If an ill plagues our society, count on John Oliver to cover the issue — especially if it is one literally making society ill.
On Sunday, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” host tackled America’s nuclear waste problem, which basically boils down to the fact that for decades now, we’ve had no real place to dump the dangerous stuff. What’s getting out is making people sick, which should make readers feel the same way.
As Oliver simply posed the crux of the issue: “Why do we not have a nuclear toilet?”
“We’ve basically been s—ing in bags, leaving them all over the house and praying that they don’t leak,” he offered for a disgusting metaphor.
Amid all the cancer-causing talk that comes with the topic, Oliver was quick to add that he is “not a nuclear scientist.”
That was more setup than disclaimer, however, as the “Daily Show” alum quickly quipped: “I just have the face of one.”
Oliver then introduced us to perhaps the scariest byproduct of all this nuclear waste: radioactive alligators. Those are actually a real thing, as well as the likely antagonists in the next terrible Syfy TV movie. That’s our joke, not his — sorry, NBCUniversal.
Watch the video above.
“Last Week Tonight” airs Sundays at 11 p.m. on HBO.