Stephen Colbert and late night
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
New shows, new music, new movies. Keeping up with pop culture sometimes feels like a full-time job. Thankfully, over at Pop Culture Happy Hour, it's literally our job. We break down what's actually worth watching, listening to, and pretending you already knew about. So the next time someone says, did you see that? You can say, yeah, obviously. Follow NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts.
Later tonight, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert comes to an end amid a lot of changes in the business and in the country.
What significant changes are affecting late night television?
Among the sources of tension, the economics of late night in an age of clips and streaming, the approaching merger of Paramount and Warner Brothers, and President Donald Trump's constant criticism of late night hosts, which has sometimes been backed by pronouncements from the FCC. But for Colbert's fans, the end of a friendly, funny, candid show. I'm Linda Holmes, and today we're talking about Stephen Colbert on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.
This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe. You can send, spend, and receive in up to 40 currencies with only a few simple taps. Be smart. Get wise. Download the Wise app today or visit wise.com. T's and C's apply. New shows, new music, new movies. Keeping up with pop culture sometimes feels like a full-time job. Thankfully, over at Pop Culture Happy Hour, it's literally our job. We break down what's actually worth watching, listening to, and pretending you already knew about. So the next time someone says, did you see that? You can say, yeah, obviously. Follow NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour wherever you get your podcasts.
Joining me today, of course, is Eric Deggans. He's a critic at large at NPR and also the night chair of journalism and media ethics at Washington and Lee University. Hello, Eric.
I believe this is the first time I've been on the show since I've become a full professor. So I am now officially a An absent-minded professor. I just want to note that here starting out.
That is awesome. I am excited to hear it. I am always proud to know you, but even more now that you are fully an absent-minded professor. And I will also say, you know, you and I have spoken about late night quite a number of times, I would say. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
How has Stephen Colbert's role evolved throughout his career?
He played a fictional version of himself, a conservative firebrand talk show host. On the late show, Colbert was just himself, a warm and affable presence in interviews and more and more as time went on, a critic of Donald Trump. In July, CBS announced that the current season would be the last, citing the difficult economics of late night shows. But this also happened while CBS was seeking approval from the Federal Communications Commission for a multibillion dollar merger with Skydance Media. It also closely followed Colbert's criticism of CBS's decision to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit Trump had filed over a 60-minute interview he claimed was unfairly edited. Colbert himself has said essentially that he thinks two things can be true.
The economics of late night have indeed become difficult, but also perhaps it was particularly appealing to end the show at this particular political and corporate moment. Eric, I want to ask you first, when you think about Stephen Colbert's career, what do you think sets him apart as a host?
What sets him apart as a host right now is I think that he has become fully this figure who embodies a lot of really interesting and wonderful qualities. He's super smart. He's passionate about a lot of subjects, including The Lord of the Rings, which anybody who watches the show knows.
That's right.
He loves his wife, who he's been married to for ages. He's deeply religious. He's Catholic. And he seems to be a good-hearted guy. And he's brought that to hosting The Late Show. And he was succeeding somebody, David Letterman, who didn't connect with his guests and really distinguished his show by provoking them on camera in very real ways. Letterman enjoyed... both making fun of the conventions of television and also provoking his guests to show genuine anger and genuine sort of negative feelings on camera to kind of puncture the false picture that these talk shows can often present.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:35
2
What significant changes are affecting late night television?
0:35–2:38
3
How has Stephen Colbert's role evolved throughout his career?
2:38–5:49
4
What challenges are late night shows facing in today's media landscape?
5:49–9:02
5
How does Colbert's criticism of Trump impact his show?
9:02–17:08
6
What qualities set Stephen Colbert apart from other late night hosts?
17:08–18:37