The Colin McEnroe Show

How reality TV shapes our politics

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 16:00:00 +0000

How does reality television shape our politics and our opinions? This hour two reality TV scholars join us to discuss how reality TV helps us understand (or sometimes misunderstand) actual reality.

GUESTS:

Danielle Lindemann: Professor of Sociology at Lehigh University and a Visiting Professor in Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University. She is also the author of the book True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us.
Eunji Kim: Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University and Faculty Affiliate at the Data Science Institute. Her new book is The American Mirage: How Reality TV Upholds the Myth of Meritocracy.

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Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on July 24, 2025.

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From Mr. Rogers to Minneapolis, what does it mean to be a 'neighbor'?

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 19:30:37 +0000

Do you know your neighbors? This hour, we take a look at the role of our neighbors in our lives. We explore the psychological and social benefits of neighbors, hear listener stories, and discuss the role of neighbors in times of crisis. Plus, a look at "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" and how he thought about neighbors and community building.

GUESTS:

Julie Beck: Staff writer at The Atlantic and the creator of “The Friendship Files.”
Tricia Wachtendorf: Director of the Disaster Research Center and a Professor of Sociology at the University of Delaware. She is also co-author of American Dunkirk: The Waterborne Evacuation of Manhattan on 9/11
Daniel Cueto-Villalobos: Sociologist and doctoral candidate at the University of Minnesota
Maxwell King: Author of The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers. His forthcoming book is Fire in the Night Sky: The Steel Mill Paintings of Aaron Gorson

Music featured (in order):

Then Your Heart is Full of Love – Johnny Costa
Neighbors – Lucius
The People Next Door – Ray Parker Jr.
Rescue Me – Fontella Bass
No One Is Alone – Into the Woods 2022 Broadway Cast
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Fred Rogers, Johnny Costa
from ep. 1765 “Mister Rogers Celebrates the Arts”
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – Benny Benack III

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What is the role of faith leaders right now?

Tue, 03 Mar 2026 19:15:33 +0000

This hour we convene a roundtable of faith leaders to ask: what is their role right now? How is it changing?

GUESTS:

A.J. Johnson: Pastor at the Urban Hope Refuge Church in Hartford. He is also Director for Neighborhood Organizing at the Center for Leadership and Justice, and Deputy Chaplain to the Connecticut House of Representatives
Sierra Fox: Cantor for Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden
Sister Mary Ellen Burns: Executive Director and Attorney at Apostle Immigrant Services
Hierald Osorto: Senior Pastor at Saint Paul Lutheran Church/Iglesia Lutheran San Pablo in Minnesota

Music Featured (in order):

Montgomery Variations (I. Decision) – Margaret Bonds
Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around – The Holy Lights
Woke Up This Morning With My Mind on Freedom – Sweet Honey in the Rock
CUT FOR TIME Prayer for Peace (Ose Shalom) – The New York Cantors
Anima Christi – Mary Lou Williams
Calling All Angels – Jane Siberry w/ k.d. lang
Song of a Bernadette – Jennifer Warnes

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All Calls: Mr. Picky wants to be a pirate, not a cowboy

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 20:20:36 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Iran, the second Iraq war, Vietnam, would you rather be a cowboy or a pirate?, The Boston Dad, Little Bosses Everywhere: How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America by Bridget Read, David Greenberg … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Music Featured (in order):

Only So Much Oil In The Ground – Tower of Power
Masters of War – Joan Osborne
My Muse – Leon Thomas
Something Serious – Bruno Mars
I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart – Alice Babs (1% Swedish Content)
Hey Mister – Ray Charles
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding – Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, Sarah Potenza

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘The Secret Agent’ and ‘Network’

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 20:36:36 +0000

The Secret Agent (O agento secreto) is a neo-noir political thriller written and directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho. It’s set in Brazil in 1977, and it’s currently nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best International Feature Film, and Best Actor in a Leading Role for its star, Wagner Moura.

And: Network is a satirical comedy-drama written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Sidney Lumet. It was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and it won four, including Best Actor in a Leading Role for Peter Finch, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Faye Dunaway, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Beatrice Straight, and Best Original Screenplay for Chayefsky. It is one of just three movies that have ever won three of the four acting Oscars. Network celebrates its 50th anniversary later this year.

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast
Lindsay Lee Wallace: A writer and journalist covering culture, health, technology, bats, and anything else people will answer her questions about
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

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A look at the art of casting

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 19:28:54 +0000

This year’s Academy Awards will include the first-ever Oscar for Achievement in Casting. It’s the first new category in 25 years, since Best Animated Feature was added in 2001 (which inaugural award was won by Shrek).

Casting, though, is seen as kind of an illusive, inscrutable art form. We feel like we can separate out the writing and the editing and the costuming and the directing from a thing. But the cast kind of IS the thing a lot of the time, right? It’s kind of inextricable from the thing, it feels like.

This hour: a look at the art of casting.

GUESTS:

Mellini Kantayya: An actor and writer and the author of Actor. Writer. Whatever. (essays on my rise to the top of the bottom of the entertainment industry)
John Frank Levey: A four-time Emmy Award-winning casting director and the author of Right for the Role: Breakdowns, Breakups and Breakthroughs from 35 Years of Casting Iconic TV Shows
Connor Ratliff: An actor, writer, and comedian and the creator and host of Dead Eyes
Michael Schulman: A staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Overture – The Producers
Climbing Uphill – Anna Kendrick
Everybody Plays the Fool – the Main Ingredient
Audition – Jethro Tull
Broadway Baby – Ethel Shutta
Everything’s Coming Up Roses – Bernadette Peters

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All Calls: You had me at consciousness.

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 19:20:03 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to sneezing, the state of the union address, losers and losing, consciousness, Michael Pollan, local radio, possible conflict with Iran, the A.I. Brad Pitt fighting Tom Cruise video … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Don’t Let The World Pass You By – Jean-Luc Ponty
S’posin’ – Champian Fulton, Bria Skonberg
Easy to Love – Jordan Rakei, Tom McFarland
Beat Yourself Up – Charlie Puth
Hard to Say – Chris Morrissey, Norah Jones
Oh Qué Será? – Willie Colon
We’re Still Here – Alan Doyle

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A refresher on your rights and why they’re worth fighting for

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:13:42 +0000

This hour, we look at what rights individuals and protesters have. And we ask: are our rights changing? And what can we do about that?

Plus, we take a look at what rights we have online, and what we should know about digital surveillance and privacy.

GUESTS:

Dan Barrett: American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut's legal director
Dahlia Lithwick: Writes about the courts and the law for Slate and hosts the podcast "Amicus". She is the author of Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America
Cindy Cohn: Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Her forthcoming book is Privacy's Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Cálice – Chico Buarque & Milton Nascimento
Student Demonstration Time – The Beach Boys
Is It Because I’m Black – Syl Johnson
What’s Goin’ On – Marvin Gaye
The People Have the Power – Patti Smith
The Veil – Peter Gabriel

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Alissa Wilkinson on Joan Didion, Hollywood, and American mythmaking

Mon, 23 Feb 2026 15:00:00 +0000

This hour, author and film critic Alissa Wilkinson joins us to talk about Joan Didion, Hollywood, and how we make sense of our politics.

GUEST:

Alissa Wilkinson: Movie critic at The New York Times. Her latest book is We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on July 10, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Love, revenge, moors: why we’re haunted by ‘Wuthering Heights’

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 19:18:10 +0000

Is Wuthering Heights “the greatest love story of all time?” Or is it a tale of hate, violence, and vengeance? Or maybe a gothic satire?

This hour we look at Emily Brontë’s novel and how it was received when it was published in 1847.

Plus, a look at the highest-grossing movie of the year so far — Emerald Fennell’s loosely adapted “Wuthering Heights” — and how it stacks up against other retellings.

GUESTS:

Richard Brody: The movies editor for Goings On About Town at The New Yorker
Claire O’Callaghan: Editor-in-chief of Brontë Studies and the author of Emily Brontë Reappraised
Irene Papoulis: Taught writing for a long time at Trinity College

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Wuthering Heights – Cecile McLorin Salvant
Wuthering Heights – Kate Bush
I Am Stretched on Your Grave – Eithne Ni Uallachain
Out of Myself – Charli xcx
Chains of Love – Charli xcx
As Time Goes By – Julie London

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The animating power of rivers with writer Robert Macfarlane

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:00:00 +0000

What would it mean if we treated rivers as alive? That's the question that nature writer Robert Macfarlane wrestles with in his latest book. What would happen if we took that aliveness seriously? How would we know what a river would want? Who would speak for it? These are questions that communities around the world are dealing with as they work to figure out how to protect rivers and the ecosystems that rely on them. This hour, Macfarlane joins us to talk about his book, Is a River Alive?, and the stories we tell about the natural world.

GUEST:

Robert Macfarlane: Writer whose books include Underland: A Deep Time Journey, The Lost Words: A Spell Book, and The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot. His new book is Is a River Alive?

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Dylan Reyes, and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show, which originally aired on June 11, 2025.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shedding light on the mystery of Mary

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 19:14:55 +0000

Biblical scholar James Tabor says that Mary – the mother of Jesus – is “the best known, least known woman in history.” This hour, we’ll get to know Mary a little better and talk about why some people are obsessed with preserving her purity at the expense of her humanity. And, we talk with (The Reverend) Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones from Emory University about Mary mythology, Black Madonnas and the myriad ways Mary is depicted in art and culture.

GUESTS:

James D. Tabor is a biblical scholar, and a retired professor of religious studies at the University Of North Carolina at Charlotte. He’s the author of The Lost Mary: Rediscovering the Mother of Jesus.
(The Rev.) Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones is Assistant Professor of Theology and Africana Studies at Emory University. She’s a constructive theologian and scholar of Black religion specializing in Mariology, Black feminist and womanist thought, and theological anthropology. She’s the author of Immaculate Misconceptions: A Black Mariology.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Mary On A Cross – Ghost
Along Comes Mary – The Association
The Wind Cries Mary – Jimi Hendrix
Mary Rock the Baby – Jarell Smalls
Like a Prayer – Madonna
Lady Madonna (Theme from Grace Under Fire) – Aretha Franklin
Mary, Did You Know? – The Braxtons

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyoon-Aitken and Dylan Reyes contributed to this episode.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Name a musician who is not from Connecticut

Tue, 17 Feb 2026 20:36:54 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls, calls about anything, everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

This hour, the conversation winds around to musicians, politics, jobs, journalism, planning for the future … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

The World Is A Ghetto – George Benson
Desire – Kurt Elling, WDR Big Band
Sambadouro – Ivan Lins
Kindness Isn’t Common Sense – Katie Pruitt
In the Still of the Night – Lauren Henderson, Sullivan Fortner
Bags (Live at Electric Lady Studios) – Clairo
CUT FOR TIME Blues Be Gone – Hayes Carll
Next Spring – Lucy Yeghiazaryan

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The Nose looks at ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ and ‘Hamnet’

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 19:52:42 +0000

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the third series in the A Song of Ice and Fire television franchise. It is set about 90 years before Game of Thrones and almost 80 years after House of the Dragon. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is created by Ira Parker and George R. R. Martin and based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg series of novellas by Martin.

And: Hamnet is the fifth feature film written and directed by Chloé Zhao. The screenplay is by Zhao and Maggie O’Farrell and based on O’Farrell’s 2020 novel. It stars Jessie Buckley as Agnes and Paul Mescal as her husband, Will Shakespeare. Hamnet is nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and the director of marketing at Washington Montessori School
Taneisha Duggan: Director of arts, culture, and entertainment for the city of Hartford
Tracy Wu Fastenberg: Associate vice president for development at Connecticut Children’s

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Bonny Sweet Boy – Les Witches
What Do the Simple Folk Do? – Camelot
Main Title (from the HBO Series Game of Thrones) – Ramin Djawadi
Ophelia – The Lumineers
On the Nature of Daylight – Max Richter
See You On The Radio – Grayson Hugh

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why whistles are becoming the symbol of the moment

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 19:16:49 +0000

Whistles have become a protest symbol, from the streets of Minnesota to the Grammys red carpet. This hour, we look at how whistles are being used by organizers across the country to alert communities about ICE presence. Plus, we discuss ancient whistles and talk about whistleblowers, why they step forward, and the costs of doing so.

GUESTS:

Trevor Mitchell: Senior Metro Reporter for "MinnPost"
Sean Hollister: Senior editor at "The Verge"
Jessica MacLellan: Anthropological archaeologist interested in ritual, household archaeology, ceramics, and the development of complex societies in Mesoamerica. She is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Wake Forest University
Carl Elliott: Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota. His most recent book is The Occasional Human Sacrifice: Medical Experimentation and the Price of Saying No

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

The Foggy Dew – Dicky Deegan
Right By Your Side – Eurythmics
Lonesome Whistle – Little Feat
Crossing Over Into the Spirit World – Xavier Quijas Yxayaotl
The Whistle Song – Frankie Knuckles
Whistleblower – maryjo

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The wonder of termites

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 16:41:54 +0000

Nobody likes termites. They get into the wood in our homes and can lead to infuriating and expensive repairs. What’s to like?

It turns out, there’s a lot to like about termites. Scientists study how they build their mounds for clues to solving some of the world’s most pressing problems, like mitigating the effects of drought, building colonies on Mars, and creating biofuels.

Plus, their ability to adapt to the harshest conditions over millions of years says a lot about them. Almost 90% of the microbes found in their guts are unique to the termite. Those same gut microbes are what make them so productive and, on the flip side, so destructive.

Lastly, some believe termites work with joy and have a soul. You be the judge.

GUESTS:

Jennifer Dacey: An entomologist and a wildlife biologist and integrated pest management technician in the UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture
Lisa Margonelli: Author of Underbug: An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology
Mick Pearce: An architect

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Lydia Brown, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired August 29, 2018.

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A look at the Kennedy Center, the Melania luxury brand, and more

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 20:14:14 +0000

On February 1, President Trump announced that The Kennedy Center would close for two years for “Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding” (capitalization sic). Washington Post art and architecture critic Philip Kennicott sees this as an existential threat to the Center.

And: New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman thinks everyone has been misunderstanding the Melania documentary from the get go. It’s less an actual movie, she says, and more the launch of the Melania luxury brand.

And finally: Don Glickman was a design professor. He had retired in the late 1990s, and he died last year at 94. And then some people started getting postcards from him — charming, amusing, perfectly Glickmanian postcards.

GUESTS:

Vanessa Friedman: Fashion director and chief fashion critic of The New York Times
Philip Kennicott: Senior art and architecture critic at The Washington Post
Sydney Page: Staff reporter at The Washington Post, where she writes for The Optimist

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Take Care of This House – Cynthia Erivo, Leonard Bernstein
ALT Take Care of This House – Frederica von Stade, Leonard Bernstein
Regrets – Ben Folds Five
Two Hearts on a Post Card – Vance Dolan
I Really Like You – Carly Rae Jepsen
I Got My Brand on You – Muddy Waters, Otis Spann

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: The fleeting joy of waking up in the United States of Bunny

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 19:17:15 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to the rule of law, the Epstein files, the economy, the Green Bay Packers, Gilmore Girls … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

CAFé CON RON – Bad Bunny, Los Pleneros de la Cresta
The Obvious Child (Nashville) – I’m With Her
No More Lies – Thundercat, Tame Impala
Somethin’ Stupid – Norah Jones, Josh Homme
Patchwork – Charlotte Day Wilson
Cherry Tree – Lera Lynn
Whiiiplash – Brik.Liam CUT FOR TIME
Out Here – Gareth Donkin

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The Nose tries to figure out how to deal with … all this

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 21:37:40 +0000

Whatever your politics, the last month or so has been … a lot.

This hour, The Nose looks at how we’re all using pop culture (or not) to deal with all the news — to cope, to escape, to process.

Plus, a look at how well (or not) our pop culture has been meeting the moment lately.

GUESTS:

RS Benedict: A writer and bureaucrat whose fiction and non-fiction has been published in the New Haven Review, Fangoria, Current Affairs, and a bunch of other places
Sam Hadelman: Director of public relations at Dark Matter Media
Rich Hollant: The founder and principal of CO:LAB, a hall of fame designer, and a co-partner at CENTER
Mercy Quaye: Founder and president of The Narrative Project
Lindsay Lee Wallace: A writer and journalist covering culture, health, technology, bats, and anything else people will answer her questions about
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down – Margo Price
How Much Did You Get for Your Soul – Lucinda Williams
Winter in America – Gil Scott-Heron
Let the Mystery Be – Iris Dement
The Olympics – Jesse Welles
See You On The Radio – Grayson Hugh

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What counts as 'classical music'?

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 19:51:20 +0000

The term "classical music" includes a wide variety of music and artists. This hour we take a look at what that category really means. We celebrate the form and help you figure out how to start listening to the genre.

Plus, how video game music is bringing new listeners to classical music and live orchestras.

GUESTS:

Matthew Aucoin: American composer, conductor, writer, pianist, and a 2018 MacArthur Fellow. He is author of “The Impossible Art: Adventures in Opera” and is co-founder of the American Modern Opera Company. His opera “Euridyce” was produced by the Metropolitan Opera in 2021, making him the youngest composer in nearly a century to have an opera produced by The Met
Arianna Warsaw-Fan Rauch: Author of “Declassified: A Low-Key Guide to the High-Strung World of Classical Music”. She is also a violinist who has performed in venues around the world
Carolyn Kuan: Music Director of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. In 2025, she led the acclaimed world premiere of Huang Ruo’s "The Monkey King" at San Francisco Opera. Her recording of Huang Ruo’s "An American Soldier" with the American Composers Orchestra received a 2026 Grammy nomination
J. Aaron Hardwick: An internationally active professional conductor, professor of music at Wake Forest University, and Director of the Wake Forest University Symphony Orchestra, recognized for his work in classical and contemporary repertoire and innovative orchestral programming, including video game music

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Symphony No. 5 I. Trauermarsch – Gustav Mahler, Claudio Abbado, Berlin Philharmonic
21 Hungarian Dances No. 5 – Johannes Brahms, Claudio Abbado, Berlin Philharmonic
Revolucion Diamantina Act IV: Speaking the unspeakable – Gabriela Ortiz, Gustavo Dudamel, LA Phil
Don’t Look Down I. Hammerspace – Christopher Cerrone, Sandbox Percussion
Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter” IV. Molto Allegro – W.A. Mozart, Seiji Ozawa, Mito Chamber Orchestra
String Quartet No. 8 II. Allegro molto – Dmitri Shostakovich, Dover Quartet
6 Bagatelles for Wind Quintet III. Allegro grazioso – Gyorgy Ligeti, Claudio Abbado, Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Felix Mendelssohn, Seiji Ozawa, Boston Symphony Orchestra
An American Soldier Act II Scene 1: Hey Danny – Huang Ruo, Carolyn Kuan, American Composers' Orchestra
Hi – Caroline Shaw CUT FOR TIME
The Monkey King Act II Scene 3 – Huang Ruo, Carolyn Kuan, San Francisco Opera
Tears of the Kingdom Main Theme – Manaka Kataoka
Temple of Time Theme Montage – The Legend of Zelda
- NES (1986) Style – Loeder Music
- Ocarina of Time (1998) – Koji Kondo
- Breath of the Wild (2017) – Yasuaki Iwata
Planetrise – Inon Zur (Starfield)
Lumiere – Lorien Testard (Clair Obscur: Expedition 33) CUT FOR TIME
Atsu’s Theme – Toma Otowa (Ghost of Yōtei) CUT FOR TIME
The Perfect Wave – Austin Wintory

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All calls: You caught me mid-Burger

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:34:32 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to Vice President JD Vance, making “gift” a verb, space launches, homeschooling, making friends across political lines, social media … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Ready to Let You Down — JOSEPH
Heart of America – Willie Nelson
La Lune S’en Va – Inara George
Moonshadow – Nils Landgren, Swedish Radio Orchestra
Beautiful People – Jill Scott
Who Knows – Daniel Caesar
City of Heroes – Billy Bragg

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Nothing lasts forever, except maybe Stoicism

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Lately the ancient philosophy of Stoicism is having a bit of a resurgence. This hour we learn about the philosophy, why people are drawn to it, and how to live like a Stoic. Plus, we look at how Stoicism appears in music.

GUESTS:

Massimo Pigliucci: The K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He is the author of books including Beyond Stoicism: A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers, How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life, and Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk. He also writes the Substack “Figs in Winter: Stoicism and Beyond.”
Melinda Latour: Associate Professor of Musicology at Tufts University. She is author of The Voice of Virtue: Moral Song and the Practice of French Stoicism, 1574-1652. She is also editor of The Relentless Pursuit of Tone: Timbre in Popular Music.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Dylan Reyes, and Coco Cooley contributed to this show, which originally aired on July 9, 2025.

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The Nose looks at ‘The Night Manager’ and ‘Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!’

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 17:13:41 +0000

The Night Manager is a British spy thriller TV series based on the novel by John le Carré and adapted by David Farr. The first season aired in 2016. And the second season, which premiered nearly 10 years later in early 2026, is expected to conclude this weekend. The Night Manager stars Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, and Olivia Colman.

And: Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! is a two-part HBO docuseries directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio. It’s the third two-part HBO docuseries directed by Apator and Bonfiglio, after The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling and George Carlin’s American Dream. According to HBO, Mel Brooks “explores the life and nearly century-long career of one of Hollywood’s most daring satirists.” It includes the final onscreen interviews with Rob Reiner and David Lynch.

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress and comedian; she’s the founder and director of CONNetic Dance and the creative producer and choreographer for The Bushnell’s Digital Institute
Irene Papoulis: Taught writing for a long time at Trinity College
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Spies Like Us – Paul McCartney
The Night Manager Main Titles – Victor Reyes
Springtime for Hitler – Mel Brooks, John Morris
SpaceBalls – John Morris, The Spinners
See You On The Radio – Grayson Hugh

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Historian Joanne Freeman on reckoning with where we are and where we want to be

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 20:55:15 +0000

Earlier this month, Yale historian Joanne Freeman began a nightly video series called "A Few Thoughts for Those Who Can't Sleep." Most nights she goes live on YouTube and talks about the news of the day, historical context for it, and the value of building community, as the comments swell in around her. This hour, Freeman joins us to share a few thoughts about the latest news, empathy, history, and America 250.

GUEST:

Joanne Freeman: Alan Boles, Class of 1929 Professor of History at Yale University. Her most recent book is “The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

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Do you hear the people sing? A celebration of protest songs

Wed, 28 Jan 2026 19:26:35 +0000

Protest music is taking over TikTok. This hour we look at what's going on, and we hear from an artist about why she writes and performs protest songs. Plus, a discussion about what counts as a protest song and a brief look through the history of the genre, from "Strange Fruit" and "This Land is Your Land" to today.

GUESTS:

Renee Koma: A musician who goes by Renee Christine. Her latest album is “Appalachia"
Isabella Gomez Sarmiento: A reporter with NPR Music
Dorian Lynskey: Journalist and author of multiple books, including "33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs, from Billie Holiday to Green Day". His most recent is “Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World”. He is also co-host of the "Origin Story" podcast

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Tudo O Que Você Podia Se – Milton Nascimento
Lehigh Valley – Renee Christine
The Bomb – Renee Christine
Turtle Island – Renee Christine
No Kings – Earth to Eve
Heavy Foot – Mon Rovia
War isn’t Murder – Jesse Welles
Tonada Por Ella – Rawayana
Kalaallit Nunaat, Kalaallit Pigaat – Kalaallit
Strange Fruit – Nina Simone
Ohio – Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
This Land Is Your Land – Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings
Say Her Name (Hell You Talmbout) – Janelle Monae

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All calls: Fishing for an invite to a peaceful protest potluck

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:12:22 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Minneapolis, Greenland, the late Bob Weir, cool names among public radio’s on-air talent, AI overview on Google and elsewhere … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

I Work in a Warehouse – Blake Porter
Self Deprecating Blues – Tyler Miller
Pure Magic – Akira the Don, Alan Watts
Jeans (fall on my knees) – Katie Tupper
Vivid Light – Blood Orange
America’s Daughter – May Erlewine
Field Song – Mon Rovia

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The romance of the north

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 17:00:00 +0000

It's cold, snowy winters like this that make us question why we choose to live in a place where snow, sleet, and wind define one-third of the year. It's a great excuse to complain, but does it also make us stronger and better people?

This hour, we explore the idea of "northmanship." We talk about what it means to be from the north and to be inspired by the north. Is there a connection that we make to truth and beauty? Are we obsessed with it because it's slowly disappearing?

GUESTS:

Michael Robinson: Author, Department of Humanities Chair and Professor of History at University of Hartford
Luanne Rice: Author of more than 30 novels
Mary Ehrlander: Late Professor Emeritus of History at University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Halla Oskarsdottir: Icelandic journalist, columnist and book critic

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Julia Pistell and Chion Wolf contributed to this program, which originally aired March 5, 2015.

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The Nose looks at ‘Song Sung Blue’ and ‘Merrily We Roll Along’

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 19:50:04 +0000

Song Sung Blue is a musical biopic written and directed by Craig Brewer and based on a documentary of the same name. It tells the true story of a Neil Diamond tribute act, Lightning & Thunder. Hugh Jackman plays Lightning, and Kate Hudson was just nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her turn as Thunder.

And: Merrily We Roll Along is a filmed version of the 2023 Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s 1981 problem musical. It stars Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez, and the Broadway production won four Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
Jacques Lamarre: A playwright, and chief communications officer at Buzz Engine
Carolyn Paine: An actress and comedian; she’s the founder and director of CONNetic Dance and the creative producer and choreographer for The Bushnell’s Digital Institute
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Soolaimón / Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show – Hugh Jackman
Cherry Cherry – Hugh Jackman ft. Kate Hudson
Merrily We Roll Along – From the Movie (2023 version linked, very similar)
Old Friends – From the Movie (2023 version linked, very similar)
See You On The Radio – Grayson Hugh

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Kalaallit Nunaat: An exploration of Greenland

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 20:22:36 +0000

Greenland is the largest island in the world. Its landmass accounts for 95% of the Kingdom of Denmark, but it’s 80% covered in ice sheet.

Greenland takes up roughly the same area as Alaska and California combined, while its population is roughly the same size as the population of … West Haven, Connecticut.

Oh, and you may have noticed that Greenland has been in the news a bit lately.

This hour: an exploration of Greenland.

GUESTS:

Elizabeth Buchanan: The author, most recently, of So You Want To Own Greenland? Lessons from the Vikings to Trump
Simon Lynge: A Greenlandic-Danish singer-songwriter

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Asaneqarneq – Julie Berthelsen
We Are the Arctic – Small Time Giants
Tider (edit) – Nuuk Posse
Kalaallit Nunaat, Kalaallit Pigaat – Kalaallit
The Future (performed live for the show) – Simon Lynge
Age of Distraction – Simon Lynge

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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All calls: Fear and present danger: Listeners react to Trump’s obsession with Greenland

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 19:21:45 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to politics, Greenland, President Trump, hope, fear … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

United States of Whatever – Liam Lynch
Eyeball – They Might Be Giants
RIP Romeo – Mariachi el Bronx
My Very Own Ride – Kurt Elling, WDR Big Band
Pass Me Not – Ron Carter, Ricky Diller
Michael – Alison Brown, Steve Martin (ft. Aofie O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz)
Lift Every Voice And Sing – Kirk Franklin

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From totes to Birkins, handbags hold the keys to the world (along with your wallet and phone)

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000

For many of us, handbags are an essential part of our lives. They allow us to leave the house with everything we need, and they also can be another place to show off our status or style. This hour, we look at the evolution of the handbag. We'll talk about famous "It Bags", how handbags contributed to human development, and the impact of the Walmart "Birkin."

GUESTS:

Nancy MacDonell: Fashion journalist and fashion historian. She writes the Wall Street Journal column "Fashion with a Past.” Her new book is Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion
Hannah Carlson: Senior Lecturer in the Apparel Department at the Rhode Island School of Design. She’s also the author of Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close
Audrey Wollen: Book critic and writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The New York Review of Books and other outlets. Her article “A Unified Theory of the Handbag” recently appeared in The Yale Review
Aarushi Bhandari: An Assistant Professor of Sociology at Davidson College. Her new book is Attention and Alienation

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on June 4, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The Nose looks at ‘Marty Supreme’ and ‘Good Night, and Good Luck.: Live on Broadway’

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 19:40:49 +0000

Marty Supreme is the first movie written and directed by Josh Safdie without his former filmmaking partner, his brother Benny Safdie. It is a sports comedy-drama-thriller about a professional ping pong player played by Timothée Chalamet, who just won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy.

And: Good Night, and Good Luck.: Live on Broadway is the recorded version of the live television broadcast of the stage version of the 2005 film mostly about the production of a live television show. Like the movie, it is written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, with Clooney this time starring as Edward R. Murrow. The play was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Actor in a Play for Clooney.

GUESTS:

Xandra Ellin: Produces The Global Story for the BBC
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast
Irene Papoulis: Taught writing for a long time at Trinity College

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

I Have the Touch – Peter Gabriel
Change – Tears for Fears
When I Fall In Love - Georgia Heers
How High The Moon - Georgia Heers
See You On The Radio – Grayson Hugh

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A look at human stupidity, from Socrates to today

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 19:27:16 +0000

Are we as a population getting dumber? How would we know if we were? This hour: stupidity. We’ll look at the history and philosophy of stupidity, and explore how it shows up in our daily lives and politics.

GUESTS:

Lane Brown: Features writer for New York Magazine, who recently wrote "A Theory of Dumb"
Stuart Jeffries: Journalist and author. His new book is A Short History of Stupidity
Shannon Mancus: Teaching Professor and Associate Department Head in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Department at the Colorado School of Mines. You can follow Dr. Shan on Instagram and Substack at “Pop Smart Media”

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Able Sisters – Animal Crossing New Leaf OST
Manchild – Sabrina Carpenter
Dumb All Over – Frank Zappa
Get Stupid – Aston Merrygold
How Sweet to Be an Idiot – Neil Innes
Idiot Wind – Bob Dylan

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Two thumbs up: A show all about fingers

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 18:25:00 +0000

Touch, grip, read, dance, gesture — what can’t they do? Our fingers are so vital to our everyday life, sometimes it seems they have minds of their own.

This hour, a look at the hidden language of finger gestures, the future of Braille, and the joys and challenges of animating fingers for the movies.

GUESTS:

Kensy Cooperrider: Cognitive scientist, writer, and host of the Many Minds podcast
Jonathan McNicol: Producer of The Colin McEnroe Show
Sile O’Modhrain: Professor at the University of Michigan studying sound and touch and the ways in which they interact
Carlos Fernandez Puertolas: Animator with DreamWorks

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 31, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Boomy babers are the ones who worry about the mail

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 19:38:23 +0000

Touch, grip, read, dance, gesture — what can’t they do? Our fingers are so vital to our everyday life, sometimes it seems they have minds of their own.

This hour, a look at the hidden language of finger gestures, the future of Braille, and the joys and challenges of animating fingers for the movies.

GUESTS:

Kensy Cooperrider: Cognitive scientist, writer, and host of the Many Minds podcast
Jonathan McNicol: Producer of The Colin McEnroe Show
Sile O’Modhrain: Professor at the University of Michigan studying sound and touch and the ways in which they interact
Carlos Fernandez Puertolas: Animator with DreamWorks

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 31, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The value of expertise in a world where everybody knows everything

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000

What is the status of expertise in our world? This hour we look at the so called "death of expertise." We talk about the role of experts throughout society. Plus, we learn how to master a skill, and the joy of trying.

GUESTS:

Tom Nichols: Staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters. He is also a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, and a five-time undefeated Jeopardy champion
Alan Dove: Science journalist and co-host of the podcast This Week in Virology
Adam Gopnik: Staff writer for The New Yorker. He is the author of The Real Work: On The Mystery of Mastery, among other books

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 22, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose catches up on some of the 2025 movies it had missed

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 21:00:31 +0000

This hour, America’s Greatest Living Film Critic, David Edelstein, joins us to look back at the year in movies that was 2025.

Plus, The Nose tries to catch up on some of the awards-season movies it’s missed — movies like After the Hunt, Cover-Up, It Was Just an Accident, Jay Kelly, Sentimental Value, Train Dreams, and more.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Sam Hadelman: Director of public relations at Dark Matter Media
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress and comedian; she’s the founder and director of CONNetic Dance and the creative producer and choreographer for The Bushnell’s Digital Institute
Irene Papoulis: Taught writing for a long time at Trinity College
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

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The humble fly

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 16:39:54 +0000

There are thought to be about 17 million living flies for every human alive on Earth.

They’re predators and parasites and pests, but they’re pollinators too. They help us solve crimes, heal wounds, and understand genetics and evolution. And they literally help at least one artist paint his paintings.

Also this hour: A look at David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of, you guessed it: The Fly.

GUESTS:

Jonathan Balcombe: Author of Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World’s Most Successful Insects
John Knuth: An artist
Gale Ridge: Associate scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Jacob Trussell: Author of The Binge Watcher’s Guide to The Twilight Zone; he published the piece “Only Jeff Goldblum Could Make Us Fall in Love with ‘The Fly’” at Film School Rejects

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired August 19, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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All calls: Spraying compressed air at anything is a good idea

Wed, 07 Jan 2026 20:24:31 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to CDs, records, and consuming music, Buddhist monks, our show, young listeners … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Dylan Reyes, and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What Wikipedia can teach us about truth, information, and random trivia

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:00:00 +0000

Wikipedia has lately been under attack, accused of bias and spreading propaganda. And for years students have been told not to trust the source. But are any of those claims fair? This hour, we take a look at the free online encyclopedia, how it functions, and its role in the modern world. We'll ask: can we trust the information we find there? And we'll celebrate the joys of falling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole.

GUESTS:

Stephen Harrison: Writer and tech lawyer. His new novel, The Editors, is inspired by Wikipedia
Amy Bruckman: Regents' Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and author of Should You Believe Wikipedia?: Online Communities and the Construction of Knowledge
Annie Rauwerda: Writer, comedian, and Wikipedia influencer, who created “Depths of Wikipedia.” She was named “Wikimedian of the year” in the media category for 2022, and is currently working on a book about Wikipedia

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 14, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Historian Timothy Snyder helps us understand this current moment through the lessons of history

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:00:00 +0000

Historian Timothy Snyder is the author of the books On Freedom and On Tyranny. This hour we listen back to the conversation we had in March about the latest in our country, and what we can learn from history.

GUEST:

Timothy Snyder: Holds the inaugural Chair in Modern European History, supported by the Temerty Endowment for Ukrainian Studies, at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He is the author of books including On Freedom, On Tyranny, Our Malady, and more

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 26, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our favorite jazz of 2025

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 18:08:00 +0000

As we have every year for at least the last 12 years, to round out the year, we round up the best jazz of the year.

GUESTS:

Jen Allen: A pianist, composer, arranger, and educator; her new album is Possibilities
Noah Baerman: A pianist, composer, and educator; in 2025, he has released a four-volume series of albums called Right Now
Gene Seymour: A film, television, and music critic

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

List making, listicles, lists of lists: An hour devoted to list culture

Mon, 29 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Lists feel especially suited to the digital age, but humans have been creating lists for a long time.

So why are we drawn to lists?

This hour, the art and the utility of the list.

GUESTS:

Matthew Dicks: A West Hartford elementary school teacher and the author of Twenty-One Truths About Love
Dan Kois: Editor and writer at Slate, where he recently wrote the list “The 50 Greatest Fictional Deaths of All Time”
Ann Powers: NPR Music’s critic and correspondent
Liam Young: Author of List Cultures: Knowledge and Poetics from Mesopotamia to BuzzFeed

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 4, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Live from Watkinson, it’s part 2 of our 2025 holiday spectacular

Sat, 27 Dec 2025 16:59:57 +0000

On the night of December 4, we went to Watkinson School in Hartford, put 11 performers together on the stage there, and let them rock their way through 27 holiday- and holiday-adjacent classics.

We’re turning that two-hour performance into two radio shows over the two holiday weeks. Part onepremiered on Christmas Eve.

And this hour, live from the Foisie Family Amphitheater at Watkinson, it’s part two of our annual holiday spectacular!

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar and vocals, The Shinolas
Atla DeChamplain: Vocals, Atla & Matt
Matt DeChamplain: Piano, Atla & Matt
Lorne Entress: Drums and vocals, The Shinolas
Latanya Farrell: Vocals
Jim Henry: Guitar and vocals, The Shinolas
Paul Kochanski: Bass and vocals, The Shinolas
Steve Metcalf: Piano
Molly Sayles: Drums, Atla & Matt
Tyler Sherman: Bass, Atla & Matt

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Maegn Boone, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

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Live from Watkinson, it’s part 1 of our 2025 holiday spectacular

Wed, 24 Dec 2025 16:49:35 +0000

On the night of December 4, we went to Watkinson School in Hartford, put 11 performers together on the stage there, and let them rock their way through 27 holiday- and holiday-adjacent classics.

Our plan is to turn that two-hour performance into two radio shows over the two holiday weeks.

This hour, live from the Foisie Family Amphitheater at Watkinson, it’s part one of our annual holiday spectacular!

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar and vocals, The Shinolas
Atla DeChamplain: Vocals, Atla & Matt
Matt DeChamplain: Piano, Atla & Matt
Lorne Entress: Drums and vocals, The Shinolas
Latanya Farrell: Vocals
Jim Henry: Guitar and vocals, The Shinolas
Paul Kochanski: Bass and vocals, The Shinolas
Steve Metcalf: Piano
Molly Sayles: Drums, Atla & Matt
Tyler Sherman: Bass, Atla & Matt
Cynthia Wolcott: Vocals

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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Colin McEnroe, Maegn Boone, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

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Checking in on self-checkout

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

This hour is about self-checkout technology and its impacts. We'll debate its pros and cons, look at the history of self-service at grocery stores, and talk about the future of technology in stores.

Plus, we'll learn about the psychology of "weak ties," and the value of talking to strangers in places like the checkout aisle.

GUESTS:

Christopher Andrews: Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology at Drew University, and author of The Overworked Consumer: Self-Checkouts, Supermarkets, and the Do-It-Yourself Economy
Stew Leonard Jr.: President and CEO of Stew Leonard’s, a regional supermarket chain headquartered in Connecticut
Gillian Sandstrom: Senior Lecturer in the Psychology of Kindness at the University of Sussex

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on December 20, 2023.

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All calls: Vultures tend not to eat Episcopalians

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 21:21:13 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to vultures and sky burials, President Trump’s post about Rob Reiner’s death, our show with Paul Winter, Colin as chicken salad, the multiverse … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Hayloft – Mother Mother
Hypotheticals – Lake Street Dive
Vivid Light – Blood Orange
Christmas Eve Can Kill You – Andy Shauf, Madi Diz
Possibilities – Jen Allen
Anywhere – Ratboys
The Telephone Call – Kraftwerk

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘The Mastermind’ and ‘Sorry, Baby’

Fri, 19 Dec 2025 20:26:44 +0000

Josh O’Connor is having a bit of a moment. He’s been in four movies this year. On December 12, two of them became available to watch at home, including the biggest movie of his career so far, the new Knives Out mystery, Wake Up Dead Man. On December 13, O’Connor hosted Saturday Night Live. On December 16, the first trailer dropped for the soon-to-be biggest movie of his career so far, Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day.

Not too bad.

So The Nose is looking at the other new Josh O’Connor movie from last week: The Mastermind, written, directed, and edited by Kelly Reichardt. It’s a slow-cinema kind of heist movie set in 1970 and also starring Alana Haim, Hope Davis, John Magaro, Gaby Hoffman, and Bill Camp.

And: Sorry, Baby is a black comedy-drama written by, directed by, and starring Eva Victor. According to A24’s logline, “Something bad happened to Agnes. But life goes on … for everyone around her, at least.” Eva Victor, who plays Agnes, is nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama.

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmballpodcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress and comedian; she’s the founder and director of CONNetic Dance and the creative producer and choreographer for The Bushnell’s Digital Institute
Irene Papoulis: Taught writing for a long time at Trinity College
Lindsay Lee Wallace: A writer and journalist covering culture, health, technology, bats, and anything else people will answer her questions about

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The echoes of the Red Scare can be heard today

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

This hour we talk about the history of the Second Red Scare, a period also known as McCarthyism.

We learn about why the Scare took off in the United States, its impact, and how it eventually fizzled out. Plus, we look at the parallels and throughlines between that time period and our current moment.

And, a look at how the Second Red Scare impacted Hollywood, and how it, in turn, was reflected back through the movies.

GUESTS:

Clay Risen: Reporter and editor at The New York Times and the author of Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America
Ann Hornaday: The Washington Post’s senior film critic; she is the author of Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 15, 2025.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at the quiet power of the Schuyler sisters, Eliza and Angelica

Wed, 17 Dec 2025 20:00:29 +0000

You may know the Schuyler sisters, Angelica and Elizabeth (and Peggy!), from Hamilton. But the musical just scratches the surface of their fascinating lives. This hour, Amanda Vaill joins us to talk about her new book, Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution.

GUEST:

Amanda Vaill: Author, journalist and screenwriter. Her newest book is Pride and Pleasure: The Schuyler Sisters in an Age of Revolution

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Symphonie en ré (Presto) – André-Modeste Grétry
The Schuyler Sisters – Hamilton
Burn – Hamilton
Helpless – Hamilton
Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story – Hamilton

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Why the American dream and the tragedy of 'The Great Gatsby' still resonate today

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 16:02:35 +0000

This year marks 100 years since F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby was first published. And it turns out that it took a while for the novel to catch on in the United States, where it is now considered a classic.

This hour, we revisit the novel and its cultural impact.

GUESTS:

Rob Kyff: Teacher and author of Gatsby’s Secrets. He also writes a nationally syndicated column on language
Maureen Corrigan: Book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, and a Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University. She is the author of So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came To Be and Why It Endures
Sara Chase: Actress who created the role of Myrtle Wilson in the Broadway production of The Great Gatsby

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 17, 2025.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: The thing about cats and comets is that you can’t reason with either one

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:45:38 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to domesticated cats, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, real Christmas trees vs. artificial Christmas trees, the primary system in Connecticut and elsewhere, Rob Reiner’s death, the Bondi Beach shooting, the fairness doctrine … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Anywhere – Ratboys
When I Lose Control – Emi Meyer, Keb Mo’
Snowqueen of Texas – Weyes Blood
My Favorite Things – Nicole Zuraitis, Sean Harkness
No Kings – Jesse Wells, Joan Baez
Catching Bodies – Sekou (Cut for Time)
Take It With Me – Jubilant Sykes

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‘Love’s in need of love today’: A look at Stevie Wonder

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 16:46:45 +0000

Stevie Wonder turned 75 this year. Also this year, our friend the jazz pianist Noah Baerman put out an album of covers of Wonder’s “message music.”

This hour, a look at Stevie Wonder as musical icon, as important civil rights figure, as utterly timeless songsmith.

Plus: some in-studio performances of Stevie Wonder classics.

GUESTS:

Noah Baerman: A pianist, composer, and educator; his newest album is Right Now Volume 4: Visions of Steveland
Kevin Gaines: The Julian Bond Professor of Civil Rights and Social Justice at the University of Virginia
Erica Tracy: A vocalist, songwriter, and arts curator

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

You Haven’t Done Nothing – Stevie Wonder
Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) – Stevie Wonder
Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You) – Stevie Wonder
Higher Ground – Noah Baerman
Happy Birthday – Stevie Wonder
Big Brother – Stevie Wonder
Black Man – Stevie Wonder
Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart – Stevie Wonder
As – Noah Baerman

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How robots, and our attitudes toward them, have evolved

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 19:19:11 +0000

What counts as a robot? This hour, a look at what robots are and the latest in robot technology.

Plus, how robots were used and thought about in medieval times and Ancient Greece and the role of robots in science fiction.

GUESTS:

Chris Atkeson: Professor at the Robotics Institute and the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
Adrienne Mayor: Author of Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines and Ancient Dreams of Technology, among other books
Elly Truitt: Author of Medieval Robots: Mechanism, Magic, Nature, and Art
Daniel H. Wilson: Author of Robopocalypse and How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion, among other books

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 12, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nothing to see here: Erasure in history, art and more

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

This hour, we look at the political erasure of history, and its impacts. Plus, we talk about why artists destroy their own work or the works of others. And, the history and evolution of erasers.

GUESTS:

Jason Stanley: Bissell-Heyd-Associates Chair in American Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at the University of Toronto. His latest book is Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future
Preminda Jacob: Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she is also an Associate Professor of Art History and Museum Studies
Caroline Weaver: Former shopkeeper at CW Pencil Enterprise, a pencil shop in New York City. She is founder of The Locavore Guide and author of The Pencil Perfect: The Untold Story of a Cultural Icon

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 23, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What the history of the McKinley era, tariffs, and the Gilded Age can teach us about the present

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

President Donald Trump has found inspiration for tariffs and more in the 25th President of the United States: William McKinley. This hour, we look at the life and legacy of McKinley, and why Trump is drawn to him. Plus, we'll learn about the Gilded Age and its parallels to today.

GUESTS:

Kevin Kern: Associate Professor of History at The University of Akron. He is co-author of Ohio: A History of the Buckeye State
Beverly Gage: Professor of 20th-century U.S. history at Yale University. Her newest book, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
Joan Antonson: Executive Director of the Alaska Historical Society

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 18, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Should we be less worried about the Netflix deal and more worried about the collapse of the CDC?

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 20:14:12 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing — calls about grammar, gardening, long-distance dialing, autotune. Anything. Everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we’re doing another one.

In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EST hour about whatever you want to talk about. 888-720-9677.‌

And! Now you can watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe to get notified when we go live, and come say (nice) things to us in the comments!

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Super Mario Praise Break – 8 Bit Big Band (orig. Mario)
Automatic – Nate Smith, Lalah Hathaway (orig. Poynter)
What Was I Made for – Dara Starr Tucker (orig. Billie Eilish)
The Things We Do For Love – The Bird and the Bee (orig. 10cc)
Celebrate Me Home – Lizzy McAlpine (orig. Kenny Loggins)
Right Down the Line – Joshua Lee Turner (orig. Gerry Rafferty)
Jet – Sammy Rae & The Friends (orig. Paul McCartney, Wings)

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The Nose looks at ‘PLUR1BUS’ and ‘Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5’

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 18:00:18 +0000

This week’s Nose — guest hosted by writer and journalist Lindsay Lee Wallace — looks at:

PLUR1BUS is a new post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller series created by Vince Gilligan. Apple TV describes its premise like this: “The most miserable person on Earth must save the world from happiness.” Rhea Seehorn stars as Carol, one of the few people on the planet who weren’t part of the “Joining,” an event that turned most of humanity into a — very polite — hive mind.

And: Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5 is the new documentary from Raoul Peck. Peck’s 2017 film about James Baldwin, I Am Not Your Negro, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmballpodcast
Mercy Quaye: Founder and president of The Narrative Project
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at cultural manias from Liszt and orchids to the Beatles and beyond

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

From fueling some of mankind's most violent events to inspiring your daughter's latest pop star obsession, mania has become an indispensable force in shaping our collective story. This hour we explore a centuries-long flower frenzy and modern-day fanaticism to uncover why we are so drawn to being "totally obsessed."

GUESTS:

Daniel Durbin: Professor of Communication and Director of the Institute of Sports, Media and Society at the University of Southern California Annenberg School
Sarah Bilston: Professor of English at Trinity College and author of the book, The Lost Orchid: A Story of Victorian Plunder & Obsession
Paul Barnes: Pianist and Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

This episode is produced by Angelica Gajewski. Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 1, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trinity College's new president, Daniel G. Lugo, reflects on the transformative power of higher education

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 19:27:45 +0000

This hour, Daniel G. Lugo, the new president of Trinity College in Hartford, joins us to talk about the value of higher education, his background, the challenges of leading a college at this time, and more.

GUEST:

Daniel G. Lugo: Trinity College’s 23rd President

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All calls: Guess the song; Win a free starling

Tue, 02 Dec 2025 19:18:02 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to whether less is more or better, birds, the Governor's residence, Sweden, tariffs, minimalism … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

How Can It Be? – Skinshape
Juligen – Just D
Billie Jean – Vanessa Fernandez
Brand New Me – St. Etienne, Confidence Man
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Paul Anka
Cocaine Jobs – Cayden Wemple
Waters of March – Nicole Henry

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Remembering Sir Tom Stoppard

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 04:59:23 +0000

In 2014, Colin McEnroe and the playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard recorded a live conversation at The Study in New Haven. Stoppard, whom Colin considers “quite possibly the most dizzyingly proficient writer of the English tongue (who) did not grow up speaking English,” has died at the age of 88.

In appreciation of Stoppard and his work, we’re republishing their conversation with a note from Colin.

GUEST:

Tom Stoppard is a Czech-born playwright. His most famous works include "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" and "Every Good Boy Deserves Favor." He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1998 Academy Award winning film, "Shakespeare in Love." Over the course of his career he has written for radio, television, film and stage. He' received one Academy Award and four Tony Awards for his work.

Betsy Kaplan and Chion Wolf produced the hour.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wednesday is Soylent Day

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 15:20:00 +0000

What if you just don’t really enjoy food very much? What if you’re totally fine eating the same thing every single day? What if you think food is an inefficient way to get what you need to survive?

What if, rather than eating “food,” you just mixed a white powder (that is definitely not made of peoplebecause it’s made of soy protein isolate instead) with water and drank that in food’s place?

This hour: a look at what you might call the non-foodie movement and the “powdered food” meal replacement product that is Soylent.

GUESTS:

Carmen Baskauf: Former producer for Where We Live on Connecticut Public Radio
Chris Prosperi: Co-owner and chef of Metro Bis in Simsbury, Connecticut
Maryam Siddiqi: Lifestyle editor at The Globe and Mail
Christina Troitino: A Forbes contributor who covers the business and future of food and agriculture

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Carlos Mejia, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 5, 2019.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The art of the recipe: Gravestones, fictional worlds, and cookbooks (of course)

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 15:00:00 +0000

This hour: recipes.

We talk with someone who makes recipes found on gravestones, and we consider what makes an effective recipe, the history of the modern recipe, and the art of the recipe introduction.

Plus, a look at the phenomenon of pop culture cookbooks.

GUESTS:

Dinah Bucholz: Author of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook and The Unofficial Narnia Cookbook
Rosie Grant: Posts gravestone recipes and cemetery stories on her TikTok and Instagram
Francis Lam: Host of The Splendid Table and Editor-in-chief at Clarkson Potter
Chandra Ram: Cookbook author and food writer
Helen Zoe Veit: Associate Professor of History at Michigan State University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired November 22, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Betcha can’t eat just one’: The science and art of snacking

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Snacking on snacks, savory or sweet, has become a way of life.

This hour, we sink our teeth into our snack-food obsessions.

GUESTS:

Andrea Hernández: Founder of Snaxshot
Julia Pistell: Freelance writer and co-founder of SeaTea Improv
Chris Prosperi: Chef and owner of Metro Bis
Mark Schatzker: Author of The Dorito Effect

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired July 25, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A (Paul) Winter’s Tale

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 15:20:00 +0000

This hour, we’re joined in studio by seven-time Grammy Award-winning local musician Paul Winter. His new album, Horn of Plenty, is out today.

Winter is known for his annual solstice concerts and his “earth music," which features music from around the world, as well as the sounds of animals like wolves, whales, or wood thrushes.

You can find details about his Winter Solstice Celebrations around New England here.

GUEST:

Paul Winter: Saxophonist, composer, and bandleader of the Paul Winter Consort

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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There are rules for punctuation, but we don’t always agree on them

Thu, 20 Nov 2025 17:03:16 +0000

Should people use the Oxford comma? Is there a correct number of exclamation points per email? If someone ends a casual text with a period, does that mean they’re mad at you?

This hour: punctuation and how we use it. We talk about the history of punctuation marks, timeless punctuation debates, and how writing for texts and emails has changed the way we use punctuation.

GUESTS:

RS Benedict: A writer and bureaucrat whose fiction and non-fiction has been published in the New Haven Review, Fangoria, Current Affairs, and a bunch of other places
Claire Cock-Starkey: Author of Hyphens and Hashtags: The Stories Behind the Symbols on Our Keyboard
Julia Pistell: Founding member of Sea Tea Improv and one of the hosts of the Literary Disco podcast

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired November 3, 2021.

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From spiritual to practical: We could learn a lot from modern (and Sixteenth-century!) nuns

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 19:14:43 +0000

What's it like being a nun in 2025? Sister Monica Clare joins us to explain her path to the Community of St. John Baptist and why she is sharing her story on TikTok and in a new memoir.

Plus, scholars Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita explore the lessons about friendship, money, work, and more that we can learn from Sixteenth-century nuns in their podcast and their new book. They join us to explain that "anything you are going through right now has probably already happened to a nun living several hundred years ago.”

GUESTS:

Sister Monica Clare: Sister superior at the Community of St. John Baptist, an Episcopal convent based in New Jersey. She is also a spiritual counselor specializing in religious trauma, mental illness, and addiction. She is the author of A Change of Habit: Leaving Behind My Husband, Career, and Everything I Owned to Become a Nun
Ana Garriga: Co-host of the 'Las Hijas de Felipe' podcast, and co-author of Convent Wisdom: How Sixteenth-Century Nuns Could Save Your Twenty-First Century Life. Ana received her PhD from Brown University in 2024
Carmen Urbita: Co-host of the 'Las Hijas de Felipe' podcast, and co-author of Convent Wisdom: How Sixteenth-Century Nuns Could Save Your Twenty-First Century Life. Carmen will be receiving her PhD from Brown University later this year

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Organ Symphony No 5 in F Minor Op. 42, No. 1 (V. Toccata) – Joseph Nolan, Charles-Marie Widor
Dominique – Soeur Sourire (The Singing Nun)
Calling All Angels – k.d. lang (ft. Jane Siberry)
Maria – Sound of Music
Let the Mystery Be – Iris DeMent
Song of Bernadette – Jennifer Warnes

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Happy Little Trees: The joy of Bob Ross (and Thomas Kinkade)

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000

It's been over 30 years since Bob Ross's The Joy of Painting went off the air, but the painter is still a household name.

This hour: a look at the undying force for permed hair and puffy little clouds and happy little trees that is Bob Ross.

Plus: Could we do a show about Bob Ross without also talking Thomas Kinkade? No we could not. And so no we do not.

GUESTS:

Nathan Badley: Cohost of the Nothing But a Bob Thang podcast
Alexis Boylan: Professor of Art History at UConn and the editor of Thomas Kinkade, The Artist in the Mall
Justin Croft: Cohost of the Nothing But a Bob Thang podcast
Emily Rhyne: Cinematographer at The New York Times

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired September 26, 2019.

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All calls: Beware Pandora's crawlspace, it's FULL of sprickets

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 19:27:21 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to a local landmark, stomping, poetry, firewood, music, sprickets, bibliographies. … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Appalachian Morning – Paul Winter
Perfect Fit – Van Morrison
Salt Then Sour Then Sweet – Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile
Conservative Christian Right Wing Republican Straight White American Males – Todd Snider
Window To The World – Shawn Colvin
CUT FOR TIME I’d Miss the Birds – Joy Oladokun, Sheryl Crow
Keeper – Courtney Marie Andrews
Certified Senior Citizen – Mose Allison

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The Nose looks at ‘SNL’s Trump, Pope Leo’s favorite movies, and ‘Death by Lightning’

Fri, 14 Nov 2025 22:47:12 +0000

This week’s Nose looks at the way Saturday Night Live is using its cold opens to deal with the never-ending firehose of news each week — and the way James Austin Johnson’s recurring impression of President Trump is central to that strategy.

Plus: Pope Leo XIV announced his four favorite movies this week ahead of a “World of Cinema” event at the Vatican this weekend.

And: Death by Lightning is a four-part Netflix limited series about the James A. Garfield presidency and assassination. Its ensemble cast includes Michael Shannon as Garfield, Nick Offerman as Vice President Chester A. Arthur, and Matthew Macfadyen as assassin Charles Guiteau.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Tracy Wu Fastenberg: Associate vice president for development at Connecticut Children’s
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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What the world needs now: The chemistry of Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 16:25:28 +0000

This hour, it’s our show on the relationship and chemistry between Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick (and the lyricist Hal David) recorded live onstage at Watkinson School in Hartford.

It’s an hour of music, conversation, and demonstrations of how GPS can help you find the way to San Jose.

GUESTS:

Lou Bocciarelli: Bass
Atla DeChamplain: Vocals, Atla & Matt
Matt DeChamplain: Piano, Atla & Matt
Latanya Farrell: Vocals
Steve Metcalf: Piano
Molly Sayles: Drums

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Maegn Boone, Meg Dalton, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired April 24, 2025.

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Why stories about heists, real or in movies, steal our hearts

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 19:12:38 +0000

In late October, thieves broke into the Louvre and stole priceless jewels. It’s a story that feels familiar in large part because of countless heist movies. This hour we look at heists, from real museums to our screens, and we discuss why they capture our attention.

GUESTS:

Leila Amineddoleh: Teaches Art Crime at New York University and Cultural Heritage Law at Fordham Law School. She is the chair of the Art Law Group at Tarter, Krinsky, and Drogin
John DeVore: A culture writer and author of Theater Kids: A True Tale of Off-Off Broadway
Glen Weldon: A host of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. He reviews books, movies, comics and more for the NPR Arts Desk
Peter Kuitenbrouwer: Journalist and Registered Professional Forester. He is author of Maple Syrup: A Short History of Canada’s Sweetest Obsession

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Theme from Lupin III (Paris) – Yuji Ohno
It Takes a Thief – Coolio and Leshuan
Cat Burglar – Mexican Gunfight
Ocean’s 11 – Seeed
Drive It Like You Stole It – Sing Street
Pancake – Tori Amos

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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All Calls: Wiggingham, CT overrun with stomping, jumping spiders

Mon, 10 Nov 2025 19:24:30 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to spiders, healthcare, conspiracy theories, walking, election results, and more spiders. … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Life During Wartime (Live) – Talking Heads
Rainy Days and Mondays (from The Chair Company) – Aimee Mann
Song for a Bygone Era – Jesca Hoop
God’s a Different Sword – Folk Bitch Trio
Boars - Haley Heynderickx, Max Garcia Conover
Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald – Gordon Lightfoot
I’ve Enjoyed as Much of This as I Can Stand – Porter Wagoner

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Blue Moon’ and ‘Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’

Fri, 07 Nov 2025 15:15:00 +0000

Blue Moon is the ninth movie directed by Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke. It is written by Robert Kaplow and “inspired by” the letters of Lorenz Hart and Elizabeth Weiland. Hawke plays Hart on the night that the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Oklahoma! opens on Broadway.

And: Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere is written and directed by Scott Cooper based on the book Deliver Me from Nowhere by Warren Zanes. It stars Jeremy Allen White in the title role, and it mostly tells the story of Springsteen writing and recording his 1982 album, Nebraska, and some of the material that appeared on his 1984 followup, Born in the U.S.A.

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and director of marketing at Washington Montessori School
Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
Rich Hollant: Founder and principal of CO:LAB, a hall of fame designer, and a co-partner at CENTER
Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School
Irene Papoulis: Taught writing for a long time at Trinity College

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Everything I’ve Got – Blossom Dearie
Mountain Greenery – Shirley Horn
Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered – Ella Fitzgerald
Nebraska – Jeremy Allen White
I’m on Fire – Jeremy Allen White
I’ll See You on the Radio – Grayson Hugh

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shall we dance?

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 18:18:42 +0000

Why do we dance? The answer is more complicated than you might think. Dancing has served a multitude of functions for various cultures throughout history, and there is even evidence to suggest that we, as a species, are biologically hard-wired to dance.

Whether it’s for social, spiritual, or even psychological reasons (yes, dance therapy is a thing), humans have been dancing since the very beginning.

This hour, a look at all things dance — from ancient history to modern, Hollywood dance movies.

GUESTS:

Henry Alford: Author of And Then We Danced: A Voyage Into the Groove
Christina Devereaux: Board-certified dance/movement therapist
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Jonathan McNicol: Producer of The Colin McEnroe Show

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Xandra Ellin, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 5, 2018.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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What if we were addicted to forgiveness instead of revenge?

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 19:23:13 +0000

Revenge is as old as humanity itself. And new research shows that revenge functions in our brains like a type of addiction. This hour a look at revenge in politics, literature, and everyday life — and what it would mean if we treated revenge differently.

GUESTS:

James Kimmel Jr.: Lawyer, author, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine, and the Founder and Co-Director of the Yale Collaborative for Motive Control Studies. His new book is The Science of Revenge: Understanding the World's Deadliest Addiction--and How to Overcome It
Emily King: Visiting Assistant Professor of Writing and English at Washington and Lee University. She is author of Civil Vengeance: Literature, Culture, and Early Modern Revenge

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Il Trovatore: Anvil Chorus – Giuseppe Verdi, Budapest Festival Orchestra & Chorus
The Payback – James Brown
The Mariner’s Revenge Song – The Decemberists
These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra
Smile – Lily Allen
no body, no crime - Taylor Swift

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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From jelly beans to Diet Mountain Dew, how politicians eat and why it matters

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Food is an important part of the campaign trail, from tamales to McDonald's. This hour is all about how food is used in politics, including in the White House. Plus, the delicious return of the election cake.

GUESTS:

Alex Prud'homme: Journalist and author of several books, including Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House. He also co-wrote My Life In France with Julia Child
Linda Civitello: Food historian and author of books including Baking Powder Wars and Cuisine and Culture

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Frankie Devevo, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 29, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Does anybody even know what time it is on Lord Howe Island anyway?

Mon, 03 Nov 2025 19:32:49 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to daylight saving time ending, Weapons and horror movies in general, the first Millennial saint, A House of Dynamite, our towels episode … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

I Could Write a Book – The Supremes
I Didn’t Know What Time It Was – Sarah Vaughan
There’s a Small Hotel – Dana Lauren
I Wish I Were in Love Again – Joni Mitchell
With a Song in My Heart – John Pizzarelli
Sing for Your Supper – Mel Torme
This Can’t Be Love – Dinah Washington

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘A House of Dynamite’ and ‘Task’

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 18:34:57 +0000

A House of Dynamite is an apocalyptic political thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow. It is Bigelow’s first movie in eight years, since Detroit in 2017. It stars an ensemble cast led by Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Gabriel Basso, Jared Harris, Tracy Letts, Anthony Ramos, and many more.

And: Task is a seven-part HBO limited series created by Brad Ingelsby. It is the second TV series created by Ingelsby, after Mare of Easttown. It stars Mark Ruffalo, Tom Pelphrey, Martha Plimpton, and more.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
Irene Papoulis: Wrote a short textbook called The Essays Only You Can Write
Brian Slattery: A journalist and musician
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Detachable Penis – King Missile
Atom Bomb Baby – The Five Stars
The Wake-Up Bomb – R.E.M.
On the Radio – Robert Homes, James Homes
Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thrones – Mother Love Bone
See You On The Radio – Grayson Hugh

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look back at more than 200 years of Frankenstein (and his monster)

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 16:35:00 +0000

There are few monsters more iconic or enduring than Frankenstein’s.

From Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel to the 1931 Universal monster movie to Guillermo del Toro’s current adaptation to next year’s Bride of Frankenstein remake, Frankenstein continues to resonate with fans around the world.

This hour, a look at what exactly it is that makes Frankenstein such a lasting, terrifying work of fiction.

Plus: a look at the so-called “re-animator of Bridgeport.”

GUESTS:

Michael Bielawa: A historian and poet and the author of several books, including Wicked New Haven and Wicked Bridgeport
Sidney Perkowitz: Co-editor of Frankenstein: How a Monster Became an Icon — The Science and Enduring Allure of Mary Shelley’s Creation
Eddy Von Mueller: Co-editor of Frankenstein: How a Monster Became an Icon — The Science and Enduring Allure of Mary Shelley’s Creation

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired October 31, 2017.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mysteries, hoaxes, and magic: Decoding mystifying manuscripts

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 18:45:58 +0000

One of the most mysterious texts in the world lives here in Connecticut. The Medieval Voynich Manuscript is at the Beinecke Library at Yale University. Scholars have been trying for over a century to decipher it. This hour, we look at the Voynich and at other examples of mysterious manuscripts from around the world.

GUESTS:

Lisa Fagin Davis: Professor of Practice in Manuscript Studies at the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science and Executive Director of the Medieval Academy of America
Garry J. Shaw: Author and journalist covering archaeology, history, and world heritage. His newest book is Cryptic: From Voynich to the Angel Diaries, the Story of the World's Mysterious Manuscripts
David Weinberg: Podcast producer and writer. He is lead instructor for the Transom Traveling Workshops. He formerly worked at Marketplace and KCRW. He produced an episode about "Louie Louie" for the podcast Lost Notes

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Lost in Translation – The Neighbourhood
Columba aspexit, BN 54 – Christopher Page, Emma Kirkby, Gothic Voices
Secret Messages – Juliana Hatfield
The Book of Love – Mike Doughty
The Philosopher’s Stone – Van Morrison
Louie, Louie – The Kingsmen
Louie, Louie – The Sandpipers

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The road to sainthood: Who’s on it and how did they get there?

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This hour, a look at the path to sainthood and how it’s changed over time.

Plus: the local example of the Rev. Michael McGivney.

GUESTS:

Teresa Berger: Professor of Liturgical Studies and Catholic Theology at Yale Divinity School
Joseph Laycock: Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Texas State University and author of The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism
Rachel McCleary: Lecturer in the Economics Department at Harvard University and a nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute
James Sullivan: Rector of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe, Sara Gasparotto, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 31, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Calls: Not everyone involved in this episode went to the bathroom beforehand

Mon, 27 Oct 2025 19:38:33 +0000

In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour about whatever you want to talk about. 888-720-9677.

Plus, now you can watch our calls shows YouTube! Come say (nice) things to us in the comments! Just search for Connecticut Public.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Lester Leaps In – Live from Emmet’s Place (Finale)
Depressed – Ann-Marie, Lauren Spencer Swift
Um Brinde – Djavan
When The Lights Go Out – Sarah Jarosz
Crutch – Yazmin Lacey
On Your Side (Starman) – Lindsay Lou
American Tune – Shawn Colvin

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The Nose looks at ‘Mr. Scorsese’ and ‘No Other Land’

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 16:52:56 +0000

Guest host comedian Shawn Murray returns! This week’s Nose looks at:

Mr. Scorsese is a five-part, more-than-four-hour documentary series about the life and work of the director of Goodfellas and Taxi Driver and The Departed (and many more). It’s directed by Rebecca Miller and streaming on Apple TV.

And: No Other Land won this year’s Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It covers the destruction of a Palestinian community in the West Bank, and it’s directed by a collective of four Palestinian-Israeli activists. No Other Land premiered at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival, more than 20 months ago, and it has just become widely available to see in this part of the world basically for the first time this week.

GUESTS:

James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Lindsay Lee Wallace: A writer and journalist covering culture, health, technology, bats, and anything else people will answer her questions about
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tribute to the proud and peaceful pigeon

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 14:15:00 +0000

B. F. Skinner thought pigeons were so smart they could be used to guide missiles during World War II. He proposed a system in which pigeons would essentially pilot a missile. Skinner said pigeons could be trained to peck at a screen to adjust the trajectory of the missile toward its target. Project Pigeon was funded but never used.

In 2013, New York conceptual artist Duke Reilly trained half his flock of pigeons to carry contraband cigars from Cuba to Florida and the other half to carry tiny video cameras documenting the smuggling flight of their comrades.

Another group of researchers trained pigeons to reliably distinguish between the paintings of Picasso and Monet, even if they had never seen a particular painting before.

This hour, everything you ever wanted to know about pigeons but were afraid to ask.

GUESTS:

Yoni Applebaum: A social and cultural historian
Andrew Blechman: Author of Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird
Wanda Corn: The Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor Emerita in the department of art and art history at Stanford University
Patrick Skahill: Connecticut Public’s assistant director of news and talk shows

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Tess Aaronson, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired November 12, 2013.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ‘father of history’ would have some thoughts about our present

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 18:17:54 +0000

Greek writer Herodotus "invented" history by turning away from myth to a new kind of writing. And although he wrote his Histories nearly 2,500 years ago, local author and classicist Emily Katz Anhalt argues that his example and prose are more relevant than ever. This hour, we look at what we can learn from Herodotus and the ancient Greek myths.

GUEST:

Emily Katz Anhalt: Professor of Classics at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the author of Enraged: Why Violent Times Need Ancient Greek Myths and Embattled: How Ancient Greek Myths Empower Us to Resist Tyranny. Her new book is Ancient Wisdom for Polarized Times: Why Humanity Needs Herodotus, the Man Who Invented History

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Thracian Gaia – Daemonia Nymphe
Road to Hell (live) – Original Cast of Hadestown
Dance of the Satyrs – Daemonia Nymphe
Greek to Me – Dugger Band
Hymn to Bacchus – Daemonia Nymphe
History Has Its Eyes On You – Hamilton

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From hot mics to mic drops, a celebration of the microphone

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 14:00:00 +0000

The microphone makes everything we do on the radio possible. This hour we celebrate the invention and look at the role of microphones in music. Plus hot mics, mic drops, and more.

GUESTS:

Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, professor at Berklee College of Music and co-author of the book This is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You
Azi Paybarah: Politics Reporter for The Washington Post
Forrest Wickman: Slate's culture editor

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe, Angelica Gajewski, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 25, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Calls: Trump’s AI video is so Skibidi Toilet

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:15:40 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the “No Kings” protests, Star Wars merchandise, the labor market, Gilmore Girls, yacht rock … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Dazzling - Casiopea
And Love Goes On - Earth, Wind, & Fire
REAL THING - DRUGDEALER ft. WEYES BLOOD
Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise - The Javier Nero Jazz Orchestra with Veronica Swift
Going Out Of My Head - Sergio Mendes & Brasil ‘66
Living - Dominique Adams
Concerto in E Minor, Op. 11 (Chopin) - Tianyao Lyu, final round of Chopin Competition

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It can be an art, too: On murder and more in Hitchcock’s close quarters

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 16:11:50 +0000

Rope is an interesting movie in Alfred Hitchcock’s œuvre. It’s his first color picture. It’s one of 13 movies he made based on plays, and it’s one of four movies he made that are set basically entirely in single locations (along with Lifeboat, Dial M for Murder, and Rear Window).

But of the four single-location pictures, Rope is the only one that Hitchcock made to really seem like a filmed play. It unfolds in real-time, in one room, in long, continuous shots that are edited together in ways that are meant to hide most of the cuts.

As Hartford Stage’s new adaptation of the play Rope is based on opens, we present a conversation taped on their stage, in front of an audience, about Alfred Hitchcock, his movies in general, and Rope, the movie and the play, in particular.

Note: This podcast version of the show is more than eight minutes longer than the episode as it’s airing on the radio.

GUESTS:

Illeana Douglas: The Official Movie Star of The Colin McEnroe Show and the author of Connecticut in the Movies: From Dream Houses to Dark Suburbia
Sidney Gottlieb: Professor of communication and media studies at Sacred Heart University and the editor of The Hitchcock Annual
Jeffrey Hatcher: A playwright and screenwriter; he wrote the adaptation of Patrick Hamilton’s Rope that’s currently in production at Hartford Stage

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks to Lucas Clopton and Jennifer Levine at Hartford Stage.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at the women buried in the footnotes of scientific discovery

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 20:56:25 +0000

Women scientists and inventors have been making ground-breaking discoveries since Agnodice pretended to be a man in order to become the first female anatomist in ancient Greece.

Yet, women's scientific contributions have historically been hidden in the footnotes of the work men claimed as their own.

Women scientists are banding together to call out bias and give credit where it’s due— one Wikipedia page at a time. This hour, we talk to four of them.

GUESTS:

Ainissa Ramirez: Author, scientist, and science communicator. She gave a TED talk on the importance of STEM education and was a mechanical engineering professor at Yale for ten years. She is the author of The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another
Kathryn Clancy: Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois
Emily Temple-Wood - Family medicine resident and founder of WikiProject Women Scientists
Jessica Wade: Royal Society University Research Fellow and Lecturer in Functional Materials at Imperial College London

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to the show, which originally aired April 9, 2019.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rope has been knotting humanity together for centuries

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:42:06 +0000

Rope has been foundational to so much of human civilization. It's made sailing, hunting, building, and so much more, possible. This hour, we look at the history and utility and future of rope.

GUESTS:

Tim Queeney: Author of Rope: How a Bundle of Twisted Fibers Became the Backbone of Civilization, among other books
Manuel Medrano: A PhD candidate in Harvard’s History Department, who studies quipus
Tahira Reid Smith: Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Design and the Director of the REID Lab at Penn State. She is also the patented inventor of the Automatic Double Dutch Machine, and the founder of Jump Dreams, Inc.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Flamingo – Kero Kero Bonito
The Last Shanty – Derina Harvey Band
Rope – Foo Fighters
Tightrope – Janelle Monae
Rope A Dope – Victor Oladipo, 2 Chainz
Double Dutch – Charity

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today: Did episode on notebooks & diaries, bought kiwi fruit, had teeth cleaning

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 17:00:00 +0000

This hour is all about notebooks. We'll talk about the history and evolution of notebooks, favorite examples, and celebrate the joy of writing things down. Plus, a look at the Notes App.

GUESTS:

Roland Allen: Book publisher and author of The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper
Charley Locke: Journalist, and contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, who wrote “Keep Your Notes App Under Lock and Key” for The Atlantic

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 10, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chion Wolf takes your calls (again)!

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 19:15:00 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation — with our old friend Chion Wolf at the helm this time! — winds around to family shorthand, tech bros, bunkers, bodies, adventures… Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

La Puerta - Roy Hargrove Big Band
You Only Get What You Give - New Radicals
Go Gina - SZA
Don’t Break Down On Me - Sarah Jarosz
Bless the Telephone - Labi Siffre
The Telephone Call - Kraftwerk

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From chorus lines to emus: A look at the stage musical

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 20:56:04 +0000

This year is the 50th anniversary of A Chorus Line and Chicago and the 10th anniversary of Hamilton. Meanwhile, new Broadway shows are struggling to make their money back. This hour, we take stock of stage musicals today, learn how they’re developed, and ask about their status in our culture.

GUESTS:

Alexander Gemignani: Actor, music director, orchestrator, conductor, composer/lyricist, educator, and artistic director of The National Music Theater Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
Elysa Gardner: Theater critic for The New York Sun and a contributor to The New York Times. She is also author of Magic To Do: Pippin's Fantastic, Fraught Journey to Broadway and Beyond
Paul Hodge: Award-winning writer-composer from Brisbane, Australia. His work has been produced Off-Broadway, in London, Edinburgh and Australia, including at the Sydney Opera House. His new musical, The Great Emu War, is currently at the Goodspeed

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at the next pandemic with Michael T. Osterholm

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 14:30:00 +0000

COVID has caused more than 7 million confirmed deaths (and estimates of the actual total go well past 20 million).

Here’s the even worse news: It wasn’t the truly devastating pandemic epidemiologists have feared for decades.

But here’s the good news: We learned every possible lesson from COVID, and now we’re utterly prepared for the next big pandemic that’s inevitably barreling towards us.

No. Wait. Maybe I’ve gotten that last bit wrong.

This hour, Michael Osterholm, founding director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, joins us to talk about the dreaded potential “big one” and what we need to do to be ready.

GUEST:

Michael T. Osterholm: Founding director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and the co-author of The Big One: How We Must Prepare for Future Deadly Pandemics

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Words, words, words: A look at style guides and Britishisms in American English

Wed, 08 Oct 2025 17:00:00 +0000

This hour, a look at words and usage and grammar and language and all that fun stuff.

Have you noticed how we Americans have become “so bloody keen on Britishisms?” Ben Yagoda joins us to talk about his book, Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English.

Plus, there’s been an update to The Chicago Manual of Style. We take a look at the CMOS, in particular, and bang on (there it is again!) about dreaded style guides, in general.

GUESTS:

Scott Huler: The author of seven non-fiction books; his most recent is A Delicious Country: Rediscovering the Carolinas along the Route of John Lawson’s 1700 Expedition
Ben Yagoda: The author, coauthor, or editor of 14 books and the host of the podcast The Lives They’re Living

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 8, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tribute to cereal: Kid tested, mother approved

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 17:00:00 +0000

We once did a show about beer jingles, which is a great example of how a product becomes a culture. Cereal as a culture, is off the charts. There’s the box, there’s the prize, there’s the character, there’s the jingles, there’s the commercials. Most of us can probably sing some jingles and discuss favorite cereal personae from our childhoods, which makes it kind of weird when marketing experts tell us that cereal consumption is in decline.

Who are we without cereal. It has been a staple of the American breakfast since Dr. John Kellogg first tried to purify the traditional American breakfast of veal, oysters, and wild pigeon with his first flakes.

This hour, we talk about cereal, we eat cereal, and we try to rekindle our love of cereal.

GUESTS:

Eddy Chavey: Founder and president of MrBreakfast.com
Topher Ellis: Cereal historian, co-author of The Great American Cereal Book: How Cereal Got Its Crunch, and editor of Boxtops
Linda Giuca: Freelance writer and former food columnist for The Hartford Courantand co-owner of Alforno restaurant in Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Deena Shanker: Former food and consumer goods reporter for Quartz
Michael Smulders: The late owner of Bakery on Main in East Hartford, Connecticut

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Lydia Brown, Tucker Ives, Betsy Kaplan, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired January 28, 2016.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Be who you want to be. Not who the midges want you to

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 19:05:32 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to Bad Bunny, the Supreme Court, recycling, midges, nominative determinism, speed cameras, the government shutdown … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Notion – The Rare Occasions
Mr. Eclectic – Laufey
Itsumo – Mei Semones
Anything But Now – Cecile McLorin Salvant
J'ai Rencontré L'homme De Ma Vie – Emilie-Claire Barlow
Little Claws – Genevieve Ardati, Real Bad Man
Leaves That Are Green – Pete Philly

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘One Battle After Another’ and ‘The Lowdown’

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 18:59:33 +0000

One Battle After Another is the 11th feature film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is written and produced by Anderson and inspired by the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, and more. It is the widest release, the widest opening, and the highest-grossing opening of Anderson’s career. One Battle After Another is currently the No. 1 movie in the world.

And: The Lowdown is the second television series created by Sterlin Harjo. It is set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the same fictional universe as the first Harjo-created TV series, Reservation Dogs. It stars Ethan Hawke and Keith David.

GUESTS:

James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Rich Hollant: Founder and principal of CO:LAB, a hall of fame designer, and a co-partner at CENTER
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast
Irene Papoulis: Wrote a short textbook called The Essays Only You Can Write

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The secret lives of numbers

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 15:58:40 +0000

Numbers are so fundamental to our understanding of the world around us that we maybe tend to think of them as an intrinsic part of the world around us. But they aren’t. Humans invented numbers just as much as we invented all of language.

This hour, we look at the anthropological, psychological, and linguistical ramifications of the concept of numbers.

And we look at one philosophical question too: Are numbers even real in the first place?

GUESTS:

Brian Clegg: Author of Are Numbers Real? The Uncanny Relationship of Mathematics and the Physical World
Caleb Everett: Author of Numbers and the Making of Us: Counting and the Course of Human Cultures

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired October 12, 2017.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Multiple wars rage on. Does the Nobel Peace Prize still matter?

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 18:18:20 +0000

The 2025 winner of The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced in a few weeks. President Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants it.

This hour we look at the history of the Nobel Peace Prize and its status in our world. We learn about past winners, how winners are selected, and ask about its relevance.

GUESTS:

Jay Nordlinger: A political journalist and music critic. He is a Senior Resident Fellow at the Renew Democracy Initiative, the music critic of The New Criterion, and his Substack is called Onward and Upward. He is the author of Peace, They Say: A History of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Most Famous and Controversial Prize in the World, among other books
Julie Mennella: Faculty member at the Monell Center. She is a winner of the 2025 Ig Nobel Prize in Pediatrics

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s time to talk about the alphabet in the room

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 16:35:55 +0000

Most of the Western world is organized by alphabetical order, which is so much more than the 26 letters that make up the alphabet.

Alphabetical order is an organizing principle that allows us to save, order, and access thousands of years of humankind’s most precious documents and ideas. Without it, we’d never know what came before us or how to pass on what’s with us. It’s ubiquitous, yet invisible in daily life.

This hour, a conversation about how we order our world and why we do it.

GUESTS:

Nicholson Baker: A novelist and essayist; his most recent book is Finding a Likeness: How I Got Somewhat Better at Art
Judith Flanders: Author of A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order
Peter Sokolowski: Editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 21, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: In a world of Gumby folk, I’m a Pokey

Mon, 29 Sep 2025 18:42:39 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Bridgeport’s socialist former mayor, Sneaky Pete and our show on psychics, the possible link between double jointedness and neurodivergence, the state of streaming, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ appearance on The Ezra Klein Show … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Harry’s Theme (Lite Pullman) – Vulfmon, Harry Whitford
Bedlam – Elvis Costello
Take Me Dancing – Doja Cat, SZA
Three Little Words – Samara Joy
Township Medley – Themba Mkhize, SWR Big Band
香港之夜 – Teresa Teng
Chilly Winds Don’t Blow (Bolden. Remix) – Nina Simone, Bolden.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The music and mystery of Nick and Molly Drake

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 18:36:12 +0000

The singer and songwriter Nick Drake died in 1974. He was just 26, and he remains a bit of a mystery. He recorded three albums but played very few shows. There is no known film or video footage of him.

But his music is maybe more popular now than it’s ever been. It shows up on movie soundtracks, in TV shows, in commercials.

And then there’s Nick Drake’s mother, Molly Drake. It turns out she was an accomplished (and possibly ultimately important?) singer and songwriter, too. But she never released any music or performed publicly in her lifetime, as far as we know.

This hour, a look at the music (and mystery) of Nick (and Molly) Drake.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
Howard Fishman: A musician and composer and the author of To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse
Will Hermes: Writes about music “and life’s other mysteries,” and he’s a longtime contributor to All Things Considered; he’s the author, most recently, of Lou Reed: The King of New York
Angie Martoccio: A senior music writer at Rolling Stone

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can we learn from the myth of Antigone? For one, it’s so 2025

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 18:56:37 +0000

Sophocles' play Antigone was originally performed around 441 B.C.E., but the themes in the play still resonate today. This hour, we revisit the story of Antigone, and ask what it can teach us about compromise, wisdom, extremism, grief, and more.

Plus, a look at how modern productions are exploring new ways for audiences to engage with the ancient Greek tragedy.

GUESTS:

Elizabeth Bobrick: A Visiting Scholar in Wesleyan’s Department of Classical Studies. She also teaches for Wesleyan’s Center for Prison Education. Her Substack is “This Won’t End Well: On Loving Greek Tragedy,” and her writing has also appeared in The New York Times and Salon
Bryan Doerries: A writer, director, and translator who currently serves as Artistic Director of Theater of War Productions. He is author of The Theater of War: What Ancient Greek Tragedies Can Teach Us Today, among other books
Anna Conser: Assistant Professor of Classics at the University of Cincinnati

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shark fever: The lore of the great white

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 18:50:26 +0000

The myth of the great white, exacerbated by the 1975 megahit Jaws, is false. Great whites are not the aggressive creatures still portrayed in popular media. We’re more likely to survive a shark bite simply because sharks don’t like the way we taste. They spit us out if they accidentally mistake us for a seal.

We have a higher risk of getting hit by lightning than killed by a great white shark.

The convergence of globally warming waters off our east coast and the repopulation of seals and great whites after a previous panic nearly wiped them out, means we’ll have to learn to share the ocean.

Instead of pursuing shark repellents like sonar buoys, electric shark shields, and seal contraception, should we consider how we can co-exist with the creatures of the sea? Besides, whose ocean is it anyway? The fish were there first.

We have a higher risk of getting hit by lightning than killed by a great white shark. Instead of pursuing shark repellents like sonar buoys, electric shark shields, and seal vasectomies, should we consider how we can co-exist with the creatures of the sea? This hour, a look at our relationship with sharks.

GUESTS:

George Burgess: Director emeritus of the Florida Program for Shark Research and curator emeritus of the International Shark Attack File
Greg Johnson: Lifeguard at Nauset Beach in Orleans, Massachusetts
Sy Montgomery: A naturalist and the author of many books, including The Great White Shark Scientist

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Carolyn McCusker, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 3, 2019.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Necks: More than just something we have a pain in

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:00:00 +0000

How do you feel about your neck? Maybe you only think about it when you’re sore from sleeping wrong or from sitting at a desk all day. But for centuries, humans have worried about their necks, decorated them with jewelry and clothes and ties, and exploited their weaknesses with knives and garrotes and guillotines. This hour, a look at necks — human and animal. Plus, the history and symbolism of the classic turtleneck.

GUESTS:

Kent Dunlap: Professor of Biology at Trinity College, Hartford, and author of The Neck: A Natural and Cultural History
Nancy MacDonell: Fashion journalist and fashion historian. She writes The Wall Street Journal column "Fashion with a Past.” Her new book is Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Angelica Gajewski, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 12, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Calls: If you give a mouse a vasectomy, can you keep your Hulu subscription?

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 18:21:21 +0000

In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour about whatever you want to talk about. 888-720-9677.

Plus, now you can watch our calls shows YouTube! Come say hi to us in the comments! Just search for Connecticut Public.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Just How It Should Go – Nightshifts
WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! – Raye
Children of the Baked Potato – Thundercat, Remi Wolf
September Grass – James Taylor
Tu Sais Le Printemps – Dar Williams
Robin’s Egg – Iron & Wine, I’m With Her
I Could Be in Love with Someone Like You – Jason Robert Brown

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at Jimmy Kimmel, ‘The Paper’ and ‘The Naked Gun’

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 18:15:48 +0000

In July, after CBS canceled The Late Show, President Trump posted that “Jimmy Kimmel is next.” And now his administration seems nearly to have made that happen.

And: The Paper is a sequel to and spinoff from the American version of The Office set at a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio. It stars Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, and Oscar Nunez reprising his role as Oscar Martinez from The Office.

And finally: The Naked Gun to and a reboot of the Naked Gun film series and the Police Squad! franchise. It’s the fourth movie in the series, and it stars Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, and more.

GUEST:

Xandra Ellin: A producer for the BBC’s The Global Story, and she writes the How Can I Make This About Me Substack
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmballpodcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress and comedian: she’s the founder and director of CONNetic Dance and the creative producer and choreographer for The Bushnell’s Digital Institute

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A show about psychics! (But they already knew that)

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 16:26:53 +0000

There is perhaps no figure more emblematic of the paranormal than the psychic. Able to predict the future, see into the past, and even communicate with the dead, the psychic’s (supposed) awesome gifts are matched only by his or her ability to withstand skepticism and ridicule.

But are our misgivings towards these intuitives justified? Is it merely smoke and mirrors which they’ve learned to master, or are they, in fact, possessed of powers beyond our comprehension?

This hour, we speak with believers, skeptics, and self-proclaimed psychics to find out.

GUESTS:

Daryl Bem: Emeritus professor of psychology at Cornell University and the author of Feeling the Future: Experimental Evidence for Anomalous Retroactive Influences on Cognition and Affect
Allison Dubois: A psychic medium and profiler and the author of several books, including Into the Dark: How the Dead Help Us Heal
Benjamin Radford: Deputy editor for Skeptical Inquirer and co-host of Squaring the Strange
Emily Stroia: An ituitive medium, the founder of the Intuitive Soul Academy, and the author of several books, including Psychic Development for Beginners
Jenniffer Weigel: An Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist and the author of Psychics, Healers and Mediums: A Journalist, a Road Trip, and Voices from the Other Side

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 28, 2017.

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Fly with us to Neverland: Why we're forever hooked on Peter Pan

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 18:19:56 +0000

It's been over one hundred years since J. M. Barrie first told the story of Peter Pan, Wendy, and Neverland. Since then, Peter Pan has been adapted countless times, and become a constant reference point in popular culture. This hour, a look at the lasting cultural and psychological impact of Peter Pan.

GUESTS:

Maria Tatar: Professor of Folklore and Mythology at Harvard University. Her latest book is The Heroine with 1001 Faces. She is also the editor of The Annotated Peter Pan: The Centennial Edition
Jonathan Russell Clark: The author of Skateboard and An Oasis of Horror in a Desert of Boredom. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, L.A. Times, The Boston Globe, and Esquire
Ann Yeoman: A Jungian Analyst and the author of Now or Neverland: Peter Pan and the Myth of Eternal Youth and the co-author of C.G. Jung's Collected Works: The Basics

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

I Don't Wanna Grow Up – Tom Waits
Never Never Land – James Taylor
I’ve Gotta Crow – Mary Martin, Kathy Nolan
Darling Children – Alison Fraser
I'm Flying – Mary Martin
Captain Hook’s Waltz – Cyril Ritchard, Peter Pan Ensemble
I Won’t Grow Up – The Fools

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Turns out common sense isn’t all that common

Tue, 16 Sep 2025 14:06:17 +0000

President Donald Trump has been using the phrase “common sense” a lot. But it turns out that this is nothing new for politicians.

This hour, we look at how common sense is used in politics. Plus, is there really such a thing as common sense? We dig into what it means and if it’s possible to teach it to artificial intelligence.

GUESTS:

Sophia Rosenfeld: Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania; she is the author of multiple books, including Common Sense: A Political History and her new book, The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life
Mark Whiting: Research fellow at the Computational Social Science lab at the University of Pennsylvania and chief technology officer of the startup Pareto.AI; you can find the common sense survey here
Mayank Kejriwal: Research professor and principal scientist at the University of Southern California

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Angelica Gajewski, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 6, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Chion Wolf takes your calls!

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 20:55:32 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation — with our old friend Chion Wolf at the helm this time! — winds around to tilting at (actual) windmills, which way you should put the silverware in your drying rack, reactions to the murder of Charlie Kirk, float tanks, water cremation, online dating … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

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Laura Nyro was the Emily Dickinson of American pop music

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 14:10:00 +0000

Laura Nyro’s most famous compositions — “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Stoney End,” “When I Die,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Eli’s Coming” — are jewels of mainstream music, and her covers of songs like “Jimmy Mack” and “Gonna Take a Miracle” are legendary.

But she was uncomfortable under the spotlight and withdrew from it to become the Belle of Danbury, Connecticut.

This hour: a night of singing, reflecting, and celebrating recorded in front of a live audience at Watkinson School in Hartford.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar and vocals
Latanya Farrell: Vocals and tambourine
Steve Metcalf: Piano and vocals

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which originally aired February 21, 2020.

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‘Never be the same’: 24 years in the shadow of 9/11

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 14:30:00 +0000

It has been 24 years since the sunny late summer Tuesday morning that changed basically everything.

This hour, a look back at September 11, 2001, and its long shadow, still darkening our days a bit now.

We talk to a historian about the generation that has lived its life in a post-9/11 world and a critic about the influence of 9/11 on and in our popular culture.

GUESTS:

Lindsay Ellis: An author, video essayist, and film critic; her new novel is Apostles of Mercy
Matthew Warshauer: Professor of history at Central Connecticut State University and the author of Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation: The Real Story of September 11

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired September 11, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Sugar highs (and lows): A history of "white gold"

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:00:00 +0000

The history of sugar is a complicated one. Once available to only the rich and powerful, sugar now shows up in everything from cereals and soups, to cigarettes and body scrubs. It is known to both have medicinal qualities and to contribute to a variety of health problems.

This hour we trace the history of sugar and discuss how the sugar industry may be driving a global addiction to the sweet substance.

GUESTS:

Marc Aronson: Associate Professor at Rutgers University and co-author of Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science
Gary Taubes: Investigative science and health journalist and author of The Case Against Sugar: Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It
Kathleen DesMaisons: Expert in chemical dependency treatment and author several books including Potatoes Not Prozac: Solutions for Sugar Sensitivity

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on January 9, 2018.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat... A history of the U.S. Postal Service

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 14:03:48 +0000

The U.S. Postal Service was one of our earliest experiments in democracy. The vast transportation networks that led to more than 30,000 post offices remain at the heart of many communities and still reach into the most remote parts of our country.

Today, a look at the past and the future of the post office.

GUESTS:

Winifred Gallagher: Author of several books including How the Post Office Created America: A History
Evan Kalish: Self-proclaimed postal tourist and creator of Postlandia. He manages the world’s largest curated collection of post office building photographs and has now visited over 11,000 post offices
Amanda Martinez: Former Market Research Analyst at United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General Risk Analysis Research Center

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired December 14, 2017.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: What's the name of the zip line at the Robert Frost Fantasy Camp?

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 22:09:54 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to Robert Frost, bucket lists, the Supreme Court, spotted lantern flies, New England autonomy, and dating. … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Sweet Love by Jen Allen
The Second Time Around (The Dutch Heritage Series) by Fay Claassen & the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw
Raised on Robbery by Kate Staples, Jesca Hoop, & Lail Arad
Do (The City Winery Sessions) by Lawrence & Lake Street Dive
Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down by Margo Price
Jessie (The Sweater Sessions II) by Couch
Ninho de Vespa by Dori Caymmi, MPB4, & Paulo Cesar Pinheiro

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman can help us break the spell of technology on our lives

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 18:25:19 +0000

If you listen to The Colin McEnroe Show regularly, you likely know that Colin has been influenced by two media theorists: Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman.

Postman wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death, among other books, and McLuhan is probably most famous for the phrase "The medium is the message," in addition to other influential ideas.

This hour, we look at the ideas of McLuhan and Postman, and discuss why they still resonate so much today.

GUESTS:

Bill Yousman: Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University
Megan Garber: Staff Writer at The Atlantic who writes about the intersection of politics and culture. She is the author of On Misdirection: Magic, Mayhem, American Politics. She previously worked for Neiman Journalism Lab and the Columbia Journalism Review
Andrew McLuhan: Founder and director of The McLuhan Institute, which was founded to conserve and continue media studies in the McLuhan tradition. He is the son of Eric McLuhan and the grandson of Marshall McLuhan

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Passacaglia by Johan Halvorsen (performed by Grégoire Blanc)
Please Mr. Postman by The Marvelettes
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron
Medium is the Massage by Akira the Don, Marshall McLuhan
Fish n’ Chip Paper by Elvis Costello
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Winston Apple

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Beyond woods and roads: The life and poetry of Robert Frost

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:40:45 +0000

You have probably encountered Robert Frost through his poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” or “The Road Not Taken.” But how much do you know about the man behind the poetry and the rest of his work?

This hour, we learn about the life and poetry of Robert Frost and discover how he’s helped to inspire other poets.

GUESTS:

Sydney Lea: Former poet laureate of Vermont and the author of 16 poetry collections, seven collections of personal essays, and two novels
Adam Plunkett: Literary critic and the author of Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Dylan Reyes, and Kathy Wang contributed to this show, which originally aired February 24, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An ode to the sun

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 15:54:36 +0000

What can you say about the sun? It sits at the center of our solar system and has, over time, been at the center of religions, scriptures, songs, art, and countless other aspects of our culture.

We’ve relied on its light, heat, and gravity for as long as we’ve been around, and we continue to find ways to harness its energy for our daily needs.

This hour, we look at the place our sun holds kind of literally at the center of all of human history and ask what the future holds for our nearest star.

GUESTS:

Christina Agapakis: Creative director at Ginko Bioworks
Sarbani Basu: William K. Lanman Jr. Professor of Astronomy at Yale University
John Grim: Senior lecturer and research scholar teaching in the joint MA program in religion and ecology at Yale University School of the Environment and Yale Divinity School
John Perlin: Physicist at UCLA Santa Barbara and the author of Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Betsy Kaplan, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 11, 2016.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rum raisin, Ryan Reynolds, flies grooming themselves … the acid is starting to kick in

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 18:32:13 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Swift’s upcoming nuptials and the state of her relationship with Blake Lively, motives for murder, the grooming of flies, rum raisin ice cream, inside jokes and nicknames and things, quieting the monkey mind … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Strategy by TWICE
Call Me by Sachal Vasandani featuring Dayna Stephens
I Guess I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times by Martina DaSilva, Alex Goodman, et al.
The Glow Worm by Kurt Elling, et al.
Do I Move You by Nicole Zuraitis, Tom Scott, et al. (from the live album)
Candy by Joshua Lee Turner, Martina DaSilva
Right Down the Line by Joshua Lee Turner

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s wrong with men: A look at Michael Douglas movies with Jessa Crispin

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:14:23 +0000

You hear a lot about the ongoing American crisis among men, among boys, around masculinity, right? You see lots of headlines about how we got here, what caused all this, where the crisis came from.

Well, the cultural critic Jessa Crispin thinks we can all learn a lot about all of this by looking at … Michael Douglas movies.

And I mean, that sounds like a show we’d do, doesn’t it? And so here we are.

Crispin joins us for the hour.

GUEST:

Jessa Crispin: The author of What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Colin and Dylan tell you what the song of the summer should have been

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 17:00:00 +0000

As the you sit contemplating the end of long summer days, you might wonder what might have been. What might have been if there was a song of the summer!

The consensus is that there was no song of the summer for 2025.

To help fill that void in your life, Colin sits down with technical producer Dylan Reyes to form the public radio supergroup CG/WLM (cranky guys who like music) and talk about what they’re listening to and what song they think should have won the season.

GUEST:

Dylan Reyes: Technical producer, assistant director of radio operations at Connecticut Public

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Stare at Me by JANE HANDCOCK, Anderson .Paak
Golden by HUNTR/X, EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI
The Subway by Chappell Roan
To Keep by Dominique Adams
Little Less Over You by Couch
Flor de Lis (Upside Down) by Samara Joy
DON'T SPEAK by LOADED HONEY
Good To Be Alone by Stacey Ryan, Cory Henry
Suzanne by Mark Ronson, RAYE

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tangle's Isaac Saul has us look at both sides and beyond

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 18:00:00 +0000

The political newsletter Tangle approaches things differently than most news organizations. Each day they do a deep-dive on one topic where they lay out the facts, then give a glimpse of "What the left is saying," "What the right is saying," and then "My take," where an editor explains their opinions on an issue.

The newsletter is the brainchild of politics reporter Isaac Saul, who joins us for an hour to talk through the latest news, his approach to reporting, and how we move forward in these divided times.

GUEST:

Isaac Saul: Executive Editor and Founder of the non-partisan, independent newsletter Tangle, which summarizes the best arguments from the right and left on the big political news of the day

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The battle for butter

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 17:00:00 +0000

We tend not to think much about that pat of butter we put on our morning toast, including how the store-bought sweet cream butter we're eating likely pales in comparison to the rich, nutty flavor of the cultured butter not found in many stores.

Nor, do we think about butter sculpture, butter bogs, pleasure dairies, or the dairymaids, those once respected and well-paid artisans and economic powerhouses of our nations earliest days.

We definitely don't think about the nationwide 'war' between butter-loving dairy farmers and the margarine industry. It led to smear campaigns, state laws against margarine, and a ruling by the Supreme Court that led to pink margarine.

You may not even know it's okay to eat butter again after decades of being told to stay away from the death-inducing fats found in butter. So, go ahead and eat that toast with butter.

Today, a show about butter.

GUESTS:

Elaine Khosrova: Author of Butter: A Rich History, a former pastry student at Culinary Institute of America and a former test kitchen editor at Country Living magazine
Doug Moe: Wisconsin-based author and journalist who has written for newspapers and magazines for almost 40 years
Adeline Druart: Former president of Vermont Creamery. Adeline brought her knowledge of butter-making to Vermont from her home country of France

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired December 19, 2017.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

First Colin takes your calls and then Senator Chris Murphy does

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 22:00:00 +0000

For the first half of today's show, Colin will take your calls about whatever you want to talk about.

Then, it’s been a minute since Senator Chris Murphy joined Colin for a check-in on state matters and a chat about the weather in Washington. And we don’t think the senator has ever pulled up a chair to The World’s Most Important Table (™).

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Senator Chris Murphy takes your calls and reflects on the fight to save democracy

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 18:51:28 +0000

It’s been a minute since Senator Chris Murphy joined Colin for a check-in on state matters and a chat about the weather in Washington. And we don’t think the senator has ever pulled up a chair to The World’s Most Important Table (™). Around 1:30, Senator Murphy joins us in studio.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Highest 2 Lowest’ and ‘Alien: Earth’

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 16:02:25 +0000

This week’s Nose, guest hosted by comedian Shawn Murray, looks at:

Highest 2 Lowest is the fifth collaboration between director Spike Lee and actor Denzel Washington and their first in 19 years, since Inside Man in 2006. It is an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 police procedural, High and Low, which is, itself, an adaptation of the Ed McBain novel King’s Ransom. It also stars Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, A$AP Rocky, Ice Spice, Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson, Wendell Pierce, and more. Highest 2 Lowest is in a strangely limited release — it’s in just three theaters in Connecticut — and it hits Apple TV+ on September 5.

And: Alien: Earth is the first TV series — after nine movies — in the Alien franchise. It is a prequel set two years before the events of the original movie, and it’s created be Noah Hawley, who also created the Fargo TV series, among other things. Alien: Earth is set, somewhat logically, on Earth.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Director of arts, culture, and entertainment for the city of Hartford
Sam Hadelman: Director of public relations at Dark Matter Media
Lindsay Lee Wallace: A writer and journalist covering culture, health, technology, bats, and anything else people will answer her questions about
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University and the author of The Spike Lee Enigma: Challenge and Incorporation in Media Culture

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is culture without the guidance of critics?

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 18:13:35 +0000

This hour, we take a critical look at the role of art critics in our world. What is the status of criticism, and is it under threat?

GUESTS:

Naveen Kumar: Theater critic for The Washington Post. He is associate director of the National Critics Institute, the leading arts-writing workshop for professional journalists. He has twice served on the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama
Kathryn VanArendonk: Critic at Vulture and New York Magazine
Matt Singer: Editor and Critic at ScreenCrush and a member of the New York Film Critics Circle. He is the author of numerous books, including Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever
Aleksandra Mir: Artist, whose work has been included in 370 exhibits worldwide. She is co-editor of the book Bad Reviews: An Artists' Book by 150 Artists

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why does "like" bother us so much?

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 18:17:34 +0000

The word "like" has been around for centuries, but it reached a new cultural prominence in the 1980s, partially thanks to Frank Zappa's song "Valley Girl." Since then, "like" has taken on a life of its own, inspiring strong emotions. This hour, we look at the meaning and evolution of "like." Plus, how movies like the now 30-year-old Clueless have impacted our language.

GUESTS:

Megan C. Reynolds: An editor at Dwell and author of Like: A History of the English Language’s Most Hated (and Misunderstood) Word
Kory Stamper: Lexicographer and author of Word By Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries
Veronica Litt: English Professor and author of Ugh! As If!: Clueless

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The unfolding evolution of origami

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 16:26:02 +0000

How do you make a 100-meter telescope that folds down to three meters so you can tuck it inside a space vehicle? How do you make a heart stent that folds out inside the human body? In each case, researchers have turned to masters of origami, the thousand-year-old art of paper folding.

This hour, a look at how paper folding went from a quaint, simple hobby to an extensive form of art that can achieve hundreds of intricate folds. Plus: the ways origami is used beyond the art world, in mathematics, science, and technology.

GUESTS:

Erik Demaine: Professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Robert J. Lang: The author of co-author of more than 20 books on origami art and design

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired March 13, 2014.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Why ABBA will never win the Nobel Peace Prize

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 19:41:25 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the bilateral meeting in Alaska between Presidents Trump and Putin, the bilateral and multilateral meetings in Washington DC with Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy, our Mark Twain show, President Trump possibly one day getting the Nobel Peace Prize, ABBA possibly one day getting the Nobel Peace Prize, comparisons between Neville Chamberlain and Trump … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What the golden age of Condé Nast can tell us about the future of magazines

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 18:40:17 +0000

Michael M. Grynbaum's new book Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America, traces the rise of Condé Nast's magazines. This hour Grynbaum joins us to explain how Condé Nast magazines and their editors achieved their status as cultural tastemakers, and where these magazines, and that industry, stand today. Plus, we hear from an editor at The Week about how that magazine is approaching this moment.

GUESTS:

Michael M. Grynbaum: A media correspondent for The New York Times and author of the new book Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America
Mark Gimein: Managing Editor at the print edition of The Week

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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190 years after his birth, Mark Twain is as relevant (and funny) as ever

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:29:49 +0000

Chances are, you know Richard Thomas as John-Boy on The Waltons. Or maybe you saw him more recently in his many-episode arcs on shows like The Americans and Ozark. You might’ve even seen him on Broadway in Our Town or as Atticus Finch in the tour of To Kill a Mockingbird. He’s in town doing the very first authorized production of Mark Twain Tonight! since Hal Holbrook died.

And John Jeremiah Sullivan has won the Pushcart Prize, two National Magazine Awards, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His essay “Twain Dreams: The Enigma of Samuel Clemens” ran in the 175th anniversary issue of Harpers.

This hour, Thomas and Sullivan join us to talk Twain.

GUESTS:

John Jeremiah Sullivan: A writer, musician, and editor
Richard Thomas: An Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actor

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Betsy Kaplan, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired February 4, 2015; September 14, 2023; and June 5, 2024, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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One leg at a time: The history of women and pants

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 15:00:00 +0000

According to mytho-historical accounts, the ancient Amazons wore pants while riding into battle. But the trend this tribe of warrior women set was short lived. For nearly two millennia after their demise, the notion of women wearing pants was steeped in controversy.

And while this controversy has diminished, it is by no means over. From the fuss over politician's pant suits to the unofficial dress codes which still pervade corporate America, there are indications that we've yet to move past old expectations of women's fashion. This hour we speak with historians and fashion experts about the history of women and pants.

GUESTS:

Gayle Fischer: Professor of History at Salem State University and author of Pantaloons and Power: A Nineteenth-Century Dress Reform in the United States
Kathleen Cooper: Writer whose work has appeared in The Toast, The Airship, The Washington Post, and elsewhere
Hannah Kimberley: Teacher at the Academy at Penguin Hall in Wenham, Massachusetts, and author of A Woman's Place Is at the Top: A Biography of Annie Smith Peck, Queen of the Climbers

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 7, 2017.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smiling will get you everywhere

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Smiling is a universal way to show happiness. But not all smiles are happy. In reality, we smile less for happiness than for social reasons that have nothing to do with happiness.

That said, few things are more ingratiating and calming as another person's genuinely warm smile. But, maybe it's because a genuine smile is such a great thing that we're always looking for the false one.

But we shouldn't assume that a smile that reflects something other than unadulterated joy is always a bad thing. Smiling has an evolutionary function, helping to ensure our survival after birth. Babies first smile while still in the womb and deliberately smile at us shortly thereafter less because they're thrilled to have us as parents and more to keep us happy with them. There's a reason for this. Smiling has high social benefits: those who smile are considered more social, more accessible, more helpful, and more attractive.

But, what happens when you can't smile? The absence of a smile is life-changing, yet until we lose it, we take it for granted. There are many illnesses that make it difficult to smile including Parkinson's Disease, Bell's Palsy, and Moebius Syndrome, a particularly devastating illness that afflicts babies. Today, we talk to Jonathan Kalb, a professor of Theatre at Hunter College who spent three years recovering his smile after developing what he thought was a temporary bout of Bell's Palsy. He wrote this thoughtful essay on his experience for The New Yorker.

Beyond the inability to smile, what happens you just don't want to smile? The social customs for smiling vary between countries, with many countries feeling we Americans simply smile too much. Partly, it depends on whether you're a woman. As a result, women may smile more, even when they don't want to.

GUESTS:

Jonathan Kalb: Professor of Theatre at Hunter College CUNY and the author of multiple books on theatre
Marianne LaFrance: Professor of Psychology and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies at Yale University and the author of Why Smile: The Science Behind Facial Expressions
Margaret Livingstone: Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard University, and author of Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 31, 2015.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: If you try to talk on the radio with your radio on your head will explode

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 18:24:38 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

This weeks’ topics include the Statue of Liberty, comedy in New Haven and New York, what's going on in DC, state pension funds, NPR federal funding cuts, and more.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may be wrong, but you may be right: A look at Billy Joel

Fri, 08 Aug 2025 14:48:31 +0000

Billy Joel has reportedly sold more than 160 million albums. He’s been nominated for 24 Grammy Awards (and won six of them), an Emmy, and a Tony Award (which he won). In the U.S., he’s had 33 top 40 singles and 11 top 10 albums. He’s simply one of the most popular recording artists in the history of music.

But. Critics have never been terribly kind to him, and a lot of the general public hasn’t either.

This hour, we look at the new two-part, nearly five-hour HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. And we look at Billy Joel more generally and at the love/hate relationship we all seem to have had with him and his music for more than 50 years now.

GUESTS:

Jen Allen: A pianist, composer, arranger, and educator; her new album, Possibilities, comes out August 22
Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and the director of marketing at Washington Montessori School
Jack Hamilton: Slate’s pop critic and the author of Just Around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek,” and he now writes Gene’s Substack

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This show is the cat’s pajamas

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This episode is really going to be the cat’s pajamas. Or is it pyjamas? Do cats even wear pajamas? Why would they? Why do we? Should any of us wear pajamas at all?

And if we do don a pair, are they only for bed? Or should pajamas have their day in the sun? If our PJs are making a fashion statement just what exactly are they saying?

We’re talking today about what we wear to bed, but who knows? Does not wearing pajamas to bed have health and other benefits once we settle in under the covers?

GUESTS:

Henry Alford: American humorist and journalist, author of books including I Dream of Joni: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell in 53 Snapshots
Clare Sauro: Director of The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection and Assistant Professor of Design & Art History at Drexel University
W. Chris Winter: Sleep specialist, neurologist and author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Produced by Debora Timms. Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 8, 2019.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The intangibility of ‘good taste,' from literature to food

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 19:23:50 +0000

What does it mean to have 'good taste'? And what would it take to develop it? This hour, we talk about taste and discernment. Plus, a look at flavor and why some things taste good.

GUESTS:

Henry Oliver: Writes the literary Substack “The Common Reader,” and is the author of Second Act: What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Reinventing Your Life. He is part of the Emerging Scholars Programme at the Mercatus Centre
Becca Rothfeld: The Nonfiction Book Critic at The Washington Post, an editor at The Point, and a contributing editor at The Boston Review. She is the author of All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess
Nik Sharma: A molecular biologist turned two-time James Beard finalist, best-selling cookbook author, photographer, columnist, and editor at America’s Test Kitchen. His cookbooks include The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained in More Than 100 Essential Recipes, among others

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Combating corrosion: The war on rust

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 15:18:04 +0000

Rust is all around us. It’s in our cars, our homes, our infrastructure. It’s also the subject of Jonathan Waldman’s book Rust: The Longest War, which introduces us to the people who fight it.

This hour, Waldman joins us. Plus: a visual artist who has found a way to incorporate rust into her work.

GUESTS:

Esther Solondz: A Rhode Island-based visual artist
Jonathan Waldman: Author of Rust

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired March 25, 2015.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Mordor is no longer theoretical

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 20:18:54 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to counterfactuals in baseball, majoring in art history, adult softball, The Terror on AMC and The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, the Connecticut Sun leaving for Boston, Northern Ireland and the Troubles … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Isaac Moss, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Eddington’ and ‘Sunday Best’

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 19:42:52 +0000

Eddington is the fourth feature film written and directed by Ari Aster. It’s a neo-Western comedy set in the fictional and titular New Mexico town during May, 2020. Eddington was nominated for the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and it’s one of three Pedro Pascal movies that are currently in the top 20 at the domestic box office.

And: Sunday Best is a new Netflix documentary directed by, and in memory of, the late journalist, musician, and filmmaker Sacha Jenkins. It’s about the cultural importance of The Ed Sullivan Show and Sullivan’s “legacy of equality.”

GUESTS:

RS Benedict: A writer and bureaucrat whose fiction and non-fiction has been published in the New Haven Review, Fangoria, Current Affairs, and a bunch of other places
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmballpodcast
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monsters: A look at the real, the fake, and the friendly

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 18:19:57 +0000

Monsters are our subconscious perversions, our twisted fears realized, but what causes their creation, and how are they made? This hour, we look at fantastical creatures, terrifying beasts, and the scariest monsters of all: humans.

GUESTS:

Natalie Lawrence: Historian of science and the author of Enchanted Creatures: Our Monsters and Their Meanings
Surekha Davies: Historian of science, speaker, and monster consultant for radio, tv, and film. She writes a newsletter called “Strange and Wondrous: Notes from a Science Historian,” and is the author of books including Humans: A Monstrous History
Margery Cuyler: Author of 62 children’s books including Monster Mess, Bonaparte Falls Apart, Skeleton Hiccups, and the forthcoming Stompie the Zombie

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘A most confounding affliction’: A look at headaches

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 18:14:28 +0000

Headache symptoms can strike sufferers without warning, disabling them for even days at a time.

There have been nearly 4,000 years of documented headache disorders — and virtually everyone has had headaches — yet their underlying neurological cause is still unknown.

This hour, a look at the long history of headaches and the current science around and treatments for headaches. Plus: headaches in our literature and popular culture.

GUESTS:

Kathleen O’Shea: The editor of So Much More Than a Headache: Understanding Migraine Through Literature
Tom Zeller Jr.: The author of The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Condition and the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Undark

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Tis a show about castles, me Lord

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0000

They're in the books we read, the shows we watch, and the art we hang on our walls. They conjure notions of might, magic, romance, and more. Castles, perhaps as much as any other architectural structure in history, define the landscape of our fantasy and imagination.

But is our imagination an accurate lens through which to view these fortresses of ol'? And why, after hundreds of years, does our culture's fascination with these structures seem to be on the rise? This hour, we speak with experts and enthusiasts about the reality and mystique of castles.

GUESTS:

Marc Morris: Medieval historian and author of books including Castles: Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain
Victor Lodato: Playwright, poet, and novelist whose books include Edgar and Lucy
Edward Town: Assistant Curator of Paintings and Sculpture at the Yale Center for British Art
Brent Bruns II: - Star of the hit National Geographic reality TV show "Doomsday Castle"

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 18, 2017.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: You probably bought a Joni Mitchell Toaster

Mon, 28 Jul 2025 18:17:44 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we're doing another one.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if tug of war were still an Olympic sport? And other questions with Mike Pesca

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 18:41:44 +0000

Mike Pesca is one of our very favorite guests — on any number of topics.

His book, Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History, is a whole series of earth-shattering, hypothetical, what-if questions (and posited answers to said earth-shattering, hypothetical, what-if questions):

What if a blimp full of money had exploded over world track headquarters in 1952? What if Nixon had been good at football? What if Bobby Fischer had received proper psychiatric help? What if the Dodgers hadn’t left Brooklyn? What if basketball rims were smaller than basketballs? What if the 1999 U.S. women’s national soccer team had lost the Women’s World Cup? And yes: What if the Olympics had never dropped tug of war?

It goes on and on.

Pesca joins us for the hour.

GUESTS:

Will Leitch: Contributing editor at New York magazine, founder of Deadspin, and a whole bunch of other things
Mike Pesca: Host of The Gist and the author of Upon Further Review
Louisa Thomas: Staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 7, 2018.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How reality TV shapes our politics

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 18:15:08 +0000

How does reality television shape our politics and our opinions? This hour two reality TV scholars join us to discuss how reality TV helps us understand (or sometimes misunderstand) actual reality.

GUESTS:

Danielle Lindemann: Professor of Sociology at Lehigh University and a Visiting Professor in Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University. She is also the author of the book True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us.
Eunji Kim: Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University and Faculty Affiliate at the Data Science Institute. Her new book is The American Mirage: How Reality TV Upholds the Myth of Meritocracy.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Sing, O muse!’ A look at muses and how we evoke them

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 18:28:37 +0000

Dating back to Homer and Hesiod, artists have been calling on muses for inspiration. This hour, we look at the mythology of the muses, real-life muses, and what they can all teach us about creativity.

GUESTS:

Alison Habens: Novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and lecturer and Programme Lead at the University of Portsmouth
Francine Prose: Author of many books, including The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired. She is also Distinguished Writer in Residence at Bard College
Brendan O'Connell: American painter

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wonder of termites

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 20:50:33 +0000

Nobody likes termites. They get into the wood in our homes and can lead to infuriating and expensive repairs. What’s to like?

Lastly, some believe termites work with joy and have a soul. You be the judge.

GUESTS:

Jennifer Dacey: An entomologist and a wildlife biologist and integrated pest management technician in the UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture
Lisa Margonelli: Author of Underbug: An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology
Mick Pearce: An architect

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired August 29, 2018.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Do you mind if I borrow your linen closet?

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 19:36:30 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to thunderstorms and lightning, squirrels, the band (and word) Enigma, trains … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Coco Cooley, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Isaac Moss, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Superman’ and Stephen Colbert

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 18:13:43 +0000

Thursday night, CBS announced that it is cancelling its flagship late night show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, after next season, in May, 2026. CBS says this is “purely a financial decision.” At the same time, The Late Show has the largest audience in American late night TV by a pretty wide margin. In any case, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will end after its 11th season, the 34th overall for the larger Late Show franchise.

And: James Gunn’s Superman is the first movie produced by DC Studios, the first movie in the new DC Universe (the DCU, which replaces the DCEU — same universe, less extended!), and the first movie in its first chapter, Chapter One: Gods and Monsters. It’s the third reboot of the Superman film series, the 10th original live-action Superman feature film, and the fourth comic book superhero movie directed by James Gunn — his first as the co-founder, co-chairman, and co-CEO of DC Studios.

GUESTS:

Sam Hadelman: Director of public relations at Dark Matter Media
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and host of the Fantasy Filmballpodcast
Lindsay Lee Wallace: A writer and journalist covering culture, health, technology, bats, and anything else people will answer her questions about

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Murder in the Dollhouse’: Jennifer Dulos and our fascination with true crime

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 17:57:43 +0000

On the morning of May 24, 2019, Jennifer Dulos dropped her kids off at New Canaan Country School. And then minutes later, she vanished.

Her presumed murder quickly became a national story.

This hour, Wall Street Journal columnist Rich Cohen joins us to talk about his new book, Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story.

Plus: a look at our ongoing obsession with these true crime stories.

GUESTS:

Rich Cohen: Writer at large at Air Mail and a columnist at The Wall Street Journal; his new book is Murder in the Dollhouse
Bethany Usher: A journalist and academic and the author of Journalism and Crime

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The secret language of animals and how we're learning to understand it

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Do you ever wish you could have a conversation with your pet, or the bird outside your window? This hour, we learn about how animals communicate with one another, how we communicate with them, and what this can teach us about human language.

Plus, some pet owners are turning to soundboards to communicate with their pets. We'll talk with a researcher who's exploring how effective that is, and what that can teach us about the future of animal and human communications.

GUESTS:

Arik Kershenbaum: Professor of Zoology at University of Cambridge, and author of Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication
Federico Rossano: Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on February 13, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eventually the world will end. Why can't we stop imagining it?

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Earlier this year, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight. The end of the world has been something humans have been preoccupied with for a very long time. This hour, we talk about how we imagine the world ending, and what it says about us.

GUESTS:

Dorian Lynskey: Journalist and author of multiple books, most recently Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World. He is also co-host of the Origin Story podcast.
Brian Slattery: Freelance writer and editor. He is the author of four novels. His latest short story is “Clouds” which appears in the anthology Shadow Lab

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on February 4, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: The first rule about invisible rabbits is you do not talk about invisible rabbits

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 21:37:25 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Squid Game, the routinization of protests, the elusive Jeffrey Epstein report, 9/11 and the movies Fight Club and Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Harvey, Keurig coffee makers, too much plastic everywhere … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alive and well in our imaginations: Dinosaurs in pop culture

Fri, 11 Jul 2025 18:14:27 +0000

We think of dinosaurs as figures from science, from history, from the fossil record.

But if I say “Tyrannosaurus rex,” do you picture bones arranged in a museum — or do you picture that one scene in Jurassic Park?

The more you think about it, the more you realize that your whole real concept of dinosaurs comes from movies and TV and kids’ books and comic books.

So this hour, with the latest Jurassic World at No. 1 at the box office, a look at dinosaurs in our popular culture.

GUESTS:

Paul Brinkman: An associate professor in the Department of History at North Carolina State University and the author of multiple books, including The Second Jurassic Dinosaur Rush: Museums and Paleontology in America at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Hannah McGregor: An academic and podcaster and the author of Clever Girl: Jurassic Park
Megan Schuster: A senior editor at The Ringer, where she hosts The Ringer F1 Show
Tom Whyman: An academic philosopher, a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Liverpool, and the author of Infinitely Full of Hope: Fatherhood and the Future in an Age of Crisis and Disaster

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alissa Wilkinson on Joan Didion, Hollywood, and American mythmaking

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 18:18:35 +0000

This hour, author and film critic Alissa Wilkinson joins us to talk about Joan Didion, Hollywood, and how we make sense of our politics.

GUEST:

Alissa Wilkinson: Movie critic at The New York Times. Her latest book is We Tell Ourselves Stories: Joan Didion and the American Dream Machine

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nothing lasts forever, except maybe Stoicism

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 18:16:04 +0000

GUESTS:

Massimo Pigliucci: The K.D. Irani Professor of Philosophy at the City College of New York. He is the author of books including Beyond Stoicism: A Guide to the Good Life with Stoics, Skeptics, Epicureans, and Other Ancient Philosophers, How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life, and Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk. He also writes the Substack “Figs in Winter: Stoicism and Beyond.”
Melinda Latour: Associate Professor of Musicology at Tufts University. She is author of The Voice of Virtue: Moral Song and the Practice of French Stoicism, 1574-1652. She is also editor of The Relentless Pursuit of Tone: Timbre in Popular Music.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An appreciation of squirrels

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 16:26:09 +0000

I’ve had some well-documented trouble with our neighborhood squirrels over the last few winters. It could be that most homeowners in the Northeast and beyond feel like they’ve had some sort of conflict with the local squirrels.

But we maybe misunderstand squirrels. Their seemingly scattershot behaviors actually suggest a fascinating intelligence and intentionality. And while we see squirrels as a nemesis of birds and bird feeders, squirrels actually plant a lot of the trees birds live and nest in.

At the same time, for some people, squirrels are nightmare fuel.

And if you happen to suffer from that so-called sciurophobia, don’t read this next thing: It would seem that the normally essentially vegetarian California ground squirrel has recently developed carnivorous hunting skills at the expense of the local vole population.

GUESTS:

Nick Buckley: A freelance journalist and photographer
Nancy Lawson: The author, most recently, of Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature and the founder of The Humane Gardner
Jennifer Smith: A behavioral ecologist and an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire, where she leads the Behavioral Ecology of Social Mammals Lab

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which originally aired February 12, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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All calls: Bug poop and happy elks hold the world together

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 20:12:47 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to aggressive grills on cars, wrong-way drivers on Connecticut highways, the composer Lili Boulanger, voting rights for permanent residents, the herbicide diquat in Connecticut, volunteering … Anything. Seemingly everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Coco Cooley, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Isaac Moss, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The Nose looks at ‘Ironheart’ and The New York Times’ best 100 movies of the century list

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 21:29:02 +0000

Ironheart is a new miniseries from Marvel Television. It is the 28th (not a typo) TV series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it concludes Phase Five of the MCU after six movies and eight series. Ironheart is set about six months after the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which came out in 2022, but which is set in the spring of 2025 — which sets this show in our future, around the fall of 2025. It is the first Marvel product that The Nose has covered since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, more than two years ago.

And: The New York Times has published its list of “The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century” as selected by more than 500 influential figures in and around the film industry. And on July 2, the Times published a follow-up list of the top 500 movies of the century* as submitted by its readers. The Nose participated, and it has thoughts about the whole thing.

*I feel like I have to mention here that the Times is calling these lists the best of the “21st century” and that movies were eligible if they were released in the U.S. on or after January 1, 2000. The 21st century started on January 1, 2001. I’m sorry to bring it up. I don’t make the rules or, ya know, decide how counting works.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Director of arts, culture, and entertainment for the city of Hartford
Xandra Ellin: A podcast producer and she writes the How Can I Make This About Me Substack
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian and writer and host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story of book chapters, one page at a time

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This hour we take a look at the history and evolution of chapters, and discuss how they impact our reading experiences.

GUESTS:

Nicholas Dames: Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, where he studies the history and theory of the novel. His new book is The Chapter: A Segmented History from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century. He is also co-editor in chief of Public Books
Rebecca Makkai: Author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award Finalist The Great Believers, among other books. Her latest book is I Have Some Questions For You. She is artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on January 16, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Are you car shopping in an animated movie?

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 20:49:27 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

This week's topics include Trump's Policy Bill, video game soundtracks, mortality, the WNBA, and whether new cars look angry.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Socrates' lessons on life, death, and conversation with Agnes Callard

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This hour, philosopher Agnes Callard joins us to talk about her latest book, Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life.

GUEST:

Agnes Callard: Associate Professor of Philosophy at The University of Chicago and author of Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on January 22, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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‘A kind of musical Mark Twain’: A look at Randy Newman

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 14:10:00 +0000

Randy Newman has been nominated for 22 Academy Awards (he’s won twice), for 23 Grammy Awards (seven wins), and for three Primetime Emmy Awards (and he won all three).

Bruce Springsteen has called him “our great master of American song and storytelling.” Jackson Browne says Randy Newman is “the foremost satirist of our times.” And the composer John Williams has called him “a kind of musical Will Rogers or Mark Twain.”

Critic Robert Hilburn has published what may well be the definitive biography of Newman, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country.

This hour, Hilburn joins us to talk Randy Newman.

GUEST:

Robert Hilburn: Author of A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired January 24, 2025.

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The real lives of the Vikings

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

When you think of the Vikings, you probably picture a bearded man wearing a horned hat, pillaging on a Viking ship. But that's far from the whole story.

This hour is all about the everyday lives of the Vikings with historian Eleanor Barraclough, from their homes and hair to their myths and music.

GUEST:

Eleanor Barraclough: Historian, writer, and broadcaster based at Bath Spa University; her new book is Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of The Viking Age

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Isaac Moss, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on January 7, 2025.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Our relationship with rest is changing, and it’s about time

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This hour is all about the importance of rest, and how to rest well. Plus, we'll talk about the role of rest in religion, and look at the history of "the rest cure" in medicine.

GUESTS:

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang: Author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, and Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less—Here's How among other books
Kristen Lucken: Program chair of religious studies, and lecturer in religion, sociology, and global studies at Brandeis University
Alicia Puglionesi: Writer, historian, lecturer at Johns Hopkins, and author of In Whose Ruins: Power, Possession, and the Landscapes of American Empire, among other books

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Isaac Moss, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on December 26, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who are epigraphs for?

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 15:32:43 +0000

This hour: the art of the epigraph.

We talk with writers about how they pick the quotes that open their books, what epigraphs can do well, how the business of epigraphs works, and what epigraphs mean for readers.

Plus, a look at how some movies use epigraphs.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Tajja Isen: A contributing writer for The Walrus and the author of Some of My Best Friends
Courtney Maum: The author of five books including Before and After the Book Deal and the memoir The Year of the Horses; she also writes the Before and After the Book Deal Substack

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired December 17, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Why don’t people say ‘you’re welcome’ anymore? Good question

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 18:35:28 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the U.S. bombing Iran and Iran’s retaliation in Qatar, the Democratic primary in New York City, the possible decline of “you’re welcome,” a possible July 17 protest, the “great question” tic in interviews … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Megan Fitzgerald, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Live from Watkinson: The legacy of Brian Wilson

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 15:51:28 +0000

Brian Wilson was a singer, songwriter, record producer, and a founding member of The Beach Boys. He’s thought of as one of the great geniuses of pop music, and he’s been called the poet laureate of summer. Wilson died June 11 at 82.

On February 1, 2017, we went to Watkinson School in Hartford and put on a show, on stage in front of a live audience, on Brian Wilson’s music and legacy. We’ve never reaired that show.

This hour, to celebrate and remember Wilson and his work, a brand new edit — from the original, full-length, 75-minute live show — of our hour on Brian Wilson.

GUEST:

Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School
Jordan Quisno: A singer and actor
Matt Sargent: A composer, guitarist, recording engineer, and assistant professor of music at Bard College
Teri Schrader: Head of school at Watkinson School in Hartford, Connecticut

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired February 17, 2017, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Exploring astrology: Do stars really impact us?

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Humans have always been interested in the sky, and astrology has been used as a tool for people in power for a long time.

During times of stress, interest in astrology increases.

But why are we so interested in something that is not considered a science?

This hour, a look at the history of astrology, its relationship with astronomy, and the reasons why people love it so much.

GUESTS:

Julie Beck: Senior editor at The Atlantic, where she wrote “The New Age of Astrology”
Darin Hayton: Associate professor of the history of science at Haverford College and the author of The Crown and the Cosmos: Astrology and the Politics of Maximilian I
Emily Levesque: Professor in the University of Washington’s Astronomy Department and the author of The Last Stargazers: The Enduring Story of Astronomy’s Vanishing Explorers

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

This episode was produced by Sara Gasparatto.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired April 21, 2022.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You want me to eat what?! An examination of disgust

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 15:18:41 +0000

Okay, this show comes with a trigger warning.

We talk about things people eat, and some of those things are not for the squeamish.

This hour, a look at disgust — and, specifically, how our reflexive disgust response may get in the way of things we probably need to think about doing.

During the next century, the human race probably needs to eat more insects. And we’ll almost definitely need to convert sewage water into drinking water. A lot of people are not going to want to do that. Around the world, there are people eating things like eggs cooked in the urine of virginal boys. One of our guests made cheese from bacteria taken from human toes, noses, and armpits.

That may sicken you, but it won’t make you sick.

GUESTS:

Christina Agapakis: Microbiologist, writer, artist, founding editor of Method Quarterly, and creative director at Ginkgo Bioworks
Bun Lai: James Beard Award-nominated chef
Paul Rozin: Professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Chion Wolf, and Alan Yu contributed to this show, which originally aired January 7, 2016.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The toll of perfectionism

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Perfectionism is on the rise among young people.

This hour, we look at the impact of perfectionism on mental health and how to deal with perfectionist tendencies.

Plus: what the self-help industry can tell us about our interest in perfection.

GUESTS:

Thomas Curran: Assistant professor of psychological and behavioral science at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough
Tamar Gendler: Professor of philosophy, psychology, and cognitive science and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Yale University
Kristen Meinzer: Co-host of the How to Be Fine and By the Book podcasts, among others, and author of How to Be Fine: What We Learned from Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired April 13, 2022.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose says goodbye to Brian Wilson and looks at ‘The Phoenician Scheme’

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 18:51:02 +0000

The pop music genius Brian Wilson, a founding member of The Beach Boys, died on June 11. The Nose says goodbye.

And: Wes Anderson has written and directed 12 feature films. The Nose has covered at least four of them plus his set of Roald Dahl shorts. So this hour, a look at Wes Anderson’s latest, The Phoenician Scheme, in all its twee, symmetrical, pastel, typewriter- and hatbox*-filled glory.

*I’d just like to point out that I wrote this sentence before I’d seen The Phoenician Scheme, in which a hatbox features prominently. And there’s evidence to support that claim. That said, there doesn’t appear to be a typewriter anywhere in the movie, which is kind of shocking.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Ray Hardman: A WNPR legend
Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmballpodcast
Matt Sargent: A composer, guitarist, recording engineer, and assistant professor of music at Bard College
Teri Schrader: Head of school at Watkinson School in Hartford, Connecticut
Lindsay Lee Wallace: A writer and journalist covering culture, health, technology, bats, and anything else people will answer her questions about

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Song of the summer, 2025

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 20:51:09 +0000

Listen live Thursday at 1 p.m.

We’ve done a version of this show every single year since 2013. And we did it in 2011. We probably even did one in 2010. (We just can’t prove it.)

So it’s a bit of a tradition. It’s a tradition that … makes some people angry, we realize.

And that has a lot to do with how we define the term “song of the summer.” We use the Amanda Dobbins definition:

Let’s be clear about how this works: There is no such thing as a “personal” song of summer. We do not anoint multiple songs of summer. There can only be one; the Song of Summer, by its very definition, is a consensus choice. It is the song that wrecks wedding dance floors. It is the song that you and your mother begrudgingly agree on (even though your mom has no idea what rhymes with “hug me” and won’t stop yelling it in public). It does not necessarily have to hit No. 1 on the charts, but it should probably be on the charts because it must be widely played. It must bring people together. It must be a shared enthusiasm.

So it’s our job here to figure out what song from 2024 will get added to the long list of song of the summer classics like “Party Rock Anthem,” “Call Me Maybe,” “Despacito,” and “Blurred Lines.”

And if we’re wrong, well, it really just won’t matter at all.

GUESTS:

Xandra Ellin: A producer at Pineapple Street Studios
Frankie Graziano: Hosts The Wheelhouse on Connecticut Public
Sam Hadelman: Director of public relations at Dark Matter Media
Brendan Jay Sullivan: A writer, producer, and DJ best known for his work with Lady Gaga

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The animating power of rivers with writer Robert Macfarlane

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 19:15:57 +0000

What would it mean if we treated rivers as alive? That's the question that nature writer Robert Macfarlane wrestles with in his new book. What would happen if we took that aliveness seriously? How would we know what a river would want? Who would speak for it? These are questions that communities around the world are dealing with as they work to figure out how to protect rivers and the ecosystems that rely on them. This hour, Macfarlane joins us to talk about his new book, Is a River Alive?, and the stories we tell about the natural world.

GUEST:

Robert Macfarlane: Writer whose books include Underland: A Deep Time Journey, The Lost Words: A Spell Book, and The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot. His new book is Is a River Alive?

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're reading fewer books. That's not good

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This hour, we take stock of what it's like to read as an adult, and discuss why some Americans, including college students, are reading fewer books. We'll talk about how technology has impacted how we read. And we'll celebrate the practice of reading.

GUESTS:

Rose Horowitch: Assistant editor at The Atlantic
Maryanne Wolf: Permanent member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and the Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the author of books including Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World
Ben Winters: Novelist, television writer and producer, comic book writer, and creator of original audio content. His most recent novel is Big Time

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show, which originally aired on December 5, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Sometimes the goo gets out

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 19:39:25 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around the "dumbing down" of the arts, the way people pronounce "to," reading in the bathroom, the evolution of language, the Declaration of Independence, and more. Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Dept. Q’ and ‘Pee-wee as Himself’

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 16:16:02 +0000

Dept. Q is a new Scottish detective mystery series on Netflix and created by Scott Frank and Chandi Lakhani based on the book series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. It stars Matthew Goode as DCI Carl Morck, a wounded and unpleasant, but fairly brilliant, detective. The supporting cast includes Chloe Pirrie, Jamie Sives, Mark Bonnar, and Kelly Macdonald.

And: Pee-wee as Himself is a two-part HBO Original documentary directed by Matt Wolf. It is driven by more than 40 hours of interviews with Paul Reubens, the man behind Pee-wee, himself.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Rich Hollant: The founder and principal of CO:LAB, a Hall-of-Fame designer, and a co-partner at CENTER
Jacques Lamarre: A playwright and chief communications officer at Buzz Engine
Carolyn Paine: An actress and comedian, founder and director of CONNetic Dance, and the creative producer and choreographer for The Bushnell’s Digital Institute
Irene Papoulis: Wrote a short textbook called The Essays Only You Can Write
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This show isn’t waterproof, but your raincoat might be: The history of waterproofing our tech and everyday products

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 18:18:33 +0000

Have you ever broken your phone or computer by dropping it in water or spilling a drink on it? This hour, we discuss the relationship between the ever-present technologies in our lives and the liquids that surround us. We'll learn about how waterproofing works, and what all of this can tell us about consumer responsibility and the role of technology in our world. Plus, a look at raincoats and weather-proof paper.

GUESTS:

Rachel Plotnick: Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in The Media School at Indiana University Bloomington. Her new book is License to Spill: Where Dry Devices Meet Liquid Lives
Zoe Vanderweide: Senior Staff Writer covering style, apparel and accessories at Wirecutter, and co-author of the piece “The Best Men’s and Women’s Rain Jackets and Rain Coats"
Sean Leacy: Network and System Administrator for Rite in the Rain

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From totes to Birkins, handbags hold the keys to the world (along with your wallet and phone)

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 18:16:07 +0000

GUESTS:

Nancy MacDonell: Fashion journalist and fashion historian. She writes the Wall Street Journal column "Fashion with a Past.” Her new book is Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion
Hannah Carlson: Senior Lecturer in the Apparel Department at the Rhode Island School of Design. She’s also the author of Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close
Audrey Wollen: Book critic and writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's, The New York Review of Books and other outlets. Her article “A Unified Theory of the Handbag” recently appeared in The Yale Review
Aarushi Bhandari: An Assistant Professor of Sociology at Davidson College. Her forthcoming book is Attention and Alienation

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two thumbs up: A show all about fingers

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 16:17:30 +0000

Touch, grip, read, dance, gesture — what can’t they do? Our fingers are so vital to our everyday life, sometimes it seems they have minds of their own.

This hour, a look at the hidden language of finger gestures, the future of Braille, and the joys and challenges of animating fingers for the movies.

GUESTS:

Kensy Cooperrider: Cognitive scientist, writer, and host of the Many Minds podcast
Jonathan McNicol: Producer of The Colin McEnroe Show
Sile O’Modhrain: Professor at the University of Michigan studying sound and touch and the ways in which they interact
Carlos Fernandez Puertolas: Animator with DreamWorks

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 31, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: This is your host on ketamine

Mon, 02 Jun 2025 19:23:23 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to our tribute to Jill Sobule, spotted lanternflies, The Monkees, the provision in the tax bill that would weaken the courts, cardboard boxes, sea chanteys … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An hour with Griffin Dunne

Fri, 30 May 2025 14:30:00 +0000

Note: This episode contains strong language.

Griffin Dunne is Jack Goodman in John Landis’ classic horror-comedy An American Werewolf in London and Paul Hackett in Martin Scorsese’s After Hours and Loudon Trout in the Madonna-starring screwball comedy Who’s That Girl. He’s Uncle Nicky on This Is Us and Professor Dudenoff on Only Murders in the Building and Dr. Alon Parfit on Succession and Sylvére on I Love Dick.

He produced After Hours and Running on Empty and Once Around. He directed Practical Magic and Addicted to Love and the documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold.

His father was the journalist and novelist and movie producer Dominick Dunne. His aunt and uncle were the journalists and novelists and screenwriters Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. His sister was the actress Dominique Dunne. His grandfather was a famous heart surgeon from West Hartford, Connecticut.

In November, 2024, we recorded a conversation with Griffin Dunne on stage at The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford. It’s a lot about that complicated, sometimes tragic, often hilarious family. And it’s about movies and TV and writing. And Hartford.

This hour: Griffin Dunne.

GUEST:

Griffin Dunne: An actor, producer, and director and the author of The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired November 15, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The humble fly

Thu, 29 May 2025 16:37:17 +0000

There are thought to be about 17 million living flies for every human alive on Earth.

Also this hour: A look at David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of, you guessed it: The Fly.

GUESTS:

Jonathan Balcombe: Author of Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World’s Most Successful Insects
John Knuth: An artist
Gale Ridge: Associate scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Jacob Trussell: Author of The Binge Watcher’s Guide to The Twilight Zone; he published the piece “Only Jeff Goldblum Could Make Us Fall in Love with ‘The Fly’” at Film School Rejects

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired August 19, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How robots, and our attitudes toward them, have evolved

Wed, 28 May 2025 16:21:34 +0000

What counts as a robot? This hour, a look at what robots are and the latest in robot technology.

Plus, how robots were used and thought about in medieval times and Ancient Greece and the role of robots in science fiction.

GUESTS:

Chris Atkeson: Professor at the Robotics Institute and the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
Adrienne Mayor: Author of Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines and Ancient Dreams of Technology, among other books
Elly Truitt: Author of Medieval Robots: Mechanism, Magic, Nature, and Art
Daniel H. Wilson: Author of Robopocalypse and How To Survive a Robot Uprising: Tips on Defending Yourself Against the Coming Rebellion, among other books

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 12, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Building utopia

Tue, 27 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Over 500 years ago, Sir Thomas More wrote about utopia. Since then, countless communities around the world have worked to create their own versions of a perfect world. This hour, we look at examples of utopian communities from around the world.

GUESTS:

Avery Trufelman: Host of the podcast Nice Try!
Akash Kapur: Author of Better to Have Gone: Love, Death, and the Quest for Utopia in Auroville
Samir Patel: Former editor-in-chief of Atlas Obscura

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired August 18, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We can never escape The Rock: A look at Alcatraz

Fri, 23 May 2025 18:24:41 +0000

President Trump has instructed his administration to work toward rebuilding and reopening the notorious maximum security prison on Alcatraz Island.

But why? One theory has it that it’s because the Clint Eastwood movie Escape from Alcatraz aired on South Florida’s PBS station, Mar-a-Lago’s PBS station, on the day the president announced the plan.

As ridiculous as that is or would be, it kind of illustrates a larger point: When Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary closed in March, 1963, there were already more than a dozen movies about the prison. In the more than 60 years since it closed, Hollywood has made more than a dozen more.

Alcatraz, for pretty much its entire history, has held an outsized place in the American imagination and culture.

This hour: the past, present, and future (?) of Alcatraz.

GUESTS:

Shawna Chen: A reporter with Axios San Francisco
Jeff Himmelman: Author of Yours in Truth: A Personal Portrait of Ben Bradlee, Legendary Editor of The Washington Post; he is currently working on a book about Alcatraz

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The value of expertise in a world where everybody knows everything

Thu, 22 May 2025 18:11:55 +0000

GUESTS:

Tom Nichols: Staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters. He is also a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, and a five-time undefeated Jeopardy champion
Alan Dove: Science journalist and co-host of the podcast This Week in Virology
Adam Gopnik: Staff writer for The New Yorker. He is the author of The Real Work: On The Mystery of Mastery, among other books

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Just because you’re exhausted doesn’t mean you have to turn into a Ringwraith

Wed, 21 May 2025 18:38:20 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Tolkien’s potential Lord of the Rings sequel, planned Flag Day protests, parasocial relationships, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, former Vice President Kamala Devi Harris, Annie Lennox* … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

*Annie Lennox, who doesn't have a middle name, which screws up my series there, is an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), but she's not a Dame Grand Cross or Dame Commander, so she can't use the title Dame. Which also screws up my series there. And I admit that I had to look up Kamala Harris's middle name.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From zeppelins to dirigibles to the Goodyear Blimp, airships capture our imagination

Tue, 20 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

There’s something almost romantic about airships. The image of a giant, floating aircraft feels both nostalgic and futuristic.

In the early 20th century, airships were on the leading edge of aviation; today, they mostly live on in the domain of steampunk art and speculative fiction.

But a number of companies are betting they can bring airships out of the history books and into modern real-world applications like cargo transport and military uses.

This hour, the past and future of airships, both real and imagined.

GUESTS:

Nick Allman: Chief operating officer of Hybrid Air Vehicles
Jeanne Marie Laskas: A journalist and the author of eight books; in 2016 she published “Helium Dreams” in The New Yorker
Ken Liu: A futurist and author of speculative fiction, including The Dandelion Dynasty, an epic fantasy series featuring airships

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired November 1, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why ticks are on the rise and how humans are fighting back

Mon, 19 May 2025 16:05:50 +0000

You may have heard that tick borne diseases are on the rise. But don’t worry — we’ve got you covered. This hour, we’re taking you through three ways to defeat ticks. From tick-immune blood, to a tick-destroying robot and tried-and-true tweezers, this show is not for arachnids who are faint of heart.

GUESTS:

Rick Ostfeld: Distinguished senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Holly Gaff: Professor of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University
Jen Wegner: Associate curator of the Egyptian section at the Penn Museum
Birnur Aral: Executive Director of the Beauty, Health and Sustainability Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show, which originally aired on August 31, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is this just the worst era of American pop culture … ever?

Fri, 16 May 2025 18:33:17 +0000

Writer and critic Spencer Kornhaber just published a similarly-titled piece in The Atlantic: “Is This the Worst-Ever Era of American Pop Culture?”

According to Betteridge’s law of headlines, the answer to both versions of that question is just, plain, “No.” And maybe it is. Maybe even probably it is.

But maybe it’s more complicated than that, too.

This hour, we wonder just how bad things actually have gotten with our popular culture.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Director of arts, culture, and entertainment for the city of Hartford
Xandra Ellin: A producer at Pineapple Street Studios
Spencer Kornhaber: A staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of On Divas: Persona, Pleasure, Power
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A salute to accordions

Thu, 15 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Here are some songs from your life, "Backstreet Girl" by the Rolling Stones, "Joey" by Bob Dylan, "Road to Nowhere" by the Talking Heads, "Boy In The Bubble" by Paul Simon, "July Fourth, Asbury Park", better known as "Sandy" by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys. They all rely heavily on the accordion.

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is the biggest shock. Even if you know that song, it might never have occurred to you that Brian Wilson uses I'm pretty sure two accordions to make the primary propulsive musical fabric of that song.

The last two decades of indie music ought to have normalized the accordion - Tom Waits, REM, Arcade Fire, The Decemberists... I could go on. It has also endured years of ridicule here in the United States, even while it remained beloved and esteemed in Argentina, Paris, and almost everywhere else in the world. Now, it's enjoying a renaissance here in the States. This hour, we celebrate that with accordion rock stars of all styles.

You'll meet a man who is reclaiming the accordion, outfitting his latest version with MIDI controls, so it can mimic voice and other instruments, a woman who specializes in klezmer, and a man who plays his accordion in a trio alongside a guitar and tuba. You also meet other accordion rock stars, including James Fearnley from The Pogues. Just try to tell him that the squeezebox isn’t cool.

GUESTS:

Cory Pesaturo: Multiple award-winning accordion player from Rhode Island
Christina Crowder: Accordion player who specializes in klezmer and other Eastern European styles, and is a member of the Accordion/Violin/Viola trio, Bivolita
Will Holshouser: Accordion player and founder of the accordion/guitar/tuba trio, Musette Explosion
James Fearnley: Accordion player for The Pogues and the author of the memoir, Here Comes Everybody, The Story of The Pogues. He’s also a composer, and a founding member of The Low And Sweet Orchestra

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on August 7, 2014.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What Wikipedia can teach us about truth, information, and random trivia

Wed, 14 May 2025 18:12:55 +0000

GUESTS:

Stephen Harrison: Writer and tech lawyer. His new novel, The Editors, is inspired by Wikipedia
Amy Bruckman: Regents' Professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and author of Should You Believe Wikipedia?: Online Communities and the Construction of Knowledge
Annie Rauwerda: Writer, comedian, and Wikipedia influencer, who created “Depths of Wikipedia.” She was named “Wikimedian of the year” in the media category for 2022, and is currently working on a book about Wikipedia

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Which is worse, translating Cicero or laughing to death?

Mon, 12 May 2025 18:32:39 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Colin’s constant laughter (or not) and his nearly life-threatening reaction to Weekend Update on last week’s SNL, The Kennedy Center Honors, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s proposed autism database, Elissa Slotkin on The New Yorker Radio Hour, the 60 Minutes piece on fraud, Cicero’s Catalinarian orations … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Megan Fitzgerald, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our tribute to Jill Sobule

Fri, 09 May 2025 15:50:13 +0000

Our friend, the singer, songwriter, and performer Jill Sobule, died May 1 in a house fire in Woodbury, Minnesota, near Minneapolis. She was 66.

Jill appeared on our show at least seven times between 2012 and 2022, including the Season Two premiere of Pardon Me and the time she wrote an original song for our dumb towels episode. But it was her four full-show, in-studio appearances that really made her such an important force in the history of our show.

This hour, cobbled together from bits of those appearances, a best-of compilation of Jill Sobule on The Colin McEnroe Show. It’s our tribute to Jill and our insufficient thank you for the many hours that we got to spend with her on the radio.

GUEST:

Jill Sobule: Singer/songwriter

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Betsy Kaplan, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, Patrick Skahill, Lily Tyson, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired June 14, 2012; May 16, 2018; December 6, 2018; December 12, 2018; and September 15, 2022, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fashion Critic Vanessa Friedman discusses Trump's (second) first hundred days in fashion, clothes and politics, and more

Thu, 08 May 2025 18:27:31 +0000

The New York Times’ Chief Fashion Critic, Vanessa Friedman, joins us for the hour to discuss fashion in President Donald Trump's second administration, what we can learn from how politicians dress, the impacts of tariffs on the clothes we wear, and more.

GUEST:

Vanessa Friedman: Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic of The New York Times

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you still the you that you used to be? And other questions of self-continuity

Wed, 07 May 2025 18:24:49 +0000

Are you the same person, today, that you were when you were a little kid? Are you the same person, right now, that you will be in the last years of your life?

When Scotty beams folks up, are the people arriving back on the Enterprise really the same people who were down on the surface of whatever alien planet? In a movie like Mickey 17, is the 16th cloned Mickey really the same person as the original, first Mickey?

This hour, a look at the age-old philosophical concept of continuity of self.

GUESTS:

Edward Ashton: The author of six novels, including Mickey7, which has been adapted as the movie Mickey 17
David Finkelstein: Associate professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago
Hal Hershfield: Professor of marketing and behavioral decision making at UCLA and one of the authors of MIT’s Future You project

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

O Romeo (and Juliet): The lasting appeal of Shakespeare’s tragedy

Tue, 06 May 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Shakespeare’s tragedy about two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, has appealed to audiences for centuries. It’s been adapted countless times for stage and screen. And it’s in Hartford for the next few weeks.

From the set of Romeo and Juliet at Hartford Stage, and in front of a live audience, we talk with experts exploring the play and its legacy.

GUESTS:

David Sterling Brown: Associate professor of English at Trinity College; he is the author of Shakespeare’s White Others and a development associate and scholar in residence for the American Globe Center, and he is on the curatorial team for Claudia Rankine’s The Racial Imaginary Institute
Melia Bensussen: Hartford Stage’s artistic director
Carman Lacivita: Actor who is currently playing Friar Laurence in Hartford Stage’s production of Romeo and Juliet; he is a recipient of the Bayfield Award — given to the best performance of Shakespeare in the New York Metropolitan Area

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Hartford Stage is a current sponsor of Connecticut Public.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show. Thank you to the staff and volunteers at the Hartford Stage, including Lucas Clopton, Wesley McCabe-Schroeder, Lindsay Abrams, Zoe Golub-Sass, Jennifer Levine, Todd Brandt, and the volunteer ushers.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Are we living in a simulation? Are you thinking of leaving the U.S.? Book bans, gaslighting, the economy, and more

Mon, 05 May 2025 18:24:20 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Sinners’ and our culture consumption in anxious times

Fri, 02 May 2025 20:20:00 +0000

Sinners is the fifth feature film written and directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan. (Coogler has never made a feature without Jordan.) After years of sequels and Marvel movies, it’s Coogler’s first wholly original movie based on no other source material whatsoever. Sinners is a sexy Southern musical horror gangster thriller set in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta. With vampires. And it’s the No. 1 movie in the country.

Plus: We read Jill Lepore’s New Yorker piece about reading a Penguin Classic on each of the first 100 days of President Trump’s second term. And then a Vox piece about giving up Spotify. And we started thinking about the ways that we’re all consuming culture — avoiding or giving up some things, immersing ourselves in other things, etc. — in these, let’s say, anxious times.

GUESTS:

Raquel Benedict: The most dangerous woman in speculative fiction; she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Brian Slattery: A journalist and musician

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From boredom to handwriting: Christine Rosen on the embodied experiences we lose to technology

Thu, 01 May 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This hour we talk with Christine Rosen about her book, The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. We talk about how technology has impacted face-to-face interactions, boredom, loneliness, handwriting, and more.

GUEST:

Christine Rosen: Author of The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. She is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a columnist for Commentary magazine, senior editor at The New Atlantis and fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 3, 2024.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are rules for punctuation, but we don’t always agree on them

Wed, 30 Apr 2025 15:18:05 +0000

Should people use the Oxford comma? Is there a correct number of exclamation points per email? If someone ends a casual text with a period, does that mean they’re mad at you?

This hour: punctuation and how we use it. We talk about the history of punctuation marks, timeless punctuation debates, and how writing for texts and emails has changed the way we use punctuation.

GUESTS:

Raquel Benedict: The most dangerous woman in speculative fiction; she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast
Claire Cock-Starkey: Author of Hyphens and Hashtags: The Stories Behind the Symbols on Our Keyboard
Julia Pistell: Founding member of Sea Tea Improv and one of the hosts of the Literary Disco podcast

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired November 3, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're still pushing the boulder on the meaning of Sisyphus

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This hour, a look at the myth of Sisyphus, and how we invoke it today. Plus, we'll hear from a musician who has found inspiration in the story, and we'll discuss when it's time to give up.

GUESTS:

Joel Christensen: Professor of Classical Studies and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at Brandeis University. His newest book is The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic
Noah Baerman: Pianist, composer, and educator. He is director of the Wesleyan University Jazz Ensemble and artistic director of the nonprofit Resonance Motion. His most recent album is Live at the Side Door
Joshua Rothman: The New Yorker’s Ideas Editor, who writes the weekly column “Open Questions”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 21, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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All calls: Temporary tattoos, Americans emigrating, ‘MobLand,’ and more

Mon, 28 Apr 2025 19:18:51 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to temporary tattoos as an “I’m Spartacus” type of protest, Americans emigrating elsewhere, MobLand and Pierce Brosnan and Helen Mirren’s accents, why people are intimidated by classical music … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Megan Fitzgerald, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cut for time: More from our Bacharach / Warwick show at Watkinson

Sat, 26 Apr 2025 15:11:23 +0000

Note: This episode contains strong language.

Easily the hardest part of turning something like our live event celebrating the chemistry between Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick (and lyricist Hal David) into a radio show is figuring out what NOT to include. Onstage at Watkinson School in Hartford, we went nearly 80 minutes. The finished radio version runs just 50 minutes.

So we thought we’d present to you here separately some of that excised half hour.

This podcast extra includes four full song performances that didn’t make it into the radio show plus some odds and ends from rehearsals at soundcheck that we particularly enjoyed.

GUESTS:

Lou Bocciarelli: Bass
Atla DeChamplain: Vocals, Atla & Matt
Matt DeChamplain: Piano, Atla & Matt
Latanya Farrell: Vocals
Steve Metcalf: Piano
Molly Sayles: Drums

This show was produced, mixed, and edited by Dylan Reyes.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Conclave’ and ‘MobLand’

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 18:38:33 +0000

With rare exceptions, The Nose doesn’t usually cover movies from the previous Oscar season once the actual Oscars have happened. But major world events are the sort of things for which one might break with tradition, and with the death of Pope Francis on April 21, we thought we might make an exception.

Conclave is a 2024 political thriller melodrama based on the 2016 Robert Harris novel. It’s set at the Vatican and tells the story of the death of one pope and the election of the next. Conclave was nominated for eight Academy Awards this year, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Ralph Fiennes, and Best Supporting Actress for Isabella Rossellini. It won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

And: MobLand is a British crime drama television series. It was originally developed for Showtime as a spinoff origin story for Ray Donovan. But it eventually morphed into the standalone gangster story that has become the most-watched series launch ever for Paramount+. It stars Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan, Paddy Considine, and Helen Mirren.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Director of arts, culture, and entertainment for the city of Hartford
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What the world needs now: The chemistry of Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 16:27:35 +0000

This hour, it’s our show on the relationship and chemistry between Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick (and the lyricist Hal David) recorded live onstage at Watkinson School in Hartford.

It’s an hour of music, conversation, and demonstrations of how GPS can help you find the way to San Jose.

GUESTS:

Lou Bocciarelli: Bass
Atla DeChamplain: Vocals, Atla & Matt
Matt DeChamplain: Piano, Atla & Matt
Latanya Farrell: Vocals
Steve Metcalf: Piano
Molly Sayles: Drums

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Maegn Boone, Meg Dalton, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nothing to see here: Erasure in history, art and more

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 19:27:47 +0000

This hour, we look at the political erasure of history, and its impacts. Plus, we talk about why artists destroy their own work or the works of others. And, the history and evolution of erasers.

GUESTS:

Jason Stanley: Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. His latest book is Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future
Preminda Jacob: Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she is also an Associate Professor of Art History and Museum Studies
Caroline Weaver: Former shopkeeper at CW Pencil Enterprise, a pencil shop in New York City. She is founder of The Locavore Guide and author of The Pencil Perfect: The Untold Story of a Cultural Icon

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The fungus among us

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Since we just spent a number of years thinking about viruses, here’s a question: Should we be pretty worried about funguses, too?

This hour, a look at the real-life fungal infection of ants that inspired the video game and HBO series The Last of Us, which is now back for its second season. Plus, we talk with a local mushroom farmer and an author who writes fungal fiction and looks at the role of fungi in our world.

GUESTS:

William Beckerson: Post-doctoral research Fellow with the National Science Foundation
Patricia Kaishian: Mycologist and visiting assistant professor of biology at Bard College
Chris Pacheco: Owner of Seacoast Mushrooms in Mystic, Connecticut
Jeff VanderMeer: Author of a number of books, including the Southern Reach Trilogy, which includes Annihilation; he co-founded The Sunshine State Biodiversity Group

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 6, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Remembering Pope Francis, grammar complaints, face touching, and more

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 20:57:54 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long live the movie musical

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 16:14:57 +0000

The movie musical died a long, slow death a long time ago. Right?

Well, except that there’s Wicked. And Spielberg’s West Side Story. And Hamilton and In the Heights and Tick, Tick… Boom! And Encanto and Moana 2 and Mufasa. Oh, and Elvis and A Complete Unknown.

And those are just from the last five years. And I could keep going.

This hour, a long look at the long-dead movie musical. Long live the movie musical.

GUESTS:

Jeanine Basinger: Founder of the Department of Film Studies at Wesleyan University and the author of many books on film; her latest is Hollywood: The Oral History
Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 5, 2020.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why both the American dream and tragedy of 'The Great Gatsby' still resonate today

Thu, 17 Apr 2025 18:08:25 +0000

This hour, we revisit the novel and its cultural impact.

GUESTS:

Rob Kyff: Teacher and author of Gatsby’s Secrets. He also writes a nationally syndicated column on language
Maureen Corrigan: Book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, and a Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University. She is the author of So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came To Be and Why It Endures
Sara Chase: Actress who created the role of Myrtle Wilson in the Broadway production of The Great Gatsby

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where have all the public toilets gone?

Wed, 16 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote a column proclaiming that "America Is Not Made for People Who Pee." It hit a nerve. People responded with stories that all seemed to agree with him.

So, why don't we complain about locked doors, long lines (for women), or the lack of a public toilet where one should be? Lezlie Lowe might say that we don't like to talk about bodily functions that are perceived as kind of, well, gross.

This hour, we talk about public toilets, including one that people like.

GUESTS:

Lezlie Lowe: Teaches journalism at the University of King's College and is the author of No Place To Go: How Public Toilets Fail Our Private Needs
Evan Madden: Sales manager for The Portland Loo

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 15, 2021.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.The Colin McEnroe Show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The echoes of the Red Scare can be heard today

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 18:37:52 +0000

This hour we talk about the history of the Second Red Scare, a period also known as McCarthyism.

We learn about why the Scare took off in the United States, its impact, and how it eventually fizzled out. Plus, we’ll look at the parallels and throughlines between that time period and our current moment.

And, a look at how the Second Red Scare impacted Hollywood, and how it, in turn, was reflected back through the movies.

GUESTS:

Clay Risen: Reporter and editor at The New York Times, and the author of Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America
Ann Hornaday: The Washington Post's Senior Film Critic. She is the author of Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Protests, comedy, universities, bees, and more

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 19:00:27 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wild and crazy guys: A look at ’80s comedies

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 16:45:00 +0000

Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, John Belushi, John Candy, Rick Moranis.

Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Beverly Hills Cop, Caddyshack, The Jerk, Ghost Busters, ¡Three Amigos!, Funny Farm, Spaceballs, Stripes.

We maybe didn’t properly appreciate it at the time, but the 1980s were one of the most fertile periods ever for screen comedies and screen comedians.

This hour, a look at the mavericks who shaped a whole comedy aesthetic and at some of the most popular movie comedies ever made.

GUESTS:

Nick de Semlyen: Editor of Empire magazine and the author of Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the ’80s Changed Hollywood Forever
Daniel Kalwhite: A standup comedian based in New Haven
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which originally aired July 11, 2019, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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‘The Good Place’ creator Michael Schur explains how to be a good person

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

You know Michael Schur from the shows he’s created, like The Good Place, Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

This hour we talk with Schur about his book, How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question.

Through the conversation we discuss moral philosophy, and big moral questions like “should you return your shopping cart to the cart corral?”

GUEST:

Michael Schur: TV writer and producer and the author of How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 3, 2022.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why Jane Austen’s work endures, on the page and screen

Wed, 09 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Jane Austen completed six full-length novels. And today, 250 years after her birth, those novels are all still present in our culture.

This hour, a look at Austen’s life and work, the world of Janeites, and the many film and television adaptations of her work.

GUESTS:

Devoney Looser: Author of The Making of Jane Austen and Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës
Deborah Yaffe: Author of Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Anya Grondalski, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 28, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Damn the torpedo (bats): Baseball is back!

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 18:26:09 +0000

Finally, baseball is back!

This hour, a look at all the fun, weird, interesting storylines in this new season — including, yes, the so-called torpedo bats.

Plus: Is Aaron Judge the best right-handed hitter … ever? Is Shohei Ohtani the best baseball player … ever? How the A’s lost their Oakland. How the Rays lost their ballpark. The future of umpires and umpiring … And more.

GUESTS:

Adam Elder: A writer covering sports and culture; he is the author of New Kids in the World Cup: The Totally Late ’80s and Early ’90s Tale of the Team That Changed American Soccer Forever
Linda Holmes: A pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour; her new novel is Back After This
Sam Miller: Writes the Pebble Hunting Substack; he is the co-author of The Only Rule Is It Has To Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Rhododendrons, the economy, pickleball, and more

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 19:35:45 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The joy of bad movies

Fri, 04 Apr 2025 14:53:02 +0000

There’s something kind of special about the experience of a really great, really bad movie.

Think Red Dawn or Under Siege. Snakes on a Plane or Batman & Robin.

Independence Day is nearly perfect and so rewatchable — and also terrible.

This hour, a Nose-ish look at the joy of bad movies.

GUESTS:

Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and the co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications
Alicia di Leo: A para-educator in the integrated preschool program in the Manchester school system
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Severn Sandt: Associate director of strategic partnerships and outreach at Trinity College in Hartford
Howard Sherman: A theater administrator, writer, and advocate; he is the U.S. columnist for The Stage newspaper of London and the author of Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show, which originally aired August 2, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shall we dance?

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 16:36:28 +0000

Whether it’s for social, spiritual, or even psychological reasons (yes, dance therapy is a thing), humans have been dancing since the very beginning.

This hour, a look at all things dance — from ancient history to modern, Hollywood dance movies.

GUESTS:

Henry Alford: Author of And Then We Danced: A Voyage Into the Groove
Christina Devereaux: Board-certified dance/movement therapist
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Jonathan McNicol: Producer of The Colin McEnroe Show

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 5, 2018.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re still bananas for The Monkees

Wed, 02 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

This hour, a look at why, more than half a century after they first came walking down the street, we’re still bananas for The Monkees.

GUESTS:

Mark Rozzo: Contributing editor at Vanity Fair, where he published “The Most Influential Pop-Rock Band Ever? The Monkees!”
Andrew Sandoval: Manager of The Monkees from 2011 to 2021 and host of the podcast Come to the Sunshine
Rosanne Welch: Author of Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop Culture
Brian Williams: Former anchor of the NBC Nightly News

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired February 9, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at cultural manias from Liszt and orchids to the Beatles and beyond

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 18:20:58 +0000

GUESTS:

Daniel Durbin: Professor of Communication and Director of the Institute of Sports, Media and Society at the University of Southern California Annenberg School
Sarah Bilston: Professor of English at Trinity College and author of the forthcoming book, The Lost Orchid: A Story of Victorian Plunder & Obsession
Paul Barnes: Pianist and Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Music

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Sen. Chris Murphy, John Donne, rooting for blowouts (or not), and more

Mon, 31 Mar 2025 19:54:56 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Sen. Chris Murphy’s New Yorker interview, Stephen Graham and Adolescence and A Thousand Blows, whether John Donne and William Shakespeare knew each other, whether you should root for blowouts, the novel Darkmotherland by Samrat Upadhyay … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Megan Fitzgerald, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Adolescence’ and ‘Long Bright River’

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 18:14:22 +0000

Adolescence is a four-part Netflix limited series crime drama. It is written and created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, who also stars. Adolescence “tells the story of how a family’s world is turned upside down when 13-year-old Jamie Miller is arrested for the murder of a teenage girl who goes to his school.” Each hour-long (ish) episode is told in real time in one shot over one take.

And: Long Bright River is an eight-part Peacock limited series crime drama. It is created by Nikki Toscano and Liz Moore and based on Moore’s book. It stars Amanda Seyfried as a Philadelphia police officer who realizes that her own family history might be related to a series of murders.

GUESTS:

Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write
Tracy Wu Fastenberg: Associate vice president for development at Connecticut Children’s
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tribute to the proud and peaceful pigeon

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 16:53:44 +0000

Another group of researchers trained pigeons to reliably distinguish between the paintings of Picasso and Monet, even if they had never seen a particular painting before.

This hour, everything you ever wanted to know about pigeons but were afraid to ask.

GUESTS:

Yoni Applebaum: A social and cultural historian
Andrew Blechman: Author of Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird
Wanda Corn: The Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor Emerita in the department of art and art history at Stanford University
Patrick Skahill: Connecticut Public’s digital editor

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Tess Aaronson, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired November 12, 2013.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Historian Timothy Snyder helps us understand this current moment through the lessons of history

Wed, 26 Mar 2025 17:04:41 +0000

Historian Timothy Snyder is the author of the books On Freedom and On Tyranny. He joins us this hour to talk about the latest in our country, and what we can learn from history.

GUEST:

Timothy Snyder: Richard C. Levin Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University and a permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. He is the author of books including On Freedom, On Tyranny, Our Malady, and more

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From hot mics to mic drops, a celebration of the microphone

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 20:29:51 +0000

The microphone makes everything we do on the radio possible. This hour we celebrate the invention and look at the role of microphones in music. Plus hot mics, mic drops, and more.

GUESTS:

Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, professor at Berklee College of Music and co-author of the book This is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You
Azi Paybarah: Politics Reporter for The Washington Post
Forrest Wickman: Slate's culture editor

Colin McEnroe, Angelica Gajewski, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: The zipper merge, ‘American Pie,’ music streaming services, and more

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 21:07:02 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to the zipper merge, Don McLean’s “American Pie,” our 15th anniversary party, model trains (again), music streaming services, advice for caregivers in times of grief … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From The Bad Ideas Dept.: Today’s show is not about tapirs

Fri, 21 Mar 2025 15:17:06 +0000

This week, we’re celebrating the show’s 15th anniversary (which was last year, but never mind about that part).

Over those 15+ years, we’ve done something north of 3,000 shows. And every one of those shows was intended, more or less, to be about some … thing. Towels or Trump or toast or television or whatever.

This hour we do the opposite thing: a show not about a specific something — tapirs.

Note: This show features Chion Wolf’s performance of “Let’s Not Talk About Tapirs,” with lyrics by Colin McEnroe and music by Chion Wolf.

Also note: We’re idiots. Don’t let the fact that we’re idiots prevent you from finding tapirs as fascinating as we actually do. If you’re able, you might consider supporting the Tapir Specialist Group, which conserves “biological diversity by stimulating, developing, and executing practical programs to study, save, restore, and manage the four species of tapir and their remaining habitats in Central and South America and Southeast Asia.”

GUESTS:

Carmen Baskauf: Former producer for Where We Live on Connecticut Public
Kimberly Hyde: A keeper at the San Diego Zoo; she handles the zoo’s tapirs in its Elephant Odyssey habitat
Betsy Kaplan: Senior producer emeritus of The Colin McEnroe Show
Jonathan McNicol: The producer of this very episode of The Colin McEnroe Show
Carlos Mejia: Former digital producer at Connecticut Public
Mike Pesca: Hosts the independent daily podcast The Gist
Josh Nilaya: Former producer for The Colin McEnroe Show
Susan Piver: Meditation teacher, speaker, and long-time Buddhist practitioner
Patrick Skahill: Connecticut Public’s digital editor; producer emeritus of The Colin McEnroe Show

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which originally aired September 5, 2019, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Live from a forest: Discussing hiking, archaeology, invasives, and Connecticut's trails

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 14:00:00 +0000

There are more than 800 miles of Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails in Connecticut. Today we're doing our show from one of them.

There are things out in the woods that might surprise you, and one of the guys walking down the trail to visit us today is our state archeologist, who's still uncovering the mysteries of Connecticut distant past.

But we're also going to talk about the ecosystem of the trails and woods and about an unwelcome visitor, the emerald ash borer. We also hope to provides lots of good hiking tips and a few warnings about what to watch out for. So put on some [smack] bug spray and join us out in the woods.

GUESTS:

Clare Cain: Trail stewardship director for the Connecticut Forest and Parks Association
Geoff Meissner: Hiker who has hiked every Blue-Blazed trail in Connecticut
Nicholas Bellantoni: Connecticut’s state archaeologist
Steve Broderick: Forester and program director for the Goodwin Forest Conservation Education Center in Hampton

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Tucker Ives, Chion Wolf, Lydia Brown, and Gene Amatruda contributed to this show, which originally aired on August 9, 2012.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

March Madness 2025

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 20:07:09 +0000

March Madness is here!

And for the 15th* time, the only logical thing to do is to get improv comedian Julia Pistell and the actual Bill Curry together to talk basketball for an hour on the radio.

That may not be the only logical thing to do. It may be that that’s not actually a logical thing to do at all.

But we’re doing it anyway.

*It’s our 15th one of these unless it isn’t. We’re pretty sure we’ve done this show every year from 2010 on, but for 2020. That 2010 show is lost to internet history, but we’re fairly confident it happened. And the 2012 show … was about birds? But we’re counting it.

GUESTS:

Bill Curry: Playing the part of Bill Curry
Frankie Graziano: Host of The Wheelhouse on Connecticut Public
Mike Pesca: Hosts the independent daily podcast The Gist
Julia Pistell: A founding member of Sea Tea Improv, among a number of other things
Nayef Samhat: President of Wofford College

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What the history of the McKinley era, tariffs, and the Gilded Age can teach us about the present

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 18:19:42 +0000

GUESTS:

Kevin Kern: Associate Professor of History at The University of Akron. He is co-author of Ohio: A History of the Buckeye State
Beverly Gage: Professor of 20th-century U.S. history at Yale University. Her newest book, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
Joan Antonson: Executive Director of the Alaska Historical Society

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Will we ever get back to The Shire? Is Colin ok? Is anyone? And more

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 18:19:48 +0000

You can now watch our calls shows and send us a comment on YouTube!

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Angelica Gajewski, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘I’m Still Here’ and the dearth of old movies on Netflix

Fri, 14 Mar 2025 18:16:48 +0000

I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui) is a Brazilian, Portuguese-language political biographical drama based on the memoir by Marcelo Rubens Paiva. At this year’s Oscars, it won the Academy Award for Best International Feature, and it was the first Brazilian movie ever nominated for Best Picture.

And: A Hollywood Reporter piece worries that the recency bias in Netflix’s catalog — in which the oldest movie would currently appear to be 1957’s An Affair to Remember — is making us “cinema-illiterate.”

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An unusually strange event: Nikolai Gogol, ‘The Inspector,’ and ‘The Nose’

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 18:22:22 +0000

“The Nose” may be Nikolai Gogol’s most famous short story. It’s a surrealist — and self-consciously, self-awarely surrealist — story about a man whose nose disappears from his face and reappears in another man’s biscuits. And other places. There’s a moment toward the end of Susanne Fusso’s translation when the narrator says, “The strangest and most incomprehensible thing of all — is that writers can choose such plots.”

Well, yes.

Nikolai Gogol was a 19th-century Russian/Ukrainian novelist and playwright. One of his best-known plays, The Inspector, opens March 13 at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven.

And that short story, “The Nose,” might well be intertwined with the mythology of our little public radio show.

This hour, a look at the writer Nikolai Gogol.

GUESTS:

Susanne Fusso: Professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies at Wesleyan University and the author of a number of books, including Designing Dead Souls: An Anatomy of Disorder in Gogol and a recent translation, The Nose and Other Stories by Nikolai Gogol
Yura Kordonsky: The adaptor and director of the Yale Repertory Theatre’s production of The Inspector

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Necks: More than just something we have a pain in

Wed, 12 Mar 2025 14:00:00 +0000

GUESTS:

Kent Dunlap: Professor of Biology at Trinity College, Hartford, and author of The Neck: A Natural and Cultural History
Nancy MacDonell: Fashion journalist and fashion historian. She writes The Wall Street Journal column "Fashion with a Past.” Her new book is Empresses of Seventh Avenue: World War II, New York City, and the Birth of American Fashion

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Angelica Gajewski, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bring back the beaver!

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 19:39:55 +0000

Beavers build sophisticated dams and deep-water ponds that slow erosion of riverbanks, create cooler deep-water pools for temperature-sensitive plant and fish species, and increase the water table, a big deal for Western states coping with drought. And they're social animals who have mates, kits, and an active social life.

But centuries-old myths and fables about the beaver have led to their destruction and prevented us from recognizing their charms and value to the ecosystem. We fear them, dislike them, and use them for all the wrong reasons, like killing them for their pelts.

Let's celebrate the beaver!

GUESTS:

Jim Robbins: Freelance journalist based in Montana and a frequent contributor to the New York Times. He’s the author of several books including, The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and An Urge To Save the Planet
Rachel Poliquin: Freelance writer and curator. She’s the author of The Breathless Zoo: Taxidermy and the Cultures of Longing, and Beaver, for the Reaktion Books’ Animal Series
Heidi Perryman: Child psychologist and the founder of Worth A Dam
Sherri Tippie: Rescues beaver in Colorado and rehabilitates and relocates them to areas where ponds are needed

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 19, 2014.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Dissent, Adam and Eve, therapy, and more

Mon, 10 Mar 2025 18:16:09 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls, calls about anything, everything. And we’re doing another one. In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour. 888-720-9677. And! Now you can watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Come say (nice) things to us in the comments!

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How WWE got a chokehold on U.S. politics

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 19:18:19 +0000

In January, World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) Monday night show, Raw, moved to Netflix. The move comes around the time that a known WWE fan and Hall of Famer, President Donald Trump, entered the White House.

Josephine Riesman, author of Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America, argues that understanding WWE can help us understand Trump and his politics. This hour, we learn about WWE and its impact on Trump, and discuss the experience and appeal of watching wrestling.

GUESTS:

Josephine Riesman: Author of Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America
Tim Kail: Creator of “The Work of Wrestling” website and podcast. He is also the host and producer of “The Sarah Lawrence College Podcast”

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Turns out common sense isn’t all that common

Thu, 06 Mar 2025 18:00:00 +0000

President Donald Trump has been using the phrase “common sense” a lot. But it turns out that this is nothing new for politicians.

GUESTS:

Sophia Rosenfeld: Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania; she is the author of multiple books, including Common Sense: A Political History and her new book, The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life
Mark Whiting: Research fellow at the Computational Social Science lab at the University of Pennsylvania and chief technology officer of the startup Pareto.AI; you can find the common sense survey here
Mayank Kejriwal: Research professor and principal scientist at the University of Southern California

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Angelica Gajewski, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The secret lives of numbers

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:10:40 +0000

This hour, we look at the anthropological, psychological, and linguistical ramifications of the concept of numbers.

And we look at one philosophical question too: Are numbers even real in the first place?

GUESTS:

Brian Clegg: Author of Are Numbers Real? The Uncanny Relationship of Mathematics and the Physical World
Caleb Everett: Author of Numbers and the Making of Us: Counting and the Course of Human Cultures

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired October 12, 2017.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Booing, showering, pinball (again), suits, and more

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 19:22:12 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to booing, the separation of church and state, our anniversary party, showering in the morning vs. at night, pinball (again), Gene Hackman, whether or not Colin owns a suit … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe to get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Megan Fitzgerald, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Noscars 2025

Mon, 03 Mar 2025 20:34:00 +0000

We’ve never done this before.

The Nose has done Oscars shows any number of times, but they’ve basically all been preview shows of one kind or another on the Friday and/or Saturday before the Sunday ceremony.

But this year, we’re doing the other thing: a Monday reaction show after the Sunday ceremony. (The closest we’ve come before was a short emergency Nose to deal with The Slap, which I still think was really more of a smack, but whatever.)

Point being: The 97th Academy Awards were Sunday night. Anora cleaned up, winning five major awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress. The Brutalist picked up a couple other big awards. Movies like Emilia Pérez and Conclave and A Complete Unknown came up close to empty (Pérezand Conclave) or completely empty (Complete Unknown).

This hour, The Nose reacts to the Oscars — the surprises, the snubs, the speeches, the outfits, the memes, the chewing gum. The whole thing.

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Vivian Nabeta: Director of digital marketing for CT State Community College
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek”

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Severance’ and ‘Rosebud Baker: The Mother Lode’

Fri, 28 Feb 2025 20:23:03 +0000

Severance is a science fiction office comedy psychological thriller series created by Dan Erickson and executive produced and primarily directed by Ben Stiller. After a 32-month hiatus between seasons, its second season is running now on Apple TV+.

And: The Mother Lode is a standup special from comedian Rosebud Baker. It stitches together two performances from The Comedy Cellar in Manhattan — one when Baker was eight months pregnant and one 11 months after she gave birth.

GUESTS:

Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The romance of the north

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

This hour, we'll explore the idea of "northmanship." We'll talk about what it means to be from the north and to be inspired by the north. Is there a connection that we make to truth and beauty? Are we obsessed with it because it's slowly disappearing?

GUESTS:

Michael Robinson: Author, Department of Humanities Chair and Professor of History at University of Hartford. He hosts a podcast called "Time to Eat the Dogs"
Luanne Rice: Author of more than 30 novels, including 22 consecutive New York Times best sellers
Mary Ehrlander: Professor Emeritus of History at University of Alaska, Fairbanks
Halla Oskarsdottir: Icelandic journalist, columnist and book critic

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Julia Pistell and Chion Wolf contributed to this program, which originally aired March 5, 2015.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A show about how we pick the music for shows

Wed, 26 Feb 2025 20:14:05 +0000

You may notice that we curate our music rather carefully, the music we use going in and out of segments.

This hour, a look at how we do that, what our standards are, and how we make those choices about music.

GUEST:

Robyn Doyon-Aitken: Deputy director of audio storytelling and talk shows at Connecticut Public

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Pinball, voting with your dollars, winter, model trains, and more

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 19:33:35 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beyond woods and roads: The life and poetry of Robert Frost

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 19:19:15 +0000

You have probably encountered poet Robert Frost through his famous poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” or “The Road Not Taken.” But how much do you know about the man behind the poetry and the rest of his poems?

This hour, we learn about the life and poetry of Robert Frost and discover how he's helped to inspire other poets.

You can hear Adam Plunkett talk about his new book on Monday, February 24, at 7 p.m. EST at The University of Saint Joseph.

GUESTS:

Adam Plunkett: Literary critic and author of Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry
Sydney Lea: Former Poet Laureate of Vermont and a recipient of Vermont’s highest artistic distinction, The Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts; he is the author of 16 poetry collections, seven collections of personal essays, and two novels

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Dylan Reyes, and Kathy Wang contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Live from New York!’ A look at ‘Saturday Night’ and ‘SNL’

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

This past weekend, Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary with a concert and a special.

This hour, a look at the institution SNL has become over five decades on television.

Plus, a look at Jason Reitman’s movie, Saturday Night, which tells (a version of) the story of SNL’s inception in 1975.

GUESTS:

Dave Itzkoff: A journalist and writer and the author of four books; his most recent is Robin
Maureen Lee Lenker: A senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and the author of the novel It Happened One Fight
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 18, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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One man’s bureaucracy is another’s “deep state”

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:00 +0000

President Trump and his new administration have been dismantling the U.S. government's administrative state, what they call the "deep state." This hour, we take a look at what government bureaucrats do, the impact of Trump's actions, and how the reality of the administrative state differs from the rhetoric surrounding it.

Plus, we'll hear from the longtime congressional staffer who popularized the term "deep state" about how it's being used. And, a look at cultural depictions of the bureaucracy.

GUESTS:

Cristina Rodríguez: Professor of Law at Yale Law School
Mike Lofgren: Worked in Congress for twenty-eight years. He is the author of The Party is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted, as well as The Deep State: The Fall of the Constitution and the Rise of a Shadow Government
Jennifer Szalai: Nonfiction book critic for The New York Times

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shell we talk about eggs?

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

What else besides an egg can give us human life, culinary delight, life-saving vaccines, jarping, the Clowns International Egg Registry, and a satisfying bit of schadenfreude, all wrapped in one small package? Making a great omelet is the tip of the eggshell for the versatility of the egg.

This hour, a hard-boiled look at the ubiquitous, yet overlooked egg.

GUESTS:

John Portmann: Taught moral philosophy and ethics at the University of Virginia for several decades; he’s the author of When Bad Things Happen To Other People
Chris Prosperi: Chef and co-owner of Metro Bis in Simsbury, Connecticut, and a former recipe columnist for the Hartford Courant
Lizzie Stark: The author of Egg: A Dozen Ovatures

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired April 27, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Reacting to Trump's presidency, football, the genius of younger generations, and more

Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:34:52 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at one of our most forgotten presidents: Chester A. Arthur

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

This hour is all about America’s 21st president, Chester A. Arthur, who took office after President James Garfield was assassinated.

We look at Arthur’s life and legacy and at what happens when someone unexpectedly takes over the highest office in the land.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Scott S. Greenberger: Executive editor of Stateline and the author of The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur
Victoria Sample: Historic sites section chief for the state of Vermont

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 6, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Should theaters have to tell us the real movie start times?

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 22:26:13 +0000

State Sen. Martin Looney has proposed a bill in the Connecticut legislature that would require movie theaters to publish the actual start times of movies, rather than the time all the commercials and trailers and ads for concessions start.

This hour, a Nose-ish look at, well, that bill and the effects it would have on movie theaters and moviegoing.

Plus: the art and history of movie trailers, themselves.

GUESTS:

Allan Arkush: A contributor to Trailers from Hell; he worked in the trailers department for Roger Corman
Stephen Garrett: Founder of Jump Cut
James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Sam Hatch: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH
Martin Looney: President pro tempore of the Connecticut Senate and the state senator serving Hamden and New Haven
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Kevin O’Toole: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Cat Pastor, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired July 2, 2014, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The secret language of animals and how we're learning to understand it

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 19:03:43 +0000

GUESTS:

Arik Kershenbaum: Professor of Zoology at University of Cambridge, and author of Why Animals Talk: The New Science of Animal Communication
Federico Rossano: Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An appreciation of squirrels

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 20:05:00 +0000

At the same time, for some people, squirrels are nightmare fuel.

GUESTS:

Nick Buckley: A freelance journalist and photographer
Nancy Lawson: The author, most recently, of Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature and the founder of The Humane Gardner
Jennifer Smith: A behavioral ecologist and an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire, where she leads the Behavioral Ecology of Social Mammals Lab

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everyday Carry: Unpacking what we carry with us and why

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

What’s in your pockets right now? Phone, wallet, keys … maybe some discarded receipts or old gum?

This hour: what we carry with us every day, from flashlights the size of a lip balm to a life-saving medicine.

GUESTS:

Bernard Capulong: Founder and editor-in-chief of everydaycarry.com
Peter Canning: A Hartford paramedic, an emergency medical services coordinator at John Dempsey Hospital, and the author of Killing Season: A Paramedic’s Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Opioid Epidemic
Hannah Carlson: Senior lecturer in the Apparel Department at the Rhode Island School of Design and the author of Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close
Mona Gohara: Private practice dermatologist, associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine, and an advocate around increasing inclusivity in dermatology
Drew John Ladd: A writer

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Talking with friends, the King of Haiti, worrying about the future, and more

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 21:11:30 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Sing Sing’ and ‘American Primeval’

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 15:34:24 +0000

Sing Sing is a theater and prison drama directed by Greg Kwedar and written by Clint Bentley and Kwedar from a story by Bentley, Kwedar, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, and John “Divine G” Whitfield. It is nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Colman Domingo and Best Adapted Screenplay.

And: American Primeval is a Netflix limited series written and created by Mark L. Smith and directed by Peter Berg. It’s set in 1857 during the Utah War, and it stars Taylor Kitsch, Betty Gilpin, Dane DeHaan, Jai Courtney, Shea Whigham, and more.

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer
Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'I once had a dentist named Dr. Fillmore': Stories of nominative determinism

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 15:00:00 +0000

There’s a theory that people are drawn to work that fits their name. This hour, an exploration of nominative determinism. Plus, a look at the different ways your name impacts your life.

GUESTS:

David Bird: Emeritus professor of wildlife biology and director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University
Brett Pelham: Professor of psychology at Montgomery College
Tess Terrible: Senior producer of Where We Live on Connecticut Public
Laura Wattenberg: Naming expert, author of The Baby Name Wizard, and the creator of Namerology

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 16, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s time to talk about the alphabet in the room

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 16:43:56 +0000

Most of the Western world is organized by alphabetical order, which is so much more than the 26 letters that make up the alphabet.

This hour, a conversation about how we order our world and why we do it.

GUESTS:

Nicholson Baker: A novelist and essayist; his most recent book is Finding a Likeness: How I Got Somewhat Better at Art
Judith Flanders: Author of A Place for Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order
Peter Sokolowski: Editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 21, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eventually the world will end. Why can't we stop imagining it?

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 20:53:25 +0000

Just last week, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight. The end of the world has been something humans have been preoccupied with for a very long time. This hour, we talk about how we imagine the world ending, and what it says about us.

GUESTS:

Dorian Lynskey: Journalist and author of multiple books, most recently Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World. He is also co-host of the Origin Story podcast.
Brian Slattery: Freelance writer and editor. He is the author of four novels. His latest short story is “Clouds” which appears in the anthology Shadow Lab

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Connecticut’s Grammy winners, the ‘SNL’ music doc, and just a general searching for the way forward

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 22:55:24 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Hartford’s Grammy winners in the jazz categories, Peacock’s Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music documentary, international news reporting vs. domestic news reporting, a growing general sense of consternation … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From ‘Ninotchka’ to ‘Love Actually’: A celebration of the romantic comedy

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 16:58:32 +0000

In his book From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy, Scott Meslow lays out two ways to tell if a given movie is a rom-com. First, his own definition: “A romantic comedy is a movie where (1) the central plot is focused on at least one romantic love story; and (2) the goal is to make you laugh at least as much as the goal is to make you cry.”

And then, The Donald Petrie Test, named for the director of some rom-coms, like Mystic Pizza and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but also some edge cases, like Miss Congeniality and Grumpy Old Men: “If you removed the love story from this [comedy], would you still have a movie? If the answer is no, it’s a romantic comedy. […] If the answer is yes, it’s a comedy with a romantic subplot.”

So those are the litmus tests. Now, does that make Broadcast News a rom-com, or no? What about Annie Hall? Or something like Grosse Pointe Blank? How about His Girl Friday? Or even, actually, Love Actually?

This hour, a deconstruction — and celebration — of the romantic comedy.

GUESTS:

Illeana Douglas: The Official Movie Star of The Colin McEnroe Show
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Scott Meslow: Author of From Hollywood with Love

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired August 24, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Occam’s razor makes the case for simplicity in a complex world

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Occam’s razor states that “entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.”

This hour is all about Occam’s razor: where the principle came from, how it impacts science, its role in medicine, and how it shapes our daily lives.

GUESTS:

Kurt Andersen: Co-founder of Spy magazine, the host and co-creator of Studio 360, and the author of Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire — A 500-Year History
Johnjoe McFadden: Author of Life Is Simple: How Occam’s Razor Set Science Free and Shapes the Universe
Lisa Sanders: Clinician educator in the Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program at the Yale School of Medicine and the author of the Diagnosis column for The New York Times Magazine

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired November 17, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The weird and fundamental idea that is zero

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Zero is considered by many mathematicians to maybe be humanity’s greatest achievement.

This hour, a look at the strange and essential concept of the number zero and how the human brain deals with it.

Plus: the trend toward zero-sugar and zero-calorie sodas.

And: 0 (and 00) as a uniform number in sports.

GUESTS:

Emily Contois: Associate professor of media studies at The University of Tulsa and the author of Diners, Dudes, and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide in Food Media and Culture
Todd Radom: A designer, sports branding expert, and writer
Yasemin Saplakoglu: A staff writer covering biology for Quanta Magazine

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, SpotifyAmazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 20, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A big, hulking, concrete look at brutalism

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 21:37:17 +0000

Crawford Hall at Yale. The Louis Micheels House in Westport. The Babbidge Library at UConn. Hotel Marcel in New Haven.

Connecticut is dotted with stunning examples of brutalism, the divisively modernist and minimalist style of architecture.

With Brady Corbet’s epic drama, The Brutalist, nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, we take a long look at brutalism.

GUESTS:

Bruce Redman Becker: Founder and director of Becker + Becker in Westport, Connecticut
Barnabas Calder: Head of the History of Architecture Research Cluster at the University of Liverpool and the author of Raw Concrete: The Beauty of Brutalism
Philip Kennicott: Senior art and architecture critic at The Washington Post

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm having writer's block writing this headline about writer's block

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 16:00:00 +0000

Everyone has likely experienced some form of writer's block in their lives — when you sit down to write and the words just won't come. This hour we dive into the phenomenon and talk with writers about their experiences with it. What is writer's block, where does it come from, and how can you get past it? Plus, we take a look at the long history of writer's block, and the muses, goddesses, and saints we call on when we have it.

GUESTS:

Jami Attenberg: Author whose new book is A Reason to See You Again. She is also the creator of “#1000wordsofsummer,” and writes the newsletter “Craft Talk”
Dennis Palumbo: Writer and licensed psychotherapist who specializes in working with creative patients. He is a former Hollywood screenwriter, and the author of numerous books
Joyce Kinkead: Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Utah State University. She is author of A Writing Studies Primer, among other books

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 19, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘A kind of musical Mark Twain’: A look at Randy Newman

Fri, 24 Jan 2025 17:17:35 +0000

Randy Newman has been nominated for 22 Academy Awards (he’s won twice), for 23 Grammy Awards (seven wins), and for three Primetime Emmy Awards (and he won all three).

Critic Robert Hilburn has published what may well be the definitive biography of Newman, A Few Words in Defense of Our Country.

This hour, Hilburn joins us to talk Randy Newman.

GUEST:

Robert Hilburn: Author of A Few Words in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How should we treat the dead?

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 17:55:58 +0000

This hour, we look at our cultural fascination with dead bodies. What do we owe the dead? What can the dead teach us? What does a body represent to you?

We talk to a death investigator who observes what the dead can teach us about living, a poet / mortician, who laments our growing estrangement from our dead, and a reporter who has investigated the large — and legal — market for body parts.

GUESTS:

Barbara Butcher: A retired New York City death investigator and the author of What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator
Ally Jarmanning: A senior reporter for WBUR; she’s the host and reporter for Season 4 of the podcast Last Seen: Postmortem
Thomas Lynch: The author of six collections of poems, six books of essays, and a book of stories; he worked as a funeral director for over 50 years

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Jonathan McNicol, and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 18, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Socrates' lessons on life, death, and conversation with Agnes Callard

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 19:46:31 +0000

This hour, philosopher Agnes Callard joins us to talk about her new book, Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life.

GUEST:

Agnes Callard: Associate Professor of Philosophy at The University of Chicago. Her new book is Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: The inauguration, ‘The Price Is Right,’ Van Gogh, Klaus Schulze, and more

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 19:21:56 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the inauguration, our immigration system, Van Gogh, The Price Is Right, Klaus Schulze’s Kontinnum … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Poet Laureate of Rock ’n’ Roll: A look at Bob Dylan

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 15:58:22 +0000

We’re at a point where, for many of us, there has simply never been a popular culture in which Bob Dylan wasn’t a towering figure.

And with the new Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, getting awards nominations left and right, this hour we take a look at the Poet Laureate of Rock ’n’ Roll: Bob Dylan.

GUESTS:

Noah Baerman: A pianist, composer, and educator
Fred Bals: Hosted the Dreamtime podcast, covering Theme Time Radio Hour with Your Host, Bob Dylan
Sean Latham: Director of the Institute for Bob Dylan Studies, editor of The World of Bob Dylan, and the writer and narrator of It Ain’t Me You’re Looking For: Bob Dylan at 80
Gayle Wald: Professor of American studies at George Washington University; her most recent book is It’s Been Beautiful: Soul! and Black Power Television

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired May 20, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The story of book chapters, one page at a time

Thu, 16 Jan 2025 20:27:34 +0000

This hour we take a look at the history and evolution of chapters, and discuss how they impact our reading experiences.

GUESTS:

Nicholas Dames: Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, where he studies the history and theory of the novel. His new book is The Chapter: A Segmented History from Antiquity to the Twenty-First Century. He is also co-editor in chief of Public Books
Rebecca Makkai: Author of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award Finalist The Great Believers, among other books. Her latest book is I Have Some Questions For You. She is artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why we’re still mesmerized by the myth of Rasputin

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

In the century since Russia’s “Mad Monk” was poisoned, we’ve come to believe a lot of things: he was mystical, he was evil, he was the world’s greatest lover.

This hour: Rasputin — the all-too-human peasant who found his way to friendship with the Romanovs and the comical, absurd version of him that just won’t die.

Plus, a look at "The New Rasputins."

GUESTS:

Douglas Smith: Historian and author of Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs
Anne Applebaum: Staff writer at The Atlantic, Senior Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the School of Advanced International Studies, author of books including Autocracy, Inc.: The Dictators Who Want to Run The World

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired May 3, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are we thinking about travel the wrong way?

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

It feels like tourism hit a breaking point this past summer, with residents around Europe protesting visitors, new entrance and tourist fees popping up at famous spots, and even a net going up to block a popular view of Mt. Fuji. This hour, a philosopher makes the case against travel. Plus, we talk about how tourism is impacting destinations, like Bologna, Italy, and ways to travel differently.

GUESTS:

Agnes Callard: Associate Professor of Philosophy at The University of Chicago. Her forthcoming book is Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life
Ilaria Maria Sala: Italian journalist
Lisa Abend: Journalist for The New York Times, TIME, Vanity Fair and AFAR. Her Substack is “The Unplugged Traveler”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 17, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: How our music tastes change, movie credits, red and blue states, and more

Mon, 13 Jan 2025 19:26:21 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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The King: Before there was Lebron, there was Elvis

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Elvis left two legacies. Musically, he pulled several American musical traditions out of the shadows, braided them together, and made them mainstream. Personally, he created a far darker template for the way a musical celebrity could be devoured by the very fame he avidly sought.

Recorded live in front of an audience — long before the pandemic — as part of Colin’s Freshly Squeezed series at Watkinson School, an hour about the artist who defined the birth of rock and roll and was the genre’s first superstar.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar and vocals
Latanya Farrell: Vocals
Steve Metcalf: Piano and vocals

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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This show originally aired February 20, 2019.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The power of promises, from inaugural oaths to marriage vows

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 19:21:38 +0000

During the Inauguration in a few weeks, President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office. It's a practice that elected officials are taking part in across the country following the 2024 election. So what is the significance of this oath? This hour, we take a look at oaths, vows, and pledges. We'll discuss their history and their meaning, and explore the examples of marriage vows and the Pledge of Allegiance.

GUESTS:

Joanne Pierce: Professor Emerita in the Department of Religious Studies at the College of The Holy Cross, who specializes in medieval Christianity, particularly liturgy and worship
Cheryl Mendelson: Author of Vows: The Modern Genius of an Ancient Rite
Charles Dorn: Professor of Education at Bowdoin College, and co-author of Patriotic Education in a Global Age

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Alcohol is bad for us. So why have humans been drinking it for thousands of years?

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

While some people decide to abstain from alcohol for Dry January, we take a look at alcohol, and our relationship with it.

Drinking alcohol has a number of negative impacts. But humans have been doing it for thousands of years and show no signs of stopping. This hour, a look at why we drink, why more people are moving towards sobriety through the “sober curious” movement, and the rise of nonalcoholic cocktails.

GUESTS:

Edward Slingerland - Author of Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization, and a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia
Hilary Sheinbaum - Journalist and author of The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month
Elva Ramirez - Journalist, media consultant and author of Zero Proof Cocktails: 90 Non-Alcoholic Recipes for Mindful Drinking

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 18, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The real lives of the Vikings

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 18:09:53 +0000

When you think of the Vikings, you probably picture a bearded man wearing a horned hat, pillaging on a Viking ship. But that's far from the whole story.

This hour is all about the everyday lives of the Vikings with historian Eleanor Barraclough, from their homes and hair to their myths and music.

GUEST:

Eleanor Barraclough: Historian, writer, and broadcaster based at Bath Spa University; her new book is Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of The Viking Age

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Robot throuples, The Golden Globes, AI and music, and more

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 19:12:57 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at the bullying impact of the canon and the zeitgeist

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Is there some thing that EVERYBODY seems to like that you’re just not that into? Star Wars? Game of Thrones? Seinfeld? The Beach Boys? Christopher Nolan? … Taylor Swift?

Or what about some very current thing that seemingly everybody thinks is so interesting and cutting edge and exciting, but you just don’t like it? (For Colin, that very current thing is The Bear on TV.)

What do you do when that happens? How do you feel about it? Embarrassed? Wrong? Defiant?

This hour, a look at not liking all the things you’re “supposed” to like.

GUESTS:

John Dankosky: Director of news and audio for Science Friday, event and podcast host for The Connecticut Mirror, and co-owner of Lam Yoga in New Hartford, Connecticut
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek”
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 20, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All Calls: Stealing punchlines, judging Colin, chaos Muppets part 2, and more

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 20:47:33 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Dylan Reyes, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Live from Watkinson, it’s part 2 of our 2024 holiday spectacular

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:25:00 +0000

We’ve put on a holiday special every year for the last decade. But this year, for the first time, we did it in front of a (pretty large!) audience.

On the night of December 18, Colin got 10 performers together onstage, and they rocked their way through an 18-song setlist of holiday and holiday-adjacent classics.

There were nine different vocalists, three different pianists. Some of these folks had never met in person before soundcheck, but somehow it really worked!

This hour, live from the Foisie Family Ampitheater at Watkinson School in Hartford, it’s part two of our annual holiday spectacular!

GUESTS:

Michelle Begley: Vocals and guitar, In Trine
Kate Callahan: Vocals, In Trine
Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar and vocals, The Shinolas
Atla DeChamplain: Vocals, Atla & Matt
Matt DeChamplain: Piano, Atla & Matt
Lorne Entress: Drums and vocals, The Shinolas
Latanya Farrell: Vocals
Atticus Kelly: Piano and vocals, In Trine
Steve Metcalf: Piano
Cynthia Wolcott: Vocals, In Trine

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Maegn Boone, Meg Dalton, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the cereal aisle to the ballot box, how groceries shape our lives

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Grocery prices were a regular talking point in this past election cycle. This hour is all about the grocery store. We talk about how items get on the shelves, the unique business model of Trader Joe's, and the factors that impact grocery prices. Plus, a look at the appeal of Costco.

GUESTS:

Benjamin Lorr: Author of The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket; his first book was Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga
Abha Bhattarai: Economics correspondent for The Washington Post
Ben Ryder Howe: Contributor to The New York Times and author of My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired September 4, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our favorite jazz of 2024

Fri, 27 Dec 2024 16:35:39 +0000

As we have every year for at least the last 11 years, to round out the year, we round up the best jazz of the year.

GUESTS:

Jen Allen: A pianist, composer, arranger, and educator; her most recent album is Sifting Grace
Noah Baerman: A pianist, composer, and educator; his newest album, from the Noah Baerman Trio, is Live at the Side Door
Gene Seymour: A film, television, and music critic

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our relationship with rest is changing, and it’s about time

Thu, 26 Dec 2024 20:14:07 +0000

In the midst of this holiday week, we talk about the importance of rest, and how to rest well. Plus, we'll talk about the role of rest in religion, and look at the history of "the rest cure" in medicine.

GUESTS:

Alex Soojung-Kim Pang: Author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, and Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less—Here's How among other books
Kristen Lucken: Program chair of religious studies, and lecturer in religion, sociology, and global studies at Brandeis University
Alicia Puglionesi: Writer, historian, lecturer at Johns Hopkins, and author of In Whose Ruins: Power, Possession, and the Landscapes of American Empire, among other books

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Bathroom signage, Chaos Muppets, secrets, and more

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 23:22:19 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Live from Watkinson, it’s part 1 of our 2024 holiday spectacular

Sat, 21 Dec 2024 16:56:24 +0000

We’ve put on a holiday special every year for the last decade. But this year, for the first time, we did it in front of a (pretty large!) audience.

On the night of December 18, Colin got 10 performers together onstage, and they rocked their way through an 18-song setlist of holiday and holiday-adjacent classics.

There were nine different vocalists, three different pianists. Some of these folks had never met in person before soundcheck, but somehow it really worked!

This hour, live from the Foisie Family Ampitheater at Watkinson School in Hartford, it’s part one of our annual holiday spectacular!

GUESTS:

Michelle Begley: Vocals and guitar, In Trine
Kate Callahan: Vocals, In Trine
Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar and vocals, The Shinolas
Atla DeChamplain: Vocals, Atla & Matt
Matt DeChamplain: Piano, Atla & Matt
Lorne Entress: Drums and vocals, The Shinolas
Latanya Farrell: Vocals
Atticus Kelly: Piano and vocals, In Trine
Steve Metcalf: Piano
Cynthia Wolcott: Vocals, In Trine

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Maegn Boone, Meg Dalton, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The joy of Christmas movies, from the classics to the NFL and ‘Hot Frosty’

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 19:26:44 +0000

‘Tis the season for holiday movies. This hour, we look at this year's offerings from Netflix and Hallmark, discuss what makes a good holiday movie, and get some ideas for what to watch this holiday season.

GUESTS:

Laura Bradley: Entertainment and features reporter
Amanda Hess: Critic at large for The New York Times

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The legends of King Arthur and why they still matter today

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

This hour, we take a look at the legends of King Arthur. We discuss their evolution and why they endure.

Plus, we talk with author Lev Grossman about his new retelling of the King Arthur legend, The Bright Sword.

And, a conversation with an archeologist about excavating the history of Arthurian legends.

GUESTS:

Lev Grossman: Bestselling author of The Magicians Trilogy. His new book is The Bright Sword
Leah Tether: Professor of Medieval Literature and Publishing at Bristol University, and Vice President of the International Courtly Literature Society
Win Scutt: Archeologist and Senior Properties Curator for the West of England at English Heritage, a nonprofit that cares for over 400 historic monuments

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on July 30, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our hour with the late Hal Holbrook

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 18:06:18 +0000

Samuel and Olivia Clemens and their children moved into the house they’d had built at Nook Farm in Hartford — the house that we now call the Mark Twain House — in 1874, 150 years ago this year.

To celebrate that anniversary, this hour we present a new version of our 2015 interview with the late Hal Holbrook.

Holbrook was probably best known for his one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight!, which he performed for 63 years — longer than Samuel Clemens used the Mark Twain moniker.

Beyond Mark Twain Tonight!, you probably know Hal Holbrook as Deep Throat in All the President’s Men. He’s in a Dirty Harry movie. He’s in a Steven Spielberg movie. He’s in Wall Street and The Firm and John Carpenter’s The Fog. He appeared on Designing Women and The West Wing and The Sopranos and Sons of Anarchy and Grey’s Anatomy.

Hal Holbrook won a Tony Award. He was nominated for 12 Emmys, and he won five. And he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Into the Wild.

We talked to Holbrook on the evening of February 3, 2015. He was two weeks shy of his 90th birthday — which birthday he celebrated by performing Mark Twain Tonight! at The Bushnell in Hartford.

Hal Holbrook died in 2021. He was 95.

GUEST:

Hal Holbrook: Film, television, and stage actor

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

This interview was originally produced by Betsy Kaplan.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired February 4, 2015, and June 17, 2023, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who are epigraphs for?

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 20:08:39 +0000

This hour: the art of the epigraph.

We talk with writers about how they pick the quotes that open their books, what epigraphs can do well, how the business of epigraphs works, and what epigraphs mean for readers.

Plus, a look at how some movies use epigraphs.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Tajja Isen: A contributing writer for The Walrus and the author of Some of My Best Friends
Courtney Maum: The author of five books including Before and After the Book Deal and the memoir The Year of the Horses; she also writes the Before and After the Book Deal Substack

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Corniness, sappiness, Irishness, words like ‘personally,’ the Packers, and more

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 19:21:06 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to corniness and sappiness with age, needless words like “personally,” Irishness, the dangers possibly coming to the free press and public media, the Green Bay Packers, bird friends … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at the current Irish invasion of the popular culture

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 19:55:08 +0000

Say Nothing. Small Things Like These. Kneecap. Bad Sisters. All of Us Strangers. The Banshees of Inisherin and An Cailín Ciúin a couple years ago. Normal People and Derry Girls a few years before that.

Paul Mescal and Colin Farrell and Saoirse Ronin and Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan and Hozier and Andrew Scott and Daryl McCormack and Kerry Condon.

The list goes on.

Something’s going on with the Irish and Ireland in our movies and TV and elsewhere.

This hour, a Nose-ish look at the current Irish moment in our popular culture.

GUESTS:

Will Hermes: Writes about music “and life’s other mysteries,” and he’s a longtime contributor to All Things Considered; he’s the author, most recently, of Lou Reed: The King of New York
Nate Jones: A senior writer for Vulture and New York magazine covering movies and pop culture
Róisín Lanigan: A contributing editor at The Fence Magazine and the author of the forthcoming novel I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There, and she writes the Substack Notions

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at ‘brain rot,' from TikTok to Thoreau

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 20:07:14 +0000

Oxford University Press has named “brain rot” the word of the year for 2024. The term beat out five other finalists: “demure,” “dynamic pricing,” “lore,” “romantasy,” and “slop.” This hour, a look at brain rot, from Thoreau’s Walden through to social media.

GUESTS:

Casper Grathwohl: President of Oxford Languages at Oxford University Press
Katie Notopoulos: Senior correspondent at Business Insider who writes about technology, business, and culture
Laura Dassow Walls: Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Notre Dame and the author of Henry David Thoreau: A Life, among other books

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Bard’s the thing: A show about Shakespeare

Wed, 11 Dec 2024 15:00:00 +0000

Shakespeare, it turns out, is not immune to the culture wars, the book banning, the cancel culture (despite his being dead for more than four centuries). So, fine. Cancel Shakespeare, then, one argument goes. Because here’s the thing: Shakespeare’s plays and poems ARE dirty and smutty and gory — and that’s a big part of what makes them so great.

And: Earlier this year, the romantic comedy Anyone But You became the highest-grossing live-action Shakespeare adaptation ever made. So we look at Shakespeare as fertile rom-com IP, from 10 Things I Hate About You and beyond.

And finally, Bardcore is a thing. The one and only Hildegard von Blingin’ joins us.

GUESTS:

Maureen Lee Lenker: A senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and the author of the novel It Happened One Fight
Drew Lichtenberg: Associate director at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC
Hildegard von Blingin’: A singer and illustrator

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Meg Dalton, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired on June 14, 2024.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From can openers to ricers, a look at what’s in our kitchens

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:10:00 +0000

What’s in your kitchen? With a plethora of kitchen tools available to us today, the contents of our kitchen drawers varies. But a recent survey has shed light on some trends in kitchen tool ownership.

This hour, a look at that data and the history and evolution of kitchen tools and gadgets. Plus, examples of creative kitchen tools throughout history.

GUESTS:

Megan Elias: Historian and director of the Food Studies Program and associate professor at Boston University
David Montgomery: Senior data journalist at YouGov and a history podcaster
Corinne Mynatt: Author of Tools for Food: The Objects That Influence How and What We Eat

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired December 11, 2023.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Colin's favorite song, reading, The Whalers, and more

Mon, 09 Dec 2024 19:39:49 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Lioness’ and ‘The Remarkable Life of Ibelin’

Fri, 06 Dec 2024 19:18:30 +0000

Lioness is the seventh of eight TV series created by Taylor Sheridan. It’s a spy thriller starring Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly, and Laysla De Olivera. Its second season concludes December 8.

And: The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is a Norwegian documentary that tells the story of a terminally ill disabled young man and the surprising life he led in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. Ibelin won two World Cinema Documentary awards at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, including the Audience Award.

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're reading fewer books. That's not good

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 19:29:32 +0000

This hour, we're going to take stock of what it's like to read as an adult, and discuss why some Americans, including college students, are reading fewer books. We'll talk about how technology has impacted how we read. And we'll celebrate the practice of reading.

GUESTS:

Rose Horowitch: Assistant editor at The Atlantic
Maryanne Wolf: Permanent member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and the Director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is the author of books including Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World
Ben Winters: Novelist, television writer and producer, comic book writer, and creator of original audio content. His most recent novel, Big Time, came out in March

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From a jar to a box — How we misunderstand Pandora and her legacy

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 15:58:29 +0000

Trump’s trial. AI. Online learning. Everything’s a “Pandora's Box."

This hour, we discuss the myth and the metaphor of Pandora's Box. Plus, a look at human curiosity.

GUESTS:

Natalie Haynes: Author of six books, including the nonfiction work Pandora’s Jar, and the novels A Thousand Ships and Stone Blind
Maria Tatar: Professor of folklore and mythology at Harvard University. Her latest book is The Heroine with 1001 Faces
Federico Rossano: Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on August 29, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The music, medicine, and mystery of humming

Tue, 03 Dec 2024 16:35:12 +0000

From Thurston Harris and Crash Test Dummies to that noise your refrigerator makes, humming sounds are all around us (especially if you’ve been to Windsor, Ontario).

This hour, musical humming, mysterious humming, and how humming could be good for your health.

GUESTS:

Colin Novak: Associate professor at the University of Windsor
Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, professor at Berklee College of Music and co-author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You
Gunjan Trivedi: Co-founder of Wellness Space and an author of several studies exploring the benefits of humming on stress and health

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Jonathan McNicol, Bradley O’Connor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired July 25, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: ‘Say Nothing,’ ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’ the windshield phenomenon, and more

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 22:01:29 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the FX on Hulu series Say Nothing and parallels to the Israel-Hamas war, “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” A Charlie Brown Christmas on Apple TV+, the windshield phenomenon, the regionally different lilt of sentences, whether or not the Democrats will ever get it together … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes a book a classic? A read of the Western canon and how it’s changing

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 15:30:00 +0000

This hour, we look at the idea of the Western canon and those books that are considered “classics.” We talk about what’s in the canon, what isn’t and what should be, and how it evolves.

Plus, we talk about The Atlantic’s recent list of “The Great American Novels.” And we learn about a publishing company that is experimenting with artificial intelligence to bring classic books alive for a new audience.

GUESTS:

Gal Beckerman: Senior editor for books at The Atlantic
Laura Kipnis: Cultural critic, essayist, and the author of Love in the Time of Contagion: A Diagnosis, among other books
Roosevelt Montás: Senior lecturer in American studies and English at Columbia University and the author of Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation
James Mustich: Author of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired July 24, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Want to really know someone? Look in their fridge

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

This hour, a look at refrigeration and how it’s shaped what we eat and how we live with Nicola Twilley, author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves. Plus, we’ll take a look at what we can learn about someone from the inside and outside of their refrigerator.

GUESTS:

Nicola Twilley: Co-host of the podcast Gastropod and author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves
Peyton Dix: Social media strategist, content creator, writer, and co-host of the podcast Lemme Say This

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 11, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Though the heavens fall’: The JFK assassination in our media and culture

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 15:30:00 +0000

President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22, 1963.

It would be hard to argue that the modern American era, the era that we’re still living in more than 60 years later, didn’t begin on that Friday afternoon in Dallas. It would be hard to overstate the effect and influence of that event, that act on the American psyche.

This hour, a look at the shadow that the JFK assassination still casts over our news and politics, our movies and music, our media and culture.

GUESTS:

Stephen Battaglio: Writes about television and the media business for the Los Angeles Times
Timothy Hampton: The author of several books, including Bob Dylan: How the Songs Work
Sean O’Neal: A writer, a contributor to Texas Monthly, and the former editor-in-chief of The A.V. Club
Steve Rose: Assistant features editor at The Guardian
Philip Shenon: The author of A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Joey Morgan, Cat Pastor, Lateshia Peters, Dylan Reyes, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired November 22, 2017, and November 22, 2023, in a different form.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're still pushing the boulder on the meaning of Sisyphus

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 19:54:04 +0000

This hour, a look at the myth of Sisyphus, and how we invoke it today. Plus, we'll hear from a musician who has found inspiration in the story, and we'll discuss when it's time to give up.

GUESTS:

Joel Christensen: Professor of Classical Studies and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at Brandeis University. His newest book is The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic
Noah Baerman: Pianist, composer, and educator. He is director of the Wesleyan University Jazz Ensemble and artistic director of the nonprofit Resonance Motion. His most recent album is Live at the Side Door
Joshua Rothman: The New Yorker’s Ideas Editor, who writes the weekly column “Open Questions”

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The weird and fundamental idea that is zero

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 19:16:40 +0000

Zero is considered by many mathematicians to maybe be humanity’s greatest achievement.

This hour, a look at the strange and essential concept of the number zero and how the human brain deals with it.

Plus: the trend toward zero-sugar and zero-calorie sodas.

And: 0 (and 00) as a uniform number in sports.

GUESTS:

Emily Contois: Associate professor of media studies at The University of Tulsa and the author of Diners, Dudes, and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide in Food Media and Culture
Todd Radom: A designer, sports branding expert, and writer
Yasemin Saplakoglu: A staff writer covering biology for Quanta Magazine

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, SpotifyAmazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why some women ‘boycott’ men, from Ancient Greece to the 4B Movement

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 19:38:33 +0000

Some women in the United States are adopting the 4B Movement from South Korea: no marriage, no childbirth, no dating, and no sex. This hour we take stock of that movement globally, and the history of other similar movements, including one depicted in an ancient Greek play, Lysistrata.

GUESTS:

Min Joo Lee: Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Occidental College
Cécile Simmons: Researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue focusing on gender, extremism and digital culture. Her forthcoming book is Ctrl Hate Delete: The New Anti-Feminist Backlash and How We Fight It
Tania Shew: Research fellow at the University of Oxford, who has a book under contract tentatively titled Sex Strikes and Suffragettes
Elizabeth Bobrick: Visiting Scholar in Wesleyan’s Department of Classical studies

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls under the influence (of Novocain): Jethro Tull, making love courteously, Yeats, and more

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 22:29:45 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An hour with Griffin Dunne

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 16:36:28 +0000

Note: This episode contains strong language.

Griffin Dunne is Jack Goodman in John Landis’ classic horror-comedy An American Werewolf in Londonand Paul Hackett in Martin Scorsese’s After Hours and Loudon Trout in the Madonna-starring screwball comedy Who’s That Girl. He’s Uncle Nicky on This Is Us and Professor Dudenoff on Only Murders in the Building and Dr. Alon Parfit on Succession and Sylvére on I Love Dick.

He produced After Hours and Running on Empty and Once Around. He directed Practical Magic and Addicted to Love and the documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold.

Last week, we recorded a conversation with Griffin Dunne on stage at The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford. It’s a lot about that complicated, sometimes tragic, often hilarious family. And it’s about movies and TV and writing. And Hartford.

This hour: Griffin Dunne.

GUEST:

Griffin Dunne: An actor, producer, and director and the author of The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian Reed wants you to “Question Everything” about journalism

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 21:42:15 +0000

You probably know Brian Reed from his hit award-winning series "S-Town." Now, Brian has a new podcast, "Question Everything," where he is re-examining everything about journalism. Today Brian Reed joins us for the full show to talk about what he's discovered.

GUEST:

Brian Reed: Host and producer of the new podcast “Question Everything” from KCRW and Placement Theory, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. He also hosted and executive produced the podcast series “S-Town” and “The Trojan Horse Affair”

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kafka and his legacy, 100 years after his death

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 16:37:10 +0000

Franz Kafka died 100 years ago, but his work is still very much alive today in literature classes and, surprisingly, on social media.

This hour, we look at Kafka’s life and legacy, discuss the “Kafkaesque,” and investigate why the author resonates so much today.

Plus, we revisit his most famous work, “The Metamorphosis,” and talk with a zoologist about the idea of turning into an insect.

GUESTS:

Benjamin Balint: Author of Kafka’s Last Trial; his latest book is Bruno Schulz: An Artist, A Murder, and the Hijacking of History
Tim Coulson: Professor of zoology at the University of Oxford; his latest book is The Science of Why We Exist: A History of the Universe from the Big Bang to Consciousness
Margarita Mouka: Content creator and creative executive; her TikTok handle is @aquariuscat444
Karolina Watroba: Post-doctoral research fellow in modern languages at Oxford’s All Souls College and the author of Metamorphoses: In Search of Franz Kafka

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 8, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: tables, Keri Russell, the election, and more

Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:20:40 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to tables, Keri Russell, how much you should disengage from politics, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, stolen deliveries and mail theft … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How algorithms shape our world, for better and for worse

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 15:00:00 +0000

We hear about algorithms all the time, but what is an algorithm exactly? This hour, we learn about how algorithms work, a bit about their history, and how they're impacting our culture.

GUESTS:

Ed Finn: Author of What Algorithms Want: Imagination in the Age of Computing, and founding director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University
Bruce Gil: Reporter for Quartz
Liz Pelly: Writer and editor, whose forthcoming book is Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 22, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roommates wanted: How the people you live with impact your life

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 14:36:21 +0000

Roommates: can't live with them, can't (afford to) live without them. They're the people who use your dishes and don't wash them. They're the people who apparently have a huge influence on your career choice and drinking habits. This hour, we're getting to know them better!

GUESTS:

Ken Jennings: Colin’s college roommate
Kelli María Korducki: Journalist who writes about work and the family
Bruce Sacerdote: Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College
Francesca Fontánez: Social Media Editor at CT Public and a former college RA

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Lily Tyson, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 23, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OK. Well. The election is over

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 19:22:01 +0000

As I type this, four states remain uncalled, including two battlegrounds. It could take days or longer to determine the final popular vote tally. Control of the U.S. House of Representatives is still to be determined.

But that’s nothing like the uncertainty we were expecting to reign over the day and days after Election Day.

Put another way: Donald Trump is projected to have won the presidency. And pretty decisively.

In some ways, we’ve been here before.

In other ways, though, things seem pretty significantly different this time around. Just as an example, Connecticut seems to have swung toward Trump by 10 points or more as compared to 2020.

This hour, we start to pick up the pieces after a long and consistently, persistently surprising election that has come to its inevitable end.

GUESTS:

Bill Curry: Playing the part of Bill Curry
David Folkenflik: NPR’s media correspondent
Azar Nafisi: The author of six books, including Reading Lolita in Tehran; her newest is Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Citizen Observers’ share their voting stories from around the state

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 19:11:03 +0000

On Election Day we do a show where we ask people across Connecticut to do a simple thing: Go vote in your town before 1 p.m. Then call us between 1 and 2 p.m. and tell us how it felt, what you saw, whom you spoke to. Say whatever you want to say about the experience of voting.

This hour we hear from Citizen Observers about their experiences at the polls.

GUESTS:

Lara Herscovitch: Singer-songwriter-poet, performer, advocate, former CT State Troubadour, and children’s book author
Logan Tomlinson: Student at the University of New Hampshire
Kate Rushin: Poet, writer, and educator
Francesca Fontanez: Associate Social Media Editor here at Connecticut Public
Charles Barber: Nonfiction author and writer in residence at Wesleyan University
Betsy Kaplan: Senior Producer emeritus of The Colin McEnroe Show
Dr. Ulysses Wu: System director of infectious diseases and chief epidemiologist at Hartford HealthCare
George Noujaim: Owner of Noujaim’s Bistro in Winsted
Terry Cowgill: Was an op-columnist at CTNewsJunkie for 12 years who now has a Substack "Red Meat For Mushy Moderates"
Susan Clinard: Owner of Clinard Sculpture Studio in West Haven

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: A cargo transportation idea, early voting, football superstition, and more

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 20:40:50 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose helps you get through this last weekend before Election Day

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 18:11:20 +0000

Four days left. Four (4!) days until Election Day. We’re feeling the stress, the anxiety. And we’re guessing you are too.

In one of our show meetings, we got to talking about the benefits of, uh, smoothing out your brain a bit in times like these.

So this hour, we gather a number of folks you know from The Nose and talk about ways to quiet your mind over these last few days, bits of culture you can consume — from The Great British Bake Off to Love Is Blind, from horror movies to Jane Austen to giving fantasy football a try — to get your brain a break over the weekend.

For the full list of shows and movies and books and everything else recommended in this show and in the prep leading up to it — it’s a long list! — subscribe to The Noseletter before November 2.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals
Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian and writer and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too
Tracy Wu Fastenberg: Development officer at Connecticut Children’s
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, SpotifyAmazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Does democracy have a design problem?

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 19:51:32 +0000

This hour we talk with experts in ballot design about how to put together a ballot that's accessible to everyone, and all of the things to keep in mind, from font size to the length of candidate's names. Plus, a look at the evolution of ballots throughout history.

GUESTS:

Whitney Quesenbery: Executive Director of the Center for Civic Design
Alicia Cheng: Head of Design at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and author of This is What Democracy Looked Like: A Visual History of the Printed Ballot

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From jingles to Beyoncé: How music shapes political campaigns

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 15:45:41 +0000

This hour, we look at how political campaigns use music, from the history of political jingles to how Harris and Trump are using music in the 2024 election.

GUESTS:

Dana Gorzelany-Mostak: Associate professor of music at Georgia College; she is the founder of Trax on the Trail and the author of Tracks on the Trail: Popular Music, Race, and the US Presidency
Charlie Harding: Music journalist, songwriter, producer, adjunct professor of music at New York University, and the co-creator and co-host of the Switched on Pop podcast
Eric Kasper: Professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the author of Don’t Stop Thinking About the Music: The Politics of Songs and Musicians in Presidential Campaigns
Justin Patch: Associate professor and chair of music at Vassar College and the author of The Art of Populism in US Politics: Pro-Trump DIY Popular Culture

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired August 22, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From jelly beans to Diet Mountain Dew, how politicians eat and why it matters

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 23:24:29 +0000

GUESTS:

Alex Prud'homme: Journalist and author of several books, including Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House. He also co-wrote My Life In France with Julia Child
Linda Civitello: Food historian and author of books including Baking Powder Wars and Cuisine and Culture

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Election stress, comedy vs. journalism, Declan the Dog … and stuff like that

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 18:57:27 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to election stress, acclimating ourselves to the cold winter, the difference between comedy and journalism, Declan the Dog, Colin’s use of the phrase “and stuff like that” … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Hey, boppers, keep your radio tuned tight’: A look at ‘The Warriors’

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 18:17:52 +0000

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton follow-up is here, and it’s a concept album — a musical adaptation, written with Eisa Davis, of the 1979 film The Warriors and the novel that preceded it.

This hour, a look at Warriors, the album, and The Warriors, the movie, and more.

GUESTS:

Walter Chaw: A writer, editor, and instructor and the author of A Walter Hill Film
Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Craig Jenkins: A critic for Vulture and New York Magazine who writes about music and television and comedy and video games
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The year in horror, 2024

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 16:12:11 +0000

It’s our annual Halloween special, a look at the year in horror!

We delve into the economic- and artistic wherewithal of the genre surrounded by a larger Hollywood in flux, with particular looks at breakouts like Osgood Perkins’ Longlegs, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3, and maybe the most divisive movie of the year, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance.

Plus, for its 25th anniversary, an appreciation of The Sixth Sense and the long shadow its twist ending still seems to cast over the career of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.

GUESTS:

Miriam Balanescu: A culture writer and editor
Tim Grierson: Senior U.S. critic for Screen Daily, the author of This Is How You Make a Movie, and co-host of the Grierson & Leitch podcast
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too
Christian Zilko: Staff editor at IndieWire

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some people are considering whether it’s time to leave the United States

Wed, 23 Oct 2024 18:20:47 +0000

Some Americans are considering whether this country is a place where they want to live in the future.

This hour is all about leaving the United States.

We talk to someone who made the move about what inspired her and her new life in Portugal. Plus, we learn more about the process of actually moving out of the country. And we talk to someone who has considered leaving, but ultimately decided to stay here, for now at least.

GUESTS:

Wajahat Ali: The Daily Beast columnist, public speaker, and author of Go Back To Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on Becoming American; he wrote “Is It Time for Me to Leave America?”
DeNeen Brown: Local enterprise reporter at The Washington Post and an associate professor at the University of Maryland; she wrote “The Case for Leaving America to Escape Racism”
Caryl Hallberg: Moved from the United States to Portugal in 2020
Jennifer Stevens: Executive editor of International Living

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe, Jacob Gannon, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 7, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat on global authoritarianism and the future of democracy

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 19:49:20 +0000

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour, we talk with Ruth Ben-Ghiat about authoritarianism and democracy.

GUEST:

Ruth Ben-Ghiat: Professor of History and Italian Studies at New York University. Her latest book is Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present. She also writes the Substack newsletter “Lucid.”

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Retirement, early voting, dragonflies, and more

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 19:35:25 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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‘Live from New York!’: A look at ‘Saturday Night’ and ‘SNL’

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 18:11:26 +0000

Saturday Night Live started its 50th season in September.

This hour, a look at the institution SNL has become over five decades on television.

Plus: Jason Reitman’s new movie, Saturday Night, which tells (a version of) the story of SNL’s inception in 1975.

GUESTS:

Dave Itzkoff: A journalist and writer and the author of four books; his most recent is Robin
Maureen Lee Lenker: A senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and the author of the novel It Happened One Fight
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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George Washington is having a moment

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 20:53:05 +0000

From Saturday Night Live to the cover of The Atlantic, George Washington is having a bit of a moment. This hour is about our first president and his legacy. Plus, is he funny?

GUESTS:

Joanne Freeman: The Class of 1954 Professor of History & American Studies at Yale University. Her most recent book is The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War
Tom Nichols: Staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of the Atlantic daily newsletter. He is also a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, and a five-time undefeated Jeopardy champion
Sara Ruberg: A member of the 2024-25 class of Times Fellows at The New York Times

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is print dead or is it making a comeback?

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Is print dead? Or will it make a comeback? This hour, we talk about the benefits and drawbacks of getting your news in print form. We learn about the print age, or the “Gutenberg Parenthesis,” and we talk about the business of printing.

GUESTS:

Kelsey Russell: A media literacy influencer and co-host of “First Stop News”
Jeff Jarvis: Author of The Gutenberg Parenthesis: The Age of Print and Its Lessons for the Age of the Internet. His new book is The Web We Weave. He co-hosts the “This Week in Google” and “AI Inside” podcasts
John Garrett: Founder and CEO of “Community Impact,” a privately owned chain of 40 community newspapers in Texas, which also includes its own printing facilities

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 16, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christian nationalism, religiosity, and the 2024 election with Brad Onishi

Tue, 15 Oct 2024 20:49:18 +0000

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour, we talk with Brad Onishi about Christian nationalism and its impact on U.S. politics.

GUEST:

Brad Onishi: Co-host of the “Straight White American Jesus” podcast and author of Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism -- And What Comes Next

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Columbus Day, textures, textiles, Tolkien, and more

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 19:41:49 +0000

This hour, the conversation winds around to Columbus Day, Colin’s favorite joke, textures, J.R.R. Tolkien, the movie The Apprentice, food allergies, our fundraising drives … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Playwright Jeffrey Lieber on truth, lies, memory and ‘Fever Dreams’

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:34:41 +0000

Jeffrey Lieber was one of the Emmy-nominated creators of the TV series Lost.

He has been a showrunner on series like NCIS: New Orleans and Charmed and the new reboot of Matlock starring Kathy Bates.

And his play Fever Dreams (of animals on the verge of extinction) is currently running at TheaterWorks Hartford.

This hour, screenwriter, television producer, and playwright Jeffrey Lieber joins us in studio.

GUEST:

Jeffrey Lieber: A screenwriter, showrunner, and playwright

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Today: Did episode on notebooks & diaries, bought kiwi fruit, had teeth cleaning

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 19:43:57 +0000

This hour is all about notebooks. We'll talk about the history and evolution of notebooks, favorite examples, and celebrate the joy of writing things down. Plus, a look at the Notes App.

GUESTS:

Roland Allen: Book publisher and author of The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper
Charley Locke: Journalist, and contributing writer to The New York Times Magazine, who recently wrote “Keep Your Notes App Under Lock and Key” for The Atlantic

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: How to find an artsy community, towns governed by oral tradition, toothpaste, and more

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:02:13 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Words, words, words: A look at style guides and Britishisms in American English

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 19:08:39 +0000

This hour, a look at words and usage and grammar and language and all that fun stuff.

Have you noticed how we Americans have become “so bloody keen on Britishisms?” Ben Yagoda joins us to talk about his new book, Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English.

Plus, there’s been an update to The Chicago Manual of Style, its first in seven years. We take a look at the CMOS, in particular, and bang on (there it is again!) about dreaded style guides, in general.

GUESTS:

Scott Huler: The author of seven non-fiction books; his most recent is A Delicious Country: Rediscovering the Carolinas along the Route of John Lawson’s 1700 Expedition
Ben Yagoda: The author, coauthor, or editor of 14 books and the host of the podcast The Lives They’re Living

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An hour with Rupert Holmes

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 15:44:53 +0000

Rupert Holmes won two Tony Awards for his musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood. His single “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His dramedy Remember WENN was AMC’s first original scripted series. And his newest novel, Murder Your Employer, was a New York Timesbestseller.

This hour: Rupert Holmes.

GUEST:

Rupert Holmes: Playwright, composer, singer-songwriter, and author

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired April 20, 2024, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monologuist Josh Kornbluth wonders if our society is suffering from political dementia

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 17:25:00 +0000

As a fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute, monologuist Josh Kornbluth started to see parallels between brain disease and, well, everything that’s going on in our politics today.

With his new solo show, Citizen Brain, he hopes to “spark an empathy revolution.”

Josh Kornbluth joins us in studio for the hour.

GUEST:

Josh Kornbluth: A monologuist, author, and actor, and he writes the But Not Enough About Me Substack

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From boredom to handwriting: Christine Rosen on the embodied experiences we lose to technology

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 14:00:00 +0000

This hour we talk with Christine Rosen about her new book, The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. We talk about how technology has impacted face-to-face interactions, boredom, loneliness, handwriting, and more.

GUEST:

Christine Rosen: Author of The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. She is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a columnist for Commentary magazine, senior editor at The New Atlantis and fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The political importance of Gen Z with journalist Rachel Janfaza

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 18:16:58 +0000

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour, we talk with journalist Rachel Janfaza about Gen Z voters.

GUEST:

Rachel Janfaza: Journalist who covers Gen Z political culture and young voters in U.S. politics. Her newsletter is “The Up and Up”

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author A.J. Jacobs says he “will never take elastic or democracy for granted again”

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 19:03:37 +0000

In A.J. Jacobs’ new book, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning, he details his experience living by the Constitution for a year.

Jacobs joins us for the hour to tell us about the experiment and what he learned.

GUESTS:

A.J. Jacobs: The author, most recently, of The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning and the host of The Puzzler podcast

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired May 7, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Fat Bear Week, sports, call-in shows, Mars, and more

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 18:48:22 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to our old friends evolving (or not), sports losing its magic (or not), spending billions of dollars trying to get rockets to Mars (or not), Fat Bear Week, radio call-in shows, sane washing … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An hour with Percival Everett

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 16:34:05 +0000

Percival Everett is the author of 24 novels, four short story collections, and six collections of poetry.

His 2001 novel Erasure was adapted as the feature film American Fiction, which was nominated this year for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Everett has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

His newest novel, James, reimagines Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.”

This hour, Percival Everett joins us in studio.

GUEST:

Percival Everett: Novelist and poet

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired June 5, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The role of journalism in the 2024 election with writer Mark Jacob

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 19:04:52 +0000

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour, we talk with veteran journalist Mark Jacob about the state of American journalism and its impact on the upcoming election.

GUEST:

Mark Jacob: Writes the weekly newsletter “Stop the Presses.” He is the former Metro Editor of The Chicago Tribune and former Sunday Editor of The Chicago Sun-Times. He is also the co-author of ten books on history and photography

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The art and politics of political speechmaking

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 16:29:13 +0000

Policy speeches, convention speeches, concession speeches, victory speeches, stump speeches. Inaugural addresses, State of the Union addresses, prime-time addresses. There sure are a lot of speeches that we expect presidents and presidential candidates to give.

But how much do those speeches really matter anymore? How much do they work as, say, TikTok fodder?

This hour, the art and politics of political speechmaking.

GUESTS:

Bill Curry: Playing the part of Bill Curry
Jeff Nussbaum: A special assistant and senior speechwriter to President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2022; he is a partner at Bully Pulpit Interactive Media and the author of Undelivered: The Never-Heard Speeches That Would Have Rewritten History
Linda Qiu: A New York Times reporter specializing in fact-checking statements made by politicians and public figures

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let us pray — A salute to our favorite mantis

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 15:30:23 +0000

This year, local students lobbied Connecticut lawmakers to change our state insect, which is currently the praying mantis.

This hour, we are focused on the praying mantis.

We learn about the insect, why students think it should not represent the state, and what praying mantises of the future could look like.

GUESTS:

Liz Alter: Professor of evolutionary biology at California State University Monterey Bay
Katherine Dugas: Entomologist and research technician at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired April 8, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Colin says you don't want to meet him, hummus, robins, and more

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 18:59:32 +0000

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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A look at the bullying impact of the canon and the zeitgeist

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 18:35:29 +0000

Is there some thing that EVERYBODY seems to like that you’re just not that into? Star Wars? Game of Thrones? Seinfeld? The Beach Boys? Christopher Nolan? … Taylor Swift?

What do you do when that happens? How do you feel about it? Embarrassed? Wrong? Defiant?

This hour, a look at not liking all the things you’re “supposed” to like.

GUESTS:

John Dankosky: Director of news and audio for Science Friday, event and podcast host for The Connecticut Mirror, and co-owner of Lam Yoga in New Hartford, Connecticut
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek”
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm having writer's block writing this headline about writer's block

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 19:07:54 +0000

GUESTS:

Jami Attenberg: Author whose new book, out next week, is A Reason to See You Again. She is also the creator of “#1000wordsofsummer,” and writes the newsletter “Craft Talk”
Dennis Palumbo: Writer and licensed psychotherapist who specializes in working with creative patients. He is a former Hollywood screenwriter, and the author of numerous books
Joyce Kinkead: Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Utah State University. She is author of A Writing Studies Primer, among other books

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A conversation with Don Winslow about love, money, murder, and why free food tastes better

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Bestselling author Don Winslow joins us to discuss his new novel, City in Ruins, which he says is the last of his career.

GUEST:

Don Winslow: Bestselling author whose new book is City in Ruins

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 3, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are we thinking about travel the wrong way?

Tue, 17 Sep 2024 18:54:09 +0000

It feels like tourism hit a breaking point this summer, with residents around Europe protesting visitors, new entrance and tourist fees popping up at famous spots, and even a net going up to block a popular view of Mt. Fuji. This hour, a philosopher makes the case against travel. Plus, we talk about how tourism is impacting destinations, like Bologna, Italy, and ways to travel differently.

GUESTS:

Agnes Callard: Associate Professor of Philosophy at The University of Chicago. Her forthcoming book is Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life
Ilaria Maria Sala: Italian journalist
Lisa Abend: Journalist for The New York Times, TIME, Vanity Fair and AFAR. Her Substack is “The Unplugged Traveler”

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Shrews, praying mantises, the power of Taylor Swift, and more

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 19:51:08 +0000

Listen live Monday at 1 p.m.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we’re doing another one.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Riding the line between art and pulp’: A look at cult classic cinema

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 15:40:31 +0000

If I say “cult classic,” what do you think of? Probably an underground movie that built up an intense following over time, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show or The Room, right? Or maybe even something a bit more mainstream like The Big Lebowski?

But where’s the limit here, if there is one? Is Blade Runner a cult movie? Or Pulp Fiction? Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Office Space? Slap Shot? (I mean: Slap Shot?!?)

This hour, a look at a genre, a cross section of cinema history that seems to include everything from all-time classics like A Clockwork Orange to all-time terribles like Plan 9 from Outer Space and many, many weird and not-even-so-weird things in between: the cult classic.

GUESTS:

Millie De Chirico: Co-author of TCM Underground: 50 Must-See Films from the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema and co-host of the I Saw What You Did podcast
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Sam Hatch: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH
Kevin O’Toole: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH

This show was produced with Sajina Shrestha.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired April 11, 2024, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside the confusing, time-sucking, unequal world of taxes

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0000

How did taxes, this quintessentially frustrating thing, come to be so frustrating? And must it be so?

This hour, we’re learning about why taxes are so complicated to file in the U.S. Then, we’ll talk about how some of the richest people in America end up paying next to no taxes on the wealth they grow every year. Finally: a conversation with someone who doesn’t pay a chunk of his taxes — on purpose — as a form of protest.

GUESTS:

Monica Prasad: Professor of Economic and Political Sociology at Johns Hopkins University
Paul Kiel: Reporter for ProPublica who covers taxes
Lawrence Rosenwald: Professor of English Emeritus at Wellesley College and a longtime war tax resister

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 28, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Never be the same’: 23 years in the shadow of 9/11

Wed, 11 Sep 2024 17:20:55 +0000

It has been 23 years since the sunny late summer Tuesday morning that changed basically everything.

This hour, a look back at September 11, 2001, and its long shadow, still darkening our days a bit now.

We talk to a historian about the generation that has lived its life in a post-9/11 world and a critic about the influence of 9/11 on and in our popular culture.

GUESTS:

Lindsay Ellis: An author, video essayist, and film critic; her new novel is Apostles of Mercy
Matthew Warshauer: Professor of history at Central Connecticut State University and the author of Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation: The Real Story of September 11

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at our ‘toxic love story’ with plastic

Tue, 10 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Plastic is everywhere in our world, and scientists are increasingly discovering the negative health and environmental impacts of the material.

This hour, we take a look at our relationship to plastic. We talk about the material, its evolution, and its symbolism in our culture. Plus, we look at the use of single use plastic in television and why it matters.

GUESTS:

Susan Freinkel: Author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story; her Substack is 1,017 Acres: Life in the Park
Erica Cirino: Communications manager of the Plastic Pollution Coalition and the author of Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis
Dana Weinstein: Project specialist for the Media Impact Project at the University of Southern California Annenberg Norman Lear Center

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 25, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to be wrong

Mon, 09 Sep 2024 14:00:00 +0000

We all strive to be right about things — we do our research, we listen to people who seem smarter than us, we make compelling arguments over dinner tables. But is there an underappreciated art to being wrong?

This hour, lessons on changing your mind and admitting mistakes, from newspaper corrections to public intellectual pivots.

GUESTS:

Eranda Jayawickreme: Professor of psychology at Wake Forest University
Ty Seidule: Visiting professor of history at Hamilton College and the author of Robert E. Lee and Me; he’s a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army and the former vice chair of the Department of Defense’s Naming Commission
Isaac Saul: Founder of the newsletter Tangle

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Lily Tyson, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 20, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Chimp Crazy’ and the right way to load your dishwasher

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 23:23:54 +0000

Chimp Crazy is a four-part HBO docuseries that “explores the captivating, often unfathomable, and secretive world of raising chimpanzees.” It is documentarian Eric Goode’s follow-up to the 2020 sensation Tiger King.

Plus: There is absolutely, definitely, 100% a right way to load your dishwasher. And you’re the only one in your house who knows what it is. Right? The Nose gets into it.

And finally, the new phenomenon known as fridgescaping. Which is a thing. Apparently.

GUESTS:

Betsy Kaplan: Senior producer emeritus of The Colin McEnroe Show
Jacques Lamarre: A playwright, and chief communications officer at Buzz Engine
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer, and she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the cereal aisle to the ballot box, how groceries shape our lives

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 18:33:46 +0000

Grocery prices are becoming a regular talking point in this election cycle. This hour is all about the grocery store. We talk about how items get on the shelves, the unique business model of Trader Joe's, and the factors that impact grocery prices. Plus, a look at the appeal of Costco.

GUESTS:

Benjamin Lorr: Author of The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket. His first book was Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga
Abha Bhattarai: Economics correspondent for The Washington Post
Ben Ryder Howe: Contributor to The New York Times and author of My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at one of our most forgotten presidents: Chester A. Arthur

Wed, 04 Sep 2024 16:35:53 +0000

This hour is all about America’s 21st president, Chester A. Arthur, who took office after President James Garfield was assassinated.

We look at Arthur’s life and legacy and at what happens when someone unexpectedly takes over the highest office in the land.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Scott S. Greenberger: Executive editor of Stateline and the author of The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur
Victoria Sample: Historic sites section chief for the state of Vermont

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 6, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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All calls: Bird identification, The World's Fair, third places, and more

Tue, 03 Sep 2024 19:16:07 +0000

This hour we took your calls about bird identification, the DNC, the World's Fair, third places, synchronicity, and more.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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25 years later, a look at the movies and TV of 1999

Fri, 30 Aug 2024 18:43:09 +0000

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Being John Malkovich, The Blair Witch Project, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Eyes Wide Shut, Family Guy, Fight Club, Freaks and Geeks, Futurama, The Iron Giant, The Matrix, Office Space, Princess Mononoke, Run Lola Run, The Sixth Sense, The Sopranos, SpongeBob SquarePants, South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, Toy Story 2, The West Wing.

That’s just a partial list of the stuff that came out in 1999, kind of famously a crazy good year for movies and television.

This hour, a 25th anniversary look at some of the pop culture of 1999, with a special focus on The Blair Witch Project, The Matrix … and SpongeBob SquarePants.

GUESTS:

Noah Berlatsky: A freelance writer who mostly covers politics or culture or both; he writes the Everything Is Horrible Substack
Allegra Frank: A senior culture editor at The Atlantic
Alissa Wilkinson: A movie critic at The New York Times

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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From a jar to a box — How we misunderstand Pandora and her legacy

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 18:24:15 +0000

Trump’s trial. AI. Online learning. Everything’s a “Pandora's Box."

This hour, we discuss the myth and the metaphor of Pandora's Box. Plus, a look at human curiosity.

GUESTS:

Natalie Haynes: Author of six books, including the nonfiction work Pandora’s Jar, and the novels A Thousand Ships and Stone Blind. Her novel The Children of Jocasta will be re-released in October
Maria Tatar: Professor of folklore and mythology at Harvard University. Her latest book is The Heroine with 1001 Faces
Federico Rossano: Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re having crisis fatigue

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 16:14:06 +0000

Everything’s felt like, and been called, a “crisis” lately.

This hour, a look at all the overuse of the term “crisis” and our collective crisis fatigue.

Plus: a crisis communicator on how to manage a crisis.

And finally, a look at the midlife crisis.

GUESTS:

Eliah Bures: Historian of modern Europe and a senior fellow at the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Right-Wing Studies
Barbara Bradley Hagerty: Contributing writer at The Atlantic and the author of Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife
Molly McPherson: An expert in crisis communications and emergency management and the author of the book Indestructible: Reclaim Control and Respond with Confidence in a Media Crisis
Christian Paz: Senior politics reporter for Vox

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 29, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a vibe! A look at what makes a vibe a vibe

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0000

You must have heard the term “vibe” by now, right?

We’ve heard about the vibe of the economy, the vibe of a music playlist, the vibe of a season, the vibe of a party … Plus there are vibe shifts and vibe checks.

This hour: vibes. We learn what the word really means, where it comes from, and how the internet has given it new life.

GUESTS:

Kyle Chayka: Contributing writer for The New Yorker covering technology and culture on the Internet
Robin James: Editor for philosophy and music at Palgrave Macmillan
Eda Uzunlar: Freelance journalist and student at Yale University
Ben Zimmer: Linguist, lexicographer, and the Word on the Street columnist for The Wall Street Journal

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Taylor Doyle, Jacob Gannon, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show, which originally aired November 15, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Celebrity endorsements, car registration, a sandwich, and more

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 21:10:39 +0000

This hour, we took your calls.

Topics this hour included election certification, car registration, celebrity endorsements, news radio, technology, travelling to Italy, sandwiches, and more.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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‘If the wind is right’: A deep dive into the smooth sounds of yacht rock

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 14:20:00 +0000

The Doobie Brothers. Christopher Cross. Steely Dan. Kenny Loggins. Toto. Michael McDonald. Ambrosia. Supertramp. (The Eagles? Uh, Michael Jackson?)

Something was happening in the music world out there on the West Coast in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Something with electric pianos and slower tempos and jazz and R&B influences and hi-fi, almost crystalline production.

This hour, we take a deep dive into the smooth, soft sounds of … yacht rock.

GUESTS:

Hollywood Steve Huey: A music critic and a cohost of the Beyond Yacht Rock and Yacht or Nyacht? podcasts
Charly Kay: Lead and backing vocalist in the Yacht Lobsters
David Mendelsohn: Vocalist and guitarist in the Yacht Lobsters
Scout Raimondo: Production intern at Connecticut Public
Gaston Raimondo: Scout’s dad
Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent and a producer at WNHH radio

This show was produced with Scout Raimondo.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 7, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From jingles to Beyoncé: How music shapes political campaigns

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 18:27:35 +0000

This hour, we look at how political campaigns use music, from the history of political jingles, to how Harris and Trump are using music in this 2024 election.

GUESTS:

Dana Gorzelany-Mostak: Associate professor of music at Georgia College; she is the founder of Trax on the Trail, and her new book is Tracks on the Trail: Popular Music, Race, and the US Presidency
Charlie Harding: Music journalist, songwriter, and producer; he is the co-creator and co-host of the podcast Switched on Pop and an adjunct professor of music at New York University
Eric Kasper: Professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; he's the author of Don’t Stop Thinking About the Music: The Politics of Songs and Musicians in Presidential Campaigns
Justin Patch: Associate professor and chair of music at Vassar College; his new book is The Art of Populism in US Politics: Pro-Trump DIY Popular Culture

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Invisible and essential, scanning through the history and impact of barcodes

Wed, 21 Aug 2024 15:12:22 +0000

Barcodes are everywhere, and they helped to shape the world we live in.

This hour, a look at the history and impact of barcodes.

Plus, the rise of QR code menus and tickets and what we might gain and lose as we move away from physical objects to digital ones.

GUESTS:

Jordan Frith: Pearce Professor of Professional Communications at Clemson University and the author of Barcode
Bailey Sincox: Perkins-Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow in the Princeton Society of Fellows, where she teaches and writes about early modern English literature
Sean Willard: Menu engineer with Menu Engineers

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 22, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know that political memoir you pretend to have read? Carlos Lozada read it

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 18:42:27 +0000

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election.

This hour, The New York Times’ Carlos Lozada joins us to discuss what we can learn about politics by reading. We’ll discuss Lozada’s unique lens as a reader and the state of the 2024 election.

GUEST:

Carlos Lozada: Opinion columnist and co-host of the weekly “Matter of Opinion” podcast for The New York Times. His new book is The Washington Book: How to Read Politics and Politicians

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Billy Ocean, the Israel-Hamas war, and what happened to the bus Colin promised us?

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 20:28:16 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to J.R.R. Tolkien, the new Lady Gaga/Bruno Mars single and bridges in pop songs, a new approach to the Israel-Hamas war, Yale and New Haven public schools, electric vehicles … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘SNL,’ Kamala’s laugh, Hannibal Lecter: Culture and the 2024 election

Fri, 16 Aug 2024 18:44:26 +0000

This hour, a look at some of the ways culture and politics seem to be overlapping at the moment.

First, we wonder who might play all these new candidates on the upcoming season of Saturday Night Live.

And then, we try to understand all the focus — from both sides — on Kamala Harris’ laugh.

And finally, just why in the world is Donald Trump so obsessed with Hannibal Lecter?

GUESTS:

Margaret Hartmann: A senior editor for New York magazine’s Intelligencer
Dave Itzkoff: A journalist and writer and the author of four books; his most recent is Robin
Maura Judkis: A reporter covering culture, fashion, politics, food, and the arts for The Washington Post

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2024 takes a look back at 1968: Movies, music, media, and the DNC

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 18:24:04 +0000

Going into the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, many are comparing this year to 1968. After all, there are a number of similarities: both were Olympic years that featured student protest movements, an incumbent president deciding not to run for re-election, a Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and even a new Planet of the Apes movie. But there were important differences as well. This hour, we look back on 1968, and the events of that DNC, as well as the media’s coverage of it. Plus, a look at the music and movies of that year.

GUESTS:

Mark Kurlansky: Author of 1968: The Year That Rocked the World, among many other books
Heather Hendershot: Cardiss Collins Professor of Communication Studies and Journalism at Northwestern University. She is author of When the News Broke: Chicago 1968 and the Polarizing of America
Dan Balz: Chief correspondent at The Washington Post
Tammy Kernodle: University Distinguished Professor and Park Creative Arts Endowed Professor in the Department of Music at Miami University, and author of Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘To The Hobbits’: Celebrating ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ and its enduring appeal

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 14:29:04 +0000

Adam Wren recently reported for Politico that Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, is a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings. This hour we talk to Wren about Vance's interest in the work, and the politics of the series.

Plus, we'll discuss Tolkien's fantasy world building, and look back on the books, their film adaptations, and their enduring appeal.

GUESTS:

Adam Wren: National political correspondent for Politico
John Garth: Author of The Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-earth and Tolkien and the Great War, among other books
Susana Polo: Senior entertainment writer for Polygon

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show, portions of which originally aired August 12, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From privacy to paper jams, a look at printer problems

Tue, 13 Aug 2024 16:07:32 +0000

This hour is all about printers.

We talk about printer problems and why, despite our struggles, we can’t seem to quit our printers.

Plus: a rage room owner on the appeal of smashing printers.

GUESTS:

Cory Doctorow: Science fiction author, activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and journalist
Cody Nicholas: Co-owner of the Lose It Rage Room in Woodbridge, Virginia
Allen St. John: Multimedia content producer for Consumer Reports

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Katie Pellico contributed to this show, which originally aired February 15, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Sandwiches, credit card interest, Olympic basketball, and more

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 18:55:27 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the sandwichiness (or not) of hot dogs and the cube rule of food, crazy interest rates on credit cards, loud music in movies, Olympic basketball, winking … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘America’s Sweethearts’ and ‘Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes’

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 18:56:11 +0000

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is a seven-part Netflix docuseries. It is directed and executive produced by Greg Whiteley. It follows the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ 2023–2024 season.

And: Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes is a documentary from HBO Documentary Films. It is directed by Nanette Burstein and produced by J. J. Abrams. Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes was nominated for the L’Œil d’or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

GUESTS:

Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New York Times' Astead Herndon on the run-up to the 2024 election

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 21:32:46 +0000

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election.

This hour, The New York Times’ Astead Herndon joins us to talk about the run-up to 2024. We’ll talk about his unique approach to political reporting, and the state of the race.

GUEST:

Astead Herndon: National politics reporter for The New York Times and the host of the politics podcast “The Run-Up”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What's in a pseudonym?

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 14:00:00 +0000

From pen names to online aliases, pseudonyms are all around us. This hour, we’re talking about what compels people to adopt an alternate identity when they write.

Do pseudonyms liberate us? Do they make us treat each other better? Or do they stop credit from going where it’s due?

GUESTS:

Carmela Ciuraru: Author of “Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms” and, most recently, “Lives of the Wives: Five Literary Marriages”
Daniel A. Gross: Editor at the New Yorker and author of the Atlantic article, “The Mystery of the Hardy Boys and the Invisible Authors”
Alfred Moore: Senior lecturer in Politics at the University of York

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Lily Tyson and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on February 14, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘These are weird people’: A look at weirdness in politics and beyond

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 19:27:46 +0000

It’s kind of weird how much the word “weird” has been coming up all of a sudden in the election, isn’t it?

This hour, a look at weirdness and the Democrats’ new wall-to-wall, paint-Trump-and-Vance-as-weird strategy.

Plus, the history of the word “weird,” what it’s like being weird, and a few minutes on quantum weirdness.

GUESTS:

Olga Khazan: A staff writer for The Atlantic covering health, gender, and policy and the author of Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World
Douglas Natelson: Associate dean for research at the Wiess School of Natural Sciences at Rice University, where he studies the emergent properties of materials
Kase Wickman: A freelance journalist and frequent contributor to Vanity Fair
Ben Zimmer: A linguist and lexicographer and the language columnist for The Wall Street Journal

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All calls: Vice presidential picks, debates, a book recommendation, and more

Mon, 05 Aug 2024 19:22:03 +0000

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the election, debates, vice presidential picks, the Olympics opening ceremony, Kevin Spacey, a book recommendation, and more.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Gene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The joy of bad movies

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 16:13:19 +0000

There’s something kind of special about the experience of a really great, really bad movie.

Think Red Dawn or Under Siege. Snakes on a Plane or Batman & Robin.

Independence Day is nearly perfect and so rewatchable — and also terrible.

This hour, a Nose-ish look at the joy of bad movies.

GUESTS:

Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and the co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications
Alicia di Leo: A para-educator in the integrated preschool program in the Manchester school system
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Severn Sandt: Associate director of strategic partnerships and outreach at Trinity College in Hartford
Howard Sherman: A theater administrator, writer, and advocate; he is the U.S. columnist for The Stage newspaper of London and the author of Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where is this election taking place?

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 19:23:03 +0000

This hour, we talk about where this election is taking place in this media environment. We'll discuss how Americans are getting their election news, investigate how misinformation spreads, take stock of the role of social media in this, and look at the state of political podcasts.

GUESTS:

Dannagal Young: Director of the Center for Political Communication and a Professor of Communication and Political Science at the University of Delaware. Her newest book is Wrong: How Media, Politics, and Identity Drive our Appetite for Misinformation
Christian Paz: Senior Politics Reporter for Vox
Derek Robertson: Writer, reporter, and producer at Politico, where he writes the “Digital Future Daily” newsletter

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Colin McEnroe and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From ‘Iowa nice’ to New England blunt, how do we define ‘nice’ in America?

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 17:12:55 +0000

Have you ever heard someone say that East Coasters are kind but not nice, and West Coasters are nice but not kind?

This hour, a look at what “niceness” is, why it’s so important to us, and how it can sometimes mask not-so-nice things.

GUESTS:

Carrie Tirado Bramen: Professor at the University at Buffalo and the author of American Niceness: A Cultural History
Jordan Green: Self-proclaimed “kind West Coaster”
Amit Kumar: Assistant professor of marketing and psychology at the University of Texas at Austin
Mia Mercado: Humor writer and author from the Midwest who wrote She’s Nice Though: Essays on Being Bad at Being Good

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired January 25, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The legends of King Arthur and why they still matter today

Tue, 30 Jul 2024 18:16:03 +0000

This hour, we take a look at the legends of King Arthur. We discuss their evolution and why they endure.

Plus, we talk with author Lev Grossman about his new retelling of the King Arthur legend, The Bright Sword.

And, a conversation with an archeologist about excavating the history of Arthurian legends.

GUESTS:

Lev Grossman: Bestselling author of The Magicians Trilogy. His new book is The Bright Sword
Leah Tether: Professor of Medieval Literature and Publishing at Bristol University, and Vice President of the International Courtly Literature Society
Win Scutt: Archeologist and Senior Properties Curator for the West of England at English Heritage, a nonprofit that cares for over 400 historic monuments

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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All calls: The election, the Olympics, Elon Musk, and more

Mon, 29 Jul 2024 18:45:51 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the election, the Olympics opening ceremony, Project 2025, the stain (maybe) of Elon Musk on Teslas. Plus some wonderings: What would aliens make of the Olympics? What’s the most impactful way to get involved with the election? … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

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The art of political satire with Samantha Bee and Sophia McClennen

Fri, 26 Jul 2024 17:46:05 +0000

Political satire is alive and well in America today. And it turns out it might have an important role in educating the public and the health of our democracy.

This hour, a look at the state and the art of political satire with comedian Samantha Bee and Sophia McClennen, a political scientist who studies satire.

GUESTS:

Samantha Bee: Comedian, the host of Choice Words with Samantha Bee, and the former host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Sophia McClennen: Professor of international affairs and comparative literature at Penn State University and the author of numerous books, including Trump Was a Joke: How Satire Made Sense of a President Who Didn’t and Is Satire Saving Our Nation?

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 15, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The music, medicine, and mystery of humming

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 18:46:57 +0000

From Thurston Harris and Crash Test Dummies to that noise your refrigerator makes, humming sounds are all around us (especially if you’ve been to Windsor, Ontario).

This hour, musical humming, mysterious humming, and how humming could be good for your health.

GUESTS:

Colin Novak: Associate professor at the University of Windsor
Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, professor at Berklee College of Music, and co-author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You
Gunjan Trivedi: Co-founder of Wellness Space and an author of several studies exploring the benefits of humming on stress and health

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes a book a classic? A read of the Western canon and how it’s changing

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 19:42:49 +0000

This hour, we look at the idea of the Western canon and those books that are considered “classics.” We talk about what’s in the canon, what isn’t and what should be, and how it evolves.

GUESTS:

Gal Beckerman: Senior editor for books at The Atlantic
Laura Kipnis: Cultural critic, essayist, and the author of Love in the Time of Contagion: A Diagnosis, among other books
Roosevelt Montás: Senior lecturer in American studies and English at Columbia University and the author of Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation
James Mustich: Author of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 18:55:04 +0000

Well, we’ve had another weekend, haven’t we? So we figured you might want to talk again.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Another ho-hum week in the 2024 election

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 20:17:20 +0000

This hour on The Colin McEnroe Show, we discuss President Biden's decision not to run for reelection. We'll look at the historical precedent for this decision, talk about Vice President Kamala Harris, and hear about the role of the press in all of this.

GUESTS:

Bill Curry: Former White House advisor to the Clinton administration, Connecticut State Senator, and two-time Democratic nominee for the Governor of Connecticut
Hunter Schwarz: Journalist and the founder and curator of the visual politics newsletter “Yello”
Leah Wright Rigueur: Associate Professor of History at Johns Hopkins, author of The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power
Manisha Sinha: James L. and Shirley A. Draper Chair in American History at the University of Connecticut and the President of the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic. She is author of The Rise and Fall of the Second American Republic: Reconstruction, 1860-1920, among other books
David Folkenflik: NPR’s media correspondent

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finding hope in dark times

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 22:25:01 +0000

I saw someone on TikTok ask (rather vulgarly) that we just have, for once, a week that is … precedented. And I mean, yes. Could we?

Well, not this week. The shooting. The convention. The running mate. The president with COVID. The ominous election.

And then Bob Newhart died, too.

So we decided we need — and that you might need, too — an hour to figure out where to find hope even in the face of all this.

GUESTS:

Noah Baerman: A pianist, composer, and educator; his new album, from the Noah Baerman Trio, is Live at the Side Door
Susan Clinard: The owner of Clinard Sculpture Studio in Hamden, Connecticut
Azar Nafisi: The author of six books, including Reading Lolita in Tehran; her newest is Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times
Benjamin Perry: Minister of outreach and media strategy at Middle Church and the author of Cry, Baby: Why Our Tears Matter
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How should we treat the dead?

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 21:43:33 +0000

This hour, we look at our cultural fascination with dead bodies. What do we owe the dead? What can the dead teach us? What does a body represent to you?

GUESTS:

Barbara Butcher: A retired New York City death investigator and the author of What the Dead Know: Learning About Life as a New York City Death Investigator; she is featured in Dick Wolf’s Netflix docuseries Homicide: New York
Thomas Lynch: The author of six collections of poems, six books of essays and a book of stories; a novel, No Prisoners, is forthcoming; he worked as a funeral director for over 50 years with Lynch & Sons
Ally Jarmanning: A senior reporter for WBUR; she’s the host and reporter for Season 4 of the podcast Last Seen: Postmortem — The Stolen Bodies of Harvard

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How political violence hurts democracy

Wed, 17 Jul 2024 19:32:09 +0000

This hour, we're taking stock of what the events of July 13 mean for our election and our polity.

First, a conversation about the effects political violence can have on democracy. Then, a look at the rise of conspiracy thinking across the political spectrum in response to the attempted assassination of former President Trump and an analysis of the iconic photo of Trump with his fist raised.

GUESTS:

Arie Periliger: Professor at UMass Lowell studying political extremism and political violence for more than 20 years
David Gilbert: A reporter at WIRED covering covering disinformation and online extremism
Philip Kennicott: Senior art and architecture critic at The Washington Post

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eternal flame: The continued relevance of the myth of Prometheus

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 17:10:35 +0000

In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give it to humans, and suffered an eternity of punishment for it.

This hour, we revisit that myth, and talk about why it resonates so much today.

Plus, a look at the Alien prequel Prometheus.

GUESTS:

Annie Dorsen: Theater director; her most recent production was Prometheus Firebringer
Adrienne Mayor: Research scholar in the Classics Department and the History of Science Program at Stanford University and the author of Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines and Ancient Dreams of Technology, among other books
Dom Nero: Writer, video editor, and co-host of the Eye of the Duck podcast
A.O. Scott: Critic at large for The New York Times Book Review and the author of Better Living Through Criticism

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 17, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 20:21:40 +0000

After this weekend, we thought you might want to talk.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

3 things to think about that aren’t the election: Wimbledon, (not) hugging sloths, and mapping apps

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 08:20:00 +0000

We got to the end of this week and decided it’d be nice to have some stuff to think about besides the election. This hour, we present to you three such things.

First, in advance of this weekend’s finals, we check in with arguably the grandest of the Grand Slams, the most major of the four tennis majors, The Championships, Wimbledon 2024.

And then: The New York Times wondered, “Should you hug a sloth?” (Spoiler: Probably not.)

And finally, a look at all the ways our mapping apps — Google Maps, Waze, Apple Maps, etc. — are (maybe) letting us down.

GUESTS:

Julia Angwin: A contributing opinion writer at The New York Times and the founder of Proof News
Matthew Futterman: A senior writer covering tennis at The Athletic
Melena Ryzik: A roving culture reporter at The New York Times

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Want to really know someone? Look in their fridge

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 16:42:53 +0000

GUESTS:

Nicola Twilley: Co-host of the podcast “Gastropod,” and author of the new book, Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves
Peyton Dix: Social media strategist, content creator, writer, and co-host of the podcast “Lemme Say This”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest from the Supreme Court: Presidential immunity, gratuities and the Chevron doctrine

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:01:31 +0000

Legal gratuities for government officials, an overturning of the Chevron doctrine, and (perhaps most importantly) presidential immunity from prosecution for official acts — the Supreme Court just issued a batch of rulings that you may have noticed in the headlines, and we’re here to debrief them! Plus: a discussion on the state and future of the court.

GUESTS:

Akhil Reed Amar: Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University. He hosts the podcast “Amarica’s Constitution” and wrote the book “The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840”
Cristina Rodríguez: Professor of Law at Yale Law School.
Ian MacDougall: Writer and lawyer by training who’s clerked for federal judges in Brooklyn and Washington D.C.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The cars have eyes: Data privacy (or lack thereof) and your vehicle

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 15:30:42 +0000

Somewhere along the way, cars stopped being just a means of transportation — now, they’re also a dining room, an entertainment center, even an extension of our selves. And apparently, they’re sharing and selling data about you that you might not know they collected in the first place.

This hour: everything you didn’t know about that thing you sit in for an hour every day.

GUESTS:

Jen Caltrider: Program director of Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included project
Stefan Gössling: Professor at Linnaeus University
Kashmir Hill: Technology reporter at The New York Times, specializing in privacy
Ian Walker: Professor of environmental psychology at Swansea University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired January 11, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kafka and his legacy, 100 years after his death

Mon, 08 Jul 2024 18:27:33 +0000

Franz Kafka died 100 years ago last month, but his work is still very much alive today in literature classes and, surprisingly, on social media.

This hour, we look at Kafka’s life and legacy, discuss the “Kafkaesque,” and investigate why the author resonates so much today.

Plus, we revisit his most famous work, “The Metamorphosis,” and talk with a zoologist about the idea of turning into an insect.

GUESTS:

Benjamin Balint: Author of Kafka’s Last Trial; his new book is Bruno Schulz: An Artist, A Murder, and the Hijacking of History
Tim Coulson: Professor of zoology at the University of Oxford; his new book is The Science of Why We Exist: A History of the Universe from the Big Bang to Consciousness
Margarita Mouka: Content creator and creative executive; her TikTok handle is @aquariuscat444
Karolina Watroba: Post-doctoral research fellow in modern languages at Oxford’s All Souls College and the author of Metamorphoses: In Search of Franz Kafka

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ and ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’

Fri, 05 Jul 2024 21:06:52 +0000

A Quiet Place: Day One is the third movie in the A Quiet Place film series. It is a prequel to the first film, A Quiet Place. It’s written and directed by Michael Sarnoski (who wrote and directed Pig), and it stars Lupita Nyong’o. Djimon Hounsou reprises his role from A Quiet Place Part II, which hasn’t happened yet, as of Day One.

And: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the fifth movie in the Mad Max film series. It is a prequel to and spinoff from Mad Max: Fury Road, and it is written by George Miller and Nico Lathouris and directed by Miller. Furiosa is an origin story for Charlize Theron’s Fury Road character, Furiosa, here played by Alyla Browne and Anya Taylor-Joy.

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer, and she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Veepstakes aside, do running mates matter?

Wed, 03 Jul 2024 19:29:43 +0000

This hour: we look at running mates. We'll talk about whether or not a presidential candidate's running mate matters, and their role on the campaign trail. Plus, we'll take a look at our favorite running mates from popular culture.

GUESTS:

Christopher Devine: Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Dayton. He is co-author of the books Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections, and author of News Media Coverage of the Vice-Presidential Selection Process: What's Wrong with the ‘Veepstakes’?
Karrin Vasby Anderson: Professor of Communications Studies at Colorado State University, and author of Women, Feminism, and Pop Politics, among other books

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Bradley O'Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Go with your gut: All about the gut-brain connection

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 14:00:00 +0000

This show's all about guts! How are our guts and our brains connected? How much of our emotional lives come from our stomachs? And how, across history, did our digestive systems become such pivotal parts of our identity?

GUESTS:

Diego Bohórquez: Gut-brain neuroscientist
Elsa Richardson: Historian of health and medicine and the author of the book, “Rumbles: A Curious History of the Gut”
Julie Balsamo: Gut health dietician

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Lateshia Peters, Lily Tyson, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on December 7, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 20:00:27 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook andTwitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Bradley O'Connor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Barbra to Beyoncé: A look at the appeal of divas

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 14:20:00 +0000

The Nose is off this week.

In its place: What is a diva? And how has the term evolved?

This hour, divas — from Tay-Tay to Beyoncé to Barbra to Dolly, from opera to the top of the pop charts.

GUESTS:

Spencer Kornhaber: Staff writer at The Atlantic and author of On Divas: Persona, Pleasure, Power
Myrna Reynolds: Retired singer
Zachary Woolfe: Classical music critic for The New York Times

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired December 6, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a whole song and dance: The joy of marching bands

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 14:00:00 +0000

Marching bands are now a staple at halftimes. But why? This hour, we discuss the art of the marching band. We’ll talk about all of the work that goes into coordinating them, and the evolution of marching band music and competitions. Plus, a look at the history of halftime.

GUESTS:

Justin McManus: Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Connecticut
Dylan Reyes: Occasional board operator for The Colin McEnroe Show who marched competitively through high school
Mark Dyreson: Professor of Kinesiology and Affiliate Professor of History at Penn State, where he is also Co-Director of Research and Educational Programs for the Penn State Center for the Study of Sports in Society. He is the author of numerous books and articles about the history of sport

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 13, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The (abridged) Colin McEnroe Show midnight spectacular

Wed, 26 Jun 2024 16:15:48 +0000

Back before radio stations (ours included) started re-airing daytime programs during the night as a default, nighttime airwaves were a place for experimentation, confessions, and wondering that wouldn't be welcome in the light of day.

“Why don’t we try that?” said we!

On June 20th, Colin McEnroe, a team of intrepid radio producers and engineers, and one very generous security guard stayed in the office from 11 p.m. - 1 a.m. The resulting radio program, which featured live music, poetry, and phone calls about UFOs, Boy Scout horror stories, and siphonophores, is available here (in an abridged format) for your listening pleasure. Click here to listen to the unabridged episode.

GUESTS:

Hugh Blumenfeld Folk musician and singer-songwriter from Connecticut
Mike Penicello: State Director of the Connecticut Mutual UFO Network
Keith Trosell: Truck driver and owner/operator of Boba Freight, which is based in Columbia, CT

Zulynette: Performer, artist, author, and creator of the annual storytelling event, “A Little Bit of Death.” Her most recent book of poetry is “Seeing in the Dark”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Jonathan McNicol, Lily Tyson, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cash is no longer king: How does that impact us personally and culturally?

Tue, 25 Jun 2024 14:00:00 +0000

It's becoming easier every day to pay for things without cash. You can pay with your credit card, your phone, an app, or even your palm. So how does the move away from cash change how we think about our money? This hour, we look at our changing attitudes towards money, and what we gain and lose as we use less cash. Plus, we'll look at the history and future of ATMs.

GUESTS:

Jay Zagorsky: Clinical Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law at the Boston University Questrom School of Business
Ursula Dalinghaus: Cultural anthropologist who specializes in economic anthropology and the anthropology of money. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ripon College
Bernardo Batiz-Lazo: Professor in the Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 8, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at buttons, couch potatoes, and the rise of the remote control

Mon, 24 Jun 2024 14:30:02 +0000

Remote controls date all the way back to the 1800s, but they only entered most households in the 1950s or later. What impact did this have on how we watch television, and how we use other devices in our homes? This hour we look at the history and the impact of the remote control, and discuss what the remote control of the future will look like. And we'll take a look at buttons, and how they shape our interactions with the technology in our lives.

GUESTS:

Caetlin Benson-Allott: Professor of English, Director of Film and Media Studies at Georgetown University, and a member of the Program in American Studies. She is the author of Remote Control, among other books
Rachel Plotnick: Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in The Media School at Indiana University Bloomington, and author of Power Button: A History of Pleasure, Panic and the Politics of Pushing

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 7, 2023.

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The Colin McEnroe Show midnight spectacular

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 16:44:56 +0000

“Why don’t we try that?” said we!

On June 20, Colin McEnroe, a team of intrepid radio producers and engineers, and one very generous security guard stayed in the office from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. The resulting radio program, which features live music, poetry, and phone calls about UFOs, Boy Scout horror stories, and siphonophores, is available here for your listening pleasure.

GUESTS:

Hugh Blumenfeld: Folk musician and singer-songwriter from Connecticut
Major Jackson: Professor of English at Vanderbilt University and host of the podcast The Slowdown from American Public Media; his most recent book is Razzle Dazzle: New and Selected Poems
Mike Penicello: State director of the Connecticut Mutual UFO Network
Keith Trosell: Truck driver and owner/operator of Boba Freight, which is based in Columbia, Connecticut
Zulynette: Performer, artist, author, and creator of the annual storytelling event A Little Bit of Death; her most recent book of poetry is Seeing in the Dark

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From ‘Star Trek’ to ‘Arrival’: How pop culture helps us imagine extraterrestrial life

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 16:33:55 +0000

The Nose is off this week. In its place, a look at how we imagine extraterrestrial life.

What do you picture when you picture aliens? Is it like E.T.? Or little green men? Or an alien from Star Trek?

This hour: how we imagine extraterrestrial life and how those visions are shaped by our TV and movies and more.

GUESTS:

Jaime Green: Freelance writer, editor, writing teacher, and the author of The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos
Doug Jones: Actor known for his roles in Hellboy, The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, and more; he plays Saru in Star Trek: Discovery

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired December 1, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The (so-called) dying art of dinner parties

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 16:49:32 +0000

News outlets and opinion writers have called it: The traditional dinner party is dead. But are dinner parties really so bad? Or are we just bad at hosting them?

This hour, the history of dinner parties and some advice from people who turn party-hosting into an art form.

GUESTS:

Rand Richards Cooper: Fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal, and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Courant
Nandita Godbole: Author of several cookbooks including Masaleydaar: Classic Indian Spice Blends; she also writes the blog Curry Cravings
Julia Skinner: Culinary historian and food writer whose work includes the book Our Fermented Lives

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 26, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 19:04:34 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to favorite TV theme songs; the Ham Primus House in Guilford, Connecticut; the upcoming Poor People’s March; the upcoming presidential debates; the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yascha Mounk discusses ‘The Identity Trap’ and the future of democracy

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 16:39:36 +0000

In Yascha Mounk’s new book, he “traces the origin of a set of ideas about identity and social justice that is rapidly transforming America — and explains why it will fail to accomplish its noble goals.”

This hour, Mounk joins us to talk about the future of democracy and The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time.

GUEST:

Yascha Mounk: Professor of the practice of international affairs at Johns Hopkins University; founder of Persuasion; host of The Good Fight; and the author, most recently, of The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 4, 2023.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The Bard’s the thing: A show about Shakespeare

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 18:48:49 +0000

And finally, Bardcore is a thing. The one and only Hildegard von Blingin’ joins us.

GUESTS:

Maureen Lee Lenker: A senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and the author of the novel It Happened One Fight
Drew Lichtenberg: Associate director at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC
Hildegard von Blingin’: A singer and illustrator

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Meg Dalton, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sun, sand, and a book — a look at the beach read

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 18:05:15 +0000

Just in time for your summer vacation, an hour about beach reads. We look at how the term came to be, get some beach read recommendations, and even hear a case against reading on the beach.

GUESTS:

Meghan Hayden: Owner of River Bend Bookshop, which has locations in Glastonbury and West Hartford, Connecticut
Andrew Limbong: Reporter for NPR’s Culture Desk and Host of NPR's Book of the Day podcast
Donna Harrington-Lueker: Professor in the Department of English, Communications, and Media at Salve Regina University. She is author of Books for Idle Hours: Nineteenth-Century Publishing and the Rise of Summer Reading

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our (maybe) 14th (almost) annual song of the summer show

Wed, 12 Jun 2024 16:37:59 +0000

We’ve done a version of this show every year since 2013. And we did it in 2011. We probably even did one in 2010. (We just can’t prove it.)

So it’s a bit of a tradition. It’s a tradition that … makes some people angry, we realize.

And that has a lot to do with how we define the term “song of the summer.” We use the Amanda Dobbins definition:

Let’s be clear about how this works: There is no such thing as a “personal” song of summer. We do not anoint multiple songs of summer. There can only be one; the Song of Summer, by its very definition, is a consensus choice. It is the song that wrecks wedding dance floors. It is the song that you and your mother begrudgingly agree on (even though your mom has no idea what rhymes with “hug me” and won’t stop yelling it in public). It does not necessarily have to hit No. 1 on the charts, but it should probably be on the charts because it must be widely played. It must bring people together. It must be a shared enthusiasm.

And if we’re wrong, well, it really just won’t matter at all.

GUESTS:

Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Brendan Jay Sullivan: A writer, producer, and DJ
Cassie Willson: A comedian, musician, and content creator

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The first presidential debate is June 27. But will it matter?

Tue, 11 Jun 2024 18:00:48 +0000

With the first presidential debate just two weeks away, an hour on the art and science of the presidential debate. We look at the evolution of debates through history, question whether or not they matter to the election, and even learn about the art of the political putdown.

GUESTS:

Kathryn Cramer Brownell: Associate Professor of History at Purdue University. She is author of Showbiz Politics: Hollywood in American Political Life and 24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News
Aaron Kall: Director of Debate and a Lecturer in the Department of Communication at the University of Michigan. He is also author of Debating The Donald
Chris Lamb: Professor of Journalism at Indiana University Indianapolis, and author of The Art of the Political Putdown: The Greatest Comebacks, Ripostes, and Retorts in History

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every step you take: How walking and walkability shape our lives

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 14:27:07 +0000

"These boots are made for walking…" but instead, they sit by the door while you watch TV. This hour: Why is it often so hard to get walking? And what can our footsteps tell us about ourselves and the world?

GUESTS:

Jeff Speck: City planner and author of the book “Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time”
Liam Satchell: Senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Winchester
Dr. I-Min Lee: Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Join the conversation onFacebook andTwitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 2, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Godzilla Minus One’ and the current crisis at the box office

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 18:55:19 +0000

Godzilla Minus One (Gojira -1.0) is the 37th movie in the Godzilla franchise, the 33rd Godzilla movie from Toho Studios, and the fifth movie in the franchise’s Reiwa era. It has grossed more than $150 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing Japanese Godzilla movie. It is the first Godzilla movie ever nominated for an Academy Award, which it won, for Best Visual Effects. Godzilla Minus One is a prequel to the original movie, Godzilla (1954).

And: Following the worst Memorial Day weekend at the domestic box office in nearly 30 years and the disappointing openings of the big-budget summer action movies The Fall Guy and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, industry watchers are, let’s say … in a bit of a panic. The Nose has thoughts and concerns.

GUESTS:

Raquel Benedict: Claims to be the most dangerous woman in speculative fiction, and she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast
James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The latest culture war is a beef over meatless meat

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 18:10:18 +0000

Last month, Florida and Alabama became the first U.S. states to ban the sale and manufacture of lab-grown meat. The plant-based meat company Impossible Foods announced a shift from green to red packaging, in an apparent rejection of the company’s “woke” reputation that angered some Cracker Barrel customers. This hour: how did meatless meat join the culture wars?

GUESTS:

Matt Reynolds: Senior writer at Wired magazine
S. Marek Muller: Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Texas State University
Yasmin Tayag: Staff writer at The Atlantic covering food and health

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An hour with Percival Everett

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 19:07:02 +0000

Percival Everett is the author of 24 novels, four short story collections, and six collections of poetry.

His 2001 novel Erasure was adapted as the feature film American Fiction, which was nominated this year for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Everett has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

His newest novel, James, reimagines Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.”

This hour, Percival Everett joins us in studio.

GUEST:

Percival Everett: Novelist and poet

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why the Roman Empire is worth thinking about

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 14:19:16 +0000

We've recently discovered, thanks to TikTok, that many more people are thinking about the Roman Empire than you might expect... including the host of this radio show. This hour, we talk about why people think about the Roman Empire, and we talk with the preeminent scholar of the Roman Empire, Mary Beard, about all the things you could think about if you wanted to think about the Roman Empire.

GUESTS:

Doug Boin: Professor of History at St. Louis University, and author of Alaric the Goth: An Outsider’s History of the Fall of Rome, among other books
Mary Beard: Historian of Ancient Rome. She is the author of bestselling books, including SPQR, and her newest book is Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 25, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 03 Jun 2024 18:52:43 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘It always means something’: Connecticut in the movies

Fri, 31 May 2024 16:21:05 +0000

Illeana Douglas’ new book is Connecticut in the Movies: From Dream Houses to Dark Suburbia. It isn’t just an encyclopedia of appearances by and references to Connecticut in movies. But rather, it’s a history and theory of “Connecticut movies,” something close to a genre unto itself with its own set of signs and meanings.

This hour, Illeana Douglas and David Edelstein join us to take a Not Necessarily The Nose-style look at the Nutmeg State on the silver screen.

GUESTS:

Illeana Douglas: The Official Movie Star of The Colin McEnroe Show and the author, most recently, of Connecticut in the Movies
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 13, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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URGENT: Please immediately listen to this show about scam emails

Thu, 30 May 2024 14:04:07 +0000

A wealthy prince needs your help (via a wire transfer) to unfreeze his fortunes. He’ll reward you handsomely. While you’re sending him the money, listen to this show about scam emails.

We'll talk about the surprising history and future of scam emails and what you can do to protect yourself. Plus: a conversation with an author who got caught up in an infamous email scam.

GUESTS:

Arun Vishwanath: Cybersecurity expert and author of the book, “The Weakest Link: How to Diagnose, Detect, and Defend Users from Phishing”
Peter C. Baker: Author of the novel “Planes”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 19, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Take a seat and listen to our hour on chairs

Wed, 29 May 2024 17:08:53 +0000

What can we learn about ourselves from what we sit on?

This hour, the history of chairs, their impact on our lifestyle and health, and what’s in store for their future.

Plus, we celebrate the joy of a well-designed chair, talk with a chair maker, and discuss some of our favorite examples.

GUESTS:

Galen Cranz: Professor emerita of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley, a founding member of the Association for Body Conscious Design, and the author of The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body and Design, among other books
Aspen Golann: Artist and furniture maker; she teaches in the furniture department at The Rhode Island School of Design and founded The Chairmaker’s Toolbox
Witold Rybczynski: Architect, emeritus professor of urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Now I Sit Me Down: From Klismos to Plastic Chair — A Natural History, among other books

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 18, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emily Wilson brings 'The Iliad' alive for a modern audience

Tue, 28 May 2024 13:25:34 +0000

In 2018, Emily Wilson became internationally known for her translation of Homer’s The Odyssey, which was called “a revelation” and “a cultural landmark.” This hour, Wilson joins us to talk about her translation of Homer’s other great surviving work, The Iliad.

GUEST:

Emily Wilson: Professor in the Department of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Her new translation of Homer’s The Iliad is out now. She previously translated The Odyssey, in addition to works by Euripides, Seneca, and Sophocles

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 16, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Challengers’ and ‘Spacey Unmasked’

Fri, 24 May 2024 18:36:30 +0000

Challengers is the eighth feature film directed by Luca Guadagnino. It’s a romantic sports drama tennis movie thriller kind of thing that stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist as the three points of a love triangle. It opened at No. 1 at the domestic box office, making it Zendaya’s second No. 1 movie of 2024 (after Dune: Part Two).

And: Spacey Unmasked is a two-part Investigation Discovery docuseries that looks at actor Kevin Spacey’s “rise and fall from grace amid allegations of inappropriate sexual behavior.”

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer
Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roommates wanted: How the people you live with impact your life

Thu, 23 May 2024 19:02:13 +0000

GUESTS:

Ken Jennings: Colin’s college roommate
Kelli María Korducki: Journalist who writes about work and the family
Bruce Sacerdote: Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College
Francesca Fontánez: Social Media Editor at CT Public and a former college RA

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How algorithms shape our world, for better and for worse

Wed, 22 May 2024 18:57:43 +0000

We hear about algorithms all the time, but what is an algorithm exactly? This hour, we learn about how algorithms work, a bit about their history, and how they're impacting our culture.

GUESTS:

Ed Finn: Author of What Algorithms Want: Imagination in the Age of Computing, and founding director of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University
Bruce Gil: Reporter for Quartz
Liz Pelly: Writer and editor, whose forthcoming book is Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Books can be mirrors or books can be windows’: How to decide what kids should read

Tue, 21 May 2024 16:44:52 +0000

From book bans to comics and the strange origins of fairy tales, this hour we look at children’s literature and who decides what’s appropriate for kids to read.

GUESTS:

Adam Gidwitz: Author of A Tale Dark and Grimm and its companions and the creator of the podcast Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest
Carol St. George: Professor of teaching and curriculum and director of reading and literacy at the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester
Maria Tatar: Research professor of folklore and mythology at Harvard University; her latest book is The Heroine with 1001 Faces
Carol Tilley: Comics historian, librarian, educator, and youth advocate; she is a professor in the faculty of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois

This show was produced with Stacey Addo.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 20, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 20 May 2024 18:12:05 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the stock market, inflation and the real estate market, incidental music in theater, commercials and trailers and such at the movie theater, Woody Harrelson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., rocketing all of our plastic into the Sun … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Those were the days: Nostalgia in our popular culture

Fri, 17 May 2024 17:46:02 +0000

We’ve been noticing a sort of backwards-looking bent lately in TV shows like Ripley, with its 1960s setting and its black-and-white aesthetic and its lush 1950s Italian pop soundtrack. Or Fallout, with its particular brand of retro-futurism and its Jazz Age-to-Space Age music. Or Sugar, with it classic movie-obsessed protagonist and its neo-noir tone.

There’s a theory that there’s more of an emphasis on nostalgia right now than normal because no one wants to live in 2024. There’s even a whole new Taylor Swift song about it.

This hour, a Nose-ish look at the heightened role of nostalgia in our popular culture right now. Plus: the dark side of nostalgia culture.

GUESTS:

Jessica Andrews: A novelist and a contributing editor at Elle UK; her most recent novel is Milk Teeth
Spencer Kornhaber: A staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of On Divas: Persona, Pleasure, Power

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is print dead or is it making a comeback?

Thu, 16 May 2024 18:11:45 +0000

GUESTS:

Kelsey Russell: A media literacy influencer and co-host of “First Stop News”
Jeff Jarvis: Author of The Gutenberg Parenthesis: The Age of Print and Its Lessons for the Age of the Internet. His new book, The Web We Weave will be out this fall. He co-hosts the “This Week in Google” and “AI Inside” podcasts
John Garrett: Founder and CEO of “Community Impact,” a privately owned chain of 40 community newspapers in Texas, which also includes its own printing facilities

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Osculate me, you fool! A brief history of romantic kissing

Wed, 15 May 2024 17:07:34 +0000

This hour, a look at why humans touch others with their lips (and often their tongues!).

Join us as we overthink the simple act of kissing.

GUESTS:

Marcel Danesi: Professor Emeritus of Linguistic Anthropology at The University of Toronto and author of The History of the Kiss! The Birth of Popular Culture
Matthew Longcore: Director of Membership and Outreach for the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University and an Adjunct Faculty Member in Anthropology at the University of Connecticut Stamford
Andréa Demirjian: Runs The Kissing Expertwebsite, Instagram feed, and Facebookpage. She’s the author of the book Kissing: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About One of Life’s Sweetest Pleasures

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired October 10, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Everyday Carry: Unpacking what we carry with us and why

Tue, 14 May 2024 16:51:34 +0000

What’s in your pockets right now? Phone, wallet, keys … maybe some discarded receipts or old gum?

This hour: what we carry with us every day, from flashlights the size of a lip balm to a life-saving medicine.

GUESTS:

Bernard Capulong: Founder and editor-in-chief of everydaycarry.com
Peter Canning: A Hartford paramedic, an emergency medical services coordinator at John Dempsey Hospital, and the author of Killing Season: A Paramedic’s Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Opioid Epidemic
Hannah Carlson: Senior lecturer in the Apparel Department at the Rhode Island School of Design and the author of Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close
Mona Gohara: Private practice dermatologist, associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine, and an advocate around increasing inclusivity in dermatology
Drew John Ladd: A writer

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 19, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How ’bout them apples?

Mon, 13 May 2024 16:41:26 +0000

This hour, a look at the cultural significance of the apple, from Adam and Eve to keeping the doctor away.

Plus: growing apples and the future of apples, and we compare apples and oranges.

GUESTS:

Martha Bayless: Director of folklore and public culture and a professor of English and folklore at the University of Oregon; she is also the founder of the Early English Bread Project, which studies the role of bread in early medieval English culture
David Bedford: Senior research fellow in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota; his team is responsible for creating the Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Zestar, and Rave apple varieties, among others
Dan Pashman: Creator and host of the The Sporkful podcast

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 7, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The Nose looks at ‘Baby Reindeer’ and our (maybe) era of mid TV

Fri, 10 May 2024 20:10:19 +0000

Baby Reindeer is a seven-episode half-hour limited series written and created by Richard Gadd and based on his autobiographical one-man play. According to Netflix, it “follows struggling comedian Donny Dunn’s warped relationship with his female stalker and the impact it has on him as he is ultimately forced to face a deeply buried trauma.” With its unique mix of black comedy, drama, and thriller, Baby Reindeer went to No. 1 on Netflix’s Top 10 TV Shows in the U.S. Today list in its second week of release.

And: The New York Times’ chief TV critic, James Poniewozik, says we’ve entered an era of mid television. He cites shows like The Diplomat, Hijack, House of the Dragon, Manhunt, Ozark (Ozark?!), and Poker Face as prime examples of mid TV. The Nose has thoughts.

GUESTS:

Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too
Tracy Wu Fastenberg: Development officer at Connecticut Children’s

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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The collective heartbreak in a dog’s death, from Kristi Noem to ‘Old Yeller’

Thu, 09 May 2024 17:55:00 +0000

The internet is up in arms over the revelation that South Dakota governor Kristi Noem once shot and killed her dog. This hour, we’ll get into it. From vice presidential contenders to “Old Yeller” and “Marley and Me” — what is it about dogs that brings us all together, and unites us in grief and uproar when they die?

GUESTS:

Li Zhou: Senior politics and society reporter at Vox.
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Tommy Tomlinson: Author of the book “Dogland: Passion, Glory, and Lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show.”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Fumble! The state’s failed bid to bring the Patriots to Hartford, 25 years later

Wed, 08 May 2024 20:20:15 +0000

It has been 25 years since the deal between the state of Connecticut and Robert Kraft’s New England Patriots — the deal that would’ve brought the Patriots to a brand new publicly funded stadium in Hartford — fell through.

Over the two-and-a-half decades since, the Patriots hired coach Bill Belichick and drafted quarterback Tom Brady, and they won 17 division titles, nine conference championships, and six Super Bowls.

Hartford, on the other hand, eventually built a 6,000-seat Double A ballpark as part of a much larger development plan that has since mostly been scrapped. And people continue to pine for the return of the Whalers.

This hour, a look back at what might have been, what could have been — what never was.

GUESTS:

Jeff Benedict: The author of 16 books, including The Dynasty
Michael Leeds: Professor of economics at Temple University and co-author of The Economics of Sports, now in its seventh edition

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Author A.J. Jacobs says he "will never take elastic or democracy for granted again"

Tue, 07 May 2024 16:42:30 +0000

In A.J. Jacobs' new book, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning, he details his experience living by the Constitution for a year. Jacobs joins us for the hour to tell us about the experiment and what he learned.

GUESTS:

A.J. Jacobs: Author of The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning. His previous books include Drop Dead Healthy and The Year of Living Biblically. He is also host of “The Puzzler” podcast

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How charisma shapes our world

Mon, 06 May 2024 16:14:33 +0000

What exactly is charisma? You know it when you see it, but is it possible to measure? Is it something you can learn, or just something you’re born with?

This hour we look at the impact of charisma, especially in politics.

Plus, in the world of wildlife conservation there’s a term for those animals everyone cares about: “charismatic megafauna.”

What are the impacts of decisions about conservation or leadership coming down to a nebulous trait like charisma?

GUESTS:

John Antonakis: Professor of organizational behavior at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Sophie Monsarrat: Rewilding manager with Rewilding Europe, who used to be a researcher who studied charismatic megafauna, among other topics
Russ Schriefer: Founding partner of Strategic Partners & Media, a public affairs political consulting firm; he is senior strategist for the Tell It Like It Is super PAC that supported Chris Christie for President

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 6, 2023.

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An hour with mystery writer Adrian McKinty

Fri, 03 May 2024 15:14:48 +0000

Adrian McKinty is a Northern Irish writer of thrillers and mysteries probably best known for The Chain and the Sean Duffy series.

On a dark and stormy night in September, McKinty talked to Colin on stage at The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford. It’s the first show we’ve done in front of a live audience since the before times.

This hour, a lightly edited version of that conversation.

GUEST:

Adrian McKinty: The author of 20 novels, including The Chain, the Michael Forsythe trilogy, and the Sean Duffy series; The Detective Up Late, the seventh Duffy novel, is out in paperback May 14

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 14, 2023.

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From abortion to homelessness: A dive into the Supreme Court cases you may have missed

Thu, 02 May 2024 18:38:04 +0000

It's hard to stay on top of everything happening in the Supreme Court lately — a case about whether governments can criminalize sleeping outside when you're homeless, a different decision that headlines tell us "effectively abolishes the right to mass protest in three US states." Today, we're getting caught up with three of the most important cases you might have missed!

GUESTS:

Mark Joseph Stern: Senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law
Vera Eidelman: Staff attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project
Nisha Kashyap: Attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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The storied history of people sleeping through things

Wed, 01 May 2024 20:14:29 +0000

It’s been reported that Donald Trump has been sleeping during his Manhattan trial. This hour, a look at the storied history of people sleeping through things. We talk with a sleep doctor. Plus: an actor on what it’s like when an audience member nods off during your stage performance.

GUESTS:

Maura Judkis: Features Reporter for The Washington Post
Michael Greaney: Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University
Dr. Rafael Pelayo: Clinical professor at Stanford University’s Sleep Medicine division and the author of How to Sleep
Derek Garza: Actor, director, voice-over actor and creative artist, who works in theater, television and film

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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How the weight of family ‘truths’ can get heavier with each generation

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 14:17:18 +0000

Journalist Lisa Belkin spent 10 years retracing the ancestry of three families, over four generations, to understand how a series of random encounters between three men led to the 1960 murder of a Stamford, Connecticut, police officer.

Genealogy of a Murder looks at how family “truths” passed down through the generations can influence the choices of the descendants that follow.

How do family stories, happenstance, and the cultural ethos of the moment shape the people we become?

GUESTS:

Lisa Belkin: A journalist and the author of Genealogy of a Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night
Doreen Troy Dolan: Daughter of David Troy
Kelsey Rose Dolan: Granddaughter of David Troy

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired August 24, 2023.

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We take your calls

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 18:10:05 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to people backing into parking spaces, incorrect (maybe) pronunciations, spoon theory, the movie Civil War, Gov. Kristi Noem’s puppy … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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The Nose looks at ‘Fallout’ and ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 18:08:43 +0000

Fallout is a post-apocalyptic TV series developed for Amazon MGM Studios by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, who co-created Westworld for HBO. It is the first screen adaptation of the game franchise, which comprises four main series video games, seven spinoff video games, and six tabletop games. It stars Ella Purnell (from Yellowjackets), Aaron Morten, Kyle MacLachlan, and Walton Goggins.

And: Conan O’Brien Must Go is a Max Original travel series. It is a spinoff from the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and a successor to the Conan Without Borders travel specials that aired as part of the TBS late night show Conan. Four episodes are out so far, in which O’Brien travels to Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland.

GUESTS:

Rich Hollant: Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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‘Our president is not a king’: Examining the January 6 and presidential immunity cases in the Supreme Court

Wed, 24 Apr 2024 18:29:35 +0000

The Supreme Court recently started hearing oral arguments about whether the Jan. 6 attacks constitute obstruction of an official proceeding. Thursday, they’ll hear arguments on Trump’s claim of presidential immunity.

This hour, a status update on the confusing, monumental, and democracy-defining goings-on in the Supreme Court.

GUESTS:

Melissa Murray: Professor of law at New York University, a host of the podcast Strict Scrutiny, and co-author of The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary
Holly Brewer: Burke Chair of American Cultural and Intellectual History and associate professor of history at the University of Maryland

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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The late Daniel Dennett on consciousness, faith, and more

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 14:30:00 +0000

Daniel Dennett was one of the most famous philosophers in the world, one of the so-called “Four Horsemen of the New Atheism.”

Dennett died April 19 at age 82.

This hour, our 2015 conversation with Daniel Dennett, as recorded onstage at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford.

GUEST:

Daniel Dennett: Was a philosopher, writer and and the co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Dylan Reyes, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired January 21, 2016, in a different form.

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A look at juries, from '12 Angry Men' to the Trump trial

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 18:51:06 +0000

It took almost a week to select the jurors and alternates for the Manhattan trial of former President Donald Trump. This hour is all about juries. We'll talk about jury selection, how to root out potential bias, and the process of choosing an impartial jury in this day and age. Plus, we'll look at depictions of juries in popular culture. And, some of the jury selection questions have to do with what media a person consumes, so we'll look at what the media we consume can say about us, and discuss media bias.

GUESTS:

Renato Mariotti: Trial attorney and partner at the law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP. He is a former federal prosecutor, and host of the “It’s Complicated” podcast
Nancy Marder: Professor of Law, Director of the Justice John Paul Stevens Jury Center and Co-Director of the Institute for Law and the Humanities at the Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech. She is author of The Power of the Jury: Transforming Citizens Into Jurors
Vanessa Otero: Creator of the Media Bias Chart and the Founder and CEO of Ad Fontes Media

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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An hour with Rupert Holmes

Sat, 20 Apr 2024 15:33:11 +0000

This hour: Rupert Holmes.

GUEST:

Rupert Holmes: Playwright, composer, singer-songwriter, and author

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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The Nose looks at ‘Civil War’ and ‘Manhunt’

Fri, 19 Apr 2024 19:51:03 +0000

In January, we did a show that wondered both how much the American Civil War speaks to the present American moment and how likely a new American Civil War might be. Well, movies and television have now, finally caught up with us.

Civil War is the fourth film written and directed by Alex Garland. It tells the story of the end of a future second American Civil War as four journalists — played by Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, and Stephen McKinley Henderson — move through it. Civil War is currently the No. 1 movie in the country.

And: Manhunt is a seven-episode limited series on Apple TV+. It is based on the book Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James L. Swanson. It’s a conspiracy thriller that focuses on War Secretary Edwin Stanton (as played by Tobias Menzies) leading the chase and on John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle) as he’s being chased.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals
Xandra Ellin: A producer at Pineapple Street Studios
Frankie Graziano: Host of The Wheelhouse on Connecticut Public
Matthew Warshauer: Professor of history at Central Connecticut State University, and he’s the author of the forthcoming book Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation: The Real Story of September 11

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

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A look at Trump’s hush money trial, the Golden Divorce, and slouching

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 20:41:00 +0000

This hour, we've got one show with three topics. First, the Trump 'hush money' trial; next, the history of slouch-shaming; and finally, the Golden Bachelor's divorce news.

GUESTS:

Mark Joseph Stern: Senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law
Beth Linker: Professor and Chair of History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her recently-released book is called “Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America.”
Kay Brown: Host of the Bachelor recap podcast, “The Betchelor”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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Where does the idea of the tortured poet come from?

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 18:57:23 +0000

Taylor Swift’s newest album, The Tortured Poets Department, comes out Friday. So this hour, we are taking a look at the idea of the actual tortured poet. We talk about where the idea of tortured poets came from, learn about the nature of creativity, and hear from a poet about where their inspiration comes from.

GUESTS:

Roland Greene: Professor of English and Comparative Literature and Director of the Humanities Center at Stanford University. He is editor in chief of the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. His newest book is Five Words: Critical Semantics in the Age of Shakespeare and Cervantes
James C. Kaufman: Professor of Educational Psychology at the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. He is the author or editor of more than 50 books, including The Creativity Advantage and The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity
Sandra Simonds: Writer, professor, and author of eight collections of poetry, the most recent of which is Triptychs. She is also the author of the novel Assia

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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Unburying the truth about pirates with Rebecca Simon

Tue, 16 Apr 2024 14:10:00 +0000

We imagine pirates to be the quintessential rule-breakers — but really, they had their own strictly-followed codes.

How did 18th-century pirates dictate their own community standards? How did they create social mobility in an age when changing one's social status was nearly impossible?

This hour, we join pirate historian Rebecca Simon to find out!

GUEST:

Rebecca Simon: Pirate historian with a doctorate in history from King’s College London; she’s the author of several books about piracy, including The Pirates’ Code: Laws and Life Aboard Ship

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 11, 2023.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

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We take your calls

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 19:24:33 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to an essay about NPR in The Free Press, NPR’s response to the essay, (our friend) David Folkenflik’s reporting on the essay and NPR’s response and such … Oh, and Scrabble … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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The Nose looks at ‘Ripley’ and a new version of Scrabble

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 18:20:34 +0000

Ripley is an eight-episode limited series adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels. It is the first serialized screen version of those stories following five feature film adaptations, including the 1999 film The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law. The Netflix series stars Adam Scott, Dakota Fanning, and Johnny Flynn. It is created, written, and directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven Zaillian (who also created The Night Of) and shot — in black and white — by Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Elswit.

And: Scrabble Together is a new, forthcoming version of the classic board game that’s coming to Europe from Mattel. It’s a faster-paced, collaborative version of Scrabble that’s being billed as less “intimidating.” It will not be available in the U.S.

GUESTS:

Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Riding the line between art and pulp’: A look at cult classic cinema

Thu, 11 Apr 2024 18:27:36 +0000

But where’s the limit here, if there is one? Is Blade Runner a cult movie? Or Pulp Fiction? Monty Python and the Holy Grail? Office Space? Slap Shot? (I mean: Slap Shot?!?)

GUESTS:

Millie De Chirico: Co-author of TCM Underground: 50 Must-See Films from the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema and co-host of the I Saw What You Did podcast
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Sam Hatch: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH
Kevin O’Toole: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH

This show was produced with Sajina Shrestha.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From alief to phronesis, Tamar Gendler makes the case for why we should care about ancient philosophy

Wed, 10 Apr 2024 16:07:33 +0000

This hour, Yale Dean Tamar Gendler joins us to discuss her course “Public Plato: Ancient Wisdom in the Digital Age.” We'll talk about how to make ancient philosophy relevant for a modern audience, questions of framing and form, and what we can all learn from concepts like alief, phronesis, and eudaimonia.

GUEST:

Tamar Gendler: Professor of Philosophy, Psychology and Cognitive Science, and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, at Yale University

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on October 5, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The luck of the draw: A deeper look at lotteries

Tue, 09 Apr 2024 13:13:14 +0000

This hour, we’re talking about lotteries. How did this massive money redistribution game come to be? And we know that lotteries can randomly allocate cash prizes to ticket buyers – but could they also pick our political officials? Or the victims of our human sacrifice rituals to ensure that “corn be heavy soon”?

GUESTS:

Jonathan D. Cohen: Historian and author of For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America
Alex Guerrero: Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University and author of the forthcoming book, “Lottocracy: The Case for Democracy without Elections”
Ruth Franklin: Book critic and author of the award-winning biography Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Stacey Addo, Lily Tyson, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on August 23, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let us pray — A salute to our favorite mantis

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 18:22:20 +0000

This legislative session, local students lobbied Connecticut lawmakers to change our state insect, which is currently the praying mantis. This hour we are focused on the praying mantis. We'll learn about the insect, why students think it should not represent the state, and what praying mantises of the future could look like.

GUESTS:

Katherine Dugas: Entomologist and research technician at The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Liz Alter: Professor of Evolutionary Biology at California State University Monterey Bay

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cringe comedy, awkward moments and the legacy of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 18:13:55 +0000

Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm has been on HBO for going on 24 years. As the show comes to a close, we take a Nose-ish look at it and its impact on cringe comedy and the role of cringiness and awkwardness in our lives.

GUESTS:

Katie Baker: Senior Staff Writer at The Ringer
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Carolyn Paine: Actress, comedian, and dancer. She is founder, director, and choreographer of Connetic Dance
Ty Tashiro: Psychologist by training and author of the book Awkward: The Science of Why We’re Socially Awkward and Why That’s Awesome

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From logistical nightmares to ancient omens, a look at the dark side of the eclipse

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 18:10:52 +0000

On Monday, the contiguous U.S. will see a total solar eclipse for the last time until 2044. Online, the excitement is also giving way to fears — will communities in the eclipse’s path have enough food and gas to support all the travelers? Will it interrupt our power grid? This hour, we’re talking about the dark side of the eclipse — from doomsday predictions to ancient omens.

GUESTS:

Vahé Peroomian: Professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southern California’s Dornsife College of Arts, Letters, and Sciences
Rebecca Boyle : Science journalist and author of the book, “Our Moon: How Earth's Celestial Companion Transformed the Planet, Guided Evolution, and Made Us Who We Are”
Leah Hudson Leva: Writer who researched conspiracy theories about this year's total eclipse

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A conversation with Don Winslow about love, money, murder, and why free food tastes better

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 17:45:51 +0000

Bestselling author Don Winslow joins us to discuss his new novel, City in Ruins, which he says is the last of his career.

GUEST:

Don Winslow: Bestselling author, whose new book, City in Ruins, is out this week

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Radical or relevant? How the Luddites can help us relate to today’s technology

Tue, 02 Apr 2024 14:10:00 +0000

Today “Luddite” is used as a derogatory term for someone who doesn’t understand technology. But the original Luddites weren’t behind. They were technical workers who were concerned about the impact that technology would have on people.

This hour, we look at the history of Luddites, how their philosophy applies today, and ask what our present would look like if they had won. Could we all gain something from thinking more like a Luddite?

GUESTS:

Miriam A. Cherry: Professor of law at St. John’s University and the author of Work in the Digital Age: A Coursebook on Labor, Technology, and Regulation
Brian Merchant: Technology columnist at the Los Angeles Times and the author of Blood in the Machine: the Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech
Gavin Mueller: Assistant professor of new media and digital culture at the University of Amsterdam and the author of Breaking Things at Work: The Luddites Are Right About Why You Hate Your Job

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired August 21, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 01 Apr 2024 18:09:37 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing — calls about grammar, gardening, long-distance dialing, autotune. Anything. Everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we’re doing another one.

In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour about whatever you want to talk about. 888-720-9677.‌ Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘3 Body Problem’ and ‘Ramy Youssef: More Feelings’

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 18:10:02 +0000

This week’s Nose has crazy substitute teacher energy.

3 Body Problem is a Netflix series created by David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo and loosely based on the 2008 novel The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, the first novel in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy. 3 Body Problem is the first television series created by Benioff and Weiss since Game of Thrones.

And: More Feelings is the second HBO comedy special from Ramy Youssef.

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Inside the confusing, time-sucking, unequal world of taxes

Thu, 28 Mar 2024 19:06:32 +0000

It's tax season. How did this quintessentially frustrating thing come to be so frustrating? And must it be so?

GUESTS:

Monica Prasad: Professor of Economic and Political Sociology at Johns Hopkins University
Paul Kiel: Reporter for ProPublica who covers taxes
Lawrence Rosenwald: Professor of English Emeritus at Wellesley College and a longtime war tax resister

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From ‘The Lord of the Rings’ to ‘Dune,’ a look at the world of constructed languages

Wed, 27 Mar 2024 18:11:13 +0000

Constructed languages have existed in popular culture for a long time, but they've reached a new level of ubiquity today. This hour, we talk with professional conlangers who have created languages for Game of Thrones, Dune, and many other worlds. We'll learn about the art of constructing languages, and the appeal of learning one of them.

GUESTS:

David and Jessie Peterson: Professional conlangers whose work appears in Dune: Part Two, Elemental, Shadow and Bone, and more. They co-host the weekly livestream “LangTime Studio” on YouTube. David also created languages for Game of Thrones
Gregory Danielson III: Experienced Toki Pona speaker and teacher

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reverence? Rejection? Reckoning with the actions of our ancestors

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 14:05:00 +0000

This hour, we grapple with the impact our ancestors have on our lives and what our responsibility is if they did something we disagree with.

GUESTS:

Maud Newton: Author of Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation
Jenny Strauss: Great-granddaughter of Lewis Strauss

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired August 17, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at our ‘toxic love story’ with plastic

Mon, 25 Mar 2024 18:10:56 +0000

Plastic is everywhere in our world, and scientists are increasingly discovering the negative health and environmental impacts of the material.

GUESTS:

Susan Freinkel: Author of Plastic: A Toxic Love Story; her Substack is 1,017 Acres: Life in the Park
Erica Cirino: Communications manager of the Plastic Pollution Coalition and the author of Thicker Than Water: The Quest for Solutions to the Plastic Crisis
Dana Weinstein: Project specialist for the Media Impact Project at the University of Southern California Annenberg Norman Lear Center

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A triptych of celebrity scandals: Kate Middleton, Dan Schneider, and Jonathan Glazer

Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:12:12 +0000

The Nose is off. In its place this hour, a look at the current controversies swirling around certain celebrities:

Catherine, Princess of Wales hasn’t made a scheduled public appearance since last year. Kensington Palace announced in January that she was having “planned abdominal surgery.” The internet was dissatisfied with that explanation. And then some photos this month, including one that the Princess admitted to doctoring, have left the internet, let’s say, even less satisfied.

And: Dan Schneider has been described as “the Norman Lear of children’s television.” His Nickelodeon shows launched the careers of people like Amanda Bynes, Ariana Grande, Keenan Thompson, and others. But a new docuseries, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, brings together a number of previously known stories and allegations with some new information that, altogether, paints an ugly picture of what was going on behind the scenes — and often even on the screen — on Dan Schneider’s sets.

And finally: Director Jonathan Glazer’s acceptance speech at this year’s Academy Awards included this passage: “Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims of this dehumanization, how do we resist?” At the ceremony, people applauded. Since the ceremony, (some) people have responded, uh, less kindly. In any case, the Oscars have a long history of political controversy.

GUESTS:

Alison Foreman: A features writer at IndieWire covering and critiquing TV, film, and trends in Hollywood
Tiffany Hsu: A technology reporter for The New York Times covering misinformation and disinformation and its origins, movement, and consequences
Pete Hammond: Awards columnist and chief film critic at Deadline

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our 14th* (almost) annual March Madness show

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 23:36:28 +0000

March Madness is here!

And so the only logical thing to do is to get improv comedian Julia Pistell and the actual Bill Curry together to talk basketball for an hour on the radio.

That may not be the only logical thing to do. It may be that that’s not actually a logical thing to do at all.

But we’re doing it anyway.

*It’s our 14th one of these unless it isn’t. We’re pretty sure we’ve done this show every year from 2010 on, but for 2020. There’s circumstantial evidence, at least, that we did this show that first March that our show was on the air, in 2010. But no proof that that’s a thing we did survives. But we’re still fairly confident we did it.

GUESTS:

Eugene J. Cornacchia: President of Saint Peter’s University
Bill Curry: Playing the part of Bill Curry
Frankie Graziano: Host of The Wheelhouse on Connecticut Public
Julia Pistell: A founding member of Sea Tea Improv, among a number of other things

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to be wrong

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 19:34:27 +0000

This hour, lessons on changing your mind and admitting mistakes, from newspaper corrections to public intellectual pivots.

GUESTS:

Eranda Jayawickreme: Professor of psychology at Wake Forest University
Ty Seidule: Visiting professor of history at Hamilton College and the author of Robert E. Lee and Me; he’s a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army and the former vice chair of the Department of Defense’s Naming Commission
Isaac Saul: Founder of the newsletter Tangle

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hidden joys of searching

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 14:15:34 +0000

This hour, we talk to some professional “lookers” to find out: Is there joy, or hidden value, to be found in the search process? Can we learn to be better lookers?

GUESTS:

Chris Turner: CEO of The Ring Finders, a global directory of metal detecting specialists
James Renner: Journalist and author
Walter Wick: Photo-illustrator and picture puzzle designer known for the I Spy and Can You See What I See? series

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired August 16, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 18 Mar 2024 18:10:54 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s happening to the Great American Songbook?

Fri, 15 Mar 2024 15:01:03 +0000

Irving Berlin, Dorothy Fields, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein. These, along with many others, are the sorts of songwriters we associate with the Great American Songbook, the amorphous canon of important 20th-century pop songs, jazz standards, and show tunes from Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and movie musicals.

But there’s another important detail here. The songs we think of as the Songbook are from, more specifically, the 1920s through the 1950s. With some simple arithmetic, you can see that they’re, uh, getting on in years — which might (must?) mean that their devotees are, too.

The Nose is off this week. In its place this hour, a look at and a listen to — and some concern for the future of — the Great American Songbook.

GUESTS:

Joelle Lurie: Vocalist, songwriter, voiceover artist, and bandleader
Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show, which originally aired September 1, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shiver me timbers! A show about sea chanteys

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 16:26:20 +0000

Today, the sea chantey is something people listen to while having a good time in bars or at festivals, but its roots are more complex, stretching into the hard labor performed by sailors on 19th century merchant vessels and having ties to Black work songs. During the first year of the pandemic, there was a sea chantey craze on TikTok as people found joy and connection in the songs.

This hour, we treat you to the joy of the chantey form and some of the history that lies behind it.

GUESTS:

The Jovial Crew: A group of musicians and historians that’s been performing chanteys, forebitters, and other traditional old songs in Essex, Connecticut, since its founding in 1986; on the show today are Joseph Morneault, Rick Spencer, Michael Hotkowski, and the group’s founder, Cliff Haslam
Maya Angela Smith: Associate professor of French at University of Washington who wrote the essay “A People’s Song Upon the Waters”

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired August 2, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From ‘Memento’ to ‘Oppenheimer,’ the movies, mysteries, and marvels of Christopher Nolan

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 16:01:56 +0000

Christopher Nolan’s movies have grossed more than $6 billion, earned 49 Academy Award nominations, and won 18 Oscars — including seven wins this year for Oppenheimer.

His Dark Knight films helped spark the comic book movie renaissance we’re still experiencing, and his seventh feature, Inception, is the highest-grossing totally original, totally standalone movie ever made.

This hour — and in the wake of Oppenheimer’s Best Picture-winning Oscar weekend — a look at the filmmaker behind Batman Begins, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Memento, and more: Christopher Nolan.

GUESTS:

Kayleigh Donaldson: A pop culture writer and critic
James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
Tom Shone: The author of The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Rebecca Castellani, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired September 2, 2021, and July 28, 2023, in a different form.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spilling the beans about secrets

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 16:55:02 +0000

Our lives are entrenched in secrets — the average person, apparently, keeps as many as 13 of them at any given time. They’re largely regarded as bad for us.

But maybe secrets, like us, are more complex? Is there a time when a secret can be harmless, or even good? Can a secret save lives? And how many people can be involved in one before it all topples down?

GUESTS:

David Robert Grimes: Scientist and science writer
Raneta Lawson Mack: Professor of law emerita at Creighton University School of Law
Michael Slepian: Researcher who studies the psychology of secrecy, as well as an associate professor at Columbia Business School; he’s the author of The Secret Life of Secrets

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired August 9, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Dune: Part Two’ and ‘The Greatest Night in Pop’

Fri, 08 Mar 2024 19:14:12 +0000

Dune: Part Two is the third film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel. It is the second part of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation and the first of his Dune films released exclusively in theaters. It has grossed $204 million in its first week at the worldwide box office, making it the highest grossing American movie of 2024 so far. Dune: Part Two stars an ensemble cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, and … Christopher Walken?

And: The Greatest Night in Pop is a Netflix documentary about the recording of “We Are the World.” It features new interviews with Sheila E., Cyndi Lauper, Huey Lewis, Kenny Loggins, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Bruce Springsteen, and Dionne Warwick.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
John Dankosky: Director of news and audio for Science Friday, event and podcast host for The Connecticut Mirror, and co-owner of Lam Yoga in New Hartford, Connecticut
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write
Pedro Soto: President and CEO of Hygrade Precision Technologies

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘If the wind is right’: A deep dive into the smooth sounds of yacht rock

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 19:12:09 +0000

The Doobie Brothers. Christopher Cross. Steely Dan. Kenny Loggins. Toto. Michael McDonald. Ambrosia. Supertramp. (The Eagles? Uh, Michael Jackson?)

This hour, we take a deep dive into the smooth, soft sounds of … yacht rock.

GUESTS:

Hollywood Steve Huey: A music critic and a cohost of the Beyond Yacht Rock and Yacht or Nyacht? podcasts
Charly Kay: Lead and backing vocalist in the Yacht Lobsters
David Mendelsohn: Vocalist and guitarist in the Yacht Lobsters
Scout Raimondo: Production intern at Connecticut Public
Gaston Raimondo: Scout’s dad
Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent and a producer at WNHH radio

This show was produced with Scout Raimondo.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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A look at one of our most forgotten presidents: Chester A. Arthur

Wed, 06 Mar 2024 19:11:47 +0000

This hour is all about America’s 21st president, Chester A. Arthur, who took office after President James Garfield was assassinated. We look at Arthur’s life and legacy and at what happens when someone unexpectedly takes over the highest office in the land.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic.
Scott S. Greenberger: Executive editor of Stateline, and author of The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A. Arthur
Victoria Sample: Historic Sites Section Chief for the State of Vermont

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Keeping it brief: A celebration of short stories

Tue, 05 Mar 2024 15:00:00 +0000

When was the last time you read a short story? This hour, we talk about why short stories are so popular in the classroom, but why adults don’t seem to read them much once they’re done with school. And we make the case for why you should. Plus, a look at the art of the short story with some masters of the craft.

You can read Rebecca Makkai’s Substack post that inspired this show here.

Here is the story that is discussed in the final segment, “How I Became a Vet” by Rivka Galchen.

As part of this show we asked each of our guests to recommend a short story, a collection, or an author. Here are those recommendations:

Rebecca Makkai: “The Dinner Party” by Joshua Ferris
George Saunders: “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault, “The Conventional Wisdom” by Stanley Elkin
Deborah Treisman: Liberation Day by George Saunders, After the Funeral by Tessa Hadley, “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak” by Jamil Jan Kochai
Amy Bloom: “The Dead” by James Joyce, stories by Edward P. Jones, essays by Samantha Irby
Irene Papoulis: “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by ZZ Packer
Brian Slattery: “Hell is the Absence of God” by Ted Chiang
Colin McEnroe: “The Hole on the Corner” and “What’s the Name of That Town?” by R.A. Lafferty

GUESTS:

Rebecca Makkai: Author of the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-finalist The Great Believers, among other books; her newest book is I Have Some Questions For You, and she is artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago
George Saunders: Author of twelve books; his most recent is Liberation Day, a collection of short stories
Deborah Triesman: Fiction editor for The New Yorker and the host of their Fiction Podcast
Amy Bloom: Author of four novels and three collections of short stories; her most recent book is the memoir In Love
Irene Papouli: Teaches writing at Trinity College
Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on August 7, 2023.

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Lunch: It's so much more than what we eat

Mon, 04 Mar 2024 19:10:48 +0000

This hour: lunch — from the hungry judge effect to the sad desk lunch. We’ll look at the history of our mid-day meal, talk about school lunches, and get tips for packing lunch.

And we want to hear from you. Do you love lunch? Hate it? Eat the same lunch every day? Never eat lunch? Call us: 888-720-9677.

GUESTS:

Megan Elias: Historian, Director of the Food Studies Program, Associate Professor at Boston University, and author of Lunch: A History
Aviva Wittenberg: Author of Lunchbox: 75+ Easy and Delicious Recipes for Lunches on the Go
Erin Feinauer Whiting: Professor of Multicultural Education at Brigham Young University

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The Nose looks at ‘Poor Things’ and Jon Stewart’s return to ‘The Daily Show’

Fri, 01 Mar 2024 19:14:31 +0000

Poor Things is the eighth feature film directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. It is written by Tony McNamara and based on the 1992 novel Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer by Alasdair Gray. Poor Things is a fantastical comedy that deals with some pretty dark ideas, and it’s nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Lanthimos), Best Actress (Emma Stone), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), and Best Adapted Screenplay.

And: After a year without a permanent host, The Daily Show has finally filled its vacancy! Or one-quarter of its vacancy, at least. But anyway: Jon Stewart is back! But just on Mondays. But Jon Stewart has returned! At least through the election. And then Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Thursdays are hosted by a rotating group of correspondents. For now, anyway, it sounds like.

GUESTS:

Raquel Benedict: The most dangerous woman in speculative fiction … and she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast
Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn

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We’re having crisis fatigue

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 19:18:24 +0000

Everything's felt like, and been called, a "crisis" lately. This hour, we talk about the overuse of the term "crisis," and crisis fatigue. Plus, we'll talk with a crisis communicator about how to manage a crisis. And, finally, a look at the midlife crisis.

GUESTS:

Eliah Bures: Historian of modern Europe and a Senior Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Right-Wing Studies
Christian Paz: Senior Politics Reporter for Vox
Molly McPherson: An expert in crisis communications and emergency management. She is the author of the book Indestructible: Reclaim Control and Respond with Confidence in a Media Crisis
Barbara Bradley Hagerty: Contributing writer to The Atlantic, and author of Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife

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Voting for the lesser of two evils

Wed, 28 Feb 2024 19:49:23 +0000

"The lesser of two evils" is a phrase we hear a lot during election cycles. Why is that? This hour, we look to philosophy, the polls, and forensic psychiatry to explore the meaning of this idiom.

GUESTS:

Lakshya Jain: Partner at the election analysis website splitticket.org
Julia Maskivker: Professor of Political Theory and Political Science at Rollins College in Florida. She wrote the book “The Duty to Vote.”
Dr. Michael Welner: Forensic psychiatrist and chairman of The Forensic Panel

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The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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Are you an ENFP? An ISTJ? A look at the history, validity, and potential of Myers-Briggs

Tue, 27 Feb 2024 15:25:43 +0000

Who am I? We’ve all wondered at some point. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a personality test based on Carl Jung’s psychological types, has offered many an answer.

This hour, we delve into the history of the MBTI and contemporary applications of this test and explore its scientific validity.

Plus, a look at a dating app that uses the 16 personality types to help people find love.

GUESTS:

Jessica Alderson: Founder of So Syncd, a 16 personalities-based dating app
Alexander Swan: Associate professor of psychology at Eureka College and host of the CinemaPsych podcast
Paul Tieger: A prolific author on the MBTI; his books include Do What You Are and Just Your Type

This show was produced by Carol Chen.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show, which originally aired August 3, 2023.

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We take your calls

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 19:08:10 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the cold, Cheese & Stuff, fast crocodiles, how we choose music, when Colin eats lunch … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

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Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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‘Always getting it wrong’: A look at the state of awards shows

Fri, 23 Feb 2024 19:11:02 +0000

With the Academy Awards just two weekends away, this year’s awards season is coming to a close.

With that in mind, this hour we take a Nose-ish look at awards shows — awards shows as live events, as television, and as the actual doling out of artistic accolades.

Plus: a brief history of the Academy Awards with Michael Schulman, the author of Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Alison Herman: TV critic at Variety
Michael Schulman: A staff writer at The New Yorker and the author, most recently, of Oscar Wars

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Invisible and essential, scanning through the history and impact of barcodes

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 19:14:42 +0000

Barcodes are everywhere, and they helped to shape the world we live in. This hour, we'll look at the history and impact of barcodes. Plus, we'll look at the rise of QR code menus and tickets, and talk about what we might gain and lose as we move away from physical objects to digital ones.

GUESTS:

Jordan Frith: Pearce Professor of Professional Communications at Clemson University, and author of the book Barcode
Sean Willard: Menu Engineer with Menu Engineers
Bailey Sincox: Perkins-Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow in the Princeton Society of Fellows, where she teaches and writes about early modern English literature

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Stop making sense: A salute to incoherence

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 19:38:15 +0000

This hour, partly cloudy spies with a 50% chance of certain rain. Have you ever wondered if you really exist? Consider that you might not exist at all. In other news, get ready to gyre and gimble in the wabe — our show today is about incoherence.

GUESTS:

Alex Worsnip: Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He’s the author of “Fitting Things Together: Coherence and the Demands of Structural Rationality”
Tom Nichols: Staff writer at The Atlantic and an author of the Atlantic Daily newsletter.
Major Jackson: Professor of English at Vanderbilt University and host of the podcast the Slowdown from American Public Media. His most recent book is “Razzle Dazzle: New and Selected Poems”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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Unpacking the impact of J. Edgar Hoover on the FBI and 20th century America

Tue, 20 Feb 2024 15:49:46 +0000

J. Edgar Hoover served as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under eight presidents and made the FBI into the organization it is today.

This hour, Beverly Gage, Yale historian and author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Hoover, joins us to talk about his life and legacy.

Plus, a look at the status of the FBI today and the lessons we can learn from Hoover’s example.

GUESTS:

Beverly Gage: Professor of 20th-century U.S. history at Yale University; her newest book, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Biography

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 27, 2023.

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The Nose looks at ‘American Fiction’ and ‘Criminal Record’

Sat, 17 Feb 2024 05:17:00 +0000

American Fiction, the feature film directorial debut of Cord Jefferson, is a comedy based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett. It is nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for Jefferson, Best Actor for Jeffrey Wright, and Best Supporting Actor for Sterling K. Brown.

And: Criminal Record is a British crime thriller series on Apple TV+. Here’s their synopsis: “In the heart of London, an anonymous phone call draws two brilliant detectives — a young woman in the early stages of her career and a well-connected man determined to protect his legacy — into a fight to correct an old miscarriage of justice.” Criminal Record stars Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo.

GUESTS:

Rich Hollant: Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write

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Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

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From privacy to paper jams, a look at printer problems

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 21:48:01 +0000

This hour is all about printers. We’ll talk about printer problems and why, despite our struggles, we can’t seem to quit them. And, we’ll talk with a rage room owner about the appeal of smashing printers.

GUESTS:

Cory Doctorow: Science fiction author, activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and journalist. His new book, The Bezzle, is out next week
Allen St. John: Multimedia Content Producer for Consumer Reports
Cody Nicholas: Co-owner of the Lose It Rage Room in Woodbridge, VA

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Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Katie Pellico, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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What's in a pseudonym?

Wed, 14 Feb 2024 19:21:18 +0000

From pen names to online aliases, pseudonyms are all around us. This hour, we’re talking about what compels people to adopt an alternate identity when they write.

Do pseudonyms liberate us? Do they make us treat each other better? Or do they stop credit from going where it’s due?

GUESTS:

Carmela Ciuraru: Author of “Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms” and, most recently, “Lives of the Wives: Five Literary Marriages”
Daniel A. Gross: Editor at the New Yorker and author of the Atlantic article, “The Mystery of the Hardy Boys and the Invisible Authors”
Alfred Moore: Senior lecturer in Politics at the University of York

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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Our second hour with Joyce Maynard

Tue, 13 Feb 2024 17:31:34 +0000

This hour, novelist Joyce Maynard joins us for a second time to talk about her latest novel, the blurring of life and fiction, and her new career running a hotel in Guatemala.

GUEST:

Joyce Maynard: Novelist; her latest is The Bird Hotel

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 25, 2023.

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From the Super Bowl to streaming, commercials are back

Mon, 12 Feb 2024 20:26:49 +0000

This hour is all about commercials. We'll look at the Super Bowl ads, and how commercials have infiltrated streaming. Plus, a look at what’s going on with those "He Gets Us" ads for Jesus.

GUESTS:

Patrick Dugan: Executive creative director at Adams and Knight in Avon
Suzanne Vranica: Advertising Editor for The Wall Street Journal
Bob Smietana: National reporter for Religion News Service, and author of Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why it Matters

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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The art of the ending

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 16:25:37 +0000

The Nose is off this week. In its place, and with the week coming to an end, it’s time for an hour on endings.

We look at the art of the ending, wonder what makes a satisfying ending in literature and TV and music, and ponder how we know it’s time to let a thing come to an end.

GUESTS:

Jen Chaney: TV critic at Vulture and New York magazine and the author of As If! The Oral History of Clueless
Geoff Dyer: Author of The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings, among other books
Rebecca Makkai: Artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago and the author, most recently, of I Have Some Questions for You
Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, professor at Berklee College of Music and co-author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired May 17, 2019, and May 17, 2023.

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Finding humanity in humanism

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 17:14:35 +0000

This hour we look at the philosophy of humanism. We survey the history and evolution of the humanist tradition, and discuss what it means to practice humanism. Plus, how humanism can help us relate to technology.

GUESTS:

Sarah Bakewell: Author of Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry and Hope, among other books
Greg Epstein: Author and Humanist Chaplain at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is also Convener for Ethical Life at the MIT Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on July 13, 2023.

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We take your calls

Wed, 07 Feb 2024 19:09:35 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to coyote behavior, the asphalt on the highway, where bare feet are and are not acceptable (and, relatedly, “Barefootin’”), crosswalk signals … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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From therapy-speak to armchair psychology, conversations around mental health are changing

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 16:52:49 +0000

Terms that started out in the therapist’s office have moved into the public discourse. This hour we talk about therapy-speak, armchair psychology, and how greater awareness of mental health terminology and diagnoses impacts the broader conversation around mental health, for better and worse. Plus, a look at how therapists are depicted on TV and how that’s impacted their work outside the screen.

GUESTS:

Lucy Foulkes: An academic psychologist at the University of Oxford and author of the book Losing Our Minds: The Challenge of Defining Mental Illness
Jessica Gold: Assistant Professor and the Director of Wellness, Engagement, and Outreach in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine. She works clinically as an outpatient psychiatrist, and writes about mental health for a variety of general audience publications
Inkoo Kang: The television critic at The New Yorker

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on July 24, 2023.

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Did we even have a choice to do this episode about free will?

Mon, 05 Feb 2024 20:13:51 +0000

This hour, we revisit the classic debate about whether or not we have free will.

Plus: Is there anything that makes you feel like you have free will more than a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book? We revisit the series … if you choose to listen, that is.

GUESTS:

Kevin J. Mitchell: Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin. His new book is Free Agents: How Evolution Gave Us Free Will
Shannon Gilligan: CEO and Publisher of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” series, which has been in print for more than 40 years

SONGS:

“Can’t Help Myself” by Four Tops
“You’re Made That Way” by Mavis Staples
“Metacognition” by High School for the Recording Arts Los Angeles
“Make Your Own Kind of Music” by Cass Elliot
“Choose your own adventure (Kyle Watson Remix)” by GoldFish

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Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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The Nose looks at ‘In the Know’ and ‘Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative’

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 19:10:27 +0000

In the Know is a stop-motion, claymation, half-hour comedy series created by Zach Woods, Brandon Gardner, and Mike Judge. It follows a third-rate NPR host, Lauren Caspian (voiced by Woods), a “well-meaning, hypocritical nimrod puppet” and his third-rate NPR interview show, In the Know.

And: Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative is a limited-series podcast from Radiotopia Presents. It is created and hosted by Jess Shane, and it attempts to expose and question “the nuts and bolts of documentary storytelling.”

GUESTS:

Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and the co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications
Tracy Wu Fastenberg: Development officer at Connecticut Children’s
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

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Songs getting shorter, fish-poop beach sand, and Scramble the Duck

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 19:55:33 +0000

This hour: popular songs are getting shorter, tropical sand is made of fish poop, and Scramble the weather-predicting duck puts Punxsutawney Phil to shame.

GUESTS:

Joe Bennett: Forensic musicologist and a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston
Joe Roman: Conservation biologist at the University of Vermont and author of book, “Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World”
Isaac Torcellini: One of Scramble the Duck’s handlers

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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An ode to yodeling

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:14:44 +0000

What is yodeling, anyway? Some consider it singing, some say it’s an ululation, and still others consider it merely a means to herd animals. Whatever yodeling is, one thing’s clear: Yodeling has been around for thousands of years and shows no signs of disappearing.

This hour, we speak with a musicologist, a DJ, and a professional singer about this age-old vocal practice. We trace yodeling’s history from its humble, utilitarian roots to its place in modern day pop music and beyond.

GUESTS:

Bart Plantenga: The author of several books including Yodel in Hi-Fi: From Kitsch Folk to Contemporary Electronica
Roger Tincknell: A cowboy yodeler, musician, and traveling performer
Timothy Wise: Author of Yodeling and Meaning in American Music
Chion Wolf: Host of Audacious on Connecticut Public

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired October 10, 2017.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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A look at the state of philanthropy

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 18:15:34 +0000

This hour, we take a look at the state of philanthropy with Amy Schiller, author of the new book, The Price of Humanity: How Philanthropy Went Wrong and How to Fix It. We’ll look at the evolution of philanthropy through history, and potential reforms for its future. Plus, we’ll discuss the rise of effective altruism, the philanthropic philosophy of LeBron James, and what we can learn from the example of Notre Dame.

GUEST:

Amy Schiller: Writer, political philosopher, and visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. She is author of The Price of Humanity: How Philanthropy Went Wrong and How to Fix it

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Our hour with the late Hal Holbrook

Sat, 27 Jan 2024 16:45:23 +0000

Samuel and Olivia Clemens and their children moved into the house they’d had built at Nook Farm in Hartford — the house that we now call the Mark Twain House — in 1874, 150 years ago this year.

Partly to celebrate that anniversary, we present this hour a new version of our 2015 interview with the late Hal Holbrook.

Holbrook was probably best known for his one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight!, which he performed for 63 years — longer than Samuel Clemens used the Mark Twain moniker.

Beyond Mark Twain Tonight!, you probably know Hal Holbrook as Deep Throat in All the President’s Men. He’s in a Dirty Harry movie. He’s in a Steven Spielberg movie. He’s in Wall Street and The Firm and John Carpenter’s The Fog. He appeared on Designing Women and The West Wing and The Sopranos and Sons of Anarchy and Grey’s Anatomy.

Hal Holbrook won a Tony Award. He was nominated for 12 Emmys, and he won five. And he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Into the Wild.

We talked to Holbrook on the evening of February 3, 2015. He was two weeks shy of his 90th birthday — which birthday he celebrated by performing Mark Twain Tonight! at The Bushnell in Hartford.

Hal Holbrook died in 2021. He was 95.

GUEST:

Hal Holbrook: Was a film, television, and stage actor

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This interview was originally produced by Betsy Kaplan.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired February 4, 2015, in a different form.

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The Nose looks at the current "hard-boiled women in cold climates" phenomenon

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 23:08:41 +0000

Jodie Foster and Kali Reis in Alaska in True Detective: Night Country. Juno Temple, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Richa Moorjani in Minnesota in the recent fifth season of Fargo. Emma Corrin and Brit Marling in Iceland in A Murder at the End of the World.

There’s something going on with all these TV mysteries set in the frozen, frigid North with all these neo noiry North Country female leads.

This hour, a Nose-ish look at what Colin’s taken to calling the current "hard-boiled women in cold climates" phenomenon.

GUESTS:

Melanie McFarland: Senior culture critic at Salon
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Kat Rosenfield: A novelist, a columnist for UnHerd, and the co-host of the Feminine Chaos podcast; her most recent novel is You Must Remember This

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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From "Iowa nice" to New England blunt, how do we define "nice" in America?

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 19:12:12 +0000

Have you ever heard someone say that East Coasters are kind but not nice, and West Coasters are nice but not kind? This hour, we’re figuring out what “niceness” is, why it's so important to us, and how can it sometimes mask not-so-nice things.

GUESTS:

Carrie Tirado Bramen: Professor at the University at Buffalo and author of the book “American Niceness: A Cultural History”
Amit Kumar: Assistant Professor of Marketing and Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin
Jordan Green: Self-proclaimed “kind West Coaster”
Mia Mercado: Humor writer and author from the Midwest who wrote “She's Nice Though: Essays on Being Bad at Being Good”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Lily Tyson, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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From plagues to climate change, a look at how 2024 was imagined

Wed, 24 Jan 2024 19:20:33 +0000

This hour we take a look at the science fiction books and movies set in 2024 to see how close to reality they turned out to be. We'll discuss the 1960 film Beyond the Time Barrier, the 1975 film A Boy and His Dog, and Octavia E. Butler's 1993 novel Parable of the Sower. Plus, we'll hear from a speculative fiction writer about the challenge, and value, of imagining the future. And, we'll talk with someone behind The Washington Post's annual "List" about predicting trends for the next year.

GUESTS:

Charles Bramesco: A film and television critic, and author of the article “The beginning of the end? What we can learn from films set in 2024”
Annalee Newitz: A writer of science fiction and nonfiction whose books include The Terraformers and Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age. Their forthcoming book is Stories are Weapons: Psychological Warfare and the American Mind. They are also the co-host of the podcast Our Opinions Are Correct
Cassandra L. Jones: Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Her forthcoming book is Black Speculative Feminisms: Memory and Liberated Futures in Black Women's Speculative Fiction
Maura Judkis: Features Reporter for The Washington Post who wrote “The List: What’s In and What’s Out for 2024”

SONGS:

“The Future” by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
“2024” by Tyson James
“Don’t Leave Me” by The Winans
“You Want it Darker” by Leonard Cohen
“Not My Fault” by Reneé Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion

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What’s going on with loneliness?

Tue, 23 Jan 2024 17:53:07 +0000

Loneliness: It’s often cited as an “epidemic” and can have a health impact comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

This hour, we talk about what loneliness looks like in the brain and how public policy could affect our loneliness epidemic.

Plus: a conversation with an expert on making friends as an adult!

GUESTS:

Elisa Baek: Assistant professor of psychology at USC Dornsife
Chris Murphy: U.S. Senator from Connecticut
Kat Vellos: A speaker, connection coach, and the author of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 12, 2023.

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we take your calls

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 19:13:33 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

SONGS:

“Now You Know” by the Original Cast of Merrily We Roll Along
“Winston Churchill’s Boy” by Benjamin Clementine
“Give Him a Great Big Kiss” by The Shangri-Las
"Bombay Bicycle Club" by Fantasneeze (feat. Matilda Mann)
"The Telephone Call" by Kraftwerk

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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The Nose looks at ‘Saltburn’ and ‘The Holdovers’

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 19:20:43 +0000

Saltburn is the second movie written and directed by Emerald Fennell, following Promising Young Woman. It is a comedy-drama-thriller set mostly on the titular sprawling estate during summer break from Oxford University. Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike were both nominated for Golden Globes for their performances.

And: The Holdovers is the eighth feature film directed by Alexander Payne and the first feature written by David Hemingson. It is the second time Payne and Paul Giamatti have worked together, following Sideways. The Holdovers is a comedy-drama set mostly during Christmas break from a fictional New England boarding school. Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph both won Golden Globes for their performances.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

‘Honeymooners’ Star Joyce Randolph Dead at 99 Played Ed Norton’s Wife, Trixie
‘Rap Sh!t’ Canceled at Max The comedy from creator Issa Rae starring Aida Osman ran for two seasons on the streamer.
‘Schmigadoon’ Canceled After Two Seasons at Apple TV+
Elton John Just Got EGOT
The 150 Greatest Science Fiction Movies of All Time From space odysseys to star wars, alien invaders to guardians of the galaxy — the best sci-fi films from the beginning of the movies until now
Reboot Star Wars!
Toward a definition of “Egg Cinema” How movies made by seeming cis people sometimes end up super trans.
Lorne Michaels Says Tina Fey ‘Could Easily’ Take Over ‘Saturday Night Live’: She’s ‘Brilliant and Great at Everything’

GUESTS:

Xandra Ellin: A producer at Pineapple Street Studios
Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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“A safety valve”: The impact of ballot measures on democracy

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 19:08:37 +0000

From abortion rights to partisan school board elections, ballot measures are a big deal in 2024. But what are they? A drop of direct democracy to defend against corrupt politicians? A pawning-off of governance to voters who don’t know what they’re voting on? This hour: the good, the bad, and the weird of ballot measures.

GUESTS:

Dane Waters: Founder of the Initiative and Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California
Desmond Meade: Executive Director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and author of "Let My People Vote: My Battle to Restore the Civil Rights of Returning Citizens"
Ryan Byrne: Managing Editor of the Ballot Measures Project at Ballotpedia

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Eternal flame: The continued relevance of the myth of Prometheus

Wed, 17 Jan 2024 19:10:10 +0000

In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give it to humans, and suffered an eternity of punishment for doing so.

This hour, we revisit that myth, and talk about why it resonates so much today.

Plus, a look at the Alien prequel Prometheus.

GUESTS:

Annie Dorsen: Theater director; her most recent production was Prometheus Firebringer
Adrienne Mayor: Research scholar in the Classics Department and the History of Science Program at Stanford University and the author of Gods and Robots: Myths, Machines and Ancient Dreams of Technology, among other books
Dom Nero: Writer, video editor, and co-host of the Eye of the Duck podcast
A.O. Scott: Critic at large for The New York Times Book Review and the author of Better Living Through Criticism

SONGS:

“Road to Hell (Live)” by the Original Cast of Hadestown
“We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel
“Oppenheimer” by Old 97s
“Prometheus” by SickTanicK
“A Planet” by Marc Streitenfeld

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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What our tears can tell us

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 17:26:00 +0000

Why do humans cry? This hour, we look at the science of crying and discuss what it does for us, emotionally and culturally.

Plus: musician Dar Williams on why some songs make us cry. And: We investigate “crocodile tears” with a crocodile biologist.

GUESTS:

Benjamin Perry: Minister at Middle Church and the author of Cry, Baby: Why Our Tears Matter
Kent Vliet: An expert in crocodilian biology
Dar Williams: Singer-songwriter

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Stacey Addo, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 6, 2023.

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A look at the state of stand-up comedy

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 19:09:58 +0000

In lieu of a standard Nose, we decided to take a show-length look at some of the best stand-up comedy from 2023 and some of the most-anticipated stand-up comedy of 2024.

There are the new controversial specials from Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais. But there are also good, recent specials from folks like Kenny DeForest, Gary Gulman, Dina Hashem, Pete Holmes, and Beth Stelling.

And there’s Taylor Tomlinson’s new late night gig starting January 16.

Plus: Pete Davidson has a brand-new special. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are on tour. John Mulaney and Rory Scovel have new specials coming. And more!

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Jason Zinoman: Critic at large for The New York Times, where he writes the On Comedy column

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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The cars have eyes: Data privacy (or lack thereof) and your vehicle

Thu, 11 Jan 2024 19:08:31 +0000

This hour: everything you didn’t know about that thing you sit in for an hour every day.

GUESTS:

Jen Caltrider: Program director of Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included project
Stefan Gössling: Professor at Linnaeus University
Kashmir Hill: Technology reporter at The New York Times, specializing in privacy
Ian Walker: Professor of environmental psychology at Swansea University

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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It’s kind of Civil War days right now

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 19:12:32 +0000

It’s kind of Civil War days right now. Presidential candidate Nikki Haley choked on the cause. Former President Trump is being disqualified from state ballots based on an amendment intended to keep Confederate leaders from holding federal offices and charged with another offense derived from the Civil War.

This hour: Are we in the Civil War era? And what would it mean if we were? Plus, what another civil war could look like.

GUESTS:

Caroline Janney: Professor of history of American Civil War and the director of the Nau Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia
Gerard Magliocca: Samuel R. Rosen Professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Stephen Marche: Novelist and essayist; his most recent book is The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future
Clint Smith: Staff writer at The Atlantic and author of How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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What’s spoken flies away: The history and art of reading aloud

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 18:04:40 +0000

There’s an old Latin saying from the early Middle Ages: Verba volant, scripta manent — What is written remains, what is spoken flies away. Essentially, it means you should write down your contracts.

But according to Alberto Manguel, author of A History of Reading, the phrase can be interpreted in a different way: What is written is stuck to the page. It’s only when you give it a voice that it acquires wings and can fly.

This hour: reading out loud. We look at the history of the practice and talk to people who make reading expressive, communal, and loud.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Director, producer, arts consultant, and an artist working at the crossroads of performance and creative leadership
Dennis Duncan: Lecturer in English at University College London
Drew John Ladd: Blogger, activist, and the author of Wolfsong Beloved
Alberto Manguel: Director of Lisbon’s Center for Research into the History of Reading
Robin Miles: An audiobook narrator and a producer, director, teacher, and actor for theater, television, films, and museums
Brooke Steinhauser: Programs director at the Emily Dickinson Museum
Chion Wolf: Host of Audacious on Connecticut Public

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 5, 2023.

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We take your calls

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 19:07:07 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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The Nose looks at ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ and the state of sex in movies

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 19:12:02 +0000

Anatomy of a Fall (Anatomie d’une chute) is a French courtroom drama thriller directed by Justine Triet and written by Triet and Arthur Harari. It won the Palme d’Or (and the Palm Dog Award — which is a real thing, it turns out) at Cannes last year. It is currently nominated for four awards at Sunday’s Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture — Drama.

And: Provocative sex has returned to the movies, according to Alexandra Gleeman in The New York Times Magazine, citing things like May December and Saltburn and even Oppenheimer. The Nose wonders how we feel about that.

GUESTS:

Raquel Benedict: Claims to be the most dangerous woman in speculative fiction, and she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast
Xandra Ellin: A producer at Pineapple Street Studios
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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When authenticity’s in crisis, we value it more

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 19:28:15 +0000

In honor of Merriam-Webster’s 2023 Word of the Year, we're doing a show on authenticity! What is it? Why do we care about it? And whether we're talking about historical paintings or people — how do you figure out what's authentic?

GUESTS:

Peter Sokolowski: Editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster
George Newman: Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Toronto
Ethan Bueno de Mesquita: Interim Dean and Sydney Stein Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago
Jeffrey Taylor: Partner at New York Art Forensics and a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Lithuania. He wrote the book, “The Art Business: Art World, Art Market.”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Political merchandise can tell us a lot about an election

Wed, 03 Jan 2024 19:10:48 +0000

This hour we look at the world of political merchandise. We explore the history of political merchandise, what it can tell us about an election, and the latest trends going into 2024. Plus, we’ll talk with a t-shirt maker to learn about the current landscape of political merchandise, and what sales can tell us about the priorities of voters.

GUESTS:

Claire Jerry: Curator of Political History for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
Hunter Schwarz: Journalist and the founder and curator of the visual politics newsletter “Yello”
Mike Draper: Founder and owner of the t-shirt maker Raygun

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Humanity’s ongoing quest to end epidemics and escape contagion

Tue, 02 Jan 2024 14:34:20 +0000

Before Covid, Most Americans couldn’t imagine the staggering loss of life that earlier generations experienced during epidemics of smallpox, diphtheria, polio and other fatal infectious diseases. We’ve been living in a golden age since WWII, when widespread use of vaccines and antibiotics eradicated the biggest killers and doubled life expectancy. But the catch-22 of medical discovery is that over time, we collectively forget the horror of the diseases from which we were saved.

Today, a look at our never-ending quest to escape contagion. We also talk about the myth of ‘Patient Zero’ and a lunar pandemic that never happened.

GUESTS:

Richard Conniff: National Magazine Award-winning writer for Smithsonian magazine, National Geographic, and other publications. He’s also a former Guggenheim Fellow. His most recent book is Ending Epidemics: A History of Escape From Contagion.
Leyla Mei: New York City-based writer and medical historian. She has a PhD in American history and writes about disease, risk and race.
Dagomar DeGroot: Associate professor of environmental history at Georgetown University. His work has appeared in Aeon magazine, The Conversation, and The Washington Post, among other outlets. His most recent book, Ripples in the Cosmic Ocean: An Environmental History of Humanity's Place in the Solar System, will be published in 2024.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired on June 22, 2023.

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The year-end Nose looks back at 2023

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 16:30:55 +0000

Continuing a streak of long, strange years, it’s been a long, strange year. And so, The Nose wonders how our popular culture is dealing with it all.

We look back at a whole bunch of movies and TV shows: American Symphony, Barbie, Black Mirror, The Curse, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Headliners Only, Killers of the Flower Moon, Leave the World Behind, Maestro, Oppenheimer, Reservation Dogs, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and more.

We wonder about the future of superhero movies. We look at the over- and under-appreciated figures in our pop culture.

And don’t worry: Taylor Swift gets discussed.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Tom Smothers, Comic Half of the Smothers Brothers, Dies at 86 Though he played a naïve buffoon onstage, he was the driving force behind the folk-singing duo’s groundbreaking TV show.
Lee Sun-kyun, ‘Parasite’ Actor, Found Dead at 48 Mr. Lee, a familiar face on Korean television and movie screens, rose to international fame after starring in the Oscar-winning film.
Jo Koy to Host 2024 Golden Globes The comedian will make his awards show debut on the CBS broadcast.
‘Zone of Interest,’ ‘Perfect Days,’ & ‘Godland’ Make 2024 International Film Oscars Shortlist
The Year Millennials Aged Out of the Internet
The Internet Isn’t Dead. It’s Saturday Night Live In 2023, a new idea took hold: The internet isn’t fun anymore. Except it’s not a new idea.
We Aren’t Posting on Social Media as Much Anymore. Will We Ever? Excessive ads, bots and misinformation have sucked the fun out of sharing publicly, users say
The Triumph of Zelda In a year of huge games, Tears of the Kingdom still stands out

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and director of marketing at Washington Montessori
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Rich Hollant: Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Our favorite jazz of 2023

Thu, 28 Dec 2023 15:40:00 +0000

As we have every year for at least the last 10 years, to round out the year, we round up the best jazz of the year.

GUESTS:

Jen Allen: A pianist, composer, arranger, and educator; her most recent album is Sifting Grace
Noah Baerman: A pianist, composer, and educator; his most recent album, with Henry Lugo, is Alter Ego
Gene Seymour: A film, television, and music critic

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Invisibility fascinates and frightens us. But will it ever become reality?

Wed, 27 Dec 2023 13:59:37 +0000

This hour: invisibility. We learn about the science of invisibility and whether we’re getting close to having the technology to turn invisible. We also talk about invisibility in pop culture and science fiction and debate questions we all have about what would happen if someone could turn invisible.

GUESTS:

Gregory Gbur: Author of Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not To Be Seen, and a Professor of Physics and Optical Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Lisa Yaszek: Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech
Sophia Brueckner: Futurist artist, designer and engineer, Associate Professor at the School of Art and Design, and Co-Director of the Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing at the University of Michigan

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 31, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We ❤️ romance novels

Tue, 26 Dec 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Romance novels have long had a reputation for being flimsy, sexist, trashy bodice-rippers. But there’s lots more to the genre than meets the eye. This hour, we look at what makes romance novels work – and why so many of us are devouring them.

GUESTS:

Olivia Waite: The New York Times Book Review’s romance fiction columnist who writes queer and historical romance, fantasy, and critical essays on the genre’s history and future
Jason Rogers: Olympic medalist, journalist covering masculinity, and the founder of a now-defunct romance book club for men
Tony Horvath: Creative director for the long-time romance-novel publisher Harlequin, where he oversees production of about 80 book covers a month

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Lily Tyson, Jonathan McNicol, Carolyn McCusker, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on June 1, 2023.

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Our 10th annual holiday spectacular with ‘Big Al’ Anderson and Jim Chapdelaine

Sat, 23 Dec 2023 16:29:52 +0000

Every year since 2014, we’ve done some version of this show. We get “Big Al” Anderson and Jim Chapdelaine and Colin together, we sing some songs, tell some stories, have some surprise guests … and somehow we wind up with a holiday special.

We couldn’t, strictly speaking, do the together part of that this year. But that’s no reason not to sing songs — eight of them, no less — and tell stories and have some surprise guests. And this year, we’ve included a brand-new version of an unheard, age-old Big Al song that Al and Jim sent along special.

It’s an hour of joyous nonsense for Christmas Eve Eve, an audio “Happy holidays” from us to you.

🎄

GUESTS:

“Big Al” Anderson: Vocals, guitar, songwriter
Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar, vocals, songwriter, mixer, engineer, producer, etc.
Lorne Entress: Drums and vocals
Paul Kochanski: Bass guitar and vocals
Nekita Waller: Connecticut’s 17th State Troubadour

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Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Natalie Frascarelli, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired in a different form December 24, 2019, and December 22, 2021.

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The Nose looks at Bradley Cooper’s ‘Maestro’

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 19:14:06 +0000

Maestro is the second film produced, written, and directed by Bradley Cooper. Netflix calls it a “love story chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein.” It stars Carey Mulligan as Felicia and Cooper as Leonard Bernstein. Maestro is nominated for four Golden Globes, including Best Picture, Drama and Best Director, Motion Picture.

Plus: A brief look at the year in classical music.

GUESTS:

Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College

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Back from the dead: Exploring the cutting edge of de-extinction

Thu, 21 Dec 2023 18:16:17 +0000

At the beginning of the year, the company behind the public effort to de-extinct the wooly mammoth announced it will also be de-extincting the dodo. The announcement stirred up a lot of excitement and questions about whether we can – or should – bring back species once they’re gone.

So this hour we're talking about de-extinction! We’ll hear about what it takes to bring back extinct animals, efforts to build a safety net for plants that might go extinct in the future, and walk through some fun de-extinction thought experiments.

GUESTS:

Helen Pilcher: Science and comedy writer with a PhD in cell biology who wrote Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinction
Ben Lamm: CEO of the de-extinction company Colossal, which he co-founded with George Church.
Carlos de la Rosa: President and CEO of the Center for Plant Conservation

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 18, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Checking in on self-checkout

Wed, 20 Dec 2023 17:09:01 +0000

As some stores announce they are getting rid of self-checkout machines, we take an hour to explore that technology and its impacts. We'll debate its pros and cons, look at the history of self-service at grocery stores, and talk about the future of technology in stores.

Plus, we'll learn about the psychology of "weak ties," and the value of talking to strangers in places like the checkout aisle.

GUESTS:

Christopher Andrews: Associate Professor and Chair of Sociology at Drew University, and author of The Overworked Consumer: Self-Checkouts, Supermarkets, and the Do-It-Yourself Economy
Stew Leonard Jr.: President and CEO of Stew Leonard’s, a regional supermarket chain headquartered in Connecticut
Gillian Sandstrom: Senior Lecturer in the Psychology of Kindness at the University of Sussex

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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What does it mean to treat something as sacred?

Tue, 19 Dec 2023 17:13:08 +0000

This hour, we look at the idea of sacredness — in both religious and secular spaces — and ask how we can identify and make places for the sacred in our everyday lives, through reading, music, and even baseball.

GUESTS:

Mark Miller: Lecturer in sacred music at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music and Divinity School, composer in residence at Drew University, and the minister of music of Christ Church
Mary-Jane Rubenstein: Professor of religion and science in society at Wesleyan University and the author of Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race, among other books
Vanessa Zoltan: An atheist chaplain; co-host of the podcasts Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, Hot & Bothered, and Should I Quit; and the author of Praying with Jane Eyre: Reflections on Reading as a Sacred Practice

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired May 15, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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We take your calls

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 19:07:23 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to YouTube’s algorithm, The Misfits song “Hybrid Moments,” Costco, John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial, the perpetual state of existential dread that millennials experience, birdwatching … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The Nose looks at the glut of cult docuseries

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 19:14:57 +0000

Cult documentaries and docuseries sure seem to be having a moment right now. (On the other hand.) This isn’t the sort of material The Nose usually gets into. But, and partly inspired by Cat’s Corner in the current edition of The Noseletter, we decided to give three popular new shows a look:

Escaping Twin Flames is a three-part Netflix docuseries that looks at the controversial online community Twin Flames Universe.

The Garden: Commune or Cult is a six-part Discovery Channel docuseries about the off-the-grid community The Garden.

And Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God is a three-part HBO docuseries that looks at the life and death of Amy Carlson, also known as Mother God.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

André Braugher Dies: Star Of ‘Homicide: Life On The Street’, ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ & Other Series And Films Was 61
Golden Globe Nominations: ‘Barbie’, ‘Oppenheimer’ Top Movie List; ‘Succession’ Leads Way In TV
The Year Twitter Died
Nicolas Cage Says He’s Almost Finished: “Three or Four More Movies Left” The famously prolific 59-year-old actor says he’s eyeing a Hollywood endgame: “I’ve said what I’ve had to say with cinema.”
‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Officially Ending With Season 12 at HBO “I will now have the opportunity to finally shed this ‘Larry David’ persona and become the person God intended me to be,” David says of ending his HBO comedy.
The New Yorker Drops Andy Borowitz’s Satire Column Amid Cutbacks
How ‘Mr. Brightside’ Became a Generation’s Anthem Overlooked at its release, the Killers’ signature hit has become one of the most inescapable rock songs of its time.
A 25-Year-Old X-Files Mystery Was Solved on Twitter in Less Than 24 Hours
24 Things That Stuck With Us in 2023 Films, TV shows, albums, books, art and A.I.-generated SpongeBob performances that reporters, editors and visual journalists in Culture couldn’t stop thinking about this year.
The Most Egregious Example of “We Didn’t Use CGI” Mythology (So Far)
Strapped, stressed, axed: is it curtains for theatre’s artistic directors? Indhu Rubasingham has been named as the National’s new head. But elsewhere, theatres are ditching this once coveted role altogether. Can a theatre really manage without one?

GUESTS:

Sam Hatch: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on Sunday nights on WWUH
Jacques Lamarre: A playwright and chief communications officer at Buzz Engine
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
Cat Pastor: Assistant radio operations manager at Connecticut Public

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let’s hear your endorsements!

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 19:10:55 +0000

A listener told us we should do a call-in show dedicated to endorsements from listeners. What a great recommendation! So we’re doing just that.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Lily Tyson, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show. Thanks to Carmen Baskauf, David Borsvold, Mayor Luke Bronin, John Dankosky, Meg Fitzgerald, Francesca Fontánez, Sabrina Herrera, Iman James, Betsy Kaplan, Carlos Mejia, Jessica Severin de Martinez, Cat Shen, and Chion Wolf.

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Drowning in packages, junk, and other consumerism woes with 'Atlantic' writer Amanda Mull

Wed, 13 Dec 2023 19:11:45 +0000

Amanda Mull writes The Atlantic’s “Material World” column about American consumerism. This hour, we talk with Mull about the state of online shopping and returns, the changing quality of what we buy, and the experience of shopping in person.

GUEST:

Amanda Mull: Staff writer at The Atlantic who writes the column “Material World” about American consumerism

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Meet Connie Converse, the haunting songwriter whose work stayed hidden for decades

Tue, 12 Dec 2023 14:58:19 +0000

Have you heard the music of Connie Converse? She was a singer-songwriter in New York City in the middle of the 20th century, who, in her lifetime, never received widespread recognition. Then, at 50, she drove off, and was never heard from again.

This hour, a look at the life, music, and legacy of Connie Converse and what her example teaches us about how we think about the role of art and artists in our society.

GUEST:

Howard Fishman: Musician, frequent contributor to The New Yorker, and author of To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which originally aired May 2, 2023.

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From can openers to ricers, a look at what’s in our kitchens

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 19:11:56 +0000

This hour, a look at that data and the history and evolution of kitchen tools and gadgets. Plus, examples of creative kitchen tools throughout history.

GUESTS:

Megan Elias: Historian and director of the Food Studies Program and associate professor at Boston University
David Montgomery: Senior data journalist at YouGov and a history podcaster
Corinne Mynatt: Author of Tools for Food: The Objects That Influence How and What We Eat

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘May December’ and ‘John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial’

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 19:13:08 +0000

May December is the 10th film directed by Todd Haynes and his fifth collaboration with Julianne Moore. It stars Natalie Portman, Moore, and Charles Melton, and it’s loosely based on Mary Kay Letourneau.

And: John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial is a three-part docuseries. It is directed by Rob Coldstream and Nick Holt and narrated by Kiefer Sutherland. John Lennon was murdered 43 years ago, on December 8, 1980.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Go with your gut: All about the gut-brain connection

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 19:08:42 +0000

GUESTS:

Diego Bohórquez: Gut-brain neuroscientist
Elsa Richardson: Historian of health and medicine and the author of the forthcoming book, “Rumbles: A Curious History of the Gut”
Julie Balsamo: Gut health dietician
Join the conversation onFacebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Lateshia Peters, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Barbra to Beyoncé: A look at the appeal of divas

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 18:29:58 +0000

What is a diva? And how has the term evolved?

This hour: divas.

We look at how the term emerged in the opera and moved into the popular music landscape and take stock of the current moment for divas.

GUESTS:

Spencer Kornhaber: Staff writer at The Atlantic and author of the new book On Divas: Persona, Pleasure, Power
Myrna Reynolds: Retired singer who sang at the New York City Opera among many other places
Zachary Woolfe: The New York Times’ classical music critic

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The art of the dial: Why we like hotlines and phone calls with strangers

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 15:14:59 +0000

Hotlines: whether you realize it or not, you’ve likely used one before. From emergency services to customer service and crisis lines, they often fly under the radar in our daily lives.

This hour, we’ll look at the history of hotlines and then meet some people who have created innovative ways to talk to strangers on the phone: from a hotline for advice from elementary schoolers to an app that calls you to talk.

GUESTS:

Dr. Lee Humphreys: Professor of Communication at Cornell University
Jessica Martin: An artist who leads an art program for West Side Elementary in Healdsburg, California. She’s also the co-creator of the kids-advice hotline, Peptoc
Danielle Baskin: An artist who co-created Dialup, a voice-chat app that connects you to strangers
Michelle Rorong: An architect in Indonesia who wrote about her experience using Dialup during a COVID-19 quarantine period

HOTLINES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW:

Peptoc — 707-8PEPTOC
Butterball Turkey Talk-Line — 1-800-BUTTERBALL
Callin' Oates — 719-26-OATES

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The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Frankie Graziano, Sabrina Herrera, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Lily Tyson, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 10, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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We take your calls

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 19:10:01 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to The Hold Steady, Leonard Bernstein and Maestro, the (always) impending government shutdown, the late John Lennon’s voice, the late Shane MacGowan’s voice … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From ‘Star Trek’ to ‘Arrival’: How pop culture helps us imagine extraterrestrial life

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 18:02:25 +0000

We come to the end of our week of special coverage with a show about how we imagine extraterrestrial life.

What do you picture when you picture extraterrestrial life? Is it like E.T.? Or little green men? Or an alien from Star Trek?

This hour is all about how we imagine extraterrestrial life and how those visions are shaped by pop culture.

GUESTS:

Jaime Green: Freelance writer, editor, writing teacher, and the author of The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos
Doug Jones: Actor known for his roles in Hellboy, The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, and more; he plays Saru in Star Trek: Discovery

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

You can find all of our Astronaughty Week shows here.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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An hour with astronauts!

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 15:16:43 +0000

If you follow the show, then you probably know that we’ve had a bogus ban on astronauts for quite some time now. In case you don’t follow the show, let me just explain at the top here that it’s been 2,220 days — more than six years — since an astronaut last appeared on The Colin McEnroe Show.

But. The ban is over! We are astronautless no more!

And so, this hour — and to celebrate Astronaughty Week — we bring you no fewer than THREE astronauts.

We listen back to our (in)famous interviews with legends Buzz Aldrin and Scott Kelly. And then: a brand new interview with a real, live astronaut, former International Space Station Commander Chris Hadfield.

The bogus ban is over! Don’t let Colin tell you any different!

If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org. It’s free, confidential, and always available — in English and Spanish.

GUESTS:

Buzz Aldrin: A retired astronaut, engineer, and fighter pilot in the United States Air Force; he was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 11, and he was one of the first two humans to walk on the Moon; his 2016 book is No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons from a Man Who Walked on the Moon
Chris Hadfield: An engineer, musician, and a retired astronaut and fighter pilot in the Canadian Air Command; his new book, The Defector, is his second novel
Scott Kelly: An engineer and a retired astronaut and aviator in the United States Navy; his 2017 book is Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Josh Nilaya, Cat Pastor, Esther Shittu, Audrianna Smith, Evan Sobel, Ashley Taylor, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired in a different form May 24, 2016, and November 1, 2017.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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From flying saucers to flying saints: Belief and how we react to the “impossible”

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 19:14:10 +0000

Today, we continue our week of special coverage with a show focused on belief, and how we react when we experience things that we think should be impossible.

A few years ago, Diana Walsh Pasulka published American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology, which looked at the mechanism of belief in extraterrestrial life, finding that this is becoming a new American religion. Now, she has a new book out, Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences, which looks at our experiences with non-human life forms, including UFOs, dreams, angels, and AI, and how these encounters challenge our assumptions about life. This hour, we talk with Diana Walsh Pasulka about her work.

Plus, Yale Professor Carlos Eire joins us to talk about the history of the impossible, including discussions of levitation and bilocation, and how beliefs form.

GUESTS:

Diana Walsh Pasulka: Professor of Religion at University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and author of American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology. Her new book is Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences.
Carlos Eire: Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University. His new book is They Flew: A History of The Impossible.

You can find all of our Astronaughty Week shows here.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Astrophysicists Adam Frank and Neil deGrasse Tyson discuss the search for extraterrestrial life

Tue, 28 Nov 2023 18:49:20 +0000

Today, our week of discussions about life in the universe continues as we talk with two prominent astrophysicists about the possibility of life outside of earth. Astrophysicist Adam Frank is part of the team of scientists that is currently using the most advanced technology to search for life on other planets. This hour, we talk with Frank about that work, and what would happen if they find something. Plus, we'll talk with Neil deGrasse Tyson about the likelihood of life on other planets, and the variety of life here on earth.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is presenting “Delusions of Space Enthusiasts” on December 1, 2023 at 8 p.m. at Foxwoods Resort and Casino.

GUESTS:

Adam Frank: Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Rochester. He is the author of the new book The Little Book of Aliens
Neil deGrasse Tyson: Astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. His newest book is To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery

You can find all of our Astronaughty Week shows here.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Garrett Graff on the history of UFOs and our government’s attempts to make sense of them

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 19:14:14 +0000

The United States has a long history of UFO sightings and reports, dating all the way back to the 1940s. This hour we talk about that history, and, specifically, how the U.S. government has related to these objects over time with Garrett Graff, author of the new book UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government’s Search for Alien Life Here — and Out There.

GUEST:

Garrett Graff: Journalist and historian. His latest book is UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government’s Search for Alien Life Here — and Out There. His previous book, Watergate: A New History was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.

You can find all of our Astronaughty Week shows here.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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‘Though the heavens fall’: The JFK assassination in our media and culture

Wed, 22 Nov 2023 16:23:14 +0000

President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22, 1963.

It would be hard to argue that the modern American era, the era that we’re still living in 60 years later, didn’t begin on that Friday afternoon in Dallas. It would be hard to overstate the effect and influence of that event, that act on the American psyche.

This hour, a look at the shadow that the JFK assassination still casts over our news and politics, our movies and music, our media and culture.

GUESTS:

Stephen Battaglio: Writes about television and the media business for the Los Angeles Times
Timothy Hampton: The author of several books, including Bob Dylan: How the Songs Work
Sean O’Neal: A writer, a contributor to Texas Monthly, and the former editor-in-chief of The A.V. Club
Steve Rose: Assistant features editor at The Guardian
Philip Shenon: The author of A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Joey Morgan, Cat Pastor, Lateshia Peters, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, part of which originally aired in a different form November 22, 2017.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Who gets the part? There are no small actors or roles

Tue, 21 Nov 2023 15:23:24 +0000

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all recognize the big names or fall in love with a brand-new star — but what about that lady who killed it with her one line about the coffee? She's a professional actor, too! On this hour of The Colin McEnroe Show, we learn about the art of the smaller role: how they're cast, how to nail it, and what it's like to have a long resume of one-liners. And don't forget the extras and body-doubles, too! They'll be with us, for just a minute.

GUESTS:

Jenny Ravitz: Casting director based in New York. She has worked on over 500 episodes of television in addition to theater, film, and commercials
Ezra Buzzington: Actor whose over 70 film credits and dozens of TV appearances range from "Weird Al the Waiter" in Ghost World to a mutant in The Hills Have Eyes and, most recently, as one of the leads in the South By Southwest hit film Brooklyn 45. He has appeared in Academy Award-winning films alongside some of your favorite actors
Vlad Perez: LA-based actor who has co-starred in television shows including Brooklyn 99, Murderville, Friendsgiving, and many more. He’s also one of the founders of the Sea Tea Comedy Theater right here in Hartford
Harriet Dobin: Former Hartford media maven now actor in Philadelphia
Allie Rivera: Performer and teacher at the Sea Tea Comedy Theater in downtown Hartford, and is the creator and producer of the theater’s Improvised Hallmark & Lifetime show

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Lily Tyson, Jonathan McNicol, Carolyn McCusker, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired May 4, 2023.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 20 Nov 2023 19:13:25 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. You can reach us at 888-720-9677.

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The Nose looks at ‘The Killer’ and ‘Albert Brooks: Defending My Life’

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 19:19:35 +0000

This week’s Nose has had to work through the occasional civilian who’s stood between eyes and the prize.

The Killer is the 12th movie directed by David Fincher and his first credited feature film collaboration with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker since 1995’s Se7en. It’s Fincher’s second movie for Netflix, who describe it this way: “After a fateful near-miss an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn’t personal.” The Killer stars Michael Fassbender as the titular assassin.

And: Albert Brooks: Defending My Life is an HBO documentary directed by Rob Reiner. It chronicles Brooks’s career in comedy, and it’s the first documentary Reiner has ever made (other than This Is Spinal Tap, of course).

Some other stuff that happened this week give or take:

UCLA Study: Gen Z Wants Less Sex Onscreen, Prefers Platonic Relationships Depicted to Romantic Rollercoasters A 2023 study by UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers found that viewers ages 10 to 24 want content more relatable to them.
What Comes After Marvel? Better Hope It’s Not Something Worse With the MCU in its early endgame, many may think that movies can return to “normal.” Think again.
Why the Dying DVD Business Could Be Headed for a Resurrection Netflix and Best Buy said adieu to discs — but with streamers deleting titles to cut costs, could DVDs and Blu-rays mimic the revival of vinyl and CDs?
Hungry (but Not for Human Contact), Americans Head for the Drive-Through A national fixture is enjoying a fresh surge as post-pandemic customers crave speed and solitude. And restaurants are responding with a raft of innovations.
Jared Leto Climbed the Empire State Building to Promote a 30 Seconds to Mars Tour or SomethingActor-singer becomes first person to legally scale the Manhattan landmark in excessive promotional stunt
Warner Bros shelves completed $70m Coyote vs Acme movie Studio decides to take $30m tax write-down by not releasing live-action/animation comedy starring John Cena
Talking Heads Concert Film ‘Stop Making Sense’ Re-Release Surpasses Initial Box Office Run
The War on Charlie Chaplin He was one of the world’s most celebrated and beloved stars. Then his adopted country turned against him.

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian and writer and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek”

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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A COVID update: New vaccines, new variants, and new data on Paxlovid rebound

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 19:09:58 +0000

COVID, by the way, is … still a thing.

The new vaccines are here, and people mostly aren’t getting them. The new variants are here, and the people who’re getting COVID are mostly getting them.

Just this week, some new data seems to show that getting your COVID and flu shots together isn’t just safe — it might actually be the better thing to do.

And it turns out that Paxlovid rebound probably is real and more prevalent than we knew.

Oh. And: Picking your nose maybe makes you more susceptible to a COVID infection. The more you know, and all that.

GUESTS:

Scott Roberts: Associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale Medicine and an assistant professor in infectious diseases at Yale School of Medicine
Mark Siedner: Associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an infectious disease clinician and researcher in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Heather Cox Richardson helps us make sense of this moment in American history

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 19:08:39 +0000

You likely know historian Heather Cox Richardson from her Substack, “Letters from an American,” where she puts the news of the day into historical context. Now Cox Richardson has a new book out, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, where she looks at the crossroads we’re at as a country, how we got here, and where we could go from here. Today we spend the hour with Heather Cox Richardson as she helps us make sense of the latest news and the state of our democracy.

GUESTS:

Heather Cox Richardson: Historian, Professor of History at Boston College, and author of the “Letters from an American” Substack. Her new book is "Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America"

Join the conversation onFacebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Don’t sleep on bedtime stories: What we can all learn from these nighttime tales

Tue, 14 Nov 2023 16:31:37 +0000

This hour: bedtime stories. What can we learn from people who write and tell them? How can we all be more intentional and magical about the last things we think about before sleeping?

GUESTS:

Faith Adiele: Travel writer, speaker, teacher, and Thailand’s first Black Buddhist nun; she writes sleep stories for adults on the Calm app
Adam Mansbach: Author, screenwriter, and cultural critic who wrote the famous not-for-children children’s book, Go the F**k to Sleep

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Dylan Reyes, Catie Talarski, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 3, 2023.

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It’s a whole song and dance: The joy of marching bands

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 19:07:08 +0000

GUESTS:

Justin McManus: Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Connecticut
Dylan Reyes: Student at the University of Hartford who marched competitively through high school. He is a former Colin McEnroe Show intern, and he occasionally fills in on the board
Mark Dyreson: Professor of Kinesiology and Affiliate Professor of History at Penn State, where he is also Co-Director of Research and Educational Programs for the Penn State Center for the Study of Sports in Society. He is the author of numerous books and articles about the history of sport

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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'The Golden Bachelor' and reality TV's real-life draw

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 19:54:19 +0000

Don't turn your nose up at it! This hour, we'll hear a defense of reality TV from some of its most fiery fans. Plus: an exploration into the show taking TV screens by storm, The Golden Bachelor.

GUESTS:

Danielle Lindemann: Sociologist and author of the book "True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us"
Kay Brown is the host of The Betchelor podcast
Mireille Silcoff: Regular essayist with the New York Times Magazine
Andy Dehnart: Founder and editor of realityblurred.com
Cat Pastor: Assistant radio operations manager at Connecticut Public

Join the conversation onFacebook andTwitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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First impressions are everything. Especially when you’re a headline

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 19:07:47 +0000

Let’s be honest, sometimes we all just read the headline of a story, and nothing more. After all, who has time to read every article? Headlines help us decide what to click on, and give us a sense of what’s going on in the world. But often the headline tells only a very small part of the story, or even the wrong story. This hour we talk about the art of the headline. We'll look at why headlines matter, and celebrate some of the best examples.

GUESTS:

Tom Jones: Poynter’s senior media writer
Zizi Papacharissi: Professor and Head of the Communication Department and Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois-Chicago. She is the editor of Trump and The Media, and her newest book is After Democracy: Imagining Our Political Future
Scott Dikkers: Founding Editor of The Onion and author of How to Write Funny, and other books about humor writing

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Cash is no longer king: How does that impact us personally and culturally?

Wed, 08 Nov 2023 18:59:38 +0000

GUESTS:

Jay Zagorsky: Clinical Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law at the Boston University Questrom School of Business
Ursula Dalinghaus: Cultural anthropologist who specializes in economic anthropology and the anthropology of money. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ripon College
Bernardo Batiz-Lazo: Professor in the Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University

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A look at buttons, couch potatoes, and the rise of the remote control

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 16:49:18 +0000

GUESTS:

Caetlin Benson-Allott: Professor of English, Director of Film and Media Studies at Georgetown University, and a member of the Program in American Studies. She is the author of Remote Control, among other books
Rachel Plotnick: Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in The Media School at Indiana University Bloomington, and author of Power Button: A History of Pleasure, Panic and the Politics of Pushing

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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We take your calls

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 19:10:58 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Facebook scams, running, Multivac, local elections … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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The Nose on the ‘last’ Beatles song and the new Scorsese picture, ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 18:15:01 +0000

“Now and Then” is the first Beatles single of any kind in more than 27 years, and it may well be their last. It was released Thursday. “Now and Then” was originally written and recorded by John Lennon circa 1977. Using machine learning technology developed for the Get Back documentary, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were able to isolate Lennon’s vocals, record new instrumentation and vocals, and combine all of that with vocals and guitar parts recorded by George Harrison in 1995. “Now and Then” is the lead single off new editions of the so-called Red and Blue Albums, which come out November 10.

And: Killers of the Flower Moon is the 26th scripted feature film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is written by Eric Roth and Scorsese and based on the book by David Grann. It is Scorsese’s 10th feature film collaboration with Robert De Niro and his sixth with Leonardo DiCaprio. Killers of the Flower Moon is also the second-longest Scorsese movie at 206 minutes. He has now made two 200-minute pictures in a row.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Hall of Fame basketball coach Bobby Knight has died at 83
‘Sarcasm’: The Sort of Wit That Defined Matthew Perry’s Career Has Ancient Roots The actor’s trademark form of humor takes its name from Latin words for cutting into flesh
Taylor Tomlinson Named Host of CBS’ ‘After Midnight,’ From Stephen Colbert
Disney Says It Will Take Full Control of Hulu The company will pay at least $8.61 billion to Comcast, which owned a 33 percent stake of the popular streaming service.
HBO Bosses Used ‘Secret’ Fake Accounts to Troll TV Critics Casey Bloys ordered staffers to create fake accounts to fire back at critics, according to text conversations reviewed by Rolling Stone as part of a new lawsuit
Get shorty! Why everyone needs to stop complaining about long films It’s become voguish to sing the praises of 90-minute movies and bite-sized books and plays, writes Louis Chilton. With a run-time of almost four hours, Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ isn’t ‘too long’ — it’s part of an art form, from George Eliot to Bruce Springsteen, that demands patience and persistence
It’s Time To Bring Back the Movie Intermission
Bros Are Coming for BookTok. These TikTokers Aren’t Having It “If you’ve ever had a pea coat-wearing liberal arts student talk at you about the genius that is David Foster Wallace then you’d call Infinite Jest bro-lit too”
Marvel Needs to Make ‘Less Films’ and Bad VFX Has ‘F—ed Up Everything,’ Says Matthew Vaughn: ‘Maybe We Need a Little Bit of Time Off’ From Superhero Films
‘The Right Stuff’ at 40: Director Philip Kaufman on chasing demons in the sky to make a true American classic The esteemed filmmaker recalls casting and shooting ‘The Right Stuff’ to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
The Many Lives of Tomato Pie It may look a little different across cities in the Northeast, but this Italian American staple is always an exercise in restraint.
Crisis at Marvel: Jonathan Majors Back-Up Plans, ‘The Marvels’ Reshoots, Reviving Original Avengers and More Issues Revealed

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Every step you take: How walking and walkability shape our lives

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 17:54:05 +0000

GUESTS:

Jeff Speck: City planner and author of the book “Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time”
Liam Satchell: Senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Winchester
Dr. I-Min Lee: Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Join the conversation onFacebook andTwitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The perks of being a wallflower: Unpacking House Speaker Mike Johnson

Wed, 01 Nov 2023 18:10:06 +0000

This hour, we talk about the election of the new House Speaker: Representative Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana. We'll talk about Speaker Johnson, including the role of his faith in his politics, and what we can learn from how he dresses. Plus, we'll look at why we even have a House Speaker to begin with.

GUESTS:

Vanessa Friedman: Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic of The New York Times
Katherine Stewart: Investigative Reporter and author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism
Lee Drutman: Senior Fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, and the author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America. He is also co-host of the “Politics In Question” podcast, the co-founder of “Fix Our House,” a campaign for proportional representation, and author of the Substack “Undercurrent Events”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shell we talk about eggs?

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 16:47:22 +0000

This hour, a hard-boiled look at the ubiquitous, yet overlooked egg.

GUESTS:

John Portmann: Taught moral philosophy and ethics at the University of Virginia for several decades; he’s the author of When Bad Things Happen To Other People
Chris Prosperi: Chef and co-owner of Metro Bis in Simsbury, Connecticut, and a former recipe columnist for the Hartford Courant
Lizzie Stark: The author of Egg: A Dozen Ovatures

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired April 27, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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A 50-year retrospective on ‘The Exorcist,’ plus what’s a Skelly?

Sat, 28 Oct 2023 15:12:16 +0000

We’ve done a Halloween special each year for the past five years. And each year, and for no particular reason, we’ve spent a chunk of the show covering a classic horror movie celebrating, specifically, its 40th anniversary.

I’m a little sad to say that this year we’re breaking the tradition, partly because 1983 was a strikingly barren year for horror movies (notwithstanding, uh, Cujo, I guess? Psycho II?). And partly because, well, one of the greatest horror movies ever made happens to be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

So. This hour, our take on William Friedkin’s 1973 masterpiece, The Exorcist. And a look at filmmaker David Gordon Green’s turn away from indie dramas and Hollywood comedies and toward horror legacy requels. His latest is The Exorcist: Believer.

Plus: There sure are a lot of those crazy 12-foot skeleton things showing up on people’s lawns, aren’t there? We investigate the Skelly sensation.

GUESTS:

Aislinn Clarke: A screenwriter and director and a lecturer in film studies at Queen’s University Belfast
Bill Curry: Playing the part of Bill Curry playing the part of Standing Concerned Man
Jesse Hassenger: Associate editor of Paste Movies and co-host of the New Flesh horror movie podcast
Rachel Kurzius: A reporter for The Home You Own at The Washington Post

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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FOMO? Rage? Pleasure? How and why we hate-watch

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 14:28:47 +0000

Sometimes, we just love to hate. From reality TV shows like The Bachelor and The Real Housewives franchise to movies like The Room and Twilight, sometimes it’s so bad it’s good. The phenomenon of hate-watching has reached new audiences on social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube. Haters are more vocal than ever.

In this episode we ask why we want to watch and suffer through movies and TV shows we extremely dislike. Do we get enjoyment from objectively bad content? Or from hating on things? Join us on this episode as we discuss the psychology and impacts of hate-watching.

GUESTS:

Jonathan Gray: Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of Dislike-Minded: Media, Audiences, and the Dynamics of Taste
Brian Moylan: Writer, reality tv show recapper, and author of The New York Times bestseller The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives
Alex Meyers: A YouTuber who makes cartoons and video essays about movies and TV shows

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Lizzie Van Arnam, Colin McEnroe, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 11, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The (so-called) dying art of dinner parties

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 18:07:19 +0000

News outlets and opinion writers have called it: The traditional dinner party is dead. But are dinner parties really so bad? Or are we just bad at hosting them?

This hour, the history of dinner parties and some advice from people who turn party-hosting into an art form.

GUESTS:

Rand Richards Cooper: Fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal, and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Courant
Nandita Godbole: Author of several cookbooks including Masaleydaar: Classic Indian Spice Blends; she also writes the blog Curry Cravings
Julia Skinner: Culinary historian and food writer whose work includes the book Our Fermented Lives

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Why the Roman Empire is worth thinking about

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 18:12:50 +0000

GUESTS:

Doug Boin: Professor of History at St. Louis University, and author of Alaric the Goth: An Outsider’s History of the Fall of Rome, among other books
Mary Beard: Historian of Ancient Rome. She is the author of bestselling books, including SPQR, and her newest book is Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World

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The psychology of fandom: Why we care so much about fictional characters

Tue, 24 Oct 2023 16:00:34 +0000

This hour is about the psychology of fandom. We look at how the mind of a fan operates. We talk with experts about the mental attachments and connections fans have with their favorite shows and fictional characters.

Plus, there are many reasons why one becomes a fan. We’ll talk about that, and how fandoms have evolved over time. Finally, a look at the types of emotions fans feel and how they express them in fanfiction and other forms of transformative fandom.

GUESTS:

Lynn Zubernis: Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor at West Chester University, who has written 7 books based on her research on the psychology of fandom
Maya Phillips: Author of Nerd: Adventures in Fandom from This Universe to the Multiverse, and a critic at The New York Times
Jessica Hautsch: Teaching Assistant Professor of Humanities at the New York Institute of Technology, and author of Mind, Body, and Emotion in the Reception and Creation Practices of Fan Communities

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Melody Rivera, Colin McEnroe, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 3, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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We take your calls

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 18:08:24 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to uptalk, mortality, the zipper merge, the health of the baby boom generation, regionalizing cities, proving that you’re not a witch … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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The Nose looks at Taylor Swift and ‘The Eras Tour’

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 18:07:13 +0000

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is the highest-grossing concert film ever made, and it’s only been in theaters for five days. It took in more than $100 million in global presales alone. The 169-minute, 41-song-long movie is nothing short of a phenomenon.

Speaking of a phenomenon, you may have heard that Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are a couple. Swift and Kelce haven’t publicly commented on or even confirmed their romantic relationship (though they have been photographed holding hands), but the NFL and its broadcast partners have certainly capitalized on it anyway. Oh, and TSwift and TKelce were both on SNL last weekend, too.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Piper Laurie, Actress in ‘The Hustler,’ ‘Carrie’ and ‘Twin Peaks,’ Dies at 91 The three-time Oscar nominee and Emmy winner also starred in the original ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ and in ‘Children of a Lesser God.’
Suzanne Somers, Star of ‘Three’s Company,’ Is Dead at 76 She became famous for playing, as she put it, “one of the best dumb blondes that’s ever been done,” then became a sex-positive health and diet mogul.
Louise Glück, 80, Nobel-Winning Poet Who Explored Trauma and Loss, Dies Acclaimed as one of America’s greatest living writers, she blended deeply personal material with themes of mythology and nature.
Burt Young, Decorated Character Actor Of Rocky Fame, Has Died At 83
Michael Caine Officially Announces Retirement From Acting: ‘You Don’t Have Leading Men at 90’
Michael Jordan Is the First Pro Athlete to Rank Among the 400 Wealthiest Americans The former NBA star has an estimated net worth of $3 billion.
Best Buy Is Ending DVD and Blu-Ray Sales
Netflix plans to open brick and mortar locations
Will Smith Has Broken His Silence On Jada Pinkett Smith’s Memoir Revelations After a week of bombshell details regarding Jada’s new memoir, Will has responded directly to his estranged wife.
The Actors Are on Strike, But the Awards Shows Go On Here is our (extremely early) forecast for the biggest Oscar races this (very uncertain) year.
Why is movie candy sold in boxes?

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer
Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Jacques Lamarre: A playwright and chief communications officer at Buzz Engine

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Correction: This show has been updated to remove an incorrect reference to the rapper and singer Bad Bunny’s nationality. Bad Bunny is an American artist.

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URGENT: Please immediately listen to this show about scam emails

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 18:07:55 +0000

A wealthy prince needs your help (via a wire transfer) to unfreeze his fortunes. He’ll reward you handsomely. While you’re sending him the money, listen to this show about scam emails.

We'll talk about the surprising history and future of scam emails and what you can do to protect yourself. Plus: a conversation with an author who got caught up in an infamous email scam.

GUESTS:

Arun Vishwanath: Cybersecurity expert and author of the book, “The Weakest Link: How to Diagnose, Detect, and Defend Users from Phishing”
Peter C. Baker: Author of the novel “Planes”

Join the conversation on Facebook andTwitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Take a seat and listen to our hour on chairs

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 18:08:49 +0000

What can we learn about ourselves from what we sit on?

This hour, the history of chairs, their impact on our lifestyle and health, and what’s in store for their future.

Plus, we celebrate the joy of a well-designed chair, talk with a chair maker, and discuss some of our favorite examples.

GUESTS:

Galen Cranz: Professor emerita of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley and a founding member of the Association for Body Conscious Design; she is the author of The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body and Design, among other books, and a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique
Aspen Golann: Artist and furniture maker; she teaches in the furniture department at The Rhode Island School of Design and founded The Chairmaker’s Toolbox, a project that provides free tools, education, and mentorship to increase equity and access in the field of chairmaking
Witold Rybczynski: Architect, emeritus professor of urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Now I Sit Me Down: From Klismos to Plastic Chair — A Natural History, among other books; his latest is The Story of Architecture

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Emily St. John Mandel talks with us about how we treat one another, the simulation hypothesis, autofiction, and more

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 16:58:07 +0000

This hour: a conversation with novelist Emily St. John Mandel about time travel, the simulation hypothesis, adapting her work to television, art and culture during times of crisis, autofiction, Wikipedia, and much more.

GUEST:

Emily St. John Mandel: Novelist, whose books include Sea of Tranquility, The Glass Hotel, and Station Eleven

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 30, 2023.

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Emily Wilson brings 'The Iliad' alive for a modern audience

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 17:33:07 +0000

In 2018, Emily Wilson became internationally known for her translation of Homer’s The Odyssey, which was called “a revelation” and “a cultural landmark.” This hour, Wilson joins us to talk about her new translation of Homer’s other great surviving work, The Iliad.

GUEST:

Emily Wilson: Professor in the Department of Classical Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Her new translation of Homer’s The Iliad is out now. She previously translated The Odyssey, in addition to works by Euripides, Seneca, and Sophocles

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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‘It always means something’: Connecticut in the movies

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 16:37:45 +0000

Illeana Douglas’ new book is Connecticut in the Movies: From Dream Houses to Dark Suburbia. It isn’t just an encyclopedia of appearances by and references to Connecticut in movies. But rather, it’s a history and theory of ‘Connecticut movies,’ something close to a genre unto itself with its own set of signs and meanings.

This hour, Illeana Douglas and David Edelstein join us to take a Not Necessarily The Nose-style look at the Nutmeg State on the silver screen.

GUESTS:

Illeana Douglas: The Official Movie Star of The Colin McEnroe Show and the author, most recently, of Connecticut in the Movies
David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Life is hard. This philosopher wants to help us deal with that

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 14:05:47 +0000

This hour, a conversation about handling life’s hardships with philosopher Kieran Setiya, the author of Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way.

GUESTS:

Kieran Setiya: Professor of philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of Life Is Hard: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired April 17, 2023.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

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Unburying the truth about pirates with Rebecca Simon

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:13:57 +0000

We imagine pirates to be the quintessential rule-breakers — but really, they had their own strictly-followed codes.

How did 18th-century pirates dictate their own community standards? How did they create social mobility in an age when changing one's social status was nearly impossible?

This hour, we join pirate historian Rebecca Simon to find out!

GUEST:

Rebecca Simon: Pirate historian with a doctorate in history from King’s College London; she’s the author of several books about piracy, including The Pirates’ Code: Laws and Life Aboard Ship

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

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We take your calls

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 18:51:00 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Israel, fat bear week, former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, the Roman Empire, dark coffee mugs, pirates … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

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The Nose looks at the Hasan Minhaj controversy and Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl shorts

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 18:19:39 +0000

This week’s Nose has gotta be more like a rat than anything else in the world. Cleverer, even, than a rat, and that is not an easy thing to be, let me tell ya.

The Nose returns!

On September 15, The New Yorker ran a story that reported out a number of embellishments / untruths / lies in Hasan Minhaj’s standup specials. Minhaj had reportedly been the frontrunner to become the new permanent host of The Daily Show. On September 27, Variety reported that Comedy Central was going back to square one with their search for a host.

And: In September, 2021, Netflix acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company for $686 million. Wes Anderson has written and directed adaptations of four Dahl short stories: “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar,” “Poison,” “The Rat Catcher,” and “The Swan.” They’re the first projects released by Netflix as part of their ownership of Dahl’s work, and they star a repertory company of actors that includes Ralph Fiennes, Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kingsley, Dev Patel, and Rupert Friend.

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Tracy Wu Fastenberg: Development officer at Connecticut Children’s
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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From alief to phronesis, Tamar Gendler makes the case for why we should care about ancient philosophy

Thu, 05 Oct 2023 18:03:29 +0000

This hour, Yale Dean Tamar Gendler joins us to discuss her new course “Public Plato: Ancient Wisdom in the Digital Age.” We'll talk about how to make ancient philosophy relevant for a modern audience, questions of framing and form, and what we can all learn from concepts like alief, phronesis, and eudaimonia.

GUEST:

Tamar Gendler: Professor of Philosophy, Psychology and Cognitive Science, and the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, at Yale University

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Yascha Mounk discusses ‘The Identity Trap’ and the future of democracy

Wed, 04 Oct 2023 16:00:24 +0000

This hour, Mounk joins us to talk about the future of democracy and The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time.

GUEST:

Yascha Mounk: Professor of the practice of international affairs at Johns Hopkins University; founder of Persuasion; host of The Good Fight; and the author, most recently, of The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

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I’ve Got Two Chickens to Paralyze: A celebration of mondegreens, malapropisms, and more

Tue, 03 Oct 2023 14:00:00 +0000

This hour we look at mis-speaks, mis-hearings, and mis-understandings, like malapropisms, mondegreens, eggcorns, and spoonerisms. We share our favorite examples and learn about what they can tell us about the English language and how our brains process language. And we celebrate the joy of playing with language.

GUESTS:

Emily Brewster: Senior Editor and lexicographer at Merriam-Webster, and host of the Word Matters podcast
Melissa Baese-Berk: Professor of language teaching studies and linguistics at the University of Oregon, where she is also director of the Speech Perception and Production Lab
Ben Zimmer: Linguist, lexicographer, and the Word on the Street columnist for The Wall Street Journal

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Colin McEnroe, Carolyn McCusker, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 29, 2023.

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Osculate me, you fool! A brief history of romantic kissing

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 18:07:15 +0000

This hour, we look at why humans touch others with their lips (and often their tongues!). Join us as we overthink the simple act of kissing.

GUESTS:

Marcel Danesi: Professor Emeritus of Linguistic Anthropology at The University of Toronto and author of The History of the Kiss! The Birth of Popular Culture
Matthew Longcore: Director of Membership and Outreach for the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University and an Adjunct Faculty Member in Anthropology at the University of Connecticut Stamford
Andréa Demirjian: Runs The Kissing Expertwebsite, Instagram feed, and Facebookpage. She’s the author of the book Kissing: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About One of Life’s Sweetest Pleasures

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

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‘It’s OK with me’: The Nose rewatches ‘The Long Goodbye’ at 50

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 15:01:47 +0000

This week’s Nose got a couple other cans, ya know, and came back and switched the labels and the cans around.

The Long Goodbye is a satirical neo-noir mystery feature film adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s 1953 novel. It is the eighth feature directed by Robert Altman and the second-to-last screenplay by the science fiction writer Leigh Brackett (who also wrote The Empire Strikes Back and the 1946 version of The Big Sleep, among others). It stars Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe in 1970s Los Angeles. This year is The Long Goodbye’s 50th anniversary.

Plus: A look at the value and the art of rewatching and rewatchability.

Raquel Benedict’s endorsements:

Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum
Nocebo on Shudder

Helder Mira’s endorsements:

Hawkeye: L.A. Woman by Matt Fraction, Annie Wu, and Javier Pulido
Jury Duty on Freevee
Documentary Now! Season 4 on Netflix

Gene Seymour’s endorsements:

Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse by Ahmad Jamal
Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story edited by Willard Jenkins

Colin’s endorsement:

The Battered Bastards of Baseball on Netflix

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Michael Gambon, Dumbledore in the ‘Harry Potter’ Films, Dies at 82 After he made his mark in London in the 1970s, he went on to play a wide range of roles, including Edward VII, Oscar Wilde and Winston Churchill.
Golden Globes Adds Two New Categories: Blockbuster Movies and Stand-Up Comics Enter the Race
The Definitive Guide to All Things Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Whether you’re a football fan, a Swiftie, or both, this helpful glossary will tell you everything you need to know about the budding relationship between the Kansas City Chiefs tight end and the world’s biggest pop star
Kelce-Swift Is a Dream Pairing for the N.F.L. The romance between the Chiefs tight end and the world’s biggest pop star represents an alliance with the only cultural force in America bigger than the league itself.
MAGA Goes to War Against the Swifties! Now they’ve picked a fight with the wrong people.
Lying in Comedy Isn’t Always Wrong, but Hasan Minhaj Crossed a Line The stand-up’s penchant for making up stories goes beyond embellishment. When real people and real stakes are involved, a different standard applies.
Comedy Central Widens Search for ‘Daily Show’ Host Beyond Hasan Minhaj
The Death of Netflix DVD Marks the Loss of Something Even Bigger It’s the end of an era—and not just for plastic discs.
‘Stop Making Sense’ Talks Up $800k Weekend, $1.4M Cume As 1984 Concert Film Draws Young Crowd
The Office Reboot In The Works, Original US Showrunner Returning After years of speculation, a reboot of The Office is reportedly finally going to happen and the original US showrunner is attached to return.
Inside Apple’s Plan to Change the Way We Watch Sports Longtime Apple executive Eddy Cue happens to be an enormous sports fan. And with Apple entering the wild west of broadcasting live sports, he’s ready to shake up the way we watch games on TV—with a little help from none other than Leo M

GUESTS:

Raquel Benedict: The most dangerous woman in speculative fiction and the host of the Rite Gud podcast
Helder Mira: Multimedia producer at Trinity College and co-host of the So Pretentious podcast
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek”

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired May 19, 2023.

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Lost in my mind: What happens when we daydream

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 14:39:47 +0000

Do you daydream? What do you daydream about? This hour: the art of daydreaming.

We reflect on the value of daydreaming and why it can be so difficult to talk about our daydreams. Plus, a look at what daydreaming does to our brains and at maladaptive daydreaming.

GUESTS:

Leslie Jamison: Novelist, essayist and professor at Columbia University’s MFA Program
Jayne Rachel: An advocate for maladaptive daydreaming, who used to experience it
Jonathan Schooler: Distinguished professor of psychological and brain sciences and director of The Center for Mindfulness and Human Potential at the University of California, Santa Barbara

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 15, 2023.

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Listen! Now!! Don’t miss!!! our show about the exclamation point.

Wed, 27 Sep 2023 16:02:11 +0000

I’m so excited!!!

The exclamation point is the only punctuation mark that can express (and evoke) strong emotion. You either love them or you hate them.

Writers use the exclamation mark to express emotion that words can’t fully capture, politicians and advertisers can use it to manipulate and alarm, and authors and their editors often clash over its appropriate use. Our brains physically respond to the sight of it.

This hour, a look at the history and culture of this most controversial mark.

GUESTS:

John Breunig: An editorial page editor with Hearst Connecticut Media Group
Lan Samantha Chang: Director of the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop
Florence Hazrat: Author of An Admirable Point: A Brief History of the Exclamation Mark

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired March 9, 2023.

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Why do AI voice assistants default to female voices?

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 16:17:29 +0000

Have you noticed that voice assistants like Alexa and Siri default to female voices?

This hour, we talk about how artificial intelligence is reinforcing gender biases.

Plus, a look at how representations of artificial intelligence in pop culture have contributed to this model.

GUESTS:

Kerry McInerney: Research fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence and co-host of The Good Robot Podcast
Deborah Tannen: Distinguished university professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and author of You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation, among other books
Lisa Yaszek: Regents professor of science fiction studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lizzie Van Arnam contributed to this show, which originally aired March 6, 2023.

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Raising consciousness about lowering height

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 16:30:48 +0000

This hour, the full measure of short stature, from personal health, professional discrimination, and environmental impact to Humphrey Bogart’s strap-on inch-adders.

GUESTS:

Arne Hendriks: Artist, researcher, and exhibition-maker based in Amsterdam who writes about height at The Incredible Shrinking Man
William Mann: The author of Bogie & Bacall: The Surprising True Story of Hollywood’s Greatest Love Affair
Tanya Osensky: A lawyer and the author of Shortchanged: Height Discrimination and Strategies for Social Change

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired March 2, 2023.

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Rocking the charts and reckoning with inequity: The dichotomy of country music

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 16:35:55 +0000

The Nose is off.

In its stead: Country music dominated the charts for most of the summer. But the genre has also been the subject of controversy. This hour, we take stock of the state of country music.

GUESTS:

Jason Lipshutz: Executive director of music at Billboard
Amanda Marie Martinez: Postdoctoral fellow in the Department of American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who is currently working on a book project titled The Industry Is Playing the People Cheap: Race and the Country Music Business from Nixon to 9/11
Chris Molanphy: Chart analyst and pop critic who writes about the intersection of culture and commerce in popular music; he is host of Slate’s Hit Parade podcast, writes Slate’s “Why Is This Song No. 1?” series, and he is author of the new book Old Town Road

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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“I once had a dentist named Dr. Fillmore”: Stories of nominative determinism

Thu, 21 Sep 2023 14:10:00 +0000

There’s a theory that people are drawn to work that fits their name. This hour, an exploration of nominative determinism. Plus, a look at the different ways your name impacts your life.

GUESTS:

David Bird: Emeritus professor of wildlife biology and director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University
Brett Pelham: Professor of psychology at Montgomery College
Tess Terrible: Senior producer of Where We Live on Connecticut Public
Laura Wattenberg: Naming expert, author of The Baby Name Wizard, and the creator of Namerology

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 16, 2023.

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‘Books can be mirrors or books can be windows’: How to decide what kids should read

Wed, 20 Sep 2023 16:36:19 +0000

From book bans to comics and the strange origins of fairy tales, this hour we look at children's literature and talk about who decides what is appropriate for children to read.

GUESTS:

Carol St. George: Professor of teaching and curriculum and director of reading and literacy at the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester
Adam Gidwitz: Author of A Tale Dark and Grimm and its companions, as well as The Inquisitor’s Tale and The Unicorn Rescue Society; he is also the creator of the podcast Grimm, Grimmer, Grimmest, and he produced the adaptation of A Tale Dark and Grimm for Netflix
Maria Tatar: Research professor of folklore and mythology at Harvard University; her latest book is The Heroine with 1001 Faces
Carol Tilley: Comics historian, librarian, educator, and youth advocate; she is a professor in the faculty of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois

This show was produced with Stacey Addo.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Everyday Carry: Unpacking what we carry with us and why

Tue, 19 Sep 2023 18:48:29 +0000

What’s in your pockets right now? Phone, wallet, keys … maybe some discarded receipts or old gum?

This hour: what we carry with us every day, from flashlights the size of a lip balm to a life-saving medicine.

GUESTS:

Bernard Capulong: Founder and editor-in-chief of everydaycarry.com
Peter Canning: A Hartford paramedic, an emergency medical services coordinator at John Dempsey Hospital, and the author of Killing Season: A Paramedic’s Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Opioid Epidemic
Hannah Carlson: Senior lecturer in the Apparel Department at the Rhode Island School of Design and the author of Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close
Mona Gohara: Private practice dermatologist, associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine, and an advocate around increasing inclusivity in dermatology
Drew John Ladd: A writer

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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In politics, is age really just a number?

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 18:10:07 +0000

This hour we talk about age in politics, from why our politicians skew older to the impacts of that. And, we’ll learn about how animals pick leaders, and the role age plays in those decisions.

GUESTS:

Eugene Scott: Senior Politics Reporter for Axios
Lucy Schiller: Writer and professor of creative writing based in Texas
Kevin Munger: Assistant Professor of Political Science and Social Data Analytics at Penn State University, and author of Generation Gap: Why the Baby Boomers Still Dominate American Politics and Culture
Jennifer Smith: Studies the evolutionary ecology of social mammals at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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The art of political satire with Samantha Bee and Sophia McClennen

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 16:55:48 +0000

Political satire is alive and well in America today. And it turns out it might have an important role in educating the public and the health of our democracy. This hour, we look at the state and the art of political satire with comedian Samantha Bee and Sophia McClennen, a political scientist who studies satire.

GUESTS:

Samantha Bee: Comedian, host of the podcast Choice Words with Samantha Bee, and the former host of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. She is performing at The Bushnell on Thursday, September 21
Sophia McClennen: Professor of International Affairs and Comparative Literature at Penn State University and author of numerous books, including Trump Was a Joke: How Satire Made Sense of a President Who Didn’t and Is Satire Saving Our Nation?

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An hour with mystery writer Adrian McKinty

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 16:05:39 +0000

Adrian McKinty is a Northern Irish writer of thrillers and mysteries probably best known for The Chainand the Sean Duffy series.

On the dark and stormy night of September 9, McKinty talked to Colin on stage at The Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford. It’s the first show we’ve done in front of a live audience since the before times.

This hour, a lightly edited version of that conversation.

GUEST:

Adrian McKinty: The author of 20 novels, including The Chain, the Michael Forsythe trilogy, and the Sean Duffy series; The Detective Up Late, the seventh Duffy novel, is his latest

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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From Consumer Reports to Wirecutter, recommendation sites are ruling our shopping habits

Wed, 13 Sep 2023 18:18:36 +0000

Gone are the days when we’d browse a local store if we needed a new air purifier or oven mitt. Now, many people don’t dare make a purchase without first Googling “best kitchen mixer” and browsing lists of top-tens on recommendation sites.

How did these sites come to dominate our shopping carts? And if you’re not a fan of that humidifier you got off a top-ten list, are there other ways to shop?

GUESTS:

Inger Stole is a professor emerita at the University of Illinois
Michael Zhao was the first employee and a former deputy editor at Wirecutter
Mark Frauenfelder is a co-editor of Recomendo

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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What our monsters say about us

Tue, 12 Sep 2023 14:20:30 +0000

This hour, a look at misunderstood monsters, why humans create monsters in the first place, and the benefits of hearing a monster’s perspective.

Plus, we learn more about Medusa and talk to a researcher who studied purported yeti samples to find the animal behind the myth.

GUESTS:

Natalie Haynes: A writer and broadcaster; her newest book is Stone Blind
Charlotte Lindqvist: Associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University at Buffalo
Asa Simon Mittman: Professor of art and art history at California State University, Chico

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 8, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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We take your calls

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 18:09:00 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to the speed limit, the Great American Songbook, trucks on the Merritt Parkway, the state parks, police car chases. Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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A look at ‘Strike Force Five’ and the value of physical media, plus endorsements

Fri, 08 Sep 2023 18:12:21 +0000

The Nose is off. In its place, a look at the No. 1 podcast in America, Strike Force Five, hosted by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver as a way to pay the late night writing staffs during the strikes.

Plus: New Yorker film critic Richard Brody joins us to extol the virtues of owning movies on physical media.

And finally: endorsements, Nose or no.

During this little period of Noselessness, we’ve decided at least to entertain ideas around doing the show differently. And we want your input! If you’re familiar with The Nose, and you have a couple minutes, please take our survey. You might even win a life-alteringly great prize! (It’s a coffee mug. You might win a coffee mug.)

GUESTS:

Richard Brody: The movies editor for Goings On About Town at The New Yorker
Megan Fitzgerald: Senior project manager at Connecticut Public
Sabrina Herrera: Community engagement and social media editor at Connecticut Public
Jennifer LaRue: A writer, editor, and publicist and a contributing producer for The Colin McEnroe Show
Cat Pastor: Assistant radio operations manager at Connecticut Public
Julia Pistell: A writer and comedian, a founding member of Sea Tea Improv, and a contributing producer for The Colin McEnroe Show
Nicholas Quah: The podcast critic for New York Magazine and Vulture, where he writes the weekly newsletter 1.5× Speed
Catie Talarski: Senior director of storytelling and radio programming at Connecticut Public
Chion Wolf: The host of Audacious on Connecticut Public

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How ’bout them apples?

Thu, 07 Sep 2023 16:37:54 +0000

This hour, a look at the cultural significance of the apple, from Adam and Eve to keeping the doctor away.

Plus: growing apples and the future of apples, and we compare apples and oranges.

GUESTS:

Martha Bayless: Director of folklore and public culture and a professor of English and folklore at the University of Oregon; she is also the founder of the Early English Bread Project, which studies the role of bread in early medieval English culture
David Bedford: Senior research fellow in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota; his team is responsible for creating the Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Zestar, and Rave apple varieties, among others
Dan Pashman: Creator and host of the The Sporkful podcast

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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How charisma shapes our world

Wed, 06 Sep 2023 18:08:07 +0000

What exactly is charisma? You know it when you see it, but is it possible to measure? Is it something you can learn, or just something you’re born with?

This hour we look at the impact of charisma, especially in politics.

Plus, in the world of wildlife conservation there’s a term for those animals everyone cares about: “charismatic megafauna.”

What are the impacts of decisions about conservation or leadership coming down to a nebulous trait like charisma?

GUESTS:

John Antonakis: Professor of organizational behavior at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Sophie Monsarrat: Rewilding manager with Rewilding Europe, who used to be a researcher who studied charismatic megafauna, among other topics
Russ Schriefer: Founding partner of Strategic Partners & Media, a public affairs political consulting firm; he is senior strategist for the Tell It Like It Is super PAC that supports Chris Christie for President

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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The fungus among us

Tue, 05 Sep 2023 14:29:25 +0000

Since we just spent a number of years thinking about viruses, here’s a question: Should we be pretty worried about funguses, too?

This hour, a look at the real-life fungal infection of ants that inspired the video game and TV series The Last of Us. Plus we talk with a local mushroom farmer and an author who writes fungal fiction and look at the role of fungi in our world.

GUESTS:

William Beckerson: Post-doctoral research Fellow with the National Science Foundation
Patricia Kaishian: Mycologist and visiting assistant professor of biology at Bard College
Chris Pacheco: Owner of Seacoast Mushrooms in Mystic, Connecticut
Jeff VanderMeer: Author of a number of books, including the Southern Reach Trilogy, which includes Annihilation; he co-founded The Sunshine State Biodiversity Group

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 6, 2023.

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Not Necessarily The Nose: What’s happening to the Great American Songbook?

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 19:00:00 +0000

Irving Berlin, Dorothy Fields, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein. These, along with many others, are the sorts of songwriters we associate with the Great American Songbook, the amorphous canon of important 20th century pop songs, jazz standards, and show tunes from Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and movie musicals.

The Nose is off. In its place this hour, a look at and a listen to — and some concern for the future of — the Great American Songbook.

GUESTS:

Joelle Lurie: Vocalist, songwriter, voiceover artist, and bandleader
Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School

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Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

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Why ticks are on the rise and how humans are fighting back

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 18:56:14 +0000

GUESTS:

Rick Ostfeld: Distinguished senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
Holly Gaff: Professor of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University
Jen Wegner: Associate curator of the Egyptian section at the Penn Museum
Birnur Aral: Executive Director of the Beauty, Health and Sustainability Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.Stacey Addo, Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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What is public health?

Wed, 30 Aug 2023 18:08:39 +0000

When we think of public health, we tend to think of things along the lines of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines, or even seatbelts and tobacco. But public health expands well beyond that, to realms like housing, climate change, access to the outdoors, and gun violence. This hour, we look broadly at the world of public health. And we ask what’s next for the field.

GUESTS:

Katelyn Jetelina: Epidemiologist and author of the “Your Local Epidemiologist” newsletter
Megan Ranney: Emergency physician and Dean of the Yale School of Public Health

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Narcissists, we bet you think this show is about you. You’re right, it is

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 14:30:00 +0000

There’s more to narcissism than meets the eye.

This hour, we reflect on narcissism — our misunderstandings about it, its pervasiveness in our culture, and the personal, public, and political damage it wreaks.

GUESTS:

Mark Ettensohn: Clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of narcissists
Lee Hammock: “Self-aware” narcissist who shares his experience and insights on social media
Pete Hatemi: Distinguished professor of political science at Penn State University

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired January 26, 2023.

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We take your calls

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 18:14:02 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to wild fires, riding bikes, Jay Silverheels, the Bronze Age Pervert, and … explaining the concept of Earth time to aliens. Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Out of tune: The challenges of keeping a band together

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 15:27:47 +0000

The Nose is off this week. In its place:

Everyone loves a good band breakup story.

But it’s far more unusual to find bands that manage to stay together for the long haul.

This hour we explore the challenges musicians face as they seek band harmony and discuss what makes them succeed — or fail — together.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: Guitarist, producer, Emmy Award-winning composer, recording engineer, and an adjunct professor at the University of Hartford School of Music
Heather Ferguson: Psychotherapist and psychoanalyst and a member of the Music Industry Therapist Collective
Steven Hyden: Cultural critic at UPROXX and the author of Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation
Nerissa Nields: Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and founding member of The Nields
Jay Russell: Singer, songwriter, and guitarist in The Split Coils; former member of Hot Rod Circuit

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired February 9, 2023.

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How the weight of family ‘truths’ can get heavier with each generation

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 18:09:01 +0000

Journalist and author Lisa Belkin spent 10 years retracing the ancestry of three families, over four generations, to understand how a series of random encounters between three men led to the 1960 murder of a Stamford, Connecticut, police officer.

Genealogy of a Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night looks at how family “truths” passed down through the generations can influence the choices of the descendants that follow. How do family stories, happenstance, and the cultural ethos of the moment shape the people we become?

GUESTS:

Lisa Belkin: A journalist and the author of Genealogy of a Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night
Doreen Troy Dolan: Daughter of David Troy
Kelsey Rose Dolan: Granddaughter of David Troy

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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The luck of the draw: A deeper look at lotteries

Wed, 23 Aug 2023 18:08:40 +0000

Earlier this month, somebody in Florida won a $1.58 billion lottery jackpot. It was the largest Mega Millions jackpot to date, although four other Mega Millions prizes over $1 billion have been won in the past five years. This hour, we’re talking about lotteries. How did this massive money redistribution game come to be? And we know that lotteries can randomly allocate cash prizes to ticket buyers – but could they also pick our political officials? Or the victims of our human sacrifice rituals to ensure that “corn be heavy soon”?

GUESTS:

Jonathan D. Cohen: Historian and author of “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America”
Alex Guerrero: Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University and author of the forthcoming book, “Lottocracy: The Case for Democracy without Elections”
Ruth Franklin: Book critic and biography of Shirley Jackson

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Exploring the myth and metaphor of Cassandra and the price of foresight

Tue, 22 Aug 2023 14:10:00 +0000

You’ve likely heard the Greek myth of Cassandra, a woman given the gift of prophecy who was cursed never to be believed.

This hour, a look at the Cassandra story and its relevance today, including some real-life Cassandras, like the diplomat who tried to stop World War II and the public health official who tried to warn us about the COVID-19 pandemic.

GUESTS:

Joel Christensen: Professor of classical studies at Brandeis University; his newest book is The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic
Charity Dean: CEO, founder, and chairman of the Public Health Company
Steve Kemper: Author of Our Man in Tokyo: An American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor
Amanda Rees: Historian of science at the University of York and the author of Human

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 25, 2023.

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Radical or relevant? How the Luddites can help us relate to today’s technology

Mon, 21 Aug 2023 20:02:53 +0000

Today "Luddite" is used as a derogatory term for someone who doesn't understand technology. But the original Luddites weren’t behind, they were technical workers who were concerned about the impact that technology would have on people. This hour, we look at the history of Luddites, how their philosophy applies today, and ask what our present would look like if they had won. Could we all gain something from thinking more like a Luddite?

GUESTS:

Brian Merchant: Technology Columnist at the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of the forthcoming book Blood in the Machine: the Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech, which comes out next month
Gavin Mueller: Assistant Professor of New Media and Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam, and author of Breaking Things at Work: The Luddites Are Right About Why You Hate Your Job
Miriam A. Cherry: Professor of Law at St. John’s University in New York City, and the Faculty Director of the Labor and Employment Law Center. She is the author of Work in the Digital Age: A Coursebook on Labor, Technology, and Regulation

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

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Reverence? Rejection? Reckoning with the actions of our ancestors

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 18:07:42 +0000

This hour, we grapple with the impact our ancestors have on our lives and what our responsibility is if they did something we disagree with.

GUESTS:

Maud Newton: Author of Ancestor Trouble: A Reckoning and a Reconciliation
Jenny Strauss: Great-granddaughter of Lewis Strauss

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Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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The hidden joys of searching

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 18:11:28 +0000

You’re probably familiar with the panicked rush that comes when you’re running around your house, looking for keys or a wallet you’ve misplaced. It’s an awful feeling. But maybe there’s some value in the process of searching for lost things — beyond the prize you may (or may not) find at the end. This hour, we’re talking to some professional “lookers” to find out: Is there joy, or hidden value, to be found in the search process? Can we learn to be better lookers?

GUESTS:

Chris Turner: CEO of Ring Finders, a global directory of metal detecting specialists
James Renner: Journalist and author
Walter Wick: Photo-illustrator and picture puzzle designer known for the “I Spy” and “Can You See What I See?” series

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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There are 20 quadrillion ants on Earth. How do we make sense of a number like that?

Tue, 15 Aug 2023 14:53:21 +0000

Scientists estimate that there are 20 quadrillion ants on Earth. But. How do we make sense of a number like that, like 20,000,000,000,000,000?

This hour, how we relate to unimaginable numbers, both large and small.

Plus: why our inability to conceptualize large numbers might have a real-world impact during times like a pandemic.

GUESTS:

Shabnam Mousavi: A scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and a senior scientist at the Center for Artificial Intelligence
Sabine Nooten: An insect ecologist and a temporary principal investigator at the University of Würzburg
Elizabeth Toomarian: Director of the Brainwave Learning Center at Synapse School and an educational neuroscience Researcher at Stanford University
Edward Tufte: The author of five books on information design and data visualization

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 12, 2023.

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We take your calls

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 18:11:42 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to our Jesse Thorn take off promo, the Roberts Sinners and Heinlein (and Heinlein’s short story “ ‘—All You Zombies—’ ” and the movie adaptation of it), pronoun case agreement, rabbits and their feelings about carrots, mounted police, Jacques Cousteau … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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The Nose looks at ‘Full Circle’ and ‘Justified: City Primeval’

Fri, 11 Aug 2023 18:36:30 +0000

Timothy Olyphant has been a regular presence on various TV shows every single year dating back to Damages in 2009, before the original Justified. And yet, it feels significant that he’s in no less than three new series this year. The Nose already covered the first, Daisy Jones & the Six. This week, we catch up with the other two:

Full Circle is a Max Original limited series written and created by Ed Solomon and photographed, edited, and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Here’s Warner Bros.’s logline: “An investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day New York City.” It stars an ensemble cast that includes Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Jim Gaffigan, Timothy Olyphant, CCH Pounder, and Dennis Quaid.

And: Justified: City Primeval is an FX limited series continuation of Justified, which ended in 2015 after six seasons and 78 episodes. It is based on the Elmore Leonard novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroitand short story “Fire in the Hole.” Olyphant reprises his role as U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

William Friedkin, Acclaimed Director of ‘The French Connection’ and ‘The Exorcist,’ Dies at 87 The Oscar winner “never played by the rules, often to my own detriment,” he said.
Robbie Robertson, Leader of The Band, Dies at 80
Arthur Schmidt, Oscar-Winning ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ Film Editor, Dies at 86
DJ Casper, artist behind ‘Cha Cha Slide,’ has died
McDonald’s New Meal Celebrates Its Pop Culture Cameos—Including ‘Loki,’ ‘Seinfeld’ and MoreThe As Featured In Meal is tied to the upcoming season of Loki and celebrates the chain’s past pop culture cameos
The Forgotten Former Meaning of “Jerk” The curious pop culture etymology of “jerk,” from 1979’s ‘The Jerk’ through today. (Or, “When did jerk stop meaning ‘stupid’?”)
A Va. woman’s burp was louder than some motorcycles. It set a record.
What to Stream: A Lost Seventies Classic About a (Rather Sympathetic) Stalker Alan Rudolph’s “Remember My Name” is an understated film noir—a drama of stark motives and delicate surfaces.

GUESTS:

Elizabeth Keifer: Professor emerita of English at Tunxis Community College
Helder Mira: Multimedia producer at Trinity College and co-host of the So Pretentious podcast
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Examining the narrative takeover and its impacts

Thu, 10 Aug 2023 16:01:57 +0000

It seems like everything’s been turned into a story.

You can see a company’s story on the packaging of juice, cereal, alternative milks. Politicians tell stories to rally support for policies. And social media helps us all tell the story that we want to tell about our lives.

This hour, Peter Brooks on his book, Seduced by Story: The Use and Abuse of Narrative, and a look at why storytelling isn’t always a good thing.

GUESTS:

Peter Brooks: Author of Seduced by Story: The Use and Abuse of Narrative
Chris Knopf: A novelist and the retired CEO of Mintz & Hoke
Elise Wang: Assistant professor in the Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics at California State University, Fullerton

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired December 27, 2022.

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Spilling the beans about secrets

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 17:51:06 +0000

Our lives are entrenched in secrets — the average person, apparently, keeps as many as 13 of them at any given time. They’re largely regarded as bad for us.

GUESTS:

David Robert Grimes: Scientist and science writer
Raneta Lawson Mack: Professor of law emerita at Creighton University School of Law
Michael Slepian: Researcher who studies the psychology of secrecy, as well as an associate professor at Columbia Business School; he’s the author of The Secret Life of Secrets

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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‘Rules rule’: How rules, both written and unwritten, shape our world

Tue, 08 Aug 2023 14:10:00 +0000

Rules are everywhere around us.

This hour we talk about the history of rules and the power of unwritten rules.

We wonder why some rules succeed while others fail. Plus: a game designer on how rules can facilitate play.

GUESTS:

Lorraine Daston: Author of Rules: A Short History of What We Live By
Jason Turbow: Author of The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime
Eric Zimmerman: Award-winning designer of board games and video games and the author of The Rules We Break: Lessons in Play, Thinking, and Design

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired December 21, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Keeping it brief: A celebration of short stories

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 15:43:33 +0000

When’s the last time you read a short story? This hour, we talk about why short stories are so popular in the classroom, but why adults don’t seem to read them much once they’re done with school. And we make the case for why you should. Plus, a look at the art of the short story with some masters of the craft.

You can read Rebecca Makkai’s Substack post that inspired this show here.

Here is the story that is discussed in the final segment, “How I Became a Vet” by Rivka Galchen.

As part of this show we asked each of our guests to recommend a short story, a collection, or an author. Here are those recommendations:

Rebecca Makkai: “The Dinner Party” by Joshua Ferris
George Saunders: “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault, “The Conventional Wisdom” by Stanley Elkin
Deborah Treisman: Liberation Day by George Saunders, After the Funeral by Tessa Hadley, “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak” by Jamil Jan Kochai
Amy Bloom: “The Dead” by James Joyce, stories by Edward P. Jones, essays by Samantha Irby
Irene Papoulis: “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by ZZ Packer
Brian Slattery: “Hell is the Absence of God” by Ted Chiang
Colin McEnroe: “The Hole on the Corner” and “What’s the Name of That Town?” by R.A. Lafferty

GUESTS:

Rebecca Makkai: Author of the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-finalist The Great Believers, among other books; her newest book is I Have Some Questions For You, and she is artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago
George Saunders: Author of twelve books; his most recent is Liberation Day, a collection of short stories
Deborah Triesman: Fiction editor for The New Yorker and the host of their Fiction Podcast
Amy Bloom: Author of four novels and three collections of short stories; her most recent book is the memoir In Love
Irene Papouli: Teaches writing at Trinity College
Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The Nose looks at movie monsters, ‘Hijack,’ and more

Fri, 04 Aug 2023 18:20:34 +0000

This week’s Nose has been traveling 22 years to get here, and now it’s here, and it’s either heads or tails, and you have to say.

Hollywood continues its seeming slow-speed suicide. It’s hard to imagine it even really capitalizing on the huge and ongoing Barbenheimer phenomenon. The Nose continues to be concerned.

But. The Meg 2 is finally here! Actually, that exclamation point notwithstanding, The Nose doesn’t really care about The Meg 2. But it does care about — and have various beefs with — this Meg 2-pegged ranking of movie monsters.

And finally: Hijack is a seven-part, real-time thriller limited series starring Idris Elba. The seventh part, the finale, hit Apple TV+ this week.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman Actor, Dies at 70 After Private Bout of Cancer
Final Stephen Sondheim Musical ‘Here We Are’ Sets Cast; Joe Mantello-Directed Show Bows Off Broadway In September
Lin-Manuel Miranda to Adapt ‘The Warriors’ as Stage Musical
Meeting friends online is normal. Here’s how to do it. Move over, online dating. Online friend-making is having its day.
Streaming has surpassed cable as America’s most-watched viewing platform Amid the first combined work stoppage involving writers and actors represented by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, some streaming platforms still scored some wins.
‘Suits’ Sets Record for Library Shows on Streaming Charts ‘The Bear’ has another strong week, becoming the second Hulu show to top a billion minutes of viewing.
Shake it off: Taylor Swift concert triggers actual seismic activity
X’s Subscription Service, Formerly Twitter Blue, Now Lets You Hide Your Blue Check Mark
So Many Women Have Dumped Their Boyfriends After “Barbie”, But This Woman’s Story HAS To Be The Wildest One Yet I am so much more horrified than you can imagine!
Max Is Bleeding Subscribers Following Its Boneheaded Rebrand The service lost 1.8 million subscribers as Warner Bros. Discovery announced a $10.3 million loss in total revenue for its second quarter.
Apple TV+ Is on a Scripted-Series Hot Streak. Are People Paying Attention? Apple TV+ has amassed a rich library of original content in less than four years—with the awards season nominations to prove it. Can its dedication to curation help it overtake the top streamers, or will Apple lose its appetite for spending on prestige?

GUESTS:

Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

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Are you an ENFP? An ISTJ? A look at the history, validity, and potential of Myers-Briggs

Thu, 03 Aug 2023 18:30:30 +0000

Who am I? We’ve all wondered at some point. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a personality test based on Carl Jung’s psychological types, has offered many an answer.

This hour, we delve into the history of the MBTI and contemporary applications of this test and explore its scientific validity. Plus, a look at a dating app that uses the 16 personality types to help people find love.

GUESTS:

Paul Tieger: A prolific author on MBTI; his books include Do What You Are, Nurture by Nature, and Just Your Type
Alexander Swan: Associate professor of psychology at Eureka College and host of the CinemaPsych podcast
Jessica Alderson: Founder of So Syncd, a 16 Personalities-based dating app

This show was produced by Carol Chen.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.

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Shiver me timbers! A show about sea chanteys

Wed, 02 Aug 2023 17:21:22 +0000

Connecticut Public’s talk shows have teamed up to bring you a full week of stories exploring the state’s shoreline and beyond. You can find all of our NautiWeek coverage at ctpublic.org/nautiweek

GUESTS:

The Jovial Crew: A group of musicians and historians that’s been performing chanteys, forebitters, and other traditional old songs in Essex, CT since its founding in 1986. On the show today is Joseph Morneault, Rick Spencer, Michael Hotkowski and the group’s founder, Cliff Haslam.
Dr. Maya Angela Smith: Associate professor of French at University of Washington who wrote the essay “A People’s Song Upon the Waters”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Beneath the surface: A deep dive into Connecticut shipwrecks

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 14:10:00 +0000

Searching for sunken treasure? Long Island Sound is hardly the place to look.

But what can be found in its murky waters are ample remains of Connecticut’s once prominent shipping industry, and perhaps evidence of early Native American villages from around 20,000 years ago when the Sound was a glacial lake.

This hour, we survey shipwrecks and other bits of history resting off Connecticut’s coast, as well as at the bottom of some lakes and rivers.

From dugout canoes and mastodon molars to the more than two dozen ships set ablaze in Essex harborduring the War of 1812, it’s an underwater adventure not to be missed.

GUESTS:

Nicholas Bellantoni: Emeritus Connecticut state archaeologist who has investigated shipwrecks in Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River
Christopher Goodwin: President and CEO of R. Christopher Goodwin & Associates, which was contracted by the State Historic Preservation Office to survey shipwrecks along the Connecticut coast
Kevin McBride: University of Connecticut archaeology professor specializing in the Native American history of Connecticut and former director of research at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Scott Brede, Betsy Kaplan, Carolyn McCusker, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Larry Roeming, Jesse Steinmetz, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 9, 2019.

Connecticut Public’s talk shows have teamed up to bring you stories exploring Connecticut’s shoreline and beyond. You can find all of our NautiWeek show coverage at ctpublic.org/nautiweek.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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We take your calls

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 18:10:46 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to ticks, sea shanties, classical music on our show, ice cream, artificial intelligence in sports … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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‘You can be anything’: A look at Barbie and ‘Barbie’

Sat, 29 Jul 2023 16:08:55 +0000

According to Mattel, more than a billion Barbie dolls have been sold since they launched the toy in 1959. Barbie and Ken are said to be the two most popular dolls in the world. It would be hard to overstate the influence — for better and worse — that the Barbie toy line has had on our culture.

And now, you may have heard, there’s a movie. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is the No. 1 movie in the country. Its opening last weekend was the largest ever for a movie based on a toy, and it’s expected to hold onto the No. 1 spot this weekend, too.

So it’s not like Barbie’s influence is waning.

This hour, a look at our relationship with Barbie (and Ken), the history of Barbie and the woman who invented her, and, yes, the new movie Barbie.

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer
Rand Richards Cooper: A fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal, and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Courant
Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications
Robin Gerber: The author of several books, including Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her
James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Rich Hollant: Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford
Michal Lev-Ram: Editor-at-large covering the technology and entertainment sectors for Fortune
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Josh Nilaya, Cat Pastor, Lily Tyson, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired June 30, 2017; May 21, 2019; and July 28, 2023, in a different form.

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The Barbenheimer Nose looks at ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 18:15:19 +0000

It looks like this beach was a little too much beach for this week’s Nose.

The Barbenheimer Apocalypse is upon us.

Barbie is the fourth film written and directed by Greta Gerwig and the second Gerwig has cowritten with Noah Baumbach. It is the first film released by Mattel Films and the first live-action film based on the dolls. Oh, and it’s the No. 1 movie in the country, having grossed $495 million worldwide so far. Its opening last weekend was the highest-grossing opening ever for a movie directed by a woman and the highest-grossing opening ever for a movie based on a toy. Barbie is the sixth-highest grossing movie of 2023 so far.

And: Oppenheimer is the 12th film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It is based on the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, and it stars Cillian Murphy in the title role. It’s the No. 2 movie in the country. Its opening last weekend was the largest of Christopher Nolan’s career outside of his Batman films. Oppenheimer is three hours long, and IMAX prints of the film are reportedly 11 miles long and weigh 600 pounds.

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer
James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance

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Unpacking the impact of J. Edgar Hoover on the FBI and 20th century America

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 16:51:18 +0000

J. Edgar Hoover served as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under eight presidents and made the FBI into the organization it is today.

This hour, Beverly Gage, Yale historian and author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Hoover, joins us to talk about his life and legacy.

Plus, a look at the status of the FBI today and the lessons we can learn from Hoover’s example.

GUESTS:

Beverly Gage: Professor of 20th-century U.S. history at Yale University; her newest book, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Biography

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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‘There is no substitute’: Tom Cruise’s impossible missions

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 14:10:00 +0000

It’s been more than a decade since Tom Cruise made a movie that did NOT make $100 million. The newest Mission: Impossible just opened at $235 million.

And yet. Didn’t we all decide not to like Tom Cruise anymore a long time ago?

This hour — in the fifth decade of his career, in the seventh (!) decade of his life, nearly two decades after Oprah’s couch — a look at the continued phenomenon that is Tom Cruise.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals
James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Sam Hatch: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on Sunday nights on WWUH
Rich Hollant: Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford
Jacques Lamarre: A playwright and chief communications officer at Buzz Engine
Ben Lindbergh: Senior editor at The Ringer
Stephanie Merry: Book World editor for The Washington Post
Bob Mondello: NPR’s senior arts critic
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
Julia Rosenblatt: A playwright, director, actor, theater educator, and co-founder of HartBeat Ensemble
Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent
Pedro Soto: President and CEO of Hygrade Precision Technologies

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Cat Pastor, Catie Talarski, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired April 27, 2017; August 3, 2018; March 6, 2019; January 15, 2021; August 26, 2022; and September 30, 2022, in a different form.

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Our second hour with Joyce Maynard

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 18:08:28 +0000

This hour, novelist Joyce Maynard joins us again to talk about her latest novel, the blurring of life and fiction, and her new career running a hotel in Guatemala.

GUEST:

Joyce Maynard: Novelist whose latest book is The Bird Hotel

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From therapy-speak to armchair psychology, conversations around mental health are changing

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 18:09:48 +0000

GUESTS:

Lucy Foulkes: An academic psychologist at the University of Oxford and author of the book Losing Our Minds: The Challenge of Defining Mental Illness
Jessica Gold: Assistant Professor and the Director of Wellness, Engagement, and Outreach in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine. She works clinically as an outpatient psychiatrist, and writes about mental health for a variety of general audience publications
Inkoo Kang: The television critic at The New Yorker

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Nose looks at ‘Showing Up’ and ‘The Whale’

Fri, 21 Jul 2023 18:23:34 +0000

This week’s Nose wants its own water working.

Showing Up is the eighth feature film directed by Kelly Reichardt, and it’s Reichardt’s fourth collaboration with Michelle Williams. Williams plays a sculptor preparing to open a new show. Showing Up is a quintessential example of so-called “slow cinema.”

And: The Whale is the eighth feature film directed by Darren Aronofsky. Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as “a reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.”

GUESTS:

Susan Clinard: Owner of Clinard Sculpture Studio in Hamden, Connecticut
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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Don’t hit snooze on this show: Breaking down the history and norms of sleep

Thu, 20 Jul 2023 18:10:53 +0000

What if our ideas about how sleep should look are getting in the way of a good night's rest? This hour we talk about how we came to develop ideas of how, and how much, we should sleep. Plus, we'll compare how humans and animals sleep. And it turns out that some animals aren’t hibernating as well as they used to.

GUESTS:

Matthew Wolf-Meyer: Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. He is author of The Slumbering Masses: Sleep, Medicine, and Modern American Life, among other books
Gandhi Yetish: Human evolutionary ecologist and anthropologist who studies sleep patterns among small-scale subsistence societies
Cory Williams: Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Colorado State University

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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We take your calls

Wed, 19 Jul 2023 18:10:15 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to spongy moths, white baseball caps, Hiram Bingham, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The art of the recipe: Gravestones, fictional worlds, and cookbooks (of course)

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 14:10:00 +0000

This hour: recipes.

We talk with someone who makes recipes found on gravestones, and we consider what makes an effective recipe, the history of the modern recipe, and the art of the recipe introduction.

Plus, a look at the phenomenon of pop culture cookbooks.

GUESTS:

Dinah Bucholz: Author of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook and The Unofficial Narnia Cookbook
Rosie Grant: Posts gravestone recipes and cemetery stories on her TikTok and Instagram
Francis Lam: Host of The Splendid Table and vice president and editor-in-chief at Clarkson Potter
Chandra Ram: Cookbook author, food writer, and associate editorial director of food for Food & Wine
Helen Zoe Veit: Associate professor of history at Michigan State University

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired November 22, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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The new normal of UFOs, UAPs, and the search for extraterrestrial life

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 18:13:48 +0000

This hour we get an update on the latest in the American conversation about the search for extraterrestrial life. This includes a conversation with journalist Leslie Kean, a check-in with the director of MUFON CT, and a discussion with astrophysicist Adam Frank about what we miss in space when we're focused on the objects we find here on earth.GUESTS:

Leslie Kean: Investigative journalist and author of UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record
Michael Panicello: State Director of Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) Connecticut Chapter
Adam Frank: The Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Rochester. He is the author of the forthcoming book The Little Book of Aliens

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Nose looks at the SAG strike, the Emmy noms, and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 18:30:52 +0000

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has joined the Writers Guild of America on strike. It’s the first SAG strike since 1980 (which strike was largely about the oncoming home video boom). And it’s the first dual actors-writers strike since 1960 (when Ronald Reagan was president of SAG and the strike was mostly about residuals for movies licensed to television).

Also: The Emmy nominations are out.

And: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the 32nd movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second movie (of an expected seven) in the MCU’s Phase Five. It is written and directed by James Gunn, who has written and directed all three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and who was fired and rehired during preproduction of Vol. 3 in 2018. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the second-highest grossing movie of 2023 so far.

Taneisha Duggan’s endorsement:

Liturgy|Order|Bridge at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford

Helder Mira’s endorsements:

Secret Invasion on Disney+
Connecticut’s state parks

Bill Yousman’s endorsements:

The Twittering Machine by Richard Seymour
Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy by Siva Vaidhyanathan

Colin’s endorsements:

The Town with Matthew Belloni
The Watch
the audiobook of Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane, as narrated by Robin Miles
the audiobook of Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, as narrated by Charlie Thurston

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

We Had Relationship Therapists React To The Alleged Jonah Hill Texts To His Ex-Girlfriend, Sarah Brady “[It’s] not simply like, ‘This is a thing that I feel,’ but ‘This is the thing that I feel plus therapy has condoned this way of feeling.’”
The Twitter Watch Party Is Over Ten years after “Sharknado” spun Twitter and TV together, the online water cooler is running dry.
Kristen Bell Shared A Photo Of Her Friends Eating Dinner, And It’s The Most Intense Guest List Ever Thanks for the invite.
Ryan Murphy Muse David Corenswet Is Superman
Wait, Was Napoleon Hot? Ridley Scott’s new biopic certainly makes it seem like he was.
How to Write Music for Rolling Boulders
Harrison Ford and the Ravages of Time
Go Inside Stephen Sondheim’s $7M Manhattan Townhouse The East Midtown home features a music studio on the second floor with a “music library, wood-burning fireplace and baby grand piano.”
How Steven Soderbergh and Ed Solomon Straightened Out ‘Full Circle’ Their new crime thriller for Max is loaded with twists and layers. But it is actually much simpler than what they originally conceived.
Federal Reserve credits Taylor Swift with boosting hotel revenues through her blockbuster Eras Tour “Taylor Swift is a force to be reckoned with,” one local tourism official said, as the pop superstar draws legions of fans nationwide.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals
Helder Mira: Multimedia producer at Trinity College and co-host of the So Pretentious podcast
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finding humanity in humanism

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 18:08:38 +0000

GUESTS:

Sarah Bakewell: Author of Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Inquiry and Hope, among other books
Greg Epstein: Author and Humanist Chaplain at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is also Convener for Ethical Life at the MIT Office of Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s going on with loneliness?

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 18:09:22 +0000

Loneliness: It’s often cited as an “epidemic” and can have a health impact comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

This hour, we talk about what loneliness looks like in the brain and how public policy could affect our loneliness epidemic.

Plus: a conversation with an expert on making friends as an adult!

GUESTS:

Elisa Baek: Assistant professor of psychology at USC Dornsife
Chris Murphy: U.S. Senator from Connecticut
Kat Vellos: A speaker, connection coach, and the author of We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beauty and the Butt: A look ‘back’ at our complicated relationship with butts

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 16:43:21 +0000

Whether we love or loathe our butt is deeply influenced by race, gender, and whether the shape and size of our butt is in or out of style.

This hour, a look “back” at the science, history, and culture of butts, including how they took on so much meaning beyond their basic function and why it’s so hard to find pants that fit.

GUESTS:

Alex Bartlett: Co-owner of Planet Pepper and a costume supervisor for television and theater
Vincent Cuccia: Co-owner of Planet Pepper; he teaches public relations at the City University of New York
Shomara Garcia: CEO and founder of Muneca Private Care Recovery Services and a licensed massage therapist
Heather Radke: Contributing editor and reporter at Radiolab and the author of Butts: A Backstory

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired December 20, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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Is Twitter toppling? Can Threads sew salvation?

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 18:11:04 +0000

This hour, a look at what’s going on with Twitter, and why it matters, even if you don’t use the platform. Plus, we discuss what this all means for the future of social media and the human archive.

GUESTS:

Shannon McGregor: Associate professor at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media, and a senior researcher with the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Ethan Zuckerman: Associate professor of public policy, communication and information at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, author, and founder of the Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure
William Kilbride: Executive Director of the Digital Preservation Coalition

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Asteroid City’ and continued OceanGate Titan fascination

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 18:19:12 +0000

Asteroid City is Wes Anderson’s 11th feature film. It’s written and directed by Anderson from a story by Anderson and Roman Coppola. It’s a comedy-drama, sort of sci-fi thing with a play-within-a-TV-show-within-a-movie structure. The ensemble cast is predictably ridiculous and includes the likes of Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, and Adrien Brody, Liev Schreiber, and Hope Davis. There are more. I didn’t even mention Willem Dafoe or Steve Carell or Margot Robbie. Or others.

And: The OceanGate Titan disaster isn’t the sort of thing The Nose usually covers. But collective internet obsession is, and so The Nose is interested in the internet’s collective, dark, ongoing obsession with the OceanGate Titan disaster.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

America Is… What one piece of culture captures the true spirit of our country? We asked 17 columnists to find out.
The Case Against Travel It turns us into the worst version of ourselves while convincing us that we’re at our best.
How Review-Bombing Can Tank a Book Before It’s Published The website Goodreads has become an essential avenue for building readership, but the same features that help generate excitement can also backfire.
If you love film, you should be worried about what’s going on at Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies Is a National Treasure The channel has an astounding degree of control over a crucial part of American cinema. It should become a public resource available to all.
Want to suffer Hollywood’s wrath? Mess with TCM, you dirty rats! Few things are sacrosanct in streaming TV’s chaotic revolution. But as Warner Bros. Discovery’s top exec recently learned, Turner Classic Movies is still zealously protected.
This Broadcast TV Genre Continues to Thrive. (What Are Game Shows?) “Wheel of Fortune,” “Jeopardy!” and “Family Feud” continue to attract big audiences even as streaming upends viewing habits.
Fifty Years of Hip-Hop in a World That Could Not Exist Without It The musical genre of sociopolitical change, cultural transformation, excess, and fabulousness enters its next half century.
Virginia Woolf classic joins growing list with ‘ludicrous’ trigger warnings To the Lighthouse from 1927 now carries warning that the book ‘reflects the attitudes of its time’
It’s Getting Hard to Stage a School Play Without Political Drama At a time when lawmakers and parents are seeking to restrict what can and cannot be taught in classrooms, many teachers are seeing efforts to limit what can be staged in their auditoriums.
A ‘Cage Match’ Between Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg May Be No Joke Talks over a matchup between the two tech billionaires have progressed and the parameters of an event are taking shape.
GQ Editor Who Pulled Critical David Zaslav Story Is Producing Movie for Warner Bros.

GUESTS:

David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What our tears can tell us

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 18:12:22 +0000

Why do humans cry? This hour, we look at the science of crying and discuss what it does for us, emotionally and culturally.

Plus: musician Dar Williams on why some songs make us cry. And: We investigate “crocodile tears” with a crocodile biologist.

GUESTS:

Benjamin Perry: Minister at Middle Church and the author of Cry, Baby: Why Our Tears Matter
Kent Vliet: Recently retired from his position as coordinator of laboratories at the University of Florida; he is an expert in crocodilian biology
Dar Williams: Singer-songwriter

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Stacey Addo, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s spoken flies away: The history and art of reading aloud

Wed, 05 Jul 2023 18:18:52 +0000

This hour: reading out loud. We look at the history of the practice and talk to people who make reading expressive, communal, and loud.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Director, producer, arts consultant, and an artist working at the crossroads of performance and creative leadership
Dennis Duncan: Lecturer in English at University College London
Drew John Ladd: Blogger, activist, and the author of Wolfsong Beloved
Alberto Manguel: Director of Lisbon’s Center for Research into the History of Reading
Robin Miles: An audiobook narrator and a producer, director, teacher, and actor for theater, television, films, and museums
Brooke Steinhauser: Programs director at the Emily Dickinson Museum
Chion Wolf: Host of Audacious on Connecticut Public

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 18:13:55 +0000

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we’re doing another one.

In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour about whatever you want to talk about. 888–720–9677.‌ Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Read after watching: How episode recaps became part of our TV experience

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 16:06:29 +0000

The Nose is off this week. In its place: Why do we have so much trouble remembering all the TV we watch?

This hour, a look at why episode recaps are so popular, what makes them so useful, and what their prevalence can tell us about the current TV landscape.

Plus: the evolution of the “previously on” television recap sequence.

GUESTS:

Wilma Bainbridge: Assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at The University of Chicago
Alison Herman: Television critic for The Ringer
Genevieve Koski: Senior TV editor for New York magazine
Jason Mittell: Professor of film and media culture at Middlebury College

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 5, 2023.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This show is so bad, it's good

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 16:13:20 +0000

This hour, we’re celebrating things that are so bad, they’re good — the underdog ideas that fail so hard, they become successes. We’ll talk about contests that give awards for bad writing, perfumes that smell like animal butts, and a happy marriage that started with a comically awful first date.

Plus: a chance to vote on what "bad" show idea we should produce next!

To enter our contest or vote on the upcoming episode, email colinshow@ctpublic.org.

GUESTS:

Adam Cadre: Writer in a wide variety of media who created the Lyttle Lytton Contest in 2001
Haldane King: Science writer and air quality researcher
Katy Kelleher: Author of The Ugly History of Beautiful Things
Betsy Kaplan: Senior producer emeritus for The Colin McEnroe Show
Jennifer LaRue: Freelance producer for The Colin McEnroe Show
Carolyn McCusker: Producer of this very episode of The Colin McEnroe Show
Jonathan McNicol: Producer for The Colin McEnroe Show
Lily Tyson: Senior producer for The Colin McEnroe Show

Colin McEnroe, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show. Thanks to scent consultant Tracy Wan.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Has everything original been done?

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 14:46:05 +0000

Has everything original been done?

It’s a question that’s been asked about storytelling, music, fine art, movies, and so much more.

This hour, we attempt to answer that question and discover if everything has already been done.

Along the way, we explore the idea of originality and our tolerance for novelty and talk to artists who are reckoning with these questions.

GUESTS:

Martha Buskirk: Professor of art history and criticism at Montserrat College of Art and author of Is It Ours? Art, Copyright, and Public Interest, among other books
Jill Magid: Artist, writer, and filmmaker
Kirby Ferguson: Filmmaker and a creator of the Everything Is a Remix series
Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired December 8, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cross-examining the history and the future of the Supreme Court

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 15:55:24 +0000

Ethics and the Supreme Court are back (still?) in the news and in question. This hour, we are revisiting a show we did just over a year ago around the leaked draft of the Dobbs decision. In it we look at how the Supreme Court got so much power, why we have nine justices, how journalists cover the court, and the viability of proposed potential reforms.

GUESTS:

Akhil Reed Amar: Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, and author of The Words That Made Us: America’s Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840, among other books.
Emily Bazelon: Lecturer in Law, Senior Research Scholar in Law, and a Truman Capote Fellow at Yale Law School, a staff writer at the New York Times Magazine, and a co-host of the Slate Political Gabfest.
David Folkenflik: NPR’s media correspondent.
Tara Leigh Grove: Professor at the University of Alabama School of Law, who was a member of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From The New York Times’ ‘Spelling Bee’ to orthography, a look at all things spelling

Mon, 26 Jun 2023 16:46:44 +0000

This hour: spelling — what it is, why it matters, and why some of us actually find it fun.

There will be a test.

GUESTS:

Deb Amlen: Crossword columnist and senior staff editor of the crossword column Wordplay for The New York Times
Richard Gentry: Education consultant and the author, most recently, of the Spelling Connectionsseries
Peter Sokolowski: Editor at large at Merriam-Webster and a member of the Word Panel for the Scripps National Spelling Bee

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Taylor Doyle, Jacob Gannon, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired December 6, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at Marvel’s takeover of Hollywood, ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,’ and more

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 18:17:08 +0000

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is the second movie in the Spider-Verse film series and the 14th (not a typo) Spider-Man feature film. It has made more than half a billion dollars worldwide, and it is the fourth-highest grossing movie of 2023 so far. A third Spider-Verse movie, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, is expected to come out next year, and a Spider-Woman spinoff film is in development.

And: “Whether you have spent the past decade and a half avoiding Marvel movies like scabies or are in so deep that you can expound on the Sokovia Accords, it is impossible to escape the films’ intergalactic reach,” according to Michael Schulman in The New Yorker. And it’s hard to argue that he’s wrong. The Nose looks at “How the Marvel Cinematic Universe Swallowed Hollywood.”

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Sheldon Harnick, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Lyricist, Dies at 99 His collaborations with the composer Jerry Bock also included “Fiorello!” — which, like “Fiddler,” was a Tony winner — and “She Loves Me.”
Young People Have No Idea What We Used to Do After Work. Let Me Regale You. “I never knew what time it was, so I was constantly buying watches and losing them.”
Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ Falls Flat, Adding to Worries About the Brand The original animated film took in $29.5 million at the box office, by far the worst opening in Pixar’s three-decade history. “The Flash,” from Warner Bros., also struggled.
The Troubling Pixar Paradox Recent misses and low expectations for ‘Elemental’ beg the question: Has Pixar lost its magic touch? Perhaps the answer is that original animation is now a smaller business—one that can’t necessarily support the unique culture and $200 million budgets that made Pixar great in the first place.
Pixar Boss Pete Docter Says the Studio ‘Trained’ Families to Expect Disney+ Debuts, ‘Elemental’ Buzz at Cannes Was ‘Confusing’
Richard Kind Just Doesn’t Want to Be Left Out Maybe that’s why everyone in Hollywood has this master of comedy and tragedy on speed dial.
Apple Is Taking On Apples in a Truly Weird Trademark Battle Apple, the company, wants rights to the image of apples, the fruit, in Switzerland—one of dozens of countries where it’s flexing its legal muscles.
The 100 Most Significant Political Films of All Time Not “best.” Not “favorite.” Not “most likable.” Most significant. Some are obvious. Some obscure. A few will be controversial. Let the debate begin.
Come for the Broadcast, Stay for the Mets Game SNY already had some of the best announcers in baseball. John DeMarsico, the network’s director, has made every game feel like a trip to the movies.

GUESTS:

Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Tracy Wu Fastenberg: Development officer at Connecticut Children’s
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humanity’s ongoing quest to end epidemics and escape contagion

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 18:11:33 +0000

Today, a look at our never-ending quest to escape contagion. We also talk about the myth of ‘Patient Zero’ and a lunar pandemic that never happened.

GUESTS:

Richard Conniff is a National Magazine Award-winning writer for Smithsonian magazine, National Geographic, and other publications. He’s also a former Guggenheim Fellow. His most recent book is Ending Epidemics: A History of Escape From Contagion.
Leyla Mei is a New York City-based writer and medical historian. She has a PhD in American history and writes about disease, risk and race.
Dagomar DeGroot is an associate professor of environmental history at Georgetown University. His work has appeared in Aeon magazine, The Conversation, and The Washington Post, among other outlets. His most recent book, Ripples in the Cosmic Ocean: An Environmental History of Humanity's Place in the Solar System, will be published in 2024.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Wed, 21 Jun 2023 18:14:20 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. You can reach us by calling 888-720-9677.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Everyone is involved’: Watergate in our popular culture

Sat, 17 Jun 2023 15:19:09 +0000

The botched Watergate break-in happened 51 years ago today, on June 17, 1972.

Over the decades since, the whole Watergate story has been processed through our popular culture over and over again, from Alan J. Pakula’s classic movie of All the President’s Men through HBO’s recent limited series White House Plumbers.

This hour, a look at both of those versions, plus we talk to writer Thomas Mallon about adapting the story as a novel and the late actor Hal Holbrook about playing Deep Throat.

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
Ann Hornaday: Chief film critic for The Washington Post and the author of Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies
Hal Holbrook: Was a film, television, and stage actor
Thomas Mallon: A critic and the author of many novels, including Watergate: A Novel
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Anya Grondalski, Sam Hadelman, Betsy Kaplan, Cat Pastor, Catie Talarski, Lily Tyson, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired August 6, 2014; February 4, 2015; June 15, 2022; and June 2, 2023, in a different form.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘The Binge Purge’ and ‘Turn Every Page’

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 18:17:45 +0000

This week’s Nose thinks that a semicolon is worth fighting a civil war about.

Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb is a 2022 documentary directed by Lizzie Gottlieb. We decided late Monday or early Tuesday — kind of randomly, to be honest — that we wanted to talk about this movie this week. And then Robert Gottlieb died on Wednesday. The Nose feels vaguely, cosmically responsible. On the other hand, we’re glad we get to talk about Gottlieb at length this hour.

And: “The Binge Purge” is a nearly 6,000-word New York magazine feature on TV’s broken streaming model and what the hell Hollywood can possibly do about it. The Nose has thoughts.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Cormac McCarthy, Novelist of a Darker America, Is Dead at 89 “All the Pretty Horses,” “The Road” and “No Country for Old Men” were among his acclaimed books that explore a bleak world of violence and outsiders.
Glenda Jackson, Oscar-Winning Actress Turned Politician, Dies at 87 She walked away from a successful acting career to enter the British Parliament, before returning to the stage as the title character in an acclaimed “King Lear.”
Treat Williams, Actor Known for ‘Hair’ and ‘Everwood,’ Dies at 71 His many other roles included a detective turned informant in “Prince of the City.” He was killed in a motorcycle accident in Vermont.
Pat Sajak, host of ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ says 41st season will be his last
10 of the Most Valuable Cassette Tapes From the ‘80s and ‘90s
The Startling Intimacy of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Even addressing a stadium of seventy thousand people, the singer seems to be speaking directly to you, confessing something urgent.
Paul McCartney Used AI to Purify John Lennon’s Voice on Upcoming ‘Last Beatles Record’: AI ‘Is Kind of Scary, but Exciting Because It’s the Future’
This alien ocean is the first known to have all elements crucial for life The subsurface waters on an icy moon of Saturn appear to contain the ingredients needed for ‘habitability’

GUESTS:

Illeana Douglas: The Official Movie Star of The Colin McEnroe Show
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek”
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hippo ranching, a poop vault, and orcas sinking boats

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 17:52:27 +0000

We have so much on our minds that we couldn’t pick one topic for today — we’re going with three! Strap in.

First: a failed bill from the 1900s that proposed hippopotamus ranching in the U.S.

Then: an initiative to save humanity by storing poop in a vault

And finally: orcas teaching each other to sink boats.

GUESTS:

Dr. Shoshi Parks: freelance writer
Dr. Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello: Professor at Rutgers University and President of The Microbiota Vault
Monika Wieland Shields: Co-founder and Director of the Orca Behavior Institute and author of Endangered Orcas: The Story of the Southern Residents

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our (maybe) 13th (almost) annual song of the summer show

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 16:03:07 +0000

We’ve done this show every year (except 2012) since 2011. (We maybe even did it in 2010. We probably did. I just can’t prove it.)

So it’s a bit of a tradition. It’s a tradition that… makes some people angry, we realize.

And that has a lot to do with how we define the term ‘song of the summer.’ We use the Amanda Dobbins definition:

Let’s be clear about how this works: There is no such thing as a ‘personal’ song of summer. We do not anoint multiple songs of summer. There can only be one; the Song of Summer, by its very definition, is a consensus choice. It is the song that wrecks wedding dance floors. It is the song that you and your mother begrudgingly agree on (even though your mom has no idea what rhymes with ‘hug me’ and won’t stop yelling it in public). It does not necessarily have to hit No. 1 on the charts, but it should probably be on the charts because it must be widely played. It must bring people together. It must be a shared enthusiasm.

So it’s our job here to figure out what song from 2023 will get added to the long list of song of the summer classics like “Party Rock Anthem,” “Call Me Maybe,” “Despacito,” and “Blurred Lines.”

And if we’re wrong, well, it really just won’t matter at all.

GUESTS:

Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Brendan Jay Sullivan: A writer, producer, and DJ
Cassie Willson: A comedian and musician

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A look at the philosophy, ethics, science, and emotion of time travel

Tue, 13 Jun 2023 15:28:10 +0000

Countless books, movies, and TV shows explore time travel. This hour, a look at the hold that time travel has on pop culture and the philosophy, ethics, and science of time travel.

Plus, we hear from an author about how to create and utilize rules of time travel in fiction and the idea of memory as time travel.

GUESTS:

Sara Bernstein: The R.L. Canala College Professor of Philosophy at The University of Notre Dame
Amanda Gefter: MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellow and the author of Trespassing on Einstein’s Lawn
Emma Straub: The author of This Time Tomorrow, now out in paperback

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Taylor Doyle, Jacob Gannon, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired November 17, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 18:30:28 +0000

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ and ‘The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 15:26:38 +0000

Colin is off this week, so we decided to do a Nose without him — and a Nose all about stuff Colin doesn’t care about: video games and things video games-adjacent. Comedian Shawn Murray guest hosts.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the highest-grossing movie of 2023, the highest-grossing video game adaptation ever made, and the third-highest-grossing animated movie of all-time. None of that, of course, means it’s particularly good.

And: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Wild is the 20th entry in the main Legend of Zelda series of video games dating back to 1986. It is the second Zelda game for the Nintendo Switch, and a direct sequel to 2017’s Breath of the Wild. Tears of the Kingdom came out last month and reportedly sold 10 million copies in its first three days of release. It’s the fastest-selling Nintendo game in the Americas — ever. Oh, and it’s already showing up in discussions of the greatest video games ever made.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Taylor Swift And Matty Healy Have Reportedly Broken Up Best believe she’s still bejeweled.
How the Marvel Cinematic Universe Swallowed Hollywood Robert Redford, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Rudd, and Angela Bassett now disappear into movies whose plots can come down to “Keep glowy thing away from bad guy.”
The Binge Purge TV’s streaming model is broken. It’s also not going away. For Hollywood, figuring that out will be a horror show.
Why Is Everyone Watching TV With the Subtitles On? It’s not just you.
‘Perry Mason’ Canceled By HBO After 2 Seasons
A ‘Crown Jewel of Comedy’: The Joan Rivers Card Catalog of Jokes Finds a Home Take a look at some of the artifacts from her archive, which includes 65,000 cross-referenced gags and is headed to the National Comedy Center.
Kylie Jenner Casually Pulled Out A $40,000 Rolex During A “What’s In My Bag” Video, And People Have Thoughts The post just called me broke.
How to Talk to Your Child About Minesweeper
This Sandwich Is Due to Go Viral Any Second The absurd moo yong sandwich is just what the internet craves. Why haven’t we heard more about it?

GUESTS:

Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent
Pedro Soto: President and CEO of Hygrade Precision Technologies
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Shawn Murray contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s a vibe! A look at what makes a vibe a vibe

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 15:22:32 +0000

You must have heard the term “vibe” by now, right?

We’ve heard about the vibe of the economy, the vibe of a music playlist, the vibe of a season, the vibe of a party … Plus there are vibe shifts and vibe checks.

This hour: vibes. We learn what the word really means, where it comes from, and how the internet has given it new life.

GUESTS:

Kyle Chayka: Contributing writer for The New Yorker covering technology and culture on the Internet
Robin James: Editor for philosophy and music at Palgrave Macmillan
Eda Uzunlar: Freelance journalist and student at Yale University
Ben Zimmer: Linguist, lexicographer, and the Word on the Street columnist for The Wall Street Journal

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Taylor Doyle, Jacob Gannon, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show, which originally aired November 15, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why a show about fog? We haven’t the foggiest

Wed, 07 Jun 2023 14:36:06 +0000

From San Francisco’s iconic fog and COVID-related brain fog to a location-tracking program called Fog Reveal, this hour, we lift the fog on all kinds of fog.

GUESTS:

Travis O’Brien: Professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at Indiana University
Javeed Sukhera: Chair of psychiatry at the Institute of Living and chief of psychiatry at Hartford Hospital
Anne Toomey McKenna: Visiting professor of law at the University of Richmond School of Law

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired November 1, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s no mystery why we’re drawn to crime fiction

Tue, 06 Jun 2023 14:00:00 +0000

Mysteries have been popular for centuries. This hour we ask: Why are we drawn to this genre?

Plus, a look at television detectives and true crime podcasts.

GUESTS:

Martin Edwards: Author of The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators
Alexandra Petri: Columnist for The Washington Post and the author of Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up)
Nick Quah: Podcast critic for Vulture and New York Magazine
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek”

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired October 18, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘Our national pageant of stupidity’: Andy Borowitz on American politicians today

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 14:05:00 +0000

This hour, humorist and The New Yorker columnist Andy Borowitz on his book Profiles in Ignorance, which explains how our nation’s elected leaders have grown dumb — and dumber.

GUEST:

Andy Borowitz: Writes The Borowitz Report; his latest book is Profiles in Ignorance: How America’s Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired September 13, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at all the prestige TV shows ending at once, plus ‘White House Plumbers’

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 18:32:37 +0000

There’s been a changing of the guard, a succession, if you will, in prestige TV (or whatever). In the span of five days, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ended after five seasons, Succession ended after four seasons, Barry ended after four seasons, and Ted Lasso (maybe? probably? seemingly?) ended after three seasons. Those four shows have been nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy or Drama Series a total of 12 times, and they’ve won those top awards five times. So far. TV is different now, we think, is the point.

And: White House Plumbers is a five-part HBO miniseries based on Egil “Bud” Krogh’s Watergate memoir. It tells the bumbling story of the bumbling lead up to the bumbled burglary and stars Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, Lena Headey, Domhnall Gleeson and an ensemble cast.

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

The Matty Healy, Ice Spice (and Taylor Swift) drama, explained Healy, who is rumored to be dating Swift, faced backlash over comments he made about the rapper Ice Spice
Max streaming service says it will restore writer and director credits after outcry
Broadway Musicians Object to David Byrne’s ‘Here Lies Love’ The show plans to use recorded music instead of a live band, but a labor union says its contract for the theater requires musicians for musicals.
‘Oppenheimer’ Earns R Rating, Imax Film Prints Are 11 Miles Long and Weigh 600 Pounds
How to Hire a Pop Star for Your Private Party For the very rich, even the world’s biggest performers—Beyoncé, Drake, Jennifer Lopez, Andrea Bocelli—are available, at a price.
We’re All Bored of Culture Anglo-Calvinist moralism has turned the American arts into something strenuously polite and deadly dull
Soft Pants: The Postpandemic Benefit That’s Here to Stay
Should we know where our friends are at all times? “I love you, now let me watch your location 24/7.”
Die-Hards Still Mailing Newspaper Clips to Family and Friends Some people still deliver news, tips and the occasional obituary to their grown children using scissors, stamps and envelopes; ‘Sometimes they chuckle at me, which is fine’
Searching for Meg White It’s been over a decade since we’ve heard from the elusive White Stripes drummer. Could renewed attention over a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination coax her back into the spotlight?
Letterboxd Unboxed: How a Grassroots Social Network Is Revolutionizing Film Fandom
‘The Larry Sanders Show’ was a sitcom that changed sitcoms Actors, writers and directors remember the highs and lows of making the seminal ’90s series, which aired for the last time 25 years ago this week

GUESTS:

Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College
James Poniewozik: The chief television critic for The New York Times

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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We ❤️ romance novels

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 18:00:50 +0000

GUESTS:

Olivia Waite: The New York Times Book Review’s romance fiction columnist who writes queer and historical romance, fantasy, and critical essays on the genre’s history and future
Jason Rogers: Olympic medalist, journalist covering masculinity, and the founder of a now-defunct romance book club for men
Tony Horvath: Creative director for the long-time romance-novel publisher Harlequin, where he oversees production of about 80 book covers a month

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Invisibility fascinates and frightens us. But will it ever become reality?

Wed, 31 May 2023 18:18:32 +0000

GUESTS:

Gregory Gbur: Author of Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not To Be Seen, and a Professor of Physics and Optical Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Lisa Yaszek: Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech
Sophia Brueckner: Futurist artist, designer and engineer, Associate Professor at the School of Art and Design, and Co-Director of the Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing at the University of Michigan

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How two Connecticut outsiders transformed treatment for traumatic blood loss and fought Army insiders

Tue, 30 May 2023 18:34:28 +0000

This hour, an invention that transformed care for traumatic injuries. Charles Barber’s new book, In The Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took on the US Army, details how Frank Hursey discovered that a mineral called zeolite could help stop excessive bleeding, and the challenge he and his partner, Bart Gullong, faced in getting the invention to take hold in trauma care.

GUESTS:

Charles Barber: Nonfiction author, Writer in Residence at Wesleyan University, and Lecturer in Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. His new book is In The Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took on the US Army
Bart Gullong: Co-founder and former CEO of Z-Medica, who worked to get QuickClot widely adopted
Frank Hursey: Founder of On-Site Gas, Co-Founder of Z-Medica, and the inventor of QuickClot

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at the Supreme Court, Andy Warhol, Prince, and ‘Jury Duty’

Fri, 26 May 2023 20:41:59 +0000

For this week’s Nose, the straightness is the difficulty of the lack of a bend.

Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against the Andy Warhol Foundation, saying that Warhol could not use a photographer’s portrait of Prince as the basis of his own image of Prince. In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan writes that the ruling, “will impede new art and music and literature. It will thwart the expression of new ideas and the attainment of new knowledge. It will make our world poorer.”

And: Jury Duty is “a documentary-style comedy series that chronicles the inner workings of an American jury trial through the eyes of one particular juror.” The catch is that that one particular juror doesn’t know that everyone else involved is an actor, and the whole trial is fake. Eight half-hour (!) episodes of Jury Dutyare available to stream on Amazon FreeVee.

Carolyn Paine’s endorsement:

The Comeback on Max

Mercy Quaye’s endorsement:

When the Heavens Went on Sale: Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach by Ashlee Vance

Bill Yousman’s endorsements:

The Guest by Emma Cline
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

Colin’s endorsement:

Tina Turner

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Tina Turner, Queen of Rock & Roll, Dead at 83 Legendary singer “died peacefully” Wednesday after a long illness
Helmut Berger, Actor Known for His Work With Visconti, Dies at 78 He first made his mark in “The Damned” as a character one critic said personified “the outright perversion” of Nazism. He and the director became lovers.
I swear, our profane society is a disgrace
‘Caligula’ Director Tinto Brass Slams ‘Caligula – The Ultimate Cut’ Screening in Cannes, Says He Is Taking Legal Action Against Penthouse Films
The looming existential crisis for cable news The number of cable subscribers, dropping for years, just took a record-breaking plunge. Sooner or later, it will hurt news channels’ bottom line.
Is E.T. Eavesdropping on Our Phone Calls? Cell phone towers leak radio waves into space, but they’ll be tough for aliens to detect
The First Social-Media Babies Are Growing Up—And They’re Horrified How would you feel if millions of people watched your childhood tantrums?
Natalie Portman Called Out The Double Standards Women Face At Cannes A Day Before Jennifer Lawrence Was Critiqued For Wearing Flip Flops On The Red Carpet Instead Of Heels “The expectations are different on you all the time, and it affects how you behave — whether you’re buying into it, whether you’re rejecting it, or whether you’re doing something in between.”
How Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer Recreated A Nuclear Explosion Without Using CGI
How to Quit Cars They crowd streets, belch carbon, bifurcate communities, and destroy the urban fabric. Will we ever overcome our addiction?
Surgeon General Warns That Social Media May Harm Children and Adolescents The report by Dr. Vivek Murthy cited a “profound risk of harm” to adolescent mental health and urged families to set limits and governments to set tougher standards for use.
Max Announces an Expanded Roster of 4K Programming Available To Stream on Its Ultimate Ad-Free Tier on May 23
Netflix begins its password sharing crackdown in the US and global markets
BuzzFeed cooks up new AI-powered recipe generator, Botatouille Artificial ‘culinary companion’ will suggest meals based on what you have in your refrigerator and has a chatbot feature
Against the Cult of “Sticking the Landing” The ‘Succession’ finale may be great—or it may be deflating. But it likely doesn’t matter either way. A TV show is mostly remembered for what happens before the finale, not during it.
Barbiemania! Margot Robbie Opens Up About the Movie Everyone’s Waiting For
Puritanism took over online fandom — and then came for the rest of the internet Puriteens, anti-fans, and the culture war’s most bonkers battleground.
Where have all the Disney villains gone? The live-action Little Mermaid is a reminder of what movies like Encanto and Frozen II don’t have: a bad guy.

GUESTS:

Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer, and she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance
Mercy Quaye: Founder and principal consultant for The Narrative Project
Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An irreverent reimagining of US history’s most revered (and reviled) idols

Thu, 25 May 2023 19:21:00 +0000

There’s currently a debate in America about what students should be learning about U.S. history. Some say we don’t revere American exceptionalism enough. Others say we're giving ourselves an A+ by excluding the tests we failed.

Humorist Alexandra Petri says both sides are wrong. We just don’t know enough about the things we need to know, such as how inventor Nikola Tesla fell in love with his pigeon or about the secret tapes of Nixon yelling at his dog Checkers.

This hour, an irreverent look at how we teach, learn and remember U.S. history.

GUESTS:

Alexandra Petri is a humorist, a columnist for the Washington Post and the author of Nothing Is Wrong and Here is Why, which was a Thurber Prize finalist. Her new book is Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents
Mike Pesca is host of the podcast The Gist, author of the Substack column Pesca Profundities, and the editor of Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs In Sports History

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Lily Tyson, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Remembering Martin Amis

Wed, 24 May 2023 16:41:43 +0000

The writer and public intellectual Martin Amis died May 19. He was 73.

Amis broke into the literary scene in the 1970s, and by the time his London trilogy — Money, London Fields, and The Information — came out in the 1980s and 1990s, people had started to think of him as “the author” and “the standard for authorhood.”

This hour, an appreciation of Martin Amis and a look back at his 2018 appearance on this show.

GUESTS:

Martin Amis: The author of 15 novels, two short story collections, a memoir, and seven books of nonfiction
Dan Kois: An editor and writer at Slate and cohost of the podcast The Martin Chronicles; his most recent book is the novel Vintage Contemporaries

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired in a different form March 8, 2018.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why you like the music you like

Tue, 23 May 2023 14:10:00 +0000

In record producer and neuroscientist Susan Rogers’s This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You, she writes, “The music that delivers the maximum gratification to you is determined by seven influential dimensions of musical listening.” Those seven dimensions are authenticity, realism, novelty, melody, lyrics, rhythm, and timbre.

This hour, we talk with Rogers about some of those seven dimensions, the role of the listener in music, and why we are drawn to some songs and not others.

GUEST:

Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, and co-author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 15, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 22 May 2023 18:32:19 +0000

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing.

This hour, the conversation winds around to a bit of trivia about the John Wayne version of True Grit, paupers and banking in the 1840s, the draft, job descriptions for politicians, prejudices against classic rock … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

‘It’s OK with me’: The Nose rewatches ‘The Long Goodbye’ at 50

Fri, 19 May 2023 18:42:23 +0000

This week’s Nose got a couple other cans, ya know, and came back and switched the labels and the cans around.

Plus: A look at the value and the art of rewatching and rewatchability.

Raquel Benedict’s endorsements:

Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum
Nocebo on Shudder

Helder Mira’s endorsements:

Hawkeye by Fraction and Aja
Jury Duty on Freevee
Documentary Now! Season 4 on Netflix

Gene Seymour’s endorsements:

Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse by Ahmad Jamal
Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story edited by Willard Jenkins

Colin’s endorsement:

The Battered Bastards of Baseball on Netflix

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Doyle Brunson, the ‘Godfather of Poker,’ has died at 89
End of a love affair: AM radio is being removed from many cars Ford, BMW, Volkswagen, Tesla and other automakers are eliminating AM radio from some new vehicles, stirring protests against the loss of a medium that has shaped American life for a century
Tony Awards Broadcast Can Proceed After Striking Writers’ Union Agrees The Tony Awards, a key marketing opportunity for Broadway, can go ahead in an altered form after the striking screenwriters’ union said it would not picket this year’s broadcast.
TV Isn’t About to Get Worse. It Already Is. The problems that Hollywood’s writers are protesting can be seen on our screens.
YouTube Bringing Unskippable 30-Second Ads To The Living Room
Supreme Court Rules Against Andy Warhol in Copyright Case The question for the justices was whether the artist was free to use elements of a rock photographer’s portrait of the musician Prince.
ESPN Plans to Stream Flagship Channel, Eyeing Cable TV’s Demise Internal project code-named ‘Flagship’ lays out shift in coming years, as talks with leagues and cable partners have begun
At 81, Martha Stewart lands ‘historic’ Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover “The whole aging thing is so boring," Stewart proclaimed.
Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Released A Statement After Escaping A “Near Catastrophic Car Chase” With Paparazzi “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers."
Montana becomes first US state to ban TikTok Greg Gianforte, the governor, signed legislation prohibiting mobile app stores from offering the video-sharing platform by next year
Disney’s Expensive ‘Star Wars’ Galactic Starcruiser Hotel to Close After Less Than Two Years The immersive and pricy hotel in Florida is being sent to a galaxy far, far away.
Limiting what novelists can write about won’t help readers
An influencer’s AI clone will be your girlfriend for $1 a minute CarynAI is the first AI companion product from a new startup called Forever Voices, allowing users to chat with a digital version of the fastest growing Snapchat star
Arnold Schwarzenegger Gets Candid on Career, Failures, Aging: “My Plan Is to Live Forever” The action icon — set to make his series TV debut in Netflix’s ‘FUBAR’ — sounds off on his ‘Terminator’ and ‘Conan’ futures, identity politics and why emotions are overrated: “We have to work our ass off and stop worrying about feelings.”
The Dave Matthews Guide to Living and Dying The troubadour of mellow vibes has been one of the biggest acts in music for three decades. Now 56, Matthews has been singing about mortality for a long time, and he’s confronting its specter in new and surprising ways.
A Few Thoughts on Quentin Tarantino’s Plan to Retire The director has said that his tenth film will be his last. What does this mean for his cinematic legacy?
The 23 Best ’90s Movies
Once is enough: 18 movies you’ll never want to rewatch They may be beautifully shot, brilliantly acted, thought-provoking films, but you’re not going to reach for them again on movie night
How to Spin Bad News, Featuring Jonathan Majors and Johnny Depp
This Viral Debate Over Young Al Pacino And Robert De Niro’s Hotness Has Caused Me To Rethink Everything If you’re on Twitter, you may have seen it; if you’re not, prepare for the most important debate of your life.

GUESTS:

Raquel Benedict: The most dangerous woman in speculative fiction and the host of the Rite Gud podcast
Helder Mira: Multimedia producer at Trinity College and co-host of the So Pretentious podcast
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek”

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back from the dead: Exploring the cutting edge of de-extinction

Thu, 18 May 2023 18:10:55 +0000

GUESTS:

Helen Pilcher: a science and comedy writer with a PhD in cell biology who wrote Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinction
Ben Lamm: CEO of the de-extinction company Colossal, which he co-founded with George Church.
Carlos de la Rosa: President and CEO of the Center for Plant Conservation

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The art of the ending

Wed, 17 May 2023 18:13:14 +0000

With Succession, Ted Lasso, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Barry all coming to a close within the span of a week, it’s time for an hour on endings.

We look at the art of the ending, wonder what makes a satisfying ending in literature and TV and music, and ponder how we know it’s time to let a thing come to an end.

GUESTS:

Jen Chaney: TV critic at Vulture and New York magazine and the author of As If! The Oral History of Clueless
Geoff Dyer: Author of The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings, among other books
Rebecca Makkai: Artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago and the author, most recently, of I Have Some Questions for You
Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, professor at Berklee College of Music and co-author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Incarcerated content producers challenge the myth of prison reform

Tue, 16 May 2023 17:26:49 +0000

The purpose of incarceration in America is supposed to be a balance between punishment and reform, with the scales tipping toward reforms that can lead to redemption and a second chance after release. But that’s not been the experience of many currently and formerly incarcerated people.

Incarcerated influencers are sharing a view of prison life through TikTok videos, podcasts, and journalism that shows a more nuanced look at prison life, including the network of support, friendships, and mentors the incarcerated share with one another in the absence of significant reform.

The content challenges misperceptions about incarceration that are often depicted in popular culture, and it exposes the lack of formal opportunities available to help the incarcerated prepare for life after release.

GUESTS:

Emily Bazelon: Staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and the co-host of the Slate Political Gabfest; she recently started The Prison Letters Project
Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein: A freelance writer who writes about American life for numerous publications including The New York Times, The New Republic, and The Baffler
John J. Lennon: An incarcerated journalist writing from Sullivan Correctional Facility; he is a contributing editor at Esquire magazine and a frequent contributor to The New York Times
Justin Paperny: A prison consultant, the co-founder of White Collar Advice and Prison Professors, and the author of Lessons from Prison

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired September 26, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it mean to treat something as sacred?

Mon, 15 May 2023 18:17:19 +0000

GUESTS:

Mark Miller: Lecturer in sacred music at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music and Divinity School, composer in residence at Drew University, and the minister of music of Christ Church
Mary-Jane Rubenstein: Professor of religion and science in society at Wesleyan University and the author of Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race, among other books
Vanessa Zoltan: An atheist chaplain; co-host of the podcasts Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, Hot & Bothered, and Should I Quit; and the author of Praying with Jane Eyre: Reflections on Reading as a Sacred Practice

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘Liz’ Holmes and ‘Bupkis’

Fri, 12 May 2023 18:35:28 +0000

You don’t have to worry about this week’s Nose taking your phone and putting it in the bottom of a root beer float.

On Sunday, The New York Times published an Amy Chozik profile of Elizabeth Holmes, who wants to go by Liz now, it turns out. The piece has been, let’s say, controversial.

And: Bupkis is a somewhat autobiographical comedy series created by Pete Davidson with Judah Miller and Dave Sirus and executive produced by Lorne Michaels. Eight half-hour (!) episodes are available to stream on Peacock.

Rebecca Castellani’s endorsement:

Jury Duty on Freevee

Irene Papoulis’s endorsements:

David O. Russell’s Spanking the Money on DVD
Unmasking Narcissism: A Guide to Understanding the Narcissist in Your Life by Mark Ettensohn

Pedro Soto’s endorsement:

Westville Artwalk 26 in New Haven

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Heather Armstrong, who made it okay to say motherhood was hard, dead at 47 The pioneering blogger behind Dooce.com upended women’s media and laid the ground for the influencer industry
The Sad Dads of The National For two decades, the band has written music about the kind of sadness that feels quotidian and incremental—the slow accumulation of ordinary losses.
‘It’s Going to Be a While’: No End in Sight for Hollywood Strike The writers and entertainment companies remain far apart on several key issues, including money, and the standoff could last for months.
There’s a ‘volume war’ happening in music
Drag business flourishes in state’s arts and entertainment scene
Why are these groups so much more likely to wear glasses than any others?
“After Breakfast Mom Would Kick Me Outside And Tell Me Not To Come Home Until The Street Lights Came On”: Gen X’ers Are Sharing The Laughably Bad Parenting Boomers Did To ThemApparently, Gen X grew up in cigarette smoke-filled rooms and never wore seatbelts.
Pickleball is the worst
Paramount Can’t Say No to the Man Behind ‘Yellowstone’: $50,000 a Week for His Ranch, $25 Per Cow Taylor Sheridan writes most of the company’s hits, giving him clout to dominate the big-budget productions through his network of commercial projects, pushing costs to among the highest in Hollywood
I Really Didn’t Want to Go On the Goop cruise
On David Foster Wallace Reconsidering the man, the meme, and the writing
Notes from Prince Harry’s Ghostwriter Collaborating on his memoir, “Spare,” meant spending hours together on Zoom, meeting his inner circle, and gaining a new perspective on the tabloids.
Bill Hader Just Wants to Make Weird Things The co-creator and star of the HBO comedy “Barry” on the end of the series, his film-nerd past, and why he has no desire to be part of “the conversation.”
Shakira And Tom Cruise Were Spotted Together Amid Dating Rumors — Here’s How People Reacted Randomest couple.
People Are Calling Ben Affleck The Unhappiest Husband In Hollywood After A Video Of Him Slamming A Car Door On Jennifer Lopez Sparked A Debate About Their Marriage Sad Ben Affleck strikes again.
Please stop using AI to make Wes Anderson parodies A recent online trend has seen users mock up Harry Potter, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings in the director’s distinctive style but is he beyond parody?

GUESTS:

Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College
Pedro Soto: President and CEO of Hygrade Precision Technologies

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let’s go down a rabbit hole about rabbit holes

Thu, 11 May 2023 18:23:15 +0000

If you've spent time on the internet, you've probably experienced the feeling of going down a rabbit hole. This hour, we talk about that feeling, how Lewis Carroll invented such a powerful metaphor for the digital world, and, of course, real rabbit holes.

GUESTS:

Franziska Kohlt: Researcher in Science Communication and the History of Science and Literature. She is currently the Leverhulme Research Fellow at the University of Leeds and Inaugural Carrollian Fellow at the University of Southern California
Annie Rauwerda: Writer, comedian, and Wikipedia influencer, who created “Depths of Wikipedia.” She was named “Wikimedian of The Year” in the media category for 2022, and she is currently working on a book about Wikipedia
Dominic Couzens: Award-winning nature writer, who’s just finished his 45th book on wildlife

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The art of the dial: Why we like hotlines and phone calls with strangers

Wed, 10 May 2023 18:20:28 +0000

Hotlines: whether you realize it or not, you’ve likely used one before. From emergency services to customer service and crisis lines, they often fly under the radar in our daily lives.

GUESTS:

Dr. Lee Humphreys: Professor of Communication at Cornell University
Jessica Martin: An artist who leads an art program for West Side Elementary in Healdsburg, California. She’s also the co-creator of the kids-advice hotline, Peptoc
Danielle Baskin: An artist who co-created Dialup, a voice-chat app that connects you to strangers
Michelle Rorong: An architect in Indonesia who wrote about her experience using Dialup during a COVID-19 quarantine period

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

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First come, first served: There is an art, and an etiquette, of queues

Tue, 09 May 2023 14:16:40 +0000

Well designed queues give you hope and feel fair, while poorly designed ones can ruin your day.

Queues are everywhere around us, and not all are designed well.

This hour, the art of the queue, the challenge of waiting in line, and when, if ever, cutting in line is appropriate.

GUESTS:

Jennifer Goff: Owner and founder of Skip the Line
Marie Helweg-Larsen: Professor of psychology at Dickinson College
Richard Larson: Professor of data, systems, and society at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Steven Soifer: President of the American Restroom Association

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 22, 2022.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We take your calls

Mon, 08 May 2023 18:12:38 +0000

This hour, we take your calls about whatever you want to talk about.

Call us: 888-720-9677.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at the writers’ strike and ‘Mrs. Davis’

Fri, 05 May 2023 18:41:41 +0000

This week’s Nose force feeds hero’s journey to its network.

The Writers Guild of America is on strike for the first time in 15 years. The film and television industry, you may have noticed, is very different from the way it was 15 years ago. And that’s a big part of why the WGA is striking and why it matters.

And: Mrs. Davis is an eight-episode Peacock miniseries created by Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof. It has been described as a “religious odyssey/thriller/comedy/drama/sci-fi epic,” which isn’t really much of a description at all. Here’s Peacock’s synopsis, which isn’t really much of a synopsis at all: “Mrs. Davis is the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence. Simone is the nun devoted to destroying Her. Who ya got?”

Taneisha Duggan’s endorsements:

Garden Answer on YouTube
Gentle Bull Shop in Hartford

Rich Hollant’s endorsements:

Blessed Not Bitter: The Barbara McClane Journey by Barbara McClane
The Rembrandt at TheaterWorks in Hartford

Lindsay Lee Wallace’s endorsements:

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
An Ordinary Age: Finding Your Way in a World That Expects Exceptional by Rainesford Stauffer

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Gordon Lightfoot, Hitmaking Singer-Songwriter, Is Dead at 84 His rich baritone voice and songs like “Sundown,” “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” and “If You Could Read My Mind” made him a top artist of the 1970s.
Graphic designer Peter Good, creator of the Hartford Whalers logo, dies at 80
Ask Amy: Is it offensive to refer to people as ‘ladies’ or ‘gentlemen’?
Ed Sheeran Won His Copyright Trial. Here’s What to Know. The heirs of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote “Let’s Get It On” with Marvin Gaye, had accused the pop star of copying it in “Thinking Out Loud.”
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to induct Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson
‘Yellowstone’ to End With Season 5, New Sequel Series to Debut in December
The Stupefying Success of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” Recycling old intellectual property is a default formula in today’s Hollywood. But few franchises have managed to yield so much by doing so little.
The Best Songs of 2023 (So Far)
A terrible decision on AI-made images hurts creators
The guy who ate a $120,000 banana in an art museum says he was just hungry
The Speed Bump Those chipmunk-pitched songs you hear on TikTok are more than just a viral craze. They’re the latest big thing in the music biz. Here’s what their success says about remix culture, artists’ control over their own work, and why we want everything so fast these days.

GUESTS:

Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals
Rich Hollant: Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford
Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who gets the part? There are no small actors or roles

Thu, 04 May 2023 19:22:15 +0000

Note: This episode contains strong language.

GUESTS:

Jenny Ravitz: Casting director based in New York. She has worked on over 500 episodes of television in addition to theater, film, and commercials
Ezra Buzzington: Actor whose over 70 film credits and dozens of TV appearances range from "Weird Al the Waiter" in Ghost World to a mutant in The Hills Have Eyes and, most recently, as one of the leads in the South By Southwest hit film Brooklyn 45. He has appeared in Academy Award-winning films alongside some of your favorite actors
Vlad Perez: LA-based actor who has co-starred in television shows including Brooklyn 99, Murderville, Friendsgiving, and many more. He’s also one of the founders of the Sea Tea Comedy Theater right here in Hartford
Harriet Dobin: Former Hartford media maven now actor in Philadelphia
Allie Rivera: Performer and teacher at the Sea Tea Comedy Theater in downtown Hartford, and is the creator and producer of the theater’s Improvised Hallmark & Lifetime show

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Colin McEnroe, Lily Tyson, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don’t sleep on bedtime stories: What we can all learn from these nighttime tales

Wed, 03 May 2023 19:04:14 +0000

This hour: bedtime stories. What can we learn from people who write and tell them? How can we all be more intentional and magical about the last things we think about before sleeping?

GUESTS:

Faith Adiele: Travel writer, speaker, teacher, and Thailand’s first Black Buddhist nun; she writes sleep stories for adults on the Calm app
Adam Mansbach: Author, screenwriter, and cultural critic who wrote the famous not-for-children children’s book, Go the F**k to Sleep

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Dylan Reyes, Catie Talarski, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Meet Connie Converse, the haunting songwriter whose work stayed hidden for decades

Tue, 02 May 2023 15:06:05 +0000

This hour, we talk about the life, music, and legacy of Connie Converse and what her example teaches us about how we think about the role of art and artists in our society.

GUEST:

Howard Fishman: Musician, frequent contributor to The New Yorker, and author of To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Artist Formerly Known as The Colin McEnroe Show: Conversations about rebranding

Mon, 01 May 2023 17:00:00 +0000

According to a cursory search of my email archive, we started working on rebranding The Colin McEnroe Show in the fall of 2021. It was probably actually longer ago than that.

In any case, today, more than 18 months later, our new look and new logo and new tagline and new whatever elses are all ready for the world to see.

And so, this hour, a look at rebranding, from Philip Morris and Facebook and Tronc and Prince and Madonna and the Washington Football Team to, yes, The Colin McEnroe Show.

GUESTS:

Patrick Dugan: Executive creative director at Adams and Knight
Christopher King: Co-founder and creative director of LVCK Design, a Beyer Blinder Belle studio
Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College
Mike Pesca: Hosts the independent daily podcast The Gist
Brendan Jay Sullivan: A writer, producer, and DJ and a food history TikTok personality
Laura Varacchi: Co-founder and creative strategist of LVCK Design

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired in a different form November 9, 2021.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose looks at ‘The Diplomat’ and ‘John Mulaney: Baby J’

Fri, 28 Apr 2023 21:47:51 +0000

This week’s Nose traded one fatted goose for ten radishes.

The Diplomat is an eight-episode political thriller romantic-comedy (sort of?) Netflix limited series created by Debora Cahn. It stars Keri Russell as the title character and Rufus Sewell as her husband, who is also a diplomat, though a somewhat less diplomatic diplomat. Here’s Netflix’s logline: “In the midst of an international crisis, a career diplomat lands in a high-profile job she’s unsuited for, with tectonic implications for her marriage and her political future.” The Diplomat is currently No. 2 in TV Shows Today on Netflix.

And: Baby J is John Mulaney’s fifth comedy special, his fourth for Netflix, and his fourth standup special. It’s also his first special since his divorce, his time in rehab, and the birth of his son. As Mulaney says early on in Baby J, he has “kind of a different vibe now.” Baby J is currently No. 10 in TV Shows Today on Netflix.

Sam Hadelman’s endorsement:

Hung Up by Hunter Harris

Shawn Murray’s endorsements:

John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch on Netflix
Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks

Carolyn Paine’s endorsements:

Celeste Barber: Fine, Thanks on Netflix
Wellmania on Netflix

Colin’s endorsement:

financial literacy
Scott Galloway’s podcasts The Pivot and The Prof G Pod

Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take:

Harry Belafonte, 96, Dies; Barrier-Breaking Singer, Actor and Activist In the 1950s, when segregation was still widespread, his ascent to the upper echelon of show business was historic. But his primary focus was civil rights.
Jerry Springer, Host of a Raucous TV Talk Show, Is Dead at 79 The confrontational “Jerry Springer Show” ran for nearly three decades and became a cultural phenomenon. Mr. Springer also had a career in politics.
The Future of Social Media Is a Lot Less Social Facebook, TikTok and Twitter seem to be increasingly connecting users with brands and influencers. To restore a sense of community, some users are trying smaller social networks.
It’s Okay to Like Good Art by Bad People Art transcends the artist.
The best television of 2023 so far ‘Mrs. Davis,’ ‘Barry,’ ‘Yellowjackets,’ ‘Succession,’ ‘The Mandalorian’ and ‘Poker Face’ all make our evolving critics’ list of 2023’s best TV shows
This Babysitter Sparked A Huge Debate After Asking Parents To Pay Half Of Their $840 Bill After They Canceled Last Minute “When I told Claudia, she definitely had sticker shock. But when I broke down the price and she shopped around, she realized I was the cheaper option.”
Sylvester Stallone’s Best Sci-Fi Movie Is Smart Enough to Know Just How Stupid It Is Grab some Taco Bell and settle in.
The Succession Timeline Kind of Makes Sense Now
Where to rent DVDs and Blu-rays as Netflix ends disc rentals
‘Convicting A Murderer’ Series Acquired By DailyWire+ With Candace Owens Set To Front Response To Netflix True-Crime Hit
19 Movie Moments From The ’90s That Aged Like Cow’s Milk Why was every ’90s movie transphobic as heck?
In Praise of the Long Movie In the right hands, a three-hour-plus film expands the boundaries of cinematic possibilities.

GUESTS:

Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shell we talk about eggs?

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:17:51 +0000

This hour, a hard-boiled look at the ubiquitous, yet overlooked egg.

GUESTS:

John Portmann: Taught moral philosophy and ethics at the University of Virginia for several decades; he’s the author of When Bad Things Happen To Other People
Chris Prosperi: Chef and co-owner of Metro Bis in Simsbury, Connecticut, and a former recipe columnist for the Hartford Courant
Lizzie Stark: The author of Egg: A Dozen Ovatures

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.