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.
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#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).
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#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 - Pete Buttigieg
Season 29 - Episode 74 - Aired 7/29/2024
Jon Stewart tackles Joe Biden's withdrawal from the presidential race, new presumptive nominee Kamala Harris, and the reactions on both sides, from a re-energized Democratic party to flailing Republicans' flimsy coup claims. Plus, Josh Johnson on the right's new strategic talking points against Harris, which range from sexist all the way to racist. "What's the point of having a conversation if you're not speaking to people who don't already agree with you?" Pete Buttigieg talks to Jon Stewart about why he goes on Fox News, the significance of President Joe Biden stepping aside to make room for Kamala Harris as the presumptive Democratic nominee, the possibility of being vetted for vice president, and his thoughts on Trump's own VP pick, JD Vance.
#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 - Live show of the DNC
Season 29 - Episode 89 - Aired 8/22/2024
Jon Stewart closes out the last night of the DNC live from Chicago with a recap of the convention, including Kamala Harris's spotlight moment, Oprah's cat lady cam, and a roster of speakers as diverse and contradictory as the Democratic party itself. Jon also shows Dems what real joy looks like and tries to make sense of Fox News's convention coverage. After a week at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, Jon Stewart and the Best F**king News Team share their thoughts on the party's embrace of small town values, which apparently means patriotically loving God and baking lots and lots of pies to give to neighbors. Kamala Harris didn't just fall out of a coconut tree. The Democratic candidate has led a full and shockingly normal life.
#8 - Ruy Teixeira
Season 29 - Episode 127 - Aired 11/18/2024
Host Jon Stewart interviews Ruy Teixeira, founder of The Liberal Patriot and co-author of “Where Have All the Democrats Gone?”
#9 - 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.”
#10 - Mark Duplass
Season 29 - Episode 84 - Aired 8/14/2024
Desi Lydic watches the leaked Project 2025 training videos and discovers the secret right-wing plan for transforming government, undoing climate rules, and eliminating all pronouns from the English language. Plus, the people who made them are a little weird and have close ties to Donald Trump, despite his denials. Featuring an exclusive Daily Show Project 2025 video made just for Trump. America's democracy may not be the strongest, but it is the oldest! Grace Kuhlenschmidt explores the drawbacks of having a gerontocracy by chatting with UC Irvine neuropoietic researcher Mark Fisher, who explains how the brain deteriorates and what's really covered on a cognitive test.
#11 - 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."
#12 - 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.
#13 - 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.
#14 - Paola Ramos
Season 29 - Episode 102 - Aired 10/1/2024
Host Michael Kosta provides live post-Vice Presidential debate coverage and chats with journalist/author Paola Ramos. Paola Ramos is on to advertise and promote her new book, "Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America".
#15 - 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".
#16 - 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."
#17 - 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.
#18 - A.J. Jacobs
Season 29 - Episode 68 - Aired 7/8/2024
Jon Stewart has some concerns in the aftermath of Joe Biden's debate performance. Jon digs into the backlash to America's bed-wetting panic over Biden's incoherence, some of the president's recent slip-ups, the future of the Democratic candidate, and Biden's promise in an ABC interview with George Stephanopoulos to give "fighting fascism" his all. Joe Biden said he might drop out of the race if the "Lord Almighty" came down and told him to. So has anyone asked any divine beings their thoughts? Jon Stewart and The Daily Show News Team help deliver that godly message to Joe Biden from above. Journalist and best-selling author A.J. Jacobs joins Jon Stewart to discuss his new book "The Year of Living Constitutionally," which addresses a timely question: What does the Constitution actually say? He shares his insight on the Founding Fathers' mindsets, how they'd react to the current political system, and living by the legal document word for word, down to writing by quill.
#19 - Mark Cuban
Season 29 - Episode 82 - Aired 8/12/2024
Donald Trump thought he was cruising to victory against Joe Biden, but now he's facing a hard fight against Kamala Harris. Jon Stewart looks at Trump's half-hearted attempts to adjust to the new challenge and wonders if he's hatching a devious plan to help Biden take back the nomination, January 6th style. Entrepreneur and minority owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, joins Jon Stewart to discuss disrupting the healthcare industry as co-founder of Cost Plus Drug Company. They discuss Silicon Valley's goals of anointing Trump as CEO of America and serving as board members, the unpredictable future of AI, how Elon Musk utilizes X (formerly Twitter) algorithms to control the global discourse, and how drug price transparency has changed the future of our healthcare system.
#20 - Roxane Gay
Season 29 - Episode 78 - Aired 8/5/2024
Michael Kosta covers all things Olympics, including an American runner who won by a hair, a pole vaulter with interfering genitalia, and an Algerian boxer whose womanhood is challenged. As the election grows closer, RFK Jr.'s bear carcass dump has him securing his place as the weirdest candidate, and Desi Lydic reveals other confessions we can expect from him.
#21 - Ronan Farrow
Season 29 - Episode 128 - Aired 11/19/2024
Host Desi Lydic talks with investigative reporter/contributing writer of The New Yorker Ronan Farrow about the new HBO documentary "Surveilled."
#22 - 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."
#23 - Susanna Fogel
Season 29 - Episode 100 - Aired 9/26/2024
Desi Lydic unpacks New York City Mayor Eric Adams's sprawling indictment on Turkey-related bribery and fraud charges. Plus, with Adams's administration under investigation amidst a string of resignations, NYC turns to Michael Kosta to figure out who is left to run the city. Award-winning director Susanna Fogel sits down with Desi Lydic to discuss her latest film, "Winner," based on the life of Reality Winner. They talk about Reality's journey from military translator to government whistleblower, telling her story and getting to know her personally, focusing on stories that haven't been shown through a female lens, and reinventing the whistleblower film through a relatable, funny character, like Reality in real life.
#24 - Charles Yu
Season 29 - Episode 134 - Aired 12/5/2024
Host Ronny Chieng interviews author and creator/executive producer Charles Yu about his book and Hulu series "Interior Chinatown."
#25 - 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.