Episode #08099

Civil rights lawyer Michelle Alexander discusses her book "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness." (05:17)

Tags:  Michelle Alexander,  interviews,  books,  civil rights,  ethnic,  profiling,  prison,  discrimination,  war on drugs,  Ronald Reagan,  statistics,  David Simon,  poverty,  don't see color,  African American,  legalization,  marijuana,  violence,  laws,  Islamic,  police business,  crime,  stereotypes,  history

Episode #08096

One of the nation's largest medical debt collectors sneaks into hospitals to seize patients' money before treatment. (05:26)

Tags:  The Word,  health,  insurance,  debt,  business,  money,  capitalism,  America,  Obama administration,  Antonin Scalia,  John Boehner,  drugs,  Republicans,  New York Times,  pregnancy,  death,  balls,  photos,  doctors,  surgery,  Supreme Court,  poverty

Episode #08095

Election advertising gets ugly, God sanctions cuts to the poor, and Carne Ross believes democracy is defective. (00:35)

Tags:  intro,  ethnic,  campaigns,  advertising,  America,  poverty,  government,  God,  religion,  Carne Ross,  democracy,  American Idol,  TSA,  breasts,  plastic surgery,  terrorism,  explosions,  bombs,  lookin' good,  profiling

Episode #08095

Barack Obama and the Catholic Church wage war on Paul Ryan's deeply Christian Republican House budget. (04:19)

Tags:  religion,  House of Representatives,  Paul Ryan,  Barack Obama,  poverty,  Catholic,  economy,  money,  lookin' good,  Christian,  Jesus,  Republicans,  church and state,  holidays,  creationism,  Vatican,  taxes,  wealth,  Georgetown University,  Bible,  popes

Episode #08095

Georgetown University's Father Thomas Reese finds discrepancies between Catholic doctrine and Paul Ryan's fiscal ministry. (05:59)

Tags:  Thomas Reese,  appearances,  Paul Ryan,  Catholic,  poverty,  philosophy,  Ayn Rand,  lying,  economy,  money,  government,  wealth,  taxes,  morality,  religion,  Jesus,  Christian,  business,  nailed,  socialism,  Pope Benedict XVI,  Georgetown University,  photos,  Bigfoot,  college,  mythology,  Republicans

Episode #08095

Carne Ross discusses his book "The Leaderless Revolution: How Ordinary People Will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st Century." (06:08)

Tags:  Carne Ross,  interviews,  books,  government,  Occupy Wall Street,  democracy,  America,  capitalism,  corruption,  business,  Colbert Super PAC,  protests,  money,  Wall Street,  poverty,  Congress,  U.K.,  Bush administration

Episode #08092

Saving the planet by demonizing immigrants gives liberals and conservatives something they can do together. (04:59)

Tags:  The Word,  immigration,  ethnic,  racism,  global warming,  environment,  labor,  Fox News,  New York Times,  liberal,  conservative,  gay/homosexual,  MSNBC,  pollution,  alternative energy,  border security,  Mexican,  California,  statistics,  international affairs,  Ku Klux Klan,  guns,  laws,  poverty,  Address the Mess,  America,  media,  Address the Mess

Episode #08090

Mitt Romney's daily minute of spontaneity contains 59 seconds of awkwardness. (04:23)

Tags:  Mitt Romney,  food,  Pittsburgh,  Barack Obama,  dogs,  NASCAR,  wealth,  Pennsylvania,  campaigns,  slogans,  animals,  poop & pee,  books,  Indonesia,  Indecision 2012,  restaurants,  poverty,  fashion,  pets,  Ann Romney,  growing up,  pirates

Episode #08089

A threat sneaks in from Mexico, an unexpected "good dog" emerges, and guests Tavis Smiley and Cornel West take a poverty bus tour. (00:38)

Tags:  intro,  Mexico,  Canada,  border security,  animals,  dogs,  Tavis Smiley,  Cornel West,  poverty,  Ted Nugent,  Secret Service,  songs

Episode #08089

Tavis Smiley and Cornel West talk about their book on American poverty, "The Rich and the Rest of Us." (06:16)

Tags:  Tavis Smiley,  Cornel West,  interviews,  poverty,  America,  blue collar,  books,  economy,  wealth,  government,  democracy,  lobbyists,  capitalism,  Mitt Romney,  Paul Ryan,  Native American,  voting,  unemployment,  poop & pee

Episode #08076

Luckily, Emily Bazelon wasn't arguing for Obamacare's individual mandate in the Supreme Court, because she might have won. (05:33)

Tags:  Emily Bazelon,  appearances,  Obama administration,  insurance,  Anthony Kennedy,  health,  Supreme Court,  movies,  laws,  government,  media,  print media,  pundits,  lawyers,  food,  socialism,  poverty,  trials/hearings,  sexual advances,  citizenship,  Constitution

Episode #08075

Charles Murray talks about his book, "Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960 to 2010," and suggests a way to address the growing division between the classes. (07:24)

Tags:  Charles Murray,  interviews,  ethnic,  culture,  wealth,  poverty,  America,  don't see color,  books,  controversies,  racism,  Colbert Bump,  marriage,  stereotypes,  African American,  blogs/podcasts,  blue collar

Episode #08070

They say you get your daylight savings' hour back in the fall, but who's earning the interest on that hour in the meantime? (01:27)

Tags:  government,  socialism,  Barack Obama,  conspiracies,  Colbertisms,  unions,  science,  poverty

Episode #08070

Journalist Katherine Boo talks about what her experience in Mumbai, India, has taught her about poverty in the United States. (05:29)

Tags:  Katherine Boo,  interviews,  India,  housing,  poverty,  movies,  Mumbai,  corruption,  awards,  books,  government,  charity,  taxes,  international affairs

Episode #08069

Don Fleming, Elvis Costello and Emmylou Harris discuss the the folk music legacy of Alan Lomax. (06:44)

Tags:  Don Fleming,  Elvis Costello,  Emmylou Harris,  interviews,  Bob Dylan,  performances,  songs,  music,  friend of the show,  culture,  history,  poverty,  Internet,  demonstrations

Episode #08064

A new way to help the poor emerges, the contraceptive debate heats up, and William Shatner eradicates the Colbert Report's tribbles. (00:33)

Tags:  intro,  poverty,  charity,  birth control,  men/women,  controversies,  William Shatner,  celebrities,  Star Trek,  North Korea,  nuclear,  WMDs,  weapons,  Kim Jong-il,  death,  little people,  dictators,  international affairs

Episode #08064

Barack Obama's plan to eliminate the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy pits rich against poor, but luckily, the poor aren't buying it. (05:08)

Tags:  The Word,  Barack Obama,  Obama administration,  taxes,  Florida,  economy,  poverty,  wealth,  Rick Scott,  money,  work/office,  labor,  laws,  business,  polls,  Charlie Gasparino,  restaurants,  senior citizens,  prostitution,  education,  Fox News,  pundits

Episode #08054

CeaseFire's Ameena Matthews explores how her tough inner-city upbringing informs her work as a peacemaker among Chicago's gangs. (06:57)

Tags:  Ameena Matthews,  interviews,  documentaries,  movies,  violence,  gangs,  Chicago,  poverty,  growing up,  parents,  family,  teens,  death,  lookin' good,  fashion

Episode #08049

The Daily Beast's Andrew Sullivan analyzes the picture that GOP candidates have painted of Barack Obama and extolls the president's numerous achievements. (06:19)

Tags:  Andrew Sullivan,  interviews,  friend of the show,  Barack Obama,  Obama administration,  Republicans,  Iraq War,  Afghanistan War,  Al Qaeda,  Osama bin Laden,  George W. Bush,  unemployment,  economy,  recession,  stimulus package,  Mitt Romney,  poverty,  health,  insurance,  laws

Episode #08048

Newt Gingrich seals his victory in the South Carolina primary debates by going after America's most dangerous enemy: debate moderators. (03:19)

Tags:  Newt Gingrich,  South Carolina,  primaries,  debates,  media,  campaigns,  Juan Williams,  John King,  scandals,  controversies,  marriage,  divorce,  adultery,  impressions,  African American,  ethnic,  drugs,  death,  violence,  stereotypes,  poverty,  animals,  hunting,  photos,  lookin' good,  candidates,  Republicans,  Indecision 2012