The Colin McEnroe Show

Trump’s trial. AI. Online learning. Everything’s a “Pandora's Box." This hour, we discuss the myth and the metaphor of Pandora's Box. Plus, a look at human curiosity. GUESTS:  Natalie Haynes: Author of six books, including the nonfiction work Pandora’s Jar, and the novels A Thousand Ships and Stone Blind Maria Tatar: Professor of folklore and mythology at Harvard University. Her latest book is The Heroine with 1001 Faces Federico Rossano: Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of California San Diego 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 August 29, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Thurston Harris and Crash Test Dummies to that noise your refrigerator makes, humming sounds are all around us (especially if you’ve been to Windsor, Ontario). This hour, musical humming, mysterious humming, and how humming could be good for your health. GUESTS: Colin Novak: Associate professor at the University of Windsor Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, professor at Berklee College of Music and co-author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You Gunjan Trivedi: Co-founder of Wellness Space and an author of several studies exploring the benefits of humming on stress and health 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, Jonathan McNicol, Bradley O’Connor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired July 25, 2024.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 the FX on Hulu series Say Nothing and parallels to the Israel-Hamas war, “Whatever You Say, Say Nothing,” A Charlie Brown Christmas on Apple TV+, the windshield phenomenon, the regionally different lilt of sentences, whether or not the Democrats will ever get it together … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. 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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we look at the idea of the Western canon and those books that are considered “classics.” We talk about what’s in the canon, what isn’t and what should be, and how it evolves. Plus, we talk about The Atlantic’s recent list of “The Great American Novels.” And we learn about a publishing company that is experimenting with artificial intelligence to bring classic books alive for a new audience. GUESTS: Gal Beckerman: Senior editor for books at The Atlantic Laura Kipnis: Cultural critic, essayist, and the author of Love in the Time of Contagion: A Diagnosis, among other books Roosevelt Montás: Senior lecturer in American studies and English at Columbia University and the author of Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation James Mustich: Author of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die 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 Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired July 24, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a look at refrigeration and how it’s shaped what we eat and how we live with Nicola Twilley, author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves. Plus, we’ll take a look at what we can learn about someone from the inside and outside of their refrigerator. GUESTS:  Nicola Twilley: Co-host of the podcast Gastropod and author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves Peyton Dix: Social media strategist, content creator, writer, and co-host of the podcast Lemme Say This   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 Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 11, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22, 1963. It would be hard to argue that the modern American era, the era that we’re still living in more than 60 years later, didn’t begin on that Friday afternoon in Dallas. It would be hard to overstate the effect and influence of that event, that act on the American psyche. This hour, a look at the shadow that the JFK assassination still casts over our news and politics, our movies and music, our media and culture. GUESTS: Stephen Battaglio: Writes about television and the media business for the Los Angeles Times Timothy Hampton: The author of several books, including Bob Dylan: How the Songs Work Sean O’Neal: A writer, a contributor to Texas Monthly, and the former editor-in-chief of The A.V. Club Steve Rose: Assistant features editor at The Guardian Philip Shenon: The author of A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination 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, Joey Morgan, Cat Pastor, Lateshia Peters, Dylan Reyes, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired November 22, 2017, and November 22, 2023, in a different form.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a look at the myth of Sisyphus, and how we invoke it today. Plus, we'll hear from a musician who has found inspiration in the story, and we'll discuss when it's time to give up. GUESTS:  Joel Christensen: Professor of Classical Studies and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at Brandeis University. His newest book is The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic Noah Baerman: Pianist, composer, and educator. He is director of the Wesleyan University Jazz Ensemble and artistic director of the nonprofit Resonance Motion. His most recent album is Live at the Side Door Joshua Rothman: The New Yorker’s Ideas Editor, who writes the weekly column “Open Questions” Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zero is considered by many mathematicians to maybe be humanity’s greatest achievement. This hour, a look at the strange and essential concept of the number zero and how the human brain deals with it. Plus: the trend toward zero-sugar and zero-calorie sodas. And: 0 (and 00) as a uniform number in sports. GUESTS: Emily Contois: Associate professor of media studies at The University of Tulsa and the author of Diners, Dudes, and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide in Food Media and Culture Todd Radom: A designer, sports branding expert, and writer Yasemin Saplakoglu: A staff writer covering biology for Quanta Magazine The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, SpotifyAmazon 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, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some women in the United States are adopting the 4B Movement from South Korea: no marriage, no childbirth, no dating, and no sex. This hour we take stock of that movement globally, and the history of other similar movements, including one depicted in an ancient Greek play, Lysistrata. GUESTS:  Min Joo Lee: Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Occidental College Cécile Simmons: Researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue focusing on gender, extremism and digital culture. Her forthcoming book is Ctrl Hate Delete: The New Anti-Feminist Backlash and How We Fight It Tania Shew: Research fellow at the University of Oxford, who has a book under contract tentatively titled Sex Strikes and Suffragettes  Elizabeth Bobrick: Visiting Scholar in Wesleyan’s Department of Classical studies Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.