The Colin McEnroe Show

We’ve done a Halloween special each year for the past five years. And each year, and for no particular reason, we’ve spent a chunk of the show covering a classic horror movie celebrating, specifically, its 40th anniversary. I’m a little sad to say that this year we’re breaking the tradition, partly because 1983 was a strikingly barren year for horror movies (notwithstanding, uh, Cujo, I guess? Psycho II?). And partly because, well, one of the greatest horror movies ever made happens to be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. So. This hour, our take on William Friedkin’s 1973 masterpiece, The Exorcist. And a look at filmmaker David Gordon Green’s turn away from indie dramas and Hollywood comedies and toward horror legacy requels. His latest is The Exorcist: Believer. Plus: There sure are a lot of those crazy 12-foot skeleton things showing up on people’s lawns, aren’t there? We investigate the Skelly sensation. GUESTS: Aislinn Clarke: A screenwriter and director and a lecturer in film studies at Queen’s University Belfast Bill Curry: Playing the part of Bill Curry playing the part of Standing Concerned Man Jesse Hassenger: Associate editor of Paste Movies and co-host of the New Flesh horror movie podcast Rachel Kurzius: A reporter for The Home You Own at The Washington Post 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.

Sometimes, we just love to hate. From reality TV shows like The Bachelor and The Real Housewives franchise to movies like The Room and Twilight, sometimes it’s so bad it’s good. The phenomenon of hate-watching has reached new audiences on social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube. Haters are more vocal than ever. In this episode we ask why we want to watch and suffer through movies and TV shows we extremely dislike. Do we get enjoyment from objectively bad content? Or from hating on things? Join us on this episode as we discuss the psychology and impacts of hate-watching. GUESTS: Jonathan Gray: Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and author of Dislike-Minded: Media, Audiences, and the Dynamics of Taste Brian Moylan: Writer, reality tv show recapper, and author of The New York Times bestseller The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives Alex Meyers: A YouTuber who makes cartoons and video essays about movies and TV shows Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. 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. Lizzie Van Arnam, Colin McEnroe, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 11, 2023. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, 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.

We've recently discovered, thanks to TikTok, that many more people are thinking about the Roman Empire than you might expect... including the host of this radio show. This hour, we talk about why people think about the Roman Empire, and we talk with the preeminent scholar of the Roman Empire, Mary Beard, about all the things you could think about if you wanted to think about the Roman Empire. GUESTS:  Doug Boin: Professor of History at St. Louis University, and author of Alaric the Goth: An Outsider’s History of the Fall of Rome, among other books Mary Beard: Historian of Ancient Rome. She is the author of bestselling books, including SPQR, and her newest book is Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour is about the psychology of fandom. We look at how the mind of a fan operates. We talk with experts about the mental attachments and connections fans have with their favorite shows and fictional characters. Plus, there are many reasons why one becomes a fan. We’ll talk about that, and how fandoms have evolved over time. Finally, a look at the types of emotions fans feel and how they express them in fanfiction and other forms of transformative fandom. GUESTS:  Lynn Zubernis: Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor at West Chester University, who has written 7 books based on her research on the psychology of fandom Maya Phillips: Author of Nerd: Adventures in Fandom from This Universe to the Multiverse, and a critic at The New York Times Jessica Hautsch: Teaching Assistant Professor of Humanities at the New York Institute of Technology, and author of Mind, Body, and Emotion in the Reception and Creation Practices of Fan Communities Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. 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. Melody Rivera, Colin McEnroe, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 3, 2023. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 uptalk, mortality, the zipper merge, the health of the baby boom generation, regionalizing cities, proving that you’re not a witch … 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, 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 and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is the highest-grossing concert film ever made, and it’s only been in theaters for five days. It took in more than $100 million in global presales alone. The 169-minute, 41-song-long movie is nothing short of a phenomenon. Speaking of a phenomenon, you may have heard that Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are a couple. Swift and Kelce haven’t publicly commented on or even confirmed their romantic relationship (though they have been photographed holding hands), but the NFL and its broadcast partners have certainly capitalized on it anyway. Oh, and TSwift and TKelce were both on SNL last weekend, too. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Piper Laurie, Actress in ‘The Hustler,’ ‘Carrie’ and ‘Twin Peaks,’ Dies at 91 The three-time Oscar nominee and Emmy winner also starred in the original ‘Days of Wine and Roses’ and in ‘Children of a Lesser God.’ Suzanne Somers, Star of ‘Three’s Company,’ Is Dead at 76 She became famous for playing, as she put it, “one of the best dumb blondes that’s ever been done,” then became a sex-positive health and diet mogul. Louise Glück, 80, Nobel-Winning Poet Who Explored Trauma and Loss, Dies Acclaimed as one of America’s greatest living writers, she blended deeply personal material with themes of mythology and nature. Burt Young, Decorated Character Actor Of Rocky Fame, Has Died At 83 Michael Caine Officially Announces Retirement From Acting: ‘You Don’t Have Leading Men at 90’ Michael Jordan Is the First Pro Athlete to Rank Among the 400 Wealthiest Americans The former NBA star has an estimated net worth of $3 billion. Best Buy Is Ending DVD and Blu-Ray Sales Netflix plans to open brick and mortar locations Will Smith Has Broken His Silence On Jada Pinkett Smith’s Memoir Revelations After a week of bombshell details regarding Jada’s new memoir, Will has responded directly to his estranged wife. The Actors Are on Strike, But the Awards Shows Go On Here is our (extremely early) forecast for the biggest Oscar races this (very uncertain) year. Why is movie candy sold in boxes? GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn Jacques Lamarre: A playwright and chief communications officer at Buzz Engine 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. Correction: This show has been updated to remove an incorrect reference to the rapper and singer Bad Bunny’s nationality. Bad Bunny is an American artist.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A wealthy prince needs your help (via a wire transfer) to unfreeze his fortunes. He’ll reward you handsomely. While you’re sending him the money, listen to this show about scam emails. We'll talk about the surprising history and future of scam emails and what you can do to protect yourself. Plus: a conversation with an author who got caught up in an infamous email scam. GUESTS: Arun Vishwanath: Cybersecurity expert and author of the book, “The Weakest Link: How to Diagnose, Detect, and Defend Users from Phishing” Peter C. Baker: Author of the novel “Planes” Join the conversation on Facebook 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 and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can we learn about ourselves from what we sit on? This hour, the history of chairs, their impact on our lifestyle and health, and what’s in store for their future. Plus, we celebrate the joy of a well-designed chair, talk with a chair maker, and discuss some of our favorite examples. GUESTS: Galen Cranz: Professor emerita of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley and a founding member of the Association for Body Conscious Design; she is the author of The Chair: Rethinking Culture, Body and Design, among other books, and a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique Aspen Golann: Artist and furniture maker; she teaches in the furniture department at The Rhode Island School of Design and founded The Chairmaker’s Toolbox, a project that provides free tools, education, and mentorship to increase equity and access in the field of chairmaking Witold Rybczynski: Architect, emeritus professor of urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania, and author of Now I Sit Me Down: From Klismos to Plastic Chair — A Natural History, among other books; his latest is The Story of Architecture 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.

This hour: a conversation with novelist Emily St. John Mandel about time travel, the simulation hypothesis, adapting her work to television, art and culture during times of crisis, autofiction, Wikipedia, and much more. GUEST:  Emily St. John Mandel: Novelist, whose books include Sea of Tranquility, The Glass Hotel, and Station Eleven 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, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 30, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.