The Colin McEnroe Show

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.

The writer and public intellectual Martin Amis died May 19. He was 73. Amis broke into the literary scene in the 1970s, and by the time his London trilogy — Money, London Fields, and The Information — came out in the 1980s and 1990s, people had started to think of him as “the author” and “the standard for authorhood.” This hour, an appreciation of Martin Amis and a look back at his 2018 appearance on this show. GUESTS: Martin Amis: The author of 15 novels, two short story collections, a memoir, and seven books of nonfiction Dan Kois: An editor and writer at Slate and cohost of the podcast The Martin Chronicles; his most recent book is the novel Vintage Contemporaries 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, Cat Pastor, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired in a different form March 8, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In record producer and neuroscientist Susan Rogers’s This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You, she writes, “The music that delivers the maximum gratification to you is determined by seven influential dimensions of musical listening.” Those seven dimensions are authenticity, realism, novelty, melody, lyrics, rhythm, and timbre. This hour, we talk with Rogers about some of those seven dimensions, the role of the listener in music, and why we are drawn to some songs and not others. GUEST: Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, and co-author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You 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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 15, 2022.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 a bit of trivia about the John Wayne version of True Grit, paupers and banking in the 1840s, the draft, job descriptions for politicians, prejudices against classic rock … 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s Nose got a couple other cans, ya know, and came back and switched the labels and the cans around. The Long Goodbye is a satirical neo-noir mystery feature film adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s 1953 novel. It is the eighth feature directed by Robert Altman and the second-to-last screenplay by the science fiction writer Leigh Brackett (who also wrote The Empire Strikes Back and the 1946 version of The Big Sleep, among others). It stars Elliott Gould as Philip Marlowe in 1970s Los Angeles. This year is The Long Goodbye’s 50th anniversary. Plus: A look at the value and the art of rewatching and rewatchability. Raquel Benedict’s endorsements: Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum Nocebo on Shudder Helder Mira’s endorsements: Hawkeye by Fraction and Aja Jury Duty on Freevee Documentary Now! Season 4 on Netflix Gene Seymour’s endorsements: Emerald City Nights: Live at the Penthouse by Ahmad Jamal Ain’t But a Few of Us: Black Music Writers Tell Their Story edited by Willard Jenkins Colin’s endorsement: The Battered Bastards of Baseball on Netflix Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Doyle Brunson, the ‘Godfather of Poker,’ has died at 89 End of a love affair: AM radio is being removed from many cars Ford, BMW, Volkswagen, Tesla and other automakers are eliminating AM radio from some new vehicles, stirring protests against the loss of a medium that has shaped American life for a century Tony Awards Broadcast Can Proceed After Striking Writers’ Union Agrees The Tony Awards, a key marketing opportunity for Broadway, can go ahead in an altered form after the striking screenwriters’ union said it would not picket this year’s broadcast. TV Isn’t About to Get Worse. It Already Is. The problems that Hollywood’s writers are protesting can be seen on our screens. YouTube Bringing Unskippable 30-Second Ads To The Living Room Supreme Court Rules Against Andy Warhol in Copyright Case The question for the justices was whether the artist was free to use elements of a rock photographer’s portrait of the musician Prince. ESPN Plans to Stream Flagship Channel, Eyeing Cable TV’s Demise Internal project code-named ‘Flagship’ lays out shift in coming years, as talks with leagues and cable partners have begun At 81, Martha Stewart lands ‘historic’ Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover “The whole aging thing is so boring," Stewart proclaimed. Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Released A Statement After Escaping A “Near Catastrophic Car Chase” With Paparazzi “This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and two NYPD officers." Montana becomes first US state to ban TikTok Greg Gianforte, the governor, signed legislation prohibiting mobile app stores from offering the video-sharing platform by next year Disney’s Expensive ‘Star Wars’ Galactic Starcruiser Hotel to Close After Less Than Two Years The immersive and pricy hotel in Florida is being sent to a galaxy far, far away. Limiting what novelists can write about won’t help readers An influencer’s AI clone will be your girlfriend for $1 a minute CarynAI is the first AI companion product from a new startup called Forever Voices, allowing users to chat with a digital version of the fastest growing Snapchat star Arnold Schwarzenegger Gets Candid on Career, Failures, Aging: “My Plan Is to Live Forever” The action icon — set to make his series TV debut in Netflix’s ‘FUBAR’ — sounds off on his ‘Terminator’ and ‘Conan’ futures, identity politics and why emotions are overrated: “We have to work our ass off and stop worrying about feelings.” The Dave Matthews Guide to Living and Dying The troubadour of mellow vibes has been one of the biggest acts in music for three decades. Now 56, Matthews has been singing about mortality for a long time, and he’s confronting its specter in new and surprising ways. A Few Thoughts on Quentin Tarantino’s Plan to Retire The director has said that his tenth film will be his last. What does this mean for his cinematic legacy? The 23 Best ’90s Movies Once is enough: 18 movies you’ll never want to rewatch They may be beautifully shot, brilliantly acted, thought-provoking films, but you’re not going to reach for them again on movie night How to Spin Bad News, Featuring Jonathan Majors and Johnny Depp This Viral Debate Over Young Al Pacino And Robert De Niro’s Hotness Has Caused Me To Rethink Everything If you’re on Twitter, you may have seen it; if you’re not, prepare for the most important debate of your life. GUESTS: Raquel Benedict: The most dangerous woman in speculative fiction and the host of the Rite Gud podcast Helder Mira: Multimedia producer at Trinity College and co-host of the So Pretentious podcast 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 and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the beginning of the year, the company behind the public effort to de-extinct the wooly mammoth announced it will also be de-extincting the dodo. The announcement stirred up a lot of excitement and questions about whether we can – or should – bring back species once they’re gone. So this hour we're talking about de-extinction! We’ll hear about what it takes to bring back extinct animals, efforts to build a safety net for plants that might go extinct in the future, and walk through some fun de-extinction thought experiments. GUESTS: Helen Pilcher: a science and comedy writer with a PhD in cell biology who wrote Bring Back the King: The New Science of De-extinction Ben Lamm: CEO of the de-extinction company Colossal, which he co-founded with George Church. Carlos de la Rosa: President and CEO of the Center for Plant Conservation Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Succession, Ted Lasso, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Barry all coming to a close within the span of a week, it’s time for an hour on endings. We look at the art of the ending, wonder what makes a satisfying ending in literature and TV and music, and ponder how we know it’s time to let a thing come to an end. GUESTS: Jen Chaney: TV critic at Vulture and New York magazine and the author of As If! The Oral History of Clueless Geoff Dyer: Author of The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings, among other books Rebecca Makkai: Artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago and the author, most recently, of I Have Some Questions for You Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, professor at Berklee College of Music and co-author of This Is What It Sounds Like: What the Music You Love Says About You 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, Cat Pastor, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The purpose of incarceration in America is supposed to be a balance between punishment and reform, with the scales tipping toward reforms that can lead to redemption and a second chance after release. But that’s not been the experience of many currently and formerly incarcerated people. Incarcerated influencers are sharing a view of prison life through TikTok videos, podcasts, and journalism that shows a more nuanced look at prison life, including the network of support, friendships, and mentors the incarcerated share with one another in the absence of significant reform. The content challenges misperceptions about incarceration that are often depicted in popular culture, and it exposes the lack of formal opportunities available to help the incarcerated prepare for life after release. GUESTS: Emily Bazelon: Staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and the co-host of the Slate Political Gabfest; she recently started The Prison Letters Project Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein: A freelance writer who writes about American life for numerous publications including The New York Times, The New Republic, and The Baffler John J. Lennon: An incarcerated journalist writing from Sullivan Correctional Facility; he is a contributing editor at Esquire magazine and a frequent contributor to The New York Times Justin Paperny: A prison consultant, the co-founder of White Collar Advice and Prison Professors, and the author of Lessons from Prison 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 26, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we look at the idea of sacredness — in both religious and secular spaces — and ask how we can identify and make places for the sacred in our everyday lives, through reading, music, and even baseball. GUESTS: Mark Miller: Lecturer in sacred music at Yale’s Institute of Sacred Music and Divinity School, composer in residence at Drew University, and the minister of music of Christ Church Mary-Jane Rubenstein: Professor of religion and science in society at Wesleyan University and the author of Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race, among other books Vanessa Zoltan: An atheist chaplain; co-host of the podcasts Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, Hot & Bothered, and Should I Quit; and the author of Praying with Jane Eyre: Reflections on Reading as a Sacred Practice 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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You don’t have to worry about this week’s Nose taking your phone and putting it in the bottom of a root beer float. On Sunday, The New York Times published an Amy Chozik profile of Elizabeth Holmes, who wants to go by Liz now, it turns out. The piece has been, let’s say, controversial. And: Bupkis is a somewhat autobiographical comedy series created by Pete Davidson with Judah Miller and Dave Sirus and executive produced by Lorne Michaels. Eight half-hour (!) episodes are available to stream on Peacock. Rebecca Castellani’s endorsement: Jury Duty on Freevee Irene Papoulis’s endorsements: David O. Russell’s Spanking the Money on DVD Unmasking Narcissism: A Guide to Understanding the Narcissist in Your Life by Mark Ettensohn Pedro Soto’s endorsement: Westville Artwalk 26 in New Haven Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Heather Armstrong, who made it okay to say motherhood was hard, dead at 47 The pioneering blogger behind Dooce.com upended women’s media and laid the ground for the influencer industry The Sad Dads of The National For two decades, the band has written music about the kind of sadness that feels quotidian and incremental—the slow accumulation of ordinary losses. ‘It’s Going to Be a While’: No End in Sight for Hollywood Strike The writers and entertainment companies remain far apart on several key issues, including money, and the standoff could last for months. There’s a ‘volume war’ happening in music Drag business flourishes in state’s arts and entertainment scene Why are these groups so much more likely to wear glasses than any others? “After Breakfast Mom Would Kick Me Outside And Tell Me Not To Come Home Until The Street Lights Came On”: Gen X’ers Are Sharing The Laughably Bad Parenting Boomers Did To ThemApparently, Gen X grew up in cigarette smoke-filled rooms and never wore seatbelts. Pickleball is the worst Paramount Can’t Say No to the Man Behind ‘Yellowstone’: $50,000 a Week for His Ranch, $25 Per Cow Taylor Sheridan writes most of the company’s hits, giving him clout to dominate the big-budget productions through his network of commercial projects, pushing costs to among the highest in Hollywood I Really Didn’t Want to Go On the Goop cruise On David Foster Wallace Reconsidering the man, the meme, and the writing Notes from Prince Harry’s Ghostwriter Collaborating on his memoir, “Spare,” meant spending hours together on Zoom, meeting his inner circle, and gaining a new perspective on the tabloids. Bill Hader Just Wants to Make Weird Things The co-creator and star of the HBO comedy “Barry” on the end of the series, his film-nerd past, and why he has no desire to be part of “the conversation.” Shakira And Tom Cruise Were Spotted Together Amid Dating Rumors — Here’s How People Reacted Randomest couple. People Are Calling Ben Affleck The Unhappiest Husband In Hollywood After A Video Of Him Slamming A Car Door On Jennifer Lopez Sparked A Debate About Their Marriage Sad Ben Affleck strikes again. Please stop using AI to make Wes Anderson parodies A recent online trend has seen users mock up Harry Potter, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings in the director’s distinctive style but is he beyond parody? GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College Pedro Soto: President and CEO of Hygrade Precision Technologies 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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.