Ep 111. Meek Mill
- August 8, 2019
- 1602 min
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah season 2019 episode 111 is titled "Meek Mill." In this episode, the focus is on the rapper Meek Mill and his experiences within the criminal justice system.
Trevor Noah begins the episode by discussing Meek Mill's recent interview with CBS This Morning, in which the rapper opened up about his own struggles with the criminal justice system. Meek Mill was first arrested at the age of 19 and has been in and out of prison throughout his adult life. Noah highlights the some of the key moments from the interview, including Meek Mill's discussion of the impact that incarceration has had on his personal relationships.
Noah then goes on to provide some context for Meek Mill's story, talking about how the rapper's experience is emblematic of broader issues with mass incarceration in the United States. He points out that the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and that black people are disproportionately represented in the prison population.
To help shed light on these issues, Noah brings on attorney and criminal justice reform advocate Brittany K. Barnett. Barnett has worked on a number of high-profile cases, including the one that ultimately led to Meek Mill's release from prison in 2018. She talks about her own experiences working within the system, and explains some of the ways in which the system is inherently biased against people of color.
The episode also includes a segment looking at the way that criminal justice issues are discussed in the media. Noah notes that there tends to be a lot of focus on high-profile cases involving celebrity defendants, while the stories of average people who are impacted by the system on a daily basis often go unseen. The segment includes clips from various news programs discussing Meek Mill's case, as well as some analysis of the language used in these discussions.
Throughout the episode, there are also various humorous segments and jokes, as is typical of The Daily Show. Noah uses humor to help underscore some of the more serious points being made, and to keep the audience engaged.
Overall, "Meek Mill" is an episode of The Daily Show that balances humor and serious discussion in a way that is both entertaining and informative. By focusing on the experiences of one individual, the show is able to shed light on broader issues with the criminal justice system, and to encourage viewers to think critically about these issues.