on air | the Late Show • An interview with Stephen Colbert
July 1, 2018
video | interview
Popular comic actor Marc Maron talks about Ray Kurzweil and tech themes w. Emmy Award winning host Stephen Colbert — in this episode of television talk show the Late Show.
Marc Maron says: we’ve turned our brains over to tech, and he remembers “a time before people could Google the name of that guy who invented peanut oil.“
broadcast: CBS
television show title: the Late Show w. Stephen Colbert
season: no. 3
episode: no. 156
date: June 14, 2018
host: Stephen Colbert
guest: Natalie Portman • actress
guest: Marc Maron • comedian
music talent: alt J feat. Pusha T
image | above
Portrait of comic actor + award winning writer Marc Maron.
photo: by John Sciulli
transcript: dialog from episode
from: the Late Show w. Stephen Colbert
host: Stephen Colbert
guest: Marc Maron
time: begin — 3 minutes • 40 seconds
time: end — 7 minutes • 40 seconds
— dialog transcript —
Stephen Colbert — What did we do before there were podcasts?
Marc Maron — I don’t know what we did. There was a time before wi-fi and before the cell phone, where all of us had to do things like wait. And then if you were actually waiting that’s all you could do. Just stand there, that’s all you could do.
Stephen Colbert — I remember.
Marc Maron — And now I don’t know how we turned our entire brain over to the machines, to the phones, to the computers. I mean we’re just gleefully enabling the singularity. Like bring it on. It’s a dense joke, it’s really only for a couple of people.
Stephen Colbert — Ray Kurzweil would get it.
Marc Maron — But the thing is, think about it: if you lose your phone you’re 2 hours away from wandering the streets going what’s my name? Where do I live? What are my children doing? Where do they live? police: Do you need help sir — no I need my phone, I’m not sick.
So there was a time when you’d be driving to work listening to just radio, that was all that was available. Maybe you’re eating some trail mix, maybe you’re chewing on a peanut.
And your brain just all of a sudden goes: hey who’s that guy who discovered peanut oil, peanut butter, peanut oil guy. We learned about him in elementary school, 3 names. What was his name. And that was sort of your day. You know, you’d go to work and stuff but every couple hours: ah peanut guy, why can’t I remember his name!
And there was nothing you could do! You maybe ask a friend at work: dude — peanut guy, he invented peanut oil, 3 names — do you know who he is? And the guy’s like: I don’t remember, why are you so worked up about it? Because I can’t remember!
Then maybe you go to lunch from work, you eat a sandwich. That’s all you could do, eat the sandwich. Watch other people eat a sandwich. Maybe reflect on the sad tedium of self-awareness. You go back to work, you sit down at your desk: Ah peanut guy! Then maybe you call a friend: dude — it’s me.
That’s the other thing, like you had to wait to check your messages at the end of the day. You call you got a machine. Remember machines? You call a friend, hey dude it’s me listen: peanut guy, what’s his name? He invented peanuts, no not peanuts — peanut oil, peanut butter. 3 names I can’t remember. Are you there? Pick up, if you’re not call me later. I’m ok call me back. And you hang up.
Then you finish work, you drive home. You go to a video store. Right remember video stores? It was a better world then — and because there was still shame in [ censored ] .
Stephen Colbert — The curtain.
Marc Maron — If you wanted to watch [ censored ] you had to rent it from someone you knew, so you had to make a decision: oh it’s that girl, I’m not going to go into the back and rent [ censored ] from her!
So you check yourself, right. Not like today, you’re just at home alone — tumbling down an endless rabbit hole of wrong-minded [ censored ] . You know what I mean. No moral compass, no tether.
So anyway, you get home from work, and you look at your machine. Hey it’s beeping, there’s a light. There’s one light: I got a message! Oh my gosh this is so exciting.
You hit the play button: George Washington Carver man — are you ok? It’s George Washington Carver! Man you sounded really weird and I didn’t have anything to do — so I went to the library. I’m still here, pick up if you need me to look up anything else! And that’s how you did a search back then.
Stephen Colbert — Marc Maron everybody.
— end of transcript —
on the web | pages
CBS | shows: all
CBS | shows: the Late Show w. Stephen Colbert
the Late Show w. Stephen Colbert | YouTube channel
on the web | pages
Wikipedia | Stephen Colbert
Wikipedia | the Late Show w. Stephen Colbert
Wikipedia | Marc Maron
Wikipedia | GLOW
Wikipedia | George Washington Carver
— notes —
CBS = Columbia Broadcasting System
* Marc Maron is Marcus David Maron
* Stephen Colbert is Stephen Tyrone Colbert
* Pusha T is Terrence Le Varr Thornton
* Natalie Portman is Neta Lee Hershlag