Late Night Shows on The Huffington Post

What Kids Know About The Tiger Woods Scandal (VIDEO)

2009-12-05T13:51:07Z

What do kids know about the Tiger Woods scandal? A lot more than you'd expect. Considering Jay Leno regularly finds people who don't know the president's name wandering the street, we're curious as to how Jimmy Kimmel's people found so many tots up on their gossip. Of course, they're fuzzy on the details (except the last kid, he knows EXACTLY what's up) but they know too much for their young years...especially the girl in pigtails who's worried about alimony.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Jake Gyllenhaal & Anne Hathaway Wear Merkins For Sex Scene (VIDEO)

2009-12-04T14:34:45Z

Jake Gyllenhaal may not have broken up with Reese Witherspoon, but it's Anne Hathaway he's been getting naked with lately--while filming 'Love and Other Drugs,' out in 2010. He told Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday night what his penis wears during sex scenes.

"Are you really naked or just movie naked?" asked Kimmel.

"We were pretty much naked except for a merkin," said Jake.

He went on to explain the Hollywood meaning of a merkin, historically known as a pubic wig worn by prostitutes who shaved so that clients could inspect them for cleanliness then enjoy the look of a full bush.

"In the sixteenth century prostitutes used to shave off their pubic hair because they thought that they had crabs, so they had fake pubic hair," he said. "So, when I told people I would wear merkins they would look at me rather oddly because they thought that I had no pubic hair, or maybe I had crabs."

Now merkins are "just a cover for your junk," Jake said, although they can have hair if an actor is incapable of the pubic hair growth a character requires, like Kate Winslet (NSFW) in 'The Reader.'

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!

John Oliver Confronts Swiss UN Ambassador On Neutrality During World War II (VIDEO)

2009-12-04T12:23:56Z

On last night's "Daily Show", correspondent John Oliver followed up a segment on a recent vote in Switzerland to ban the building of minarets with an interview that displayed the sort of journalistic guts so sadly absent among the landed gentry in our press. I hesitate, greatly, to blow a comedy bit out of undue proportion, but there are nevertheless some key journalistic virtues at work in the piece that deserve some magnification, if you'll allow the indulgence.

Oliver used the news story to make a point about the overall character of the nation of Switzerland. Rather than take the glib remarks of Switzerland's UN Ambassador Peter Maurer at face value, presenting them as stenography and letting it stand as just another "interesting viewpoint" in the marketplace of ideas, he confronted the illogic and batted it back, unconcerned that it would make his interviewee upset or ruin someone's opportunity to have "access." This is precisely what "meeting the press" should look like.

The key exchange occurs at 7:50 in this video below, after several minutes of comedy beat-sweetening, that's all just a set-up to the actual prosecution of a viewpoint. Watch as Maurer attempts to advance precisely the sort of point of view that flourishes in a media culture that privileges nonsense at the same level of intelligence, and how Oliver reacts:

OLIVER: How hard was it to remind neutral during World War II?

MAURER: Well, I think this is always a debate and I think we do make a clear distinction between our neutrality as an instrument of foreign policy and what we think as individuals and what the country thinks.

OLIVER: But then, the neutrality issue seems complicated. Now obviously, Hitler did some very bad things, we know that. How do you focus on the positive things to balance that out?

MAURER: It's not a question of positive. It's a question of our neutrality has always been a state-driven concept of not participating in war.

OLIVER: Was there not just a little voice of humanity inside you saying this is terrible, we should really do something about it?

MAURER: As a question of principle, it's unadvisable for a country as small as ours to participate in war. Why should we?

OLIVER: So: Easy to take a position on neutrality, hard to take a position on Hitler.

MAURER: We did take strong positions on Hitler and many other things. We didn't participate in the war. That's two different things.

OLIVER: [imitating Hitler] "Would it be possible for me to keep my gold here?" [Imitating the Swiss] "Ah, Adolf! Of course! Lovely to see you again. Come back in! What have you been up to? Actually, don't tell me, I want to be able to say I don't know."

[uncomfortable pause]

OLIVER: Is this neutral anger, or real anger, Mr. Ambassador?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Oliver's Travels - Switzerland

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]

Jon Stewart Interviews New Yorker Writer On "Denialism"

2009-12-04T09:28:00Z

New Yorker writer Michael Specter was on "The Daily Show" last night to talk about his new book, "Denialism". Specter makes the argument that Americans are in denial about the actual risks and benefits involved in science and medicine. We're too paranoid, he says, about vaccines in particular, especially recent flu vaccines. But is Specter in denial about his own denial? As Stewart points out, there are some clear risks that Specter is perhaps willfully ignoring to make his point. What do you think?

WATCH:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Michael Specter

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Kimmel Goes To A Barbershop To Get The REAL Scoop On Tiger Woods (VIDEO)

2009-12-03T10:17:48Z

Feeling that most of the media has been reporting nonsense, Jimmy Kimmel was determined to get to the bottom of the Tiger Woods incident. His strategy? Going to the local barbershop.

Keith, the barbershop's clear-cut authority on the matter, laid it out pretty simply: "He just got beat up by his wife." Kimmel then attempted to break down the racial implications of the incident, but was cut off as the group acknowledged that "Tiger is not black." Kimmel countered, saying, "Technically Tiger's not black. But for golf, he's Wesley Snipes."

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

The Dirtiest Craig Ferguson Sketch Of All Time? (VIDEO)

2009-12-03T09:44:02Z

Kristen Bell and Paul Shaffer opened Craig Ferguson's show last night revealing some interesting truths about bagpipes. Turns out they turn Craig on...intensely. "When Craig hears bagpipes he gets unbelievable aroused...I don't know if it's the Scottish thing or what, but the minute he hears bagpipes it's like BAM, the kilt comes up and there's love haggis everywhere," Bell warned. It was exactly as dirty as you'd expect until Bell gave Shaffer her final warning, which had us contorting with disgust.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Jon Stewart: Obama Is Channeling Bush (VIDEO)

2009-12-03T08:40:02Z

The speech given by President Obama in which he ordered 30,000 troops to Afghanistan has faced much criticism from the media. What struck Jon Stewart was the manner in which Obama delivered the speech, pointing out that it greatly resembled Bush and his "grasp" of the English language.

After initially denying it, Stewart was terrified to find Obama channeling Bush in many ways. He then listed the warning signs: a 9/11 reference, dipping into Bush's "bucket of fear," and a reliance on absolutist rhetoric. But what sealed the deal was that the usually cool Obama even had a Freudian gaff when he stated that he was "bringing the Iraq War to an irresponsible end."

Stewart was also dumbfounded that both Presidents have made speeches ordering exactly 30,000 troops. Asked Stewart: "Is 30,000 troops the military equivalent of two Advil?"

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Sherman Alexie On Colbert: "The Localized Appreciation Of Books Is Gone" (VIDEO)

2009-12-02T11:41:18Z

Sherman Alexie was on "The Colbert Report" last night to promote his new book, "War Dances". The interview focused mostly on Alexie's views on eBooks, and why he has refused to allow any of his books to be made available in this format. He talked about the value of authors being "old fashioned storytellers" and the danger of moving too far away from the old models. "The localized appreciation of books is gone," he said.

WATCH:

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Sherman Alexie

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

U.S. Speedskating

Filed by: Jessie Kunhardt

Jon Stewart On ClimateGate (VIDEO)

2009-12-02T09:36:03Z

On the Daily Show Tuesday night, Jon Stewart dug into ClimateGate -- a series of leaked emails between climate scientists which global warming skeptics have latched onto to prove climate change doesn't exist. "Poor Al Gore," Stewart proclaimed, "global warming completely debunked via the very internet you invented."

The claim behind ClimateGate is that these hacked emails prove that scientists were hiding evidence against global warming. (See our slideshow of the 7 Biggest Lies About ClimateGate here.) The real story, Stewart says, is not quite so sensational. But the emails do provide fodder for climate change deniers to go wild. Like Sen. Inhofe, who recently proclaimed 2009 "the year in which scientists who question the so-called global warming consensus are being heard." (Or, as he said to Sen. Boxer: "We won, you lost, get a life.")

"That guy thinks global warming is debunked every time he drinks a slushy and gets a brain freeze." Stewart said, then pointed out that Inhofe proclaimed victory before the climate emails were even leaked.

"But that's the point," Stewart said emphatically. "if you care about an issue, and want to make it your life's work, don't cut corners. It's disheartening for people inclined towards the scientific method and it's catnip to these guys who are going to end up celebrating tonight, drunk, roaming the Arctic Circle trying to scullf*ck polar bears. Which are quickly disappearing because of rising oceans. Caused now, apparently, by God's tears."

WATCH:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Scientists Hide Global Warming Data

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Get HuffPost Green On Facebook and Twitter!

Colbert Crushes Glenn Beck For Latest "Hysterical" Attack On Obama (VIDEO)

2009-12-02T07:39:07Z

As part of his new Afghanistan strategy, President Obama announced that he will deploy 30,000 troops to the region -- a plan that has drawn mixed reactions among analysts.

Not surprisingly, Glenn Beck was fired up that Obama would have the audacity to make such a decision, seemingly calling into question the President's place on the military chain of command. Said Beck: "You do what your military advisers ask for...Who is the President?"

Colbert "echoed" Beck's "logic," pointing out that, "Obama is acting like he is chief who is commander of the armed forces.

Well, according to Colbert's upside-down chart, Obama's right at the bottom. Above him, the generals. The list goes all the way up the leaders of nation: the boy scouts, who "receive their strategies from G.I. Joe."

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Colbert Talks Copenhagen And ClimateGate: Something Is Melting In Denmark (VIDEO)

2009-12-01T12:46:32Z

On Monday night Stephen Colbert went Klimate Krazy, talking about what the upcoming Copenhagen climate talks mean and discussing the "ClimateGate" emails, a series of hacked emails that climate skeptics claiming prove that global warming is a hoax. (Newsflash: it's not a hoax. Here at HuffPost Green we like to call the incident "SwiftHack.") Colbert wonders if Obama's trip to Copenhagen going to prove him to be a fascist AND a failure, and an "Adolph Carter!" He then chatted with professor Dan Esty, and pondered deep questions such as, "last time Obama went to Copenhagen it was to try get the Olympics. He lost them. Is there any change we are going to lose the environment to Brazil?"

WATCH:

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Something Is Melting in Denmark - Dan Esty

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

U.S. Speedskating

Get HuffPost Green On Facebook and Twitter!

Colbert Plays "Sanction, Bomb, Marry" With Head Of Ploughshares Fund (VIDEO)

2009-12-01T08:58:33Z

In his "Better Know a Lobby" segment, Colbert took on Ploughshares Fund, an organization dedicated to preventing the use of nuclear and biological weapons.

Colbert, an unabashed fan of the Cold War, reveled in the chance to talk nuclear warfare -- especially when given the opportunity to recreate the devastation caused by an "awesome" nuclear explosion. He took it a step further, playing a game called "Sanction, Bomb, Marry" with Joseph Cirincione, the head of the anti-WMD lobby. Cirincione reluctantly admitted he'd bomb North Korea and of course, Colbert lapped up his destruction of Ploughshare's credibility.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Jon Stewart Takes On White House Party Crashers (VIDEO)

2009-12-01T08:57:59Z

Jon Stewart returned last night after a week off, annoyed that the "news fairy" screwed him. There was no Palin resignation, no Larry Craig scandal, only Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the reality star wannabes who crashed the White House state dinner and posted the evidence on Facebook.

Of course, Stewart worked with what he got and went on to joyously mock not only the party crashers but the media's tireless coverage of them. Dubbing the aspiring reality show stars the "The Real Asswipes of Washington D.C.," Stewart enlisted the help of Jason Jones, Aasif Mandvi, and even Jim Gaffigan to decimate all involved. The latter isn't a correspondent on the "Daily Show," but a crasher who posed as Edward R. Brokaw-Amanpour to snap a few photos of himself on the set and post them to facebook.

WATCH:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The Real Asswipes of Washington, D.C.

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

David Sirota: Colbert Conservatism And The Cost Of Permanent War

2009-11-30T15:27:51Z

A few weeks back, I wrote a column looking at how the media and political establishment spends an inordinate amount of time pretending to be outraged at the cost of priorities like health care while simultaneously ignoring the ballooning cost of permanent war-making. I was met with a wave of angry email from conservatives -- not at the Pentagon profligacy I referred to, but at criticism of Pentagon spending itself.

So this week, I responded with another column digging deeper into what we know about Pentagon spending. A preview:

- "All told, every man, woman and child in the United States will spend more than $2,700 on these programs and agencies next year. By way of comparison, the average Japanese spends less than $330; the average German about $520; China's per capita spending is less than $100." - Cato Institute

- "The Department of Defense, already infamous for spending $640 for a toilet seat, once again finds itself under intense scrutiny, only this time because it couldn't account for more than a trillion dollars in financial transactions, not to mention dozens of tanks, missiles and planes." - Hearst Newspapers

- "President (Obama) is on track to spend more on defense, in real dollars, than any other president has in one term of office since World War II." - National Journal's Government Executive Magazine

These are numbers that were released well before President Obama's expected Afghanistan escalation -- an escalation that will (according to figures reported in the New York Times) drive the annual cost of that war alone to about $80 billion a year -- or roughly the annual cost of the health care bill being debated in Congress.

As you'll see in the column, I cite some archconservatives -- including John McCain -- who have in the past courageously pointed out just how bloated our Pentagon budget really is. So the idea that you have to be some sort of ultraliberal to worry about defense spending is absurd. All you have to be is someone concerned with the long-term finances of our country -- and that's why I think my old boss, Rep. David Obey (D-WI), may get some real traction with his proposal for a war surtax to pay for Obama's expected (and, IMHO, ill-advised) Afghanistan escalation.

That my original column pointing out basic budgetary reality was criticized so vehemently and aggressively by so many conservative readers suggests that throughout America, our political discourse has been reduced to caveman-ish sloganeering -- in this case: "Pentagon spending, good; Pentagon criticism, bad." As I say in my column follow up this week, the reaction proves that many conservatives see Stephen Colbert's joke that "reality has a well known liberal bias" as a statement of truth -- rather than a wisecrack.

Read the whole column here.

The column relies on grassroots support -- and because of that support, it is getting wider and wider circulation (a big thank you to all who have helped with that). So if you'd like to see my column regularly in your local paper, use this directory to find the contact info for your local editorial page editors. Get get in touch with them and point them to my Creators Syndicate site. Thanks, as always, for your ongoing readership and help contacting local editors. This column couldn't be what it is without your help.

Robin Williams Takes On Sarah Palin (VIDEO)

2009-11-25T07:50:03Z

Robin Williams stopped by the "Late Show" this week to promote his new movie "Old Dogs" and ended up trying out some Palin material.

"It's wonderful, I went looking for her book and I found it in the fantasy aisle. With Sarah you get the feeling she was voted least likely to write a book and most likely to burn one. You look at her and wonder 'Where did they find her, Project Running Mate?'"

Always a fan of Palin humor, Dave sat back and laughed while Williams went on to mock Palin for not reading and doing impressions of her skeet shooting. The only moment that gave Dave pause was when Williams suggested Palin may be the next Oprah, ripping Letterman's dream job away from him.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Comedy On Facebook and Twitter!

Chad Ochocinco On "Jimmy Fallon," Talks Ray Lewis, NFL Fines And More (VIDEO)

2009-11-25T04:37:30Z

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco visited "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" last night to promote his new book, Ocho Cinco: What Football and Life Have Thrown My Way. Ochocinco, a prominent Twitterer with nearly 450,000 followers, asked Fallon to recruit additional followers to boost his numbers. The Bengals star discussed his book, getting violently tackled by his friend Ray Lewis, and his latest fine from the NFL -- for jokingly bribing a referee during a game.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Sports on Facebook and Twitter!

Blake Lively Riverdances, Swipes Jimmy Fallon's Butt (VIDEO)

2009-11-24T09:08:00Z

Blake Lively visited Jimmy Fallon Monday night to address some of the Internet rumors swirling about her. Turns out, most of them are true.

She does tend to break into riverdance jigs, and demonstrated despite initial protests about her dress being too short. And she can recite 'Waiting for Guffman' by heart.

When they got to the last rumor, Blake had to clarify what 'credit card swiping' her friends meant.

"Like in the butt," she said. "Nobody does that here?" Fallon was still confused, so she suggested a reenactment.

"My dress is too short!" Fallon cried before bending over in submission.

"Like Julianne Moore in 'Pippa,'" Blake said, referencing her upcoming S&M themed movie, as she gave him a swipe.

You can see Blake's greatest cleavage moments here.

WATCH:

Get HuffPost Entertainment On Facebook and Twitter!

Stephen Colbert Goes Bobsledding (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

2009-11-23T17:51:53Z

(AP) LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Comedian Stephen Colbert took the "Night Train" and it nearly left him speechless.

Colbert donned a reddish-orange racing suit Sunday and went on a ride with U.S. bobsled driver Steven Holcomb. He was in the black sled that Holcomb had just driven to the four-man World Cup gold medal at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

With the crowd at the finish line chanting his name, Colbert hopped into the third slot normally manned by Steve Mesler and tucked in tight between Justin Olsen and brakeman Curtis Tomasevicz. About a minute later, Colbert emerged unscathed but breathing hard.

"Having won today's competition, you are today the fastest in the world at this," Colbert said to Holcomb and his team. "I had to pick the fastest team. Thank you. It felt like I was being hit in the head with ice hammers. It was like losing the worst snowball fight of your life."

Colbert said he looked up for only the first four turns on the way down the 20-turn layout, then buried his head in Olsen's back for the quick ride to the bottom.

"Oh, my gosh! That was the ride of my life," said Colbert, who is urging his viewers to support the U.S. Olympic speedskating team. "I've ridden with the Thunderbirds. They have nothing on you."

"I was just trying to make it down, make a safe run," Holcomb said. "It was interesting. I had a piece of tape hit me in the face from the camera (that fell off) on the way down. That was not cool."

Before he walked away to present World Cup silver medals to the U.S. four-man team led by John Napier, Colbert tried to console Mesler, a huge fan who was disappointed to be the odd man out for the ride.

"I have some terrible news. I can't wait to go to Vancouver and be on the Olympic team," Colbert said. "It's going to be hard to tell Mesler. Is he emotionally frail? "Evidently, I am very good at having weight and allowing gravity to drive me downhill. That's all I contributed to the team. Did you hear me screaming like a little girl? I had my shoulders up around my ear canal and my head was slamming against the side of this thing. It felt like I was the Liberty Bell."

Colbert also took a skeleton ride. He said it was his favorite of the two for one reason.

"It's slower," he said.

WATCH:

"Daily Show" To Blame For Newsweek Reporter's Imprisonment In Iran?

2009-11-23T14:12:24Z

While we're on the topic of traversing the aesthetic distance between comedic satire and reality, why not check in with Glynnis MacNicol over at Mediaite -- who dug out an interesting question from Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari's account of the 118 days he was held in captivity in an Iranian jail, under suspicion that he was "a spy for the CIA, MI6, Mossad... and NEWSWEEK."

That question being: "Was "The Daily Show" in part to blame for Bahari's imprisonment?"

The relevant portion of Bahari's story reads as follows:

"Well," said Mr. Rosewater [Bahari's nickname for his interrogator], who had been fairly quiet up to this point, "we have interesting video footage of you. That may persuade you to be more cooperative." I could not imagine what that might be. Something personal? Something that might compromise my friends? But...I reminded myself I had done nothing wrong.

I saw the flicker of a laptop monitor under my blindfold. Then I heard someone speaking. It was a recording of another prisoner's confession. "It's not that one," said the second interrogator. "It's the one marked 'Spy in coffee shop.' " Mr. Rosewater fumbled with the computer. The other man stepped in to change the DVD. And then I heard the voice of Jon Stewart on The Daily Show.

WATCH:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Jason Jones: Behind the Veil - Persians of Interest

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

As it turns out, what Bahari's interrogators unspooled for him was his appearance in the segments that "The Daily Show" produced when it sent correspondent Jason Jones to Tehran. In those segments, Jones presented himself as a broad caricature of a woefully-underinformed American journalist, attempting to look "intrepid" as he searched high and low for confirmations of the broad, cliched ideas about Iranian society that he'd conceived prior to arrival. Bahari's participation in the show's segments ended up landing the Newsweek reporter into a situation that was as deadly serious as it was absurd, in which he had to explain the Daily Show's jokes to an interrogator who was threatening him with bodily harm and imprisonment.

"It's just a joke. Nothing serious. It's stupid." I was getting worried. "I hope you are not suggesting that [Jason Jones] is a real spy."

"Can you tell us why an American journalist pretending to be a spy has chosen you to interview?" asked the man with the creases. "We know from your contacts and background that you told them who to interview for their program." The other Iranians interviewed in Jason's report--a former vice president and a former foreign minister--had been arrested a week before me as part of the IRGC's sweeping crackdown. "It's just comedy," I said, feeling weak.

"Do you think it's also funny that you say Iran and America have a lot in common?" Mr. Rosewater asked, declaring that he was losing patience with me. He took my left ear in his hand and started to squeeze it as if he were wringing out a lemon. Then he whispered into it. "This kind of behavior will not help you. Many people have rotted in this prison. You can be one of them."

Of those segments, MacNicol says, "at the time those clips aired I found them non-funny and borderline offensive -- fake news tends to lose its thrust when real news reporters (and civilians) are risking their lives to get the actual news out to world."

Personally, I'm not as damning -- I think there was some value in showing that much of what Iranian protesters were fighting for was founded in a way of life and in values that we would recognize... and that too often the media glibly elides over such things to make pointless bellicosity seem palatable. But the segments did err, in my opinion, in making too many jokes about the danger that Jason Jones was not in during a time when many of the Iranians he met in Iran ended up in such real, deadly danger.

What I am reminded of, reading this, is that one of the dangers in satire is that when it's done right, you might miss the joke entirely. This is something that's as true now as it was when Jonathan Swift wrote "A Modest Proposal." But the issue of whether or not autocratic, fundamentalist regimes are capable of "getting" a joke is beside the point. The fact is that Iran is run by deranged and paranoid despots, who need only the thinnest of pretexts to lock people up or do them harm. This is a pretty sobering way to learn that lesson.

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to tv@huffingtonpost.com -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]