Oliver, Snowden Put Government Spying in Terms Americans Can Understand

image
Created: 07 Apr, 2015
Updated: 21 Nov, 2022
1 min read

On Sunday’s episode of HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, comedian and reporter John Oliver traveled to Moscow to visit Edward Snowden, who is residing in Russia after leaking NSA documents to the media.

In what is undeniably one of the most candid interviews we’ve seen with the former NSA analyst, Oliver continuously puts Snowden on the spot, asking him how many of the documents he actually read:

Snowden: “I do understand what I turned over." Oliver: "There’s a difference between understanding what’s in the documents and reading what’s in the documents… because when you’re handing over thousands of NSA documents the last thing you’d want to do is read them."

While Edward Snowden is regarded as a hero by many, Oliver’s field research shows that very few Americans (or at least New Yorkers) actually know who Edward Snowden is, let alone what he did.

But when put into relatable terms, Americans start to see things differently...which is why Oliver changes his line of questioning to ask Americans how they would feel if the government could see the private images they share on the Internet.

"This is the most visible line in the sand for most people: Can they see my dick?" Oliver concludes.

After contextualizing the severity of the NSA's data collection system by explaining each program's capabilities in terms of "dick pics," Snowden closes with:

"The good news is that there's no program named the 'dick pic' program. The bad news... they are still collecting everybody's information, including your dick pics," Snowden said while stifling a chuckle. "You shouldn't change your behavior because a government agency somewhere is doing the wrong thing," he tells Oliver. "If we sacrifice our values because we're afraid, we don't care about those values very much."

Watch the entire interview below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEVlyP4_11M

Latest articles

Bernie Sanders
Sanders and AOC Wrap 'Fighting Oligarchy' Tour and Bernie Takes the Mic at Coachella
US Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrapped up their Fighting Oligarchy Tour on April 16, after a five-day, seven-stop sweep through the West that drew nearly 150,000 people—capping it off with an unexpected appearance by Sanders at the Coachella music festival....
18 Apr, 2025
-
3 min read
AOC
Is Bernie Passing the Torch to AOC for the 2028 Presidential Election?
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) continues to make waves in US politics. She is co-headlining rallies across the country with US Sen. Bernie Sanders as part of the "Fighting Oligarchy Tour," which has drawn large crowds even in GOP strongholds....
17 Apr, 2025
-
4 min read
Oakland and San Francisco
Analysis: Popular Oakland Ranked Choice Voting System Used to Decide City's Next Mayor
On Tuesday, Oakland, CA used ranked choice voting (RCV) in special elections for mayor and City Council District 2 – marking Oakland’s 5th mayoral election using RCV. A 2024 poll found that 77% of Oakland voters are satisfied with the election method. ...
16 Apr, 2025
-
2 min read