Podcast Summary: The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert

Episode: Julia Ioffe (Extended) | MadurOh-No!

Date: January 6, 2026
Guests: Julia Ioffe, Washington correspondent for Puck News

Overview

This episode dives into the seismic international event of the 2026 New Year: President Donald Trump’s surprise military operation in Venezuela, which led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro. Host Stephen Colbert unpacks the news with his trademark satirical wit, before welcoming expert journalist Julia Ioffe to discuss implications for international law, US oil interests, patterns of US interventionism, possible future conflicts, and her new book Motherland, a history of Russian and Soviet women.

Major Segments & Key Insights

1. Monologue: Operation Absolute Resolve and the “MadurOh-No!” Moment

[01:14–12:58]

• News Recap: Colbert reports on the sudden US attack in Venezuela—150 aircraft, capture of President Maduro and his wife, all orchestrated under Trump’s new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth.
• Satirical Take:
  • Mocks Trump’s “peace on Earth” resolution:
    “Trump’s New Year’s resolution was peace on Earth. Well, that didn’t last long.” ([02:25])
  • Jokes about the superficiality of the operation and its oil motives:
    “We’re going to take back the oil. … That was really poor planning for someone to put our oil under Venezuela.” ([07:58])
  • Points out the absurdity of US intentions:
    “When you install a puppet, don’t say that she’s your puppet.” ([16:19])
• Memorable quote:
  “Invading a country with a mustachio dictator and saying don’t worry, their oil will pay for this war is kind of where I got on this train 20 plus years ago. It didn’t work then and I doubt it’s going to work now.” – Colbert ([09:52])
• Jabs at Trump’s priorities: Decision to brief oil companies before Congress and willingness to install, remove, or threaten “puppet” governments as needed.

2. Interview with Julia Ioffe: US Foreign Policy, Oil, and the Venezuela Precedent

[14:47–22:42]

a. What Does It Mean to "Run" Venezuela?

[14:47–16:19]

• Colbert’s question: What does it mean for the US to "run" Venezuela after Maduro’s capture?
• Ioffe’s reply:
  “Well, he did notify the oil companies, so I think we’re good.” ([15:35])
  • Clarifies the US is pressuring new acting president Delsey Rodriguez to let American oil companies back into Venezuela, “otherwise they threatened to kill her.”
  • Candidly mocks the administration’s blunt approach:
    “It’s so strangely bald-faced... For him, Venezuela is further proof of concept that he can just strike at places that don’t have big armies… and there’s no pushback from Congress, and certainly not from the oil companies.” ([21:44])

b. Is This Just the US Being Honest?

[16:19–17:39]

• Ioffe notes:
  • Trump’s approach is, “I’m just telling it to you straight,” whereas past administrations pretended regime change and interventionism were about spreading democracy.
  • Now, Trump openly admits, “We’re going for oil,” which is “refreshing in its corruption.”
  • Memorable exchange:
    “So it’s refreshing in its corruption.” – Colbert
    “Yeah, yeah. Just swish it around your mouth a little bit and it feels nice.” – Ioffe ([17:31–17:35])

c. Russia, Ukraine, and Geopolitical Barters

[17:39–19:23]

• Colbert asks about alleged backdoor offers between Putin and Trump—“you stay out of Ukraine, we’ll stay out of Venezuela.”
• Ioffe explains:
  • No direct deal, but “very thick crumbs… hints” from Russian officials suggesting a “quid pro quo” sphere-of-influence swap.
  • Trump’s first-term foreign policy officials (like Fiona Hill and John Bolton) didn’t pursue such linkages, but “Medvedev… is dropping these hints again.”

d. What Happens Next? Is Trump Serious?

[20:09–22:42]

• Colbert: Are threats to act next on Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, Greenland credible?
• Ioffe:
  “Trump tends to do what he says he’s going to do… He said he was gonna get Maduro out. He got Maduro out… Why wouldn’t we believe him?” ([20:26])
  • Warns that dismissing Trump’s extreme statements as idle threats has proven unwise in the past.
• Colbert counters: Trump also promised “no more wars.”
• Ioffe points out:
  • Technically, there’ve been no officially declared wars, just “strikes.”
  • “He can technically argue he has not started any wars…” but Venezuela reflects a new model of “police actions” and unopposed interventions.
  • “It hasn’t even been a year.” ([22:31])
• Jovial moment:
  • Colbert jokingly accuses Ioffe of supporting Trump’s tactics:
    “You seem like you’re on board with all this.”
    “Oh God, no.” – Ioffe ([22:31–22:33])

3. Julia Ioffe on Her Book "Motherland" and the History of Russian & Soviet Women

[22:43–27:47]

• Book introduction:
  • Motherland is about Soviet and Russian history through the eyes of women—pitched in 2018 when Ioffe was fatigued by “talking about Trump and Putin.”
• Colbert muses on the USSR’s early “feminist agenda.”
• Ioffe details Soviet advances:
  • Russian women received the right to vote (1917), higher education, paid maternity leave, child support (even for unmarried women), no-fault civil divorce, and abortion rights (1920).
  • WWII: Over 800,000 women fought in active combat—“the best snipers… were women.”
• What happened to women's progress?
  • Ioffe:
    “It went away.”
    Explains most male Bolsheviks dismissed feminism as “bourgeois,” and Stalin reversed gains, emphasizing traditional gender roles.
  • Soviet women ended up with “two shifts”—full-time employment and domestic labor.
• Personal family history:
  • Ioffe’s grandmother, a chemical engineer managing a Moscow water filtration lab, exemplified the double burden—professional duties plus foraging, sewing, and household chores.
  • Reflects:
    “Being a woman is really hard. … But you can still have a love of life…and go through it with a lot more grace than the men do.” ([27:07])

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Colbert on US oil motives:
  “Thank you, Donald Trump. What other wrongs of the Gerald Ford administration will you finally make right?” ([08:26])
• Ioffe on the bluntness of regime change:
  “So I wonder… now the American president says, ‘No, we’re not, we’re going for oil.’” ([16:45])
• Colbert on taking Trump seriously:
  “It’s just that we hold onto a scrap of our sanity and it’s very hard to wander into the demented fields where he wanders sometimes.” ([20:56])
• Ioffe on the loss of women’s rights:
  “They just didn’t want to dedicate the resources…they thought it smelled of bourgeois feminism, which is kind of splitterism. … Then came Stalin, who was really not on board.” ([24:25])

Key Timestamps

• [01:14–12:58] – Colbert monologue: Explaining the Venezuela operation, media reactions, and US motives.
• [14:47–22:42] – Julia Ioffe interview: US intentions in Venezuela, impacts of Trum-era foreign policy bluster, Russia/Ukraine analogies.
• [22:43–27:47] – Julia Ioffe on Motherland: The arc of Russian women’s rights, family history, and enduring hardship and grace.

Tone & Style

The episode is marked by Colbert’s razor-sharp satire paired with Ioffe’s incisive, lightly ironic analysis. The tone remains playful, but not flippant—addressing the gravity of regime change, oil politics, and the erasure of women from historical narratives while still engaging listeners through wit.

For listeners:
This episode captures a pivotal political moment, explores deeper global patterns, and offers a vivid portrait of resilience and loss through the experiences of Russian women. Expect to laugh—and to learn.