From Caliban To The Taliban(2004)

500 Years of Humanitarian Intervention

From Caliban To The Taliban is a stand-up comedy special recorded live at Brighton's Paramount Comedy Festival in 2003. Comedian Robert Newman delivers a meticulously researched performance tracing 500 years of Western imperial expansion, from a 1609 Bermuda shipwreck through Shakespeare and Sir Francis Bacon to modern US military interventions in Guatemala. Newman draws unexpected causal links between historical events and contemporary geopolitics, examining how capitalist expansion has been justified as humanitarian mission. The special balances dense historical analysis with Newman's characteristic wit, weaving scholarly material into accessible comedy. Rather than pursuing easy laughs, Newman constructs a provocative argument about America's global power projection, all while maintaining the clever observational humor that defined his comedy career.