May 2, 2012 — Jonathan Haidt
EPISODE NUMBER: 8096 (May 2, 2012)
GUESTS: Jonathan Haidt | “Hans Beinholz”
SEGMENTS: Richard Branson-shaped ice cubes | The Word-Debt Panels | Kermit The Frog’s German TV offense | Sign Off - Stephen Colbert’s 6000K Norway Norwalkathon
SUIT REPORT: Deep Gray suit jacket | White Dress shirt | Dark blue tie with light blue and white stripes
VIDEOS: Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Here is a fun cap to start things out:
Richard Branson in your drink:
Oh my GOD, I think that right now Donald Trump is furiously working on an ice cube tray that can make him, but in gold. How tacky is that?? I don’t know why Sir Dick is always feuding with Stephen. He should be spending his time trying to out-think-of the-most-tasteless-thing-ever with Mr. Trump.
The funny thing is, the ice cubes really look like him. It’s not just a mere resemblance or abstract shape that you look at and think, “Yeah, I can see it”. I mean they went to a lot of trouble to make sure it looks just like him.
So yeah, I now have a reason to work that much harder in life.
Quotes:
“That’s right, upper class passengers on Virgin Atlantic will get ice cubes in the shape of Sir Richard’s head. I believe in coach, they get ice molds of his ass.”
“You made it to the top. There at the bottom of your cocktail, are the glassy, hollow eyes of the grinning goat man”
The Word-Debt Panels:
Accretive Health is using employees disguised as ER receptionists and then stalling patients until they pay. This was one of those stories that you hear about and think, “How could this be true?” I looked up a little info on this story and, of course, the company is denying the horrendous allegations. They have said that they didn’t have a chance to answer to the report that was released by the AG’s office. True or not, this “Word” segment was devastating. (in a good way)
Quotes:
“That leaves hospitals holding the short end of the stick, and this being the emergency room, you don’t want to know where the other end is lodged.”
“If you cannot afford health insurance, then move some place without bacteria” (Purellistan)
“If a nurse offers to treat your blue balls, you’re not in a hospital”….
“If you don’t have the money to pay your debt, the doctor can take a kidney as collateral”…
Kermit the Frog censured by German Govt.
I am becoming a big fan of Hans. He has that perfect dry delivery that fits with the humor of the whole show. I wonder if he’s actually a smilin’ guy in real life.
So over in Germany, Kermit was censured by the govt for illegal product placement. What do those Germans know? It’s product placement that pays the bills, man. Stephen welcomes Hans Beinholz and he brings out a puppet that just stares wide-mouthed at the nothingness of life, while wearing a hawaiian shirt. Then Stephen comes to a horrible realization.
Quotes:
Stephen: Why does he have eyes and a mouth?
Hans: So that he may gaze into the nothingness and scream silently at the horror of his nonexistence.
Since this is a family site, I’m taking a huge risk by showing this unblurred. Here’s hoping Kermit won’t be censured censored again:
Jonathan Haidt:
His book is “”The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion.” Sounds like an interesting read. I noticed that he kind of said that the only time it has been this divided in the country was back during the civil war. That’s pretty depressing.
Also interesting when they talked about what the truth really is because truth is actually quite subjective. It depends on the person. What’s true to you may not be the exact same truth to me. Did I just blow your mind? No? well, I tried.
Stephen: Has it ever been this bad?
Jonathan: Well in the late 19th century, there was a thing called the civil war, where we all didn’t really get along too well.
I have a problem with his claim that conservatives know human nature better than liberals. I’ve known some really intuitive conservatives and some really clueless ones, and the same goes for liberals.
Sign-Off: Stephen’s 6000K Norway Norwalkathon
He barely made it through!