John Oliver returned last night with a look at the debate over teaching critical race theory in schools. It's weird that a comedian does a better job than so many in the news media, isn't it? Via the Hollywood Reporter:

“A lot of people are getting very mad about critical race theory right now, and instinctively, you probably know it’s a manufactured panic, but the fact is the fear around it is having real effects,” Oliver said on his HBO show. He pointed to Glenn Youngkin winning the Virginia governor’s race last year after making campaign promises to ban the teaching of CRT in schools, along with the fact that several states have passed laws outlawing the teaching of CRT in schools and the Republicans being likely to make it the major focus of the upcoming midterm elections.

“When it comes to CRT, think of it like Rihanna’s pregnancy: Even if you think it has nothing to do with you, believe me, you’re going to be hearing a lot about it this year,” Oliver said.

He went on to explain what CRT is, saying it is “the name given to a body of legal scholarship that began in the 1970s that attempted to understand why racism and inequality existed after the civil rights movement.”

He quoted an Education Week article that described it as follows: “The core idea is that .. racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice … but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.” He went on to criticize Tucker Carlson and other CRT opponents for claiming that it teaches that some races are superior to others or that it teaches kids to hate America.