The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Season 2018 Episode 13 Jason Reynolds
- January 23, 2018
- 1289 min
In the thirteenth episode of the 2018 season of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Trevor welcomed author, Jason Reynolds, onto the show for a discussion on his career and recent literary projects. Reynolds is known for his young adult novels that explore issues such as race, poverty, and identity.
The episode began with Trevor giving an overview of some recent news, including President Trump's recent announcement of plans to send troops to the US-Mexico border and the ongoing debate surrounding gun control in America. Trevor then segued into his interview with Reynolds.
Reynolds, who has been a finalist for the National Book Award and has won numerous other literary awards, talked about his early experiences with writing and how he got into the young adult genre. He explained that he preferred writing for young adults over other groups because of the impact he could have on them. "When you write for young people, you're talking to the next generation of decision-makers," he said. "They're going to inherit the world that we leave behind."
One of Reynolds' latest books, Long Way Down, was the focus of the interview. The book tells the story of a young boy who is confronted with a decision after his brother is killed -- whether to seek revenge or to let it go. Reynolds said that he hoped readers would come away from the book with a sense of empathy for other people's experiences.
Trevor and Reynolds also discussed race and social justice issues. Reynolds talked about the impact of race on his life and his writing. He said that he was often the only person of color in the room at literary events, and that he felt responsible for representing his community well. He also touched on the topic of police brutality and the ways in which people have been galvanized to take action against it.
At the end of the interview, Reynold encouraged people to read his latest book and to engage with others about important issues. "I hope that we can start having conversations with each other," he said. "We need to be vulnerable with each other and talk about the things that are hard to talk about."
Overall, the thirteenth episode of the 2018 season of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah was a thoughtful conversation with author Jason Reynolds about his work and the issues he address in his writing. The interview was enlightening and provided a platform for important discussions about race, social justice, and the power of literature.