In fact, I thought Van Jones was given a lot of time to express himself, and what he is up to, and he did so well.

Plus, I liked Steve's electric diagonal-striped tie.  I always dress myself in the morning according to what Stevey-baby was wearing the night before.  

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

I totally disagree. As long as guests don't make the mistake of either being too self-righteous or alternatively trying to out-Colbert Colbert, then they usually come off looking decent, AND they get several minutes to make their case to a large demographic that doesn't read Harper's or watch the PBS Newshour. This interview conveyed virtually no information to people such as you who are already well-informed about green-collar jobs, but you aren't the kind of person Jones was trying to enlighten by going on the show.

As I see it, Jones got several minutes of time to explain his point of view to over a million young people, albeit with some heckling from Colbert (which is good, because it keeps today's ADHD TV audience from getting distracted or bored). If people had never heard the term green-collar before, then they would learn more about the idea from this interview than they're likely to learn on the network evening news broadcasts or the cable news channels. Bravo to Jones for going on the show, and bravo to Colbert for having him.

I.e., no less than fifteen years younger than "us" wise old poops?  Ha!

Actually, I agree with Colburn.  If only a couple of Colbert's viewers look up Van Jones and his work, that is a great victory.  And I suspect that more likely than not, they will be younger than me.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

And even if none of them go look up Van Jones and his work, they will at least know what "green-collar" is all about, so that when a candidate for elected office comes along and talks about creating green-collar jobs, they will understand what that means and (we hope) be more likely to support that candidate.

It's a shame that a lot more people learn about the world from the Colbert Report than from Grist, but given that it's the case, I think it's important for people like Jones to go where the eyeballs are.

I only said that I don't enjoy the show, and particularly the show's interviews. They seem neither funny nor particularly enlightening. One or the other would be nice.

grist.org

The kids need to hear Van Jones.  They need to hear over and over about green collar jobs, until they're conditioned to expect them.

Shout out to Stephen Colbert for having Van Jones on, even if I learned nothing I didn't already know.

And hey, it was entertaining enough. Not hysterically funny, but good enough to keep me from changing the channel. I'm happy as long as the kids keep watching...

When you said "They look bad if they play along and bad if they try to play it straight. It just ends up being awkward and conveying virtually no information. Why bother?" I understood you to mean "Why should people like Jones bother going on the show if they end up looking bad and conveying virtually no information?"

After reading your post again, I realize you may have meant, "Why should I bother watching?" If you meant the latter, then I have no problem with that.

The second thing to think about is: lighten up! Give people a little credit. It's impossible to watch more than 30 seconds of any episode of the Colbert Report and not realize that he is full of crap (again, on purpose). The fans, the guests, and I daresay Steven himself know that is going to be ridiculous... and that's OK! As much as I love you all here at Grist there are only a few folks here who actually laugh! I understand as well as the next guy that our world has serious problems that require serious answers, but no one is motivated to do anything when people are depressed. Laugh about it, have a good upbeat take on things, and let's get to work already!

Lighten up, people! Laugh, and the world laughs with you. Cry, and people think you're an environmentalist. :)

If you continue to do what you've always done you'll continue to get what you've always got. - Yogi Berra

I only get uncomfortable with Colbert during interviews with congress people.  They come across as so clueless and dumb that I go into a depression.  The author and PR interviews can be fun because those people understand the premise and try to get their points across in a fun way.  I thought Van Jones was excellent, and I learned stuff because some of us reading Grist aren't experts.  Please remember that some of us have to be educated to your lofty levels.

But he's not as funny when there is someone on who is articulate, bright and, like Van Jones, is pushing an agenda that is hard to argue with; what do you find to pick on about putting more Americans to work and saving the environment? And he's not as funny when he has someone on that you agree with, and he is picking on them and not letting them speak.  Human nature I guess, to defend your heroes and enjoy seeing your enemies suffer.

Anyway, I agree that I thought Colbert was uncharacteristically "nice" to Van Jones.. gave him lots of time to speak and even the digs were pretty mild.  But then again.. I don't really watch TV - I only see Colbert here.  So if DR did not post these Colbert clips, I would never see them.  Ironic?