The G Word with Adam Conover

I've missed Adam Ruins Everything since it was pulled off the air, so I was excited to see this show! In my opinion, this show takes Adam Ruins Everything and improves upon it. We get great behind the scenes looks at a number of government industries, valuable expert insight. The humor can be juvenile at times, but it adds some needed levity to heavy topics.

Despite what people are commenting, I think this show does a good job balancing political stances. Although there are obvious, and necessary, criticisms made about Reagan and his choice to gut social programs; the show also criticizes Bill Clinton, as well as producer, and (guest star), Barack Obama for his history of using drones in attacks and cutting social programs.

From my viewpoint, this show is fair and offers valid critique. It may be off-putting to the Capitol storming crowd, but as a moderate, I thought it was well informed, fair and valid in its criticism. (I heard about it from some conservative friends who also loved Adam Ruins Everything, so take those 1 star "it's too political" reviews with a grain of salt).

The series has the great intent of discussing the government on a less one sided way. It tries to introduce us to the everyday aspect and necessity of the government while also investigating the drawbacks and screw ups which is a much needed level headed approach but they fall between two stools. The show's pacing is much calmer and less energetic than what we are used to in Adam Ruins Everything yet it isn't informative enough to be a "real" deep documentary and stood more on the entertainment side.

It feels like a 101 for people who know nothing about politics or the government and doesn't really care about it anyway but tries to make them care trough this entertainy nature but without the snarky, calling you out on your mess style that made ARE great. It doesn't have that shock value that we got used to and not because of the subject. The exaggerated acted out parts are still done in a visually interesting way but they are out of place in this series since between them we don't get the energetic, snarky Adam, but a more serious one who tries to convince us that this isn't a joke, we should take this serious, which is a good thing but:

The series is not deep enough to be taken seriously. It introduces important topics, real problems, pros and cons, but we only scratch the surface. Obviously it is hard to do more in less then 25 minutes yet the episodes still feel dragged out. Vox could state the same in a 7 minute video with greater impact. We spend a lot of time chillin' instead of laying out hard facts and truth. The parts with Obama are a total waste of time. Seems like the only reason they were added is to make him look like somebody who cares yet the only thing it achieves is to remind you to the political leaning of the series which can be felt in many places.

All in all it is a slightly informative and slightly entertaining series without the boldness or thoroughness to leave a mark.

The show should be taken in the spirit it is presented- an attempt to reestablish a sense of civics and duty in common good (of a nation).

It presents an inside view of both the good and the bad - the episodes on money and future I found particularly striking for their day-to-day unheralded and unremarked impacts

The fundamental conclusion is that government isn't good nor bad, it is simply a necessary function of any organized society (nation). It is capable of both great good and great evil, only because it's great in scope. Our engagement or lack thereof will dictate what it does. It's a good message to internalize.

It's a slightly flawed, slightly shallow, but ultimately accessible insight into an important topic. Some reviewers seem to have not understood the core concept that government is inseperable from politics because government is the exercise of politics - its people and power. Inseparable.

The sad reality is that the people that seem to need this the most are the same people least equipped to receive it.

There is a lot of educational segments that show a bit of the behind-the-scenes in government, such as the hurricane one, which I enjoyed learning from. There's also a lot of "why this current thing exists - the reason is shocking!" segments which is very informative. I think Adam does a great job at playing to both sides - he mentions failures of both the Obama (drone strikes, social program cuts) and Trump (COVID19 handling) administrations, along with both Clinton and Reagan failures. However, his solutions appeared, to me, mostly "Big government will save us, give them more power" and blind hope.

In summary, I believe there were many great educational parts to learn from, and he tries to stay politically neutral with mentions of both parties failures. His "solutions" were disappointing - I'd say it's worth watching to learn more, but definitely do your research and think critically when he presents solutions to issues that come up.

• and yes, there is cussing. If you can't handle it, go watch a kids show, not a show for young adults about the government.

First of all, I loved "Adam Ruins Everything", and I am writing this having watched the first series and having listened the Factually episode related to this show.

Is it bold? Yes.

Is it bold enough? No.

Is it bolder than I expected or than "Adam Ruins Everything"? No.

However, I watched and enjoyed it.

The editing was slower, but it is a common issue after pandemic, and I do not know why.

I have written my takes on the episodes that I so deemed.

For the future, though, Mr. Conover, you may want to look into: (1) US foreign policy; (2) US international policy; (3) How US does not recognize the Human Rights Courts in Hague; (4) and how Paris Agreement is meaningless.