The Colin McEnroe Show

It's been 25 years since Bob Ross died and 26 years since his The Joy of Painting went off the air. But there are 52 episodes of the show available to stream on Netflix. Bob Ross and Chill is a thing. The 403 full episodes available on YouTube have accumulated something approaching 250 million views. And last summer, The New York Times did a big Bob Ross investigation. 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 - Associate 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. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired September 26, 2019.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As of this weekend, the number of people in the U.S. infected with SARS-CoV-2 topped five million, just sixteen days after passing the four million mark on July 23. This weekend's motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota portends that those numbers will continue to rise.  Three potential vaccines against the virus have entered phase III clinical trials, in which safety and effectiveness is tested on thousands of healthy people.  This stage can take months or years depending on how quickly researchers can detect a difference between the two groups, but some doctors believe that we'll have a vaccine sooner than later. Are we expecting too much from a vaccine? And, what about the expanding group of people afraid to trust any vaccine developed at "warp speed"?  Is it time for another lockdown to get things under control until a vaccine is ready? Also this hour: Sending troops into U.S. cities and the recent changes at the U.S. Postal Service are two recent examples of what writer Adam Gopnik sees as an emboldened and authoritarian right encroaching on democratic premises. Meanwhile, he says the rage of an out-of-power left makes liberalism look indifferent. Incremental reform is not enough.  GUESTS: Tim Schacker is an infectious disease physician and vice dean for research at the University of Minnesota Medical School   Adam Gopnik is an author and a staff writer for The New Yorker. The paperback edition of his most recent book, A Thousand Small Sanities: The Moral Adventures of Liberalism, was published in July. He is also a lyricist and libretto writer. With composer David Shire, he wrote the book and lyrics for the musical comedy TABLE, produced in 2016 at the Long Wharf Theater 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 Federal Communications Commission requires that The Nose cover each and every new Taylor Swift release*. Folklore is Swift's seventh number-one album, and it's become, in just two weeks, the highest-selling album of 2020 so far. But rather than just spending a segment talking about the album... We came across a term that's new to us: cottagecore. Folklore is, apparently, cottagecore. We're not entirely convinced that cottagecore is a thing, but we're covering it anyway, and we'll get to Folklore that way. And: When You Finish Saving the World is an audiobook/podcast/radio play/thing written by and co-directed by and starring Jesse Eisenberg. It's a five-hour, three-act, three-monologue, audio-only Audible original that also stars Kaitlyn Dever and Finn Wolfhard as the wife and son of Eisenberg's character, respectively. *No, it doesn't. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Will White People Forget About George Floyd?A parable embedded in The Maltese Falcon offers a cautionary tale. The Reconciliation Must Be TelevisedWhat is the next step as America confronts its racism? A broadcast spectacle, our critic writes, that could look like court, a telethon, therapy, an Oprah show -- and more. Wilford Brimley, 'Cocoon' Star and Quaker Oats Pitchman, Is Dead at 85 The Mind Behind Japan's Legendary Batmanga, Jiro Kuwata, Has Passed Away The End of the Fictional CopTelevision and film helped naturalize police violence. Noir offers a way out. Brad Garrett, Lea Thompson declare Ellen staff mistreatment "common knowledge" Hollywood Is Finally Admitting That the U.S. Is a Lost CauseThe country's sluggish pandemic response has forced movie studios to release big movies, such as Christopher Nolan's Tenet, abroad first -- a highly unusual move for the industry. Netflix is rolling out video speed controls Zelda recipe appears in serious novel by serious author after rushed Google searchA bad day for literature, a great day for Polygon's SEO GUESTS: Lucy Gellman - Editor of The Arts Paper and host of WNHH radio's Kitchen Sync Bill Yousman - Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jimmy Webb was possibly the most successful songwriter of the 1960s and 1970s. Classics like "Galveston," "Wichita Lineman," "Up, Up, and Away," and "MacArthur Park" were recorded by hundreds of artists from Glen Campbell to Donna Summer. Webb wrote the songs that others made famous. Our team made the trek to Glen Cove, New York, in the summer of 2019 to meet Jimmy Webb and his wife, Laura Savini, at a recording studio near their home.  Our adventure was well worth the trip. What we took home from our day were the sweet remains of time spent with friends, great music, and a spectacular sunset.  For the first time in Colin McEnroe Show history, we decided to create two shows from our time with Jimmy Webb. Today, we bring you part two of our two-hour show with Jimmy Webb. Listen to Part One.  GUEST:  Jimmy Webb - Songwriter, pianist, composer, storyteller. He's won Grammy Awards for his music, lyrics and orchestration. His songs include "Galveston," "Wichita Lineman," and "MacArthur Park." He's the author of Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting and his 2017 memoir, The Cake and the Rain. His latest album is Slipcover.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. This hour: a night of singing, reflecting, and celebrating recorded in front of a live audience on January 29, 2020, as part of Colin's Freshly Squeezed series at Watkinson School. GUESTS: Jim Chapdelaine - Guitar and vocals Latanya Farrell - Vocals and tambourine Steve Metcalf - Piano and vocals Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. This show originally aired February 21, 2020.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're reairing this show from September, 2019, when our team traveled to Glen Cove, New York, to interview legendary songwriter Jimmy Webb.  We waited a long time for this interview and it was worth every minute of the wait. It was a special day. We broke bread together, met kind people, and enjoyed a day of music and stories from Jimmy Webb's decades of making music.  The day was not without adversity. A flat tire forced us to miss our ferry back home to Connecticut (and our dinner). We were hungry and tired. But none of that mattered when the late ferry pulled into Bridgeport against a spectacular sunset of orange, red, and purple. We would never have seen it had the day gone as planned.   A lot has changed in America since that day last September. But not our human need for music and kinship.  We made two shows from our time with Jimmy Webb. There was too much music not to share all of it. This is part one. You can hear part two on Thursday, August 6.  GUEST: Jimmy Webb - Songwriter, pianist, composer, storyteller. He’s won Grammy Awards for his music, lyrics, and orchestration. His songs include “Galveston,” “Wichita Lineman,” and “MacArthur Park.” He’s the author of Tunesmith: Inside the Art of Songwriting and his 2017 memoir, The Cake and the Rain. His latest album is Slipcover. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sports! There are sports! Baseball's back. At least for now. With almost all of the teams playing games. And only, ya know, two of them having big COVID outbreaks. The NBA exists in a Disney World "bubble," and it hasn't had a single test come back positive yet. The NHL is doing two different kinds of tournaments at once in two different "bubbles" in Canada. The arenas and stadiums are empty and quiet, but for the cardboard cutout fans and the piped-in crowd sounds. And the whole thing may well be a bad idea anyway... But there are sports! At least for now. GUESTS: Ben Cohen - Sports reporter for The Wall Street Journal and the author of The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks Jeff Tracy - Sports reporter for Axios 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.

This New or Second or Third Golden Age of Television has been going on for 20 or 25 or 30 years now. Peak TV just won't stop peaking. For decades, there's just been no way to keep up. But then… suddenly we've all got a lot more time on our hands in our houses. And instead of finally watching The Wire and The Americans and Homeland and whatever else, we're all just rewatching Parks and Rec for the eleventeenth time. And, hey, whoa: The New York Times bought Serial productions. And finally: I May Destroy You is a BBC One and HBO show starring and written and created by Michaela Coel. Set in London, the series is a comedy-drama about consent and, ultimately, trauma. Some other stuff that happened in the last couple weeks, give or take: Alan Parker, British Director of 'Fame', 'Midnight Express' and 'Mississippi Burning,' Dies at 76 Malik B., Founding Member of the Roots, Dead at 47The rapper departed the group following the the release of Things Fall Apart in 1999 Regis Philbin, TV's Enduring Everyman, Dies at 88With patience, determination and folksy, spontaneous wit, Mr. Philbin climbed to pre-eminence relatively late in life on talk and game shows. David Letterman On Regis Philbin's Death: "Best Guest We Ever Had" As a Teenager, I Hated Johnny Carson. Then Came the Pandemic.As a teenager, I thought his 'Tonight Show' was a bland, uncool relic. Now I appreciate his deadpan humor and the loose weirdness of his interviews. 'Saturday Night Live' Wants to Resume Filming in Person Olivia de Havilland, a Star of 'Gone With the Wind,' Dies at 104She built an illustrious Hollywood career punctuated by a successful fight to loosen the studios' grip on actors. Billy Eichner To Play Paul Lynde In 'Man In The Box,' About Gifted Actor Stigmatized For Being Gay: Why Eichner Feels Things Haven't Changed, Gay Actors Still Excluded From Straight Roles & Even Playing Gay Icons The Force Is Still Strong with John Williams Washington NFL team to use 'Washington Football Team' for 2020 season Mulan falls off Disney's schedule, takes Avatar and Star Wars with it "The Far Side" Returns to a Weird World Best Cinematography Oscar Winners of the 21st Century, Ranked Tom Hanks lending voice as vendor at Oakland A's games 'Metal Gear Solid V' Players Achieve the Impossible: Nuclear Disarmament'Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain' players briefly got rid of all nuclear weapons and triggered a secret cutscene. Wild Star Wars Rumor Claims Disney Will Erase the Sequel Trilogy and Reset CanonAn unsubstantiated Star Wars rumor claims that Disney is ready to junk everything that happened in The Force Awakens and its sequels. Breonna Taylor Is On The Cover Of O Magazine -- The First One Ever Without Oprah"Breonna Taylor had dreams," Oprah Winfrey said. "They all died with her the night five bullets shattered her body and her future." GUESTS: Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Mercy Quaye - Founder and principal consultant for The Narrative Project and a columnist with Hearst Connecticut Media Group 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.

Native Americans have been getting forced off their land for a long time. Although Thomas Jefferson promised they shall know the United States as only "friends and benefactors," he forced them from their ancestral home in 1804 after he signed the Louisiana Purchase.   Assured by the government that Kansas territory would be theirs forever, they were soon forced from their new home by white settlers (including the Wilder family of Little House fame) who plundered their burial sites and squatted on their land until they felt little choice but to sell to them. The Osage finally settled on territory in Oklahoma that most whites found "unfit for cultivation," at least until they found oil underneath those rocks. Then it became attractive to powerful white men who hatched a plot to kill the Osage obtain and obtain mineral rights to the land.  This is the chilling story of the systematic murder of one group of native people. It's the bigger story of how the United States government has betrayed and controlled the sovereignty of a nation of people who lived here first. This story never seems to end. In 2019,  Attorney General William Barr announced a plan to address the crisis of missing and murdered Native Americans. I wonder whether anything has changed.  GUESTS: David Grann - Staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of The Lost City of Z: Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon and Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI Denny McAuliffe - Editor at The Washington Post, adjunct professor in journalism at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and the author of The Deaths of Sybil Bolton: An American History Jim Gray - Former Principal Chief of the Osage Nation and current Tribal Administrator for the Sac and Fox Nation Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 10, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colin McEnroe Show alum Chion Wolf has a new show: Audacious. Hear this guest episode from her series! Last year, a 28-year-old guy in Mumbai tried to sue his parents -- who are both lawyers -- for having brought him into the world. He claims his parents didn’t get his consent to live. In addition to being a very bold person, he is an anti-natalist. That is, he believes that it is morally wrong to bring sentient life into this world -- no matter how charmed or how troubled that life is -- and that humanity should stop reproducing, full stop. Anti-natalism is not a novel concept. You can trace it as far back as some interpretations of the teachings of Buddah, and in ancient religious sects. Nowadays, the subreddit dedicated to anti-natalism has 70,000 members, and there are 15,000 people following the Facebook group the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. You'll hear from one of its leaders in this show. The screenwriter for the HBO series True Detective says that that the antinatalist beliefs of one of the main characters was inspired by the book Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming Into Existence by the philosopher David Benatar. You'll meet him too and learn a lot more about the belief that this world would have been better had none us been here in the first place. GUESTS: David Benatar - A professor and the head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, the author of Better Never to Have Been: The Harm of Coming into Existence and The Human Predicament: A Candid Guide to Life's Biggest Questions Les Knight - A volunteer with the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, and email. Catie Talarski contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.