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Stephen Colbert’s nearly-11-year run on The Late Show comes to an end tonight. And The Late Show’s nearly-33-year run on CBS comes to an end tonight, too.

This hour, as the late-night TV landscape rejiggers itself, a look at the state and future of late-night comedy.

Plus: A look at the FCC’s crusade against ABC (and, seemingly, Jimmy Kimmel). And: the banal horror of Jimmy Fallon.

GUESTS:
Eric Deggans: Critic-at-large at NPR, and he writes the Switching Codes Substack
Jon Greenaway: A writer and podcaster and the author of Capitalism: A Horror Story — Gothic Marxism and the Dark Side of the Radical Imagination
Jason Zinoman: Critic at large for the culture section of The New York Times, where he writes the On Comedy column

Music featured (in order):
Lost in a Wonderland – SNL Band
The Party’s Over – Nat King Cole
Colbert – Pivot Gang
ABC – Jackson 5
The FCC Song (from “Family Guy”) – Cast – Family Guy
Only A Fool Would Say That – Steely Dan

Stephen Colbert&rsquo;s nearly-11-year run on&nbsp;The Late Show&nbsp;comes to an end tonight. And&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/05/arts/television/stephen-colbert-the-late-show-carson-letterman-leno.html">The Late Show&rsquo;s nearly-33-year run on CBS comes to an end</a>&nbsp;tonight, too.
This hour, as the late-night TV landscape rejiggers itself, a look at the state and future of late-night comedy.
Plus: A look at the FCC&rsquo;s crusade against ABC (<a href="https://ericdeggans.substack.com/p/the-fcc-disney-and-kimmel-why-the">and, seemingly, Jimmy Kimmel</a>). And:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-banal-horror-of-jimmy-fallon">the banal horror of Jimmy Fallon</a>.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Eric Deggans:&nbsp;Critic-at-large at NPR, and he writes the&nbsp;<a href="https://ericdeggans.substack.com/">Switching Codes</a>&nbsp;Substack</li>
<li>Jon Greenaway:&nbsp;A writer and podcaster and the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/740011/capitalism-a-horror-story-by-jon-greenaway/">Capitalism: A Horror Story &mdash; Gothic Marxism and the Dark Side of the Radical Imagination</a></li>
<li>Jason Zinoman:&nbsp;Critic at large for the culture section of&nbsp;The New York Times, where he writes the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/on-comedy">On Comedy</a>&nbsp;column</li>
</ul>
Music featured (in order):
<ul>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/NwJz49IJgcE">Lost in a Wonderland</a>&nbsp;&ndash; SNL Band</li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/l12iPj-TQrM">The Party&rsquo;s Over</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Nat King Cole</li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/EfePuh4kOvc">Colbert</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Pivot Gang</li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/0NiqMUlaXFA">ABC</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Jackson 5</li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/_ru0VHLumdI">The FCC Song</a>&nbsp;(from &ldquo;Family Guy&rdquo;) &ndash; Cast &ndash; Family Guy</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvz0TOm0zgI">Only A Fool Would Say That</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Steely Dan</li>
</ul>

The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.