The Colin McEnroe Show

This hour, we look at the idea of the Western canon and those books that are considered “classics.” We talk about what’s in the canon, what isn’t and what should be, and how it evolves. Plus, we talk about The Atlantic’s recent list of “The Great American Novels.” And we learn about a publishing company that is experimenting with artificial intelligence to bring classic books alive for a new audience. GUESTS: Gal Beckerman: Senior editor for books at The Atlantic Laura Kipnis: Cultural critic, essayist, and the author of Love in the Time of Contagion: A Diagnosis, among other books Roosevelt Montás: Senior lecturer in American studies and English at Columbia University and the author of Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation James Mustich: Author of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die 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, Eugene Amatruda, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired July 24, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a look at refrigeration and how it’s shaped what we eat and how we live with Nicola Twilley, author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves. Plus, we’ll take a look at what we can learn about someone from the inside and outside of their refrigerator. GUESTS:  Nicola Twilley: Co-host of the podcast Gastropod and author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves Peyton Dix: Social media strategist, content creator, writer, and co-host of the podcast Lemme Say This   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, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.  Colin McEnroe and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 11, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22, 1963. It would be hard to argue that the modern American era, the era that we’re still living in more than 60 years later, didn’t begin on that Friday afternoon in Dallas. It would be hard to overstate the effect and influence of that event, that act on the American psyche. This hour, a look at the shadow that the JFK assassination still casts over our news and politics, our movies and music, our media and culture. GUESTS: Stephen Battaglio: Writes about television and the media business for the Los Angeles Times Timothy Hampton: The author of several books, including Bob Dylan: How the Songs Work Sean O’Neal: A writer, a contributor to Texas Monthly, and the former editor-in-chief of The A.V. Club Steve Rose: Assistant features editor at The Guardian Philip Shenon: The author of A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination 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, Joey Morgan, Cat Pastor, Lateshia Peters, Dylan Reyes, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired November 22, 2017, and November 22, 2023, in a different form.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a look at the myth of Sisyphus, and how we invoke it today. Plus, we'll hear from a musician who has found inspiration in the story, and we'll discuss when it's time to give up. GUESTS:  Joel Christensen: Professor of Classical Studies and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at Brandeis University. His newest book is The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic Noah Baerman: Pianist, composer, and educator. He is director of the Wesleyan University Jazz Ensemble and artistic director of the nonprofit Resonance Motion. His most recent album is Live at the Side Door Joshua Rothman: The New Yorker’s Ideas Editor, who writes the weekly column “Open Questions” Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zero is considered by many mathematicians to maybe be humanity’s greatest achievement. This hour, a look at the strange and essential concept of the number zero and how the human brain deals with it. Plus: the trend toward zero-sugar and zero-calorie sodas. And: 0 (and 00) as a uniform number in sports. GUESTS: Emily Contois: Associate professor of media studies at The University of Tulsa and the author of Diners, Dudes, and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide in Food Media and Culture Todd Radom: A designer, sports branding expert, and writer Yasemin Saplakoglu: A staff writer covering biology for Quanta Magazine The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, SpotifyAmazon 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, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some women in the United States are adopting the 4B Movement from South Korea: no marriage, no childbirth, no dating, and no sex. This hour we take stock of that movement globally, and the history of other similar movements, including one depicted in an ancient Greek play, Lysistrata. GUESTS:  Min Joo Lee: Assistant Professor of Asian Studies at Occidental College Cécile Simmons: Researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue focusing on gender, extremism and digital culture. Her forthcoming book is Ctrl Hate Delete: The New Anti-Feminist Backlash and How We Fight It Tania Shew: Research fellow at the University of Oxford, who has a book under contract tentatively titled Sex Strikes and Suffragettes  Elizabeth Bobrick: Visiting Scholar in Wesleyan’s Department of Classical studies Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

Note: This episode contains strong language. Griffin Dunne is Jack Goodman in John Landis’ classic horror-comedy An American Werewolf in Londonand Paul Hackett in Martin Scorsese’s After Hours and Loudon Trout in the Madonna-starring screwball comedy Who’s That Girl. He’s Uncle Nicky on This Is Us and Professor Dudenoff on Only Murders in the Building and Dr. Alon Parfit on Succession and Sylvére on I Love Dick. He produced After Hours and Running on Empty and Once Around. He directed Practical Magic and Addicted to Love and the documentary Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold. His father was the journalist and novelist and movie producer Dominick Dunne. His aunt and uncle were the journalists and novelists and screenwriters Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne. His sister was the actress Dominique Dunne. His grandfather was a famous heart surgeon from West Hartford, Connecticut. Last week, we recorded a conversation with Griffin Dunne on stage at The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford. It’s a lot about that complicated, sometimes tragic, often hilarious family. And it’s about movies and TV and writing. And Hartford. This hour: Griffin Dunne. GUEST: Griffin Dunne: An actor, producer, and director and the author of The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir 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.

You probably know Brian Reed from his hit award-winning series "S-Town." Now, Brian has a new podcast, "Question Everything," where he is re-examining everything about journalism. Today Brian Reed joins us for the full show to talk about what he's discovered. GUEST:  Brian Reed: Host and producer of the new podcast “Question Everything” from KCRW and Placement Theory, which you can find wherever you get your podcasts. He also hosted and executive produced the podcast series “S-Town” and “The Trojan Horse Affair” Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Franz Kafka died 100 years ago, but his work is still very much alive today in literature classes and, surprisingly, on social media. This hour, we look at Kafka’s life and legacy, discuss the “Kafkaesque,” and investigate why the author resonates so much today. Plus, we revisit his most famous work, “The Metamorphosis,” and talk with a zoologist about the idea of turning into an insect. GUESTS: Benjamin Balint: Author of Kafka’s Last Trial; his latest book is Bruno Schulz: An Artist, A Murder, and the Hijacking of History Tim Coulson: Professor of zoology at the University of Oxford; his latest book is The Science of Why We Exist: A History of the Universe from the Big Bang to Consciousness Margarita Mouka: Content creator and creative executive; her TikTok handle is @aquariuscat444 Karolina Watroba: Post-doctoral research fellow in modern languages at Oxford’s All Souls College and the author of Metamorphoses: In Search of Franz Kafka 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, Jonathan McNicol, and Bradley O’Connor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 8, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.