The Colin McEnroe Show

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.

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.

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.

Just in time for your summer vacation, an hour about beach reads. We look at how the term came to be, get some beach read recommendations, and even hear a case against reading on the beach. GUESTS:  Meghan Hayden: Owner of River Bend Bookshop, which has locations in Glastonbury and West Hartford, Connecticut Andrew Limbong: Reporter for NPR’s Culture Desk and Host of NPR's Book of the Day podcast  Donna Harrington-Lueker: Professor in the Department of English, Communications, and Media at Salve Regina University. She is author of Books for Idle Hours: Nineteenth-Century Publishing and the Rise of Summer Reading Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve done a version of this show every year since 2013. And we did it in 2011. We probably even did one in 2010. (We just can’t prove it.) So it’s a bit of a tradition. It’s a tradition that … makes some people angry, we realize. And that has a lot to do with how we define the term “song of the summer.” We use the Amanda Dobbins definition: Let’s be clear about how this works: There is no such thing as a “personal” song of summer. We do not anoint multiple songs of summer. There can only be one; the Song of Summer, by its very definition, is a consensus choice. It is the song that wrecks wedding dance floors. It is the song that you and your mother begrudgingly agree on (even though your mom has no idea what rhymes with “hug me” and won’t stop yelling it in public). It does not necessarily have to hit No. 1 on the charts, but it should probably be on the charts because it must be widely played. It must bring people together. It must be a shared enthusiasm. So it’s our job here to figure out what song from 2024 will get added to the long list of song of the summer classics like “Party Rock Anthem,” “Call Me Maybe,” “Despacito,” and “Blurred Lines.” And if we’re wrong, well, it really just won’t matter at all. GUESTS: Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn Brendan Jay Sullivan: A writer, producer, and DJ Cassie Willson: A comedian, musician, and content creator 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 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.

With the first presidential debate just two weeks away, an hour on the art and science of the presidential debate. We look at the evolution of debates through history, question whether or not they matter to the election, and even learn about the art of the political putdown. GUESTS:  Kathryn Cramer Brownell: Associate Professor of History at Purdue University. She is author of Showbiz Politics: Hollywood in American Political Life and 24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News Aaron Kall: Director of Debate and a Lecturer in the Department of Communication at the University of Michigan. He is also author of Debating The Donald Chris Lamb: Professor of Journalism at Indiana University Indianapolis, and author of The Art of the Political Putdown: The Greatest Comebacks, Ripostes, and Retorts in History 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"These boots are made for walking…" but instead, they sit by the door while you watch TV. This hour: Why is it often so hard to get walking? And what can our footsteps tell us about ourselves and the world? GUESTS: Jeff Speck: City planner and author of the book “Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time” Liam Satchell: Senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of Winchester Dr. I-Min Lee: Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Join the conversation onFacebook andTwitter. 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. Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 2, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Godzilla Minus One (Gojira -1.0) is the 37th movie in the Godzilla franchise, the 33rd Godzilla movie from Toho Studios, and the fifth movie in the franchise’s Reiwa era. It has grossed more than $150 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing Japanese Godzilla movie. It is the first Godzilla movie ever nominated for an Academy Award, which it won, for Best Visual Effects. Godzilla Minus One is a prequel to the original movie, Godzilla (1954). And: Following the worst Memorial Day weekend at the domestic box office in nearly 30 years and the disappointing openings of the big-budget summer action movies The Fall Guy and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, industry watchers are, let’s say … in a bit of a panic. The Nose has thoughts and concerns. GUESTS: Raquel Benedict: Claims to be the most dangerous woman in speculative fiction, and she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast 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! 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 Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last month, Florida and Alabama became the first U.S. states to ban the sale and manufacture of lab-grown meat. The plant-based meat company Impossible Foods announced a shift from green to red packaging, in an apparent rejection of the company’s “woke” reputation that angered some Cracker Barrel customers. This hour: how did meatless meat join the culture wars? GUESTS:  Matt Reynolds: Senior writer at Wired magazine S. Marek Muller: Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Texas State University Yasmin Tayag: Staff writer at The Atlantic covering food and health 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 and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Percival Everett is the author of 24 novels, four short story collections, and six collections of poetry. His 2001 novel Erasure was adapted as the feature film American Fiction, which was nominated this year for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Everett has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His newest novel, James, reimagines Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.” This hour, Percival Everett joins us in studio. GUEST: Percival Everett: Novelist and poet 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!Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.