The BEST episodes of The Daily Show season 30
Every episode of The Daily Show season 30, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of The Daily Show season 30!
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 - Matthew Desmond
Season 30 - Episode 29 - Aired 3/3/2025
Jon Stewart dives into the Oval Office meeting between Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy, which shocked viewers more than John Cena's heel-turn. Plus, Jon calls bulls**t on Elon Musk's challenge to an interview. "Investing in American people and stabilizing communities that need it the most is the best way for all of us." Sociologist at Princeton University and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Evicted," Matthew Desmond sits down with Jon Stewart to discuss his latest book, "Poverty, by America." They talk about America's welfare state, how society benefits from poverty, the opportunity to close the poverty gap if the top one percent paid their taxes, and empowering the poor with better choices like building worker power, and expanding housing choice. They also highlight how Democrats need to get more serious about economic justice to fully commit to poverty abolitionism.
#2 - Wendi McLendon-Covey
Season 30 - Episode 26 - Aired 2/25/2025
Desi Lydic tackles Trump's continued defense of Russia to Fox News's dismay and his captivation with Emmanuel Macron's accent, despite the French president's attempts to sway him. Desi Lydic dives into the recent failures of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, including the "DOGE ultimatum" issued to federal workers via email. Plus, as government workers protest, Michael Kosta unpacks the symbolism in an AI-generated video circulating of Trump and, uh, Musk's toes. Actor Wendi McLendon-Covey joins Desi Lydic to discuss how her improv background prepared her for a career in comedy and the improvised sitcom pilot they worked on together years ago that led to a misguided boat purchase. McLendon-Covey also talks about the increased appreciation for healthcare workers she's gained from playing a hospital administrator on the new NBC show "St. Denis Medical," and the next fake profession she'd like to play.
#3 - John Mulaney
Season 30 - Episode 77 - Aired 6/16/2025
Jon Stewart breaks down Netanyahu's "urgent" strike on Iran's nuclear program, MAGA's sustained focus on battling protesters and immigrants in Democratic cities, and how Trump's unattended parade of weaponry explains America's muted response to the Minnesota assassination. "This isn't the most important message you'll hear tonight, but everyone should fight three teenagers once a year." John Mulaney, actor, writer, comedian, and host of the Netflix show "Everybody's Live," fought three 14-year-old boys on the finale of his talk show and lived to tell Jon Stewart the tale. They get deep into fighting strategies, masculinity, father-son competition, the guy who threw his shoes at George W. Bush, and more. Plus, a game of Daily Show Interview Guest Jeopardy.
#4 - Katherine Maher
Season 30 - Episode 54 - Aired 4/29/2025
On Trump's official second 100th day in office, Jordan Klepper delves into his lack of follow-through, including the division he's sown, his back-and-forth on tariffs and firings, and taunting Canada until they elected a liberal prime minister. Trump let Elon Musk take a chainsaw to the federal workforce in order to save taxpayers money, but after hearing from some of the government employees who lost their jobs, Desi Lydic is starting to think the real waste, fraud, and abuse was living inside DOGE this whole time. "We know that the existence of local news, and public radio in particular, contributes to lower rates of polarization, higher rates of civic engagement, and higher rates of civic trust." NPR CEO Katherine Maher joins Jordan Klepper to stress the important functions of public media that are under threat from the Trump administration, especially educational children's programming and local reporting in rural areas where public radio is often the only source for local news.
#5 - Jeff Hiller
Season 30 - Episode 76 - Aired 6/12/2025
Desi Lydic tackles Elon Musk's vague apology to Trump, RFK Jr. putting his conspiracy buddies in charge at the CDC, and Tulsi Gabbard getting AI to do the FBI's homework. Plus, Trump celebrated deploying the military on Angelenos with tickets to "Les Misérables," so Jordan Klepper, Michael Kosta, and Josh Johnson debate whether the president is a Jean Valjean or a Javert. Stephen A. Smith is the King of Takes, but how did he begin his reign? From the Fashion Institute of Technology to Winston-Salem State University, Smith went from the basketball court to print media, ensuring that everyone knew he had all the best takes. After getting a job at ESPN, Smith taught everyone the difference between talking s**t and taking s**t. Actor, writer, and comedian Jeff Hiller sits down with Desi Lydic to discuss his new memoir, "Actress of a Certain Age."
#6 - Atsuko Okatsuka
Season 30 - Episode 75 - Aired 6/11/2025
Desi Lydic tackles Trump's politicized Fort Bragg rally, which screened soldiers for loyalty and waist size. Plus, Trump plans a $45 million military parade for his birthday, and Ronny Chieng is pumped to sit courtside at a display of America's military might. Corporate America has been suspiciously quiet this Pride Month due to fear of backlash from the Trump administration. Desi Lydic and Troy Iwata discuss the current muted tones of Pride Month, and how the corporations will have to prove themselves when the pendulum swings back to the gays. Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka talks to Desi Lydic about her new Hulu stand-up special, "Father," including how her lack of housework partly inspired the title, as well as the intentional juxtaposition of her colorful clothes and set with the deeply personal stories she mines for levity.
#7 - Bryan Cranston
Season 30 - Episode 74 - Aired 6/10/2025
Desi Lydic has the latest updates from the L.A. ICE protests, including Trump's outsized military deployment to the city, which defies both California Governor Gavin Newsom and the... "P***y Comitatus Act"? Plus, one soldier sends a letter home from the frontlines of the L.A. war. Where does the public stand on Trump vs. Elon? Grace Kuhlenschmidt and Josh Johnson head out to ask New Yorkers to pick: Team Douche or Team Pedophile? Bryan Cranston joins Desi Lydic to discuss his new movie, "Everything's Going To Be Great," and a busy year of work, including his third film with Wes Anderson and playing a hilarious exec on "The Studio." He shares how he navigates portraying vastly different characters, why he had to really sell himself to get the role of Walter White, and his passion for live theater.
#8 - Stephen A. Smith
Season 30 - Episode 73 - Aired 6/9/2025
Jon Stewart examines chaos in the MAGA-verse, as escalating ICE raids in Los Angeles erupt in protests, Stephen Miller hunts for nonviolent immigrants, Elon plays the Epstein card on Trump, and the Trump-Elon alpha male war reveals itself as a sensitive baby feud. "I want to be a major player in terms of a voice and a conduit for change. I want to make sure that people know that the BS has got to stop." Stephen A. Smith, bestselling author & host of "The Stephen A. Smith Show," sits down with Jon Stewart to discuss why he would rather be a hellraiser than an elected official, how politicians have divided and contributed to the demise of this country, and why the messenger matters in politics.
#9 - Jonathan D. Cohen
Season 30 - Episode 72 - Aired 6/5/2025
Michael Kosta unpacks the latest in Musk and Trump's messy bromance breakup: Elon doubling down on critiques against the Big Beautiful Bill, Trump's parent-level guilt, Kanye West calling for a ceasefire, and threats of an Epstein files leak. Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt explains that the president is merely playing a game of 7D chess. Students and teachers alike are outsourcing all their work to AI, but Lewis Black thinks kids should stop experimenting with AI in college and go back to experimenting with fun things, like LSD. Jonathan D. Cohen, historian and author of the new book, "Losing Big: America's Bet on Sports Gambling," joins Michael Kosta to break down how legalized sports betting has become such a huge part of American sports culture, industry, and has created a public health gambling addiction crisis, especially among young men.
#10 - Leah Litman
Season 30 - Episode 71 - Aired 6/4/2025
Michael Kosta dives into the fallout of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill: Elon slamming the "sprawling spending bill" and turning on Trump, Democrats backing Elon's criticisms, and Marjorie Taylor Greene revealing she never read it in the first place. Plus, the Big Beautiful Bill (Troy Iwata) claps back at all the new haters. The Trump administration has pushed out legacy media outlets from the White House press room in favor of more conspiratorial right-wing "new media" figures like Tim Pool: a conservative YouTuber and podcaster passionate about stroking Trump's ego and delivering truthful reporting sponsored by Russian interests. "The next several decades might look like a ‘Hunger Games' for liberal constitutional democracy." University of Michigan Law professor and "Strict Scrutiny" co-host Leah Litman joins Michael Kosta to discuss her New York Times bestseller, "Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes."
#11 - Candace Parker
Season 30 - Episode 70 - Aired 6/3/2025
Michael Kosta unpacks Elon Musk calling Trump's Big Beautiful Bill a "disgusting abomination," the head of FEMA learning there's a hurricane season, Social Security chief Frank Bisignano googling "social security," and Tulsi Gabbard's Fox News-style intelligence briefing makeover. For those airline customers nervous that diverse pilots aren't qualified for their jobs, White Flight's racial support pilots can put their minds at ease. Let a white male stand-in reassure passengers that their plane won't crash from DEI, while the actual pilots do all the work behind the scenes. "I would challenge anyone to love the game of basketball more than me." Candace Parker, three-time WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist, joins Michael Kosta to discuss her new book, "The Can-Do Mindset."
#12 - Carole Cadwalladr
Season 30 - Episode 69 - Aired 6/2/2025
Jon Stewart tracks Elon Musk's White House crash, from the high of being Trump's "first buddy" to the low of his black-eyed DOGE send-off. Now that the 100-day honeymoon is over, Jon also checks in on Trump's other struggling cabinet members, like the FBI's burned-out deputy director, Dan Bongino. "I think what is happening in America is they are building a techno-authoritarian surveillance state." Carole Cadwalladr, the award-winning journalist behind the Substack newsletter "How to Survive the Broligarchy," talks to Jon Stewart about how the U.S. government ignored the huge wake-up call that was the Cambridge Analytica-Facebook data breach scandal – a story Cadwalladr broke and which resulted in no legislative protections for citizens' private data. She warns about the unregulated dangers that data-mining and AI pose to individual privacy and freedom, and what people and institutions can do to push back on big tech's authoritarian agenda.
#13 - Dawn Staley
Season 30 - Episode 68 - Aired 5/22/2025
Ronny Chieng covers the House passing Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," trading Medicaid, food stamps, and the national debt for a waiver on silencer registration fees. Plus, the Big Beautiful Bill (Troy Iwata) can't handle the Democrats' poetic attack on his looks. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is asking undocumented migrants to self-deport for a $1000 stipend, and Al Madrigal is taking her up on the offer. He tells Ronny Chieng how he's living large in South Sudan, the DHS's new favorite war-torn dumping ground. Dawn Staley, basketball legend and head coach of the University of South Carolina women's basketball team, talks to Ronny Chieng about her new memoir, "Uncommon Favor," and how she's built a championship program by valuing individuals over analytics and meeting her players where they are.
#14 - Simon Pegg
Season 30 - Episode 67 - Aired 5/21/2025
Ronny Chieng tackles the president of South Africa's uncomfortable White House visit and a MAGA couple shortchanged by a "RUMP" watch. Plus, Trump sets his heart on a $542 billion "golden dome" to protect America from hypothetical attacks, including those provoked by international roast comic Grace Kuhlenschmidt. Charlamagne Tha God looks at Republicans' obsession with Trump as a father figure and reminds them that not only is Trump a bad dad to his own kids, he's an abusive dad to Americans. Screenwriter, comedian, and actor Simon Pegg joins Ronny Chieng to discuss the final installment of the legendary franchise, "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning." They talk about Pegg's humble beginnings doing standup with his goldfish, how "Mission: Impossible" Director Christopher McQuarrie weaved earlier films into the franchise's ending, the power of movie theaters to unite people in experiences, and Tom Cruise's comedic timing while performing epic live-action stunts.
#15 - Prabal Gurung
Season 30 - Episode 66 - Aired 5/20/2025
Ronny Chieng covers Trump's cabinet cracking under pressure, from Kristi Noem drawing a blank on habeas corpus, immigration getting the Bravo treatment, Kash Patel and Dan Bongino flip-flopping on Jeffrey Epstein's "suicide," and Sean Duffy finding an air travel solution in a Jesus painting. Ronny Chieng and Michael Kosta go head to head over NYC's street-wide Knicks celebration, the Dodgers' new Japanese pitcher's bathroom requests, and Bill Belichick spending the rest of his life with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson, in the latest edition of Sports War. Prabal Gurung, award-winning fashion designer and author of the new memoir "Walk Like a Girl," describes to Ronny Chieng how his rise through the fashion world of New York began with the support of his family in Nepal, especially his mother.
#16 - Patrick McGee
Season 30 - Episode 65 - Aired 5/19/2025
Jon Stewart critiques the media spin on Joe Biden's cancer diagnosis, from CNN's shameless promotion of Jake Tapper's book to Fox News's "but"-tainted sympathies. ward-winning journalist Patrick McGee joins Jon Stewart to discuss how Apple built China in his new book "Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company." They talk about Apple "sleepwalking" into this crisis, building a competitive market in Xi Jinping's authoritarian state, the vocational training that boosted rivals, how Trump's attempted Apple boycott backfired, and whether investments may be facilitating the annexation of Taiwan.
#17 - Rep. Jake Auchincloss
Season 30 - Episode 64 - Aired 5/15/2025
Jordan Klepper recaps Trump's visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he was greeted by a lackluster hair dance ceremony, serenaded a Qatari military base with Lee Greenwood, and twisted discussions about drones into a ramble about Sean Duffy and Pete Buttigieg's bicycle. Plus, as his Middle Eastern tour comes to an end, Josh Johnson analyzes whether the president accomplished anything. Ronny Chieng tests out effective altruism by joining the Shrimp Welfare Project to ascertain if sparing shrimp from anxiety and painful death is a productive way to be philanthropic. "If we're going to govern from a place of trust with the American people, we have to show people what we are for, not just what we are against." Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss joins Jordan Klepper to unpack his recent 27-hour markup session of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
#18 - Colum McCann
Season 30 - Episode 63 - Aired 5/14/2025
Jordan Klepper covers Trump's lavish welcome in Qatar and lifting of Syrian sanctions, while RFK Jr. lands himself in muddy waters over swimming in a contaminated creek. Plus, Grace Kuhlenschmidt and Troy Iwata fight over investigating Trump's $400 million jet vs. the sewage-tainted Rock Creek. The Trump administration is full of corruption, bigotry, and incompetence, but there's one thing about them that Leslie Jones hates the most: They're f**king GOOFY! She breaks down how Elon's dad jokes, RFK Jr.'s sewage-swimming, and everything about JD Vance are only Making America Goofy Asses. Colum McCann, National Book Award-winning author, sits down with Jordan Klepper to discuss his latest novel, "Twist," which follows the people who fix the underwater cables that carry the world's digital information at the extreme depths of the ocean.
#19 - Matt Wolf
Season 30 - Episode 62 - Aired 5/13/2025
Jordan Klepper breaks down day one of Saudi Arabia's effort to buy Trump's affection: Arabian horses, a McDonald's food truck, some business deals, and a mid-meeting nap. Plus, Michael Kosta is so taken by the Saudis' lavish welcome he almost forgets about their oppression and orchestration of 9/11. Trump's 2024 campaign blitz through right-wing podcasters and influencers bought him a big win among young male voters, so Jordan Klepper sat down with liberal darling and Twitch streamer Hasan Piker to better understand how the Left can find a bridge into bro culture, and how easily men are sucked into the manosphere by social media algorithms. Award-winning filmmaker Matt Wolf sits down with Jordan Klepper to discuss his new two-part HBO documentary, "Pee-Wee as Himself," which tells the story of the late comedian Paul Reubens in his own words.
#20 - Gen. Stanley McChrystal
Season 30 - Episode 61 - Aired 5/12/2025
After Trump teased an upcoming "big announcement" last week, Jon Stewart contemplates what news Americans are supposed to be so psyched for: the possible suspension of due process, Trump's appointment of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro as D.C. district attorney, Qatar's $400 million luxury jet "gift" for Trump, or lower prices on the "fat shot drug"? "Our character is the essential identity of us as people and us as a nation, and we've let it erode." Retired four-star general who served 34 years in the U.S. Army, General Stanley McChrystal, sits down with Jon Stewart to discuss his book "On Character: Choices that Define a Life." They talk about leading a national conversation on character, employing empathy in war to negotiate with ideological warriors and mercenaries, what upset him most about Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth's Signal chat leak, and how his wife taught him to live "with no use for the rear view mirror."
#21 - Michelle Buteau
Season 30 - Episode 60 - Aired 5/8/2025
Desi Lydic has the latest from the Vatican after the announcement of the first American pope, Leo XIV, including the world's reaction to a Chicago-style pope and Fox News immediately yelling at him to speak English. Plus, Michael Kosta celebrates America's conclave win. Following Trump's ban on transgender people in the military, Jordan Klepper met with a panel of esteemed service members to discuss the president's rejection of their qualifications, which stand in stark contrast to Trump's own bone spur excuses. "It is not only the New York that I live in, but it's also the America that I want to live in." Comedian, writer, and actor Michelle Buteau sits down with Desi Lydic to share how the Netflix series that she created and stars in, "Survival of the Thickest," began as a book of essays written just after her twins were born.
#22 - John Green
Season 30 - Episode 59 - Aired 5/7/2025
Desi Lydic dives into Trump's ominous "big announcement," the president renames the Persian Gulf, another US fighter jet falls off an aircraft carrier, and kids swap tariff-priced Barbies for the promise of economic freedom. In honor of the conclave, Lewis Black sounds off on the Vatican's mysterious process to select a new pope, including this year's parlay options, the surprising number of cardinals taking lessons from the Oscar-nominated "Conclave" film, and the merch being sold to incompetent tourists. "This is the middle of the story, not the end of the story, and it falls on us to write a better end." John Green, an award-winning author and global healthcare reform advocate, sits down with Desi Lydic to discuss his No. 1 New York Times bestseller, "Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection."
#23 - Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach & Amanda Doyle
Season 30 - Episode 58 - Aired 5/6/2025
Desi Lydic recaps Trump's oblivious reaction to getting friend-zoned by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and prepares for a summer of s***ty air travel as the Real ID deadline approaches and Newark Airport spirals into more chaos. Ronny Chieng breaks down how AI chatbot romances aren't as stupid as you might guess; they're stupid in some surprising ways, too. "This is not a time for self-help but for collective wisdom, where we learn from each other." "We Can Do Hard Things" podcast hosts Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach, and Amanda Doyle sit down with Desi Lydic to discuss their new guidebook "We Can Do Hard Things: Answers to Life's 20 Questions." They share the experience of living life "off the menu" by deviating from regulated paths, cultivating an ordinary life at home to make room for extraordinary moments, sharing a breast cancer diagnosis to stop gatekeeping information on women's bodies, and finding a lane of activism to shift our perspective in grim political times.
#24 - Rutger Bregman
Season 30 - Episode 57 - Aired 5/5/2025
Jon Stewart sorts Trump's latest barrage of bulls**t into the "OK" and "NOT OK" piles, including telling kids to cut down on dolls and pencils, calling for Alcatraz to reopen, posting AI-generated images of himself as the Pope, and shrugging off the Constitution. Historian and best-selling author Rutger Bregman joins Jon Stewart to unpack his latest book, "Moral Ambition," which is a call to action for people, especially those with education and privilege, to devote their talent and resources to careers and causes that make the world a better place. He describes how the political left has often made the mistake of placing moral purity above political relevance, and what they can learn from conservatives about building small movements into a larger, results-oriented coalition.
#25 - Elissa Slotkin
Season 30 - Episode 56 - Aired 5/1/2025
Michael Kosta continues TDS coverage of Trump's 100th day in office with reports from NewsNation's town hall, where the president racially slighted Stephen A. Smith, as well as details on Mike Waltz's exit and subsequent United Nations promotion, and Pam Bondi's ridiculous claims about fentanyl deaths. With anxiety-inducing news cycles and Trump Derangement Syndrome on the rise, it's easy to feel helpless with the current administration. But in these times of despair and uncertainty, the Hang In There poster will take all your Trump-related anxieties away! The perfect comforting distraction in these disturbing political times. "We don't have the right to tune out when previous generations fought and fought and fought." Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, the youngest Democratic female serving in the U.S. Senate, joins Michael Kosta to share her perspective on the current state of national security and the Democratic agenda moving forward.