As someone who watched the Daily Show for years, it was a thrill to be asked to be the straight man in a sketch about climate change. What does it take to be the straight man? First, I talked for a few minutes about the psychology of risk perception and how it diminishes the apparent threat of climate change. Then I sat like a block of wood for two hours and tried not to laugh as Roy Wood Jr. riffed.
I learned a few things from the experience. One, being a comedian is exhausting. For every one gag that aired, they tried maybe half a dozen. Roy works for a living. Two, the producers who develop ideas and oversee them to production are brilliant. And three, editing is all. It's seriously amazing how people can remember a snippet at 2:13:07 and combine it with a take at 0:57:13 and another at 3:23:39 and make it work.