David Letterman On Netflix: Experience The Magic of Malala On The Most Powerful ‘My Next Guest’ Yet

We’ve now seen late night legend David Letterman sit down with Barack Obama and George Clooney, and there’s no denying that his Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction has marked a tremendous return to television for the host. The latest installment, however, is perhaps the show’s most poignant yet. Letterman sat down with Pakistani activist and youngest Nobel Prize laureate ever Malala Yousafzai, and pretty much nothing was off the table. They dove into Yousafzai’s upbringing, activism, and her hopes for the future, and the result is nothing short of inspiring.

Alternating between discussion with Yousafzai onstage in New York and segments of Letterman visiting her at Oxford University, the episode traces things back to Yousafzai’s early activism and the attempt on her life that brought her to England. Despite the inevitably intense subject matter they’ll discuss, the episode kicks off on a light note, following Letterman as he tags along with Yousafzai while she gives a tour of Oxford University. She’s currently studying PPE – philosophy, politics, and economics – but she has no plans of entering the political world herself. As they tour goes on throughout the episode, Letterman’s jokes often fall flat with the group of young women, but it’s a delightful romp, one that includes a rousing foosball match and crashing the campus kitchen, perfectly offering comic relief in moments that weigh a little heavier.

The real strength of the episode lies in moments where Yousafzai speaks candidly about her beginnings as a young activist in Pakistan and her passion for empowering young girls and making education accessible for all. We get a glimpse of Yousafzai’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, and Letterman asks her about the experience – and where she learned to speak so powerfully. She (predictably) is incredibly humble about it, crediting her grandfather and father’s teaching skills, and adds that she accepted the prize not just for herself, but for the 130 million girls worldwide who still don’t have access to education. Her knowledge and resolve when it comes to her cause never fails to inspire; Yousafzai is well-aware of the forces at work and the issues facing countries all over the world, but she’s also completely sure of the solution: education.

When Letterman asks Yousafzai about the attack that essentially put her on the world stage, she admits it’s all a blur – and that it’s probably for the best. “I don’t remember the incident, which is good in a sense, because I don’t have to look back,” she says. Targeted by the Taliban for speaking out against injustice and inequality, Yousafzai was shot in the head at point blank range, and miraculously survived thanks to life-saving treatment performed in England, where she now resides. It hurts to watch her speak about her desire to go home and processing the fact that it’s just not time yet, but she’s resilient. And it’s resilience we can all learn from. She believes she survived the assassination for a purpose. “We have to die one day, so why not do good and do as much as we can to help others?”

Over the course of just 50 minutes, we are given the privilege of getting to know an international icon perhaps more intimately than ever before shown on screen; Letterman has fish and chips with Yousafzai’s father Ziaddin and discusses his hopes for his daughter’s future, Yousafzai opens up about studying, Trump, and her taste in music, and she even pokes fun at Letterman’s beard. It’s eye-opening to hear her discuss extremism and her culture and her hopes for the world, and how much conviction she possesses. It’s hard to imagine where one goes after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at 17, but she’s got it all planned out. “I want to continue my work for girls’ education, that’s what I have dedicated my life to,” she says. “I want to see more young girls getting a quality education, getting empowered and becoming leaders of today and tomorrow.”

There is no one quite like Malala, but we should all strive to be. Thank goodness we have gems like this My Next Guest to remind us.

Stream My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman on Netflix