
The Colin McEnroe Show
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.
Latest episodes

Jun 27, 2024 • 49min
It’s a whole song and dance: The joy of marching bands
Marching bands are now a staple at halftimes. But why? This hour, we discuss the art of the marching band. We’ll talk about all of the work that goes into coordinating them, and the evolution of marching band music and competitions. Plus, a look at the history of halftime. GUESTS: Justin McManus: Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Connecticut Dylan Reyes: Occasional board operator for The Colin McEnroe Show who marched competitively through high school Mark Dyreson: Professor of Kinesiology and Affiliate Professor of History at Penn State, where he is also Co-Director of Research and Educational Programs for the Penn State Center for the Study of Sports in Society. He is the author of numerous books and articles about the history of sport 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 and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 13, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 26, 2024 • 49min
The (abridged) Colin McEnroe Show midnight spectacular
Back before radio stations (ours included) started re-airing daytime programs during the night as a default, nighttime airwaves were a place for experimentation, confessions, and wondering that wouldn't be welcome in the light of day. “Why don’t we try that?” said we! On June 20th, Colin McEnroe, a team of intrepid radio producers and engineers, and one very generous security guard stayed in the office from 11 p.m. - 1 a.m. The resulting radio program, which featured live music, poetry, and phone calls about UFOs, Boy Scout horror stories, and siphonophores, is available here (in an abridged format) for your listening pleasure. Click here to listen to the unabridged episode. GUESTS: Hugh Blumenfeld Folk musician and singer-songwriter from Connecticut Mike Penicello: State Director of the Connecticut Mutual UFO Network Keith Trosell: Truck driver and owner/operator of Boba Freight, which is based in Columbia, CT Zulynette: Performer, artist, author, and creator of the annual storytelling event, “A Little Bit of Death.” Her most recent book of poetry is “Seeing in the Dark” 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, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Jonathan McNicol, Lily Tyson, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 25, 2024 • 49min
Cash is no longer king: How does that impact us personally and culturally?
It's becoming easier every day to pay for things without cash. You can pay with your credit card, your phone, an app, or even your palm. So how does the move away from cash change how we think about our money? This hour, we look at our changing attitudes towards money, and what we gain and lose as we use less cash. Plus, we'll look at the history and future of ATMs. GUESTS: Jay Zagorsky: Clinical Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law at the Boston University Questrom School of Business Ursula Dalinghaus: Cultural anthropologist who specializes in economic anthropology and the anthropology of money. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ripon College Bernardo Batiz-Lazo: Professor in the Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University 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 and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 8, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 24, 2024 • 49min
A look at buttons, couch potatoes, and the rise of the remote control
Remote controls date all the way back to the 1800s, but they only entered most households in the 1950s or later. What impact did this have on how we watch television, and how we use other devices in our homes? This hour we look at the history and the impact of the remote control, and discuss what the remote control of the future will look like. And we'll take a look at buttons, and how they shape our interactions with the technology in our lives. GUESTS: Caetlin Benson-Allott: Professor of English, Director of Film and Media Studies at Georgetown University, and a member of the Program in American Studies. She is the author of Remote Control, among other books Rachel Plotnick: Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in The Media School at Indiana University Bloomington, and author of Power Button: A History of Pleasure, Panic and the Politics of Pushing 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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 7, 2023. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 21, 2024 • 1h 54min
The Colin McEnroe Show midnight spectacular
Back before radio stations (ours included) started re-airing daytime programs during the night as a default, nighttime airwaves were a place for experimentation, confessions, and wondering that wouldn't be welcome in the light of day. “Why don’t we try that?” said we! On June 20, Colin McEnroe, a team of intrepid radio producers and engineers, and one very generous security guard stayed in the office from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. The resulting radio program, which features live music, poetry, and phone calls about UFOs, Boy Scout horror stories, and siphonophores, is available here for your listening pleasure. GUESTS: Hugh Blumenfeld: Folk musician and singer-songwriter from Connecticut Major Jackson: Professor of English at Vanderbilt University and host of the podcast The Slowdown from American Public Media; his most recent book is Razzle Dazzle: New and Selected Poems Mike Penicello: State director of the Connecticut Mutual UFO Network Keith Trosell: Truck driver and owner/operator of Boba Freight, which is based in Columbia, Connecticut Zulynette: Performer, artist, author, and creator of the annual storytelling event A Little Bit of Death; her most recent book of poetry is Seeing in the Dark 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, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 21, 2024 • 50min
From ‘Star Trek’ to ‘Arrival’: How pop culture helps us imagine extraterrestrial life
The Nose is off this week. In its place, a look at how we imagine extraterrestrial life. What do you picture when you picture aliens? Is it like E.T.? Or little green men? Or an alien from Star Trek? This hour: how we imagine extraterrestrial life and how those visions are shaped by our TV and movies and more. GUESTS: Jaime Green: Freelance writer, editor, writing teacher, and the author of The Possibility of Life: Science, Imagination, and Our Quest for Kinship in the Cosmos Doug Jones: Actor known for his roles in Hellboy, The Shape of Water, Pan’s Labyrinth, and more; he plays Saru in Star Trek: Discovery 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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired December 1, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 20, 2024 • 50min
The (so-called) dying art of dinner parties
News outlets and opinion writers have called it: The traditional dinner party is dead. But are dinner parties really so bad? Or are we just bad at hosting them? This hour, the history of dinner parties and some advice from people who turn party-hosting into an art form. GUESTS: Rand Richards Cooper: Fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal, and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Courant Nandita Godbole: Author of several cookbooks including Masaleydaar: Classic Indian Spice Blends; she also writes the blog Curry Cravings Julia Skinner: Culinary historian and food writer whose work includes the book Our Fermented Lives 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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 26, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 18, 2024 • 42min
We take your calls
We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing. This hour, the conversation winds around to favorite TV theme songs; the Ham Primus House in Guilford, Connecticut; the upcoming Poor People’s March; the upcoming presidential debates; the upcoming Deadpool & Wolverine … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. 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. Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 17, 2024 • 42min
Yascha Mounk discusses ‘The Identity Trap’ and the future of democracy
In Yascha Mounk’s new book, he “traces the origin of a set of ideas about identity and social justice that is rapidly transforming America — and explains why it will fail to accomplish its noble goals.” This hour, Mounk joins us to talk about the future of democracy and The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time. GUEST: Yascha Mounk: Professor of the practice of international affairs at Johns Hopkins University; founder of Persuasion; host of The Good Fight; and the author, most recently, of The Identity Trap: A Story of Ideas and Power in Our Time 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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 4, 2023. Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jun 14, 2024 • 42min
The Bard’s the thing: A show about Shakespeare
Shakespeare, it turns out, is not immune to the culture wars, the book banning, the cancel culture (despite his being dead for more than four centuries). So, fine. Cancel Shakespeare, then, one argument goes. Because here’s the thing: Shakespeare’s plays and poems ARE dirty and smutty and gory — and that’s a big part of what makes them so great. And: Earlier this year, the romantic comedy Anyone But You became the highest-grossing live-action Shakespeare adaptation ever made. So we look at Shakespeare as fertile rom-com IP, from 10 Things I Hate About You and beyond. And finally, Bardcore is a thing. The one and only Hildegard von Blingin’ joins us. GUESTS: Maureen Lee Lenker: A senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and the author of the novel It Happened One Fight Drew Lichtenberg: Associate director at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC Hildegard von Blingin’: A singer and illustrator 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, Meg Dalton, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show. Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.