to capitol hill. >> steven colbert appeared at capitol hill. if you are wondering what he was doing here so were lawmakers. >> would you call yourself an expert witness. >> reporter: even asked him to leave. >> leave the committee room completely. >> reporter: but he came under invitation of laphrgren who wanted him to speak seriously about the day he spent packing corn. >> i'm just playing a little farm bill. okay. >> reporter: the union put out a call for more americans to do the work of farm workers of most of who are here illegally. only 20 people responded and colbert made fun of americans wanting food picked by americans. >> i like talking about people who don't have any power. this seems one of the most powerful people in the united states are migrant workers who come and do our work but don't have any rights as a result. >> it's the right of american workers that have colbert critics riled up. but today their side seems lost under the laughter. >> reporter: in the decade since cesar chavez visited camps, the majority of farmers have liv

, stewart, oliver, mahr, all men. >> yes. >> lettermen leaves, replaced by colbert. craig ferguson replaced by james, where are the women in late night, why haven't we seen evolution on the gender end of this where women are hosting these programs. >> nobody is psyched about that. >> i just would love to know if you have a perspective on why this is. >> the short answer is maybe guys are making the decisions? i think that -- [ laughter ] i think that from some weird reason, and i honestly would like to know the answer to this myself, is that people still look at women as op -- appealing to women. our humor is not going to be wide ranging and women talk about subjects that only women like, as opposed to men who we have all watched men talk about man things and we all seem to enjoy it, and turns out that there are things that women are -- can talk about that everyone enjoys, but that is somehow just not filling the void, and i don't understand it. >> right. >> ellen degeneres would be amazing late night, like why is that even an issue? so the pipeline of what people th

and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me except for the tweets from @bring back colbert. i know that's you stephen. so let's talk political correctness [bleep] this is the nightly show. [cheers and applause]

john: john stewart, stephen colbert made fun of you for a long time. who did you prefer?dsey: i think john was more biting and hit home more often. colbert is from charleston maybe he could not go the next level. but john stewart does great. he is tough on everybody, not just republicans. someone has to fill that space in american politics. mark: thank you so much. ♪ mark: if you're looking for a new host of the daily show maybe give these folks a chance. who are your actual favorite comedians? >> you got me in a tough one there. mark: louis ck? >> i don't know who that is. john: alan sherman? >> i was going to tell you the prime minister of india. >> in my 12 years of governor i issued one pardon. i am tough on crime, but he was dead. >> me being here today has made to the front runner. any democrats here? you don't have to email me just raise your hand. you to be glad scott walker is not here, he would be you up. me and hillary, and a contest for president. the first thing i would say to her is let's talk about e-mail. i did not think bill and i had anything in common.

colbert, tina fey.see that genius or is it something that has to be cultivated with the games you're talking about? >> colbert and tina fey are great examples of people who walked in with the genius. you saw it right away. and there's other people like a steve carell. i don't know if i saw the genius right away but in three or four years it was unbelievable the kind of work he was doing on stage. it is different for different people and some move more quickly. another one is keegan michael key who does great work on keenan and peel. these guys are all individual successes who made their partners look good. they were never people who looked to stand out. they just stood out because they looked great. >> the list goes from dan aykroyd to steve carell to jim belushi, rachel dratch. why has second city created such talented folks? >> they practice this improvisation over and over again. when you're at second city this is a graduate school of comedy. you're there three or four years. you're performing almost

john stuart and stephen colbert made fun of you a lot. who did you prefer?: i think jon was more biting and hit home more often. colbert is from charleston. he maybe could not quite go to the next level. i want to to be on jon's show before he left. he is tough on everybody, not just republicans. somebody has to fill that space in american politics. mark: thank you, senator lindsey graham. mark: we will be back after this. ♪ mark: comedy central, if you're looking for a new host of the daily show, maybe give these folks a chance. who are your actual favorite comedians? >> you got me in a tough one there. mark: louis ck? >> i don't know who that is. alan sherman? >> i was going to tell you the prime minister of india. >> i do not mean to ignore governor pataki in new hampshire. he has others that are doing that already. >> in my 12 years of governor i issued one pardon. mark: four lenny bruce? >> i am tough on crime, but he was dead. >> me being here today has made to the front runner. any democrats here? raise your hand. you don't have to email me, just rais

colbert. >> larry: i didn't steal it from s. colbert. this is my time slot!'ve had it since january! i didn't steal anything! >> calm down, sir. and i don't know what's going on with all these people gathered up there. this looks like unlawful assembly! >> larry: it's an audience! okay? can i please just get back to my show? >> ah, okay. i'll be watching you. >> larry: good! we're on at 11:30 every night! (cheers and applause) make believe ferguson officer, everybody! we'll be right back. [richard] america. did you file your taxes with someone else last year? if so,come into block and pay us half,what you paid them. come in here and get your money. get your billions back,america! mouths are watering, and stomachs are growling. or is that just me? it's lobsterfest... ...red lobster's largest variety of lobster dishes all year. double up with dueling lobster tails. or make lobster lover's dream a delicious reality. but hurry this won't last long. new trident unwrapped is the gum you love without a wrapper. welcome to the easy life. ♪ trident unwrapped. super us

pac, super pac. >> campaign finance lesson from stephen colbert.u may remember in the run-up to the presidential campaign colbert created his own super pac called america for a better tomorrow tomorrow. but once he launched the run for the presidency he could no longer be associated with the real life super pac so he handed over control to his partner in comedy "daily show" host jon stewart. real life potential candidate jeb bush may be following colbert's playbook. once he announced his candidacy, it's expected that a close ally will take over his super pac. with real life politicians taking cues from satirical ones wefr to wonder if colbert was right. is our campaign finance system one big joke. it's been suggested that this gaming turns people off. i wanted to listen to the solution that president obama offered this week for this problem. >> in australia and other countries, it's mandatory. it would be transformative if everybody voted. that would counteract money more than anything. >> is that the solution to the money problem? >> it's going to

the guy that was providing the fabio voice was a young stevenphen colbert colbert. >> you have to rerack tape. >>> some large gators making quite a scene at one golf course where, where else in the shorthand state. >> your home state. >> this is how you roll. some of the monsters roaming the green, 13 feet long the course on florida's gulf coast surrounded by swamp land is which is where gators hang out. >> golfers aren't allowed to harass or feed them. been there 40 years, no one has been injured yet by a gator. >> we have to say yet. >>> well for some of you, your local news is coming next. >>> everyone, "good morning america." brushing alone does less than half the job leaving behind millions of germs. complete the job with listerine®. kill up to 99 percent of germs. and prevent plaque, early gum disease and bad breath. complete the job with listerine®. power to your mouth™. also try listerine® floss. its advanced technology removes more plaque. introducing preferred rewards from bank of america the new banking rewards program that rewards our customers, every day. you'll get things l

stephen colbert, really? we'll explain next. i have moderate to severe crohn's disease.but managing my symptoms was all i was doing. so when i finally told my doctor, he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb hepatitis b, are prone to infections or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. if you're still just managing your symptoms, ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possib

the top five includes conan o'brian stephen colbert, john stewart, david letterman and no surprise thespot went to johnny carson. there was one noticible snub. can you guess who? >> me? >> yes. why he was left off the list but i suspect the sentinal had something to do with it. >> i can't speak to that. >> are you surprised i was let off list? >> after working with you, i i can't say i am. >> i am crying on the inside. >> i am too young for steve allen and jack par. it is letterman, conan, space ghost and i wouldn't put stewart and colbert on the list because they do a different thing. >> it is apples and oranges. >> joanne, are you surprised i am not on the list? >> very. and i voted for you too. >> what choice was that? >> i like to speak for the younger generation out there. chelsea hand t -- chelsea handler made the list. and jimmy fallon is doing a great job. when he laughs you must think you are the funniest person in the world. his laugh is infectious. he looks like he is peeing himself every time. >> you have a thing for jimmy don't you? >> i have friends who write for the show

you might remember stephen colbert asked me why i thought i could do better than god and i said, well, we have computers. [laughter] >> let me ask you this. i would assume that if you get a cell that you can boot up from a store-bought ingredients and you can create a life, it is a very simple life, why do we need one? >> we don't need one per say for that, it is a proof of principle. but if we actually want to do designs for building new organisms to make new vaccines new medicines, food sources, etc., we want to get down to where we can actually do the design on the first principle basis. so the other thing that we are doing rather than try to make the minimal genome, if you think of it as computer analogies, four billion years of evolutions get messy all over the place and there is no logic to it. there's a lot of randomness. but if we are trying to do the designs where we want to put in a cassette or genes for the sugar metabolism and the methane metabolism we like to do that as you plug in this cassette and have the energy production for the cell. so we are defragging, and that i

. >> stephen colbert asked me why i think we can do better than god. and i said, well we have computers. >> let me ask you this. i assume if you get a cell that you can boot up from thor bought ingredients and create a life form, is very simple life form, why do we need one? >> we don't need one per se, it is the proof of principle. if we actually want to do design for building new organisms to make new vaccines, we want to the point for we can do design on a first principle basis. the other thing we are doing other than trying to make an available genome, we are trying to defrag the genome. if you think of it in the computer analogy, 4 billion years of pollution is pretty messy. there is no real logic to it. there is a lot of randomness. but we are trying to do design where we put in a cassette vs methane catabolism. you plug in this cassette and have energy production for the cell. we are trying to reorganize. the genome that is more complicated than it might seem. the point is to get to where we can do design from known components to build new thing

. >> john stewart and colbert there are hugely popular. i think he has said the idea that stewart was listed as the most popular news anchor. >> most trusted. >> most trusted. >> of course. o'reilly is the most popular. >> say what you think. >> apologies. >> is not as confrontational because of the laughter, is that the idea? >> it is definitely not as confrontational. you you see this as the 1st form of punishment in hunter gatherer societies, ridicule, just because that is just the lowest cheapest, sort of least harsh form of punishment that there is. and yet in some ways i think he is just so clever. again not just for the ridicule but for pivoting our attention and refocusing it on bigger systems issues taking the brian williams case and pivoting it more about weapons of mass distraction in iraq and the veracity of that argument. >> drifting it getting it back up to the government. >> the government or two -- if the media is so interested in the truth where were they then? >> you also talk about gossip and how -- >> another cheap form

and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me except for the tweets from @bring back colbert. i know that's you stephen. so let's talk political correctness [bleep] this is the nightly show. [cheers and applause] >> larry: thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you. welcome to the nightly show. i'm larry wilmore. ow. man i just went through my first winter here in new york. a little cold for my taste. but finally it's starting to warm up, yes. yes. [applause] only two months until the city starts to smell like a hot diaper, cannot wait. cannot wait. [laughter] finally man trying to get out of my uggs. [laughter] and get into my other uggs. [laughter] yep. it's warming up folks. that means tonight talking about climate change. yep, that's how i do it. science. yesterday cold today warm. clietclimate changes. now a lot of people don't like to talk about this. it's very uncomfortable but it's tremendous importante. but we need to have an honest conversation. we need to keep this under a hundred degrees. no better than to talk about this than level headed florida. >> the

colbert should have been john stewart. upsets do always happen in brackets.atters is how it ends. 64 men and women enter a room. one leaves. the winner is always is the one with the most scabs. blegod bless the madness of march. john: the next round is happening. we have frank under word -- frank underwood versus danyres. after the break, members of congress meeting -- reading mean tweets about themselves. ♪ john: happy 75th birthday to nancy pelosi. we have tweets read at the correspondents dinner. nancy: she looks like a tub of sherbet. speaker boehner: speaker boehner looks like an angry own balloon oompa loompa. senator: why, why would someone say that? john: good comedy stylings. mark: mean tweets is one of the most brilliant of the innovations in late-night tv. john: two things i wish i had invented. pop tarts and mean tweets. mark: what is your favorite flavor? john: frosted strawberry. "taking stock" is next. sayonara. ♪ pimm: i'm pimm fox. this is what i am taking stock of. deliberate crash. those are the words from a prosecutor about the german wing

like, stephen colbert did not get in. >> seth: that's right.get in. >> they know -- they got a good eye for who's good. [ laughter ] >> seth: yeah. and then you -- i saw you perform in edinburgh one time. you've traveled abroad and you did a show in -- was it in england or in edinburgh where an audience member could win a date with you? >> that was a popular bit that i did with my comedy partner kurt braunohler everywhere. and it happened -- it was borne out of the fact that i was perpetually single. so we wrote this piece called "win a date with kristen schaal." so two audience members, usually men, would come on stage -- [ laughter ] it sort of didn't matter after a while. [ laughter ] and they would fight for my love by -- like, with spoons. and then they would have to draw a picture of me in repose. and then we would pick our favorite, and i would go on a date with them on stage. and kurt would be the waiter. and he would come with -- he would just give us wine. and i would show off and just drink the whole glass in one gulp. and it was rea

now with stewart and colbert existing experts are banking on a virtually unknown comedian to take it forward. >> for a lot of americans africa... >> after jon stewart announced he would leave "the daily show," speculation over his replacement was intense. the mystery is answered. the choice is south african comedian trevor noah. >> on the hip hop station they sense a hip hop. it's a hip hopping. >> reporter: trevor noah south african, joined the award-winning show in september. >> the photo on the left i took it it in my cab here on the way from the airport. >> reporter: now, he's the tongue in cheek international reporter. jon stewart turned the show into 2 million viewers, his success in tearing down the media, including al jazeera america and me. >> i don't care what you do from day to day, do it on the show. >> what do you call a camel with no humps by the way? >> humphrey. >> the answer in a moment. he went from a household name to one few heard of. that was yesterday, as trevor noah moves to the fore comedy central is looking for him to steer the show through the presidential e

and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me except for the tweets from @bring back colbert so let's talk political correctness [bleep] this is the nightly show. [cheers and applause] >> larry: thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you. welcome to the nightly show. i'm larry wilmore. ow. man i just went through my first winter here in new york. a little cold

who is stephen colbert? correct. celebs on twitter for $600 please. gina. who is kevin durant?

. >> reporter: from carson to leno to conan to leno to fallon, from letterman to colbert, the tv times they are achanging. >> when you get these you get a fresh perspective. when you get that the hope is you get a new audience and bigger audience. >> that guy is so excited. >> reporter: and with james corden, an englishmen, taking over the reigns of the "late-late show" replacing scotsman craig ferguson, and another brit, john oliver, with his own show on hbo. is a british invasion underway, like the one that introduced us to these guys? do we columnists have to brush up on the queen's english? >> i want you to say the rain in spain stays mainly in the plain fifty times. >> reporter: comedy central says there's no firm date for noah's takeover of "the daily show" desk, which may give this newcomer time to arm himself for america's late-night wars. >> trevor noah, everybody! >> reporter: kevin tibbles, nbc news, chicago. >>> as they say, check your local listings. that's going to do it for us on this monday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and go

. >> reporter: he will be the man to follow david letterman and then stephen colbert.orden began his run by having some fun with the fact that many in the united states don't know much about him. >> i know what you're i thissing. oh, look andy richter's got his own show. >> reporter: but the 36-year-old delivered nothing but a-listers in his debut. he explained how he got the job with a star-studded spoof of "charlie & the chocolate factory." >> we'll do it the way we've always done it. >> you've been chosen to host "the late late show." >> i've got the ticket. >> you might have the ticket son, but do you got what it takes? >> do you want people to see this before they go to sleep? what's the matter with you? you don't look like a talk show host. you look like two. >> i'm better than an angel. i'm 19-time academy award nominee meryl streep. >> am i ready? >> you're more than ready. >> thank you, jay. >> reporter: corden prepared for six months since being named craig ferguson's successor. he became known to audiences in the states when he won a tony award in 2012 but t

here is stephen colbert and -- stephen paul berendt. >> the new all metal macbook is 12.1 inches andes in at only 13.1 millimeters thick.it's really incredible on the hand. it's only two pounds. it has its retina display. it is more energy efficient than previous models. the logic board is much smaller to a comedy for smaller case. all around it are these batteries. this allows them to cram a lot more in every crevice of the case, giving you a full 10 hours of battery life. 35% more than you'd get with flat rectangular batteries. there is this new connector that act as the power connector and you're only access to other devices. the only other port on the computer is a headphone jack on the other side. the new keyboard uses butterfly mechanisms under the keys, which give you a much more even push. the trackpad is entirely solid-state. when you push it you feel like you are getting a depression. this macbook won't replace the macbook pro. it will add to the lineup. it will have a dual core processor. it will start at 1299 and ship april 10. >> interesting stuff with this new device. i

jon stewart and colbert are hugely popular, and i think you've cited the idea that stewart was listed as the most popular news anchor? >> mouth trusted -- most trusted which is a big -- >> when most trusted. o'reilly's the most popular although he's not an anchor. but most trusted news anchor who happens to be doing the news on a comedy channel. >> right. so one of -- if you think about ridicule and satire these are very cheap forms of punishment when we talk about expense right? they allow you to say what you think really bluntly, allow people to laugh at it and allow the transgressor to easily sort of change their behavior in response without some big like apology or -- >> it's, is it -- it's not as confrontational because of the element of laughter, is that the idea? >> i don't know if it's the element of laughter, but it's definitely not as confrontational. you see this as sort of the first form of punishment in momentummer-gatherer -- hunter-gatherer societies ridicule and just. because that's the lowest cheapest, sort of least harsh form of punishment there is. and yet in some w

officers took breanna colbert and another woman paulina gomez into custody. they're still looking for the guy on the right, andre perry. we're told the groups ran into each other at a restaurant. as they drove off in two cars, police say they started shooting at wufrn anotherone another. no one was injured. >>> there's a new problem tonight. adam tuss live in northwest washington tonight to show us why it's a good thing the war on potholes is speeding up. adam? >> reporter: well, jim, if the whole idea of potholepalooza is to report potholes, then i have some to report to ddot. take a look. "r" street northwest between 13th and 14th this is the pothole-laden street in the city. at this point, "r" street northwest may be beyond saving. >> bumpy right. no good. wear and tear on the vehicle. >> reporter: nonetheless, ddot and the city say they'll get on it. it's potholepalooza time. >> the ddot pothole team is declaring its annual war on potholes. >> reporter: the mayor kicking off the campaign today. she got in on the action herself, helping to fill and tamp do

colbert made a career out of ripping on conservatives. this thing is bill simmons who i liked standing up when he had that thing a couple of months ago just let him get away with it like saying it can be funny to rip on liberals, too. why is it not funny. >> look at that little sketch. >> remember i was shocked that they went there? >> i haved watched "saturday night live" in 20 years because i go to bed at 8:00 at night. when i used to stay up during the clinton administration they ripped clinton 24/7 eating cheeseburgers and smoking pot and hitting on women. >> that is fun. the way they rip on republicans is based on lack of intelligence intelligence. to the left they are crazy behavior, having sex. that's not really ripping. >> that was mean spirited what they did with boehner. that was gross. >> they made clinton seem like a fun guy. it was all in jest and every wup thought he was humorous and a good time whereas sarah palin was a fool and every republican is an idiot. >> as much as they made fun of sarah palin she still has the sense

>> clearly their first choice probably would have been oliver if he hadn't left or stephen colbert if, they would have been in place. but failing that, i think all the other names that i heard floated out there, i didn't take seriously. >> amy poehler. >> tina fey wasn't going to do it. those are crazy names. so looking at the landscape, i think they decided, let's go fresh. let's bring in a really fresh guy. this is a really bright guy. this guy speaks multiple languages. he's obviously a very sophisticated guy for his age. and all of that is really kind of exciting. all of late night is changing dramatically. you have fallon having changed "the tonight show" so much. you have james corden going on cbs from england. all of this is a new generation and a new approach, and i this i that's what they're going for. >> right along that vein. good to see you, bill. >> good to be with you. >> thank you. that's it for us. thanks for joining us "@ this hour." >> "legal view with ashleigh banfield" starts right now. >> this is cnn breaking news. >> hello, i'm ashleigh banfield. welcome to "lega

we've seen him on other late-night shows like colbert, fallon and the daily show.b pushing health care on "between two ferns" and buzzfeed video. he's been criticized for these appearances, but the country's changing. do you thing this ed mek this 3450ed ya strategy has been effective. >> i always enjoy the president on these types of shows. last night's appearance on jimmy kimmel went from talking about ferguson, a really good message. then he was able to do the segment of the mean tweets which is one of my favorite segments on that show. i have to say that was the best one i've actually seen done because he has this dead pan when he reads it then he gets this look on his face and he starts laughing. i was laughing hysterically. it makes him human, makes him real. helps you relate to hill. >> i have to agree with abby. the president when he did the three youtubers, glozell and the other two, that's the first time that happened at the white house. he's taking technology this media, if you will to a different level. as you said making it the norm. i think that's fan

remember he did the sunday morning talk show circuit, did the colbert report, did "the daily show." and one of his signature lines t was about presidential poet laureate -- oh, what -- what's her name? >> poet laureate? >> chris, got a lot of callers, what's your question? >> caller: maya angelou. >> the late maya angelou yes. >> caller: yes, excellent, excellent, we're all familiar with her. he said that -- remember his ngelou book was based genetics and race. and he said that she was in fact, 85% caucasian. >> okay. >> chris, do you have a question? we lost chris. we'll go to sam, alexandra, virginia. line for independents.or good morning. . >> caller: good morning. >> good morning.orni >> caller: you know, april,ng i'm sitting here and i'm listening, you know, to all these people. first of all, i'm a 70-year-old black man who spent 25 years of his life in the service. from 1963 to 1988.88. >> thank you for your service. >> caller: when i hear this ionshi question about race and bring relationships in this country it brings to mind my service in vietnam, 1964 to 1965. and guys lik

matt: a risky move for comedy central, after losing stephen colbert last year.n paul sweeney. carol: i like chess, by the way. matt: smart checkers. carol: who is this guy? matt: he's very funny. paul: he's 31 years old, from south africa. he speaks six languages. matt: his father is swiss and his mother is soweto. paul: his parents' marriage was illegal in south africa. a lot of his humor is racially based. it's ethnically based. they call him a polyglot, he speaks a lot of different languages. you look at late night and so much as the ability to attract audiences online and around the world. carol: is that what this is about? >> yes. nbc said 70% of jimmy fallon's views as online. you were talking about james corden and a lot of that was streaming. >> he's taking it up after craig ferguson. matt: i saw james cordon with mariah carey. carol: it was impressive, all the stars in the video. what you make of the posts we are seeing? paul: even though for jimmy fallon the statistic about 70% of viewing online, the vast majority of the revenue comes over the air. car

tom: i think that stephen colbert would call that growthiness.hter] donald: the state of the union is to assert that things are fine, think everybody that has helped. tom: he goes down the road and thanks everybody like president obama? [laughter] donald: a list of the most important objectives. thank everybody. itemize the list so that you leave no stone unturned. tom: it is like a bill clinton speech. olivia: i am not going to bite on that. do you believe the statistics coming out of china? donald: i believe the 7.4% statistic last year was not too far from wrong. we have a run synthetic growth index that matches it fairly well. their growth is slow. the new normal is not 7% growth. the new normal is lower every year. olivia: how good of a job or the doing managing the economy? donald: i would give them a gentleman's c. tom: if you are one of the merchant banks of china looking at these markets, don, you also work at the sweat level. what is the level of sweat? donald: the housing sector is not great. it is massively out of equilibrium. there i

for the juggle affair, the kremlin the cia and the battle over forbidden book [applause] elizabeth colbert the sixth distinction, an unnatural history henry holt and company. thomas pickett t. for capital in the 21st century translated from the french by arthur goldhammer. actor towbar for deep down dark, the untold stories of 33 men buried in a trillion mine and the miracle that set them free. the recipient of this year's national book circle award in nonfiction is the problem in the emancipation. [laughter] and forceful prose, the problem of slavery in the age of emancipation undermines mythology away supremacy, black savagery and black victimhood. the culmination of 50 years research, david asks us to realize the abolition of slavery in the new world represents a crucial landmark of moral progress that we should never forget unquote. this excellent study compels us to draw concentric wing from tucson to blow the chair and frederick douglass and william wells brown to the human rights movement burgeoning in america today. wendy strassmann will ask that for david ryan davis. [applause] >>

might remember stephen colbert asked me why i thought i could do better than god and i said, well, we have computers. >> let me ask you this. i would assume that if you get a cell that you can boot up from a store-bought ingredients and you can create a life, it is a very simple life, why do we need one? >> we don't need one per say for that, it is a proof of principle. but if we actually want to do designs for building new organisms to make new vaccines new medicines, food sources, etc., we want to get down to where we can actually do the design on the first principle basis. so the other thing that we are doing rather than try to make the minimal genome, if you think of it as computer analogies, four billion years of evolutions get messy all over the place and there is no logic to it. there's a lot of randomness. but if we are trying to do the designs where we want to put in a cassette or genes for the sugar metabolism and the methane metabolism we like to do that as you plug in this cassette and have the energy production for the cell. so we are defragging and that is more complicat

you might remember stephen colbert asked me why i thought i could do better than god, and i said well, we have computers. [laughter] >> well, let me ask you this, what would you do -- assuming i assume that be you get a cell -- if you get a cell that you can boot up from store-bought ingredient, it's a very simple lifeline. why did we need one? >> well, we don't need one per se for that. it's a proof of principle. but if we actually want to do design for building new organisms to make new vaccines new medicines, food sources, etc., we want to get down where we can actually do design on first principle basis. so the other thing we're doing other than trying to make a minimal gee anemia we're trying -- genome we're trying to defrag the genome. things get inserted all over the place, and there's no real logic to it. there's a lot of randomness. but if we're trying to do design where we want to put in a cassette for genes that do sugar metabolism versus methane metabolism, we'd like to do that where you plug in this cassette and you have the energy production for the cell. so we're defrag