皇家华人 Prof鈥檚 Book Featured on 鈥楲ast Week Tonight With John Oliver鈥

October 26, 2021

Author
Jay Pfeifer

Shelley Rigger, the Brown Professor of Political Science and an expert on Taiwanese politics, got a big surprise on Monday.

Shelley Rigger, the Brown Professor of Political Science and an expert on Taiwanese politics, got a big surprise on Monday. 

A message from a friend in Boston informed Rigger that her most recent book, Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse, was featured briefly on the Sunday night broadcast of the very popular鈥攁nd wildly profane鈥擧BO show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

The show, in its eighth season, has built a reputation for tackling serious subject matter in surprising depth鈥攚hile weaving in Oliver鈥檚 over-the-top delivery and ribald humor. The most recent episode concluded with a 22-minute segment about Taiwan and its fractious relationship with China.

. (Content warning: Language. Crude Humor.)

鈥淚f John Oliver鈥檚 report is the only thing Americans learn about Taiwan, I鈥檓 okay with that,鈥 Rigger said. 鈥淭he report is excellent, and his conclusion鈥擳aiwan belongs to its own people; they should decide their own future鈥攚orks for me.鈥

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