June 2, 2014 — Thomas Piketty

Posted on by

The Colbert Report episode guideEPISODE NUMBER: 10110 (June 2, 2014)
GUESTS: Thomas Piketty
SEGMENTS: Obama’s Prisoner Exchange with the Taliban | Difference Makers - Doug Varrieur | Thomas Piketty vs. Billionaire Heroes | Thomas Piketty | Sign off — Goatee
SUIT REPORT: Navy Suit | White Shirt | Navy Patterned Tie
VIDEOS: Monday, June 2, 2014

Stephen Colbert with facial hair

Stephen returns to the Report, happy to oblige us with some great screencaps of him in a fetching goatee.

Mr. Colbert started off the summer with a bang! what with pretty kickin’ goatee, and a big guest to take on in Thomas Piketty. I, being somewhat pop-cultured out lately, was unaware that his book was such a big deal, but Capital seems like an important read in our current, turbulent economic times.

The Difference Makers segment was one of the first where I laughed, but also felt genuine concern for the subjects. Literally, Doug Varrieur is going to shoot somebody’s eye out with his small arsenal. I thought his parents were hilariously chill with their son’s dangerous obsession, and I felt bad for the neighbor resignedly having a beer on her porch while Varrieur pummeled rounds into a wood plank with Osama Bin Laden’s picture on it. There are people like Doug all over America, to be sure, so I thought this was an important edition of DM and issue to talk about.

And…you can buy your r > g T-shirt here!

What did y’all think of the ep? Safely fire them into the comments section.

Difference Makers - Doug Varrieur

 

The Colbert Report on Floridia

“The Sunshine State produces some of the most popular laws like ‘Stand Your Ground.’ A law that will leave future Floridians wondering, ‘what was ground?'”

Difference Maker, Doug Varrieur creates his own background shooting range, thanks to Florida’s lax gun culture.

  • “Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it right.”
  • Varrieur’s parents serve as “look outs” during his shooting practice. Doug’s mom: “I don’t know if a richoted bullet will kill me. If so, I guess I’ll die.” Stephen narrates: “If only we all could be so sensibly resigned to the icy grip of death.”
  • Protective measures. Stephen narrates: “Satisfied, neighbors? Now there is a wall of truck. “

Thomas Piketty vs. Billionaire Heroes

 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Boring

“Susan Ochs: “This book is like the Harry Potter of economic policy.” Stephen: “It’s true. In fact the full title is Capital in the 21st Century: Harry Potter and the Deathly Boring.”

Colbert Report r > g T-shirt

“Of course, all proceeds go to me, so I can prove that this is true. “

Stephen Colbert and Tony Stark beards

“I grew this [beard] in solidarity with my personal friend, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark. You see, if Piketty had his way, and Tony was coughing up 80% of his earnings, suddenly he’s not a billionaire anymore and can’t afford to be Iron Man. Then who’s saving New York from the Chatauri invasion?! Hawkeye? Yeah, after gets there on the bus. “

Interview - Thomas Piketty

 

Thomas Piketty on The Colbert Report

Stephen: Don’t we have the right to have our economic system benefit us and not the rest of the world?
Thomas Pinketty: Sure, as long as it benefits you.
Stephen: It benefits me.
Thomas: I was talking of the country in general.
Stephen: I am America.

Thomas Piketty: You are the job creator, but still you want mobility. […] Inequality is fine up to a point, but if it gets too extreme and you have perpetuation of inequality across generations, then it’s not good. You want some mobility in society.

Stephen Colbert with beard

“Please, please we are trying to have a conversation, do not applaud my facial hair while the man is talking. “

Sign Off — Goatee

 

Stephen Colbert as Tony Starks

  • CN Helper

    He grew a beard! This is a developing story. Stay tuned.

    • dentry

      He looks so great with the Goatee. I hope he keeps it, but I bet he will shave it off before tomorrow’s nights show.

      • I fully expected him to start shaving it off in act 4, until I realized he’d just be left with the makeup they would’ve used to shade it in (that’s right — you can’t fool us, oooold maaaan!).

        I’ll be honest: while it was a fun look, the payoff wasn’t really there for me. I haven’t seen the movies, though, so perhaps I’m missing something more clever than what I gathered.

  • dentry

    Sharilyn, your right, his goatee was definitely shaded in. I remember years ago when he came back from the Bermuda sailing trip and he had grown the beard, his beard was grey but had a lot of white in it also. I’m surprised he didn’t end the show shaving the Goatee off. But I still thought it looked good on him.

  • lockhart43

    It was weird seeing that Tony Stark goatee on his face. I mean, I liked it. Of course I liked it. But it was a weird thing to see, for sure. Somehow I couldn’t help but think he looked like a pirate. Or his doppleganger! Speaking of facial hair, I would definitely be okay with him leaving some scruff on his face for the Late Show. Just sayin’. 🙂

    That Difference Makers segment was almost more infuriating than it was funny. Thankfully, it ended up having the exact right amount of funny to help you feel better about how infuriating it was. But that guy is a freaking idiot. I liked the Thomas Piketty interview; I had heard about his book and thought he handled “Stephen” well.

  • Great Ep. Guide, Ms. Helper. I let out a gasp when the showed started and we got to see that goatee! I know some guys like to grow a “vacation beard.” F*** shaving; I’m on vacay. I assumed that’s what Stephen did and then shaped it Tony Stark-style, for the storyline. I’ve seen it mentioned several times on the interwebs that Stephen bares a resemblance to Robert Downey, Jr. I personally don’t really see it, but that side-by-side cap makes me go “Hmmmm.” Like Sharilyn and Dentry mentioned, I also thought, “Where’s the grey in that beard?! You can’t pull one over on us, Captain Stephen!” But that goatee was awesome and proves (as always) that he’ll do anything to entertain us!

    That “Difference Makers” segment made me cringe and then cringe some more. But although I did a lot of cringing, I really enjoyed it, because it shed even more light on gun control issues. And we need as much light shed on that as possible. Doug Varrieur is an absolute tool. It would be heartbreaking if he were to kill or harm someone with his selfish recklessness. Yet another case of “This week in American gun nut news…”

    All-in-all, it was an awesome return from vacation. And I have to give a shout-out to Mr. Stewart, too. Fantastic episode! TDS killed it last night!

    • CN Helper

      I didn’t have this viscerally negative reaction with Doug Varrieur so much as I felt sorry for him. A lot of people feel justified in placing their anger in this way, and guns are the real “tool” in articulating that message. I think this is why we are seeing massacre after massacre across this country (especially in my hometown of Chicago), and we lack any real political courage to tackle the deep seated issues fomenting the discord.

      That’s why I think this was such an effective Difference Makers. When you try to understand the logic behind this behavior, it just appears more and more ridiculous.

  • Idina

    You know, I usually find facial hair a turnoff, but I have to admit, it looks kind of cute of him!

  • paul loch

    The Beard on his huge balls are still black, and that’s all that matters. (any astute fan knows he’s been dyeing his dome for years.)