Welcome to No Fact Zone’s weekly roundup of ‘Colbert Report’ guests, created in the spirit of the oft-enjoyed Fantasy Colbert League. While we can’t start up the online version of the game again, we can make it so that you can get the information you need about the guests before they come on the show.
Just like you, we want to be it-getters before the interviews start. So we’ve compiled brief bios, issues or events that Stephen might bring up during the interview, and a fun Fract (Freedom Fact) to impress your fellow viewers during the commercial breaks. Read, enjoy, and see if you can anticipate how Stephen might nail each of the following guests!
Note: As always, guests are subject to change.
Monday, 4/27: The Decemberists
If you don’t know The Decemberists by now, you’ve been living under a rock. This alt-rock group got into a feud with Stephen in 2006 over Stephen’s Green Screen Challenge, culminating in the Rock and Awe: Countdown to Guitarmageddon that pitted Stephen against lead guitarist Chris Funk. The Decemberists are headed out on Phase Two of their “A Short Fazed Hovel” Tour. Their latest album, ‘The Hazards of Love,’ is now available.
- Fract: The guitar Chris Funk played during the Guitarmageddon was sold on Ebay for $2,225 in a charity auction to benefit the Portland youth organization p:ear. Not bad!
Tuesday, 4/28: Richard Engel, Daniel Gross
Journalist Richard Engel was recently promoted to the position of NBC News’ Chief Foreign Correspondent. He joined NBC in 2003 and spent years in Iraq covering the dangers of life there during the war. He has survived bombings and kidnappings, and has seen colleagues injured by explosions. In 2006, Engel won both an Emmy for his work in Lebanon as well as the Edward R. Murrow award for his report title ‘Baghdad E.R.’ He has lived in the Middle East for 12 years.
Author and economist Daniel Gross is a senior editor at Newsweek. He writes the ‘Money Culture’ column for Newsweek and the ‘Moneybox’ column for Slate magazine. His latest book, titled ‘Dumb Money: How Our Greatest Financial Minds Bankrupted the Nation
- Fract: As a youth, Richard Engel suffered from dyslexia and learning difficulties, but after attending a wilderness survival program in Wyoming, he was able to overcome them, move to Cairo, learn Arabic, and begin a freelance journalism career.
Wednesday, 4/29: David Kessler
Dr. David Kessler served as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration under Presidents Bush and Clinton. He left the FDA to head the Yale School of Medicine and then the University of California, San Francisco Medical School, but stepped down after the school had some financial troubles. His latest book is ‘The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite
- Fract: For ‘The End of Overeating,’ Dr. Kessler dug through the dumpsters behind Chili’s restaurants to uncover the ingredient labels of their recipes.
Thursday, 4/30: Ethan Nadelman
Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, is a returning guest on the Report: he visited on January 8, 2007 and then on March 12, 2008 to take part in Stephen’s ‘Better Know A Lobby(ist)’ series. The Drug Policy Alliance was established in 2000, merging Nadelmann’s Lindesmith Center with another organization to advocate for scientific drug policies that also take compassion and human rights into consideration.
- Fract: Nadelmann has taken a large role in the debate over the legalization of marijuana. Will he and Stephen celebrate a belated April 20 during the interview?
Wow! What a great line-up of guests this week. I have to say, Dr. Kessler’s book sounds really interesting. Props to him for going dumpster diving as part of his book research.
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