I don't value his political opinions above those of a political scientist, a historian (if they're good btw), but his opinions on politics aren't in the same level as that of a Kardashian, c'mon. You may not agree with him or watch him, but you know it's not the same level.

His fact checking team is rock solid. Not sure I see a lot of political opinion on the show - unless exposing ideology and broken systems through facts and silly references counts.

John Oliver is a popularizer, explaining tough stuff to laypersons. There's a whole team of writers, researchers, fact checkers, lawyers, producers behind him.

If a team like that is wrong about something, it's not for lack of trying to be right.

I've never cared for the format. Just gimme the bullet points, save the snark.

But I've also understood that I'm not the audience. Leaning into civics and current events is a lot of work. And people are busy.

John Oliver, Michael Moore, John Steward, many others, are quite a bit more accessible for a wider audience. So they are a vital part of our public square.

TLDR: John Oliver is awesome.