The Colin McEnroe Show

Today, we continue our week of special coverage with a show focused on belief, and how we react when we experience things that we think should be impossible. A few years ago, Diana Walsh Pasulka published American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology, which looked at the mechanism of belief in extraterrestrial life, finding that this is becoming a new American religion. Now, she has a new book out, Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences, which looks at our experiences with non-human life forms, including UFOs, dreams, angels, and AI, and how these encounters challenge our assumptions about life. This hour, we talk with Diana Walsh Pasulka about her work. Plus, Yale Professor Carlos Eire joins us to talk about the history of the impossible, including discussions of levitation and bilocation, and how beliefs form. GUESTS:  Diana Walsh Pasulka: Professor of Religion at University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and author of American Cosmic: UFOs, Religion, Technology. Her new book is Encounters: Experiences with Nonhuman Intelligences. Carlos Eire: Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale University. His new book is They Flew: A History of The Impossible.  You can find all of our Astronaughty Week shows here. 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. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, our week of discussions about life in the universe continues as we talk with two prominent astrophysicists about the possibility of life outside of earth. Astrophysicist Adam Frank is part of the team of scientists that is currently using the most advanced technology to search for life on other planets. This hour, we talk with Frank about that work, and what would happen if they find something. Plus, we'll talk with Neil deGrasse Tyson about the likelihood of life on other planets, and the variety of life here on earth. Neil deGrasse Tyson is presenting “Delusions of Space Enthusiasts” on December 1, 2023 at 8 p.m. at Foxwoods Resort and Casino.  GUESTS:  Adam Frank: Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at The University of Rochester. He is the author of the new book The Little Book of Aliens Neil deGrasse Tyson: Astrophysicist, author, and science communicator. His newest book is To Infinity and Beyond: A Journey of Cosmic Discovery You can find all of our Astronaughty Week shows here. 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. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States has a long history of UFO sightings and reports, dating all the way back to the 1940s. This hour we talk about that history, and, specifically, how the U.S. government has related to these objects over time with Garrett Graff, author of the new book UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government’s Search for Alien Life Here — and Out There. GUEST:  Garrett Graff: Journalist and historian. His latest book is UFO: The Inside Story of the US Government’s Search for Alien Life Here — and Out There. His previous book, Watergate: A New History was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.  You can find all of our Astronaughty Week shows here. 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.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 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, 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, Joey Morgan, Cat Pastor, Lateshia Peters, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, part of which originally aired in a different form November 22, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all recognize the big names or fall in love with a brand-new star — but what about that lady who killed it with her one line about the coffee? She's a professional actor, too! On this hour of The Colin McEnroe Show, we learn about the art of the smaller role: how they're cast, how to nail it, and what it's like to have a long resume of one-liners. And don't forget the extras and body-doubles, too! They'll be with us, for just a minute. GUESTS:  Jenny Ravitz: Casting director based in New York. She has worked on over 500 episodes of television in addition to theater, film, and commercials Ezra Buzzington: Actor whose over 70 film credits and dozens of TV appearances range from "Weird Al the Waiter" in Ghost World to a mutant in The Hills Have Eyes and, most recently, as one of the leads in the South By Southwest hit film Brooklyn 45. He has appeared in Academy Award-winning films alongside some of your favorite actors Vlad Perez: LA-based actor who has co-starred in television shows including Brooklyn 99, Murderville, Friendsgiving, and many more. He’s also one of the founders of the Sea Tea Comedy Theater right here in Hartford Harriet Dobin: Former Hartford media maven now actor in Philadelphia Allie Rivera: Performer and teacher at the Sea Tea Comedy Theater in downtown Hartford, and is the creator and producer of the theater’s Improvised Hallmark & Lifetime show 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, Lily Tyson, Jonathan McNicol, Carolyn McCusker, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired May 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.

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. You can reach us at 888-720-9677. 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, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s Nose has had to work through the occasional civilian who’s stood between eyes and the prize. The Killer is the 12th movie directed by David Fincher and his first credited feature film collaboration with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker since 1995’s Se7en. It’s Fincher’s second movie for Netflix, who describe it this way: “After a fateful near-miss an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn’t personal.” The Killer stars Michael Fassbender as the titular assassin. And: Albert Brooks: Defending My Life is an HBO documentary directed by Rob Reiner. It chronicles Brooks’s career in comedy, and it’s the first documentary Reiner has ever made (other than This Is Spinal Tap, of course). Some other stuff that happened this week give or take: UCLA Study: Gen Z Wants Less Sex Onscreen, Prefers Platonic Relationships Depicted to Romantic Rollercoasters A 2023 study by UCLA’s Center for Scholars and Storytellers found that viewers ages 10 to 24 want content more relatable to them. What Comes After Marvel? Better Hope It’s Not Something Worse With the MCU in its early endgame, many may think that movies can return to “normal.” Think again. Why the Dying DVD Business Could Be Headed for a Resurrection Netflix and Best Buy said adieu to discs — but with streamers deleting titles to cut costs, could DVDs and Blu-rays mimic the revival of vinyl and CDs? Hungry (but Not for Human Contact), Americans Head for the Drive-Through A national fixture is enjoying a fresh surge as post-pandemic customers crave speed and solitude. And restaurants are responding with a raft of innovations. Jared Leto Climbed the Empire State Building to Promote a 30 Seconds to Mars Tour or SomethingActor-singer becomes first person to legally scale the Manhattan landmark in excessive promotional stunt Warner Bros shelves completed $70m Coyote vs Acme movie Studio decides to take $30m tax write-down by not releasing live-action/animation comedy starring John Cena Talking Heads Concert Film ‘Stop Making Sense’ Re-Release Surpasses Initial Box Office Run The War on Charlie Chaplin He was one of the world’s most celebrated and beloved stars. Then his adopted country turned against him. GUESTS: Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian and writer and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast 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” 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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COVID, by the way, is … still a thing. The new vaccines are here, and people mostly aren’t getting them. The new variants are here, and the people who’re getting COVID are mostly getting them. Just this week, some new data seems to show that getting your COVID and flu shots together isn’t just safe — it might actually be the better thing to do. And it turns out that Paxlovid rebound probably is real and more prevalent than we knew. Oh. And: Picking your nose maybe makes you more susceptible to a COVID infection. The more you know, and all that. GUESTS: Scott Roberts: Associate medical director for infection prevention at Yale Medicine and an assistant professor in infectious diseases at Yale School of Medicine Mark Siedner: Associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an infectious disease clinician and researcher in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital 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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You likely know historian Heather Cox Richardson from her Substack, “Letters from an American,” where she puts the news of the day into historical context. Now Cox Richardson has a new book out, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America, where she looks at the crossroads we’re at as a country, how we got here, and where we could go from here. Today we spend the hour with Heather Cox Richardson as she helps us make sense of the latest news and the state of our democracy. GUESTS:  Heather Cox Richardson: Historian, Professor of History at Boston College, and author of the “Letters from an American” Substack. Her new book is "Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America" Join the conversation onFacebook 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.

This hour: bedtime stories. What can we learn from people who write and tell them? How can we all be more intentional and magical about the last things we think about before sleeping? GUESTS: Faith Adiele: Travel writer, speaker, teacher, and Thailand’s first Black Buddhist nun; she writes sleep stories for adults on the Calm app Adam Mansbach: Author, screenwriter, and cultural critic who wrote the famous not-for-children children’s book, Go the F**k to Sleep 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, Jonathan McNicol, Dylan Reyes, Catie Talarski, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 3, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.