Hello, everyone—
What an awesome week this was, with four amazing shows and three Emmy nominations. All we need now is the win. I love Jon, but it’s time already.
As for the upcoming episodes: Okay, Mr. Colbert, where are the women? Four men again? And the same seems to be true for Jon, although his Thursday guest has not yet been announced. But there should be some glee for one specific Daily Show visitor. (Hint, hint: THE CORRAL! Oh, please, Stephen, stop by. If we can’t get a toss, this would be the next best thing, Maybe even better.)
And now, let’s meet this week’s honored guests:
Monday, 7/18: John Prendergast
John Prendergast
Human rights activist John Prendergast helped found the Enough Project, an organization whose mission is “ending genocide and crimes against humanity, and preventing them from occurring in the future.” I subscribe to their e-newsletter which, for the past few years, has focused closely on war-torn Darfur. Prendergast has succeeded in garnering the attention-raising support of several celebrities, most notably George Clooney, Don Cheadle and Angelina Jolie—many of whom used him as a guide when they visited Africa. He has appeared on a wide variety of TV shows, including 60 Minutes (several times), Nightline, and the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer.
He is also the author of Unlikely Brothers: Our Story of Adventure, Loss, and Redemption, which tells his tale of doing good a little closer to home. When he was just 20 years old, Prendergast became a “Big Brother” to Michael Mattocks, a Washington, DC boy from a homeless family. Their relationship continued despite the amount of time Prendergast spent away in Africa—and even as Michael grew up in and embarked on a life of crime and drugs. (Read a review at Kirkus Reviews. And by the way, congratulate him: he just got married this summer!
Read his blog on the Enough site.
Follow him on Twitter.
See the book video.
Read a New York Times Magazine article on Prendergast.
Tuesday, 7/19: David Carr
David Carr writes a weekly column on media-related issues in the business section of The New York Times, and also covers cultural matters for the newspaper. (Here’s a recent article on the phone hacking scandal, done July 10, and I hope he’ll discuss that topic with Stephen.) But just a few years ago, the story that garnered Carr a lot of attention was his own: the harrowing account of his severe cocaine addiction—and of raising his daughters while still on drugs. It was the subject of his book The Night of the Gun, published by Simon and Schuster in 2008, and of a lengthy New York Times Magazine article. The book, in which he interviewed people about his past behavior, became a bestseller. At the time of its release, he made his first appearance on The Colbert Report.
Carr also was instrumental in inspiring the recent documentary on the Times, Page One, when he got furious after reading that the esteemed newspaper was “on death’s door.”
Go to the Simon and Schuster website for The Night of the Gun, which features many great reviews and endorsements from a range of journals as well as writers such as Richard Price.
Here is the New York Times bio for Carr.
Follow him on Twitter.
Wednesday, 7/20: Michael Sandel
I want to take this class—and I can, in a way! Michael Sandel, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard, teaches a course on justice at the University—a class that, since 2007, has been available on the web and through podcasts. You can watch episodes that focus on torture, taxation of the rich to help the poor, the draft and whether it should be okay to send someone in your place if you have the money to pay (which was in fact done in the Civil War and previous conflicts), and whether you can ever put a value on human life. In his devil’s advocate way, Sandel even makes the case for cannibalism! I’d say that will be red meat to a querying Stephen, who always delights in philosophical and ethical discussions. (And who’s a pretty mean devil’s advocate himself.)
Sandel has written numerous books on the topic, including Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?, published in 2010, and others on public philosophy, ethics and morality, and democracy. Upcoming in April 2012, and available for pre-order, is What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets. He is also a former Rhodes scholar who studied at Oxford, and lectures around the world. His work is particularly popular in Japan.
Watch a talk he gave at the TED conference.
Read an article he wrote on Obama.
Like him on Facebook.
Thursday, 7/21: David Eagleman
Neuroscientist and author David Eagelman has written several books about the workings of the human brain—but also an acclaimed and bestselling collection of fictional stories called Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives that speculates on what life after death could be like. Since Stephen has his more biblical view of what the afterlife is, this promises to be a really good conversation. He has also written Why the Net Matters, which he published on the iPad rather than in traditional physical form, and has authored articles for magazines and journals, including The New York Times, Atlantic, Scientific American, and Discover.
Eagelman teaches at Baylor College of Medicine, and he is the director of the Laboratory for Perception and Action, as well as the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. He focuses on the perception and physiology of time, and particularly on synesthesia—which students of poetry, especially Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal, will recognize as the way one sense triggers another. (For example, when I smell the scent of certain old-time store freezers, I remember the taste of the ice cream I used to buyback when those freezers were commonly found. I also visualize the exact store where I would buy that ice cream.) As Baudelaire put it so beautifully: “Les parfums, les couleurs et les sons se répondent. (“The perfumes, colors, and sound speak to each other” or “respond to each other.”)
And, okay: got to say my brain is also telling me that Mr. Eagelman is very, very pleasant to look at, as well as brilliant!
Visit his official author website or his lab website.
Read a fascinating New Yorker profile that explains how a life-endangering fall when he was only eight years old triggered Eagelman’s interest in the nature of time.
Follow him on Twitter.
See a video where he discusses the brain and the law.
And now, let’s check in with our good friend Jon!
Once again, as of press time, only three of Jon’s guests are listed.
Monday, July 18th: Daniel Radcliffe
Hello, Harry—but also a lot more. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Harry Potter in the newest and final film in the Potter franchise, which has just broken all records for its opening day. He also is currently appearing on Broadway in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying. Radcliffe is clearly NOT going to get typecast, and he is certainly doing right by his career. But now it’s time to say goodbye…
Go to the film site for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, where you can see the trailer.
Tuesday, July 19th: Pervez Musharraf
This interview is a really plum one for Jon, and I feel fairly certain it will be extended and continue on the web. Musharraf is the former army chief and president of Pakistan, a country that obviously is giving us a lot of trouble in the wake of the Osama bin Laden killing. (We have responded by suspending aid, a move that Musharraf has called disastrous.) He is also the author of In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, published in 2006.
Wednesday, July 20th: STEVE CARELL!
Look who Jon has corralled! His former correspondent is coming back for a visit to promote his film Crazy Stupid Love, in which he stars with Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, and Marisa Tomei. He has also nabbed an Emmy nomination for his final season as Michael Scott in The Office.
Of course, I must include a clip of Carell’s amazing appearance on The Colbert Report, with a drop-in from Jon. One of the very, very, very best.
And Steve Carrell visiting The Daily Show.
Finally, the trailer for Crazy Stupid Love.
That’s it for this week, everyone. Let me know which guest you’re most looking forward to!
Cheers!
Better Know a Guest, July 18th – 21st | Colbert News Hub
Hello, everyone—
As for the upcoming episodes: Okay, Mr. Colbert, where are the women? Four men again? And the same seems to be true for Jon, although his Thursday guest has not yet been announced. But there should be some glee for one specific Daily Show visitor. (Hint, hint: THE CORRAL! Oh, please, Stephen, stop by. If we can’t get a toss, this would be the next best thing, Maybe even better.)
And now, let’s meet this week’s honored guests:
Monday, 7/18: John Prendergast
John Prendergast
Human rights activist John Prendergast helped found the Enough Project, an organization whose mission is “ending genocide and crimes against humanity, and preventing them from occurring in the future.” I subscribe to their e-newsletter which, for the past few years, has focused closely on war-torn Darfur. Prendergast has succeeded in garnering the attention-raising support of several celebrities, most notably George Clooney, Don Cheadle and Angelina Jolie—many of whom used him as a guide when they visited Africa. He has appeared on a wide variety of TV shows, including 60 Minutes (several times), Nightline, and the PBS Newshour with Jim Lehrer.
He is also the author of Unlikely Brothers: Our Story of Adventure, Loss, and Redemption, which tells his tale of doing good a little closer to home. When he was just 20 years old, Prendergast became a “Big Brother” to Michael Mattocks, a Washington, DC boy from a homeless family. Their relationship continued despite the amount of time Prendergast spent away in Africa—and even as Michael grew up in and embarked on a life of crime and drugs. (Read a review at Kirkus Reviews. And by the way, congratulate him: he just got married this summer!
Read his blog on the Enough site.
Follow him on Twitter.
See the book video.
Read a New York Times Magazine article on Prendergast.
Tuesday, 7/19: David Carr
Carr also was instrumental in inspiring the recent documentary on the Times, Page One, when he got furious after reading that the esteemed newspaper was “on death’s door.”
Go to the Simon and Schuster website for The Night of the Gun, which features many great reviews and endorsements from a range of journals as well as writers such as Richard Price.
Here is the New York Times bio for Carr.
Follow him on Twitter.
Wednesday, 7/20: Michael Sandel
I want to take this class—and I can, in a way! Michael Sandel, the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard, teaches a course on justice at the University—a class that, since 2007, has been available on the web and through podcasts. You can watch episodes that focus on torture, taxation of the rich to help the poor, the draft and whether it should be okay to send someone in your place if you have the money to pay (which was in fact done in the Civil War and previous conflicts), and whether you can ever put a value on human life. In his devil’s advocate way, Sandel even makes the case for cannibalism! I’d say that will be red meat to a querying Stephen, who always delights in philosophical and ethical discussions. (And who’s a pretty mean devil’s advocate himself.)
Sandel has written numerous books on the topic, including Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do?, published in 2010, and others on public philosophy, ethics and morality, and democracy. Upcoming in April 2012, and available for pre-order, is What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets. He is also a former Rhodes scholar who studied at Oxford, and lectures around the world. His work is particularly popular in Japan.
Watch a talk he gave at the TED conference.
Read an article he wrote on Obama.
Like him on Facebook.
Thursday, 7/21: David Eagleman
Eagelman teaches at Baylor College of Medicine, and he is the director of the Laboratory for Perception and Action, as well as the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. He focuses on the perception and physiology of time, and particularly on synesthesia—which students of poetry, especially Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal, will recognize as the way one sense triggers another. (For example, when I smell the scent of certain old-time store freezers, I remember the taste of the ice cream I used to buyback when those freezers were commonly found. I also visualize the exact store where I would buy that ice cream.) As Baudelaire put it so beautifully: “Les parfums, les couleurs et les sons se répondent. (“The perfumes, colors, and sound speak to each other” or “respond to each other.”)
And, okay: got to say my brain is also telling me that Mr. Eagelman is very, very pleasant to look at, as well as brilliant!
Visit his official author website or his lab website.
Read a fascinating New Yorker profile that explains how a life-endangering fall when he was only eight years old triggered Eagelman’s interest in the nature of time.
Follow him on Twitter.
See a video where he discusses the brain and the law.
And now, let’s check in with our good friend Jon!
Once again, as of press time, only three of Jon’s guests are listed.
Monday, July 18th: Daniel Radcliffe
Hello, Harry—but also a lot more. Daniel Radcliffe stars as Harry Potter in the newest and final film in the Potter franchise, which has just broken all records for its opening day. He also is currently appearing on Broadway in the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying. Radcliffe is clearly NOT going to get typecast, and he is certainly doing right by his career. But now it’s time to say goodbye…
Go to the film site for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, where you can see the trailer.
Tuesday, July 19th: Pervez Musharraf
This interview is a really plum one for Jon, and I feel fairly certain it will be extended and continue on the web. Musharraf is the former army chief and president of Pakistan, a country that obviously is giving us a lot of trouble in the wake of the Osama bin Laden killing. (We have responded by suspending aid, a move that Musharraf has called disastrous.) He is also the author of In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, published in 2006.
Wednesday, July 20th: STEVE CARELL!
Look who Jon has corralled! His former correspondent is coming back for a visit to promote his film Crazy Stupid Love, in which he stars with Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, and Marisa Tomei. He has also nabbed an Emmy nomination for his final season as Michael Scott in The Office.
Of course, I must include a clip of Carell’s amazing appearance on The Colbert Report, with a drop-in from Jon. One of the very, very, very best.
And Steve Carrell visiting The Daily Show.
Finally, the trailer for Crazy Stupid Love.
That’s it for this week, everyone. Let me know which guest you’re most looking forward to!
Cheers!