This is the magic of John Oliver. It’s been only 14 episodes so far (the show is slated for 19 this season) but the Last Week Tonight team has found a way to take a seemingly complicated issue, remove the talking points and cultural baggage surrounding it, break it into understandable parts—and then slowly rebuild it. It’s an ingenious formula that’s making a difference in the real world.

“Making a difference” isn’t hyperbole. The FCC’s website actually crashed from overwhelming web traffic the day after Oliver’s segment originally aired.

The crash itself may have been an unintended consequence, but it didn't just happen by accident. The last couple minutes of the segment consisted of Oliver imploring viewers (in this case, specifically, Internet commenters) to contact the FCC. “This is the moment you were made for, commenters,” he says before the inspirational background music begins and he continues to wax poetic about the importance of speaking up. It’s ridiculously cheesy, sure, but it’s not trying to be anything else.

Whether satirical or not, most of Oliver’s segments end with some sort of call-to-action like that. Sometimes the action is audacious or silly, but it’s still action. Even Vladimir Putin got some pretty annoying emails I’ll bet.

And Oliver is not just influencing viewers; he’s actually having an effect on the people he's criticizing. In the wake of his neutrality rant, an official FCC meeting began with a mention of the show, much to Oliver's amusement. Later, Thailand—yes the country—denounced “John William Oliver” in an official military document after a segment made fun of its crown prince. Oliver welcomed the criticism. “Let’s burn more bridges,” he said, before dissing other countries that have anti-free-speech laws like Thailand's.

Part of the reason for Oliver’s success comes by virtue of his show being on HBO. He’s liberated from the advertising concerns that affect network TV. His scathing take on General Motors’ disastrous handling of the recent recall crisis won’t win him any sponsorship dollars from Detroit, but he’s in a position where he doesn’t have to care.

Listen to how vicious he got at the news that the company first learned of flaws in its vehicles all the way back in 2001: "That means a child attending her first day of school the day you found out would be old enough to die driving one of your cars the day you fucking did something about it.” Contrast that with his old boss Jon Stewart's take on the topic over at Comedy Central. It was funny and informative, but it wasn’t fortified with anger, nor was it nearly as long.

It’s not that other satirists wholly shy away from any corporate criticism, but there’s a certain line that usually won’t be crossed. Oliver crosses it. In his August 2nd native-advertising segment he spent the first fours minute on a tirade, insulting random companies while repeatedly stating, almost like a whiny child, that there is nothing anyone could do about it. (The Atlantic’s scientology-ad scandal later got a mention.) He has described this immunity gifted to him as “a confusing amount of freedom.”