9.0/105 votes#1 - Government Surveillance
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 4/5/2015
There are very few government checks on what America’s sweeping surveillance programs are capable of doing. John Oliver sits down with Edward Snowden to discuss the NSA, the balance between privacy and security, and dick-pics.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.5/102 votes#2 - U.S. Territories
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 3/8/2015
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!
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.4/105 votes#3 - FIFA II
Season 2 Episode 15 - Aired 5/31/2015
After the arrests of numerous top officials, John Oliver decided to give an update on the state of FIFA. Also, Thailand's ignorance about the world's history involving Hitler might require some re-education.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.2/104 votes#4 - Torture
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 6/14/2015
The US Senate Torture Report revealed horrifying details of America's interrogation program. Helen Mirren will fill you in. Plus, information about the 2015 European Games and the Canadian Senate expenses scandal.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.2/108 votes#5 - Puerto Rico
Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 4/24/2016
Puerto Rico is suffering a massive debt crisis. Lin-Manuel Miranda joins John Oliver to call for relief.
Director: Paul Pennolino
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.1/109 votes#6 - Brexit
Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 6/19/2016
John Oliver on “Brexiting” from the EU: There might be an innate British desire to diss Europe, but Last Week Tonight lays out exactly why it’s a mistake to leave the EU.
Director: Paul Pennolino
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.0/104 votes#7 - Paid Family Leave
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 5/10/2015
Many American companies do not offer paid leave after the birth of a child, which means they probably shouldn’t run sappy Mother’s Day ads. Also, the Japanese have some unhealthy obsession with mascots and John proposes to adopt some of that culture in the U.S. government agencies as well.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.0/103 votes#8 - Bail
Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 6/7/2015
John Oliver explains why America’s bail system is better for the reality TV industry than it is for the justice system.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.0/104 votes#9 - The Internet
Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 6/21/2015
Online harassment is a major problem, but it’s rarely prosecuted. If only we’d been warned about this in the early days of the internet.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.0/104 votes#10 - Transgender Rights
Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 6/28/2015
This week’s gay rights victory was historic, but the transgender community still faces staggering challenges. John Oliver focuses on the “T” in “LGBT."
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
8.0/107 votes#11 - Special Districts
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 3/6/2016
Special districts spend more public money than all city governments combined. That's odd considering most of us don't know they exist.
Director: Paul Pennolino
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.9/108 votes#12 - Voting
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 2/14/2016
John talks about the late Antonin Scalia's love of the Letter of the Law, Chipotle's food safety problems, how Voter IDs laws should be applied to those who write them, and New Zealand's economic development minister Steven Joyce.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.9/108 votes#13 - Congressional Fundraising
Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 4/3/2016
Lawmakers have to raise money to keep their jobs, but a surprising amount of their job now consists of raising money. John Oliver sits down with Congressman Steve Israel to discuss the costs of political spending.
Director: Paul Pennolino
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.9/108 votes#14 - Primaries and Caucuses
Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 5/22/2016
Last Week Tonight Tackles U.S. Primaries and Caucuses: The United States selection process for presidential nominees is convoluted — to say the least. Nevertheless, John Oliver reminds Americans that the "middle of the game" is the worst possible time to change the rules.
Director: Paul Pennolino
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.8/104 votes#15 - Patents
Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 4/19/2015
For inventors, patents are an essential protection against theft. But when patent trolls abuse the system by stockpiling patents and threatening lawsuits, businesses are forced to shell out tons of money. Also, CNN produced an actual doomsday video to broadcast when the world is ending and it’s incredibly dull. We've enlisted Martin Sheen to help make humanity’s final moments happier!
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.8/104 votes#16 - Fashion
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 4/26/2015
John explores the concept of changing and cheap fashion and some of the ugliest truths of the manufacturing process.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.8/104 votes#17 - Standardized Testing
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 5/3/2015
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.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.8/105 votes#18 - Food Waste
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 7/19/2015
Producers, sellers, and consumers waste tons of food. John Oliver discusses the shocking amount of food we don’t eat.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.8/105 votes#19 - Daily Fantasy Sports
Season 2 Episode 34 - Aired 11/15/2015
John talks about the recent Paris attacks, China's Singles Day, the Koh-i-Noor diamond and Daily Fantasy Sports.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.8/106 votes#20 - Encryption
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 3/13/2016
Strong encryption poses problems for law enforcement, is weakening it worth the risks it presents? It’s…complicated.
Director: Paul Pennolino
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.8/108 votes#21 - Lead
Season 3 Episode 9 - Aired 4/17/2016
Lead poisoning is a national problem. If only lawmakers were as concerned as the puppets on Sesame Street.
Director: Paul Pennolino
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.8/1010 votes#22 - Scientific Studies
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 5/8/2016
John Oliver on Sticking to the Facts: Media outlets often report new findings from scientific studies, but how many are true?
Director: Paul Pennolino
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.7/107 votes#23 - Retirement Plans
Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 6/12/2016
John Oliver Covers Ins and Outs of Retirement Plans: Saving for retirement means navigating a potential minefield of high fees and bad advice - Last Week Tonight is here to help.
Director: Paul Pennolino
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.6/105 votes#24 - Elected Judges
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 2/22/2015
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.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
7.6/105 votes#25 - Municipal Violations
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 3/22/2015
If you have money, committing a municipal violation may pose you a minor inconvenience. If you don’t, it can ruin your life. Also, the New Hampshire legislature refused to make the red-tailed hawk the official raptor of their state... so Last Week Tonight made it the official raptor of the show.
Director: Jim Hoskinson
Writer: Josh Gondelman
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Josh Gondelman Ratings Summary
"Government Surveillance" is the best rated episode written by Josh Gondelman. It scored 9/10 based on 5 votes. It was directed by Jim Hoskinson. It aired on 4/5/2015 and is rated 0.5 points higher than their second-best episode, "U.S. Territories".