Sterling K. Brown | Trump’s Tariff Whiplash

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert Episode: Sterling K. Brown | Trump’s Tariff Whiplash
Release Date: March 7, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert, host Stephen Colbert delves into the chaotic economic landscape shaped by former President Donald Trump's tariffs and Elon Musk's controversial decisions at Tesla. The episode features a blend of sharp political satire during Colbert's monologue and an engaging interview with esteemed actor Sterling K. Brown, who discusses his critically acclaimed show Paradise.

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Stephen Colbert’s Monologue: Trump’s Tariff Whiplash

Stephen Colbert opens the episode with a satirical take on the unpredictable nature of Trump's tariff policies and the ensuing economic turmoil.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Trump’s Tariffs: Colbert critiques Trump's rationale behind tariffs, highlighting their impact on American consumers and questioning the notion of protecting the country's "soul."
• Elon Musk and Tesla: The host humorously addresses Elon Musk's management style at Tesla, particularly the sudden firing and rehiring of federal employees, drawing parallels to chaotic decision-making.
• Government Job Cuts: Colbert mocks the disarray within federal agencies, such as the CDC and Veterans Administration, emphasizing the widespread and arbitrary layoffs.

Notable Quotes:

• On Trump's Tariffs:
  “Tariffs may raise prices and hurt American consumers, but we must have them, for they protect the soul of our country.” [03:00]

• On Rehiring Laid-Off Workers:
  “That's the kind of heart-stopping urgency that's a strategy known as your mom texting you at 7 am.” [08:15]

• On Tesla’s Job Cuts:
  “Unless... Well, no. You're firing 15 workers? At least do them the courtesy of a second take.” [07:08]

Colbert's monologue effectively blends humor with critical commentary, painting a vivid picture of the current socio-political climate.

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Interview with Sterling K. Brown: Spotlight on Paradise

The latter half of the episode features an insightful conversation between Stephen Colbert and Sterling K. Brown, focusing on Brown's role in the new political thriller series Paradise.

Key Topics Discussed:

• Experience at the Oscars: Brown shares anecdotes from presenting at the Oscars, highlighting interactions with celebrities like Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, and Oprah Winfrey.
• Behind the Scenes of Paradise: He delves into the creation and thematic depth of Paradise, emphasizing its timely exploration of climate change and political unrest.
• Writing and Twists in Paradise: Brown praises writer Dan Fogelman for crafting intricate plot twists that keep audiences engaged without revealing spoilers.
• Personal Life and Podcast: The discussion extends to Brown's podcast with his wife, Ryan Michelle Bote, titled We Don't Always Agree, where they navigate their differences and mutual growth over 19 years of marriage.

Notable Quotes:

• On Paradise’s Impact:
  “Political thrill ride. I can tell you that the President gets killed within the first few minutes... and then I'm trying to figure out what exactly happened to him and why.” [21:25]

• On Writing Twists:
  “You think something's going this way, and then all of a sudden it just goes the other way, and then it takes you on a wild ride.” [20:37]

• On Personal Experiences During Climate Events:
  “I was separated from my family the whole time the fires were happening... knowing that we were gonna be introducing a show that dealt with climate change while climate change was actively affecting where I lived was very surreal.” [23:03]

Discussion Highlights:

• Thematic Relevance: Brown emphasizes how Paradise intertwines personal narratives with broader issues like climate change, making the series both engaging and socially relevant.
• Collaboration with Dan Fogelman: Brown lauds Fogelman's ability to weave unexpected twists, enhancing the show's suspense and depth.
• Balancing Personal and Professional Life: Through his podcast, Brown showcases the importance of communication and understanding in maintaining a strong marriage amidst the demands of the entertainment industry.

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Conclusion

This episode of The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert masterfully combines biting political satire with heartfelt conversations about critical societal issues. Stephen Colbert's monologue provides a humorous yet incisive critique of current economic and political policies, while the interview with Sterling K. Brown offers a deep dive into the creative process behind a compelling new television series. Listeners gain both laughter and thoughtful insights, making this episode a must-listen for fans of intelligent and engaging late-night discourse.

Additional Information:

• Watch Paradise: Streaming on Hulu.
• *Follow The Late Show: Visit The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• “Tariffs may raise prices and hurt American consumers, but we must have them, for they protect the soul of our country.” — Stephen Colbert [03:00]
• “You think something's going this way, and then all of a sudden it just goes the other way, and then it takes you on a wild ride.” — Sterling K. Brown [20:37]
• “I was separated from my family the whole time the fires were happening... knowing that we were gonna be introducing a show that dealt with climate change while climate change was actively affecting where I lived was very surreal.” — Sterling K. Brown [23:03]

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This comprehensive summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting key discussions, insights, and memorable quotes while ensuring a natural flow for those who haven't listened to the podcast.

Transcript

[Sterling K. Brown]

What is dax?

[Stephen Colbert]

Are you tracking all our cars on Carvana Value Tracker on all our devices? Yes, Kristen. Yes, I am. Well, I've been looking for my phone for. In Dax's domain, we see all. So we always know what our cars are worth. All of them? All of them. Value surge trucks up 3.9%. That's a great offer. I know. Sell. Sell. Track your car's value with Carvana Value Tracker today.

[Kristen]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Thank you, citizens. Thank you, friends. Welcome, one and all, to the Late Show. I'm your host, Stephen Colbert. And tonight. Tonight, my friends, I want to start off by giving a little peek into our process here at the Late show, because we do have a process. It's not like I just roll out of bed, head to the office, jump on stage, and suddenly perform a humorous monologue brought to you by Cologuard. Cologuard. The world's going to crap. Here's a box for it. No, no. We spend all day working on these monologues. And with so much happening, we often look for, like, a general organizing principle, you know, some sort of order and structure to help us just understand what's going on in the world. Well, today's organizing principle is madness, Chaos, mute, horror in the face of an infinite and arbitrary universe. Brought to you by Cologuard. Cologuard. We exist to torment the last remaining postal employees. Now take. Wow. Wow. Take Trump's tariffs. On Monday, he said there was nothing Canada and Mexico could do to avoid them. And during his speech to Congress, he added, tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs. They're about protecting the soul of our country. So tariffs may raise prices and hurt American consumers, but we must have them, for they protect the soul of our country. Until today, when Trump paused all tariffs for Mexican goods and services and also paused them for Canada. Frankly, folks. Frankly, folks, souls are overrated. I sold mine. I sold mine years ago in exchange for the ability to do anything I want with zero repercussions. Plus plus play killer guitar riffs. You need lessons, I'm coming to you. You need lessons.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Coming to you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Call me. I'll give you the lessons. All right? There you go. Of course, no one has caused more chaos than Elon Musk's doge and his geek stoppo in Only that is the sound of Tesla sales plummeting. In only 45 days, they fired 30,000 federal employees so randomly that now they're trying to hire a bunch of them back. For instance, a month ago, they fired about 1,300 people down at the Centers for Disease Control. Then yesterday, that agency sent out an email telling about 180 of those employees to come back to work with the subject line, read this email immediately. That's the kind of heart stopping urgency that's a strategy known as your mom texting you at 7am Please call me. Prayer handsemoji oh, God. Oh, God. Then you call. You call. Mom, are you okay? Are you sitting down? Leanne's son Mark got a job at Groupon. You should apply there. The CDC email continued. After further review and consideration, you should return to duty under your previous work schedule ending. We apologize for any disruption this may have caused. No, disruption is when your cable goes out during a storm. This is your cable guy burning your house to the ground between the hours of noon and 6pm on Thursday. But them goof ups. But the goof ups aren't stopping the mass firings. They just announced plans to cut more than 70,000 jobs of the Veterans Administration led by new. Yeah, the administration led by new VA secretary Doug Collins, seen here describing three very different penises. He's a fan. He's a fan. In a video posted on social media yesterday, Collins went through the cuts.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Our goal is to reduce VA employment.

[Stephen Colbert]

Levels to 2019 in strength numbers roughly.

[Sterling K. Brown]

398,000 employees from our current level of.

[Stephen Colbert]

Approximately 470,000 employees now.

[Sterling K. Brown]

That's a 15% decrease.

[Stephen Colbert]

You're firing 15 workers? At least do them the courtesy of a second take. Now, I realize a lot of people we're firing. A lot of people we're firing are veterinarians. I mean, I mean veterans. But we still salute them and thank them for their sherbet. I mean, their surfboard. I mean, salute them for their circus. Perfect. That's a wrap for one take. Jake. I mean, Doug. Wife. You got a tune? Why the bloodbath? Collins claims Biden inflated the VA when expanding health care for vets who had been exposed to toxic burn pits. And how did that turn out? Well, under Biden, the VA experienced its highest ever service levels and veteran trust in the VA was at an all time high. But you know the Doge motto, if it ain't broke, let me try. It's not just. You have no idea what we just went through as a family. It's not just government employees. Doge is also trying to unload government buildings. On Tuesday, the administration published A list of 440 non core properties for sale, including some that sound suspiciously core. Like the headquarters of the FBI, the Departments of Justice, Veterans affairs, labor, and Housing and Urban Development. Sure, just post them online. Ooh, ooh, check out the Zestimate on the FBI building. Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. There's an open house this Sunday at Housing and urban development. It's 0 bed, 20 bath, and each bath has 12 toilets. Save that for later. This is obviously. This is obviously insane. Especially because one of the listed properties was the headquarters of the General Services Administration, which is in charge of selling all of those properties. Oops a doji. That's like, get ready, pick me up. That's like a surgeon saying, this man needs a heart transplant. Give him mine. Oop, I see what I did there. I see what I did there. The administration seems to have realized it's whoopsie because later that day, the list was scaled back to 320 properties. Now the website just says coming soon. A perfect way to run a real estate business. Just like those signs you see on people's lawns. For sale. Wait, not this house for sale sign. For sale. Turns out randomly firing a lot of Americans isn't that popular with a lot of Americans. One new poll found that 58% oppose laying off large numbers of government workers. And a different poll of 18 to 34 year olds found that 71% disapprove of DOGE. Yes, millions of young people cannot stand Elon Musk. And those are just his kids. Some people. People are so mad that they're attending local town halls where they've been letting elected Republicans have an earful. Here's Wisconsin Representative Scott Fitzgerald trying to defend Musk and Doge, the end result of the fraud and abuse that has been discovered already.

[Leanne]

No proof.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's Wisconsin. Those are some of the nicest people in America. Normally, the only way to get them that mad is is to tell them they're not allowed to drink on a snowmobile. Town halls have been happening like that all over the country, which is why the GOP Congressional committee advised House Republicans to stop holding in person town halls. Well, if they refuse, if they refuse to hear from voters in person, I'll just send them a letter.

[Sterling K. Brown]

A boom.

[Stephen Colbert]

With fury arising yesterday, Congressional Republicans called Musk to Capitol Hill where they take a firm stance against this unelected oligarch and gently questioned him. Yes, the GOP is using that classic strategy. Good cop, nicer cop. Hey, you better off talking to me, buddy, because if my partner comes in here, he's bringing lemon bars. And they are exquisite. One guy, one guy who justified the love fest was Alabama senator and proud owner of Double D earlobes, Tommy Tuberville. Tuberville said of Doge, I don't want to get in their way. They know they're doing a hell of a lot more than I do. For once, I agree with you, sir. I think pretty much everyone. I think pretty much everyone knows more than this is a guy who lost tic tac toe to a chicken, a rotisserie chicken. The Republicans who met with Musk kissed his butt so hard. Poetry came out literally because Congressman Randy Weber of Texas and this is real read a poem praising Musk that went Elon works from dawn to dusk. Then it dawns on all of us. He's figured out what's crazy wrong. We should have known it all along. First off, dude, you used the word dusk and didn't think to rhyme it with musk. That was all the poem that we saw in the article, right? Okay, so we helpfully finished the poem ourselves. There we go. With 14 kids, the head of Doge has clearly never worn a troj. His claim to fame's high tech machines. His only friends are fascist teens with skin the tone of day old sushi. He's super dumb and uber douchey. While Trump sits drinking diet cola Doge cuts could give us all Ebola like Iron man without a heart Less Tony Stark, more Tony Shart. We got a great show for you tonight coming up.

[Kristen]

Sterling K. Brown As a parent, you want to give your child every opportunity to succeed. But let's be honest, sometimes homework questions leave us stumped, or we wish they had it a bit more challenging when they're ahead in class. That's where IXL Learning can help. IXL is an online learning program that supports kids from Pre K to 12th grade in math, language arts, science and social studies. It's designed to help kids truly master topics while keeping learning fun and engaging. Whether your child is catching up, staying on track, or aiming to get ahead, IXL offers personalized learning to meet their needs. Plus it saves you time and money. No more searching for multiple tutors or programs. IXL is like having everything you need in one place. The best part? It's backed by research. Kids using IXL consistently score higher on tests and it works for all kids, no matter their greater learning style. IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the U.S. so you know it's the real deal. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and listeners of this podcast can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixlearning.com audio visit ixllearning.com audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.

[Leanne]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Well welcome back everybody. Folks, you know my first guest tonight as an Emmy winning and Oscar nominated actor from the People versus O.J. simpson. This is US and American fiction. He now stars in Paradise.

[Sterling K. Brown]

I saw the body, I saw the blood. President Bradford was murdered. Many of you knew Agent Billy Pace and they told you he killed himself. That's a lot, too. Samantha Redmond, codenamed Sinatra, is behind this. She's pulling the strings. And the other billionaires are marching in step. But that ends now. We're taking control of this city. And when we do, we will find justice for the president, for Billy, and for every one of us who went through hell to get here.

[Stephen Colbert]

Please welcome back to the Late Show, Sterling K. Brown.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Wow.

[Stephen Colbert]

There you go.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Wow.

[Stephen Colbert]

There you go.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Thank you, guys.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's good to see you again.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Good to see you, man.

[Stephen Colbert]

We got to see you this past week because you were a presenter at the Oscars. Let me get out the fanciness.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yes, sir.

[Stephen Colbert]

Look at that.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Thank you. Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Tropical weave. Very nice.

[Sterling K. Brown]

The white jacket, it's good contrast.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, it's very nice. Very nice.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

You pop.

[Sterling K. Brown]

I pop.

[Stephen Colbert]

You pop.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Not your first Oscars. You were there last year as a nominee.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Correct.

[Stephen Colbert]

Is it more enjoyable or more relaxing? Less nerve wracking to go to present, rather, you know, to be, you know, wondering when you're gonna win?

[Sterling K. Brown]

I did both years. Cause I knew Robert Downey Jr. Was gonna win. I didn't have to prep a speech. I had, bro. I was laid back, like, ooh, this the Oscars. I'm happy to be in the room.

[Stephen Colbert]

Didn't even plan anything.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Planned nothing. Everybody knew. I knew it was gonna.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, we kind of knew.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yeah, we did.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah. It was all good. Those rooms are, you know, exciting. The parties are lavish. Do you enjoy that? Like, do you like. Who do you enjoy seeing?

[Sterling K. Brown]

I enjoy seeing everybody. You get a chance to kick it, you see. So I was backstage at the Oscars getting ready to present, and I saw Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. So that's Harry and Sally doing their thing. Then I see Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. I'm like, oh, I know. Y'all like, hey, aunties. Like, that's real cool. Then you go to the parties afterwards. Jay Z throws a party with his wife. What's her name? What's her.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard of her. I've heard of her.

[Sterling K. Brown]

That sister.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Sterling K. Brown]

She rocking a cowboy hat. He playing a tambourine. I'm like, what's going on? This is my life right now. Wow. LeBron is chilling up in the spring. It's crazy. Wow.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's you hanging out with Jay Z and Beyonce.

[Sterling K. Brown]

I'm like, I see them. They don't like. He gave me a hug for a second. He did give Me? A hug?

[Stephen Colbert]

I never got a hug.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Well, you know. But he gave me a hug. And there I go on about my business. I talked to Lupita Nyong'o for most of the night.

[Stephen Colbert]

She's.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yeah, she's wonderful.

[Stephen Colbert]

Fantastic. She's wonderful and lovely. Okay. Of course, people, you know, they want you to talk about Paradise.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

This is a rare show.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

That is both a critical and a popular hit at the same time. You're executive producer and star. When you first saw the script, when you first heard about the idea, did you sense that you had something special?

[Sterling K. Brown]

I knew it was something special. So it's written by Dan Fogelman, who also wrote this Is Us. Right. And it was. I'm one of the. Thank you. One of the few people who's had a chance to read the pilot for this Is Us and the pilot for Paradise. And each time I said, you son of a gun, you did it again. Like, he has these twists, and I don't want to give it away for anybody who hasn't seen it, but if you've seen it, y'all know what I'm talking about, right? And it's like he has a. You think something's going this way, and then all of a sudden it just goes. It turns the other way, and then it takes you on a wild ride.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, everybody agrees. I mean, the notices are fantastic. LA Times. Why Hulu's paradise is a TV show worth obsessing over. New Yorker. Paradise is manna for the moment.

[Sterling K. Brown]

That's food from heaven.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah. Esquire. Paradise restored my belief in TV with one great twist.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Hallelujah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And New York Times. Paradise is a wild ride. Political thriller, no doubt. You gotta enjoy that. Cause that doesn't happen every day.

[Sterling K. Brown]

It doesn't happen every day. And to do it with the same creator and to have lightning strike twice, like I say to God, be the glory. I feel blessed.

[Stephen Colbert]

So now I understand. Even though the whole season has been out, the finale for season one was on Tuesday.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Correct.

[Stephen Colbert]

You still don't want to give away twists for the people who haven't seen it yet.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Exactly.

[Stephen Colbert]

Which is very nice of you. What can you tell the people who have not seen any of it yet?

[Sterling K. Brown]

Political thrill ride. I can tell you that the President gets killed within the first few minutes. I'm a Secret Service agent who's in charge of taking care of him. So not doing my job terribly well. But then I'm trying to figure out what exactly happened to him and why. It starts there. That's the tip of the iceberg. The iceberg is big, and it goes deeper and deeper as time goes on.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, so there are twists. There are twists. There are twists here. People love the twists. People don't, like. People wanna get twisted, but they also kinda wanna know what the twist is.

[Sterling K. Brown]

They kinda think they wanna know what the twist is, but if you tell them, then they didn't get a chance to get twisted. It's good to get.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. Do people try to wheedle it out of you? Do you have family members who try to, like. Come on, you can tell me.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Tons of people. My wife tries to get stuff out of me all the time.

[Stephen Colbert]

Do you tell her?

[Sterling K. Brown]

No, she needs to get.

[Stephen Colbert]

How does she feel about that?

[Sterling K. Brown]

She needs to get twisted, too.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's trust. Why don't you.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Because I know the experience of reading it myself and how I felt when I found out. I wouldn't want to deprive anybody of that experience.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay.

[Sterling K. Brown]

That's why.

[Stephen Colbert]

All right. She's never gotten mad about it?

[Sterling K. Brown]

No. No. Okay, See, look, what you have to tell your wife about is if you have a love scene. If there's a love scene, you have to give them fair warning. Be like, you know, at the end of episode three, you see some things. If you wanna watch, go ahead. If you don't, you deserve fair warning. That's what I give her. Prep.

[Stephen Colbert]

All right.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, good.

[Sterling K. Brown]

And sometimes she's like, oh, I'm all right. Check this out. She gives it to.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, okay. Without spoiling anything. Yeah. You could say that climate change plays some part in this show.

[Sterling K. Brown]

It does indeed.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. Was it surreal for this show to be launched when such a devastating event as the California wildfires were going on?

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yeah, it was. I was actually in France working on a movie, so I was separated from my family the whole time the fires were happening. I have dear friends of mine who live in Altadena who lost their home, friends in the Palisades, et cetera. So I was thankful that my home was safe. But you have this weird sort of feeling of, like, being thankful, but also your heart is breaking for all the people who did lose their homes. But to know that we were gonna be introducing a show that dealt with climate change while climate change was actively affecting where I lived was very surreal. It also, like, just came out right after the election cycle, and there's a lot of comments that we have about power and who's really in power and attachment to finances, et cetera. Like, the show is more timely than I anticipated. It being. And I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It's just the truth. It's just the truth.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's the thing. All right, we have to take a quick break. We'll be right back with more Sterling K. Brown. Everybody. Stick around. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail].

[Kristen]

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[Stephen Colbert]

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[Leanne]

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[Leanne]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Hey everybody. We're back with the one and only Sterling K. Brown. Is it true that you and your co star James Marsden, who's great in this, he's awesome. Is that true that when you got a downtime on set you like do duets together?

[Sterling K. Brown]

He likes to sing and he'll hear me just sort of humming something. I only do the melody but he will come in with a harmony and like really, he kills it every single time. Like I'm a dude of like 90s, early 2000s R&B and James, no thank you. Shout out to shout out to the genre. And so but James knows everything. So if he hears me singing he's like what are you singing there? And he'll just ask me to sing and then he'll just jump in there with it too.

[Stephen Colbert]

What do you sing? Do you ever like to warm up? What does it do you prep yourself with?

[Sterling K. Brown]

Do a few things. Like there's a warm up song but there's a song that I love to if I need to get an emotional state or what have you. I'm a musical theater guy and a lot of people think like brothers can't be musical theater guys. Yeah, I'm a musical theater guy. Thank you very much.

[Stephen Colbert]

I would never deny you that.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Thank you very much. And I am particular if I'm feeling like need to be a bit, you know, wistful, et cetera. For good from Wicked.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Is the jam.

[Stephen Colbert]

Is the before.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Thank you. The young white lady is vibing with me in such a real way. Like, I. It's true. Like, I'm like, oh, my God, I love this song. Could you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Could you give us a couple bars? Would you mind?

[Sterling K. Brown]

Okay, I'll try. I'll probably start from the wrong. Let me see. I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason. Bringing something we must learn. And we are led to those who help us most to grow, if we let them, and we help them in return. That's good, right? That's right.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, let's get to the important.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Go for it. Go for it.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. When you aren't busy with paradise, you and your wife, who is Ryan Michelle Bethe.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yes, sir.

[Stephen Colbert]

Have a podcast called We Don't Always Agree.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Is the premise just as straightforward as that sounds?

[Sterling K. Brown]

Pretty much. Man, 19 years of marriage. You gotta find a way through. Like, the important thing about it is that you don't have to agree all the time, but you have to sort of agree not to agree. And then we sort of talk about our mutual journeys through this business because she's an actor as well. My wife and I story real quick. Both born in St. Louis, Missouri. Born in the same hospital, attended Stanford University together, did our first play together, wound up going to grad school at NYU together, graduated and wound up signing with the same agency out of school, did our first job together as an under five on Guiding Light. And then we wound up getting married. So, yeah, it's kind of nuts. The deal's majority pretty smooth.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thank you so much for being here.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Pleasure as always.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nice talking to you.

[Sterling K. Brown]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Paradise is streaming on Hulu. The man is Sterling K. Brown, 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.