Welcome to Better Know a Guest, your weekly guide to the wonderful and diverse array of personalities appearing on ‘The Colbert Report’ and ‘The Daily Show’ each week.
Hi, Everyone…
And welcome back after a week without Stephen. I’m glad to have him and Jon back; think of the stories they’ve been missing while they were away! The Murdoch phone hacking scandal. The end (on Fox) of Glenn Beck. The final space shuttle going up. Boehner being a bonehead again. I bet the writers have been jotting down jokes. How could they resist?
Now, before I give you the actual guests, I am going to present: Karen’s week of wish guests! If I could program The Colbert Report for four days, I’d want this:
Monday: Alec Baldwin–he’s hysterical and super-smart. Better yet, bring on Steve Martin with him. (For those of you on Twitter, I highly recommend following both. They’re a riot when they have a tweetalogue.)
Tuesday: Hilary Clinton. She’s a good guest and I think would have plenty to say about what’s happening in the world today.
Wednesday: Ian Mckewan, author of Atonement and other wonderful novels
Thursday: Rock out with Keith Richard, Lady Gaga, or the Brazilian group Pedro Luis e a Parede (okay, that last one will never happen, but that’s why this is a wish list).
Alternate: Nigel Lythgoe of So You Think You Can Dance? Okay (she said a little defensively), I love that show! And he could teach Stephen some choreography. Wouldn’t everybody love that? Well…wouldn’t you?
And now…for reality. Which is pretty darn fantastic!
Monday, 7/11: Michael Shermer
He once was lost, but now he’s found … Darwin. Michael Shermer is the author of Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design, as well as the editor of Skeptic magazine and a frequent writer for Scientific American. A former evangelical Christian, Shermer has evolved—a concept that he now endorses as opposed to intelligent design. (Intelligent design is the way the very religious try to get around the separation of church and state when they want creationism taught in schools: instead of saying god created everything, they simply say that the world must have been the brainchild of a greater intelligence, whatever it might have been. Of course, for some new agers, it might me super-smart aliens.) That said, Shermer has not abandoned faith; he believes that good science and good religion can and should go together. Which makes him, in my opinion, an excellent guest for the scientifically curious, yes firmly Catholic, Stephen.
Now, Shermer has a new book called The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies — How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths. Again, the concept is right up Stephen’s alley, as Shermer examines why, psychologically, we believe things despite not having the facts to back these feelings up. Ah…the reason why truthiness exists, that’s what it is!
Shermer currently teaches at Claremont Graduate University, where he received his PhD in the history of science.
Tuesday, 7/12: Dan Savage
Will Stephen once again encourage the Nation to google “Santorum,” helping to keep Dan Savage’s wickedly funny and dirty “definition” of the conservative senator (and putative presidential candidate’s) name at the top of the list? Ahh, I love Dan Savage. Not only is his sex/relationship column Savage Love enormously fun to read, but his It Gets Better project is a lifesaver for gay–and probably even some straight teens. (Please go over and take the pledge if you haven’t) He’s definitely GGG to the world! (GGG = Good, Giving, and Game, Savage’s acronym for how partners should behave towards each other.)
The New York Times magazine recently wrote an article focusing on Savage’s ideas about fidelity in marriage, and the difficulty of keeping those vows. While he fully believes in honesty—he does not advocate cheating and lying to your partner–he also feels that sometimes there needs to be an honest discussion of how difficult monogamy is for many people and whether it may be better for couples to arrange a more open relationship. In Savage’s view, such an agreement might keep the marriage and the family together—especially if one person’s kinks aren’t being met. The article discusses the pros and cons of his position, especially as it concerns women. Without a doubt, given all the “bad boy” scenarios we’ve seen played out publicly in recent days, Savage will have plenty to discuss with Stephen. By the way, this is his sixth visit to the show! He is friend, indeed.
Savage is himself married — he wed boyfriend Terry in Toronto, where gay marriage has been legal for awhile. The couple adopted a son. He is also presumably getting a new MTV series, which would be awesome.
Watch some of Dan’s previous visits to The Colbert Report on:
November 29, 2010; November 11, 2008, speaking about California’s Prop 8; and October 3, 2007.
Wednesday, 7/13: David McCullough
Stephen will have to pull out all his awards to match tonight’s guest: historian and noted author David McCullough has won two Pulitzers, a National Book Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom—and he has over 40 honorary degrees. He’s written on a wide variety of subjects, from Sam Adams and Harry Truman to the Brooklyn Bridge and the racehorse Seabiscuit. I’m dying to read his latest, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, a tome about how US expats from 1830–the early 1900s were shaped by French culture and then brought the fruits of their experience back home. The book received two reviews in The New York Times, one by Janet Maslin and another by Stacy Schiff that appeared in the newspaper’s Book Review.
Amazingly enough, though, McCullough’s first post-graduation job—after getting his degree in English from Yale was with Sports Illustrated, but he then went to work for the government as part of the United States Information Agency. His first book was on the disastrous Jonestown flood.
McCullough has not been on The Colbert Report, but he has visited The Daily Show—an interview broken up into parts one and two.
“We’re raising young people who are, by and large, historically illiterate.” Read McCullough in the Wall Street Journal on contemporary kids’ lack of historical knowledge.
Thursday, 7/14: Jose Antonio Vargas
Jose Antonio Vargas, a former reporter for the Washington Post, was celebrated for his coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings as well as for HIV. He has won a Pulitzer Prize. But his most recent and explosive topic is his own life: Vargas is an undocumented alien from the Phillipines who has spent most of his life covering up the truth and in fear of being found out. His article “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,” recently appeared in the New York Times magazine, and at this point, he could, in theory, be deported.
When Vargas first came to this country as a child to live with his grandparents, he did not realize that his papers were not in order; his family hid that fact from him. Only later, when trying to get a driver’s license, did he discover that everything he believed was false and he did not have the necessary documentation. From that time on, he spent time trying to achieve his dreams while keeping his true situation under wraps. The article details everything he had to go through the keep up the subterfuge. Why did he finally come clean and put his successful life at risk? First, he was tired of living in fear. Second, he wanted to help get the DREAM act passed, and save others from suffering as he did. Do note: Vargas is openly gay. Had he been straight, he could have solved the whole problem by marrying. That option is still not open to him.
 :
And now, let’s check in with our good friend Jon Stewart!*
Monday, 7/11: Denis Leary
Better Know a Guest: July 11 – 14, 2011
Welcome to Better Know a Guest, your weekly guide to the wonderful and diverse array of personalities appearing on ‘The Colbert Report’ and ‘The Daily Show’ each week.
Hi, Everyone…
And welcome back after a week without Stephen. I’m glad to have him and Jon back; think of the stories they’ve been missing while they were away! The Murdoch phone hacking scandal. The end (on Fox) of Glenn Beck. The final space shuttle going up. Boehner being a bonehead again. I bet the writers have been jotting down jokes. How could they resist?
Now, before I give you the actual guests, I am going to present: Karen’s week of wish guests! If I could program The Colbert Report for four days, I’d want this:
Monday: Alec Baldwin–he’s hysterical and super-smart. Better yet, bring on Steve Martin with him. (For those of you on Twitter, I highly recommend following both. They’re a riot when they have a tweetalogue.)
Tuesday: Hilary Clinton. She’s a good guest and I think would have plenty to say about what’s happening in the world today.
Wednesday: Ian Mckewan, author of Atonement and other wonderful novels
Thursday: Rock out with Keith Richard, Lady Gaga, or the Brazilian group Pedro Luis e a Parede (okay, that last one will never happen, but that’s why this is a wish list).
Alternate: Nigel Lythgoe of So You Think You Can Dance? Okay (she said a little defensively), I love that show! And he could teach Stephen some choreography. Wouldn’t everybody love that? Well…wouldn’t you?
And now…for reality. Which is pretty darn fantastic!
Monday, 7/11: Michael Shermer
He once was lost, but now he’s found … Darwin. Michael Shermer is the author of Why Darwin Matters: The Case Against Intelligent Design, as well as the editor of Skeptic magazine and a frequent writer for Scientific American. A former evangelical Christian, Shermer has evolved—a concept that he now endorses as opposed to intelligent design. (Intelligent design is the way the very religious try to get around the separation of church and state when they want creationism taught in schools: instead of saying god created everything, they simply say that the world must have been the brainchild of a greater intelligence, whatever it might have been. Of course, for some new agers, it might me super-smart aliens.) That said, Shermer has not abandoned faith; he believes that good science and good religion can and should go together. Which makes him, in my opinion, an excellent guest for the scientifically curious, yes firmly Catholic, Stephen.
Now, Shermer has a new book called The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies — How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths. Again, the concept is right up Stephen’s alley, as Shermer examines why, psychologically, we believe things despite not having the facts to back these feelings up. Ah…the reason why truthiness exists, that’s what it is!
Shermer currently teaches at Claremont Graduate University, where he received his PhD in the history of science.
Tuesday, 7/12: Dan Savage
Will Stephen once again encourage the Nation to google “Santorum,” helping to keep Dan Savage’s wickedly funny and dirty “definition” of the conservative senator (and putative presidential candidate’s) name at the top of the list? Ahh, I love Dan Savage. Not only is his sex/relationship column Savage Love enormously fun to read, but his It Gets Better project is a lifesaver for gay–and probably even some straight teens. (Please go over and take the pledge if you haven’t) He’s definitely GGG to the world! (GGG = Good, Giving, and Game, Savage’s acronym for how partners should behave towards each other.)
The New York Times magazine recently wrote an article focusing on Savage’s ideas about fidelity in marriage, and the difficulty of keeping those vows. While he fully believes in honesty—he does not advocate cheating and lying to your partner–he also feels that sometimes there needs to be an honest discussion of how difficult monogamy is for many people and whether it may be better for couples to arrange a more open relationship. In Savage’s view, such an agreement might keep the marriage and the family together—especially if one person’s kinks aren’t being met. The article discusses the pros and cons of his position, especially as it concerns women. Without a doubt, given all the “bad boy” scenarios we’ve seen played out publicly in recent days, Savage will have plenty to discuss with Stephen. By the way, this is his sixth visit to the show! He is friend, indeed.
Savage is himself married — he wed boyfriend Terry in Toronto, where gay marriage has been legal for awhile. The couple adopted a son. He is also presumably getting a new MTV series, which would be awesome.
Watch some of Dan’s previous visits to The Colbert Report on:
November 29, 2010; November 11, 2008, speaking about California’s Prop 8; and October 3, 2007.
Wednesday, 7/13: David McCullough
Stephen will have to pull out all his awards to match tonight’s guest: historian and noted author David McCullough has won two Pulitzers, a National Book Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom—and he has over 40 honorary degrees. He’s written on a wide variety of subjects, from Sam Adams and Harry Truman to the Brooklyn Bridge and the racehorse Seabiscuit. I’m dying to read his latest, The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, a tome about how US expats from 1830–the early 1900s were shaped by French culture and then brought the fruits of their experience back home. The book received two reviews in The New York Times, one by Janet Maslin and another by Stacy Schiff that appeared in the newspaper’s Book Review.
Amazingly enough, though, McCullough’s first post-graduation job—after getting his degree in English from Yale was with Sports Illustrated, but he then went to work for the government as part of the United States Information Agency. His first book was on the disastrous Jonestown flood.
McCullough has not been on The Colbert Report, but he has visited The Daily Show—an interview broken up into parts one and two.
“We’re raising young people who are, by and large, historically illiterate.” Read McCullough in the Wall Street Journal on contemporary kids’ lack of historical knowledge.
Thursday, 7/14: Jose Antonio Vargas
Jose Antonio Vargas, a former reporter for the Washington Post, was celebrated for his coverage of the Virginia Tech shootings as well as for HIV. He has won a Pulitzer Prize. But his most recent and explosive topic is his own life: Vargas is an undocumented alien from the Phillipines who has spent most of his life covering up the truth and in fear of being found out. His article “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,” recently appeared in the New York Times magazine, and at this point, he could, in theory, be deported.
When Vargas first came to this country as a child to live with his grandparents, he did not realize that his papers were not in order; his family hid that fact from him. Only later, when trying to get a driver’s license, did he discover that everything he believed was false and he did not have the necessary documentation. From that time on, he spent time trying to achieve his dreams while keeping his true situation under wraps. The article details everything he had to go through the keep up the subterfuge. Why did he finally come clean and put his successful life at risk? First, he was tired of living in fear. Second, he wanted to help get the DREAM act passed, and save others from suffering as he did. Do note: Vargas is openly gay. Had he been straight, he could have solved the whole problem by marrying. That option is still not open to him.
 :
And now, let’s check in with our good friend Jon Stewart!*
Monday, 7/11: Denis Leary