Listen to the best jokes from Stephen Colbert's Al Smith Dinner roast

Colbert gets in some zingers at Pope Francis, Cardinal Dolan, Mike Bloomberg, and...Chris Matthews?

Colbert roasts
(Image credit: Fox 5)

On Thursday night, Stephen Colbert gave the keynote address at the 68th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner in New York City, a Catholic black-tie charity dinner best known for the jokes and barbs traded by presidential candidates every four years. Previous Al Smith Dinner keynote speakers include not just presidents and presidential candidates but also British prime ministers, generals, top journalists, and titans of business.

Colbert, one of the few professional comedians tapped for the big speech — Bob Newhart spoke in 1999 and 1970, and Danny Thomas gave the address in 1978 — was quite a draw. This year's $1,500-a-plate dinner raised $3 million for needy children, the biggest haul for a year without a president giving the speech.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.