This is from the November 9, 2004 program.

Daily Show Interview With Richard Branson (14 MB)

This interview gets really interesting when Jon asks Branson to sponsor a contest to invent something to "get us off the internal combustion engine."

BTW: Branson said he would do it! He also seemed rather preoccupied with the prospect for the rest of the interview. Let's try to hold him to it!

Here's a partial transcript:

Stewart: "What about this: putting up a prize for somebody to invent something to get us off the internal combustion engine? What do you think of that? Get uh, like an X prize type of thing like they did with space travel."

Branson: "Hmmm."

Stewart: "What do you think of that?"

Branson: "That makes a lot of sense."

Stewart: "It does?"

Branson laughs.

Stewart: "How 'bout giving me some seed money?"

Branson: (leans back...) "Um. Okay."

Stewart: "What do you think of that? You could set this thing up, and people could..it'd be like a private industry thing. There's gotta be a way. I mean, we can fake diamonds."

Branson: "Um hmmm."

Stewart: "There's gotta be a way we can make fake oil or something. You know what I'm saying? It's just carbon for god's sakes."

Branson: "Water."

Stewart: "Water? An engine that runs on water? Set up a prize!"

Branson: "Well I've just given you the answer. So I want the money."

Stewart: "Or you're gonna do it?"

Branson: "No..WATER?"

Stewart: "Cars run on water?"

Branson: "Yeah. They could do."

Stewart: "What on hydroelectric cells or something?"

Branson: "Something like that. I don't know. I'm trying to get my money back."

Stewart: "I'm telling you something. This could be a great thing."

Branson: "Okay."

Stewart: "Seed money."

Branson: "Alright. Would everybody chip in here?"

Stewart: "YOUR the billionaire!"

Branson: "Alright."

Link to zip file of all November 9, 2004 clips. (39 MB)

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