The Colin McEnroe Show
Connecticut Public Radio
The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jan 24, 2019 • 51min
Deconstructing 'Deconstructing 'The Beatles''
When Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band had its 50th anniversary, we put together a show with famed Beatles lecturer Scott Freiman and famed Hartford music genius Steve Metcalf.And now that The White Album has had its 50th anniversary, we've gotten the band back together, and we're doing it again.This hour: a look at the best-selling album of the 1960s, The Beatles.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 23, 2019 • 50min
It's All Fun And Board Games On This Show!
Today's show might get a bit dicey. In fact, it's almost certainly headed for Trouble. And all we can say is Sorry, that's Life! Okay, fine, let's drop the Charades. Today's show is about board games. Is that a big enough Clue?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 22, 2019 • 49min
A (Video) Is Worth A Thousand Words
What we each saw in the short video (since deleted) that went viral this weekend of a Covington Catholic High School student staring at a Native American protestor on the National Mall is open to interpretation. Photos and videos carry the authority of truth, yet the 'truth' reflected in a video can vary, depending on what's included, what's left out and how it's framed.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 18, 2019 • 50min
The Spirit Is In The Music
Recently, I hopped into my car to go home after a long and grinding first day back to work. I had just returned the day before from a two-week vacation exploring the treasures of two foreign countries I had never seen before. The abrupt transition from play to work left me feeling quite blue, made worse by my receding memories of those weeks. Something in me needed music. So, I traded out my usual afternoon newscast for a "soul" song that caught my ear and brightened my heart. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 17, 2019 • 50min
Shyness Is Not For The Faint Of (Their Racing) Heart
I once took guitar lessons with a small group of people who met two nights a week in the basement of a local elementary school. We spent most of each lesson practicing in little nooks and crannies we each carved out in the old room. I enjoyed picking out tunes in my own little corner at my own pace. It was all going so smoothly until... the instructor mentioned the final "concert."Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 16, 2019 • 50min
Noah Baerman And 'The Rock & The Redemption'
The Noah Baerman Resonance Ensemble's The Rock & the Redemption is a jazz concept album of sorts that recasts the Sisyphus myth around the heroism of perseverance and persistence.Keyboardist and composer Noah Baerman joins us for the hour.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 15, 2019 • 49min
After We Die, Our Dust Will Live Forever
Dust is a fascinating substance. Our bodies are always shedding dust from our skin, hair, and nails, leaving little bits of DNA wherever we roam. Dust floats unseen through the air around us. It's light. It's hard to see unless it lands on a contrasting surface or crosses the path of a ray of sunshine. It can travel far and wide. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 14, 2019 • 49min
Trump And Putin; Secret FBI Investigation; Government Shutdown; Your Calls
Another weekend came, and another crop of revelations regarding President Donald Trump came with it.First out was The New York Times' report that the FBI grew so worried the president might be acting in Russia's interests that it secretly launched a counterintelligence investigation. That happened after Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, according to The Times. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 11, 2019 • 51min
The New Haven Nose On Imagine Dragons As The Worst Band Ever And 'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'
On Monday, Imagine Dragons played the Halftime Show at the College Football National Championship Game. The reviews were... not great. In fact, the performance has raised the question: Is Imagine Dragons the worst band ever?And: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is an interactive, choose-your-own-adventure-style, science fiction, psychological thriller film. It's streaming on Netflix, on some devices, as a standalone movie in the Black Mirror television series. The Nose has seen... a number of different versions of it.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jan 10, 2019 • 50min
To Hell With "Whom" (And More On The Inexorable Evolution Of Language)
Language is an untamable beast. You can decide that infinitives aren't to be split and that "whom" is the objective form of "who" and that "literally" literally means literally. But here's the thing: Language doesn't have to care one way or the other what nonsense you've decided.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
