David Letterman on the Threats to Late-Night Hosts

Yesterday, Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show was suspended (theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/09/jimmy-…) indefinitely. It’s a shocking moment for free speech, given the order in which events unfolded. Earlier that day, FCC Chair Brendan Carr had suggested on a conservative podcast that ABC and its affiliates consider taking steps against Kimmel, saying, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

As it so happened, the late-night legend David Letterman was scheduled to speak at The Atlantic Festival (theatlantic.com/theatlanticfestival) the next day. Letterman and The Atlantic’s editor in chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, sat down for an impromptu interview about the news.

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