The Colin McEnroe Show

We've entered a moment where the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is a celebrity. You can buy donuts with his face on them. A petition to make him People's Sexiest Man Alive has more than 13,000 signatures. And, yes, sales of Dr. Anthony Fauci bobblehead dolls have raised more than $100,000. At the same time, how do we find community in this time of COVID and quarantine and social distance? And then: The Plot Against America is HBO's miniseries based on Philip Roth's novel. It's an alternative history written 16 years ago -- and set 80 years ago -- with undeniable echos of our present politics. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Al Kaline, Detroit Tigers legend, dies at age 85 John Prine, Hero Of 'New' Nashville, Dies After Developing COVID-19 Symptoms Mort Drucker, Master of the Mad Caricature, Is Dead at 91His illustrations of celebrities for Mad magazine's movie and television satires inspired countless cartoonists. Actors, politicians and others knew they had made it when he drew them. Lee Fierro, 'Jaws' Actor, Dies of Coronavirus at 91 David Driskell, 88, Pivotal Champion of African-American Art, DiesAn artist himself, Professor Driskell recognized the role of black artists in the broader story of American art. He died of the coronavirus. Hal Willner, 'SNL' Staple And Acclaimed Music Producer, Has Died Thank god for the internetWhat the hell would be happening now without it? When All the Zingers Were Fit To PrintIn 1978, a mischievous band of writers that included George Plimpton and Nora Ephron teamed up to create a spoof of The New York Times. Turns out, Times journalists were among them. Rules for Using the Sidewalk During the CoronavirusGoing outside is still a joy. But we all need to do more to walk and run while social distancing. What to Stream: Forty of the Best Movies on Netflix Right Now Why Animal Crossing Is the Game for the Coronavirus MomentWith the world in the grip of a pandemic, the wildly popular game is a conveniently timed piece of whimsy, particularly for millennials. Trump order encourages US to mine the moonExecutive order says US will oppose any international effort to bar it from removing chunks of moon, Mars or elsewhere in space Radiohead to Stream Classic Concert Films on YouTube During Quarantine GUESTS: Rich Hollant - Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford 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.

My son, Simon, is a year old. His mother and his grandmother are both librarians. His father is, well, me. Simon is, predictably, obsessed with books. Back before everything changed, we'd gotten into a pretty good reading routine. Every morning before Simon went to his grandparents', we'd read a big pile of books. Every evening when I got home from work, we'd read a big pile of books. We'd read Goodnight Moon. We'd read The Little Blue Truck. We'd read Peek-a Who? and Peek-a Moo! and Peek-a Zoo! We'd read Who Hoots? and Who Hops? We'd read Dear Zoo and Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? and Each Peach Pear Plum and Spooky, Spooky, Little Bat and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? And then we'd probably read them all again. Now that our whole family stays home all day every day, we still do all the reading. What's lost is the routine. What's lost is any sort of limit at all. From Simon's point of view, there's nothing to stop us from reading all day every day, from when he jams me in the back with his copy of The Mixed-Up Chameleon too early in the morning until he falls asleep wearing one sock and with a clump of Cheerios somehow stuck in his diaper too late at night. If you've got smallish kids and you're staying home these days, children's literature has undoubtedly become a much larger part of your life than you'd ever bargained for. This hour, a look at what it's like reading kids' books as an adult. GUESTS: Bruce Handy - The author of Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult Julia Pistell - Managing director of Sea Tea Improv and cohost of the Literary Disco podcast 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.

Your sex life doesn't have to suffer just because you're cooped up at home every day. Researchers say that sex is a healthy way to calm the anxiety of pandemic, even if you live alone. Virtual dating, masturbation, and coronavirus-related porn are more popular than ever. Some sex researchers think our desire for sex in the middle of a pandemic is one way we cope with the prospect of our own mortality. But not everyone reacts in the same way. Some lose their desire for sex, especially when you pile on added stressors like losing a job, having kids home from school, or working in a higher-risk job. Also this hour: How will coronavirus change the way we think about touching others? We take a look at sex, dating, and relationships in the shadow of coronavirus. GUESTS: Justin Lehmiller - A research fellow at the Kinsey Institute, the founder and editor of the Sex and Psychology blog, and the author of Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life Lisa Bonos- Writes about dating and relationships for the Washington Post Amy Weissfeld - A somatic sex educator and masturbation coach Cathrine Jansson-Boyd - A consumer psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Catie Talarski, Gene Amatruda, TJ Coppola, and Joe Coss contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ocean Vuong emigrated to Hartford from Vietnam when he was two years old. His family brought with them the trauma of an American-led war that ravaged their people and their culture. How do they retain their culture and assimilate into one that doesn't want them? His family struggled in a Hartford very different from the city that many of us experience. It's a place that still exists in the shadows. Ocean’s family is a snapshot into a bigger and more pervasive picture of the problems in America that many choose to hide -- the toll of low-wage work, poverty, drugs, violence, and the erasure of histories and ways of living life that don't fit neatly into the American myth. Ocean's first novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, is an American story, albeit one about the failure of America. This is an excerpt. GUEST: Ocean Vuong - A poet and the author of the novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 17, 2019.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic is making us reflect on what we value as people and a country. We don't yet know how much COVID-19 will change life as we knew it before the pandemic. We do know that it must change. We're learning to respect each other's space. The internet is becoming a kinder place. And we shouldn't accept political leaders who can't lead. GUESTS: Gia Kourlas - Dance critic for The New York Times Tanya Basu - Senior reporter for MIT Technology Review covering the intersection of technology and humans Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Gene Amatruda, Joe Coss, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The novel coronavirus has started to take its toll on figures from our popular culture. Adam Schlesinger, who founded Fountains of Wayne and wrote songs for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend among other things, died on Wednesday. The great playwright Terrence McNally died last week. The list goes on: songwriter Alan Merrill, country music star Joe Diffie, fashion designer Jenny Polanco, college basketball star Dave Edwards, actor Mark Blum, soccer star Lorenzo Sanz. And it seems like the jazz community has been especially vulnerable: guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, pianists Ellis Marsalis and Mike Longo, and trumpeter Wallace Roney have all died. And then: Dave is an FXX comedy series that tells a fictionalized version of the rise of rapper Lil Dicky, and John Mulaney & The Sack Lunch Bunch is a Netflix children's special that Mulaney made "on purpose." Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: 'Lean On Me,' 'Lovely Day' singer Bill Withers dies at 81 The Stupidest [...] Movies Guaranteed To Make You Laugh During This CatastropheWho needs a plot right now? Let’s just slap some jokes in our faces instead You Can Watch the First 8 Minutes of 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Online Now April fools' day is canceled, you monstersDon't you dare, brands Joe Buck: Stop Sending Me Your Sex Tapes ... I'm Not Gonna Narrate Them!!! Llandudno marauders: the herd of goats running riot through a Welsh townTaking advantage of the town’s deserted streets because of the coronavirus lockdown, the goats have been branded vandals for munching through gardens Companies Avoid Advertising Next to Coronavirus NewsThe name of the virus overtakes 'Trump' as the keyword blocked by the most brands, a problem for digital news publishers New York is one of the world's great cities for the arts -- but the damage from the pandemic is proving to be catastrophic Ina Garten Made A Giant Cocktail For Herself At 9:30 A.M. And Now She's My Quaranqueen Tom Perrotta's 'The Leftovers' imagined 2 percent of the population disappearing. That could be our reality. Shudder Subscriptions Are Surging During the Coronavirus Pandemic HBO's #StayHomeBoxOffice Campaign Is Offering Hundreds of Hours of Programming for Free Uranus blasted a gas bubble 22,000 times bigger than EarthIt happened back in 1986 -- but it could happen again. GUESTS: Stosh Mikita - A stand-up comedian and writer based in New Haven Mercy Quaye - Founder and principal consultant for The Narrative Project and a columnist with Hearst Connecticut Media Group 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.

You can find lots of advice about how to avoid feeling bored during this pandemic. There are virtual dance parties and home safaries, lists of what to read and watch, and yoga classes on Zoom. Boredom is a difficult emotion for most of us. Almost 3,500 people living under quarantine in Italy shared on a survey last week that boredom has been one of the hardest parts of staying inside. We go out of our way to avoid feeling it, like the students who chose electric shock over feeling bored. Why can't we allow ourselves to be bored? Too much boredom can lead to depression and risky behavior. But it can also deepen awareness and inspire creativity. And one person's boredom is another person's pleasure. Henrietta Swan-Leavitt was an astronomer at Harvard College Observatory who spent 20 years beginning in 1895 scanning photographic plates to catalogue the brightness of stars. GUESTS: Sandi Mann - Senior psychology lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire and the author of The Upside of Downtime: Why Boredom Is Good Kate Green - A poet, essayist, and former laser physicist; her book, Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration, and Life on Earth, will be published in July Krystal Douglas - The owner of Music City Sewing, a company that sews custom costumes for entertainers and is currently sewing masks for health care workers 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.

From ancient mixtures of boiled goat fats and ashes to modern artisanal soaps with calendula and coffee grinds, humans have been inventing clever ways of cleaning themselves since the very beginning. This quest for cleanliness has wound its way through religion, sexuality, culture, and more. It has been the source of everything from comedies to conflicts to consumer crazes. This hour we talk to experts and historians about the history of hygiene. GUESTS: Katherine Ashenburg - Toronto-based author of several prize-winning books including The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History and All the Dirt: A History of Getting Clean Virginia Smith - Historian, honorary fellow of the Centre for History in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and author of Clean: A History of Personal Hygiene and Purity Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired February 15, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For those who put their trust in science, it's hard to understand why anyone wouldn't. But in recent decades, the voices of skeptics have grown louder by the day. From average citizens to media personalities to high-ranking government officials, it seems even the most irrefutable scientific findings are being challenged. Is it the scientists themselves, their research methods, or how their findings often challenge deeply held values that fuels this mistrust? On today's show we'll explore this phenomenon and discuss how, during the current pandemic, our ability to trust science is more important than ever. GUESTS: Naomi Oreskes - Professor of the history of science at Harvard University and the author of several books, including the recently-released Why Trust Science? Jane Lytvynenko - Senior reporter for Buzzfeed News reporting most recently on disinformation, scams, and conspiracies surrounding the coronavirus and COVID-19 Lise Saffran - Director of the Master of Public Health Program at University of Missouri and Co-chair of the Health Humanities Consortium; lead author of "Constructing and influencing perceived authenticity in science communication" Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Catie Talarski, Gene Amatruda, Joe Coss, and T.J. Coppola contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William Wetmore Story sculpted The Angel of Grief for his wife's grave after her death in 1894. He wrote that it was the only way he could express his feelings of utter abandonment. It was his last work before his own death one year later. We may not readily identify grief in the gamut of emotions we're feeling during this pandemic. We haven't lost the kind of love expressed through William Story's sculpture, but loss is very much at the center of our new reality. We are collectively grieving the loss of a world that has changed forever. Also this hour: There's a growing movement of people who want to walked back his desire to reopen the economy by Easter on Sunday evening, there remains an unsettling push to prioritize the economy over certain groups of people. Lastly, we must resist blaming "others" for viruses we can't control. GUESTS: Gregg Gonsalves - Assistant professor of epidemiology and the co-director of the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale School of Public Health David Kessler - The author of five books and the founder of grief.com; his latest book is Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief Ian Buruma - Professor of human rights and journalism at Bard College Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Catie Talarski, Gene Amatruda, Joe Coss, and T.J. Coppola contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.