The Colin McEnroe Show

Sam Mendes's World War I drama, 1917, is currently the #1 movie in America. It won Golden Globe Awards for Best Director and Best Picture -- Drama, and it's nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and Cinematography. The cinematography nomination is probably the least surprising one, as the entire movie is shot to look as though it was one long, unbroken take. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt could be about to become 'more than just friends' 'Very Male, Very White': Let's Talk About Those Oscar Nominations This playboy tortoise had so much sex he saved his entire species. Now he's going home Universal & Warner Bros. Form Home Entertainment Joint Venture Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G. Among 2020's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees The Treatment for Sign Stealing Isn't a Cure for MLB's Disease Cooler on the Other Side: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Stuart Scott New York Mayor Scorned Over His Favorite Bagel Order Irish Island Looking for Two People To Manage Its Coffee Shop Missouri could jail librarians for lending 'age-inappropriate' books GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan - Producing associate at TheaterWorks James Hanley - Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the years, our government has been involved in some pretty shady affairs. After eugenics and internment camps but before Watergate and Iran-Contra, came mind control. And just like the other ethically dubious projects mentioned, your tax dollars paid for it. Beginning in the 1940s, multiple U.S. intelligence agencies became interested in studying how they might control people's minds to the extent that they'd be willing divulge secret information or even act in a manner contrary to their own free will. The experiments were code named MKULTRA and involved the use of psychedelic drugs, radiation, isolation, and other forms of psychological harassment or torture. This hour, we'll speak with experts on the history of these experiments and ask how their results filtered down into the world we live in today.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life after death, in one form or another,  has been examined by multiple disciplines for centuries: From theology, to physics, to philosophy, to medicine and more. But while the topic is taken seriously by some, it remains a focus of ridicule and skepticism by others. Recently however, tests have been designed to unequivocally either prove or disprove this phenomenon once thought to be contestable. And the incredible stories of those claiming to have glimpsed what lies beyond continue to seduce and amaze. This hour we speak with an investigative journalist and medical doctors--believers and skeptics alike-- about the latest theories and evidence of life after death. This show is the fifth part of a new experiment: Radio for the Deaf. Watch a simulcast of signers from Source Interpreting interpreting our radio broadcast in American Sign Language via Facebook Live.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we air an updated version of the most recent episode of our weekly impeachment show, Pardon Me, which normally airs Saturdays at noon. Law professor Bruce Ackerman argues that President Trump's order to kill Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani is a far graver offense than his efforts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden. Think about it: He's bragging about his decision to kill a high-ranking official of another country. Will Chief Justice John Roberts save us? And that's the positive view on the show this week. Sarah Kendzior studies autocratic governments. She thinks we'd be foolish to believe there are limits to what the Trump administration would do -- whether jailing witnesses and whistleblowers, threatening protesters, or using nuclear weapons. GUESTS: Bruce Ackerman- The Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale and the author of nineteen books, including We the People, his three-volume work on American constitutional development Frankie Graziano - Reporter at Connecticut Public Radio Sarah Kendzior - A writer, researcher, and co-host of the podcast Gaslit Nation Chion Wolf - Producer, photographer, and announcer at Connecticut Public Radio Email us your questions at pardonme@ctpublic.org. 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.

We like to open the phones and hear what's on your minds. We never know what you're going to say but we love that you call us to say it.  Colin would like to start with the Oscar nominations. You let us know where you want to go from there. Maybe you want to stay there.  Call us at (888) 720-9677, which is also (888) 720-WNPR. You can also tweet us @wnprcolin or leave us a message on Facebook. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rise of Skywalker is the third and final movie in the third (and final?) trilogy -- the sequel trilogy in the trilogy of trilogies -- in the main, so-called "Skywalker Saga" of the Star Wars narrative. It's the eleventh Star Wars movie overall, the fifth since Disney bought Lucasfilm and took over the franchise, and the second directed by JJ Abrams (after The Force Awakens, the first of the Disney Star Wars films and the highest-grossing movie in the history of the United States). It is... somewhat divisive. The Nose weighs in. And: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced that they're backing away from their role as royals. Plus: Winter. You either hate it, or you love it. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: People are seeing 'Cats' while high out of their minds. These are their stories. Good Riddance to Ricky Gervais, the Sneering, Purposefully Intolerable Golden Globes Host The Golden Globes Sends a Message With Its Snub of The Irishman Witness the birth of the year's first meme with Tom Hanks' Golden Globes grimace Elizabeth Wurtzel, 'Prozac Nation' author who spurred a memoir boom, dies at 52 Report: Red Sox used replay room to steal signs in 2018 season John Mulaney Is Not So Square There are 2,373 squirrels in Central Park. I know because I helped count them. The Oscars Will Skip the Whole To-Do and Just Go Hostless Once Again Buck Henry Dies: 'The Graduate' Writer, 'Get Smart' Co-Creator & Early 'SNL' Favorite Was 89 Jupiter Is Flinging Comets Toward Earth Warner Bros. Will Use Artificial Intelligence to Help Decide Which Movies to Greenlight GOOP Has a Candle Called 'This Smells Like My Vagina' GUESTS: Rich Hollant - Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford Edwin Krakowiak - A navy vet going to school to become a middle school algebra teacher Helder Mira - Multimedia producer at Trinity College and a Cinestudio board member Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer, and she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ram Dass' 1971 book, "Be Here Now," was the gateway drug into spirituality for a lot of young people seeking answers in the era of Vietnam. Dass first tried being a psychology professor at Harvard, where he and colleague Timothy Leary sought God through experiments with psychedelics. Then, he went to India and found his guru, who taught him how to feel high without the drugs.  Many young people followed him to India, The chose to feed the hungry and serve the people, just as Ram Dass tended  to the dying, the blind, and the incarcerated. They searched for meaning away from the political tumult of 1960's America. There are parallels to today. Ram Dass died last month. But his words and life are inspiring a new generation of followers who are  using the teachings of Ram Dass to find something bigger than  the division and hatred evident in this political moment.  GUESTS:  Chris Grosso is a writer, public speaker, and author with Simon & Schuster. He’s also the host of The Indie Spiritualist Podcast on Ram Dass Be Here Now Network. Mirabai Bush - is a Senior Fellow of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society and a founding board member with Ram Dass of the Seva Foundation. She is co-author with Ram Dass of Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying Sharon Saltzberg is the Cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in and the author of 10 books, including NYT bestseller, “Lovingkindness." Her newest book, “Real Change: Mindfulness To Heal Ourselves and the World,” will be published this summer.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America and Iran have not had an easy relationship since 1979, when 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days by students supporting the Iranian Revolution. The resulting rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini further weakened the relationship. Decades later, Iran is still seen by much of the democratic world through the lens of political tension, war and mistrust of political leaders who for decades have called for death to America and the destruction of Israel. Yet over those decades, the people and culture of Iran have been quietly changing at the grassroots level, unnoticed amid the amplified political rhetoric that has kept Iran divided from much of the world. Connecticut is home for many Iranians who make our state a more diverse and desirable place to live and work. Yet, we don't mingle with one another enough, sticking instead to those with whom we feel most comfortable. Maybe it's time we take another look at Iran.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They're in the books we read, the shows we watch, and the art we hang on our walls. They conjure notions of might, magic, romance, and more. Castles, perhaps as much as any other architectural structure in history, define the landscape of our fantasy and imagination. But is our imagination an accurate lens through which to view these fortresses of ol'? And why, after hundreds of years, does our culture's fascination with these structures seem to be on the rise? This hour, we speak with experts and enthusiasts about the reality and mystique of castles. This show is the sixth part of a new experiment: Radio for the Deaf. Watch a simulcast of signers from Source Interpreting interpreting our radio broadcast in American Sign Language via Facebook Live.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last month, we launched a whole other show. It's a weekly show airing on Saturdays at noon and hitting your podcast feeds on Fridays most weeks hopefully. It's called Pardon Me (Another Damn Impeachment Show?). It's about all the latest trends and tech in the world of industrial welding. Wait, no. That's not right. It's about the impeachment, silly. And so this hour, in lieu of your regular Monday Colin McEnroe Show, we present to you the fifth episode of our new impeachment show, Pardon Me. It's a little bit of a new adventure for us, and we hope you'll come along for the ride. GUESTS: Vanessa Friedman - Fashion director and chief fashion critic for The New York Times 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 several books including Impeachment: What Everyone Needs To Know Bill Yousman - Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University Chion Wolf - Producer, photographer, and announcer at Connecticut Public Radio Thanks to Eugene Amatruda. Email us your questions at pardonme@ctpublic.org. 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.