The Colin McEnroe Show

You’re probably familiar with the panicked rush that comes when you’re running around your house, looking for keys or a wallet you’ve misplaced. It’s an awful feeling. But maybe there’s some value in the process of searching for lost things — beyond the prize you may (or may not) find at the end. This hour, we’re talking to some professional “lookers” to find out: Is there joy, or hidden value, to be found in the search process? Can we learn to be better lookers? GUESTS: Chris Turner: CEO of Ring Finders, a global directory of metal detecting specialists James Renner: Journalist and author Walter Wick: Photo-illustrator and picture puzzle designer known for the “I Spy” and “Can You See What I See?” series Join the conversation onFacebook 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.

Scientists estimate that there are 20 quadrillion ants on Earth. But. How do we make sense of a number like that, like 20,000,000,000,000,000? This hour, how we relate to unimaginable numbers, both large and small. Plus: why our inability to conceptualize large numbers might have a real-world impact during times like a pandemic. GUESTS: Shabnam Mousavi: A scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and a senior scientist at the Center for Artificial Intelligence Sabine Nooten: An insect ecologist and a temporary principal investigator at the University of Würzburg Elizabeth Toomarian: Director of the Brainwave Learning Center at Synapse School and an educational neuroscience Researcher at Stanford University Edward Tufte: The author of five books on information design and data visualization 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 January 12, 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 our Jesse Thorn take off promo, the Roberts Sinners and Heinlein (and Heinlein’s short story “ ‘—All You Zombies—’ ” and the movie adaptation of it), pronoun case agreement, rabbits and their feelings about carrots, mounted police, Jacques Cousteau … 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, 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.

Timothy Olyphant has been a regular presence on various TV shows every single year dating back to Damages in 2009, before the original Justified. And yet, it feels significant that he’s in no less than three new series this year. The Nose already covered the first, Daisy Jones & the Six. This week, we catch up with the other two: Full Circle is a Max Original limited series written and created by Ed Solomon and photographed, edited, and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Here’s Warner Bros.’s logline: “An investigation into a botched kidnapping uncovers long-held secrets connecting multiple characters and cultures in present day New York City.” It stars an ensemble cast that includes Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Jim Gaffigan, Timothy Olyphant, CCH Pounder, and Dennis Quaid. And: Justified: City Primeval is an FX limited series continuation of Justified, which ended in 2015 after six seasons and 78 episodes. It is based on the Elmore Leonard novel City Primeval: High Noon in Detroitand short story “Fire in the Hole.” Olyphant reprises his role as U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: William Friedkin, Acclaimed Director of ‘The French Connection’ and ‘The Exorcist,’ Dies at 87 The Oscar winner “never played by the rules, often to my own detriment,” he said. Robbie Robertson, Leader of The Band, Dies at 80 Arthur Schmidt, Oscar-Winning ‘Forrest Gump’ and ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’ Film Editor, Dies at 86 DJ Casper, artist behind ‘Cha Cha Slide,’ has died McDonald’s New Meal Celebrates Its Pop Culture Cameos—Including ‘Loki,’ ‘Seinfeld’ and MoreThe As Featured In Meal is tied to the upcoming season of Loki and celebrates the chain’s past pop culture cameos The Forgotten Former Meaning of “Jerk” The curious pop culture etymology of “jerk,” from 1979’s ‘The Jerk’ through today. (Or, “When did jerk stop meaning ‘stupid’?”) A Va. woman’s burp was louder than some motorcycles. It set a record. What to Stream: A Lost Seventies Classic About a (Rather Sympathetic) Stalker Alan Rudolph’s “Remember My Name” is an understated film noir—a drama of stark motives and delicate surfaces. GUESTS: Elizabeth Keifer: Professor emerita of English at Tunxis Community College Helder Mira: Multimedia producer at Trinity College and co-host of the So Pretentious podcast 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.

It seems like everything’s been turned into a story. You can see a company’s story on the packaging of juice, cereal, alternative milks. Politicians tell stories to rally support for policies. And social media helps us all tell the story that we want to tell about our lives. This hour, Peter Brooks on his book, Seduced by Story: The Use and Abuse of Narrative, and a look at why storytelling isn’t always a good thing. GUESTS: Peter Brooks: Author of Seduced by Story: The Use and Abuse of Narrative Chris Knopf: A novelist and the retired CEO of Mintz & Hoke Elise Wang: Assistant professor in the Department of English, Comparative Literature, and Linguistics at California State University, Fullerton 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 December 27, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our lives are entrenched in secrets — the average person, apparently, keeps as many as 13 of them at any given time. They’re largely regarded as bad for us. But maybe secrets, like us, are more complex? Is there a time when a secret can be harmless, or even good? Can a secret save lives? And how many people can be involved in one before it all topples down? GUESTS: David Robert Grimes: Scientist and science writer Raneta Lawson Mack: Professor of law emerita at Creighton University School of Law Michael Slepian: Researcher who studies the psychology of secrecy, as well as an associate professor at Columbia Business School; he’s the author of The Secret Life of Secrets 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rules are everywhere around us. This hour we talk about the history of rules and the power of unwritten rules. We wonder why some rules succeed while others fail. Plus: a game designer on how rules can facilitate play. GUESTS: Lorraine Daston: Author of Rules: A Short History of What We Live By Jason Turbow: Author of The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime Eric Zimmerman: Award-winning designer of board games and video games and the author of The Rules We Break: Lessons in Play, Thinking, and Design 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 December 21, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When’s the last time you read a short story? This hour, we talk about why short stories are so popular in the classroom, but why adults don’t seem to read them much once they’re done with school. And we make the case for why you should. Plus, a look at the art of the short story with some masters of the craft. You can read Rebecca Makkai’s Substack post that inspired this show here.  Here is the story that is discussed in the final segment, “How I Became a Vet” by Rivka Galchen.  As part of this show we asked each of our guests to recommend a short story, a collection, or an author. Here are those recommendations: Rebecca Makkai: “The Dinner Party” by Joshua Ferris George Saunders: “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault, “The Conventional Wisdom” by Stanley Elkin Deborah Treisman: Liberation Day by George Saunders, After the Funeral by Tessa Hadley, “The Haunting of Hajji Hotak” by Jamil Jan Kochai Amy Bloom: “The Dead” by James Joyce, stories by Edward P. Jones, essays by Samantha Irby Irene Papoulis: “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by ZZ Packer Brian Slattery: “Hell is the Absence of God” by Ted Chiang Colin McEnroe: “The Hole on the Corner” and “What’s the Name of That Town?” by R.A. Lafferty GUESTS:  Rebecca Makkai: Author of the Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-finalist The Great Believers, among other books; her newest book is I Have Some Questions For You, and she is artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago George Saunders: Author of twelve books; his most recent is Liberation Day, a collection of short stories Deborah Triesman: Fiction editor for The New Yorker and the host of their Fiction Podcast Amy Bloom: Author of four novels and three collections of short stories; her most recent book is the memoir In Love Irene Papouli: Teaches writing at Trinity College Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent 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.

This week’s Nose has been traveling 22 years to get here, and now it’s here, and it’s either heads or tails, and you have to say. Hollywood continues its seeming slow-speed suicide. It’s hard to imagine it even really capitalizing on the huge and ongoing Barbenheimer phenomenon. The Nose continues to be concerned. But. The Meg 2 is finally here! Actually, that exclamation point notwithstanding, The Nose doesn’t really care about The Meg 2. But it does care about — and have various beefs with — this Meg 2-pegged ranking of movie monsters. And finally: Hijack is a seven-part, real-time thriller limited series starring Idris Elba. The seventh part, the finale, hit Apple TV+ this week. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman Actor, Dies at 70 After Private Bout of Cancer Final Stephen Sondheim Musical ‘Here We Are’ Sets Cast; Joe Mantello-Directed Show Bows Off Broadway In September Lin-Manuel Miranda to Adapt ‘The Warriors’ as Stage Musical Meeting friends online is normal. Here’s how to do it. Move over, online dating. Online friend-making is having its day. Streaming has surpassed cable as America’s most-watched viewing platform Amid the first combined work stoppage involving writers and actors represented by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, some streaming platforms still scored some wins. ‘Suits’ Sets Record for Library Shows on Streaming Charts ‘The Bear’ has another strong week, becoming the second Hulu show to top a billion minutes of viewing. Shake it off: Taylor Swift concert triggers actual seismic activity X’s Subscription Service, Formerly Twitter Blue, Now Lets You Hide Your Blue Check Mark So Many Women Have Dumped Their Boyfriends After “Barbie”, But This Woman’s Story HAS To Be The Wildest One Yet I am so much more horrified than you can imagine! Max Is Bleeding Subscribers Following Its Boneheaded Rebrand The service lost 1.8 million subscribers as Warner Bros. Discovery announced a $10.3 million loss in total revenue for its second quarter. Apple TV+ Is on a Scripted-Series Hot Streak. Are People Paying Attention? Apple TV+ has amassed a rich library of original content in less than four years—with the awards season nominations to prove it. Can its dedication to curation help it overtake the top streamers, or will Apple lose its appetite for spending on prestige? GUESTS: Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who am I? We’ve all wondered at some point. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a personality test based on Carl Jung’s psychological types, has offered many an answer. This hour, we delve into the history of the MBTI and contemporary applications of this test and explore its scientific validity. Plus, a look at a dating app that uses the 16 personality types to help people find love. GUESTS:  Paul Tieger: A prolific author on MBTI; his books include Do What You Are, Nurture by Nature, and Just Your Type Alexander Swan: Associate professor of psychology at Eureka College and host of the CinemaPsych podcast Jessica Alderson: Founder of So Syncd, a 16 Personalities-based dating app This show was produced by Carol Chen. 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 Catie Talarski contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.