

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 7, 2025 • 49min
The real lives of the Vikings
When you think of the Vikings, you probably picture a bearded man wearing a horned hat, pillaging on a Viking ship. But that's far from the whole story. This hour is all about the everyday lives of the Vikings with historian Eleanor Barraclough, from their homes and hair to their myths and music. GUEST: Eleanor Barraclough: Historian, writer, and broadcaster based at Bath Spa University; her new book is Embers of the Hands: Hidden Histories of The Viking Age 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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 6, 2025 • 49min
All calls: Robot throuples, The Golden Globes, AI and music, and more
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.

Jan 3, 2025 • 49min
A look at the bullying impact of the canon and the zeitgeist
Is there some thing that EVERYBODY seems to like that you’re just not that into? Star Wars? Game of Thrones? Seinfeld? The Beach Boys? Christopher Nolan? … Taylor Swift? Or what about some very current thing that seemingly everybody thinks is so interesting and cutting edge and exciting, but you just don’t like it? (For Colin, that very current thing is The Bear on TV.) What do you do when that happens? How do you feel about it? Embarrassed? Wrong? Defiant? This hour, a look at not liking all the things you’re “supposed” to like. GUESTS: John Dankosky: Director of news and audio for Science Friday, event and podcast host for The Connecticut Mirror, and co-owner of Lam Yoga in New Hartford, Connecticut David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College, and she’s the author of The Essays Only You Can Write Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek” Lindsay Lee Wallace: Writes about culture, health care and health equity, and other stuff, too 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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 20, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jan 2, 2025 • 49min
All Calls: Stealing punchlines, judging Colin, chaos Muppets part 2, and more
This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, 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, Jonathan McNicol, Dylan Reyes, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 30, 2024 • 50min
Live from Watkinson, it’s part 2 of our 2024 holiday spectacular
We’ve put on a holiday special every year for the last decade. But this year, for the first time, we did it in front of a (pretty large!) audience. On the night of December 18, Colin got 10 performers together onstage, and they rocked their way through an 18-song setlist of holiday and holiday-adjacent classics. There were nine different vocalists, three different pianists. Some of these folks had never met in person before soundcheck, but somehow it really worked! This hour, live from the Foisie Family Ampitheater at Watkinson School in Hartford, it’s part two of our annual holiday spectacular! GUESTS: Michelle Begley: Vocals and guitar, In Trine Kate Callahan: Vocals, In Trine Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar and vocals, The Shinolas Atla DeChamplain: Vocals, Atla & Matt Matt DeChamplain: Piano, Atla & Matt Lorne Entress: Drums and vocals, The Shinolas Latanya Farrell: Vocals Atticus Kelly: Piano and vocals, In Trine Steve Metcalf: Piano Cynthia Wolcott: Vocals, In Trine 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, Maegn Boone, Meg Dalton, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 30, 2024 • 48min
From the cereal aisle to the ballot box, how groceries shape our lives
Grocery prices were a regular talking point in this past election cycle. This hour is all about the grocery store. We talk about how items get on the shelves, the unique business model of Trader Joe's, and the factors that impact grocery prices. Plus, a look at the appeal of Costco. GUESTS: Benjamin Lorr: Author of The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket; his first book was Hell-Bent: Obsession, Pain, and the Search for Something Like Transcendence in Competitive Yoga Abha Bhattarai: Economics correspondent for The Washington Post Ben Ryder Howe: Contributor to The New York Times and author of My Korean Deli: Risking It All for a Convenience Store 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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired September 4, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 27, 2024 • 1h 14min
Our favorite jazz of 2024
As we have every year for at least the last 11 years, to round out the year, we round up the best jazz of the year. GUESTS: Jen Allen: A pianist, composer, arranger, and educator; her most recent album is Sifting Grace Noah Baerman: A pianist, composer, and educator; his newest album, from the Noah Baerman Trio, is Live at the Side Door Gene Seymour: A film, television, and music critic 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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 26, 2024 • 49min
Our relationship with rest is changing, and it’s about time
In the midst of this holiday week, we talk about the importance of rest, and how to rest well. Plus, we'll talk about the role of rest in religion, and look at the history of "the rest cure" in medicine. GUESTS: Alex Soojung-Kim Pang: Author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, and Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less—Here's How among other books Kristen Lucken: Program chair of religious studies, and lecturer in religion, sociology, and global studies at Brandeis University Alicia Puglionesi: Writer, historian, lecturer at Johns Hopkins, and author of In Whose Ruins: Power, Possession, and the Landscapes of American Empire, among other books 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, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 23, 2024 • 49min
All calls: Bathroom signage, Chaos Muppets, secrets, and more
This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dec 21, 2024 • 52min
Live from Watkinson, it’s part 1 of our 2024 holiday spectacular
We’ve put on a holiday special every year for the last decade. But this year, for the first time, we did it in front of a (pretty large!) audience. On the night of December 18, Colin got 10 performers together onstage, and they rocked their way through an 18-song setlist of holiday and holiday-adjacent classics. There were nine different vocalists, three different pianists. Some of these folks had never met in person before soundcheck, but somehow it really worked! This hour, live from the Foisie Family Ampitheater at Watkinson School in Hartford, it’s part one of our annual holiday spectacular! GUESTS: Michelle Begley: Vocals and guitar, In Trine Kate Callahan: Vocals, In Trine Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar and vocals, The Shinolas Atla DeChamplain: Vocals, Atla & Matt Matt DeChamplain: Piano, Atla & Matt Lorne Entress: Drums and vocals, The Shinolas Latanya Farrell: Vocals Atticus Kelly: Piano and vocals, In Trine Steve Metcalf: Piano Cynthia Wolcott: Vocals, In Trine 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, Maegn Boone, Meg Dalton, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.