Behind the Desk: The Story of Late Night

Bill Carter

Booking Overview

This is a documentary-style interview podcast about the history and evolution of late-night television, featuring first-hand commentary from prominent hosts, comedians, writers, producers, and other major figures from the genre. Agencies could credibly pitch established late-night performers, comedy writers, television producers, executives, and historians with direct expertise in television comedy or political satire; booking is likely high difficulty because the show favors highly prominent industry participants.

Metrics

Episodes: 8

Frequency: Weekly

Rating: 4.2/5.0

Estimated listeners: 1k-10k

Gender skew: Unknown

Location: USA

Instagram: 23.0M followers

Contact Information

Publicly listed emails

podcasts@cnn.com

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Host

Bill Carter - Journalist and author known for his reporting and writing about the television industry, including late-night television.

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

high

Typical Credentials:

Established late-night hosts, nationally recognized comedians, television comedy writers and producers, media executives, or major figures with substantial firsthand experience of late-night television.

Required Achievements:

Hosting or producing a nationally recognized television comedy program, Writing for or leading a prominent late-night or political satire program, Building a significant career as a nationally known comedian or television performer, Holding a senior role in television production or media leadership

Recent Guest Discussions

Ziwe Fumudoh - The Future Of Late-night Television And The Emergence Of More Diverse Comedic Voices.

Trevor Noah - The Future Of Late-night Television, Political Satire, And The Evolution Of The Format.

Amber Ruffin - The Future Of Late-night Television, Diversity Among Hosts, And The Changing Late-night Landscape.

Sarah Cooper - Political Satire And The Changing Relationship Between Comedy, Politics, And News.

Roy Wood Jr. - Political Satire And The Role Of Modern Late-night Television In News And Social Commentary.

Recent Topics

TV, Late Night Television, Comedy, Political Satire, Television Writing

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on

Behind the Desk: The Story of Late Night

Introducing: Civilian or Spy

August 14, 2026

When a Russian-born American citizen named Ilya Beloozerov is gunned down by the FBI in 2024, the authorities refuse to say why they’d killed him. CNN’s Isabelle Chapman embarks on a sprawling investigation that takes her from the Mississippi parking lot where he died to Washington, D.C. to unravel the mystery: Why did Ilya abruptly leave his family and his job and head for the border with laptops and cash? Why is there sti...

The Future

May 20, 2021

Late night TV sensibilities crash through the status quo and frame society to expose all that is fun, funny and non-sensical about it. As a diverse new group of hosts ascend, the late night landscape looks less and less like the old white boys club of the past. With the help of Amber Ruffin, Desus & Mero, Ziwe, Trevor Noah and more, Bill Carter analyzes late night’s bright, inclusive future as it shakes off a historical resistance to woman and the BIPOC community. To learn more about how CNN ...

The Politics

May 13, 2021

Modern late night TV serves as a number one news source for audiences who devour humorous but critical insights of American society and politics. With commentary from Trevor Noah, Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin, Sarah Cooper and others, Bill Carter maps out the journey that transformed much of late night from escapist entertainment to political satire. To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Publicly listed emails

podcasts@cnn.com

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