Surprisingly, Stewart responded “no.”  At first, my co-director, Negin Farsad, and I thought Stewart was being unduly modest. But he was actually being sincere. Stewart went on to list issues he had railed against for years—such as media sensationalism—and noted that nothing tangible had changed despite his best efforts.

But if that question were put to Stewart today, honesty would compel him to answer that his efforts have changed the way many who follow him…