Late Show Vocab | Terry Gross
The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert
CBS
4.4 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 16 May 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
With less than a week left until The Late Show goes off the air, we're remembering all of our favorite 'Late Show Vocab' moments from the 'Stephen Presents' series to celebrate the unique office culture that Colbert's staff & crew have built together! Enjoy this extra long, extra exclusive Pod Show introduction where Stephen Colbert and his producer Becca talk about carousels, The Knack, reading from a prompter, what it's like being interviewed by Terry Gross, and more behind-the-scenes thoughts and feelings that you won't hear Stephen talk about anywhere else! Then enjoy this beautiful, extended interview with radio icon Terry Gross, featuring stories from early in her life and career that we didn't have time to air on TV.
This podcast introduction was recorded and released in February 2026. Terry Gross's interview originally aired January 8th, 2026.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, Becca. Hi, Stephen. How's it going? You beat me this time. I did. Yeah, yeah. You got to go for that brass ring. Yeah, catch up on the podcast if you haven't tuned in this week and you'll get that joke. By the way, when I say go for the brass ring, do you know what that means? I don't know what that means. Oh, this is, okay. But have you heard the term before? You got to go for the... I've heard you say it, yeah. |
| 0:21.2 | You've heard me say it? |
| 0:22.3 | Oh my God, I'm giving you 19th century entertainment references. Go for the brass ring or reach for the brass ring. Is that merry-go-round used to have an additional game. Oh. Is that you'd be on the merry-go-round, but on, there'd be a little arm on the outside of the merry-go-round, on a post, and there'd be a little rack. And on the rack were a series of brass rings. And the rack had a little roll to it. So one, the brass rings would roll down. So one of them would be at the end of the little rack and you could stick your finger |
| 0:56.4 | through it and pull it off a little spring system. |
| 0:58.9 | And then the other next brass ring would roll down. |
| 1:02.3 | And it was, will you dare as you go around to lean off your horse like a trick rider |
| 1:09.2 | and reach out and grab that brass ring. |
| 1:11.8 | Oh, cool. |
| 1:12.6 | So it's putting a little extra effort in, taking a little risk. But what you get is the brass ring, and I think you could, I think what sort of thing, like you turned in the brass ring for like a cupid doll or something like that. And you go like, you reach to the brass ring so you could get your girl who's riding on the next door is over, you get ever, you know, that was it. |
| 1:27.9 | Reach for the brass ring. |
| 1:28.8 | Why are they not around anymore? |
| 1:29.8 | Too many, uh, probably insurance. |
| 1:31.1 | Bloody nose. you could get your girl who's riding on the next door over, you could get her, you know, that was it. |
| 1:27.9 | Reach for the brass ring. |
| 1:28.8 | Why are they not around anymore? |
| 1:29.8 | Too many, uh... |
| 1:30.5 | Probably insurance. |
| 1:31.1 | Well, he knows this or something. |
| 1:32.2 | Probably insurance. |
| 1:32.6 | People fell off. |
| 1:33.5 | Do you know I love merry-go-rounds? It's a big thing about me. I love a good merry-go-round. Wow. I have this idea that I'm trying to do where I'm trying to create. |
| 1:41.0 | I'm not an influencer by any means, but I think it would be really funny. |
... |
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