John Oliver makes talk show history after buying $US15 million of medical debt

John Oliver - Trump University: Vol. 2

Move over, Oprah, John Oliver just stole your thunder.

John Oliver breaks Oprah"s record

Talk show host John Oliver has bought $15million worth of debt, and in doing so broken the record for the largest TV give away of all time.

On Sunday"s episode of Last Week Tonight,the comedian staged what may be the largest giveaway in TV history by forgiving some $US15 million ($20.3 million) in medical debt.

The stunt capped an in-depth segment about the abuses of the debt-buying industry. As Oliver explained, Americans collectively owe $US12 trillion in debt, and $US436 billion ($591 billion) of that is seriously delinquent - i.e., 90 days or more past due.

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver made history after forgiving $US15 million of bad medical debt.Photo: HBO

This has led to an explosion of debt-buying companies, which buy and often resell debt for pennies on the dollar. Many of these companies are predatory, using deceptive and in some cases illegal tactics to collect money owed. (Think: threatening voicemails.)

"It is pretty clear by now debt-buying is a grimy business and badly needs more oversight," Oliver said, noting that "any idiot" can get into the industry.

In a process he found "disturbingly easy," Oliver started his own debt-buying company. As he explained, Last Week Tonightspent a whopping $US50 ($67) to incorporate a debt-acquisition company online in Mississippi - "incidentally, over the internet is the best way to experience Mississippi," he joked.

The company was named Central Asset Recovery Professionals, or CARP,"after the bottom-feeding fish" and Oliver named the chairman of the board.

John Oliver slammed the debt buying agency.Photo: HBO

Before long, CARP was offered a portfolio of just under $US15 million ($20.3 million)of out-of-statute medical debt - i.e. debt that people are no longer legally required to pay. In exchange for a fee, CARP would receive personal information on nearly 9000 people.

So Oliver bought the portfolio for a price of $US60,000 ($81,000) which, Oliver said, "is absolutely terrifying." But rather than hiring a team of employees to start making harassing phone calls, Oliver decided to forgive the debt by transferring it to a nonprofit organisation which specialises in writing-off medical debt.

"On the one hand, it"s obviously the right thing to do," he said. "But much more importantly, we"d be staging the largest one-time giveaway in television show history."

The stunt surpasses Oprah Winfrey"s famous "You get a car!" moment from 2004, when the daytime host gave away 276 cars, valued at a total of $US8 million ($10 million), to audience members.

"With power vested in me, as chairman of the board of CARP, wewill commence the debt forgiving process," Oliver said to roars from the audience. "Sowhat do you say, are you ready to make television history?"

"Clearly this is only going to help the 9000 people whose medical debt we bought. The larger issue is we need much clearly rulesand tougher oversight to protect consumers from potentially predatorycompanies like the one we set up.

"In the mean time it seems the least we can do with this debt I cannot f---ing believe we are allowed to own, is to give it away."

Los Angeles Times

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/news-and-current-affairs/john-oliver-makes-talk-show-history-after-buying-us15-million-of-medical-debt-20160606-gpd1pb.html

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The Debate Over Harambe: The deathof a gorilla at an Ohio zoo this monthhas raised a host of questions: How coulda parent let her 3-year-old son climb into the animals enclosure?Couldnt zoo officials have just tranquilized Harambe? Why do we still have zoos, anyway? Much of the blame for the incident has beenplaced on the mother, but Ohio officials have announcedthey wont charge her with any crimes, saying witnesses described her as being attentive that day.

The Oprah of Late-Night Comedy:On his show last night,Last Week Tonight hostJohn Oliver investigatedhoweasy it is for predatory companies to purchase peoples debt from a bank and hold it over their heads. To demonstrate how easy that is,Oliver started a company online for $50,bought $15 million worth of unpaid medical debt for just $60,000,and then announced he wouldforgive it all.He called it the largest one-time giveaway in television history, trumping Oprah Winfreys $8 millioncar giveaway in 2004.

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Evening Read

Michael Graziano on a new theory that explains how consciousness evolved:

Theories of consciousness come from religion, from philosophy, from cognitive science, but not so much from evolutionary biology. Maybe thats why so few theories have been able to tackle basic questions such as: What is the adaptive value of consciousness? When did it evolve and what animals have it?

The Attention Schema Theory (AST), developed over the past five years, may be able to answer those questions. The theory suggests that consciousness arises as a solution to one of the most fundamental problems facing any nervous system: Too much information constantly flows in to be fully processed. The brain evolved increasingly sophisticated mechanisms for deeply processing a few select signals at the expense of others, and in the AST, consciousness is the ultimate result of that evolutionary sequence. If the theory is rightand that has yet to be determinedthen consciousness evolved gradually over the past half billion years and is present in a range of vertebrate species.

Keep reading here.

News Quiz

1. Research has found that __________ in Africa, Asia, and Europe are dying after consuming an anti-inflammatory drug.

(See answer or scroll to the bottom.)

2. The U.S. Navy banned __________ for its sailors in Japan.

(See answer or scroll to the bottom.)

3. Ukraine said aFrenchman arrested last month with a large stockpile of explosiveswas planning to attack __________.

(See answer or scroll to the bottom.)

Reader Response

A retired school teacher recalls his experience at the Trump rally in San Jose, California, that turned violent late lastweek:

Five or six protestors were ejected. A few who put up a little bit of resistance were pushed by security. I stood by the side exit and was able to videotape them with my iPhone as they were pushed out the door. A couple times, it seemed somewhat excessive.

They didnt like my taping and thought I was with the press, so I got escorted to the press section, which was nice for a little bit because I got a clearer shot of Trump. But more protestors where getting ejected, so I returned to the side exit to catch on video any manhandling.

They didnt like that, and so they ordered me to leave the building. I refused and showed them I had a ticket and my only recording device was the iPhone, which was allowed. They called over more security to show they meant business and then they started to put their hands on me.

I dont think anybody has gotten physical with me since I was junior highwhich was quite a long time ago.

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Verbs

Mark Zuckerberg hacked, pins and needles explained, $70,000 camera dropped, space bounce house explored, koala diplomats dispatched.

Answers: vultures, alcohol, euro 16

Source: http://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2016/06/the-atlantic-daily-stanford-harame-john-oliver/485891/

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