The Colin McEnroe Show

Connecticut Public Radio
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Dec 19, 2025 • 49min

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

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Dec 18, 2025 • 42min

The echoes of the Red Scare can be heard today

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Dec 17, 2025 • 41min

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

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 Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Dec 16, 2025 • 42min

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

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Dec 15, 2025 • 48min

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

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 Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Dec 12, 2025 • 53min

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

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Dec 11, 2025 • 50min

How robots, and our attitudes toward them, have evolved

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Dec 10, 2025 • 50min

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

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Dec 9, 2025 • 50min

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

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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Dec 8, 2025 • 49min

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

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

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