☀️The Last Monologue
On May 21st, Stephen Colbert taped his final episode of The Late Show. Paul McCartney was there. So was Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, and the rest of late-night's Strike Force Five. It was, by all accounts, a joyous wake.
I've been watching Colbert on YouTube for as long as I can remember. The show got me through university, made me laugh during the pandemic, and kept me on my toes with the news in the last couple of years, as democracy in America seemed to get shakier and shakier. I've also spent more hours than I'd like to admit with SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, and my favourite of them all, after Colbert, John Oliver.
So this one stings a little (more). Especially because Colbert left as the number one-rated host in late-night, with nine consecutive seasons at the top. He wasn't cancelled because people stopped watching… he was cancelled while people were still watching.
And into his slot on CBS? A low-budget comedy showcase that will pay for its own airtime. The Ed Sullivan Theater, where The Beatles made their American debut, will now be available for hourly rental.
There's a version of this story that's just about television economics, sure. Then there's the version where you notice that Colbert built his career on saying uncomfortable things about power, and power spent the last year making that uncomfortable. It’s crucial to keep in mind that every autocrat begins by silencing the artists, as laughter can be the enemy of fear.
This edition asks what we lose when the jesters go quiet, what kind of person chooses to stand up and say the uncomfortable thing in the first place, and why democracies have always needed someone willing to do it.
📖 3 Articles to Spark Your Curiosity
The Psychology of Stand-Up Comedy
What kind of person willingly stands alone in front of a room full of strangers and risks public failure, night after night? Research shows comedians score unusually high on traits linked to unconventional thinking, emotional sensitivity, and a comfort with saying what others won't.
→ Read on All About Psychology
5 Reasons Stephen Colbert Is One of the Most Important Satirists in American History
From coining "truthiness" in 2005 to running a real Super PAC to expose campaign finance law, Colbert consistently used comedy to do what journalism sometimes couldn't: make power legible.
→ Read on The Conversation
Trump's War on Comedy Threatens Free Speech for All
Every autocrat begins by silencing the artists. From Egypt to Russia, the first voices targeted are often comedians and satirists. What begins as punishing a joke quickly becomes quelling dissent.
→ Read on Salon
🗞️ 3 Headlines Worth Exploring
Stephen Colbert's Late Show Finale Was a Bittersweet, Star-Packed Goodbye
Colbert ended his 11-year run the way he started it: with empathy and an eye for entertainment. He said his job on The Late Show was to "feel the news with you".
→ Read on The Guardian
Egypt's Most Famous Satirist Makes a Complicated Comeback
Bassem Youssef left Egypt in 2014 after authorities pressured him to take his show off the air for his political satire. Last October, he reappeared on Egyptian state-linked television from his living room in Los Angeles.
→ Read on CNN
Stephen Colbert Leaves as the No. 1 Host in Late Night
Nine consecutive seasons at the top, nearly matching David Letterman's viewership numbers in an era of collapsing TV ratings.
→ Read on Forbes
☀️ 3 Actions to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Watch something that challenges your political comfort zone
Pick one satirist, comedian, or political show you've been dismissing because they're "not your side." Watch one episode or segment with genuine curiosity. Notice what they get right, even if you disagree with the rest.
Say the thing you've been softening
Think of a conversation where you've been choosing vagueness over honesty to avoid friction. This week, say the clearer version. Satire works because it names things plainly, and this is something you can surely do as well.
Use humor as a way in
The next time you feel the urge to scroll past a difficult news story, pause and find one satirical take on it instead, a Late Show clip, an SNL cold open, a John Oliver segment. Notice whether humor makes you more or less willing to sit with the discomfort of it.
⚡ 6 Quick Sparks
🤔 To think about: The Harms of Low-Blow Political Satire in a Polarised Climate
When satire stops punching up at power and starts punching sideways at ordinary people, it stops being democratic.
→ Read on The Conversation
📖 To read: Laughing at Power: Satire and Democracy
Aristophanes was writing political satire before the word even existed.
→ Read on Greece Is
🎥 To watch: Last Week's SNL Cold Open
A live example of political satire doing what it's supposed to do. Tune to SNL's YouTube channel, they've likely already uploaded this week's cold open too.
→ Watch on YouTube
💡 To know: The Goodbye Stephen Colbert Wanted to Say
A close read of the finale itself, and what it tells us about the kind of entertainer Colbert chose to be: empathetic first, political second, and always paying attention.
→ Read on The Atlantic
📊 To check: How the King of Late Night Helped Turn Public Opinion Against a President
Research into Johnny Carson's Watergate-era monologues found that his mentions of Nixon likely moved public opinion, feeding further news coverage and falling approval ratings.
→ Read on LSE
🍿 To add to your watchlist: Political Dramas, Reviewed
From The West Wing to The Thick of It to Yes Minister, a look at how fictional depictions of power shape the way we understand the real thing.
→ Read on Substack
🎲 This week’s wonderfully random corner of the internet
🗺️ Democracy Tracker
An interactive map by International IDEA that monitors democratic developments across 173 countries, updated monthly. You can look up any country, filter by impact level, and read concise explainers of events affecting representation, rights, and the rule of law.
→ Explore at idea.int/democracytracker
📝 Word of the Week
Parrhesia (Greek) - The practice of speaking frankly, even at personal risk, to someone in power.
In ancient Athens, parrhesia was considered a civic duty. The parrhesiastes, the one who speaks freely, was fulfilling a democratic obligation. The word captures something the psychology of stand-up, the history of satire, and the story of Colbert all circle back to: that saying the true thing, plainly, in front of people who'd rather not hear it, has always been both necessary and costly.
🧘♀️ Question of the Week for Introspection
What's the uncomfortable thing you've been watching from a safe distance, waiting for someone braver to say first?
See you next Sunday! Until then, keep your eyes open, your questions big, and your sense of wonder alive.
Your curious internet friend,
Ruxandra
