The Colin McEnroe Show

When was the last time you had fun? I mean the kind of fun where you lost track of time, you didn’t care what others were thinking of you, and you felt connected to the people you were having fun with. We all know what fun feels like, so why don’t we make time for it? We tend to think of fun as a side dish, something to eat if you’re not too full. That’s wrong. Fun should be the main course. Fun nourishes our mind and body as much as healthy food and productive work. This hour, we talk about fun, including why we’re not having it, why we need more of it, and how to have it. GUESTS: Liliana DeLeo: A certified laughter yoga master trainer and the founder of Living Laughter Julia Pistell: Founding member of Sea Tea Improv Catherine Price: A science journalist and the author of The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again 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! Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired December 21, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Touch, grip, read, dance, gesture — what can't they do? Our fingers are so vital to our everyday life, sometimes it seems they have minds of their own. In this hour, we talk about the hidden language of finger gestures, the future of Braille, and the joys and challenges of animating fingers for DreamWorks. GUESTS: Kensy Cooperrider: Cognitive scientist, writer, and host of the podcast Many Minds Jonathan McNicol: Producer of The Colin McEnroe Show Sile O'Modhrain: Professor at the University of Michigan studying sound and touch and the ways in which they interact Carlos Fernandez Puertolas: Animator with DreamWorks 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! Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s Nose is the first one to say it’s a great country, but it’s a strange culture. George Carlin’s American Dream is a new, two-part, nearly-four-hour HBO documentary directed by Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio. At 225 minutes, it actually runs 45 minutes shorter than Apatow’s previous HBO doc, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling. And: Brigsby Bear is a 2017 comedy-drama written by Kevin Costello and Kyle Mooney from a story by Mooney and directed by Dave McCary. Mooney is one of four major departures from the cast of Saturday Night Live last weekend. Brigsby Bear stars Mooney, Claire Danes, Mark Hamill, Greg Kinnear, Andy Samberg, and Matt Walsh. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: ‘Goodfellas’ Star Ray Liotta Dies at 67 Colin Cantwell, The Concept Artist Who Designed The Death Star, Dies At 90 Andy “Fletch” Fletcher Dies: Depeche Mode Keyboard Player, Founding Member Was 60 Ricky Gervais’ Netflix Special Draws Criticism for Graphic Jokes Mocking Trans People I Watched the New Ricky Gervais Stand-up Special So You Don’t Have To John Mulaney Draws Criticism for Having Dave Chappelle Open, Tell ‘Transphobic Jokes’ at Ohio Show The Kids in the Hall Have Gotten Old. Their Comedy Hasn’t. A new documentary explains the undersung Canadian troupe’s brilliance, and a new season of its sketch show confirms it. The 100 Greatest Stools in Stand-up Special History A ‘Jaws’ actor is named police chief in the town where the iconic movie was filmed Broadcast TV’s reduced role made clear in fall presentations How Wordle brought us back together Spelling Bee, too, and Words With Friends. Who knew online word games would get us talking to each other again? Why the Depp-Heard trial is so much worse than you realize Amber Heard is just the first target of a new extremist playbook. As Frank Langella Defies His Firing, More Details About Inappropriate Behavior Claims On Set Of Netflix Series Emerge Rita Moreno to Play Vin Diesel’s Grandmother in ‘Fast X’ Conan O’Brien’s Podcast Company Sells to SiriusXM in Deal Valued Around $150 Million The sale of Team Coco comes as audio companies make deals with podcasters with large followings How Reality TV Stars Conquered Your Bookshelves Has Time Passed ‘Stranger Things’ By? In 2016, the Netflix hit became a zeitgeist-driving sensation. But in a streaming landscape that’s much more competitive, the supersized and long-awaited Season 4 may have a harder time standing out. ‘50% sweet, 50% salty’: Oreo, Ritz team up to make limited edition cookie-cracker snack A Brief History of the Cheez-It America’s iconic orange cracker turns 100 this year How Top Gun Became A Gay Classic Inside the Ambient Music Streaming Boom As more people turn to ambient playlists for sleeping, meditating, and growing houseplants, what does it mean for the artists behind the serene soundscapes? LARPing Goes to Disney World On a “Star Wars” spaceship, the company has taken live-action role-play to a lavish extreme. Guests spend days eating, scheming, and assembling lightsabres in character. ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ Director Teases Slasher Film Plot: ‘Pooh and Piglet Go on a Rampage’ GUEST: Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer, and the founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Bill Yousman: Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You probably know when you’re feeling happy, sad, or angry. But our range of emotions stretch beyond the language we have for them. This hour, we learn what emotions are and give names to ones you’ve probably felt without ever having had a word for them. GUESTS: Edgar Gerrard Hughes: The editor of How Do You Feel? A Spectacular Compendium of Ideas, Interactive Games, Provocations, Tests, and Tricks that Explore the World of What You Feel and Why and a researcher at the University of London’s Queen Mary Centre for the History of the Emotions John Koenig: Author of The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows 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! Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 10, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s something almost romantic about airships. The image of a giant, floating aircraft feels both nostalgic and futuristic. In the early 20th century, airships were on the leading edge of aviation; today, they mostly live on in the domain of steampunk art and speculative fiction. But a number of companies are betting they can bring airships out of the history books and into modern real-world applications like cargo transport and military uses. This hour, the past and future of airships, both real and imagined. GUESTS: Nick Allman: Chief operating officer of Hybrid Air Vehicles Jeanne Marie Laskas: A journalist and the author of eight books; in 2016 she published “Helium Dreams” in The New Yorker Ken Liu: A futurist and author of speculative fiction, including The Dandelion Dynasty, an epic fantasy series featuring airships 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! Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired November 1, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we’re joined by Kelefa Sanneh, author of Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres. We talk about music genres and look back at the history of music. GUESTS: Kelefa Sanneh: Staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres 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! Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired October 25, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the one hand, calling something “medieval” carries with it negative connotations of outdated times. But lately there has almost been a nostalgia for life in the Middle Ages. This hour, we look at what life was really like in that time period and why we remember it the way we do. Plus, a look at the medieval origin of environmental anxiety and student debt. GUESTS: Jenny Adams: Associate professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Courtney Barajas: Author of Old English Ecotheology: The Exeter Book Martha Bayless: Director of folklore and public culture at the University of Oregon; her books include Sin and Filth in Medieval Culture: The Devil in the Latrine and A Cultural History of Comedy in the Middle Ages 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! Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your strength breaks men’s bones. This week’s Nose has the cunning to break their minds. We Own This City is a six-part HBO miniseries developed by David Simon and George Pelecanos and based on the book by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton. It chronicles the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force and corruption within and around it. Simon told NPR’s Eric Deggans that “this is the closest thing you’re going to get to a sequel” to The Wire. And: The Northman is director Robert Eggers’s third feature and his first big-budget film. It is based on the Viking legend of Amleth, a prince who tries to avenge the murder of his father. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: John Aylward Dies: ‘ER’ & ‘The West Wing’ Actor Was 75 Hannah Gadsby Stays Sunny by Any Means Necessary George Carlin narrator edits make Thomas The Tank Engine even more blue Genius editor combines Carlin’s Thomas & Friends narration with foul-mouthed clips from his audiobook readings Hollywood Has No Idea What to Do With the Erotic Thriller Streamers are struggling to reboot a genre that died too young. The Untold Story of the White House’s Weirdly Hip Record Collection Jimmy Carter’s grandson is unlocking its mysteries Attack of the Clones is underrated — and it’s crucial to the current state of Star Wars George Lucas’ maligned prequel chapter deserves reconsideration as it sets up the Obi-Wan series [Ed. note: Links ≠ endorsement.] The Believer, a Beloved Literary Magazine, Goes Home After a Risqué Detour The magazine, bought by a marketing company, briefly hosted clickbait content. Scandal ensued. After a flurry of negotiation, it is now back with its first publisher, McSweeney’s. Can You Remember the Plot of Avatar? We asked a semi-random assortment of smart and funny people who were alive in 2009—from Broti Gupta to Brandon Wardell to Marianne Williamson—if they could recall the plot of the highest-grossing movie ever. The Puzzle That Will Outlast the World One move down, 1,298,074,214,633,706,907,132,624,082,305,022 to go. Star Wars: The Rebellion Will Be Televised An exclusive look at the master plan for Obi-Wan Kenobi with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, Andor with Diego Luna, Ahsoka with Rosario Dawson—and a fleet of new shows. Squid Game Season 2 Likely Won’t Release Until End Of 2023 Or 2024 Taylor Swift’s NYU Commencement Speech Was About Cats, Cringe, And Getting Canceled The star’s NYU commencement speech was completely apolitical. Marvel Studios is licensing Stan Lee’s likeness from the company he sued before his death Lee sued POW! Entertainment in 2018 Tom Cruise Is Being Boring at Cannes ‘Doctor Who’ has its first Black lead. Will the show contend with race? GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan: A director, producer, and arts consultant Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn Irene Papoulis: teaches writing at Trinity College Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the long timeline of long-distance communication technology that starts with the telegraph and leads all the way to the iPhone and beyond, there’s a particular, once-ubiquitous device that seems to have left an indelible mark on the culture while also disappearing nearly completely from it. This hour, the history and present? (and future??) of the fax machine. GUESTS: Jonathan Coopersmith: Professor of history at Texas A & M University and the author of Faxed: The Rise and Fall of the Fax Machine Troy Kreiner: Design director at Use All Five, the firm that organized Artifax Kay Savetz: A tech historian; they co-host Antic: The Atari 8-Bit Podcast and run a number of websites, including Fax Toy and FaxZero Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francisco Goldman made a big choice as a young man. He chose to spend a year in Guatemala living with his uncle instead of pursuing the master’s degree he could have had from a prestigious school offering him a full scholarship. It turned out to be one of the most consequential decisions of his early life. This hour, Colin talks with Goldman about his novel Monkey Boy, a story about the legacy of violence on a family and much more, including how his decision to go to Guatemala has shaped his life. GUEST: Francisco Goldman: Author of seven books; his most recent, the novel Monkey Boy, is now out in paperback 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! Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired May 27, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.