[Vid] Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show’ Desk – and More ‘Seriously Funny’ – Now at Newseum
“Seriously Funny” From the Desk of the Daily Show exhibit opens today (June 21, 2019) at the Newseum!
Jon Stewart and his “Daily Show” correspondents skewered politicians and the press, challenged the integrity of government, and made America laugh with their own brand of satire. As the 2020 presidential campaign season heats up, this exhibit explores the impact Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” had on American politics and the press through four presidential campaigns, two wars and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
More than 50 artifacts are now on display, from “The Daily Show” and the satirical news shows it inspired, as well as print publications that reported on the show’s influence. The exhibit also features an original Newseum-produced film that goes behind the scenes at “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.” The centerpiece of the exhibit is Stewart’s desk from “The Daily Show,” donated to the Newseum after Stewart’s final appearance on the late-night series after 16 years hosting the popular program.
On mission for the Newseum, “Seriously Funny” explores humor as a protected form of free speech under the First Amendment and Stewart’s lasting influence on political satire through the comedians he mentored, including Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, Samantha Bee, Hasan Minhaj and Trevor Noah, current host of “The Daily Show.”
The exhibit will be on view at the Newseum through the end of the year.