Jordan Klepper
Comedian and co-host of The Daily Show on Comedy Central, where he works behind the desk and in the field.
“I think culturally, they're not rewarded for uncertainty. Online, you're only going to get retweeted if you have something certain and hyperbolic.”
StarTalk Radio · Ideas & Essays · November 2026
Context
A listener asked whether curiosity is a choice or a trait that gets harder to cultivate once people settle into a worldview. Klepper had just said that in his interviews at political rallies, cameras and social media push people to sound certain. This is his explanation of why uncertainty gets punished.
Transcript
Very much.
Or even ambiguity.
I think culturally, they're not rewarded for uncertainty. Online, you're only going to get retweeted if you have something certain and hyperbolic. Right.
If you say, I kind of think this is true, but I'm not sure, no one cares what you just said.
There's no cultural reward for somebody who is curiously uncertain about the world. Ooh.
You know, I don't think I have anything to add to that.
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