As we enter the final run of Jon Stewart’s tenure as host of “The Daily Show,” we can expect a pack of top-10 lists to appear.  While these lists are certain to offer fans a chance to reminisce over classic Stewart moments, I’m going to offer a different spin.  Rather than select 10 key moments from his show, I’m going to offer the 10 reasons why Stewart is the best satirist our nation has known—with examples from the show.

My goal is not just to offer great Stewart memories, but to also prove that Stewart’s comedy was the most socially significant example of political satire in U.S. history.

Calling Stewart the best satirist our nation has ever known is no small thing.  Recall, for example, that the American Revolution was known for its satire.  In fact, ranging from Ben Franklin to Samuel Clemens our nation has a long and impressive list of political satirists who used irony to encourage the public to question the status quo.  The Vietnam era was also full of satire—especially via The Smothers Brothers.  But I want to make the case that Stewart’s satire trumps them all and here’s why:

1. He changed satire.

Satire is a form of comedy that is designed to call out stupidity, folly, hubris, deception, and abuses of power.  Stewart did that well, but over the course of his time as host he witnessed the increasing decline of the news media as a source of valuable information for the public. As Geoffrey Baym points out, over the years, Stewart became a prime source of news—not just a commentary on it.  “The Daily Show” literally stepped in to cover issues that were just being ignored or willfully abandoned by the mainstream news media. This is what happened when Stewart went after CNBC’s Jim Cramer over his coverage of the 2009 financial crisis or when he took down CNN’s “Crossfire,” leading the station to cancel the show since Stewart’s claim that the show was “hurting America” was exactly right.

He also dove right into politics—maybe not as obviously as Stephen Colbert who ran for President twice when he hosted The Colbert Report—but don’t forget the role that Stewart played in helping to get legislation passed to support healthcare for the 9/11 First Responders.  Or his efforts to support veterans’ rights.  Beyond his hard-hitting interviews of politicians, he got directly involved in public issues in ways no other satirist ever had before.  Stewart’s political satire was no longer an afterthought, an aside, a humorous commentary—it was a major player in calling attention to major public issues. 

2. He changed the media. 

Just as “The Daily Show” under Stewart’s leadership began to play a more central role as a source of news for the U.S. public, he also began to influence the way that the news media itself covered issues. The most obvious change was the way that the media would offer stories on Stewart himself—meaning that satire was not just commenting on news; it was actually news.  Just about every time that he did a major bit, it was covered in the news the next day. But it gets weirder. Just as Stewart was calling on news media to do their jobs, they started trying to be funny.  This shift took place largely as news media attempted to attract the young demographic that was increasingly turning to Stewart and Colbert as their main source of news.  Think, for example about Anderson Cooper’s Ridiculist segment—it’s an obvious effort to make his show fun.

Sadly, though, the news folks don’t get satire, and the introduction of humor into their shows actually decreases their credibility with viewers.  So while the news media scrambled to be relevant to young viewers, Stewart and his fellow satirists turned satire into the most trusted, most viewed news source among young citizens.  And, even better, their viewers were consistently the most informed of all news consumers. Stewart made the “fake” news realer than the real news.

3. He changed politics.

When Stewart entered the scene the nation headed quickly into the blue state versus red state aggressive oppositions we find ourselves in today. All of that got exponentially worse after 9/11/2001 when political speech resorted to us versus them antagonisms.  Stewart refused to allow such reductive logic to hold sway and he consistently called out party rhetoric while advocating for a return to reasoned debate.  One excellent example was when he called out Nancy Pelosi for doing nothing more than spitting out the party line.  And who could forget his ongoing debates with Bill O’Reilly where he repeatedly insisted that O’Reilly stop relying on faulty logic and own up to his aggressive, egotistical messaging?  For an extended play of their sparring remember their 2012 debate.

Perhaps the most obvious way he altered politics, though, was his role as an interviewer of politicians—both domestic and international.  As Stewart exits his stint as host, we now have a landscape where most politicians expect to interact with comedians, especially when they are on the campaign trail. But Stewart’s unique hard-hitting interview style was sharp, funny, and incisive and it offered the U.S. public some of the most important media interactions with politicians they had ever seen.

4. He inspired others.

As we look back on Stewart’s career, I believe he will be remembered not only for his distinctive brand of passionate satire, but also for the way he mentored and inspired other comedians to take up the cause.  From Stephen Colbert to John Oliver to Samantha Bee, Stewart worked with a number of comedians who went off to do their own shows.  While they all have their own unique creative talent, it seems clear that Stewart served as a valuable mentor.  Unlike many other satirists, Stewart worked with a large team and regularly brought in “correspondents,” referred to as “The Best F*cking News team” to cover issues, as in this one example of election coverage from 2013.

Don’t forget, too, that the next host of “The Daily Show,” Trevor Noah, appeared as a guest twice as well. In addition to supporting a highly creative cast, Stewart’s impact was global.  Egyptian Bassem Youssef modeled his show directly after Stewart’s and Stewart worked hard to support him when the show came under threat and was eventually canceled.  We’ve never seen that sort of mentoring in a satirist before.  It reveals a baseline creative generosity that guarantees an ongoing impact for his approach to political comedy.

5. He created a movement.

Stewart did more than mentor other comedians; he motivated millennials to become more engaged citizens. And he offered a vision of citizenship that combined political passion with entertainment and fun.  As Jeffrey Jones explains, politics today no longer takes place in a separate sphere from entertainment.

Not all mixing of politics and entertainment is the same, though. Bill Clinton playing the sax on Arsensio Hall is far different from Stewart combining puns with a take down of the drone program.  Stewart educated his audience, but he did it through irony, which requires sophisticated critical thinking. Today we have a more critically active generation of young voters than this nation has ever seen—and Stewart played a large role in creating that momentum. One great example was his Rally on the National Mall with Colbert in 2013. Another is the boom in what I call citizen-satire that has allowed average citizens to use irony to spark political debate. For example,@LOLGOP on Twitter has 206K followers and is part of the growing movement where citizens use satire, irony, and snark to resist political dogma.