The Colin McEnroe Show

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. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the seat of departing Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy had already widened the chasm between Democrats and Republicans before allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh blew it wide open. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rust is all around us. It's in our cars, our homes, our infrastructure. It's also the subject of Jonathan Waldman's first book, Rust, which introduces us to the people who fight it.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The celebrity profile is dead. Or dying, at least, according to The New York Times. Case in point: the Times's own terrible profile of the great Maya Rudolph. Counterpoint: The Washington Post's fascinating, and self-eviscerating, profile of the formerly great Chevy Chase.And: Nicole Holofcener's new movie is a Netflix adaptation of Ted Thompson's novel of the same name, The Land of Steady Habits. You'll never guess where it's set. (Actually, you might not. I'm pretty sure it's never said in the movie, and they shot it in Tarrytown, New York. But it's meant to be Westport, Conn., which is why The Nose is covering it.)Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How well do we really know the poor? As our nation's economy grows and the jobless rate decreases, are we increasingly ignoring their voices? Haven't we always ignored them?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.

There's a mostly forgotten story by the mostly forgotten sci-fi writer, R.A. Lafferty. It's called, "What's The Name of That Town." We meet a team of scientists and an amusing sentiant computer examining clues that suggested something existed once upon a time and has now been erased.It turns out to be the city of Chicago which has been obliterated in an accident so traumatic that the city's existence has been wiped from all records and from peoples actual memories. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we have no guests. We want to hear from you. We canceled our previously planned show so we could dedicate the entire hour to understanding how you are feeling about the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the  Supreme Court.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actress Cynthia Nixon lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary in New York yesterday. Did she lose because of the kind of bagel she eats? Probably not. But from the Nose's point of view, what could really matter more than that?And Vulture, last week -- "as the discourse rages on about whether or not political correctness is destroying comedy (spoiler alert: it isn't)" -- ran a piece on the jokes comedians regret. But here's the real question: Do we want comedians regretting their jokes, tasteless or not?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Color doesn't exist on its own.A red rose will look different to me than it does to you. It will also look different to a pigeon, who can see way more shades and tints than most humans can see. Remember the 2015 debate over the dress? Gold & white,  blue & black or yes, some saw brown & light purple. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.