Political satire runs through American history as a tool for cutting past spin, and this film traces that lineage from the Red Scare era to cable news. It gathers figures who used humor and commentary to challenge power, including Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Amy Goodman, and even Martin Luther King Jr.'s use of rhetorical wit, before settling on Jon Stewart as its central case study. Stewart's run as host of The Daily Show gets the most attention, with the film making the case that his blend of comedy and pointed political criticism helped him become one of the most trusted figures in American media, an odd outcome for a man working in a fake news format. Stephen Colbert's parallel career gets treatment as well, positioned as Stewart's spiritual successor in using satire to hold politicians and pundits accountable. The film's argument is straightforward: satire works because it can say plainly what straight journalism hedges on, and it has been doing that job in America for decades before Stewart ever sat behind a desk.