The Colin McEnroe Show

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 Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.