Stephen Colbert gets philosophical, personal, occasionally uncomfortable after turning The Late Show over to celebrity guest hosts

Tuesday's Late Show was a series of guests sitting at Stephen Colbert's desk and grilling him about everything from religion to key moments in his life. It was a fruitful experiment in late-night TV, especially interesting for fans of Colbert. Continuing his conversation with Jon Stewart, Colbert talked about the months-long, multi-stage process of stepping out from behind the characters he had seamlessly inhabited for a decade, most notably his Colbert Report alter-ego, to be himself on The Late Show.

Stewart and Colbert also discussed their favorite Old Testament figures, what it was like to go on David Letterman's Late Show, and how Colbert spontaneously reciting an allegorical poem about God and Satan is what it's actually like to hang out with Stephen Colbert.

When Neil deGrasse Tyson had his shot hosting the show, he also noted how "geeky" Colbert is in real life. "We've geeked out together a couple of times," he told Colbert. "We have a little geek bromance, I think." Colbert concurred, then demonstrated it.

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"We're definitely in the bad timeline right now," Colbert said when Tyson alluded to the age of President Trump. "This is the split universe," Tyson agreed. "There could be a universe where Trump is president and you are praising him. In the multiverse, that is a possible universe." "There is — in that one, I have an even worse drinking problem than I do in this one," Colbert joked. They ended with a discussion about faith versus science; Colbert looked more comfortable.

Colbert talked with guest host Kerry Washington about hope conquering despair, told host Jake Tapper the pivotal moment in his career, and looked slightly awkward when host Charlamagne tha God asked how he's "using your white privilege to combat prejudice and empower the black community." Watch below. Peter Weber