Stephen Colbert’s decade-old lesson on navigating uncertainty is more relevant than ever

One of the most polarizing discussions online was about whether the color of a striped dress was blue and black or white and gold. The class of 2015 was graduating into an election year. And Stephen Colbert was just gearing up to become the host of “The Late Show.” Now, polarization online looks a bit different, the class of 2026 is stepping into a country led by the same president who won in 2016, and global conflict and AI have transformed the economy and job market. And last night, the final episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” aired on CBS. Back in 2015—long before booing commencement speakers for peddling AI was the norm— Colbert gave the graduating class at Wake Forest University a few pointers on how to handle a future filled with what he called a “dark chasm of yawning uncertainty.” “It is my responsibility, as a commencement speaker, to prepare you for what awaits you in the future,” Colbert told the crowd during his commencement address. “Here it is. No one has any idea what’s going to happen—not even Elon Musk. That’s why he’s building those rockets. He wants a ‘Plan B’ on another world.” At the time, Colbert was just navigating his own version of that uncertainty. After years of playing a caricature on “The Colbert Report,” he was about to reinvent himself in front of a national audience as the host of “The Late Show.” “I just spent many years learning to do one thing really well,” Colbert said. “I got so comfortable with that place, that role, those responsibilities, that it came to define how I saw myself. But now that part of my life is over.” “It’s time to say goodbye to the person we’ve become, we’ve worked so hard to perfect, and to make some crucial decisions […] For me, I’ll have to figure out how to do an hour-long show every night,” Colbert said. “And you, at some point, will have to sleep,” he added jokingly. “I am told the Adderrall wears off eventually.” Co