Ken Burns (Extended)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert

Episode: Ken Burns (Extended)
Date: November 17, 2025
Guest: Ken Burns

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Overview

In this extended episode, Stephen Colbert welcomes legendary documentarian Ken Burns to discuss his latest film, The American Revolution, premiering soon on PBS. The conversation dives into the making of this monumental project, the challenges of bringing the 18th-century story to life, the relevance of the American Revolution today, and surprising historical facts unearthed during production. Burns and Colbert share thoughtful insights, historical anecdotes, and memorable, often humorous moments throughout.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Art and Process of Ken Burns’ Documentaries

• Long-Term Commitment to Storytelling

  • Burns reveals he has worked on The American Revolution for almost a decade

    “It is now nine years and 11 months almost. We began when Barack Obama had 13 months to go in his presidency.”
    — Ken Burns (05:26)

  • Colbert remarks on the enormity of the timeline:

    “So a million years ago.”
    — Stephen Colbert (05:35)

• Casting Celebrity Voice Talent

  • Burns highlights the impressive roster of actors involved: Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Ethan & Maya Hawke, Claire Danes, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Giamatti, Edward Norton, and others.

    “This is extraordinary. Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep… just to name a few.”
    — Stephen Colbert (04:38)

  • Colbert jokingly requests a job as a voice actor for a Ken Burns doc, and Burns good-naturedly replies:

    “If you know somebody that’s gonna be out of work, just let me know and we’ll have a try.”
    — Ken Burns (05:08)

2. Why Tell the Story of the American Revolution Now?

• Connecting the Nation’s Past to Its Present Divisions

  “You can treat a country the way you might treat an individual. If someone’s in crisis… the first thing they ask: who are your parents, where were you born, what was your childhood like? You get the origin story… understanding where we came from, what the story of us is, helps to put you back together.”
  — Ken Burns (05:44)

  • Colbert connects the film’s theme to recent protests and the continuing relevance of “throwing off the shackles of a monarchy” (06:21).

3. Lesser-Known Stories and Rhymes of History

• Unexpected Parallels and Forgotten Narratives

  • Burns discusses little-known incidents and how some events “rhyme” with today:
    • A pandemic deadlier than the Revolution itself, and a bitter fight over inoculation.
    • A “failed invasion of Canada" aimed at making it the 14th state.
    • Persistent rumors (e.g., Americans eat cats) and anxiety stoked by propaganda.

    “There’s a continent-wide pandemic that kills more people than the Revolution, and a big fight over inoculations. There’s a total eclipse of the sun.”
    — Ken Burns (07:14)

• German Hessian Perspective

  • Burns brings up Captain Johann Ewald, a Hessian officer, whose moving quote is featured:

    “With what soldiers in the world could one do what was done by these men? …Who would have thought a hundred years ago that out of this multitude of rabble would arise a people who could defy kings.”
    — Johann Ewald (voice), clip played by request (08:25)

4. America’s Civil War Roots in Revolution

• A Revolution as Civil War
  • Discussion turns to the deep divisions within the colonies, including stories of New Yorkers joining the British and the "Declaration of Dependence":

    “Thousands of New Yorkers signed something called the Declaration of Dependence and they flocked in. This is happening not just in New York, but all over New Jersey as the Brits take over there.”
    — Ken Burns (09:30)

  • Burns explains it wasn’t just the 19th-century Civil War that pitted families against each other:

    “Benjamin Franklin’s own son was the royal governor of New Jersey… and it was assumed he would go back to England when he was released. And instead he started a terrorist organization killing patriots, just as there were patriot organizations killing lawyers. It is an unbelievable civil war and you don’t want to be in New Jersey or South Carolina when it happens.”
    — Ken Burns (10:05)

5. The Importance and Global Impact of the American Revolution

• Significance to World History

  “This is the most important event in world history since the birth of Christ. This is the beginning of the time when human beings were no longer subjects, but citizens.”
  — Ken Burns (11:00)

  • Burns references Thomas Jefferson:

    “All experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable… very easy to understand. It means heretofore everybody has put up with the authoritarian rule. And right now we are breeding a new class of people… who have to show a virtuous life in order to earn this honor of being a citizen.”
    — Ken Burns (11:09)

  • Burns closes by hoping this origin story compels reflection and unity:

    “Maybe collectively, we can all put the U.S. back in the U.S.”
    — Ken Burns (11:50)

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Memorable Quotes

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 05:26 | Ken Burns | “It is now nine years and 11 months almost. We began when Barack Obama had 13 months to go in his presidency.” | | 05:44 | Ken Burns | “You can treat a country the way you might treat an individual... understanding where we came from... helps to put you back together.” | | 07:14 | Ken Burns | “There’s a continent-wide pandemic that kills more people than the Revolution and a big fight over inoculations. There’s a total eclipse of the sun.” | | 08:25 | Johann Ewald (voice) | “With what soldiers in the world could one do what was done by these men?... Who would have thought a hundred years ago that out of this multitude of rabble would arise a people who could defy kings.” | | 09:30 | Ken Burns | “Thousands of New Yorkers signed something called the Declaration of Dependence and they flocked in.” | | 10:05 | Ken Burns | “It is an unbelievable civil war and you don’t want to be in New Jersey or South Carolina when it happens.” | | 11:00 | Ken Burns | “This is the most important event in world history since the birth of Christ. This is the beginning of the time when human beings were no longer subjects, but citizens.” | | 11:50 | Ken Burns | “Maybe collectively, we can all put the U.S. back in the U.S.” |

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:00] Introduction of Ken Burns and The American Revolution documentary
• [05:26] Ken Burns discusses the nearly decade-long production process
• [05:44] Why the American Revolution is especially relevant now
• [07:14] Parallels between past and present: pandemics, politics, and propaganda
• [08:25] Clip: Captain Johann Ewald's perspective on the fledgling United States
• [09:30] The internal civil war aspect of the Revolution; Declaration of Dependence
• [10:05] Story of Benjamin Franklin's Loyalist son and the war’s fratricidal conflicts
• [11:00] Why the Revolution is a world-historic turning point & the birth of citizenship

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Tone and Atmosphere

The conversation is warm, intellectually curious, and often laced with sharp wit from both Colbert and Burns. There’s a shared appreciation for overlooked history, with Colbert spotlighting the emotional resonance of Burns’ work—remarking on weeping at George Washington’s speeches—while Burns grounds the discussion in the need to collectively remember and reflect.

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Conclusion

This episode offers an engaging, accessible, and profound exploration of The American Revolution both as a documentary and a pivotal event. Ken Burns brings historical nuance and a sense of urgency to the conversation, making the case for the connective power of knowing our shared origins. This summary captures the best of the dialogue—insightful, informative, and entertaining for all listeners, history buffs or not.

Transcript

[Stephen Colbert]

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[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

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[Stephen Colbert]

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[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

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[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. I mean, even out of the shell, it's still a nut.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

We can't disparage the nuts.

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

I'm not disparaging the nut.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm describing the nut.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

Don't disparage any flavors.

[Ken Burns]

I'm not.

[Stephen Colbert]

I am celebrating the pistachio right now. I'm on board. I love pistachios.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I love.

[Stephen Colbert]

I love crushed pistachio. Like a pistachio crusted trout. Oh, unbelievable. Instead of a trout amandine, a trout pistachio. Fantastic. Enough butter?

[Ken Burns]

Who cares?

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

Very good.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I love pistachio ice cream.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

Have you had the sea salt and vinegar? Wonderful pistachio. It's delicious. I get them.

[Stephen Colbert]

I didn't even know I get them.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

Before the softball games.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

But that's.

[Stephen Colbert]

You see, it's been a while since I've been the spokesman for wonderful pistachios. I didn't realize we'd achieved new pistachio technology.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

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[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

That was a wonderful.

[Stephen Colbert]

I wonder what more there is to learn. We just told them so much. We just told them so much about pistachios. But evidently there's a whole other world. There's an unexplored vista.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

They got a bunch of flavors. They got dill pickle, jalapeno lime, as we learned, smoky barbecue. There's a lot of different flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. And I would not disparage any of them.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

No, no, no.

[Stephen Colbert]

Bring it on.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

Nothing bad to say.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nut me, nut, nut me with nut meat.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

We're nut.

[Stephen Colbert]

No, we got nothing but nut. Nutty, nutty, nutty, nutty.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Talk about, talk about, talk about, talk.

[Stephen Colbert]

About, talk about nutty.

[Ken Burns]

Good.

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Ken Burns]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

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[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

Cmintmobile.com it's the late Show Poncho with Stephen Colbert.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

My next guest has been making documentaries for nearly 50 years. His latest, the American Revolution, premieres this Sunday on pbs. Please welcome back to the Late Show. Ken Burns.

[Stephen Colbert]

Good to see you again.

[Ken Burns]

Good to be with you.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Really enjoying the American Revolution. Evan and I watched, we got to episode three last night and I had to stop just to rehydrate because I didn't know that you could make me openly weep over George Washington addressing his troops. You're a wizard.

[Ken Burns]

Okay?

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Also, there's so many amazing performances in this because again, you don't have the photography. No film, no newsreel, no reel's real. But you have these incredible actors who lent their voices to many of your films over the years. But this is extraordinary. Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Ethan and Maya Hawke, Claire Dames, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Giamatti and Edward Norton, just to name a few. And I am asking for a friend who's going to need a job. How does one land a gig with Ken Burns? I Could do that. My dearest Martha, I can do it.

[Ken Burns]

Well, what we've usually done is waited for people when they weren't working. So, you know, if you know somebody that's gonna be out of work, just let me know and we'll have a try.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

I'll write it on his bathroom mirror. In soap.

[Paramount Narrator]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Okay.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

As I said, the latest film is the American Revolution. How long have you been working on this? The American Revolution?

[Ken Burns]

It is now nine years and 11 months almost. We began when Barack Obama had 13 months to go in his presidency. Sure.

[Stephen Colbert]

So a million years ago.

[Ken Burns]

A million years ago, exactly.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Now you've said this is a good time for us to look at this particular story. Why now?

[Ken Burns]

Well, I mean, obviously we feel that we're so divided. And I think you can treat a country the way you might treat an individual. If someone's in crisis, you see a pastor or you see a professional and the first thing they ask you is, who are your parents? Where were you born? What was your childhood like? You get the origin story and you sort of begin to rebuild. And I think going back for anyone, whatever your politics may be, and understanding where we came from, what the story of us is, helps to put you back together. Ken.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Obviously, obviously there's relationships between things like the American Revolution and throwing off the shackles of a monarchy for a democracy is related to the no kings protest we just had.

[Stephen Colbert]

What other?

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

You quoted Mark Twain. Like history doesn't repeat, but a rhyme.

[Ken Burns]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

What other rhymes do you see between our time and the time that you're describing in this, there's constantly changing.

[Ken Burns]

There's a German wife of a German officer who's worried as she's making the trip that Americans eat cats. She's worried that that's happened. There is.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

The English had spread the rumors.

[Ken Burns]

Yeah, right, exactly. And we hadn't even gotten to Springfield, Ohio.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Right.

[Ken Burns]

There's a failed invasion of Canada. The attempt to make it the 14th state. There is a continent wide pan.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

How did that happen?

[Ken Burns]

Right. In 1776, George Washington sent two of his best generals, Montgomery up one way and Benedict Arnold through the woods of Maine the other way, who became known as the Hannibal of America for getting through the Maine woods to Quebec. They lost. There's a continent wide pandemic that kills more people than the revolution and a big fight over inoculations. There's a total eclipse of the sun. Should I keep going?

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

I mean it's no, it's only an hour long show, so I don't think so.

[Ken Burns]

Well, I have a 12 part answer?

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

No, you do. We have a clip right here. We have a clip right here. Ken, what do we need to know and why? Was this a moment you wanted to share with us?

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Ken Burns]

Well, so we've been following lots of people, dozens of people that you've never heard of. A lot of the top down people you have, but. But one of the people is a German Hessian soldier named Captain Johann Ewald. And he's openly contemptuous of these rebels, as he calls him. But he also happens to be in the surrendering army at spoiler alert Yorktown. And he's got the sort of the last word of the Battle of Yorktown for us.

[Johann Ewald (Historical Figure - voice actor)]

With what soldiers in the world could one do what was done by these men? One can perceive what an enthusiasm which these poor fellows call liberty can do. Who would have thought a hundred years ago that out of this multitude of rabble would arise a people who could defy kings. Johann Ewald.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

There's so many beautiful, beautiful letters from people that we don't know. There's so many things to learn about the American Revolution that I had no idea. For instance, I was so surprised to find out how many people in New York after New York, the Battle of Brooklyn Heights or Battle of Long island, after Washington just got his ass handed.

[Ken Burns]

To him because of a mistake he makes.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Yes, exactly. And then they manage to get over to Manhattan, but then they also get driven out of Manhattan. Exactly. So the British come in and they go, hey, anybody who wants to renounce your independence, you're all cool and you can come fight for us. And thousands of New Yorkers signed something.

[Ken Burns]

Called the Declaration of Dependence and they flocked in. This is happening not just in New York, but all over New Jersey as the Brits take over there. New York is ceded to the British on September 15, 1776, just a couple months after the Declaration. It will not be back in George Washington's American hands until November 25, 1783. That is seven years and two plus months. It is a stronghold for Loyalists and the British army here, right here, a.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Real conflict between laws. We think of the Civil War as being like brother against brother, but also the Revolution.

[Ken Burns]

I think in our Civil War it's a sectional war. Maybe the brother against brother happened five times, but it is the story of the Revolution. Thomas Jeff, I mean, Benjamin Franklin's own son was the royal governor of New Jersey. And he was deposed and he spent some time in prison and it was assumed he would go back to England when he was released. And instead he started a terrorist organization killing patriots, just as there were patriot organizations killing lawyers. It is an unbelievable civil war and you don't want to be in New Jersey or South Carolina when it happens. So sorry.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

In South Carolina, that's the worst. Moultrie drove off the British fleet.

[Stephen Colbert]

No one else did that.

[Ken Burns]

No, no, no. Exactly. In the very beginning, in 76.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Let's talk smack about South Carolina. Beyond the obvious history and the. It's an exciting story. It is. What. What do you hope audiences take from this?

[Ken Burns]

Well, first of all, this is the most important event in world history since the birth of Christ. This is the beginning of the time when human beings were no longer subjects, but citizens. Thomas Jefferson. A couple sentences. After Pursuit of Happiness, which is the second greatest sentence in the English language, we hold these truths to be self evident. The first one is, of course I love you. He says, all experience has shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, very easy to understand. It means heretofore everybody has put up with the authoritarian rule. And right now we are breeding a new class of people who are resistant to that, who are citizens who have to show a virtuous life in order to earn this honor of being a citizen. And I think for us right now, I would like us to go back into this origin story, all of us, and collect how we began. And maybe collectively, we can all put the U.S. back in the U.S. thanks.

[Guest/Panelist (Pistachio Enthusiast)]

So much for being here.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

Thank you for the beautiful film the American Revolution, which has a beautiful companion book, premieres this Sunday on pbs. Ken Burns, everybody. 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.

[Stephen Colbert]

Channel for more clips and exclusives.

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[Paramount Narrator]

Now streaming on Paramount.

[Paramount Documentary Participant]

Brandon was the full package. I felt like I met my guy.

[Paramount Narrator]

Just stop, stop, stop talking.

[Stephen Colbert (Host)]

God.

[Paramount Documentary Participant]

But he's not even close to the person that I thought he was. When you do break up with Brandon, that is when the stalking begins. I just knew something horrific was about to happen.

[Ken Burns]

I saw the devil in his eyes.

[Paramount Documentary Participant]

We're gonna tell everyone what he did.

[Paramount Narrator]

Don't date Brandon. Now streaming on Paramount.