The times when Jon Stewart wasn't joking

Jon Stewart has announced he is stepping down as the host of satirical news programme The Daily Show after 17 years. In that time, some of the comedian's most memorable moments were actually when he was being dead serious.

When he welcomed viewers in his first show after 9/11:

They said to get back to work. There were no jobs available for a man in the foetal position under his desk crying - which I gladly would have taken - so I come back here.

When there was nothing funny about the Eric Garner case:

I honestly don't know what to say. If comedy is tragedy plus time, I need more f*ing time.

But I would really settle for less f*ing tragedy.

When he destroyed Crossfire:

Crossfire was a CNN show designed for conflict and presented by two hosts with opposing political views. We say was because months after this Jon Stewart appearance, it was cancelled. He told them calling the show a forum for debate was “like saying pro wrestling is a show about athletic competition”, adding: “I watch your show every day and it kills me. It’s so painful to watch”.

You’re doing theatre when you should be doing debate. It’s not honest. What you’re doing is partisan hackery. You’re on CNN, the show that leads in to me is puppets making prank phone calls. What’s wrong with you?

When he spoke at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in 2010:

Now I thought we might have a moment, however brief, for some sincerity... The country's 24-hour politico pundit perpetual panic conflictinator did not cause our problems - but its existence makes solving them that much harder.

When he said this about the Charlie Hebdo killings:

I know very few people go into comedy as an act of courage, mainly because it shouldn't have to be that, it should be taken as established, but those guys at Hebdo had it and they were killed for their cartoons.

And finally, when Malala left him speechless:

He told the Nobel prize winner:

Nothing feels better than making you laugh.

More: This is what Jon Stewart has to say about the Charlie Hebdo massacre

More: Remembering when Malala left Jon Stewart speechless