In the current world climate, awareness of issues such as child labor, environmentalism, and immigration is crucial to improving our society, a burden that lies upon our younger, more progressive generation.Season five of the perfect medium of activism, awareness, and comedy has arrived on Netflix. Throughout November, Netflix has periodically released episodes of Volume V of Hasan Minhaj’s Patriot Act. 

Minhaj takes his experience on The Daily Show to his own Patriot Act, using light comedy and witty satire to comment on political, social, and economic issues plaguing Americans. This fifth season includes episodes centering on important issues relevant to the American people, such as mental health, the refugee crisis, fast fashion, and most recently, billionaires and philanthropy. 

Minhaj expertly addresses and covers one topic in each thirty-minute episode, the perfect amount of time for a quick watch. The wide variety of topics provide everyone with at least an episode or two they’re interested in to draw them into the show. 

Minhaj’s upbeat tone, the intriguing visuals he incorporates into the show, and the live audience reactions only add to his engaging personality and well-developed comedic timing. 

Though a joke occasionally misses the mark, for the most part, Minhaj crafts and executes his script to sound natural rather than rehearsed, and unlike many other political comedians, his jokes are integrated into the material he discusses.

Even if I occasionally disagree with some of Minhaj’s opinions, he backs each claim in his episodes with detailed research and statistics. While some activist shows only argue a liberal or conservative point of view, Minhaj makes his claims and supports it with real data and evidence throughout the show. The informational aspects of the episodes are made engaging because Minhaj integrates them seamlessly into the script and show with simple, eye-catching visual displays.

The short, sweet episodes of Patriot Act perfectly educate the viewer while providing entertainment and comedy. Though the majority of each show is lighthearted and entertaining, Minhaj presents the pressing, controversial topics in a thoughtful way that leaves the audience with a more developed view of the world.

People who enjoy the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ellen, or shows by John Oliver and Bill Maher are likely to enjoy Patriot Act, or other shows on Netflix relating to Patriot Act, such as John Mulaney’s stand up comedy, and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. If Hasan Minhaj is your favorite part of Patriot Act, Homecoming King may be for you.

I would give Patriot Act a 9/10 for its relevance to contemporary issues and juxtaposition of comedy and thoughtful insights.