Melinda French Gates

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert Featuring Melinda French Gates

Release Date: April 21, 2025

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Introduction

In the April 21, 2025, episode of The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert, host Stephen Colbert welcomes philanthropist and author Melinda French Gates. The conversation delves into Melinda's latest memoir, her personal life, philanthropic endeavors, and reflections on navigating significant life transitions.

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Welcoming Melinda French Gates

Stephen Colbert opens the episode by warmly reintroducing Melinda French Gates, highlighting their previous discussions about turning 60. Melinda shares updates about her personal life, including the joyous addition of a new grandchild.

Stephen Colbert [02:17]: "For both of us. It's about to happen to me again. I'm about to turn 60 again. How is the decade treating you so far?"

Melinda French Gates [02:27]: "It's been fantastic. So exciting."

Melinda affectionately mentions her grandchildren, emphasizing the joy and engagement that comes with being a grandmother.

Melinda French Gates [02:42]: "My name is Nona, from the two grandchildren, and I absolutely love it. You get to swing on swings again. You get to play in a sandbox, run in the grass."

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Discussing Her New Book: The Next Day. Transitions Change and Moving Forward

Stephen transitions the conversation to Melinda's new memoir, The Next Day. Transitions Change and Moving Forward. He references the book's opening line and probes into Melinda's motivations for writing it.

Stephen Colbert [03:10]: "The first sentence in the book reads, I never expected to be writing a book like this. So why did you write a book like this?"

Melinda explains that her inspiration stemmed from delivering the Stanford commencement speech, where students encouraged her to discuss life transitions and maintaining multiple paths in life. This led her to expand her speech into a full-fledged memoir.

Melinda French Gates [03:23]: "I was honored, and I was lucky enough and honored to do the Stanford commencement speech in June. And when I talked to the seniors about maybe what I should talk about in the speech, they said, if you think there's room to leave openings in our life and not just be on one path, one trajectory we feel like we're on, can you talk to us about that? And so I did, and then I decided to expand that into a book."

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Personal Reflections: Loss and Marriage

Stephen acknowledges Melinda's reputation for privacy and gently explores the personal challenges she addresses in her book, including the loss of a dear friend and the end of her marriage after 27 years.

Stephen Colbert [04:06]: "How difficult was it to write about truly challenging things in your lives? The loss of a dear friend, the end of your marriage after 27 years."

Melinda shares the emotional difficulty of writing about losing her friend John Nielsen to cancer and the impact it had on her perspective on life.

Melinda French Gates [04:11]: "The chapter that was most difficult for me to write was the one about losing my friend in his 30s. I was in my early 30s, he was in his late 30s, and he died of cancer... that was really hard and touching, and I'm glad I did."

She introduces the concept of "living life backwards," inspired by Warren Buffett, focusing on how one wishes to be remembered on their last day.

Melinda French Gates [05:39]: "From John's death, I learned to live life backwards, which is, how do you want to be remembered on your last day? And if I can always keep that in mind...you've lived a good life."

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Philanthropy and Advocacy for Women’s Rights

The conversation shifts to Melinda's significant philanthropic pledge to donate a billion dollars towards women's causes globally, including reproductive rights in the United States. Stephen inquires about the current state of progress and challenges.

Stephen Colbert [07:23]: "Last year, you pledged to give a billion dollars away to people and organizations working on behalf of women around the world, including reproductive rights here in the United States. Do you feel that progress is being challenged right now in this country specifically?"

Melinda confirms the setbacks faced, particularly in healthcare systems affecting women trying to conceive, highlighting the chaos and inadequate support systems.

Melinda French Gates [07:42]: "The challenges in the health care system now... it's just caused chaos in the health system. And that shouldn't be, not in this day and age in our country. That's ridiculous."

Despite these challenges, Melinda expresses hope by showcasing grassroots initiatives making a difference.

Melinda French Gates [08:17]: "What gives me hope is when I see the work going on on the ground and at the local level... there’s a hotline where new moms can call in... they counsel women who are going through depression after pregnancy."

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Advice for Those Feeling Exhausted by Advocacy

Stephen addresses the emotional toll of continuous advocacy and asks Melinda for advice for those feeling weary.

Stephen Colbert [08:39]: "What do you say to the people who are exhausted of fighting for the kind of progress that you're hoping to get?"

Melinda advises taking moments to disconnect and find personal peace, while also encouraging others to seek and recognize signs of hope within their communities.

Melinda French Gates [09:07]: "Turn off your phone for a bit... take time in the morning for quiet and reflection... look for signs of hope. Look in your own community and see these amazingly beautiful things going on... use your voice."

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The Role of Poetry in Personal Comfort

Stephen shifts the discussion to the influence of poetry in Melinda's life, referencing the poems that bookend her memoir.

Stephen Colbert [09:45]: "One of the things I really like about this book is that it opens with Mary Oliver's The Journey, which I'm a huge Mary Oliver fan... Do you turn to poetry often for comfort?"

Melinda shares her appreciation for poets like Mary Oliver and Maya, highlighting how poetry provides solace and inspiration.

Melinda French Gates [10:02]: "Often... I like her almost as much as I like Mary Oliver's writings."

She recites a favorite verse from Maya, embodying the book’s themes of self-reflection and personal growth.

Melinda French Gates [10:27]: "Sure. From the Maya quote that I really like is when you come home to yourself, I hope you see all the flowers lining the front porch of the woman you've been before."

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Conclusion

Stephen concludes the episode by promoting Melinda's new book and encouraging listeners to engage further with The Late Show content.

Stephen Colbert [10:42]: "The book is The Next Day Transitions, Change and Moving Forward. It's available tomorrow. Melinda French Gates, everybody. Thank you for listening to the Late Show Pod show with Stephen Colbert."

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Key Takeaways

• Personal Growth Through Adversity: Melinda emphasizes the importance of learning and growing from personal losses and life transitions.

• Philanthropic Commitment: Her pledge to donate a billion dollars towards empowering women underscores her dedication to making substantial societal impacts.

• Hope and Resilience: Despite facing significant challenges in advocacy, Melinda finds hope in grassroots movements and encourages others to seek positivity within their communities.

• Role of Reflection: Practices like quiet reflection and engaging with poetry play crucial roles in maintaining personal well-being amidst activism.

Notable Quotes

1. Melinda on Living Life Backwards:

   "From John's death, I learned to live life backwards, which is, how do you want to be remembered on your last day?"
   [05:39]

2. Melinda on Hope:

   "What gives me hope is when I see the work going on on the ground and at the local level."
   [08:17]

3. Advice to the Weary:

   "Turn off your phone for a bit... look for signs of hope."
   [09:07]

4. Favorite Poem Line:

   "I hope you see all the flowers lining the front porch of the woman you've been before."
   [10:27]

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Conclusion

This episode of The Late Show Pod Show offers listeners an intimate glimpse into Melinda French Gates' personal journey, her philanthropic vision, and her strategies for maintaining hope and resilience in the face of adversity. Through heartfelt conversation and reflective insights, Melinda provides valuable lessons on navigating life's transitions and fostering meaningful change.

Transcript

[Stephen Colbert]

I've been counted out, dismissed, passed over, told I'd never be a golfer with just one arm. But the only thing that feels better than proving people wrong is out driving them. I'm 14 year old golfer Tommy Morrissey and I want to be remembered for.

[Melinda French Gates]

My ability as a champion. Partner of the Masters. Bank of America supports everyone determined to find out what's possible in golf and in life. What would you like the power to do? Bank of America bank of America NA Member FDIC Copyright 2025 bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

[Tommy Morrissey]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Welcome back, everybody. Ladies and gentlemen, my next guest this evening is a philanthropist and an author. Please welcome back to THE Late Show, Melinda French Gates.

[Melinda French Gates]

Hi.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nice to see you again.

[Melinda French Gates]

Great to see you.

[Stephen Colbert]

We've had a chance to talk quite a few times over the years. I've always enjoyed it. Last time we were together, we were both talking about just about turning 60.

[Melinda French Gates]

That's right. It happened.

[Stephen Colbert]

It happened, it happened. Yeah. For both of us. It's about to happen to me again. I'm about to turn 60 again. How is the decade treating you so far?

[Melinda French Gates]

It's been fantastic. So exciting.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, I'll get there.

[Melinda French Gates]

Ok.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'LL get there. You also had a new grandchild since then. Congratulations. Do you really enjoy the role of grandma? What name do you have as grandma?

[Melinda French Gates]

My name is Nona, from the two grandchildren, and I absolutely love it. You get to swing on swings again. You get to play in a sandbox, run in the grass.

[Stephen Colbert]

So you're an engaged grandma?

[Melinda French Gates]

Definitely.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, that's good. My mom had 11 children, and so she loved our children very much, but she was like, what a lovely child that is. They can stay right over there.

[Melinda French Gates]

I get it.

[Stephen Colbert]

After 11 children, you've got a new book.

[Melinda French Gates]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's called the Next Day. Transitions Change and Moving Forward. And the first sentence in the book reads, I never expected to be writing a book like this. So why did you write a book like this?

[Melinda French Gates]

Well, I was honored, and I was lucky enough and honored to do the Stanford commencement speech in June. And when I talked to the seniors about maybe what I should talk about in the speech, they said, if you think there's room to leave openings in our life and not just be on one path, one trajectory we feel like we're on, can you talk to us about that? And so I did, and then I decided to expand that into a book.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, you've always been a deeply private person. You know, I'm not even sure if your real name, you know, is Linda French Gates. But how difficult was it to write about truly challenging things in your lives? The loss of a dear friend, the end of your marriage after 27 years.

[Melinda French Gates]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

How did you feel about sharing that after being so private for so long?

[Melinda French Gates]

Yeah. You know, I thought it would be, first of all, disingenuous if I didn't write about the transition out of my marriage, because people knew it had happened to me, and it happens to, unfortunately, a lot of families. But I would say the chapter that was most difficult for me to write was the one about losing my friend in his 30s. I was in my early 30s, he was in his late 30s, and he died of cancer. And so to go back over those letters between us and the photos of all the trips with he and his wife, that was really hard and touching, and I'm glad I did.

[Stephen Colbert]

And what did you get from reflecting on that? Because it can be so shocking and it can feel unreal and dreamlike for someone who's so important to you and part of your life to suddenly be snatched out of your life. You keep expecting them to come back in at any moment.

[Melinda French Gates]

You do, or you feel like you'll get an email from them. We didn't have text back then, but my son has the same last name as my friend. It's Rory. John. And my friend was John Nielsen, who passed away. And so it was really a poignant moment to have one person passing right as I had this new birth. But I was determined to learn something from it. And from John's death, I learned to live life backwards, which is, how do you want to be remembered on your last day? And if I can always keep that in mind, Warren Buffett says, if you are loved by your family and friends on the last day, and they. And they know they loved you, and you know that you loved them, you've lived a good life. And so I've tried to live my life backwards in that way.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Have you ever heard this one? Have you ever heard this one that's about, like, reflecting on your life, about in the immediacy of the moment in your life? Have you ever heard this. Ask yourself this question. If you were watching a film of your own life at this moment, what would the audience be shouting at the screen for you to do?

[Melinda French Gates]

Oh, wow.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Melinda French Gates]

I don't know. What did you come up with?

[Stephen Colbert]

What?

[Melinda French Gates]

What did you come up with on that?

[Stephen Colbert]

Exercise more.

[Melinda French Gates]

I'll take that one.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exercise more. Well, what did you learn about marriage by reflecting on this? Well, I learned that you were a famous married couple.

[Melinda French Gates]

We were. But I learned, you know, to have a trusted relationship, which is what I wanted in marriage. Both partners have to be honest with one another. And if you can't, you can't have intimacy, and you can't have trust. And so in the end, I had.

[Stephen Colbert]

To go, and what do you do with. And so then what do you do with that knowledge? Are you dating now?

[Melinda French Gates]

I am.

[Stephen Colbert]

How's that going?

[Melinda French Gates]

It's been pretty great. It's been pretty great.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Melinda French Gates]

Yeah. Oh, wow.

[Stephen Colbert]

Congratulations.

[Melinda French Gates]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's lovely. We have to take a quick break. We'll be right back with more Melinda French Gates, everybody. Hey, everybody. We're back with the author of the new memoir, the Next Day, Melinda French Gates. Being a champion for women over 30 years, do you have any temptation to go up in a rocket of Jeff Bezos'definitely?

[Melinda French Gates]

Not. I'm glad Gayle took one for the home team.

[Stephen Colbert]

Last year, you pledged to give a billion dollars away to people and organizations working on behalf of women around the world, including reproductive rights here in the United States. Do you feel that progress is being challenged right now in this country specifically?

[Melinda French Gates]

I know it's Being challenged. I was just down in Louisiana about eight weeks ago, and to talk with women, particularly black women, going through our health care system, trying to have a baby. And the challenges in the health care system now, because doctors also don't know if there are problems with the pregnancy, where to refer them, what medicines they can give them. It's just caused chaos in the health system. And that shouldn't be, not in this day and age in our country. That's ridiculous.

[Stephen Colbert]

Anything give you hope? Any positive signs that you see?

[Melinda French Gates]

What gives me hope is when I see the work going on on the ground and at the local level. So I'll give you an example. Right after Christmas, I went and saw an organization in Seattle where it's a hotline where new moms can call in. There's a series of trained therapists and volunteers, and they counsel women who are going through depression after pregnancy. And I was so inspired by the women who had started that.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's beautiful. What do you say? I'm just curious. You know, you talk about the next day is about change, but continuing to move forward. And that takes energy, that takes faith, and that takes hope. And what do you say to the people who are exhausted of fighting for the kind of progress that you're hoping to get?

[Melinda French Gates]

Yeah, I say one, turn off your phone for a bit. Not all day, but for a bit. And like, I take time in the morning for quiet and reflection. It really helps me center for the day for when hard things come. And then I say to people, again, look for signs of hope. Look in your own community and see these amazingly beautiful things going on. And if you feel like you want to reach out to yourself, Senator, please do use your voice. We live in a democracy, thank God. We've got to keep fighting for what we want.

[Stephen Colbert]

One of the things I really like about this book is that it opens with Mary Oliver's the Journey, which I'm a huge Mary Oliver fan. And it closes with lines from John O'Donoghue's for a new Beginning. Do you turn to poetry often for comfort?

[Melinda French Gates]

Often.

[Stephen Colbert]

Would you have some favorite David White?

[Melinda French Gates]

Pablo, you like David White?

[Stephen Colbert]

He's lovely. I got a chance to meet him once. He's just lovely.

[Melinda French Gates]

Oh, you did? Oh, I didn't.

[Stephen Colbert]

I've got several of his collections yet.

[Melinda French Gates]

Oh, my gosh, Pablo Neruda. And in my book, there's a young poet who I didn't know before the last two years. And her name is Maya. And I like her almost as much as I like Mary Oliver's writings.

[Stephen Colbert]

Do you have a poem that comes to mind, something that you could recite for us right now?

[Melinda French Gates]

Sure. From the Maya quote that I really like is when you come home to yourself, I hope you see all the flowers lining the front porch of the woman you've been before.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's beautiful. Well, the book is the Next Day Transitions, Change and Moving Forward. It's available tomorrow. Melinda French Gates, 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 channel for more clips and exclusives.