S1 E21: Translators, Supreme Court & Ebola: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Season 1, Episode 21, October 19th, 2014. Revisit the beginning of the all-dog Supreme Court. Plus a deep dive on translators, the great US Ebola panic of 2014, an update on Vladimir Putin, and our response to a unique McDonald's ad.
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[@e.enriquez4589]

I’m glad we were able to learn from the Ebola outbreak and avoided any possible pandemics in the future

[@publicuser2534]

I am sure Ebola would have been way worse if Obama was out and trump was in. Obama was level-headed and listened to the experts. trump on the other hand followed his own playbook and ridiculed and turned the public against the experts.

[@GratitudeDay]

*slow clap* 😂

[@evelina733]

Good🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@fleur9251]

the pain is real

[@Caribbean_King]

Let's not forget the spitting in mouths rant from John. Hey, John. They'll charge you for assault buddy! 😅 #covid

[@John_Austin]

Fun fact: Nina Pham survived and eventually sued the hospital for not providing her with the proper PPE to keep her safe. The lawsuit was settled out of court.

[@ArtGirl82]

Maybe as part of the settlement, she really did get to cough Ebola into a hospital administrators face... 🤔

[@Kingbimmy]

That’s really very comforting to know hat she made it. Bless 🥹🙏🏻❤️

[@TheSkubna]

John looks so youthful, and painfully British.

[@SirEvilestDeath]

Yet none of that has changed in 10 years…

[@Dave_of_Mordor]

​@@SirEvilestDeath Nah dude. He looks soooooo much older now. It almost like I'm looking at my grandpa

[@Ray_Cism]

@@Dave_of_Mordorhe got the obama treatment

[@Brian-bd5vb]

So very painfully British. (Love you, John)

[@mixstardust429]

Unlike now, where the only difference is that he's older

[@coreycruz2542]

Went to google what happened to the translators - "It's estimated as many as 300 interpreters died in Afghanistan during this time while waiting for visas. As the Taliban closed in on securing the country as the U.S. withdrew, roughly 20,000 interpreters and their families were still attempting to reach the United States." [Sep 1, 2022] At least Srosh got to the US; another translator who did, got killed in DC after resettling.

[@laurel1865]

How did he die in DC? By the taliban or an accident.

[@ruekurei88]

@@laurel1865Random act of violence. He had a second job as a Lyft driver(his first being tow truck driver), and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Does suck though, evade all that noise in Afghanistan , ducking out the taliban, only to get randomly shot and killed doing your job, trying to feed your family and send money back to your peoples in your homeland.

[@masterpieces2218]

​@@ruekurei88boi u better stop lying 😮 give me certified source.

[@ruekurei88]

@@masterpieces2218 Google it. It's literally what I did, and you can easily do the same. His name is 'Nasrat Ahmadyar' if you want an easier time of googling it. Sources should be rather abundant and include CNN, The Guardian, CBS News, Washington Post, New York Post, Daily Mail, AL Jazeera, Fox News, Business Insider, Daily Beast, People, NPR, Washington Insider and other news sources covering it.

[@xXGreatKilla]

@@masterpieces2218 Look up Nasrat Ahmadyar. It's not that hard to look this sort of thing up. I literally typed in "translator shot in DC" and it was one of the first things to pop up. If you're going to be dismissive of others, you should at least do your due diligence of a 30 second google search.

[@CTR6067]

The Supreme Court report is timeless and one of the funniest sketches ever! Perfect example why you win so many Emmys. Thank you for bringing old episodes back 😂

[@cindygr8ce]

I wish for that young man that he realizes he didn't fail his father we did as a country 😢

[@antoinetteserrano3082]

As a daughter, wife & mother of servicemen I know the American government would’ve pulled family members of American servicemen out of danger so why not the families of those who helped us? It’s shameful & disgusting.

[@joshloague1134]

Rest in peace, Grant. We miss you 😢

[@iyeetsecurity922]

Do not!

[@chipmunkwarcry]

That was such a surprise to see him pop up here, especially knowing he has since passed

[@kristinemunholland8980]

the dog Supreme Court is one of their best skits ever.

[@codyrobinson3109]

RIP Grant Imahara

[@KaladinVegapunk]

Came down to comment the same thing 😭 grew up loving mythbusters and learning about the scientific method and he was a legend. Honestly..dudes just collecting a paycheck, I don't blame him, he gets a pass.

[@KaladinVegapunk]

What's depressing is a decade later and we STILL left thousands of interpreters out to dry there when we pulled out There's some groups and veterans personally trying to get them all out but it's insane Johns covered the many many flaws of our country over the years and we've barely addressed any of them in the last decade from healthcare to the broken supreme Court, to this and other BS

[@Taurusus]

@@KaladinVegapunk I was reminded of Kari Byron shilling for BP or something a little while back and thinking, "... OK but she's still been a net positive overall, right?" Honestly "Macca's food isn't really food" ain't a hill I'd ever be particularly driven to die on. Like the story went on to say, there's bigger filets o' fish to fry with regards to criticisms against Mickey D's, and people get way too caught up on where exactly they fit on the food pyramid.

[@jefffoy530]

Pretty gross to see what happened with the passage of time and our disgusting abandonment of our partner forces.

[@corbinpeacock8722]

RIP Grant Imahara. He was such a great guy, it's such a shame that those McDonald's ads were the last thing I saw him in.

[@omgandwtf1]

I think he's in white rabbit project with Torry and karey

[@Dapper_Warlock]

Thought of this episode recently when I was at my written driver's exam and heard the proctor call the name Fnu. "Oh, no, that's not really their name..."

[@NeCredeNobis]

For those who don’t know, the one singing “Let it Go” translated is Malinda Kathleen Reese! She’s a singer-songwriter and her channel for translated shenanigans is “Twisted Translations”!

[@mickcollins1921]

The way we have handled the interpreters and other local nationals who helped our forces in Afghanistan is the single most disgraceful thing about that whole fucking war.

[@lucyhellbroke]

Oh god. Grant. We miss you, dude. ❤️🙏

[@johnchessant3012]

S1 E21 (aired October 19, 2014)

[@forbiddengender]

Hero

[@stinkinlincoln926]

And a decade later, it still applies to current events.

[@musicauthority674]

YT is reairing these episodes and many other episodes also. because YT is a fucking joke. and they apparently have hired some complete MORON'S to handle their software.

[@rebekahledoux4097]

​@stinkinlincoln926 I've rewatched a few of these episodes and am saddened by how many of these stories have remained unchanged.

[@lucyhellbroke]

Where is Srosh?

[@kiloftd]

RIP Grant

[@tommanning3766]

I once worked with an ex-translator named "Fnu". He never revealed the backstory. Mind now blown.

[@Korey1121]

The disgusting part about the citizenship for interpreters is this. Ask any service member who was in boot camp with an immigrant and how quick they became citizens after the Chaplin asks “who wants to become a citizen”. Here’s a hint. It took only HOURS to make them citizens.

[@BeakerButch420]

chaplain

[@murdermatics]

Been here for every episode. Good to be together with friends again.

[@MakarMeCrazy]

It is painfully strange to look back into the past through these episodes and see all the things we did see coming & didn’t stop and even more that were huge terrible surprises. Can’t wait for season 2😢

[@mythbustersfan3456]

5:26 damn, watching this with Grant Imahara feels very weird, I love the original MythBusters and still do. RIP 🪦

[@tee_es_bee]

Thank you for releasing the entire first season from a current HBO subscriber! 🧡💛🧡

[@jediguardiankyle]

I really hope we figured this stuff out and got translators out of there before we left, but I have a feeling that we didn’t

[@rebekahledoux4097]

The military left a lot of people behind.

[@PaulShivery]

This has been happening ever since. Kudos to Last Week Tonight for trying, and shame on we Americans for not holding our elected officials to the fire to fix bullshit.

[@SeanTR420]

I hope this ambitious young man can one day accept that his father's death is NOT his fault. There is a difference between a bad event veing caused by your good actions, and it being your fault.

[@GratitudeDay]

The duck got me. 😂

[@Dee-xi4un]

We need an updated animal supreme court 😂

[@ianriggs]

Omg the supreme court thing was F-ing hilarious 😂

[@andreawallenberger2668]

I still love the 1st season intro, every bit of it ❤

[@thatsminger9433]

I miss when this show had guests

[@Odysseus38]

God....remember ebola....how time has flown by...

[@adamsharris1275]

I'm really enjoying the old videos.

[@gladyss11]

Have I been trapped in a time warp?

[@FrankBenlin]

Punxsutawney John.

[@jeanneganrude8549]

@@FrankBenlin😂 good one.

[@emmaschellbach5872]

That girl has an incredible voice. Some of the lyrics need to be belted to sing that song, and she sounded amazing! Level 10.

[@Serioussmile51]

Anyone else notice that ads are popping up on the channel now? (Not a great deal but enough to notice).

[@bluecanine3374]

1:31 and that is the last time we ever had bats giving us diseases. Yup. Lessons learned.

[@thegameshowgeek]

It’s “200 mi.² of storage space” is anywhere near an accurate description of Guam, now I understand exactly why their local Kmart is doing well while virtually every other Kmart has either closed, downsized, or moved to Australia.

[@ToweringToska]

I love Smoke the donkey, I want to adopt him. Oh my goodness, now I want to find all the great videos that I hope people have made from your full dog judge court scene, they're precious and your love for pets is my favorite part about you.

[@Seblowsky]

RIP all those involved in the U.S. War effort, who died when abandoned and left to the Taliban.

[@Thromalis]

Anyone got an update on the first translator? I'm worried about him. :(

[@chipmunkwarcry]

Someone else made a longer comment that was near the top for me, but he is safe and made it to the US

[@HarderTime89]

Jesus. He lost his dad. And he blames himself. So sad

[@vincentwinqvist4023]

I'm glad the US at least took all precautions to take translators and others who had helped them to safety as they pulled out of Afghanistan. Oh, wait.

[@mickcollins1921]

Aw. Poor Grant Imahara. RIP.

[@RedGreenBrown]

"McDonalds" and "most affordable" in the same sentence really dates this show.

[@CraigMader]

Here in the South, we're beyond polite to the point where we've weaponized politeness(we call it "manners"). If a Southerner ever says "Bless your heart" to you, you are being viciously publicly mocked. Cheerio!

[@discoverymoi]

The dogs court just got me so bad. 😂😂😂 👏 👏

[@VampDemigod]

I miss Grant Inahara now ;-;

[@kaylamartin2734]

I've seen this episode before. I've never been mad at smoke. My stupid fucking government is to blame and just confirms for me that I don't want to live in this country any longer than I absolutely have to.

[@jaymiller5669]

I’ve commented this before but at some point in the first 5 minutes of EVERY episode I laugh out loud!

[@Nordern]

Man i need the video clips of the puppy court..!

[@Thatzer]

Omg how did i miss the song tends thats gold

[@evelina733]

OMG these stories about translators are heartbreaking, what a disgrace 😞

[@muraalia]

Malinda! :D Now I'm wondering if I found her channel because of this, or on my own because I probably got a bunch of Frozen-related stuff recommended to me back then and would have watched most of it.

[@249aaa]

did a *SUPREME COURT JUSTICE* posit to the room: “if [we gave them a comb] …and theres a SIM card in there, or a ‘ *revolver* ‘ in a 1/2” beard … it’ll fall out.” WHAT WORLD DO WE LIVE IN

[@markkline8176]

Can you post the air date for the episodes?

[@alexmenke3608]

A court Hen-ographer lol

[@Izandaia]

Oh, so that's where the Dog Supreme Court came from. Alrighty then.

[@veedubyu]

bring back the supreme kennel!!!

[@PasswordgreenGaming]

Nice 😂😂😂

[@lloydsumpter7735]

About McDonald's beef: I have no doubt it it "100% beef" but what most people don't understand is that "beef" simply means it's from a cow. Front shoulder, lower leg, head... even the "beefdust" that comes off when the beef is sawed is all "beef". So saying it's 100% beef doesn't mean it's GOOD beef...

[@chrismanuel9768]

God this was good

[@Dumitaz]

John used to sound like 70s radios

[@HireMichaelEverson]

Oh if the US wanted to have the translators safe there would be few things that would stand in their way. The thing is, theres no profits in veterans or translators. So they do their best to not pay for them.

[@FrankBenlin]

Ha ha. Thanks, John.

[@Obiter3]

It ain't easy getting a dog to wear glasses. Cheers 🍻

[@skye4591]

rest in peace grant ❤

[@susanchen8640]

So sad watching this in 2024 after America left so many translators behind and nothing changed since this episode aired

[@_LifeOfReilly]

We need new footage of Real Dogs Fake Paws for the new SCOTUS lineup.

[@KazenoniKakuremi]

whomever puppeted the bulldog needs an oscar

[@philjohnson1744]

What's the temperature like in Guam? Its...

[@GrubbsandWyrm]

Hey mcdonalds, when you bringing back $ menu

[@feliciathagoat1678]

Dang Ebola was scary when it was first beginning to spread around Texas.

[@chipmunkwarcry]

Yeah I remember I was working in a hospital on the Texas Gulf Coast and they were preparing in case we got any cases. They had two rooms in one of the regular units designated for Ebola patients. We never got any patients thank god, but it was still not something I wanted to have to be in proximity to 😬

[@zeusathena26]

Greg Imahara died back in 2020, so either the McDonalds, or this episode is really old!

[@andreawallenberger2668]

Season 1 Ep 21 (2014).

[@ianmatthewkline8279]

Jesus, they really need to make it more clear this shit is a rerun when you're just listening and not actually seeing the baby face boy! 😂

[@knownothingnobody9126]

😂😂😂 Fucking brilliant!😂😂😂

[@ProdigalDaughterAlice]

RIP Grant Imahara, glad you got a paycheck from the McD's.

[@texican326]

The gorilla at :11 reminds me Harambe was still alive back then

[@randomassjellyfish]

17:46 Funny that. As someone without a last name, they also screwed my passport and got my first name into FNU despite all my other legal documents stating "LNU" (Last Name Unknown). But hey, as long as there's a visa

[@chiangweytan5937]

6:39 Ronald McDonald as a serial killer killed me... Lol

[@Primo_extracts]

3?! WTF

[@musicauthority674]

Only John Oliver could set up a kiosk in New York City. and actually catch serial killer Ronald McDonald. that was totally hilarious.

[@Caribbean_King]

John is my Jesus and Liverpool is my Jerusalem!! 😊

[@jude4896]

Didn't Grant die? In July 13, 2020?

[@DragonLordGabrielBrowncoat]

Wow MALINDA is on here🎉😂

[@matrinoxtm]

I would love an update on this after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban

[@davidfuentes9957]

Back then when the Supreme Court was slightly conservative. Oh the good times. I really miss the dog Supreme Court.

[@TheRealEvilkitten3]

dear everyone in 2014: don't worry, you only have to deal with that guy for two more years

[@vicefaun2316]

wait did john oliver help the translator?

[@area232]

Isn't Grant Inmahara dead? (Sorry I butchered his name)

[@bluecanine3374]

Yes, this is an almost 10 year old episode

[@tomstone7647]

It is so funny

[@KinoSeseri04]

14:53 Wha

[@thestalwartinefromstalwart4126]

The world just hasn't quite been the same ever since Grant's untimely passing.

[@DrewSavo]

6:47 ah yes, I also carry around documents about 7 lawsuits against a corporation in the case I happen to stumble upon a billboard with a recording device.

[@caleb8659]

Oh man. I miss Grant.

[@lucyhellbroke]

Additionally… Srosh… the Afghani interpreter? I worried about him too. As of August 2021, he is living in Texas, and still fucking struggling to get his visa. There is a gofundme ongoing to help him accomplish that, and help his family, that I could find, as of a cursory google search, in May 2024.

[@aryanapologetics]

Angela,is Europe Best.

[@rjpittman4510]

Dog court is a classic LWT

[@blockacheese_]

3:20 💀 Representation of zoomer humor

[@mr_b_hhc]

They brought the donkey back because it reminded the president of himself.