John Oliver’s absence from “Last Week Tonight” wasn’t because the British television host was on vacation, it was because he was secretly tracking Edward Snowden down in Moscow and interviewing him extensively. Oliver surprised viewers with the interview, which was shown during the second half of his main story segment on government surveillance.
Whenever “Last Week Tonight” takes a week off, we feel the loss – especially when John Oliver tries to make up for his absence with web exclusives like this one about April Fools’ Day. But, as it turns out, Oliver wasn’t on vacation last week – he was actually in Moscow tracking down Edward Snowden and conducting a comprehensive interview, which he then surprised viewers with during the second half of his main story segment on government surveillance. Around 13:40 of the half-hour-long segment, Oliver made his big reveal: There was no new show last week because he flew to Russia in order to interview Snowden. And there’s footage of him strolling around Red Square looking petrified upon coming across some Russian soldiers to prove it. “Yes, last week, I spent 48 paranoid hours in Moscow,” said Oliver in a voice-over. “Arguably the last place on earth where you can find an overweight Joseph Stalin impersonator arguing with an unconvincing fake Lenin.”
