Standardized Testing
American students face a ridiculous amount of testing. John Oliver explains how standardized tests impact school funding, the achievement gap and how often the kids are expected to throw up while taking one.
More from Season 2
Episode 1
Marketing to Doctors
John Oliver discusses the growing issues of pharmaceutical companies marketing directly to and through doctors. Also, since RadioShack has filed for bankruptcy, John has created a farewell message for them. Plus, the online sessions by Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa to address the public aren't going too well.
Episode 2
Tobacco
Thanks to tobacco industry regulations and marketing restrictions in the U.S., smoking rates have dropped dramatically. John Oliver explains how tobacco companies are keeping their business strong overseas and how Phillip Morris International in particular is employing some unethical legal practices while suing some of the world's poorest countries. Plus, we've noticed that the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue still exists but can’t quite figure out why.
Episode 3
Elected Judges
The vast majority of US judges are elected, forcing many judges to pander to the electorate and accept campaign money in order to keep their jobs. This seems slightly troubling... The UK's Labour Party has painted a campaign van pink in an attempt to attract women voters. We are glad they didn't keep going with that strategy.
Episode 4
Infrastructure
America's crumbling infrastructure: It's not a sexy problem, but it is a scary one.
Episode 5
U.S. Territories
A set of Supreme Court decisions made over 100 years ago has left U.S. territories without meaningful representation. That’s weird, right? Plus, daylight saving time doesn’t actually benefit anyone. Strangely, it’s still a thing!
Episode 6
The NCAA
The NCAA doesn’t pay athletes because they consider them amateurs. The NCAA considers them amateurs because they don’t get paid.
