“In The Footsteps of the Freedomsurrection” continues the Daily Show’s journey to fundamentally reinvent late night, using non-traditional spaces in new and exciting ways to harness the program’s satirical voice as an honest form of social commentary.
In the vein of the acclaimed Daily Show installation “Heroes of Freedomsurrection”––a collection of monuments paying “tribute” to the “heroes” most responsible for inciting the Capitol riots ––the objective of the Daily Show’s “In the Footsteps of the Freedomsurrection” was to guide visitors on a self-guided walking tour and take listeners through a satirical journey, chronicling the events of the January 6th Capitol Insurrection.The Daily Show sought to help visitors retrace the steps of those who fought against American democracy on January 6th (and thankfully lost), aiming to illuminate the democratic threat of Trump and his allies.
“In The Footsteps of the Freedomsurrection” was created to give Daily Show fans an experiential connection to the program’s signature humor, using GPS technology and physical spaces to expose the hypocrisy surrounding the Capitol insurrection.
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Trevor Noah partnered with audio tour app VoiceMap to create a free, self-guided walking tour around the Capitol. “In the Footsteps of the Freedomsurrection” allowed listeners to trace the exact route taken by the insurrectionists on January 6th and revisit the events that occurred before, during, and after that fateful day. Beginning near the White House, the tour takes you down Pennsylvania Avenue to the Capitol, following in the footsteps of the “patriots” who marched on Trump’s behalf. “In the Footsteps of the Freedomsurrection” uses VoiceMap's technology to recapture the history of the insurrection for Washington, DC visitors. VoiceMap uses GPS to play audio automatically and includes turn-by-turn directions. The tour is also available virtually, to listen to at home, with photographs of locations along the route, for those who aren’t in Washington.
“In the Footsteps of the Freedomsurrection” consists of fifteen stops that spotlight important sites from the events of January 6th. Some VoiceMap audio tour highlights include:
The Battle of Little Muffin Top: Discover the site of one of America's most historic conflicts: the Battle of Little Muffin Top, in which the country's bravest president, Donald J. Trump, single-handedly fought against his own secret service detail.
The Josh Hawley Fist of Solidarity: Visit the patch of sweaty grass where Missouri Senator Josh Hawley raised his right arm in solidarity with the Stop The Steal patriots converging on his place of work.
The Ellipse/Save America Rally: Head to the National Mall just south of the White House where Trump "energized" his followers on the morning of January 6th and urged them to “walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.”
With the show’s social feeds and linear programming closely aligned with press, news of “In The Footsteps of the Freedomsurrection” quickly spread. Outlets like Variety and The Hill covered the audio tour launch, and since its inception, “In The Footsteps of the Freedomsurrection” has been streamed over 14,000 times via VoiceMap sessions, allowing a huge group of fans to have an experiential connection not just to the Daily Show brand, but also to a historic attack on the nation’s Capitol.
