The Colin McEnroe Show

Some say the press continues to portray the Republican Party as a "mainstream, center-right entity," long after their words and deeds reflect something more ominous. Is the media failing to convey the extreme behavior of the GOP out of fear they will be accused of liberal bias? It's not the first time the media has been accused of bias or been too slow to see something for what it is instead of what they want it to be. Also this hour: Five members of former President Trump's impeachment team departed Saturday, a little over a week before the Senate trial is set to begin on February 9. On Sunday, Trump hired lawyers David Schoen and Bruce L. Castor Jr. to take over. Will they be ready by next week? GUESTS: Eric Boehlert - A media critic and the founder and editor of Press Run; he has been a senior fellow at Media Matters for America, a media critic at Daily Kos, and a staff writer at Rolling Stone, and he's the author of three books, including Lapdogs: How The Press Rolled Over For Bush (@EricBoehlert) Ross Garber - Principal at The Garber Group, specializing in political investigations and impeachment; he's also a legal analyst for CNN, and he teaches at Tulane Law School (@rossgarber) Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Olivia Rodrigo's "drivers license" is in its second week as the No. 1 song in the country, having debuted there last week. It is the first debut single by any artist to hit the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1 in history. And: Pretend It's a City is Martin Scorsese's seven-part Netflix documentary series about Fran Liebowitz that's actually also kind of about New York City. And finally: How To with John Wilson is John Wilson's six-part HBO documentary series of advice and tutorials that's actually also kind of about New York City. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Cicely Tyson, groundbreaking award-winning actor, dead at 96 Cloris Leachman, Emmy and Oscar Winner, Dies at 94 Bruce Kirby, Veteran Character Actor and 'Columbo' Cop, Dies at 95 Walter Bernstein, Oscar-Nominated Screenwriter on 'The Front,' Dies at 101 Freddy the Great Dane, the world's largest dog, has died The Jokes About GameStop And The Stock Market Keep Coming, So Here Are The 50 Funniest Ones"Siri, what is a 'stock'?" There's a Metallica/Huey Lewis Mashup Now, Because San Francisco The Oscars Are a Mess. Let's Make Them Messier.Nothing has been normal about the last year, including the movies. The academy shouldn’t try to pretend otherwise. It should see this as an opportunity. These are the movies to watch before Oscars night The 50 Best Cult MoviesFrom 'The Room' to 'Eraserhead' to 'Rocky Horror,' these are the best movies to ever inspire deep obsession 'Tenet' Is Destined to Become a Cult MovieWith a failed release due to the pandemic, a muted critical reception, and a twisty narrative that demands multiple viewings, Christopher Nolan's 2020 film has all of the elements that eventually lead to niche fandom 2021 BBWAA Voting Results Yield No Electees Kraft Is Releasing A Pink Candy-Flavored Mac And Cheese For Valentine's Day, And The Internet Is Losing Its Mind The Pandemic Has Erased Entire Categories of FriendshipThere's a reason you miss the people you didn't even know that well. Here's What It Was Really Like to Work at a Women's WebsiteI felt nothing. So I headed to my desk for another busy day of browsing online sales and waiting to die. Carey Mulligan Responds to Variety's Apology for 'Promising Young Woman' Review Subway's tuna is not tuna, but a 'mixture of various concoctions,' a lawsuit alleges A Reformed Late Person's Guide to Being on TimeTime has become fluid in the pandemic. Except when there's a Zoom meeting. GUESTS: Jacques Lamarre - A playwright and director of client services at Buzz Engine Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Applications to nursing schools spiked during the pandemic from those who wanted to help. They chose to be nurses at a time when the risk to their own health was never greater. Why are some people willing to run toward the fire when others are running away from it? Most of us fall somewhere on a spectrum of altruistic behavior. We might adopt a stray pet, donate a liter of blood, or check on an older neighbor. Others pursue a career based on helping others, and, at the extreme end of the spectrum, some choose to donate their kidney to a stranger.  We talk to two nurses, a kidney donor, and a psychologist about the nature of altruism. GUEST: Kelly Chevalier - Interim director of emergency services at Trinity Health of New England/St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center  Tracy Gordon Fox - A former journalist for the Hartford Courant; she’s currently a staff nurse on the general surgery floor at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center Lauren Herschel - An anonymous kidney donor who lives in Calgary, Alberta Abigail Marsh - A professor of psychology and a neuroscientist in the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Georgetown University; she directs their Lab on Social & Affective Neuroscience, and she’s the author of The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Psychopaths, Altruists, and Everyone In Between  Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

André Gregory has directed and acted in the theater for more than 50 years. He has appeared in a number of movies, including Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Woody Allen's Celebrity, Brian De Palma's The Bonfire of the Vanities, Peter Weir's The Mosquito Coast, and many more. He has starred in three movies about the theater with the playwright, actor, and comedian Wallace Shawn: A Master Builder, Vanya on 42nd Street, and the iconic My Dinner with Andre. Gregory's memoir is This Is Not My Memoir. He joins us for the hour. Note: I apologize for the flagrant hackiness of the "joke" of the headline here. I feel your scorn and must suffer through my shame. There are times when a work is so iconic one doesn't have a choice but to make reference to it. And so here we are. GUEST: André Gregory - An actor, writer, director, teacher, and painter; his new book, written with Todd London, is This Is Not My Memoir Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moderna announced today they were making new versions of their vaccine that can be used as boosters against variants seen in South Africa, Brazil, and the U.K. The vaccine should be effective against variants but it seems to create fewer antibodies against the one that has emerged in South Africa. Either way, vaccines alone will not be enough. We talk about mutations and vaccines.  Also this hour: The Biden inauguration was the most Catholic inauguration in history. Is a more liberal Christianity on the rise?  Lastly, a tribute to John McDonough, actor, singer, and a Connecticut native. GUESTS:  Paul Turner - An evolutionary biologist and virologist; he’s the Rachel Carson Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University and a microbiology faculty member at Yale School of Medicine Michael Sean Winters - Writes the Distinctly Catholic blog for the National Catholic Reporter, and he is the author of two books including Left At the Altar: How Democrats Lost The Catholics And How Catholics Can Save The Democrats Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The House will transmit its Article of Impeachment charging former President Trump with "incitement of insurrection" to the Senate on Monday. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell asked the House to wait two weeks to let the former president work on his defense. The House chose not to wait any longer , possibly influenced by more than a dozen Republican senators trying to dismiss the impeachment trial before it begins, based on the disputed claim that it's unconstitutional to try an ex-president. And House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's walking back his prior claim that Trump incited the riot at the Capitol. Today, we look at what's required to prove "incitement" and we look back on the fashion legacy of Trump. We also bring you factoids with Chion Wolf and our first second-season AccuFrankie dispatch from reporter Frankie Graziano. GUESTS: Vanessa Friedman - Fashion director for The New York Times Frankie Graziano - A reporter for Connecticut Public Radio Catherine J. Ross - Professor of law at the George Washington University Law School and the author of a forthcoming book, Presidential Lies, The First Amendment, and Democracy Chion Wolf - The host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public Radio Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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; he's the author of 17 books, including, most recently, Baseless: My Search for Secrets in the Ruins of the Freedom of Information Act; he's currently the Jennifer Jahrling Forese Writer-in-Residence in Creative Writing at Colby College Judith Flanders - A social historian and senior research fellow at the University of Buckingham; her new book is A Place For Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order Peter Sokolowski - A lexicographer and editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster and co-host of the podcast Word Matters; he's also a musician and public radio jazz host at NEPR and the author of a chapter in The Whole World in a Book Join us on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yale University's Dr. Nicholas Christakis explores what it means to live in a time of pandemic. He looks at historical epidemics and current medical and social research to help us understand the potential long-term impact COVID-19 will have on people and culture.  Greek mythology holds that the arrows of plague Apollo shot down upon the Greeks led to great death and suffering. The plague that has brought death and pain over this past year was not brought by an angry god, but an infinitesimal virus that has wreaked global havoc and exposed the best and worst of human behavior.  We spend an informative and insightful hour with Nicholas Christakis.  GUEST: Nicholas Christakis - A physician and sociologist; he directs the Human Nature Lab at Yale where he is the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science, and he's the author of Apollo's Arrow: The Profound and Enduring Impact of Coronavirus on the Way We Live Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Cruise's seventh Mission: Impossible installment has been one of the few huge Hollywood productions trying to to figure out how to film during the pandemic. Cruise has been in the news lately for blowing up at his crew for breaking COVID protocols, and now he's back in the news for… buying COVID enforcement robots? And: Could front porches be just the right "magical intermediate zone" to keep communities connecting during a time of social distancing? And finally: Nicolas Cage is hosting a documentary series on Netflix called History of Swear Words. Normally I'd try to give you a little more context here, but I feel like that first sentence pretty much covers it. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Michael Apted, 'Coal Miner's Daughter' Director and 'Seven Up' Documentarian, Dies at 79 Jessica Campbell, 'Election' and 'Freaks and Geeks' Actor, Dies at 38 Oscars' International Feature Race: Has 'Parasite' Ushered in a Broader Acceptance of Genre in the Category? Why a Vogue Cover Created an Uproar Over Kamala HarrisThe vice president-elect is on the cover of the U.S. fashion magazine. Many people were not happy with the result. Are Armie Hammer's leaked DMs fake? Actor's alleged 'cannibal sex fantasy' shocks Internet: 'This can't be real'The actor allegedly stated 'I am 100% a cannibal' to a woman who shared the Instagram DMs and the Internet is shocked Armie Hammer calls online attacks 'spurious,' will still exit Jennifer Lopez rom-com Sex And The City revived at HBO Max—yes, without Kim Cattrall Welcome to ZollywoodAt 24 she's already conquered the Disney thing—and Marvel. She even won an Emmy for Euphoria. Next up for Zendaya? Figuring out who she really is when the cameras aren't rolling. Alec Baldwin Delivers Final Trump Performance With Spoof 'Farewell Address' Audiobook Bill Belichick says he won't accept Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump Hollywood Prepares to Delay Another Slew of Blockbusters Netflix teases massive 2021 film slate with plans to release new movies every week Gov. Cuomo outlines plan to accelerate return of theater and the arts Chuck Norris' Manager Insists Actor Wasn't at the Capitol Insurrection The Case for Ted Danson As the TV GOATNearly 40 years after he stepped behind a Boston bar, Danson is still going. And by the time he's finished, no one may be able to top his run. Chris Rock Re-Edits a Special, and the Result Is FascinatingWith "Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut," the comic effectively erases the stamp of the original director, Bo Burnham, and turns in a less intimate show. Bruce Willis asked to leave store for 'refusing' to wear a mask 'The Office' Was by Far the Most-Streamed TV Show in 2020, Nielsen Says David Fincher: The Rolling Stone InterviewThe boundary-pushing filmmaker behind 'Mank' reflects on his career, his journey into Hollywood's past and the industry's uncertain future Noah Baumbach Adapting Don DeLillo's White Noise; Adam Driver & Greta Gerwig to Star A History of the Trump Era Through Stories About Toilets 'Human foot' in Gateshead field turns out to be potato 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 and a producer at WNHH radio Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Previously on Pardon Me (Another Damn Impeachment Show?): House Democrats voted to impeach President Trump on two Articles of Impeachment: "abuse of power" and "obstruction of Congress." He was later acquitted promptly after Senate Republicans voted against calling witnesses or admitting new evidence. Now (less than 48 weeks later), on Season Two of Pardon Me: House Democrats, along with 10 Republicans, voted to impeach President Trump Wednesday on one Article of Impeachment: "incitement of insurrection." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., promptly responded that there'll be no trial while he's Senate leader. The more things change, the more they stay the same. This hour, we talk about the constitutional gray zone of impeaching a president no longer in office, co-opting historically significant language, and a musical response to this political moment. And, we bring back Factoids with Chion Wolf. GUESTS: Joanne Freeman - The Class of 1954 Professor of History & American Studies at Yale University and the co-host of the American History podcast Backstory; her most recent book is The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War Michael Gerhardt - The Burton Craige University Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill and the author of seven books; his most recent is Lincoln's Mentors: The Education of a Leader Jill Sobule - An award-winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist; her most recent album is Nostalgia Kills Chion Wolf - The host of Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public Radio Cat Pastor contributed to this show. Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.