You also talk a lot about being an outsider — because you’re biracial, because you had an abusive stepfather — which informed your solitary nature. Which came first? My life began in a solitary fashion because of the world I was in: I couldn’t play in the streets because my grandmother and mother could get arrested. I couldn’t be known. I became used to being an outsider, which isn’t the worst thing in the world. It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy what is on the inside, but it means you always maintain a mind-set that keeps you within your own space.

You and I share a deep appreciation for “The Chronicles of Narnia,” which, for me, captured a certain adolescent desire to step into another world. It was also the desire to step into a world where your weirdness was normal. All of a sudden, you step into a world where all the things you were not make you who you are. In Narnia, you’re weird, but everyone is weird.

But you’ve clearly learned how to be adept at fitting in to various situations — you describe yourself as a chameleon throughout the book. Have you ever surprised yourself with your ability to adapt? “The Daily Show” is probably the biggest challenge that I’ve been working toward my entire life without even realizing it: I’m in a position where you are fundamentally against what many people believe. I had people — you know, people who are Democrats, fans of the old show — saying things like, “Go back to Djibouti, we want Jon Stewart back.” I knew liberal hatred existed, but I didn’t think it would come to me. I had to quell that feeling that people have lost what is theirs.

Do you feel that your job is to transform yourself into someone as unthreatening as possible? Yeah. Part of the job was to help people see that you have a bit of that color in yourself. Hey, there’s a bit of you in me. I’m not coming from a world where I don’t see you. If you look carefully, you’ll see yourself in me and what I’m saying.