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The Colin McEnroe Show

Latest episodes

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Jun 8, 2023 • 50min

It’s a vibe! A look at what makes a vibe a vibe

You must have heard the term “vibe” by now, right? We’ve heard about the vibe of the economy, the vibe of a music playlist, the vibe of a season, the vibe of a party … Plus there are vibe shifts and vibe checks. This hour: vibes. We learn what the word really means, where it comes from, and how the internet has given it new life. GUESTS: Kyle Chayka: Contributing writer for The New Yorker covering technology and culture on the Internet Robin James: Editor for philosophy and music at Palgrave Macmillan Eda Uzunlar: Freelance journalist and student at Yale University Ben Zimmer: Linguist, lexicographer, and the Word on the Street columnist for The Wall Street Journal 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. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Taylor Doyle, Jacob Gannon, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show, which originally aired November 15, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Jun 7, 2023 • 50min

Why a show about fog? We haven’t the foggiest

From San Francisco’s iconic fog and COVID-related brain fog to a location-tracking program called Fog Reveal, this hour, we lift the fog on all kinds of fog. GUESTS: Travis O’Brien: Professor of Earth and atmospheric sciences at Indiana University Javeed Sukhera: Chair of psychiatry at the Institute of Living and chief of psychiatry at Hartford Hospital Anne Toomey McKenna: Visiting professor of law at the University of Richmond School of Law 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. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired November 1, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Jun 6, 2023 • 50min

It’s no mystery why we’re drawn to crime fiction

Mysteries have been popular for centuries. This hour we ask: Why are we drawn to this genre? Plus, a look at television detectives and true crime podcasts. GUESTS: Martin Edwards: Author of The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators Alexandra Petri: Columnist for The Washington Post and the author of Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents (I Made Up) Nick Quah: Podcast critic for Vulture and New York Magazine 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, 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. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired October 18, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Jun 5, 2023 • 50min

‘Our national pageant of stupidity’: Andy Borowitz on American politicians today

This hour, humorist and The New Yorker columnist Andy Borowitz on his book Profiles in Ignorance, which explains how our nation’s elected leaders have grown dumb — and dumber. GUEST: Andy Borowitz: Writes The Borowitz Report; his latest book is Profiles in Ignorance: How America’s Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber 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. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired September 13, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Jun 2, 2023 • 49min

The Nose looks at all the prestige TV shows ending at once, plus ‘White House Plumbers’

There’s been a changing of the guard, a succession, if you will, in prestige TV (or whatever). In the span of five days, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ended after five seasons, Succession ended after four seasons, Barry ended after four seasons, and Ted Lasso (maybe? probably? seemingly?) ended after three seasons. Those four shows have been nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy or Drama Series a total of 12 times, and they’ve won those top awards five times. So far. TV is different now, we think, is the point. And: White House Plumbers is a five-part HBO miniseries based on Egil “Bud” Krogh’s Watergate memoir. It tells the bumbling story of the bumbling lead up to the bumbled burglary and stars Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, Lena Headey, Domhnall Gleeson and an ensemble cast. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: The Matty Healy, Ice Spice (and Taylor Swift) drama, explained Healy, who is rumored to be dating Swift, faced backlash over comments he made about the rapper Ice Spice Max streaming service says it will restore writer and director credits after outcry Broadway Musicians Object to David Byrne’s ‘Here Lies Love’ The show plans to use recorded music instead of a live band, but a labor union says its contract for the theater requires musicians for musicals. ‘Oppenheimer’ Earns R Rating, Imax Film Prints Are 11 Miles Long and Weigh 600 Pounds How to Hire a Pop Star for Your Private Party For the very rich, even the world’s biggest performers—Beyoncé, Drake, Jennifer Lopez, Andrea Bocelli—are available, at a price. We’re All Bored of Culture Anglo-Calvinist moralism has turned the American arts into something strenuously polite and deadly dull Soft Pants: The Postpandemic Benefit That’s Here to Stay Should we know where our friends are at all times? “I love you, now let me watch your location 24/7.” Die-Hards Still Mailing Newspaper Clips to Family and Friends Some people still deliver news, tips and the occasional obituary to their grown children using scissors, stamps and envelopes; ‘Sometimes they chuckle at me, which is fine’ Searching for Meg White It’s been over a decade since we’ve heard from the elusive White Stripes drummer. Could renewed attention over a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination coax her back into the spotlight? Letterboxd Unboxed: How a Grassroots Social Network Is Revolutionizing Film Fandom ‘The Larry Sanders Show’ was a sitcom that changed sitcoms Actors, writers and directors remember the highs and lows of making the seminal ’90s series, which aired for the last time 25 years ago this week GUESTS: Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College James Poniewozik: The chief television critic for The New York Times 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!Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Jun 1, 2023 • 49min

We ❤️ romance novels

Romance novels have long had a reputation for being flimsy, sexist, trashy bodice-rippers. But there’s lots more to the genre than meets the eye. This hour, we look at what makes romance novels work – and why so many of us are devouring them. GUESTS:  Olivia Waite: The New York Times Book Review’s romance fiction columnist who writes queer and historical romance, fantasy, and critical essays on the genre’s history and future Jason Rogers: Olympic medalist, journalist covering masculinity, and the founder of a now-defunct romance book club for men Tony Horvath: Creative director for the long-time romance-novel publisher Harlequin, where he oversees production of about 80 book covers a month Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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May 31, 2023 • 49min

Invisibility fascinates and frightens us. But will it ever become reality?

This hour: invisibility. We learn about the science of invisibility and whether we’re getting close to having the technology to turn invisible. We also talk about invisibility in pop culture and science fiction and debate questions we all have about what would happen if someone could turn invisible. GUESTS:  Gregory Gbur: Author of Invisibility: The History and Science of How Not To Be Seen, and a Professor of Physics and Optical Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Lisa Yaszek: Regents Professor of Science Fiction Studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech Sophia Brueckner: Futurist artist, designer and engineer, Associate Professor at the School of Art and Design, and Co-Director of the Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing at the University of Michigan 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!Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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May 30, 2023 • 49min

How two Connecticut outsiders transformed treatment for traumatic blood loss and fought Army insiders

This hour, an invention that transformed care for traumatic injuries. Charles Barber’s new book, In The Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took on the US Army, details how Frank Hursey discovered that a mineral called zeolite could help stop excessive bleeding, and the challenge he and his partner, Bart Gullong, faced in getting the invention to take hold in trauma care. GUESTS:  Charles Barber: Nonfiction author, Writer in Residence at Wesleyan University, and Lecturer in Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. His new book is In The Blood: How Two Outsiders Solved a Centuries-Old Medical Mystery and Took on the US Army  Bart Gullong: Co-founder and former CEO of Z-Medica, who worked to get QuickClot widely adopted Frank Hursey: Founder of On-Site Gas, Co-Founder of Z-Medica, and the inventor of QuickClot 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 Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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May 26, 2023 • 50min

The Nose looks at the Supreme Court, Andy Warhol, Prince, and ‘Jury Duty’

For this week’s Nose, the straightness is the difficulty of the lack of a bend. Last week, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against the Andy Warhol Foundation, saying that Warhol could not use a photographer’s portrait of Prince as the basis of his own image of Prince. In her dissent, Justice Elena Kagan writes that the ruling, “will impede new art and music and literature. It will thwart the expression of new ideas and the attainment of new knowledge. It will make our world poorer.” And: Jury Duty is “a documentary-style comedy series that chronicles the inner workings of an American jury trial through the eyes of one particular juror.” The catch is that that one particular juror doesn’t know that everyone else involved is an actor, and the whole trial is fake. Eight half-hour (!) episodes of Jury Dutyare available to stream on Amazon FreeVee. Carolyn Paine’s endorsement: The Comeback on Max Mercy Quaye’s endorsement: When the Heavens Went on Sale: Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach by Ashlee Vance Bill Yousman’s endorsements: The Guest by Emma Cline Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane Colin’s endorsement: Tina Turner Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Tina Turner, Queen of Rock & Roll, Dead at 83 Legendary singer “died peacefully” Wednesday after a long illness Helmut Berger, Actor Known for His Work With Visconti, Dies at 78 He first made his mark in “The Damned” as a character one critic said personified “the outright perversion” of Nazism. He and the director became lovers. I swear, our profane society is a disgrace ‘Caligula’ Director Tinto Brass Slams ‘Caligula – The Ultimate Cut’ Screening in Cannes, Says He Is Taking Legal Action Against Penthouse Films The looming existential crisis for cable news The number of cable subscribers, dropping for years, just took a record-breaking plunge. Sooner or later, it will hurt news channels’ bottom line. Is E.T. Eavesdropping on Our Phone Calls? Cell phone towers leak radio waves into space, but they’ll be tough for aliens to detect The First Social-Media Babies Are Growing Up—And They’re Horrified How would you feel if millions of people watched your childhood tantrums? Natalie Portman Called Out The Double Standards Women Face At Cannes A Day Before Jennifer Lawrence Was Critiqued For Wearing Flip Flops On The Red Carpet Instead Of Heels “The expectations are different on you all the time, and it affects how you behave — whether you’re buying into it, whether you’re rejecting it, or whether you’re doing something in between.” How Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer Recreated A Nuclear Explosion Without Using CGI How to Quit Cars They crowd streets, belch carbon, bifurcate communities, and destroy the urban fabric. Will we ever overcome our addiction? Surgeon General Warns That Social Media May Harm Children and Adolescents The report by Dr. Vivek Murthy cited a “profound risk of harm” to adolescent mental health and urged families to set limits and governments to set tougher standards for use. Max Announces an Expanded Roster of 4K Programming Available To Stream on Its Ultimate Ad-Free Tier on May 23 Netflix begins its password sharing crackdown in the US and global markets BuzzFeed cooks up new AI-powered recipe generator, Botatouille Artificial ‘culinary companion’ will suggest meals based on what you have in your refrigerator and has a chatbot feature Against the Cult of “Sticking the Landing” The ‘Succession’ finale may be great—or it may be deflating. But it likely doesn’t matter either way. A TV show is mostly remembered for what happens before the finale, not during it. Barbiemania! Margot Robbie Opens Up About the Movie Everyone’s Waiting For Puritanism took over online fandom — and then came for the rest of the internet Puriteens, anti-fans, and the culture war’s most bonkers battleground. Where have all the Disney villains gone? The live-action Little Mermaid is a reminder of what movies like Encanto and Frozen II don’t have: a bad guy. GUESTS: Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer, and she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Mercy Quaye: Founder and principal consultant for The Narrative Project Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University 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. 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.
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May 25, 2023 • 49min

An irreverent reimagining of US history’s most revered (and reviled) idols

There’s currently a debate in America about what students should be learning about U.S. history. Some say we don’t revere American exceptionalism enough. Others say we're giving ourselves an A+ by excluding the tests we failed. Humorist Alexandra Petri says both sides are wrong. We just don’t know enough about the things we need to know, such as how inventor Nikola Tesla fell in love with his pigeon or about the secret tapes of Nixon yelling at his dog Checkers. This hour, an irreverent look at how we teach, learn and remember U.S. history. GUESTS:  Alexandra Petri is a humorist, a columnist for the Washington Post and the author of Nothing Is Wrong and Here is Why, which was a Thurber Prize finalist. Her new book is Alexandra Petri’s US History: Important American Documents Mike Pesca is host of the podcast The Gist, author of the Substack column Pesca Profundities, and the editor of Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs In Sports History Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Lily Tyson, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show.  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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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