The Colin McEnroe Show

It could be argued that you will never understand yourself if you don’t understand the universe. And the universe is full of both beautiful and scary things. At least once, something has come roaring out of the skies to reconfigure completely life on earth. So it might be a good idea to study the heavens. If it’s a clear night, we’ll have telescopes outdoors, but one of the many misconceptions about astronomy is that it’s entirely visual. There are blind astronomers and ways to “hear” the stars. One way or another, we’re going to blow your mind.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Between November of 2016 and June of 2018, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) saw it's membership jump from 5,000 to over 40,000.  This hour we'll explore what socialism means today, and why the ideology is having a resurgence. Plus, why are more young people getting involved in the movement? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The significance of being confirmed as Connecticut's first African-American state Supreme Court chief justice last May didn't fully sink in for Richard A. Robinson until a class of mostly minority students recently showed up to the Hartford court building for a tour. Robinson came down from his office to give a presentation to the children packed in the courtroom gallery. "You would have thought Barack Obama had walked in," he recalls during our initial call leading to today's show. "You could just sense a change in the room." The class wanted to know when his portrait would be going up on the wall next to the all-white chief justices who served before him. Robinson says he believes he opened many young eyes to how bright their futures could become. Robinson's goals as the new head of the Connecticut Judicial Branch center around working toward a time when everyone who enters a courthouse's doors, regardless of their background, is confident they will receive equal justice under the law. In his spare time, he's a 4th-degree black belt in the Tang Soo Do martial arts. He's also fluent in Middle English. We talk to him about his life as chief justice and how he got there.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is country music? If you ask Billboard, it’s definitely not Lil Nas X’s viral sensation, and the number one song in America, “Old Town Road”. The song, which was also remixed with country star Billy Ray Cyrus, has country themes, vibes, and sounds country, but Billboard booted it off their country charts.  Still, Lil Nas X, Cyrus, and a big swath of the country love the song regardless of its genre and can’t stop lip-singing to it on social media. Today, The Nose hops on the “Old Town Road”. Plus, we cover the HBO series Barry. SNL alum Bill Hader co-created the series and he also stars, directs and writes the show. Hader plays Barry Berkman, a contract killer who is attempting to leave that life behind him while pursuing his new passion, acting. But he keeps killing people. This week the series was picked up for season three, so HBO definitely likes it. Today, the Nose takes on season two. Finally, we tackle Lucky Lee’s restaurant in New York.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's much more to vending machines than those tasty, preservative-laden treats temptingly lined up on display behind the glass casing. Today we take a magical voyage to find out what these snack dispensers tell us about how we live, what we value, our stresses, and our restraints. Along the way, we check in with a local author and Hartford Courant columnist who devoured one of each snack in her workplace vending machine one afternoon without being rushed to the hospital. We discuss their role in the nation's obesity epidemic, and why they rarely offer healthy eating choices. We discover the fascinatingly strange (warm corn chowder, camouflage watches), sometimes disgusting (used women's underpants) products they pump out in Japan. And we look at what they are legally not able to offer here in Connecticut. As Yale students found out, that includes emergency contraceptives. Could self-pouring beer machines be in the state's near future? What about machine serving delicious, ready-to-eat bacon?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women scientists and inventors have been making ground-breaking discoveries since Agnodike pretended to be a man in order to become the first female anatomist in ancient Greece. Yet, women's scientific contributions have historically been hidden in the footnotes of the work men claimed as their own.  It's 2019. Things are better, right?  Not really. Men still hold the majority of patents, and systemic biases still lead to lower pay, less authorship for scientific papers, and overt and subtle forms of harassment. Women scientists of color and those in the LGBTQ community feel it the most. Yet, women scientists are banding together to call out bias and give credit where it's due -- one Wikipedia page at a time.  Today, we talk to four of them.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is really going to be the cat’s pajamas. Or is it pyjamas? Do cats even wear pajamas? Why would they? Why do we? Should any of us wear pajamas at all? And if we do don a pair, are they only for bed? Or should pajamas have their day in the sun? If our PJs are making a fashion statement just what exactly are they saying? We’re talking today about what we wear to bed, but who knows? Does not wearing pajamas to bed have health and other benefits once we settle in under the covers?  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since 1989, more than 2,000 people have been identified as victims of wrongful convictions in the U.S. In 2015 and 2016, the wrongfully convicted were exonerated at a rate of about three per week. This hour, a look at the reality of, psychology behind, and institutionalized pressures toward wrongful convictions in America.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Will Leitch, from New York Magazine, wrote that "The Era of the Old Athlete is Over." Is it? And what does this mean for the future of sports?    And, what's so bad about slicing your bagel like bread? You may have heard of "Bagelgate." We'll discuss the ins and outs of slicing your bagel in half, or into slices.    And finally: Tim Burton has directed a live action re-make of Dumbo. Our panel gives their take on the new film, and it's relationship to the original. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joni Mitchell is a singer-songwriter from Alberta, Canada. In 1968, her debut album, Song to a Seagull, was released and since then, Mitchell has become one of the most influential, and greatest recording artists. Mitchell has won nine Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, countless musical awards, and her albums are considered as among the best ever made. We’re big fans. It turns out we’re not alone. Today, we talk to a few friends of the show to discuss Mitchell’s influence on them while listening to their favorite Joni songs. Plus, we chat with Mitchell biographer David Yaffe who recently wrote Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.