The Colin McEnroe Show

This hour, a look at the cultural significance of the apple, from Adam and Eve to keeping the doctor away. Plus: growing apples and the future of apples, and we compare apples and oranges. GUESTS:  Martha Bayless: Director of folklore and public culture and a professor of English and folklore at the University of Oregon; she is also the founder of the Early English Bread Project, which studies the role of bread in early medieval English culture David Bedford: Senior research fellow in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota; his team is responsible for creating the Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Zestar, and Rave apple varieties, among others Dan Pashman: Creator and host of the The Sporkful 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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What exactly is charisma? You know it when you see it, but is it possible to measure? Is it something you can learn, or just something you’re born with? This hour we look at the impact of charisma, especially in politics. Plus, in the world of wildlife conservation there’s a term for those animals everyone cares about: “charismatic megafauna.” What are the impacts of decisions about conservation or leadership coming down to a nebulous trait like charisma? GUESTS: John Antonakis: Professor of organizational behavior at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland Sophie Monsarrat: Rewilding manager with Rewilding Europe, who used to be a researcher who studied charismatic megafauna, among other topics Russ Schriefer: Founding partner of Strategic Partners & Media, a public affairs political consulting firm; he is senior strategist for the Tell It Like It Is super PAC that supports Chris Christie for President 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.

Since we just spent a number of years thinking about viruses, here’s a question: Should we be pretty worried about funguses, too? This hour, a look at the real-life fungal infection of ants that inspired the video game and TV series The Last of Us. Plus we talk with a local mushroom farmer and an author who writes fungal fiction and look at the role of fungi in our world. GUESTS: William Beckerson: Post-doctoral research Fellow with the National Science Foundation Patricia Kaishian: Mycologist and visiting assistant professor of biology at Bard College Chris Pacheco: Owner of Seacoast Mushrooms in Mystic, Connecticut Jeff VanderMeer: Author of a number of books, including the Southern Reach Trilogy, which includes Annihilation; he co-founded The Sunshine State Biodiversity Group 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 February 6, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Irving Berlin, Dorothy Fields, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein. These, along with many others, are the sorts of songwriters we associate with the Great American Songbook, the amorphous canon of important 20th century pop songs, jazz standards, and show tunes from Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and movie musicals. But there’s another important detail here. The songs we think of as the Songbook are from, more specifically, the 1920s through the 1950s. With some simple arithmetic, you can see that they’re, uh, getting on in years — which might (must?) mean that their devotees are, too. The Nose is off. In its place this hour, a look at and a listen to — and some concern for the future of — the Great American Songbook. GUESTS: Joelle Lurie: Vocalist, songwriter, voiceover artist, and bandleader Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School 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.

You may have heard that tick borne diseases are on the rise. But don’t worry — we’ve got you covered. This hour, we’re taking you through three ways to defeat ticks. From tick-immune blood, to a tick-destroying robot and tried-and-true tweezers, this show is not for arachnids who are faint of heart. GUESTS: Rick Ostfeld: Distinguished senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Holly Gaff: Professor of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University  Jen Wegner: Associate curator of the Egyptian section at the Penn Museum Birnur Aral: Executive Director of the Beauty, Health and Sustainability Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute 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.Stacey Addo, Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we think of public health, we tend to think of things along the lines of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines, or even seatbelts and tobacco. But public health expands well beyond that, to realms like housing, climate change, access to the outdoors, and gun violence. This hour, we look broadly at the world of public health. And we ask what’s next for the field. GUESTS:  Katelyn Jetelina: Epidemiologist and author of the “Your Local Epidemiologist” newsletter Megan Ranney: Emergency physician and Dean of the Yale School of Public Health Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s more to narcissism than meets the eye. This hour, we reflect on narcissism — our misunderstandings about it, its pervasiveness in our culture, and the personal, public, and political damage it wreaks. GUESTS: Mark Ettensohn: Clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of narcissists Lee Hammock: “Self-aware” narcissist who shares his experience and insights on social media Pete Hatemi: Distinguished professor of political science at Penn State University 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, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired January 26, 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 wild fires, riding bikes, Jay Silverheels, the Bronze Age Pervert, and … explaining the concept of Earth time to aliens. 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.

The Nose is off this week. In its place: Everyone loves a good band breakup story. But it’s far more unusual to find bands that manage to stay together for the long haul. This hour we explore the challenges musicians face as they seek band harmony and discuss what makes them succeed — or fail — together. GUESTS: Jim Chapdelaine: Guitarist, producer, Emmy Award-winning composer, recording engineer, and an adjunct professor at the University of Hartford School of Music Heather Ferguson: Psychotherapist and psychoanalyst and a member of the Music Industry Therapist Collective Steven Hyden: Cultural critic at UPROXX and the author of Long Road: Pearl Jam and the Soundtrack of a Generation Nerissa Nields: Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and founding member of The Nields Jay Russell: Singer, songwriter, and guitarist in The Split Coils; former member of Hot Rod Circuit 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, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired February 9, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Journalist and author Lisa Belkin spent 10 years retracing the ancestry of three families, over four generations, to understand how a series of random encounters between three men led to the 1960 murder of a Stamford, Connecticut, police officer. Genealogy of a Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night looks at how family “truths” passed down through the generations can influence the choices of the descendants that follow. How do family stories, happenstance, and the cultural ethos of the moment shape the people we become? GUESTS:  Lisa Belkin: A journalist and the author of Genealogy of a Murder: Four Generations, Three Families, One Fateful Night Doreen Troy Dolan: Daughter of David Troy Kelsey Rose Dolan: Granddaughter of David Troy 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.