S1 E2: The Death Penalty, Brunei & Ukraine: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Season 1, Episode 2, May 4th, 2014. Revisit the first time John Oliver explored the death penalty, the first time he covered Vladimir Putin and Ukraine, and the only time he talked about the Sultan of Brunei.
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[@bbmanguy610]

Somehow the Ukraine bit hits just as hard in 2024

[@clarapilier]

I know, this is a shame.

[@catrasredemption6981]

Me, listening to John talk about Ukraine and Russia: This aged poorly. Or really well. It's hard to tell

[@Gx75]

I'd argue that it hits even harder

[@guzmas31]

This aged poorly, seems like he was asking for war to have started 10 years ago

[@kohx_io]

I thought it was new :/

[@dragontalon9158]

I can't believe he actually showed us where Brunei was and didn't even trick us that that wasn't actually Brunei! He was so serious back then

[@kehlcassidy9562]

Omg, I know right! I was WAITING FOR IT... And, nothing.

[@Forrealnow09]

Lmao facts!

[@VideoPir]

Joke's on you. That's not where it is!

[@cakeoverload]

What episode did he do that trick plz? I can't remember

[@forgiveman]

We will see the evolution on John Oliver here.

[@JJOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH]

Crazy to think this was recorded I assume over 30 years ago based on how old John looks now.

[@aaronzimny8201]

Ouch. I mean, true, but ouchie nonetheless.

[@Rikku147]

It's rough out here

[@jessram5831]

Lmfaoo 😂

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

Hahaha

[@Primalxbeast]

And I was trying to decide if it would be too mean to say it was 15 years ago...

[@quintus920]

I am shocked beyond words that he showed Brunei on a map and there was no fake out.

[@kresimirbozic1976]

Yea, they were so serious back then

[@brandondesouza8471]

It’s too unbelievable, that 10 years ago, we were still talking about problems with Ukraine and Russia.

[@JamesRockefeller45]

It would be way more unbelievable if there wasn't. Looking at human history war and countries coming and going is the norm.

[@sciencehistoryandentertain734]

Since we really did nothing for Russian stealing land...Gee i wonder why they continued...

[@michaelbean9165]

and Israel and the Arabs

[@belelokai3328]

Well it all began in 2014.

[@autohmae]

Seems to me people underestimate how long a war usually lasts and how much directly related history their usually is before a war and after.

[@Dysiode]

Wow, the fact the first story is still relevant TODAY is... truly upsetting

[@rodolfolazo7638]

20:15 "Is located here in the island of Borneo" Lowkey was expecting him to say "Except that is not Brunei. This is Brunei".

[@Sakomi_Arorim]

John Oliver really has caused us all to doubt any location or person to be that location or person on the first image shown

[@denverarnold6210]

​@@Sakomi_Arorimincluding, but not limited to, planets.

[@michaelhughes9553]

Dear past, Enjoy. It gets worse. -the future.

[@autoimmunitycurse]

Dear future, History repeats. Regards, The past

[@markalbert9011]

if you think it's bad now, wait until 2040

[@abebishop9528]

I was really confused by the Ukraine thing but then I realized and was just deeply saddened

[@NatalieNirian]

John, I don't know who's soul you had to sell to get these old episodes uploaded, but having access to your back catalog is incredibly important to me. Thank you.

[@chaostheory613]

It's like helping an old friend dig up painful memories

[@insomnyuk]

I didn't realize Professor Duncan has his own show.

[@clarapilier]

He has moved far since he left Greendale.

[@OddOneOut665]

If he doesn't Cameo in the Community Movie, we riot.

[@stebopign]

@@OddOneOut665 Oh yes we do.

[@MahkyVmedia1]

You're streets behind

[@sammyjohnson5596]

I really wish they had him in more episodes, I thought he was great but he stopped showing up pretty early on. Oh well

[@SnoFitzroy]

"Or, as it might be called by the time you're watching this, western Russia." They weren't kidding with that trailer, some things really haven't changed lmao

[@Justice4ALL.120]

Thank God for John Oliver. I am too ill to sleep, doctors where I live are no help, but Mr. Oliver makes me smile anyway

[@oghash4912]

Sorry to hear that🫶

[@semievilsquirrel]

I hope by the time you see this, you are feeling better.

[@Justice4ALL.120]

@@semievilsquirrel Thank you so much for caring

[@Justice4ALL.120]

@@oghash4912 Thanks so much

[@b1646717]

We have aged this man

[@annelynn8708]

I think he has aged beautifully.

[@mickcollins1921]

@@annelynn8708 I think you shouldn't be allowed to drive a motorized vehicle without serious external aids to whatever level of vision you were relying on to make that assessment.

[@yourmomsaccount69]

​@@mickcollins1921i agree with Ann!!❤

[@kamjohnson6877]

@@mickcollins1921I agree John Oliver is a national treasure and has aged amazing

[@twaggytheatricks4960]

@@mickcollins1921 Your sentence is so absolutely tremendous that I'm not even mad. I can simply accept your opinion, give you a thumbs-up, and appreciate your verbal craftsmanship. Jeez, you made my day. (Now, I don't think he aged perfectly at all, but I certainly don't think he aged _badly._ Don't worry, I only say this because I've seen, like, way worse.)

[@bco0t6]

This episode could’ve been from this past week and I wouldn’t be able to tell if it wasn’t for John’s long gone exuberance lol

[@jacobjohnson8686]

Whole episodes are being uploaded now?? Awesome! 😄 We've been needing these!

[@Starwarsconnoisseur]

Only season 1 episodes

[@orangeVSappel]

From 10 years ago

[@Primalxbeast]

It's an episode from around 10 years ago.

[@MysteryMii]

@@StarwarsconnoisseurSeasons 2 through 8 will be uploaded during upcoming off weeks. The next time the show is off is May 26th, so that should be when season 2 is uploaded.

[@jacobjohnson8686]

To everyone pointing out that it's not all of them: I'm just happy we get to see any full episodes now, haha!

[@user-rt4zb8xp8b]

10yrs later [air date 04MAY2014] and still hard hitting today...

[@The_Chocolate_One]

The fact that John Oliver’s hair has gone from jet black to salt and pepper is so wild! Time truly is a crazy concept because there’s no way you can tell me that this John Oliver and the one we have now are the same gentleman.

[@lenaeospeixinhos]

The news makes the hair go grey

[@yourmomsaccount69]

TBF i have the same hair color as Jon and i have been greying at the same rate. 😬

[@Lonelywillow]

To be fair, John was only in his late 30s there, now he's nearing 50.

[@DrakiniteOfficial]

I love that John has been banging on the desk in the intro since the very beginning of the show.

[@FireStormOOO_]

Guys you really need to post the original air date on re-runs

[@JJ21210]

Or, you could spend 4 seconds googling for a list of LWT eps. Use your damm brain, or else it will turn to mush -- and more mush-brained morons is this last thing this troubled world needs. Btw, guy, you really need to use punctuation.

[@alskfjsjskallaal]

it's in the description

[@Tinyvalkyrie410]

It does say season one. That seems like enough to me, and the date is in the description. If people don’t read season 1, I doubt they will read a date any better

[@FireStormOOO_]

@@Tinyvalkyrie410 It does now, which is great! Who says complaining never fixes anything. They originally just had the title without the season or air date.

[@smth.something]

Thank you for posting these for those outside of US, John! 😍

[@ingridcastro-campos4912]

I find the writing consistently tasteful, and reality then and now as absurb as it gets! Humor is definitely a helpful mechanism to cope with it all. Thanks for your delivery, John.

[@criticolehits5766]

I remember watching this back in 2012. My kid was an infant and i was still awake late to watch every Sunday. Now i just catch the uploads here on KZbin. Weird how little has changed in all this time... Sad, really.

[@Max-zg2ci]

History does indeed repeat itself…like a time capsule for the news pundits of the time too. Didnt realize how much they have changed until seeing those clips

[@BladeZero238]

Or haven't changed, as one can make the case for.

[@benwasserman8223]

It is quite sad that we're still dealing with these problems a decade later, but with even crazier politicians than before.

[@luisaferreira5564]

Offtopic: the GOT intro still plays in my head after the HBO sound.

[@ToutCQJM]

For me it’s Sex and the City.

[@the.ricki.t]

True Blood, here

[@stevdor6146]

Timeless . It took until the 'may the 4th' bit to realize this was a past episode

[@bm2015lol1]

Not the hair? The jet black hair didn't throw you off for a sec? 😂

[@sajanifernando848]

What a joy it is to watch John Oliver's full episodes from the beginning! Especially as someone from Asia. John Oliver is a treasure. A lot of love to John and his incredible team for giving us these episodes!

[@rjb227s]

Look at that young pup

[@damion2312]

Time is a flat circle, last week tonight will be next week tonight too.

[@Mantinhas]

It's not just John's looks that aged about 30 years, his cadence sounds a lot more fluid and unrestrained in this clip.

[@markfrankenberry2440]

Holy sh*t you look young!! This is like seeing a photo of myself from 15 years ago and I have a panic attack thinking about how fast time moves lol

[@Elizabeth-tq7qw]

Damn. The deeply needed truth-telling that John provides looks like it ages a person as much as the presidency.

[@madsringswaldegan1058]

I got three and a half minutes into this before realizing it wasn’t current

[@xero_chance818]

Fuck yes. Thank you LastWeekTonight.

[@SyntheticFuture]

Could use the "first aired on" dates in the description. Great to see these being uploaded though. And a bit sad that... Like always.... Nothing has changed.

[@blobzombie]

Seeing Temu Milhouse age the way he has over all these seasons is living proof of what constant existential dread can do to you. Huge thanks to John and HBO for releasing season one for free!

[@davidbodor1762]

OMFG I was NOT ready for the opening bit on Ukraine, this is brutal in retrospect.

[@w4439]

Its surreal seeing rewatching these events 10 years later

[@Zalzany]

Not really. wars last long ass times. I mean we had troops in Iraq longer then Putin has in Ukraine. I mean shit I servered under George W Bush and got out in 07 from army the war officially ended in 2022, and most people don't even know that sigh.

[@leadpaintchips9461]

@@Zalzany It's not just the war in Ukraine. The death penalty debate, the White House press blowing themselves over how good at their job they are, and countries ignoring rules that are supposedly in place for humanitarian reasons because they're too resource wealthy and/or strategically important to give a shit about petty things like rules.

[@johnbrouillet988]

Oliver’s Texan accent is amazing and needs to be brought back more often 😂

[@pevvyndrake]

Yeah this is definitely an upload that shows the actual stress effect on a human being constantly being exposed to this level of tragic truth. He looks worlds away now from then and the subject matter of overall world health is the ultimate contributor

[@yourbestpallshawn4139]

I remember watching this exact episode with my dad back in the day.

[@MalyJohn3]

Wow. I did not imagine it was this good this early. This could be tomorrow's show and I would not notice.

[@LittleCoyot]

I will watch these every night while I sleep 🎉

[@KawaiiGonJinn]

Y'all should add the original air date to the description (unless I missed it, in which case thanks for doing that)

[@JJ21210]

Y'all should spend 4 seconds googling for a list of LWT eps/air dates. If you don't use your brain, it will turn to mush -- and too many mush-brains are why the world is such a mess. Don't be one.

[@immortalsun]

We out here getting every full episode for free! Thanks, lads!

[@carlosvaliente6114]

I don’t think before today John has ever uploaded more than two videos in one day now he has uploaded 24 in one hour

[@brainflash1]

I could've sworn John Oliver had hosted the White House Correspondents Dinner at some point since this was recorded.

[@Heathcoatman]

He didnt. Other Daily Show alum have, like John Stewart, Larry Wilmore and Trevor Noah. Oliver never has.

[@frodobaggins1487]

Hamster eating burrito is at 17:07

[@Fanouriou]

This gives me chills how much John warned us 10 years ago and how little we reacted!

[@desireec2836]

it’s so wild how far he’s come on his delivery!

[@nathandrake5544]

Wow when this aired I just finished high school...time flies

[@Mr1930s]

The death penalty segment is the first segment I've watched of Last Week Tonight

[@yourmomsaccount69]

Oooooh your in for a TREAT!!!

[@rhymeswithsomethingy4766]

Back when Harry Potter filled in for John Oliver.. just magic 😀

[@thegoodpimps]

John Oliver was Originally in the Beatles before he Attended Hogwarts

[@shawnathon60]

Even his reruns are way better than anything on TV now!

[@kangarooswild]

full episodes woohoo🥳 thank you John Oliver🎉

[@orangeVSappel]

From 10 years ago

[@wof8317]

​@@orangeVSappel better than nothing.

[@Crowexza]

30 seconds ago is crazy

[@bestieswithtesties]

cringe

[@Dysiode]

A person after my own heart

[@shazbazzy]

Your moms throat game is crazy

[@jwishin]

@@shazbazzyayyyyyyy

[@yourmomsaccount69]

​@@shazbazzy thanks.

[@TimGGleason]

Hah I remember watching this with my friends in the dorm room. Feels like a lifetime ago but he’s still hitting it out of the park with each episode

[@ProjectileGrommet]

Who’s gonna tell Jon Stewart that John Oliver is leaving the daily show?

[@EdibleFriend05]

Ahhh, the before times. What a time to be alive. That Ukrane segment at the start has aged beautifully

[@FanofHarper]

Who else presses like button at the very start of each episode?

[@thenextprodigy815]

The fact that I'm so desensitized to John Oliver that I was like "hell yeah, death penalty! Let's talk about it!" and that I didn't even need the hamster... Says a lot

[@vanessawhitneypro]

Thank You, John & Crew! Always.

[@jdad3032]

Great episode🎉 Thanks for always keeping it informative, humourous and sassy!

[@mila3483]

Damn, this show was perfect right out of the gate!

[@nepenthe4929]

Nothing is so cathartic and hilarious! This show is the best. Thank you, Last Week Tonight team, for always delivering such insightful and entertaining content!

[@boburanus69]

Relevance... Wow. From his second episode ever. Wow. +1

[@yourmomsaccount69]

+2 at least!

[@BionicGinger]

Did anyone else see this pop up while scrolling at 4am and briefly panic that they’d just dreamed, or perhaps hallucinated, the entire last ten years?

[@badger297]

Thank ypu guys for releasing these. I watch every week, but its nice to see the whole episodes on here.

[@JohnnyMuffintop]

Appreciate the back catalog, would request you include the original airdate in the description though.

[@Trentmandreas]

this seems like a great show I wonder if itll take off

[@maijaliimatta296]

Yes! So much John Oliver!!

[@SetiSupreme]

Haha, we, the country of the lesbian weddings and pastries thank thee for thy offering 😁

[@RyanMorey1]

Once again I am begging you to put air dates on these

[@Mijzelffan]

Look at the young John, so full of life and luster

[@Kami-mk7tu]

The worst thing about the death penalty segment is that that hamster is most likely dead by now

[@jonathanrich9281]

That Ukraine bit aged *perfectly.* I wonder if John had any idea how much of a success his show would become…

[@Briank1022]

I absolutely love this show. Every episode.

[@TheBenMJones]

Would love it if somewhere in the video titles or descriptions there was an original air date listed, would be useful context

[@rebeccalotto8001]

i thought john dyed his hair back to pre-pandemic colors but turns out this is ollllllllllllllllllllllllllllllld content

[@Tinyvalkyrie410]

And had his veneers removed?

[@R_C420]

Said uploaded 3 hrs ago but I read 30 years ago.

[@samnolastname7818]

This opening brought me right back to college, good vibes despite the topic 😊

[@meganjohnson9540]

Yay hamster burrito! I did not know that was a thing. Thanks! ❤

[@rahulraghu4928]

It’s crazy how much of this is still relevant today

[@johnchessant3012]

S1 E2 (aired May 4, 2014)

[@bananachocopie]

With the first story I thought this was a new episode and then damn I saw how young John looks

[@bikramchhetri6762]

I had to watch it on unofficial account for thia full clip. And after 100s years you uploaded it.

[@sevenkpink2894]

Man really went through it

[@MatterSpatter]

John Oliver the time-line

[@NerdWasi]

Thank you John.

[@tysonweissenfluh-wilson4262]

I didn’t know they dropped all of season 1 at the same time. I have so much to watch now! Yay

[@richardfrostell9395]

Maybe I'm missing it but could the original air date be listed?

[@Eisaku2]

Just throwing this out there, but in 2010 Poland's President and most of the country's important figures all died in a plane crash. Four years later Russia annexed Crimea, and now here we are with a brutal war in Ukraine. Last year Wagner group's commander and top staff all died in a plane crash. Man's trying to make up for those post-WWII losses

[@johnmahoney4841]

John as a baby. So delectable

[@justkeepgoing2657]

Thank you, John

[@dmitrinatachu6022]

LETS GO

[@AdamApplebaum]

Wow did this just become a free episode of the full show?

[@Primalxbeast]

A full episode of Last Decade Tonight.

[@Remitonov]

@@Primalxbeast A full season's worth of Last Decade Tonight, too, with more full episodes from past seasons to be released.

[@yourmomsaccount69]

Because HBO. Thats why.

[@juanlopez-qd1yh]

this hits crazy hard on 2024

[@paranormal_anonymous]

"It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer" -William Blackstone

[@tristanflynn4014]

I'd rather let a thousand guilty men go free than chase after them. - Chief Wiggum

[@LetumComplexo]

Wow, his hair is so... brown...