Topic: Stephen Colbert

Anthony Weiner, Bill Clinton & Twitter: The Awkward Marriage of Insecurity

Associated Press

In addition to admitting his run for mayor, Weiner admits he got caught up in the thrill of social media, which allows regular citizens to interact with politicians in a way that's never been possible before. It feels very democratic. But sometimes it also feels like you've seen a kind of desperation that you shouldn't have seen.

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 9, 2013

Stephen Colbert Forced Bill Clinton to Join Twitter

The former president's Twitter philosophy? "There's nothing worse than a friendless tweeter." Well now he has close to 34,000 Twitter followers for the new account Colbert took the liberty of setting up for him: @PrezBillyJeff.

Comments | 6,133 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Apr 3, 2013

Who Is Stephen Colbert's Sister? (Aside from Being Stephen Colbert's Sister)

The first (and maybe only) thing most people know about Elizabeth Colbert Busch is that she's Stephen Colbert's sister, but if she's going to pull off beating Mark Sanford, the former South Carolina governor most famous for flying to Argentina to cheat on his wife, for a Congressional seat this fall, people are going to have to learn more about her.

Comments | 5,877 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Mar 26, 2013

Stephen Colbert's Sister Is Polling Pretty Well Against Mark Sanford

Mark Sanford, famous for not hiking on the Appalachian Trail, is polling behind Elizabeth Colbert Busch, famous for being the sister of a guy who lampoons conservatives, in the race for South Carolina's conservative first congressional district.

Comments | 3,466 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Mar 19, 2013

Elizabeth Colbert Busch Is One Step Closer to Capitol Hill

As expected, Stephen Colbert's older sister Elizabeth won the Democratic nomination in the race for South Carolina's first congressional seat. She's now darn close to being the first Colbert in Congress.

Comments | 1,725 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Mar 8, 2013

Stephen Colbert Has a Propaganda Fever Dream for North Korea

Colbert declared that North Korea's bizarre video showing a man dreaming about the destruction of New York to the tune of "We Are the World" proves that "we are in a dreams race." What with Pyongyang's recent threats and all, he retaliated with a dream of his own.

Comments | 3,993 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Mar 4, 2013

The Most Anticipated Commencement Speakers of 2013

We learned today that Oprah would be speaking at Harvard's commencement. Let's look at some of the most intriguing and most WTF options for 2013 commencement speakers. 

Comments | 12,949 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Feb 20, 2013

The Russian Meteor Finally Lands on Stewart and Colbert

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart returned last night to grasp for the true meaning of the Russian Meteor of 2013 — the 10,000-ton, 17-meter rock from outer space that exploded over the sky last Friday in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

Comments | 10,346 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Feb 8, 2013

What Stephen Colbert Told Democrats at His 'Secret' Retreat Talk

Though closed off the press, comments from a meeting between House Democrats and the host of The Colbert Report leaked out Friday via Twitter and elsewhere. And, yes, Congress is less popular than colonoscopies.

Comments | 13,755 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Jan 22, 2013

Stephen Colbert and Ta-Nehisi Coates Talk About Obama and Race

The Atlantic's Ta-Nehisi Coates appeared on last night's Colbert Report, where host Stephen Colbert interrogated him about politics; the ascendance, election, and re-election of President Obama; and how race continues to bear on American life, both public and private.

Comments | 1,207 Views

By J.K. Trotter

Jan 18, 2013

Stephen Colbert's Sister is Running for Congress, but Will He Campaign for Her?

The giddy speculation about campaign theatrics might be misplaced. Even if a family face-off with Mark Sanford sounds "awesome."

Comments | 6,208 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Dec 14, 2012

Colbert's Super PAC Gets the Last Laugh

Stephen Colbert's Super PAC is giving back: to Sandy relief, wounded soldiers, and maybe the greatest of good causes when it comes to campaign finance — the Super-PAC watchdogs.

Comments | 2,710 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Dec 13, 2012

Inside Nikki Haley's Massive Opposition Research Dump on Candidate Colbert

On Facebook Thursday afternoon South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley launched a fierce counter-counterattack to Stephen Colbert's counter-attack to Haley's Facebook attack last week. It involves salamanders.

Comments | 4,572 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Dec 10, 2012

One in Five South Carolinians Want Stephen Colbert to Take Jim DeMint's Senate Seat

If you already thought Stephen Colbert was way too qualified to take over Jim DeMint's vacant spot in the Senate, well, so do one in five South Carolinians.

Comments | 6,897 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Dec 7, 2012

Stephen Colbert Is Vastly Overqualified for Jim DeMint's Vacant Senate Seat

Stephen Colbert has launched a Twitter campaign to replace the departing senator. And the problem is not that Colbert isn't qualified. It's that he's too qualified.

Comments | 9,392 Views

By Connor Simpson

Oct 20, 2012

Stephen Colbert Will Likely Be an Elf in Peter Jackson's 'Hobbit'

This is the best news we've heard about the Hobbit trilogy yet: comedian Stephen Colbert is going to appear in either the second or third movie. 

Comments | 14,656 Views

By Connor Simpson

Oct 14, 2012

The Sunday Grind

Romney's No Muggle: Gibbs Thinks His Debate Performance Was Magical

Campaign flacks pump up expectations ahead of Tuesday's debate while other are still talking about Libya fallout. Also, Stephen Colbert explains Rachel Maddow's heavy influence on his show. 

Comments | 1,258 Views

By Adam Martin

Aug 21, 2012

Jimmy Kimmel Is Ready for Late Night Prime Time

ABC announced a power move for Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday, saying it would reschedule Jimmy Kimmel Live! to 11:30 p.m., in what sounds like a plan to take on the cable stars of that time slot as well as the old network guys.

Comments | 862 Views

By Eric Randall

Jul 17, 2012

Can't Funny and Serious Get Along?

Steve Almond's take-down of Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart in The Baffler further proves that serious people seem to like when funny people are serious, but funny people aren't much in the market for serious people to join their ranks. And serious people hate that.

Comments | 4,359 Views

By Serena Dai

Jul 17, 2012

Stephen Colbert Asks Anne-Marie Slaughter: 'Why Can't You Have "It"'?

Stephen Colbert waded into the conversation around Anne-Marie Slaughter's Atlantic cover story about "Why Women Still Can't Have It All" by inviting her onto The Colbert Report on Monday night.

Comments | 3,958 Views

By John Hudson

Jul 10, 2012

You Don't Need a College Degree to Understand Stephen Colbert

If ever there was evidence of a higher education bubble, it's the promulgation of college courses and scholarly research devoted to the study of Stephen Colbert. 

Comments | 13,830 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jun 13, 2012

Don't Be Surprised if Stephen Colbert Takes Over Sweden's Twitter Account

After Stephen Colbert announced his intentions to take over Sweden's national Twitter account (operation #artificialswedener), we're betting that it's only a matter of time before the Swedish tourist board hands over the password to the Comedy Central personality.

Comments | 4,865 Views

By John Hudson

Apr 26, 2012

The Jokes Too Hot for the White House Correspondents' Dinner

For stand-up comedians, pulling off a successful stint at the White House Correspondents' Dinner is an uphill battle.

Comments | 2,323 Views

By Ray Gustini

Apr 26, 2012

'Yertle the Turtle' Enters Canada's Culture War; A Walden Video Game

Today in books and publishing: Tom Hanks reads Stephen Colbert's children's book for adults, gamers are going to be getting a taste of Henry David Thoreau, and Yertle the Turtle is too politically charged for British Columbia.

Comments | 517 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 21, 2012

The Colbert Super PAC Is Richer than Your Other Favorite Super PAC

Stephen Colbert's super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, is sitting on a large, intimidating pile of money, but doesn't seem to be spending any of it. 

Comments | 2,510 Views

By Adam Martin

Mar 16, 2012

Colbert's Super PAC Still Has Bank

Stephen Colbert hasn't done much with his super PAC in the last month, but he still has to file FEC paperwork, and according to his latest filings, he can still afford to pay someone to do that for him.

Comments | 206 Views

By Eric Randall

Feb 22, 2012

Substances Sent to Colbert, Stewart, and Congress Are Suspicious but Harmless

The FBI announced Tuesday that Viacom receiving "suspicious mailings" addressed to Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, and the Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer reported that three Congressional offices also received suspicious packages containing powdery substances.

Comments | 784 Views

By Eric Randall

Feb 21, 2012

Prepare for the Stephen Colbert Children's Book Experience

Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert has landed a deal to write a children's book about a flag pole titled I Am a Pole (and So Can You!).

Comments | 3,244 Views

By Dashiell Bennett

Feb 21, 2012

Stephen Colbert Returns: Blame His Absence on a Butt Lift

Stephen Colbert returned from his brief, but unexpected hiatus last night and naturally mined the speculation around his departure for an opening bit on last night's show.

Comments | 1,014 Views

By Adam Martin

Feb 20, 2012

Our National Colbert-Free Nightmare Ends

The sudden and harsh taste of a Stephen Colbert-less late-night lineup won't last any longer, thank goodness.

Comments | 4,567 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Feb 16, 2012

Colbert Cancellation Reportedly Due to Mother's Illness

The first shred of information about why the taping of the Colbert Report was suspended this week has been reported by the The Wall Street Journal  and it's not happy.

Comments | 29,358 Views

By Adam Martin

Feb 16, 2012

Last Minute Colbert Cancellation Makes Us Nervous

We're crossing our fingers that the "unforeseen reason" causing Comedy Central to suspend production of the Colbert Report for the second half of this week is something in the nature of a happy surprise, not anything more serious.

Comments | 31,940 Views

By Ray Gustini

Feb 9, 2012

Nancy Pelosi Gets Stephen Colbert; A Brief History of Apple

Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.

Comments | 3,383 Views

By John Hudson

Feb 1, 2012

Zombie Super PACs: What Happens to the Money After a Candidate Drops Out

Super PACs draw a lot of attention when they're smearing opponents with vicious advertisements but what happens when the dream dies and the committee's candidate drops out?

Comments | 2,360 Views

By John Hudson

Jan 31, 2012

In the Sport of Fundraising, This Is Who Colbert's Super PAC Beat

It may not stack up to Karl Rove's American Crossroads but Stephen Colbert's super PAC Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow puts a whole host of serious super PACs to shame when it comes to fundraising.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 31, 2012

Stephen Colbert's Super PAC Has Raised Over $1 Million

Stephen Colbert and his legal team filed paperwork (around 150 pages) with the Federal Election Commission at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, and apparently his super PAC, Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow Inc.,  has raised $1,023,121.24.

Comments | 3,718 Views

By Ray Gustini

Jan 25, 2012

Maurice Sendak Does Not Care for Newt; Wilco Gets Animated

Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today: Maurice Sendak had some things to say about Newt Gingrich on The Colbert Report, Wilco channels Popeye, and Indianapolis has put up the midwest's coolest zip line for the Super Bowl.

Comments | 1,776 Views

By John Hudson

Jan 24, 2012

Can Stephen Colbert Free His Super PAC from Jon Stewart?

The latest plot twist in Stephen Colbert's continuing civics lesson on campaign finance came last night: he announced that he would not run for president and demanded Jon Stewart give him back his but The Daily Show host refused. We asked a lawyer what's going on.

Comments | 2,786 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Jan 20, 2012

What If South Carolina Threw a Primary and No One Showed?

In South Carolina, "Fighting over politics is sport," the New York Times reports today, but it's not a very popular sport.

Comments | 1,107 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Jan 20, 2012

Live: Colbert and Cain Hold a Rally

Taking the strange Colbert-Cain alliance even further this afternoon, the two once and possibly future serious presidential candidates are holding a joint rally in South Carolina.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 20, 2012

Stephen Colbert's Ron Paul Joke Makes Morning Joe's Morning

Stephen Colbert paid a visit to Friday's Morning Joe (live from South Carolina) to talk about politics—which they did for the few minutes when they weren't laughing or holding back the giggles.

Comments | 20,230 Views

By John Hudson

Jan 19, 2012

Everybody Loves 'Superstar' Lawyer Trevor Potter

Stephen Colbert's faux presidential run has created an unlikely celebrity out of Trevor Potter—the meticulous yet amiable election lawyer guiding Colbert audiences through the thorny world of campaign super PACs.

Comments | 6,218 Views

By John Hudson

Jan 18, 2012

Stephen Colbert's Latest Lesson in Campaign Finance Absurdity

In his deepest dive yet into the intricacies of campaign finance law, Stephen Colbert blazed through a series of open-ended questions about super PACs last night, and even schooled at least one seasoned political reporter.

Comments | 9,194 Views

By Ted Mann

Jan 15, 2012

Stephen Colbert's PAC Calls Romney a 'Serial Killer'

The comedian, already enjoying a run of glowing press, launches — through his totally independent Super PAC — an anti-Romney, pro-corporation attack ad in South Carolina. Spoiler: There will be Lithgow.

Comments | 16,985 Views

By John Hudson

Jan 13, 2012

The Colbert Report Is School House Rock on Steroids

If Stephen Colbert's announcement to explore a presidential run was one part ratings ploy, it was at least two parts civics lesson.

Comments | 10,227 Views

By John Hudson

Jan 12, 2012

Stephen Colbert Says He's Exploring a Presidential Run in South Carolina

“I am proud to announce that I am forming an exploratory committee to lay the groundwork for my possible candidacy for president of the United States of America of South Carolina,” Colbert said. 

Comments | 12,750 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Jan 12, 2012

Stephen Colbert Is Teasing Us About Maybe Running for President

Encouraged by his hypothetical lead in South Carolina over third-place New Hampshire finisher Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney-spurred Republican ennui, Stephen Colbert might just announce his bid for presidency tonight.

Comments | 862 Views

By Adam Clark Estes

Jan 4, 2012

The Extremely Normal, Utterly Bizarre Life of Stephen Colbert

If you've been waiting for the inevitable, in-depth profile of Stephen Colbert to hit newsstands and reveal how the 47-year-old comedian deals with his alter ego(s), you're in luck thanks to The New York Times Magazine.

Comments | 11,273 Views

By Dino Grandoni

Dec 13, 2011

America's Least Wanted Presidential Endorsements

Newt Gingrich has picked up the support of Hollywood's noted crazy guy Gary Busey and racial-slur ex-MLB pitcher John Rocker, while Barack Obama picked up the support of Muammar Qaddafi (before ordering the attacks that lead to his death), while Ron Paul has the random drunk guy vote locked down.

Comments | 14,792 Views

By Elspeth Reeve

Dec 8, 2011

Stephen Colbert's Plan to Hijack This Election

Over the last four years Stephen Colbert has transitioned from a comedian who has some opinions on politics to a political activist who's hilarious.

Comments | 3,660 Views

By Ray Gustini

Oct 28, 2011

Savor Tonight's Game Seven

Today in sports: West Virginia's move to the Big 12 looks to be back on, the SEC jumps the gun in announcing the addition of Missouri, and the World Series heads to Game Seven for the first time since 2002.

Comments | 608 Views

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