Intro Rewind: Bootsie | Aunt Carol

Summary

The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert

Episode: Intro Rewind: Bootsie | Aunt Carol
Date: January 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode offers a playful, behind-the-scenes rewind into two memorable Late Show threads: the fate of keepsakes from Stephen Colbert’s set (featuring producer Becca and her Aunt Carol) and the beloved “Bootsy” segment, where the Late Show's uninformed correspondent investigates the reality of sex parties. With Stephen Colbert's trademark wit, the team swaps stories of sentimental artifacts, inside-show lingo, and field journalism gone hilariously off the rails. The episode is warm, irreverent, and rich with the off-the-cuff charm fans of the show love.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Journey of a Colbert Keepsake

• Set Memorabilia and Its Strange Fate
  • Stephen opens with a story about what happens to show sets and memorabilia after a show wraps, referencing how the "Colbert Report" set was unceremoniously dumped:

    "The day after Dave finished, they literally pulled up giant dump trucks...and just threw this. Unbelievable. Really, truly a work of art set in the garbage." (00:55)

  • Becca, a producer, reveals she owns a piece of the old Colbert Report portrait—encased in Lucite—found by her Aunt Carol at the Chelsea Flea Market.
  • Colbert's surprise and curiosity:

    “She found a piece of the Colbert Report portrait that I had encased in Lucite as a gift...She found it in a flea market.” (01:36)

• On-Air Detective Work: The Aunt Carol Call
  • Stephen insists Becca call Aunt Carol live to track down the Lucite piece’s origins and price, turning the exchange into an impromptu investigation.
  • Aunt Carol charmingly struggles to remember the item, eventually agreeing to help:

    "Send me a photo and I will tell you, because I. I imagine if it's that kind of collectible, I am pretty sure which dealer I bought it from one of my regulars who has cool stuff." (04:57)

  • Colbert vows to follow the chain of custody:

    “Those were very, like, precious things that I gave to people with a lot of feeling...to find out that one of them ended up in a flea market has really just shook me to my core. And so I wanted. This is now a detective mystery.” (05:11)

2. Late Show Inside Jokes and Lingo

• “See You in the Wrestling Ring”
  • Colbert and Becca discuss an oft-used phrase—a cryptic way of saying, “see you at the tough part.”
  • Colbert’s origin story:

    “My mom came into the room...I sat bolt upright...looked at her and I said, ‘You must betray me in the wrestling ring.’...So, whatever the thing you have to do later that’s gonna be hard...that’s the wrestling ring.” (07:54)

  • The phrase is now use for anticipating challenging show tasks:

    “We’re in our casual pants upstairs in the writers’ meeting. But soon we will be in the rewrite basement, you know, in our singlets.” (08:42)

• Bootsy and “Boots”
  • The word “Boots,” introduced by a former assistant, becomes a running joke about generational slang gaps:

    “When one of the young people tries to describe something to me, I’ll often think to myself, ‘boots,’ you have done nothing to clarify what this means to me.” (09:58)

3. Bootsy’s Sex Party Field Report

• Setting Up the Bit
  • The team recalls how “Bootsy” (Bootsy Plunkett, uninformed correspondent and mother of producer Jake Plunkett) was sent to an alleged “sex party” after Stephen publicly doubted their existence:

    "I just don’t buy that sex parties are actually a thing. I’m in show business...and I’ve never once been asked to a sex party." (13:51)

  • Jake tricks his mom, telling her she’ll meet economist Paul Krugman at a Ferris wheel to discuss the debt ceiling, but instead escorts her to a private sex club event.
• Bootsy at the Sex Club
  • Bootsy’s confusion and straight talk offer comic gold:

    "What are you supposed to do here?" (18:09)
    "Ask about the debt ceiling." (18:49, Colbert’s suggestion) "They don’t seem like they give a...about the debt ceiling." (18:51)

  • Bootsy interviews staff and partygoers, still subtly searching for Krugman, and repeatedly botches the club’s name:

    "I’m at the Spartums." (21:48)

  • Her final verdict—delivered in her earnest style:

    "Hi, this is Bootsy. I’m here with the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. And guess what, Stephen? This is real. Because I found out tonight firsthand. This is real." (21:24)

  • Jake’s loving yet exasperated dynamic with his mother provides genuine comedy:

    "Is it now going to be the case that whenever you hear the name Paul Krugman, you think of this?"
    "Yes." (21:18-21:22)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Colbert’s Sentimental Side

  “Those were like cutting up a piece of me and giving it to someone.” (02:31)
  “Those were very, like, precious things that I gave to people with a lot of feeling behind them...” (05:11)

• Bootsy’s Dry Wit at the Club

  "What are you supposed to do here?" (18:09)
  "They don’t seem like they give a...about the debt ceiling." (18:51)
  "Do you actually have sex? Yes." (19:20)

• Colbert’s Perspective on Sex Parties & Showbiz

  “We’re supposed to be the decadent ones. No one’s ever offered me a bump of coke...” (11:08)
  "You paid the gate. That’s not a party." (12:52)

• On Bootsy’s Unique Reporting

  “She’s fantastic, she’s wonderful, and she’s...The fights she has with Jake are my favorite part of it. And I want you to know they’re 100% sincere.” (13:06)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:35 - 05:53 | Set Memorabilia & The Aunt Carol Call
• 07:28 - 08:54 | The Origin of “See You in the Wrestling Ring”
• 09:00 - 10:09 | The "Boots"/"Bootsy" Lingo Segment
• 13:51 - 17:22 | Bootsy Prepares for Her Assignment
• 18:00 - 21:44 | Bootsy at the Sex Club (“Sanctum”)—Interviews and Reactions
• 21:44 - 21:59 | Bootsy’s Conclusion: “This is Real”
• Throughout | Rapid-fire Late Show jargon and behind-the-scenes banter

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Tone and Flow

The episode is quintessentially Late Show: casual, sharp, self-referential, and affectionately mocking. Colbert, Becca, Bootsy, and Jake all showcase natural, unscripted chemistry; the humor lands with the audience’s assumed familiarity, but the stories are engaging no matter your background knowledge.

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For New Listeners

This rewind episode offers a perfect snapshot of what makes The Late Show Pod Show unique: heartfelt goofiness, nerdy inside jokes, and candid reminiscences from one of late night’s sharpest comedic teams. Whether you’re here for the showbiz war stories, the family dynamics, or just Bootsy not quite grasping what a sex party is, there’s plenty to enjoy.

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End of Summary

Transcript

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[Stephen Colbert]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Becca, I think I'll start this one off, please, if you don't mind. I mean, obviously you're the producer. You're calling.

[Producer/Staff Member]

Good with me starting names on the building for now.

[Stephen Colbert]

I wonder what we're gonna do with the names. What do we do? What do you do with like a 10 story Colbert on the outside?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I'll take the C. That's the big one. I'll take the B. I'll take. Oh, you can take Rebecca.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, that's really funny. I don't think it's going to maybe my choice, by the way, I think CBS is. I don't know what they're gonna do with it if Dave is any indication. What they did to Dave, because that was harrowing. The day after Dave finished, they literally pulled up giant dump trucks, or what is it called, Dumpsters out front and just threw this. Unbelievable. Really, truly a work of art set in the garbage.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Insane. But you don't know this. I have a piece of the Colbert set.

[Stephen Colbert]

You do?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I do. When you guys chopped up the paintings and put them in little acetate blocks. When I started my internship here, when I first moved to New York, my very sweet aunt Carol found it at a flea market. And then when I started my job, she gave it to me.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wait a second. She found a piece of the Colbert Report portrait that I had encased in Lucite as a gift to everybody as we left the Colbert Report. And she found. Because there's literally. There's only 100 of them or something because only 90 of us. I think we cut it into like 10 by 10, something like that. She found it in a flea market.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

At the Chelsea Flea. Chelsea Flea. It's one of the best markets in the world. In the city. I love it so much here in the.

[Stephen Colbert]

Here in New York.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Here in New York. She did. And now it's mine and I have it and it's Great.

[Stephen Colbert]

All right, we're gonna talk about this at rehearsal today, and I want to find out who the. Like, a lot of people wanted those.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah. And a lot of people wanted those in great hands.

[Stephen Colbert]

No, I know, I know. I'm glad you got it. But let me ask you this. What is the image of?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

It's just a little shard of red. It's like not.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, it's one of the edges. Yeah, yeah, it's one of the edges.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah, yeah. My God, it might have been like a Comedy Central exec, you know, you never know who it could have been.

[Stephen Colbert]

It doesn't matter who it is. Those were like cutting up a piece of me and giving it to someone.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Oh, I'm so sorry.

[Stephen Colbert]

Deeply hurt.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I'm so sorry.

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

God.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

What?

[Stephen Colbert]

Why would you tell me something like that?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I thought it was a sweetie.

[Stephen Colbert]

This thing that you gave away at the end of a 10 year show. We found one in the gar.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

It wasn't.

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

No.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

The flea market is very nice.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's pretty overpriced, but that meant that somebody.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I mean, it's not like it's a vintage.

[Stephen Colbert]

It wasn't mean that it was being sold on consignment. They found it in a. They found it in a throwaway pile.

[Producer/Staff Member]

That's what those things are.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I'm now hearing how this sounds, but it's a valuable piece of history.

[Stephen Colbert]

How much is your aunt, you said?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

How much did she pay for it?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I don't know.

[Stephen Colbert]

Find out. Okay, call her right now.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Call her.

[Stephen Colbert]

Call her right now.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Okay.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, we have a minute. Call her right now.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Okay, great.

[Stephen Colbert]

Put her on speaker.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Let's see. Let's see if she picks up.

[Stephen Colbert]

Put her on speaker. The tension is. It's just gripping, killing me.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I know. Okay.

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

Hello there.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Hi, Carol, it's Becca. I. I have a quick question for you. I'm here with Stephen. I'm here with Stephen Colbert. We're recording some podcasts together.

[Stephen Colbert]

Hi, Carol.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Hi. Hello. I told him the story about how you got me that piece of the Colbert Pour set from the flea market. Do you remember that?

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

Yes. Wait, wait, which piece is where he's blowing the shofar?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

No, no, no, no. It's a little piece of Lucite. It's like a bookend that you gave me that has a piece of the Colbert Pour set that you gave me in 2018 when I first moved to.

[Producer/Staff Member]

New York, and it's part of the.

[Stephen Colbert]

Portrait that used to be on the set encased in Lucite.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Do you remember that?

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

No. Oh, give Me a better description.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's probably about the size of a pack of playing cards. It stands upright. There's a little scrap of, like, cloth, painted cloth, in it, which was part of a portrait that used to hang on the set. And it's just perfectly clear with a piece of red cloth in the center of it. And Becca claims that you got that at a flea market here at Chelsea Flea. And is that true?

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

If she says so, then it's true.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. I was just wondering what you paid for it. Did you paid cash for something like that, I assume?

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

Yes, absolutely.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, well, if you wouldn't mind just giving it some thought, maybe you should send a photo of it to her so see if she recognizes it.

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

Send me a photo and I will tell you, because I. I imagine if it's that kind of collectible, I am pretty sure which dealer I bought it from one of my regulars who has cool stuff.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Oh, very cool.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. So if you can. If you do that. And then I wouldn't mind finding out, like, I like to chase this down because those were very, like, precious things that I gave to people with a lot of feeling behind them. And to find out that one of them ended up in a flea market has really just shook me to my core. And so I wanted. This is now a detective mystery.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I want to find out, like, how much did it cost? Where'd you buy it? Then I want to talk to that person and say, do you remember having this? Where would it have gotten from? And then where he got it. And then I want to confront that person with how it ended up in the flea market.

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

I actually do have the magnifying glass. And I'll put on my Sherlock hat.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, fantastic.

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

Do my best.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Okay, great.

[Stephen Colbert]

All right.

[Producer/Staff Member]

Somebody.

[Stephen Colbert]

Somebody's in. In big trouble or deceased.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Okay.

[Stephen Colbert]

Because that's the only. That's the only possible answer, is that, you know. You know, we have been doing it for 20 years, and there people who work with me who I love very much, who are no longer with us.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

That is the only obviating factor that could possibly, you know, account for this ending up in a flea market. And if that is the case, I accept that entirely. I will not apologize for being upset, but I will accept that.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Well, it was a really beautiful, thoughtful gift that you gave me, Carol, and thank you so much. And I'll send you the picture when I get home tonight.

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

Excellent.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thank you. We're gonna follow up on this. This is not the end of the story.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Okay, great.

[Stephen Colbert]

Carol, your niece, Becca, is a delight to work with. And I'm not the only one who thinks so.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Oh, yeah.

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

I, I, she, she's an amazing, unique woman. And I've had the pleasure of knowing her for longer than you have, so we can share stories sometime.

[Stephen Colbert]

So I, I mean, I. No doubt you have known her longer than I have, but I bet I've spent more time in a tiny room.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Than you have.

[Carol (Becca's Aunt)]

That is very true.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

All right, Love you, Carol. We'll talk soon.

[Stephen Colbert]

Love you, Carol.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Have a great day. Okay, bye. Nice to meet you.

[Stephen Colbert]

She says, nice to meet you.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Okay, bye.

[Stephen Colbert]

Carol's the best. Wow.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Carol's the best.

[Stephen Colbert]

We love Carol.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

We love Aunt Carol.

[Stephen Colbert]

She's great.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

All right.

[Stephen Colbert]

Great name for an aunt.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I know, right? It just flows.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's Aunt Carol.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Aunt Carol. All right, well, I, I just thought it was a beautiful thing that you guys did at the end of the show.

[Stephen Colbert]

It was. It was a beautiful thing. Yeah, I thought it was a very beautiful thing. Okay.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

All right, well, you wanna play it?

[Stephen Colbert]

I mean, whoever. Somebody might hear this and might know that I'm coming for him.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Quick, quick flash round.

[Stephen Colbert]

Maybe it was stolen. Keep going.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

It could have been stolen. Exactly.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Heist.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

The quick round of lecho vocab.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, hit it.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

See you in the wrestling ring.

[Stephen Colbert]

That means down in the theater or wherever. That thing we need to do later.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Okay, cool.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'll see you in the wrestling ring. It's related to something I said to my mother in my sleep when I was young.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Oh.

[Stephen Colbert]

I was in high school. My mom came into the room in the morning to wake me up for school. And I sat bolt upright, as she describes it, still clearly asleep. And I believe her because I don't remember this. I sat bolt upright in bed, I looked at her and I said, you must betray me in the wrestling ring. And I lay back down. And so that over the years, has become to me that whatever the thing you have to do later that's gonna be hard or you're nervous about is the wrestling ring. So I always say, I'll see you in the wrestling ring.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Oh, wow, that's really great. I never knew that story. And you say that to us almost all the time.

[Stephen Colbert]

See you in the wrestling ring.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah. Okay.

[Stephen Colbert]

In other words, like that. Good. We're almost there. And I'll see the final product later. I'll perform it later. Or you'll show me the thing later. Or we'll do the thing, you and I. Right now. We're in the wrestling ring.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah. We're in our casual pants upstairs in the writers meeting. But soon we will be in the rewrite basement, you know, in our singlets. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

In our singlets. With a mouthpiece in and those things that keep your ears from being torn off.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah. Okay, next one. This is the last one we'll do for today. Bootsy.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Boots.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Well, that's another one.

[Stephen Colbert]

Boots.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Tell the boots story.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, one of our writer's assistants, Kara, who is no longer with us. I mean, she's still alive, but she's no longer with the show. She's a lovely, lovely person and did a lot of singing on the show, actually. Lovely singing voice. And she's young, you know, she's young. She's my kid's age. And like you. She's young, like you, but she's also very, as we say with it, you know, she's down with all the lingo. So I'd say, what does this mean? Like, boots king or whatever like that. I'm like, what's boots? She goes, it's just a saying. And I said, use that in a sentence. And she held her hands out and went, boots. And I said, that is. I'm sorry. I know. That's like an imperative or something like that. Boots with an exclamation mark. Technically, that might be. No.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

So that's how I always once when I'm an old man, and when one of the young people tries to describe something to me, I'll often think to myself, boots, you have done nothing to clarify what this means to me. So Bootsy.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Bootsy is a nickname of one of our staff members. Mothers. Oh.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's Jake. It's Jake's mom.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

It's Jake's mom.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I want to play the podcast bit where we sent her to a sex party.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, that's what this is gonna be.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

That's what this is gonna be.

[Stephen Colbert]

So what happened was, on air, I complained that I did not believe that sex parties were a real thing, because I think it was. Madison Cawthorn was briefly a Senate. A congressman from North Carolina, a young man, and. And he said that he had been offered, like, cocaine and sex parties, like, sexual get togethers. I forgot he used a very awkward term for it. And I think I called into question whether those ever actually happened, because I've been in show business since, like, professionally since I was, like, 24. And, I mean, the comedians aren't big on the sexy end of the scale in terms of, like, what's associated with Them is not sexiness or romance or something like that. But, I mean, I've worked at a mildly high level for decades now, and no one's ever offered. And we're supposed to be. We're supposed to be the. The decadent ones. No one's ever offered me a bump of coke. Yeah, no one's ever offered me, hey, we're gonna get together and just some super, super, like, you know, cool people, and we thought maybe you'd want to come by, just be cool with us, you know, Like, I've never got. We really liked your vibe. We noticed you across the party, and we just thought, maybe let's all get together and celebrate, you know, the Emmys in our own way this weekend. No one's ever said that.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

They're just throwing go, go squeezes at our heads, you know?

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. We get nothing. We eat applesauce and we do another show. We'll talk about applesauce another time. But applesauce is a big thing with us. And so I called into question whether sex parties were real. And I got invited to. They called it a sex party, but it's really like a sex club, and it's in New York, and you have to have a membership. And so she went. We sent her. I'm like, I'm not going to a sex party. I'm not going to a sex club. I still don't believe it. Cause that was a professional endeavor. A sex party is. Hey, we just love to get together and have sex with each other. And it's all kind of like, you know, we get naked in puppy pile, whatever. That's what. That's the sex party. As I understand them again, never having been invited to a sex party. So I call. I mean, I think it's a really good piece. I'm glad we were gonna listen to it. But I call into question whether this is, quote unquote, a sex party. It's like going to a. And going, oh, I went to a great party last night. Where? Oh, at o' Shaughnessy's down in the corner. Buddy, you didn't go to a party. You went to a bar.

[Producer/Staff Member]

There was a.

[Stephen Colbert]

There was a. You know, there might even been a cover charge.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

If there was a band like, you paid the gate. That's not a party.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, that's not a party. I know what you're saying.

[Stephen Colbert]

You know what I'm saying?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I know what you're saying. But yeah. So this is Bootsy. We call her the Late Show's Uninformed correspondent. Cause she doesn't know what we're sending her into when we send her on.

[Stephen Colbert]

And she spent. She's fantastic, she's wonderful, and she's. The fights she has with Jake are my favorite part of it. And I want you to know they're 100% sincere. Them yelling at each other is with love and none of it's made up.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And it's. I just wanted to be that. I just wanted to be Bootsy and Jake yelling each other for the entire time.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yeah. Wonderful.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

All right. Please.

[Stephen Colbert]

And then. Cause it always ends with, like, with, you know, I love you.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, great. Well, this is Bootsy Boots. All right. Thanks, Steven. Have a great week.

[Stephen Colbert]

You, too.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Have a great weekend. Bye, guys.

[Stephen Colbert]

Bye, Carol.

[Producer/Staff Member]

Folks, if you watch the show, and I hope you do, you know that I, Stephen Colbert, have a few core beliefs. And one of the things that I believe is that there is no such thing as sex parties. I was a young man, a young teenager, I heard stories and rumors in the adult sex world that there were sex parties and orgies and flesh pits. Then I grew up and found out there's none of that. I've said this before, I just don't buy that sex parties are actually a thing. I'm in show business, supposedly the height of decadence, and I've never once been asked to a sex party. Well, folks, since I took that brave stance, I have been invited to multiple sex parties.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

That's how it happens.

[Producer/Staff Member]

One of them is hosted by a group of folks called Sanctum. Evidently, it's one of those parties where you bring your own vowels. They have the tea, you bring your A. Now, obviously, I wasn't going to accept the offer. I'm a happily married man who just won't shut up about sex parties. But it got me thinking. Could I be wrong here? Have these sex parties been real all along? It was all so hard to understand. Well, thankfully, we here at the Late show have an expert in not understanding things. Her name is Bootsy Plunkett and she's the mother of my field producer, Jake Plunke. She is also the Late Show's official uninformed correspondent. In the past, Bootsy has used her unique information, light perspective to help us understand difficult issues, even sitting down to talk about trade tariffs with Nobel Prize winning economist Paul Krugman. So it occurred to me I should send Bootsy to investigate what's really going on at Sanctum. Of course, Jake would never agree to go to a sex party. So he did the right thing. He lied to her. He is a terrible son, but a great producer. Jake told Bootsy she was meeting Paul Krugman on a Ferris wheel to talk about the debt ceiling. And then instead, he brought her to the sex party.

[Stephen Colbert]

Jim.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

So, yeah, we're gonna have you have a little bit of a dinner with Paul Krugman.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

The.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

He's an economist. Wait, Jake, what is he again? Economist, Economist. World renowned. Renowned, renowned economist.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

And what are you talking to him about today?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Ceiling, debt.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Debt ceiling, debt ceiling. Do you want to tell everyone how much you've mentioned Paul Krugman to me in the last two years since you had that dinner with him?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Yes. I said, out of all the things I've done, I liked Paul the best. He's very cute and quirky.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

You have a little bit of a crush on Paul Krugman?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, come on. That's in your words.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

You talk about him constantly.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

I do not. Yes, you do. No, I don't.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes, you do.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

No, I don't.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Every time I see you on your.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Ipad, you are so full of.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Every time I see you on your iPad and you're watching one of your pieces.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

I never watch a piece of movie.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Yes, you do. That is bull.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

You're making it sound like I'm a narcissist.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

For my mom and I, it was the moment of truth as we headed into the sex party known as Sanctum. I'm going to hell for this.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Hello, and welcome.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Hi.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

May I offer you some champagne?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Okay.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Thank you. Oh, my God. She doesn't have a shirt on.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Just a quick note, if you see anyone or anything you like, please ask. Consensus key for touching your play. So you'd like to see anyone, Please ask. What? Would you like to join us down in the vip?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

I guess. Is Paul here?

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Jake.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

So. Ootsy.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

What?

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Paul's not here? You're actually at a sex party?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

What are you supposed to do here?

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Just go with him? I owed my mom some answers, so it was time to come clean. So you're not going on a Ferris wheel? Okay, there's no Paul.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, that's sad.

[Stephen Colbert]

So the story is, is that, like.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Stephen has been denying the existence of sex parties in his monologues, and so there have been some invites to sex parties, and the thought was that maybe you would be a good correspondent to go out and see if they exist.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, they exist. Unless this is a trick.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

So how are you feeling?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

I'm shocked. I mean, I'm handling it okay, but I'm not dressing up or Nothing.

[Producer/Staff Member]

You know, I don't know what we're.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Gonna see up there, but what should.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

I ask these people?

[Stephen Colbert]

Ask about the debt ceiling.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

They don't seem like they give a. About the debt ceiling.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Now that my mom had her real assignment, she set out to discover if she sanctum was a real sex party.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, hi. Oh, jeez.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

You can ask him.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, my God. Do you have these sex parties all the time?

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Yes, we do. We have them very frequently.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

This isn't like a joke.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

No, all the time.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Do you actually have sex? Yes.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Yes, we do. Oh, Would you like a mask?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, no. Should I wear a mask?

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

If you'd like. We have a whole bunch of to choose from.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, my God. Oh, is that good?

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Does it fit well?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Yeah, looks very nice.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Such beautiful.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, dear God. I'm going to. Is Stephen coming tonight?

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Does anybody know?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Don't.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Not that I was notified, so no.

[Mint Mobile Announcer]

Huh.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

You're going to have to bring the invite this time. You're like, I got it in.

[Stephen Colbert]

Come on, we're going.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Where are we going?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Scrotums.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Right?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Wait, Scrotums. I'm sorry. Scrotums.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Thank them.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, my God. I get everything wrong.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I'm sorry.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Did you hear about the debt ceiling? Yeah, the jet ceiling. They're voting on it to hire it. I guess you don't know stuff either. So this is the room where you go up at night after everything gets hot and heavy.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Yeah. All the rooms are welcome for play whenever you'd like during the event. And wear the martins are all. And meet an individual.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Very interesting. I learned a lot, huh?

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

We can ask the tub girls or the shower guests something or.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Do you enjoy this coming here, obviously. Right, Definitely. Yeah. So this is the.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

This is more of our dom room.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

The dom room, yeah.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Would you like to give her a little tickle?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Oh, no, no, no.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

I love tickle.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

You want a tickle with the pickle?

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Is it now going to be the case that whenever you hear the name Paul Krugman, you think of this?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Yes.

[Becca (Producer/Staff Member)]

Yes.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

I wish I could talk to Paul. You could have never shocked me more than you did tonight. Hi, this is Bootsy. I'm here with the Late show with Stephen Colbert. And guess what, Stephen? This is real. Because I found out tonight firsthand. This is real.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

This is real.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

This is real.

[Jake Plunkett (Producer, Bootsy's Son)]

Okay, so that was bad because you didn't name what's real and where you are.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

I'm at the Spartums.

[Producer/Staff Member]

Thank you, Bootsy. Thank you, Jake. Thank you for listening to the Late Show POD show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

It is my great honor to welcome you all to Starfleet Academy.

[Stephen Colbert]

There's never been a better time to enroll in Star Trek.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

It's our job to prepare you for the unimaginable. To the Night Cadet.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

In high pressure situations, positive reinforcement is crucial to one's success. You're doing a great job.

[Stephen Colbert]

This is what we train for. These friends of mine, they all live for something bigger than themselves. I met Starfleet. Starfleet Academy new series streaming January 15th on Paramount.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Can you believe it's finally Christmas? We waited forever to sing this song.

[Paw Patrol Narrator/Voice]

The Paw Patrol is on a roll to the new North Pole until it all goes downhill, Christmas is mine.

[Sanctum Host/Party Staff]

Oh, no.

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

Santa needs our help.

[Paw Patrol Narrator/Voice]

Can these paws save Santa Claus?

[Bootsy Plunkett (Late Show's Uninformed Correspondent)]

We're not going to let Santa down on our watch.

[Paw Patrol Narrator/Voice]

Find out in the brand new special of Paw Patrol, Christmas, now streaming on Paramount.