The Colin McEnroe Show

For the past few months, Nose regular Jacques Lamarre has been posting debate-starting, head-to-head style Facebook posts. Taylor Swift vs. Katy Perry. Ketchup vs. mustard vs. mayonnaise. When Harry Met Sally vs. Sleepless in Seattle. That kind of thing. And so now, we've decided to try to turn the concept into a radio show. This hour, YOU MUST CHOOSE.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joyce Maynard has been writing for over 45 years about the kind of human experiences we're often taught to keep hidden - stories  about envy, anger, vanity, self-pity, pride.   We read her stories because they offer a chance to first confront and then forgive ourselves for how those emotions can shape us into people we don't like.  Her honesty has come at a cost to her.  She has been criticized for writing about her relationship as an 18-year-old with a famous 53-year-old writer after 26 years of silence. She was told she should have kept quiet.  She did this 20 years before #MeToo. Today, we have a wide-ranging discussion with Joyce Maynard about politics, #MeToo, art, music and her marriage at 59-years-old to a love who died from cancer 3 short years later.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was hard to watch the first part of Leaving Neverland, the documentary which aired on HBO aired on March 3. The poignancy of the mixed emotions expressed by two men and their mothers who fell under the spell of Michael Jackson and later, his predation, left me feeling like a fly on the wall of a particularly difficult visit to a therapist. I was forced to consider my own complicity in how we collectively create and reward a celebrity culture that allows us to suspend reality against our own better judgment. We've seen time and again in the recent year with Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, and R. Kelly, to name a few, and how it takes a village to let serial predators go unscathed in the name of art and profit. Also this hour: The cheating and doping scandals in the world of professional bridge. Lastly, we take your calls. Have we hit peak cancel culture yet? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nobody likes the termite. They get into the wood in our homes that can lead to infuriating and expensive repairs. What's to like. It turns out, there's a lot to like about the termite; scientists study how termites build their "mounds" for clues to solving some of the world's most pressing problems, like mitigating the effects of drought, building colonies on Mars, and the creation of biofuels. Plus, their ability to adapt to the harshest conditions over millions of years says a lot about them. Almost 90% of the microbes found in their guts are unique to the termite. Those same gut microbes are what make them so productive and on the flip side, so destructive. Lastly, some believe termites work with joy and have a soul. You be the judge.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do we dance? The answer is more complicated than you might think. Dancing has served a multitude of functions for various cultures throughout history, and there is even evidence to suggest we, as a species, are biologically hard-wired to dance.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You have pain that wakes you up at night and distracts you during the day. You go to the doctor, who asks you to grade your pain on a scale of 1-10. The doctor can't find anything wrong with you; it may be stress or anxiety or that you need more exercise or sleep. You're confused. You feel pain but nothing seems to be wrong. Does this sound familiar?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We were going to produce a show today on loneliness with British writer Olivia Laing. We still want to do that show with Olivia - but not today.Instead, we decided to switch gears and talk with Olivia and other artists about the themes in Olivia's new novel because they mirror our own concerns: how to live life in this fast-moving world where the present is history in the blink of an eye and world leaders can end our world with one wrong tweet? How can we exist, create art, raise children, commit to a future in a world that could be ending?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we remember Peter Tork of The Monkees. This show originally aired April 25, 2013.John Lennon said they were the greatest comedy team since the Marx Brothers.Gene Roddenberry based the look of the character Chekov on them. The Jimi Hendrix Experience got its first U.S. concert work as their opening act.  Their TV show generated the money that launched the movie career of Jack Nicholson.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a year of aborted missteps for the Academy Awards. There was going to be a new Best Popular Picture category. But now there won't be. Kevin Hart was going to host. But now there's nobody. They were going to present four awards -- including Film Editing and Cinematography -- during the commercial breaks. But now they aren't.Oh and there're the actual movies. Roma and The Favourite lead the field with 10 nominations each. A Star Is Born was once the favorite (no "u") to win in a bunch of categories. But now bettors' odds seem to favor Roma. Or maybe Green Book? And A Star Is Born? Its Best Picture hopes have fallen all the way to 40-1 against.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Religious scholar Elaine Pagels, trusted the Gospel of Thomas to get her through the almost unbearably painful years after the death of her six-year-old son -- born with a congenital heart defect -- followed one year later by the unexpected death of her husband. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.