We’re hardcore Colbert Report nerds who just wrote a book about the show. Ask us about going to tapings, meeting Stephen, end-of-show theories… anything!

As a casual viewer of the show, what makes it so special that it warrants people studying it so extensively?

As far as deep analysis goes, we think it's because the idea of "influence" is very compelling. Also, there's never been a show on television quite like it -- that point of view, filtered through a character like his, who inserts himself into the real world and gets away with it. It's pretty complex and layered for a show that loves being stupid.

We don't get into that type of analytical detail in Bears & Balls, though. This book is designed purely for viewers, everyone from casual to disturbed dedicated.

Will Colbert talk about your book on his show?

As lovely as the Colbert Bump would be (both for our egos and our bank accounts), we think he has enough to cram into his final shows as it is! He does know about the book, however, and there are a few copies floating around their offices.

I realized a while back that I literally never hear anything about Stephen's private, day-to-day life. I've heard about his wife and kids and the small bit of history that's on wikipedia, but for such a hugely well-known and influential comedian, I have never seen a candid photo of him or heard any "paparazzi" news about his private life. I've never even seen a selfie of him with a fan on the street or in a restaurant, and I tried a few google searches just now and got practically nothing.

I've always heard how incredibly kind and charming he is, so is he just that protective of his private life? Does he not go out to eat in Manhattan or go to ball games or shopping or anything? I totally understand him wanting to keep his character and his real persona somewhat separate and it's totally cool if he's super protective of his private life, but I have a hard time believing that anyone of his celebrity status can sneak around as well as he must.

So what gives?

Sharilyn says:

You might find his interview with the editor of the Enquirer interesting: http://thecolbertreport.cc.com/videos/2kzgs4/barry-levine

We don't hear much either, and to be honest, neither of us are all that interested in what he does outside of the show. So if we don't care, that might explain why there's a limited market for paparazzi shots.

By all accounts, he lives a very normal suburban life. I'm sure when he's out and about he'd often be with his family, and people are generally pretty respectful of that. He is, however, very open with people he meets on the street. There actually are a number of selfies with him on Twitter/Instagram from people who've bumped into him in the town he lives in, even on the beach in South Carolina. He's always happy to engage and chat with fans, I just don't think he has a lot of chances to engage. Work, go home, work, go to the office, work... that's pretty much his life.

Also, he isn't the easiest to spot in public. He looks different, dresses very different. Doesn't give off that celebrity vibe. He isn't as instantly recognizable as you might think.

Colbert's favorite food?

Doritos washed down with a refreshing Bud Light Lime. But he considers the BLT sandwich to be an American hero.

Why are cookies from west halls the most delicious cookies you have ever had?

[Remy says] Because they're made with love. And crack cocaine.

Hi Sharilyn and Remy! I am currently reading Bears and Balls. It is an amazing book. Can you each share your favorite moment from a taping you attended of The Colbert Report?

Thank you!

Sharilyn says: I was at the final night of Hobbit Week (12/2012) and it was magical. He was like a kid in a candy shop -- you could feel his excitement. Also, most of that episode was pretaped (the two part wax museum piece, and the Peter Jackson interview), and it's fun to watch Stephen watch himself (and us). It was a perfect episode all-around.

Remy says: The first time I went, I brought my dad. We were clearly both excited to be there. Stephen's staff were so nice, and we were given VIP tickets, sat in the front row, and given swag. One of his cameramen, overhearing the warmup comedian Pete Dominick find out I went to Penn State, told me a relative of his went there, too, and offered words of encouragement -- this was during the height of the Sandusky scancal -- and WristStrong bracelets.

I've heard Stewart/Colbert described as 'deconstructing and reconstructing' the news, respectively.

1) Do you think this is an accurate description of Colbert Report (reconstructing)? and

2) What do you think (if anything) will he bring to the new show from the Report or his Colbert character?

Shits on TV, yo

1) Absolutely. Stewart deconstructs, and Colbert deconstructs and then reconstructs from his character's point of view. It's really the best description of how the two shows differ.

2) Very little of his character. He's leaving that behind. We may hear his tone of voice or mannerisms at one point or another, especially if Colbert does a lot of sketch on the show, because he still is the same performer with the same range and same abilities. As for things from the Report? There are segments that would translate as recurring desk bits in the standard talk show format, such as Cheating Death or even Thought for Food. But it's our suspicion that they'll want to make a clean break from the Report.

When he talks to fans outside of taping, is it in character or out of character?

Even inside the studio, when Stephen talks to fans, it's technically out of character. He's definitely in performance mode, though, so he might answer certain questions as his character would, if it'll get a laugh. When each of us have met him, he's been the real deal - and very nice.

Read the book and enjoyed it. Congratulations! Does Stephen (or any of the show's writers, production staff, etc) know about the book? Have you sent them copies?

Thank you so much! They do know about the book. I (Sharilyn) spoke with Stephen directly about it recently. We also sent copies to the members of the staff who are mentioned in it, and received a nice thank you. So it's certainly made the rounds.

How many episodes per season (on average) are paid Apple commercials?

Sharilyn says: They do four invasive sponsorships per year, and I don't believe Apple has ever been one. If they were, it was a very slick integration.

What's going to happen to America's liberal voice once Colbert goes off the air and Stewart retires?

[Remy says] John Oliver's lookin' pretty full of vim and vigor.

I used to hang out in the Fake News Fan Fic LiveJournal back in 2008-2010ish. Were either of you ever members of that group? (You don't have to share your usernames or anything.)

Sharilyn says: Ah, every good fake news fan knows about the LJ groups. I came across tds_rps shortly after the Wonkette outing, so I would predate you there. At first, I honestly thought it was a very elaborate joke. Oh, how wrong I was. I was briefly horrified, then curious, then entertained, and eventually swung back to being horrified.

1. What is the greatest thing you've witnessed off-set?

2. Have there ever been any ideas that never made it to air?

We don't work for the show, so we have limited reference points, but...

Sharilyn says:
1) I've been in the offices and in the greenroom/backstage, which is always cool. I think just in general, the way Colbert interacts with his audience off-camera is the best thing. He's very engaging. (Remy agrees: It's really a delight to watch Stephen answer questions from the audience before a taping. He really LISTENS to people, and lights up when he gets a fun Lord of the Rings question. )

2) There have been character breaks that haven't made it to air when I've been to tapings. Those are always great to see. At this point, we still haven't seen the Colbert Report Garage Sale segment they were taping back in October. I hope they didn't kill it. I ended up with the bathrobe Stephen wore when he was sick. Very curious to see how the piece turned out.

I dunno if this question's been answered yet, but could you shed some light on what the writer's process is like for the show. Or alternatively, Sharilyn, could you give us the cliff notes version of that "Writing for the Colbert Report" class you took?

Sure! There are some podcasts that cover the process at the show very well. Just offhand, the Nerdist Writer's Panel had a good one, there are some clips from the Paley Centre panel on Youtube (I was at that - it was great), and Opus Moreschi on the Writers' Bloc Podcast is great too.

Writing for the Colbert Report was taught by Tom Purcell at the P.I.T. in NYC in 2008. I was in his first of what I think were three six-week sessions he taught.

We learned how to write a Top of Show (so what Stephen does in Act 1, generally), a Tip/Wag, a Threatdown, and a Word. We also ran through the exercise of suggesting a guest and writing questions for that guest. At the time, we were basically learning what went into a packet for the show (what writers have to submit to be considered for a job). That packet format changed subsequent to that -- I think they eliminated The Word, because it's kinda impossible. We spent about half the course just on that. There's a very good reason why they only do The Word occasionally now. Just brutal.

In our book, we take different approaches to describing each recurring segment, and The Word is very writerly in its focus. I break it down into pieces, so it's almost a roadmap to the segment. It's not directly from my class notes (I draw directly from different resources) but what I included is heavily influenced by how Tom taught it.

The class was a fantastic experience. If you've ever been to a taping, Tom is one of the (usually) two guys who come out during breaks to talk to Stephen. He's a wonderful person and teacher.

I'd love to see Colbert-style writing exercises taught in universities (are they already?), especially The Word. I would have loved to do these in college.

As far as I know, they aren't currently taught in universities, but it would definitely be a challenging and interesting exercise. Colbert has said that his rhetoric classes were very useful in writing The Word, so in a way, I suppose the skills are being taught.

Generally, the "Writing for (Show)" type classes are taught by people who actually wrote for those shows and have that specific expertise. Prior to taking Tom's class, I took its Daily Show counterpart, which was taught by a writer who ended up working there for 18 years. The same school that offered both of those also offers general late-night writing courses, as well as Writing for SNL taught by a former SNL writer (I took the two-day version of that course, and it was very good). There's an Onion class offered by Second City in Chicago, taught by one of the Onion writers.

What was the biggest thing that surprised you when meeting Colbert for the first time?

Sharilyn says: how easy he is to talk to. He really is abnormally normal. I meet a lot of performers, and they tend to have a certain energy about them. It's not necessarily an issue of being "on." It's just the energy of a person who knows they're being constantly judged and are never quite where they want to be, I suppose? But talking to Stephen is like talking to your next door neighbour. You walk away thinking so wait, does he even KNOW he's famous?

If Mr. Colbert ever uses a public washroom, which does he prefer... Paper hand towels, automatic hand dryer, or that giant blue roll that will sometimes hang to floor?

Automatic hand dryers and blue rolls are for dirty hippies.

Do you have a list of all Prescott Pharmaceutical side effects?

For a brief moment, we considered adding something like that as an appendix, but we opted not to travel down the road of filling the book with lists. And hopefully there are still a few side effects to come!

So Death is going to kill him in the finale, right?

Spoiler alert: he told a studio audience in the summer that he wasn't going to kill off the character. So "Grimmy" seems to be just a decoy, happily.

Did you ever meet Munchma Cuchi?

Aka the person who half of Reddit continues to (wrongly) believe is Stephen's mother in law? Can't say we've had the honor. ;)

Did you listen to Colbert's interview on the first Working podcast? What did you think of it? Was there anything that surprised you about his day-to-day routine?

Sharilyn says: I loved it. There were a few things I didn't know. The backstage rituals were entirely new to me. He has rituals that he does in performance, during tapings. He runs out the same way, says the same things to the audience, etc. So I suppose it makes sense. But how his day is structured, and the workflow overall, I pretty much knew already.

Toasted bread or not toasted bread for sandwiches?

[Remy says] Toasted sandwiches are just a pile of crumbs waiting to happen.

Do you imagine that he'll still find ways to make us laugh in that colbertesque way when he starts late night?

How do you think the show will end? How can you see him doing it?

Sharilyn says: YES, he will make us laugh in that way and many other ways. He's a Swiss Army knife of comedy. He's used specific tools to create his character and the Report, but he has more tools where those came from. He'll still look at the world with the same point of view that he conveyed through his character, but he'll just have different ways to convey it.

I hope the final episode is one big party, and that he creates some sort of satisfying afterlife for his character. He's put up that "photo not available" graphic of his "wife," Lorraine, a few times in the past couple months, so maybe some sort of romantic storyline? Perhaps run away with Tad, or run away with Charlene (or both). The great thing about the Report is that no matter how big I think, they always think bigger. I'm always surprised and impressed. Truly looking forward to it.

do you find it odd that he's so religious? any explanation?

Sharilyn says: Uncommon within showbiz, but I don't think it's at odds with what he does for a living. I also don't think he's super religious; he's Catholic, but the endless "TIL Stephen Colbert teaches Sunday School!" posts probably influence people's perceptions. He has no problem questioning or criticizing the church, and he was raised in what he describes as a very loving, creative family -- and that family happened to be Catholic.

He did a great interview on Fresh Air where he talked about his faith, and how he explains God to children. I'm agnostic, but if I'd been given that perspective at an early age, I might not be (instead, I was just told I'd burn in hell for playing D&D). You can hear that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcAgHUlE4eY

I think there are more sane, rational Christians in the world than the vocal minority would suggest. Based on what he's said publicly, Stephen would appear to be a textbook example.

How was Stephen selected to be on the cover of the All-New Captain America comic books?

This explains it all!

This may be a silly question. I achieved my goal in making Colbert laugh when I asked him a question when I went to a taping of his show last year, but I'd love to prove to him that I'm capable of holding an intelligent conversation as well. Is there a way I may actually be able to do that someday? If I could invite any 5 people in world history to dine with me, he'd be one of the picks.

If that's too hard to answer...who are his favorite hip-hop artists? And his least favorite members of Congress at the moment?

Sharilyn says: You had me at "silly question." I know the thrill of asking him a question before a taping (I did that four times, always wonderful, but you absolutely win for making him laugh). He isn't going to be getting any more accessible when he moves to CBS, that's for certain. But I'm sure he'll continue donating his time to charity events, so meet-and-greets (with a price tag) may be worth setting your sights on going forward.

That said, I recently - unexpectedly - had a conversation with him, and it was perfectly lovely and normal. Just small talk, so no deep political or theoretical discussion. But I think if you ever have the opportunity, you'd be pleased with how easy he is to talk to and how comfortable he makes people. You never know what the future holds -- you could turn a corner one day and he could be standing right there.

In response to the other two questions: I have no idea! I would imagine anyone who's been on the show would be his favorite. And Congress... how do you choose?! ;)

During the episode in which Stephen spoke to Anita Sarkeesian, it is said he actually asked some relevant, hard hitting questions to her that were not aired. E.G.

"Do you believe video games make people violent?" to which she supposedly responded "No." and he retorted "Then how can do they make them sexist?"

Do you have any information about this, perhaps that can verify the validity of the claim this actually happened? It was originally posited by someone who claimed to be in the audience that night.

Sharilyn says: From my understanding, it was never confirmed by the show that those questions were asked, and the source is questionable. Nor am I terribly inclined to investigate. I'm too busy making sandwiches.

Thanks for doing this AMA

Do you recall Colbert's explanation behind the meaning of the show's "Colbert stadium" opening. I've been watching the show since the beginning and recall him explaining this once during an interview but I can't remember the details about it. I have a bunch of older episodes which I plan on watching from the beginning again if I can't find an answer.

I'm attending my first live taping on Dec 10th and I'm looking forward to the Q&A portion. If you could ask him any one question, what would it be?

Do you mean the animation over the theme song?

I (Sharilyn) have asked him a few questions at tapings. I think the best questions are ones that are somewhat insightful, but that he can also have fun with. This is part of the show warm-up, after all, so you'll be helping him by keeping it fairly light (without being moronic). Anything that might prompt a story is good, really. There's always going to be somebody who asks a LOTR question, and sometimes one about Iraq (the audience coordinators suggest those topics), so you don't have to be that person. My tip: shoot your arm up FAST, as soon as he says "does anyone have any --" By the time he says "-- questions," your hand should be up. Good luck!

I'm interested in the topics of fame and fandom, so in another context I'd like to ask him what it's like for him, as an intense fan of something himself, to have fans who are equally intense about his work. I'm curious how he processes that, or if he even does process that. I think that's a bit heavy for a pre-show question, though.

Stephen is obviously a huge Tolkien fan and clearly has read The Hobbit and all 3 LOTR books, my question is how much deeper does his knowledge go (for example the Silmarillion)? Are either of you Tolkien fans and have you had a chance to discuss Tolkien with Stephen?

Sharilyn says: It goes deep. He's encyclopedic. I have an embarrassing lack of knowledge of LOTR myself. My dad is a fan and we had these big Middle Earth illustrations hanging in our rec room when I was a kid. That's where my awareness begins and ends. I do intend to read LOTR in 2015, though. New year's resolution: less writing, more reading!

Remy says: I've only just read the Hobbit, so I have my work cut out for me if I want to catch up to Stephen. Actually, I think everyone has their work cut out for them if they want to catch up to Stephen.

As a 21 year old, I tend to get most of my news regarding current events and politics from the Colbert Report. It's a fun, easy way to get exposure to what's going on in our country and around the world, and it's much more manageable than reading multiple news sources while balancing a busy student lifestyle.

That being said, how do you think the show has changed youth interest and involvement in current events and politics? Do you think his style makes these topics more accessible to the everyday person? Have you guys discussed this with Mr. Colbert at all?

[Remy says] As a fellow 21-year-old, I agree with you. This is more in the wheelhouse of my other book, but I will say that from a scholarly perspective, Sophia McClennen and I concluded that if all young people were getting their news from Colbert (and not all of them are), they'd be significantly better informed than if they were watching cable news.

I think Colbert's involvement of his audience in his satire is unique. I personally started a Super PAC, along with many other college students, and I would never have paid attention to something as dry as campaign finance otherwise -- except maybe in my Political Economy of Communications course. I don't think information and entertainment are necessarily mutually exclusive.

WTF is wrong with you? (jk saw it on your twitter)

Ha! We like you.

There's not much written about the dana carvey show years -- would you do a book on that?

That's a limited market, I would think! But GQ did a fantastic piece on that a few years ago, which would be hard to top: http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201108/dana-carvey-oral-history-dana-carvey-show

Did you guys meet Opus?

Sharilyn says: I unfortunately have not met Opus, but I would love to. He's hilarious on social media, and he's great in interviews. I have met almost every other head writer Stephen has had, though (Tom, Barry, Allison, but not Rich).

thanks for doing this AMA.

1. what is unique about Colbert's satire and what role, if any, do you think it will play in the Late Show?

2. George W. Bush, great president? or the greatest president?

edit:wording

[Remy says]

1. You could write a whole book on what makes Colbert's brand of satire unique! In my other book, Is Satire Saving Our Nation (see link in description), we explore that in detail. Briefly, I would say that the way he inhabits his persona adds another layer of complexity and gives him a whole different range of options than, say, Jon Stewart has. We know he won't be taking the character to CBS, but I'm sure elements of the show will feel familiar -- his sense of humor is his sense of humor, and if any of you have seen his other work (cough cough Strangers with Candy cough), you'll notice a lot of irony, and the same sense of faux arrogance.

2. Trick question! You're a terrorist for asking.

Is he going to end the show with a musical number? i think that would be awful.

For years, he was saying that "if" he ever had a last show, he'd want to perform Best Imitation of Myself with Ben Folds. But Folds has a concert in Australia just hours after the final Report will tape, so that won't happen -- unless he pre-tapes it.

That said, I (Sharilyn) don't think the show should end on a melancholy note. It should be more energetic and fun. I would enjoy that duet, but in my opinion it wouldn't feel right to end on it.

We do have reason to believe that they taped a performance of that song together when Ben Folds Five were on the show a few years ago. If it exists, it would sure make for a nice web extra.

To get the book deal, was it done through pre-existing contacts or through a recommendation or lead from Colbert directly? Thanks!

When we decided to write this book after the announcement that Colbert would be moving to CBS, we knew we wanted it out before the show ended. That left us with limited options in terms of publishers. Most of them told us the timeline we wanted was impossible. So we decided to do it on our own. Colbert and his writers know about the book, and we hope they like the "free" copies we sent them, but it is an unauthorized fan guide.

How do you think he will end the show?

[Remy says] Exit, pursued by a bear.

Does your book talk about the rally he and John Stewart did in DC?

Of course!

Do you believe he will take his conservative French pronunciation to identify himself to his new audience, or will he include his T's?

Bummed I never had a chance to see the show live....(^{eyes become dry smile difficult to hold after not seeing Stephen Colber)}

[Remy says] If you love some Ts, set them free. If they come back to you, they were, and will always be yours. If they don't, they were never yours to begin with.

Hi Remy. I've followed you on twitter since we were both looking for Colbert's turtle with our SuperPac. Funny story, I drove to Dixon, Illinois with my wife and was in the spot where the turtle was, only to find out someone found it 24 hours before me. I attended a taping of the Report as well prior to getting the Super Fun Pack, but he refused any info prior to delivery.

My question...did you get to sit down with Stephen when writing the book or is this a compilation based on the show?

[Remy says] Wow, that's so cool -hi! That treasure hunt was INSANE, wasn't it? I didn't stand a chance. Luckily, that decoder ring still makes a fun accessory.

We did not sit down with Stephen or anyone from the show to write this book. We wrote this book based on the show and interviews and other articles for background information.

This is awesome! How much politically diversity is there on the writing staff? I sometimes get the feeling that Democrat/liberal guests might get softball questions in interviews, whereas actual Republican/conservative interviews have a more caustic or biting undertone behind the jokes. I think Colbert is more fair than Jon on this, but just curious what mindset the jokes come from.

In addition, I heard that an exchange took place during the Anita Sarkeesian interview "Stephen: Do video games cause violence? Anita: No, of course not. Stephen: Then how do they cause misogyny?". It supposedly was edited out for broadcast, as it might make a feminist look bad. Any truth to this rumor? Thanks!

Sharilyn says: I don't know about that writing staff specifically, but most comedians and comedy writers I've known are liberal. I think it would be safe to say that given the tone of the show, as a group, the writing staff would be moderate-to-left.

I know nothing about that interview other than what magically materialized on the internet with no credible source. And funny thing about the anti-women corners of the internet: a lot of things there seem to magically materialize with no credible source.

[deleted]

[Remy says] If I may, I would direct you to the first book I wrote, which I coauthored with Penn State professor Sophia McClennen. It is called "Is Satire Saving Our Nation? Mockery and American Politics" (link in the description above), and it explores the questions you ask here. That is not the purpose of Bears and Balls.

So yes, I am very aware of those critiques, to answer your question. Dr. McClennen and I explore in great detail what the media effects research says. Our position is that satire, generally, and Colbert, particularly, are providing an essential service that is otherwise missing from the news media landscape. In sum, mainstream media and higher education are not doing their jobs. Satire is stepping in to fill the void. It may not be the ideal source -- we definitely think the news ought to step up their game -- but it's what we have, and we could do a lot worse.

[deleted]

Remy says

Sharilyn says: I believe by that, Remy means "greatest."

What did you think of the show during the writer's strike? I think he did a great job, and I especially loved the episode where he talks about his father.

Wasn't the network war between Conan, Stewart, and Colbert also done during the strike? That was comedic gold.

Edit: Just found it :)

It was, and that was brilliant. And dumb. So dumb.

Sharilyn says: That was a fantastic moment. We write about the strike a bit in the book, and we gave Andrew Young his own entry because that segment made such an impact on viewers.

I hadn't watched the WGA strike episodes since they aired, and they really do hold up well. Stephen did an amazing job under very challenging circumstances. They so easily could have felt tedious or strained or awkward. He went into those episodes with the same joy as he does any other episode, and it showed. I definitely recommend re-watching those (Jan. 2008, for anyone interested).

I was actually at their second taping back without writers (I went to the Daily Show their first night back), and it was incredible to watch Stephen work without a prompter.

Thanks for the answer. I love watching this show and I've loved it for many years, my dad and I watched it together all the time when I lived with my parents. We still talk about that specific episode. Thanks for answering!

My pleasure! Thanks for asking!