Satirist, counter culture icon and all around iconoclast, Paul Krassner, author of the new collection, Who’s to Say What’s Obscene?: Politics, Culture, and Comedy in America Today. Topics include the definition of obscenity in today’s America, the Obama presidency and what it means for political satire, Jon Stewart and The Daily Show’s influence on younger people, the state of the “underground press” today and a lot more. Recorded at Mahalo Studios, special thanks to Jason Calacanis and Alex Miller. Cut live by Alex Miller and edited by Bradley Novicoff. Floor manager Darren Dodge. Produced by Bradley Novicoff and Tara McGinley

Wait a second. Richard thinks political speech he disagrees with is obscene?

Charming.

“Dangerous Minds”? More like “Conventional Bullshit.”

And I’m sure many people think Richard Metzger’s political speech is obscene—you’re point?  The question was about what Krasner thought was obscene, because his material was earlier deemed as obscene. Metzger just offered a provocative example.

I take Krasner’s point about Stewart not taking the time to really dig into an interview, but that misses the clever editing.  There are some interviews that are obviously a cut-up job, like the recent one with Bill Kristol where he got Kristol to admit the government can administer a decent health care program. 

You can always go to the Daily Show website and get the full interview.  I’ve only looked at a few of those, but Stewart will let the schtick slide a bit when the topic wanders into more clearly debatable territory.  You just need the web to see that; it doesn’t fit the 22 minute format.