Paul Ryan has Jewish ancestry, and Stephen Colbert has some questions — and a delicate offer

Stephen Colbert has an offer for Paul Ryan

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

House Speaker Paul Ryan took a DNA test for the PBS show Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr., and on Wednesday's Late Show, Stephen Colbert said he "assumed the most shocking they'd find is that Ryan's great grandparents were Eddie Munster and Grover. But, it turns out, they found something way more unexpected: Surprise! Paul Ryan's slightly Jewish." Colbert had mixed feelings. "Haven't the Jewish people suffered enough?" he asked. "The Anti-Defamation League has already responded, saying: 'What?! Run the tests again!'"

Colbert had "one burning question" for Ryan, and it involves circumcision, "the price of admission" to the Jewish faith. And he had an offer that Ryan is sure to refuse: "Think of it this way, Paul: The foreskin is only 1 percent of the penis — and we know how much you love cuts for the 1 percent."

Colbert also invited economist Paul Krugman to explain global macroeconomic theory while riding a terrifying roller coaster. "If that sounds like fun to you, then you're not Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman," he said. It turns out it was Krugman's first-ever roller coaster ride, and you can watch and learn below. Peter Weber

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

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.