Oprah’s Super Soul Special: Stephen Colbert – Finding Your Stride

Podcast: Oprah's Super Soul
Host: Oprah Winfrey
Guest: Stephen Colbert
Date: November 26, 2025

Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and candid episode, Oprah sits down with Stephen Colbert to explore the deeper layers behind his success, struggles, faith, and enduring optimism. Together, they delve into topics of responsibility, ego, authenticity, the importance of facts, faith in tumultuous times, and leading with love—both on and off screen. The conversation offers wisdom for anyone searching for meaning and comfort in today's world, seasoned with Colbert’s trademark warmth and wit.

Key Discussion Points

The Power and Purpose of Comedy in Troubled Times

• Responsibility of Late Night Hosts
  • Colbert discusses how hosting a late-night show during consequential times can be both demanding and invigorating, because it enables him to foster a sense of community with his audience.

    "The opposite of, like, it getting you down, it actually fires you up... because you want to talk about it, you want to get it out. You want to have a sense of community..." (02:05)

• Role in Reflecting the Day Back to the Audience
  • The show’s aim is not to break news, but to reflect and process what the audience has experienced, providing comic relief and connection.

    "People come to the show at the very end of the day... and we go, yeah, we've been thinking about it too. Here's what we think." (03:56)

• Finding His Stride on The Late Show
  • Colbert reflects on the struggle to carve out a unique identity after David Letterman.

    "You have to do this with humility, because... you're trying to find something that you don't know how to do yet in front of millions of people... That's humbling because you have to admit, okay, I haven't found it yet." (05:27)

  • The pivotal moment came during the 2016 election, particularly after producer Chris Licht joined the team and encouraged focus on the day’s events.

    "You're really great about making jokes about what just happened today. Just do that, and I'll take everything else off your plate." (06:49)

Navigating Public Life and Ego

• The Ephemeral Nature of Fame
  • Colbert keeps his ego in check through his family and by remembering his identity before fame.

    "Fame is a tool that allows you to work more. That's the value of it. All we want to do is work." (14:44)

• Honest Feedback and Avoiding the Hype
  • Relies on long-standing relationships for accountability.

    "My wife tells me the truth. My kids tell me the truth. Chris Licht tells me the truth. I've worked with the same agent and... publicist for... 13 and 20 years." (17:40)

• On Reading Press and Criticism
  • Avoids reading about himself, recognizing the dangers of internalizing both praise and criticism.

    "You can't think about thinking, you can't think about breathing. You'll choke on your own tongue. So I just do my best." (18:19)

Facts, Truth, and Discernment in a "Post-Truth" Era

• The Fragility of Facts
  • Colbert, who coined "truthiness," emphasizes the urgent need to cling to objective reality in the age of "fake news."

    "We stand on this island called reality... I will not believe your lies no matter how many times you repeat them." (12:39)

• Comedy as a Tool Against Fear
  • For Colbert, making people laugh is an antidote to fear and a way to empower critical thought.

    "Fear is the mind killer. But if you're laughing, you can't be afraid. And so if you laugh, I know you can think." (10:42)

Faith as Sustenance and Perspective

• Living Catholicism and Facing Anxieties
  • Colbert shares a personal and moving account of how scripture restored his faith during a dark time in Chicago.

    "It was the first time that I had read the Bible or anything that I understood the phrase. It spoke to me because I wasn't reading it. It just spoke off the page and the words of Christ are that for me..." (26:44)

• Parental Wisdom
  • Invokes his mother’s lesson: look at hardships in the light of eternity and practice acceptance, humility, and love.

    "You can't love something until you can accept it." (26:35)

Hope, Love, and Connection in Divisive Times

• Hope for the Nation
  • Despite turmoil, Colbert expresses steadfast hope and faith in America's core ideals.

    "Our country remains the last best hope of mankind and it is already great." (28:43) "There will be good presidents and there will be bad presidents... But if we can all agree on that thing, then America will always be the last best hope of mankind." (29:01)

• Setting an Intention of Love
  • Shares that the original and ongoing intention for his show is to be about love, even amid satire and criticism.

    "I don't know how to do a nightly comedy show that's also about love, but I'd like it in some way to be about love." (31:49)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|--------|--------------| | 02:05 | "The opposite of, like, it getting you down, it actually fires you up... because you want to talk about it, you want to get it out. You want to have a sense of community..." | Stephen Colbert | | 05:27 | "You have to do this with humility, because... you're trying to find something that you don't know how to do yet in front of millions of people... That's humbling because you have to admit, okay, I haven't found it yet." | Stephen Colbert | | 10:42 | "Fear is the mind killer. But if you're laughing, you can't be afraid. And so if you laugh, I know you can think." | Stephen Colbert | | 12:39 | "We stand on this island called reality... I will not believe your lies no matter how many times you repeat them." | Stephen Colbert | | 14:44 | "Fame is a tool that allows you to work more. That's the value of it. All we want to do is work." | Stephen Colbert | | 17:40 | "My wife tells me the truth. My kids tell me the truth. Chris Licht tells me the truth. I've worked with the same agent and... publicist for... 13 and 20 years." | Stephen Colbert | | 18:19 | "You can't think about thinking, you can't think about breathing. You'll choke on your own tongue. So I just do my best." | Stephen Colbert | | 26:35 | "You can't love something until you can accept it." | Stephen Colbert | | 28:43 | "Our country remains the last best hope of mankind and it is already great." | Stephen Colbert | | 29:01 | "There will be good presidents and there will be bad presidents... But if we can all agree on that thing, then America will always be the last best hope of mankind." | Stephen Colbert | | 31:49 | "I don't know how to do a nightly comedy show that's also about love, but I'd like it in some way to be about love." | Stephen Colbert | | 33:26 | "That's the challenge, the last challenge is to love the people you disagree with the most..." | Stephen Colbert | | 33:46 | "That means you have to find a path to love Donald Trump." | Oprah Winfrey |

Important Segment Timestamps

• [02:05] Colbert on community and laughter in lonely times
• [05:27] On humility and finding his stride after Letterman
• [10:42] Comedy as fear’s antidote; laughter as empowerment
• [12:39] Committing to facts and reality in the “post-truth” era
• [14:44] Colbert’s take on fame and purpose
• [17:40] Who keeps him grounded and tells him the truth
• [18:19] The dangers of reading press about oneself
• [26:35] Love, acceptance, and faith during hardship
• [28:43] Patriotism and hope for America
• [31:49] Intention for a comedy show centered on love
• [33:26] The harrowing challenge: loving those you disagree with

Tone and Final Reflections

The conversation is intimate, open-hearted, and gently humorous. Colbert is candid about his doubts and failures, wise on the necessity of truth and love, and deeply optimistic about America and humanity. Oprah’s probing yet affectionate presence brings Colbert’s reflective side to the fore, creating a memorable dialogue about authenticity, discernment, faith, and connection.

Listeners are left with a message of hope: Light wins, laughter heals, and love—especially toward those we disagree with—is the ultimate, ongoing challenge.