The BEST episodes of The Daily Show season 29
Every episode of The Daily Show season 29, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Daily Show season 29!
The Daily Show's intrepid news team dives into the biggest headlines of the day, providing fearless coverage, expert analysis, and no-nonsense commentary.
#1 - Tim Walz
Season 29 - Episode 112 - Aired 10/21/2024
Host Jon Stewart sits down with Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz.
#2 - Christine Lagarde
Season 29 - Episode 97 - Aired 9/23/2024
Jon examines the escalating conflict engulfing "The Futile Crescent," the Biden administration's inability to prevent war from widening, and the criticism the Netanyahu government faces within Israel; Christine Lagarde discusses the dramatic effects of inflation and interest rates on the average person, as well as the need for global governance of AI; "Your Moment of Zen" (Donald Trump's "it's too late" dismissal of a second debate with Kamala Harris).
#3 - Zanny Minton Beddoes
Season 29 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/12/2024
Jon Stewart looks at President Biden and Donald Trump’s advanced ages, the news team visits a true American diner, and The Economist’s Zanny Minton Beddoes examines national conservatism.
#4 - Rep. Ken Buck
Season 29 - Episode 53 - Aired 6/3/2024
Jon Stewart loses it over complaints about Donald Trump’s guilty verdicts and the value of the court system, and former Rep. Ken Buck debates the precedent set by Trump’s trial.
#5 - Emily Ngo
Season 29 - Episode 122 - Aired 11/7/2024
Host Ronny Chieng sits down with Politico reporter and NY playbook co-author Emily Ngo.
#6 - Josh Shapiro
Season 29 - Episode 116 - Aired 10/28/2024
Jon Stewart dives into Trump's recent xenophobic rally at MSG and his proposed mass deportation plan. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro discusses the state's role as a "temporary swing state".
#7 - Ta-Nehisi Coates
Season 29 - Episode 101 - Aired 9/30/2024
Host Jon Stewart talks with author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his newest book, “The Message.”
#8 - Salman Rushdie
Season 29 - Episode 37 - Aired 4/22/2024
Jon Stewart and Jessica Williams debate the media’s sensationalist coverage of Donald Trump’s mundane trial, and Salman Rushdie discusses “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.”
#9 - Bill Adair
Season 29 - Episode 105 - Aired 10/7/2024
Jon Stewart tackles growing claims of election interference, with Elon Musk joining Trump's narrative. Bill Adair discusses his new book on political liars and misinformation, "Beyond the Big Lie."
#10 - Tressie McMillan Cottom
Season 29 - Episode 121 - Aired 11/6/2024
Host Desi Lydic talks with Tressie McMillan Cottom, UNC professor and New York Times columnist.
#11 - Steve Ballmer
Season 29 - Episode 91 - Aired 9/10/2024
Jon Stewart goes live after the first presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Filled with face-offs over abortion access, border control, and for some reason eating cats? Jon breaks down what this all means for the election. Former Microsoft CEO, LA Clippers owner, and founder of USAFacts Steve Ballmer joins Jon Stewart for a live conversation following the Trump-Harris debate to discuss why he launched his website, USAFacts, as a nonpartisan resource for people to understand the scope, context, and efficacy of the government's spending. They also talk about the ways in which democracy and capitalism influence each other, and how that relationship might need more checks and balances, especially when it comes to healthcare and labor.
#12 - Jason Segel
Season 29 - Episode 110 - Aired 10/16/2024
Desi Lydic explores Kamala Harris's appeal to Black male voters, and Trump's bizarre claim of being the "father of IVF". Hollywood actor Jason Segel discusses his Apple TV+ series "Shrinking".
#13 - Aubrey Plaza
Season 29 - Episode 98 - Aired 9/24/2024
Desi Lydic rounds up shitty male politicians' insulting appeals to female voters: from Trump's claims of being their protector despite taking away abortion rights, to Ohio Senate hopeful Bernie Moreno's dismissal of post-menopausal women's commitment to abortion access, to N.C. gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson's salacious porn-forum comments about his sister-in-law. Plus, Dulcé Sloan joins to make Josh Johnson answer for every man. Emmy-nominated actor Aubrey Plaza joins Desi Lydic to discuss starring in Francis Ford Coppola's "Megalopolis," the improvisational nature of the set, and channeling Tucker Carlson to play a corrupt journalist. They talk about her new film "My Old Ass," wanting to meet her 75-year-old self, wondering if everything happens for a reason, and her dream coven inspired by her role in "Agatha All Along."
#14 - Jelani Cobb
Season 29 - Episode 103 - Aired 10/2/2024
Michael Kosta dives into the heated aftermath of the Vance vs Walz VP debate. Jelani Cobb, Dean of Columbia Journalism School, discusses the crucial role of diverse, trustworthy journalism.
#15 - Jonathan Haidt
Season 29 - Episode 41 - Aired 5/6/2024
Jordan Klepper tackles Trump's collection of gag-order violations and the ongoing ass-kissing pageant for his VP pick, which includes South Dakota Governor and puppy executioner Kristi Noem. Jordan and Josh Johnson unpack the beef between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar, and what world leaders can learn from this exchange. Also, Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and professor of ethical leadership at NYU, joins Jordan to discuss his latest best-selling book "The Anxious Generation."
#16 - Murtaza Hussain & Yair Rosenberg
Season 29 - Episode 9 - Aired 2/26/2024
Jon Stewart analyzes Israel-Palestine peace plans and the long-term impact of U.S. foreign policy with journalists Murtaza Hussain and Yair Rosenberg, and Jon bids farewell to a friend.
#17 - Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II
Season 29 - Episode 61 - Aired 6/17/2024
Jon Stewart looks at the GOP’s contradictory habit of fearmongering about crime rates while opposing gun control laws, and Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II discusses his book “White Poverty.”
#18 - Peter S. Goodman
Season 29 - Episode 65 - Aired 6/25/2024
Michael Kosta reports on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's prison release, Alex Jones's shameless cash grab as his conspiracy network Infowars shutters, and a new Surgeon General advisory warning against, uh, gun violence? Plus, China one-upped America's lunar landing by visiting the far side of the moon, and Josh Johnson shares some advice on how the U.S. can reassert its supremacy. "Consumers are not going to save us from the vulnerabilities of the global supply chain. It's going to take regulation, it's going to take labor mobilization." Peter S. Goodman, New York Times global economics correspondent and author of "How the World Ran Out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain," joins Michael Kosta to discuss American business and consumer reliance on a rickety supply chain, the need for anti-trust enforcement, and creating a more resilient supply chain that's not just optimized for big box retailers and investors.
#19 - Frank Fahrenkopf
Season 29 - Episode 49 - Aired 5/20/2024
Jon Stewart calls out the right’s hypocritical obsession with victimhood and being “canceled” for expressing free speech, and Frank Fahrenkopf explains the evolution of presidential debates.
#20 - Jennifer Granholm
Season 29 - Episode 113 - Aired 10/22/2024
Michael Kosta explores Rudy Giuliani's financial downfall & Elon Musk's million-dollar sweepstakes to sway voters. Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm discusses the rapid growth of the clean energy sector.
#21 - Kevin Bacon
Season 29 - Episode 58 - Aired 6/11/2024
Jordan Klepper tackles the Hunter Biden guilty verdict, as well as Justice Samuel Alito's wife, Martha-Ann Alito, caught on tape planning to fight Pride flags with more flags. Plus, Michael Kosta reveals how Governor Kathy Hochul's decision to scrap New York congestion pricing might have had something to do with the "Diner Effect." Award-winning actor Kevin Bacon sits down with Jordan Klepper to discuss his legendary acting career and latest films, "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F" and "MaXXXine." They talk about fearlessly playing villains, starring alongside the hilarious Eddie Murphy, and 80s horror films as thinly veiled morality tales. Plus, Bacon reveals the marriage advice he gives those asking about his 36-year relationship with Kyra Sedgwick, "Don't take marriage advice from celebrities."
#22 - Gary Clark Jr.
Season 29 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/25/2024
Jon Stewart loses patience with the double standards at work in Donald Trump’s “victimless” financial fraud case, and Gary Clark Jr. performs “Habits” from his album “JPEG RAW.”
#23 - Lori Gottlieb
Season 29 - Episode 67 - Aired 6/27/2024
Jon Stewart goes live after CNN's presidential debate to unpack Biden's senior moments and Trump's blatant lies. Psychotherapist and best-selling author of "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone" Lori Gottlieb joins Jon Stewart to discuss the impact of the debate on mental health and anxiety. They break down the difference between productive and unproductive anxiety during an election cycle, clashing with people on social media, how to deal with the existential fear perpetuated by news outlets, and in order to avoid anxiety, make sure you're not surrounded by a**holes.
#24 - Matt Damon
Season 29 - Episode 43 - Aired 5/8/2024
Jordan Klepper and Desi Lydic analyze RFK Jr.’s startling health revelation, Lewis Black calls out Tesla’s dismal profits and truck recall, and Matt Damon discusses “Kiss the Future.”
#25 - Ilana Glazer
Season 29 - Episode 45 - Aired 5/13/2024
Jon Stewart digs into the trial of comically corrupt Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, and in a new segment called "How Dumb Is You?" asks the senator how he got caught engaging in such obvious illegal corruption, while government officials like Nancy Pelosi, Richard Burr, and Roy Blunt have been getting away with legal corruption for years. "Babes" actor and writer Ilana Glazer sits down with Jon Stewart to discuss how her new film provides a much needed and accurate portrayal of pregnancy and motherhood. They talk about her bond with co-star Michelle Buteau, the struggle to get the film made, and how she spent Mother's Day as a new mom herself.