Fantasy Colbert League: November 30-December 3

I hope you all enjoyed the week off, and had a nice holiday. I personally had a few days off from school which was much needed, but it’s back to the grind on Monday. That’s okay because it means new episodes. I can’t wait to see what’s in store – and here are the guests.

Dan Esty is the Director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy where he is the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy. He has either authored or edited nine books, and various articles about many environmental topics. In his most recent book, Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, he and fellow Yale-ite, Andrew Winston write about companies and how they are beginning to catch on to environmental responsibility. In addition to his work at Yale, Esty is the Chairman of Esty Environmental Partners which advises companies on energy, the environment, and sustainibility. Esty worked with President Obama on his campaign for presidency in 2007 and 2008 aiding with energy and environmental issues, as well as serving on the President’s transition team after his 2008 election. He previously appeared on The Colbert Report in 2008 as well. He is married to Connecticut State Representative Elizabeth Esty, and has previously appeared on NPR, The O’Reilly Factor, and Glenn Beck.

Fract: Not only is Dan one of those “environmental tree-huggers,” he also spent a year at INSEAD (Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires), the European Institute of Business, teaching in France.

Cevin Soling

Cevin Soling does a little bit of everything. He writes, he makes films, he is a philosopher, a musician, a producer, and an overall artist. In his latest film, The War on Kids, he takes on the public education system and how to reform the institution in order to make sure that we are preparing children properly. In addition to this work, Mr. Soling writes the Rumpleville Chronicles series of books, and wrote and directed the short film, Boris the Dog. As a musician, Cevin was part of the band “The Neanderthal Spongecake” and is currently a part of the band, “The Love Kills Theory.” He previously also wrote, directed, and produced the film, The War on the War on Drugs, which won the award for best experimental feature film at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival in 2005, so Cevin keeps himself quite busy.

You can check out Cevin’s official site here.

You can also follow Cevin on Twitter.

Fract: Shown by his many talents, Cevin is a member of Mensa, an organization for people with high IQ’s.

Tuesday, December 1: Guy Consolmagno

Guy Consolmagno is a Jesuit brother, research astronomer, and planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory. He has written the books, God’s Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion, The Heavens Proclaim: Astronomy and the Vatican, and Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist. Most of his research is focused on the connections between meteorites and asteroids, as well as the origins of smaller bodies in the Universe in general. He took part in ANSMET, the Antarctic Search for Meteorites, in 1996 where he found meteories on ice fields in Antarctica. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from M.I.T., and his Doctorate from the University of Arizona. Guy joined the Peace Corps in 1983 where he served in Kenya for two years, and upon his return, he began teaching at Lafayette College. Brother Consolmagno also serves as the curator of the Vatican Meteorite collection.

You can check out Guy’s blog here.

Fract: In addition to his other work, Guy also has a series on BBC Radio called, “A Brief History of the End of Everything.”

Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexie has previously appeared on The Colbert Report in 2008, and is coming back for more to promote his new book, War Dances. Some of his other works include The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. As seen by the titles of his works, Sherman is sometimes a comedian about his life as a modern Native American of the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene tribe. Sherman was planning to be a doctor, but after fainting in pre-med courses, he quickly realized that medicine was not for him, and found that he excelled in writing. His second book, Indian Killer won a New York Times award for Notable Book, and a short story from his book, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,” inspired a screenplay which became a Sundance winner called, Smoke Signals. Sherman Alexie has won many awards for his work, and performs stand-up too. He lives in Seattle with his wife and two sons.

Fract: Sherman was actually born with water in his brain, a condition called, “Hydrocephalus.”

Wednesday, December 2: Craig Watkins

Craig Watkins is the District Attorney for Dallas County in Texas. He became the first African American District Attorney in Texas, after being elected in 2006. Watkins works to resolve cases of wrongful conviction through DNA testing, while reviewing evidence illegally held from defense attorneys. He was formerly a defense attorney himself, and ran on a reform platform. Upon taking office, Watkins dismissed some top-level prosecutors, while others resigned voluntarily. He also created the “Conviction Integrity Unit,” which attempts to guarantee proper prosecutorial procedures. As well as establishing the CIU, Watkins began working with the Texas Innocence Project to find other cases of possible wrongful conviction, so his time as District Attorney has already been quite successful.

You can also follow Craig on Twitter.

Fract: Look who is honoring Craig now. Craig was selected the 2008 “Texan of the Year” by the Dallas Morning News.

Thursday, December 3: Janet Napolitano

Janet Napolitano is the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, a position created after the attacks of September 11th, 2001, and is the first woman to hold the office. Previous to her appointment by President Obama, Napolitano served as the governor of the state of Arizona, and also the Attorney General of Arizona prior to that. She was ranked as one of the top five governors by Time in 2005. She received her undergraduate from Santa Clara University, where she was the valedictorian, and later went to the University of Virginia where she received her Juris Doctor. After clerking, she began working for Lewis and Roca, LLP, and was later appointed the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona by President Bill Clinton. During her time in that role, she investigated the Oklahoma City bombings before being elected to the gubernatorial role in 2002.

Fract: When Janet graduated high school in 1975 from Sandia High School, she was voted “Most Likely to Succeed.”

Enjoy the week back after the break!

• Fantasy Colbert League: March 15-March 18
• Fantasy Colbert League: March 8-March 11
• Fantasy Colbert League: March 1-March 4
• Fantasy Colbert League: February 22-February 25