With the end of the Stewart/Colbert dynasty on Comedy Central, John Oliver may be our last bastion of that weird modern genre of left-leaning comedy journalism, and he’s absolutely crushing it on HBO. (Not to take the wind out of Trevor Noah before he even begins, but how great would it be if Oliver somehow became the next Daily Show host??)
This week, he took on the Syrian refugee crisis, pointing not only the awful situation the refugees are escaping, but the poor, degrading treatment they’re receiving on the other end as well. Endless bureaucracy, physical violence, and race-baiting propaganda all await them at their destinations, which is like society’s way of kicking people when they’re down (in some cases, literally). Oliver also focuses in on one refugee, a young girl named Nageen Mustafa who has a particular affinity for Days of Our Lives, and helps hammer his point home by actually reuniting two of of that show’s most popular characters, EJ and Sami. Watch the clip below: