mean, he’s insulted Britain a million times and it’s his home land. He is always like this, it’s John Oliver.
John Oliver is my hero. The fact that he did all this just to reveal the truth and to explain it in layman's terms for the general public is amazing.
And Snowden is such a profoundly intelligent man who clearly wants to protect the American people even if they have no clue. He's 32 and already wiser than most of the politicians who fumble -- I mean run this country. "People should not change their behavior just because a govt agency somewhere is doing the wrong thing." To not compromise your own values just because of something the government is doing -- that is the most American thing I've ever heard. I think the Founding Fathers would've loved this guy.
So true!!!
this is probably the best episode of Last Week Tonight so far, the Interview with Snowden is just fantastic journalism with a comedic/tragic twist
John's team did such a terrefic job of relating such a complicated topic!! Truly truly wonderful!!
I generally like John Oliver's comedy, but THIS show with its interview of Ed Snowden was AWESOME journalism with comedick overtones. BRAVO!, great expose'
Comedick overtones, I see what you did there..
Fucking perfect. Made an EXTREMELY COMPLEX situation SUPER SIMPLE AND FUNNY
"You shouldn't change your behavior because a government agency somewhere is doing the wrong thing. If we sacrifice our values because we're afraid, we don't care about those values very much."
".........hey why did you just send me a picture of your dick"
That's such a Captain America quote...
"They may take our lives but they will never take... our dick pics!"
@@rahulranjan8487 He does kinda look like a pre-serum Steve Rogers...
Snowden is and always will be in my opinion:
*A HERO*
SawdEndymon 1312 exactly!
cati101 No question.
Give John credit. He was tough but fair in his interview. He pressed Snowden at times. Great job.
Considering that John is a comedian and this is a comedy show, that interview was actually a pretty powerful piece of journalism. Even within the context of comedy.
+Kodasa Sinclair That was completely disrespectful. I thought it was a sketch. No respect or attention given.
Rahim ElKeiser Technically it WAS satire, the whole show is satire. But it doesn't change the fact that some serious problems were discussed.
Kodasa Sinclair Yes, but at least a great effort was made, and at the end of the day we know more about this man and what he did for the american people. 'Think they should show him their support and respect now...
"Huh, maybe I should get on that."
*Looks at calendar*
"Goddammit."
neozasshi at least it expired!
Alannis Croft Not really. They just reinstated it and called it the _Freedom Act_. www.aclu.org/news/senate-passes-usa-freedom-act
Alannis Croft
totally!
arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/06/justice-department-plotting-to-resume-nsa-bulk-phone-records-collection/
eddydelo i dont think you even read the article you just linked...
What a Swagget*The passage of this bill is an indication that comprehensive reform is possible.* *But it is not comprehensive reform in itself* Did you?...
A british guy, who hosts an American TV show went to Russia to interview an American that can't live in America anymore.
+MetaLink Pretty much, yeah. Ain't that a doozy?
+MetaLink
What a Twest..
True dedication
Thanks for telling us James Bond..
nikhil khanna so trueeeeeeee
This is still a masterclass example in interviewing prowess on John's part.
i felt bad when john was showing snowden those clips. everyone is still so ignorant when he gave up his safety and home for their rights. snowden is a hero, and he's cute to boot
I know right? It looked like he was slowly being crushed by realisation of how little an affect he's had on people, despite the significance of what he did.
Probably the best interview I have ever seen. Thanks.
+James Kidd We are ALL under surveillance! loooooool
I really don't think "lol" is a good thing to tag on to the end of that sentence. It's like saying "the world is doomed, lol," or "my life is over, lol," or "the government is tracking my phone-calls, emails, and internet usage, lol."
The fact this interview cannot be done inside the united states and the fact Snowden is not a house hold name is a disgrace.
He is a household name outside of the US
not a household name? what household do you live in?!
j v if you watch the interview John gave, it’s obvious they did not know who the fuck Snowden is.
@@DJMMLJ
But the scariest part of all this _is_ that a bunch of morons in "Intelligence" can, and do, access anyone's data. The scope and extent of Snowden's leaked documents, however, went beyond mere domestic surveillance. Edward isn't some dummy, though, just because he "got lucky" because some moron made it easy for him to exfiltrate hundreds of thousands to over a million sensitive gov documents from the U.S., AU, U.K., and Canada. He's proved his intellect, and understands the absurdity of his situation, through extensive interviews over the years, which have sparked debate over privacy and security.
What I will say is he should come back and accept his fate like Chelsea Manning did. She exhibited more courage than Snowden by not running.
@@DJMMLJ That just proves how important it was to release this information. If Snowden was given access so easily and other employees were so irresponsible our privacy was really in danger. The Government wasn't even trying to protect our data. Someone could have really exploited it but, he just released the documents to the media.
Edward Snowden has my undying support and respect. He made a choice and stood on it, knowing what kind of life he was going to be living afterwards. That’s something not many, if any, of us are willing to do. I’m sure he misses home and everything he once knew, but he decided to make it a point for all of us to be able to know what our country’s government is doing behind the scenes. I can’t be mad at anything he did; I’m mad we as a people don’t know anything past his name and whatever the government chooses to tell us to believe about him. He’s a hero in my eyes. A historical badass for the ages. Much love to John Oliver for going to Moscow and holding this interview. Edward, the day you can come home (if that day ever comes) I’ll be ready to celebrate. You’re a hero. Period.
This episode fully encapsulates why John Oliver is such a great presenter/comedian/journalist. The show’s comedic undertones that couple the equally jarring potential outcomes of pressing urgent or otherwise important issues presented in the show demonstrates the failure of conventional media to properly inform the public without a slant or intention in their reporting and the willful ignorance of people to not concern themselves with topics that are not already watered down into simple contextual terms they can recognize as significant in their everyday lives.
Now that's a mouthful
At first I thought John was unnecessarily being an ass, but by the end of it I recognized the genius of this segment. Well done.
Most will say BORING and stop watching if they don’t have a funny looking guy with a British accent making jokes throughout
a sad commentary on our times
John in general is an unnecessary ass, almost all the time.
@@railpressureflip oh yeah for sure dude. how many more people are informed about the NSA leaks after this video who wouldn't have been previously? it can't be many, right? edit: shit i just saw the views
John is taking in the role of the average American, in other words he is acting like an uncaring idiot. It’s a nice way to make people change their opinions without even knowing they’ve changed their opinions. You have someone who gives a smart and astute argument backed up by information and evidence and then have someone represent an opposing party to that argument act like a moron and/or say things that can be easily disproved by the other person. There is a nice example of this in Assassins Creed Odyssey where you are trying to lower support for an Athenian politician or something like that and Socrates invites you on stage to play the role of the moron. You attempt to make claims that Socrates can easily disprove and so on.
you know as a system engineer that understands a bit on what Snowden talks about I love this interview so much. I love how John found a way to explain it with him, so that people that have Zero technical knowledge can get the importance of his sacrifice.
Thanks Snowden for all you did!
All these years later and still my favorite interview ever. :)
How can Americans, even New Yorkers not know who Edward Snowden is ? I live in Germany and every 4th Grader knows who he is...
Gosh how about watching the news ?
+SanchoKobe watch some tedtalks. americas media doesnt give shit about important news first cause britney news or whatsoever are cheaper than going to iraq or cover stories like this, if the propaganda does its job by keeping americans stupid and uninformed then the rest of the world thinks that is better than that and only americans have to pay, every fucking country recycles old and/or edited reportages to save money, propagandized people and leave us in apathy and oblivion, capitalism is safe and our minds closed to let politicians etc divide and conquer since the dawn of humanity. its not a new world order, or other effectively organised new age shit conspiracies to terrorizing people like grimm fairytales its the world order since humanity started to write
It was a hyperbole for USA Id say that about 40-50% if population knows about the issue, but as the 2 years have passed we are still immobile, about the NSA constant surveillance relying on 'if i dont search anything bad ill be dine online'... sacrificing 'little' freedom for safety...
+Tristan Möller Not all news is this informative. Most is just Grade A United States BS. And that is why those of us who care enough, go searching for sources usually foreign sources of real world news. Because American news only cares about what the fuck Celebrities are doing, funny videos, and is Kanye running for president?
+SanchoKobe "as uninformed as possible"... You do realize that this video is about the stuff you think the Government / Media is trying to hide from you, right?
Also, I'm 40. I don't know a single person who could give a rats ass about Justin Bieber
+Ulises Medina Oh man, Kanye West should definitely run for president. That's just about the only way this election year could be any more hilariously dreadful.
Edward Snowden is an American hero, end of story.
Agreed.
Chelsea Manning too?
Snowden is an American traitor, end of story.
Hero hahaha hardly... Troops fighting for your lives overseas and dying for their country are heroes. A guy sneaking around copying every little goodie he can as fast as he can, fleeing and running away like most thieves and buglers, and dumping all out there screaming I did it for everyone!!! Not reading what he stole and releasing it all anyway then begging a country that violates its neighbors sovereignty for protection (Cold War enemy again) refusing to come home a face the music like we expect our children to do when they break the rules. Congratulations your ""hero" is a coward and a traitor, enjoy your dick pic....
+Mercer806
I see you value loyalty over ethics. You'd make a great Nazi general.
how many people are just binging these in quarantine, and then you realize that this was from five years ago.
I just leave it on autoplay, this is probably my third time watching this one lmao
Ryan Jing Me too
For Real
Yup exactly
Right?! ha
This is one of the best episodes of LWT, of all time. I'm watching from 2021 and it totally holds up.
rewatching this and another hat tip to snowden, wherever you are, man,
i wish i knew some better ways i could do something
If you're in the USA, support the ALA (American Library Association). They have a pretty blatant history of standing up to government efforts at privacy invasion
He’s in Russia
boss 630 Omg. Pewds spotted.
boss 630 Pewds. We call Pewdiepie Pewds. It's Felix, the youtuber with the max subscribers. He had done a meme video on this and since then it became an inside joke.
Lol kayla wants to get it on with snowden !
Lol California threat group removed !! Harassers !!! Harassed the people here !! Took them years to figure out its
Not a good idea to threaten people here !!
Seriously speaking ..we need guys like Edward snowden for president
No we don't. He risked national security. Just like Hilary Clinton. He could never president, and Hillary should be in federal prison.
Someone who would break multiple laws to suit their own agenda? Yeah that's a fantastic idea.
+Matt D (Frizbee) exactly. That's like calling Hillary Clinton an "American hero".
+Jamal Brown something tells me you like Hilary Clinton
agreed, he basically said
"I gave this information so the American people can decide for themselves"