The Colin McEnroe Show

Welcome back from the long weekend and, in a way, from the summer! We figured you might have some things to say on a day like today, and 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 commercial creep on public radio, “The Purple People Eater” and Nope, defenders and detractors of our new radio promos, the Cary Grant movie People Will Talk(which we carelessly left out of our rom-coms show), the circular economy (and Amazon taking its damn boxes back), legendary Connecticut broadcaster Bob Steele, and legendary march maker John Philip Sousa. 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! 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 gets the Oprah shot. Britney is back. Over the last week, Britney Spears released a 22-minute ‘audio statement’ covering her conservatorship and its long-awaited ending, and she dropped her first new music since 2016, a single with Elton John. And: Nope is Jordan Peele’s third film as writer/director/producer, his followup to Get Out and Us. It’s a kind of mashup of horror, sci-fi, and neo-Western with some notes of Spielberg thrown in, too. Peele has acknowledged the influence of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Jaws, but there’s clearly some War of the Worlds going on here as well. Domestically, Nope is the highest-grossing horror film of the year so far. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Richard Roat, Character Actor Known for Friends and Seinfeld, Dead at 89 Why ‘She-Hulk’ is getting review bombed Fans and experts see a link between negative online reviews, primarily from male users, and the Marvel show’s exploration of gender. The Alarming Prospect of NBC Clocking Out at 10 p.m. Supporters Attempt to Redeem Legacy of Hollywood Legend Fredric March, Canceled Over Racism Allegations: “This Was a Rush to Judgment” As Turner Classic Movies gets ready to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Oscar winner’s birth, host Ben Mankiewicz is among those calling it a “misconception” that the long-time civil rights champion once supported the Ku Klux Klan. “He couldn’t have done what he’s accused of doing,” adds actor Glynn Turman. America Is Trying to Make the Moon Happen Again NASA is ready to give an ambitious lunar program its first real test. Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey — First Trailer Reveals the Horrors in 100 Acre Wood Oh, bother. Anti-Aging Ambassador Leonardo DiCaprio Breaks Up With 25-Year-Old Girlfriend Camila Morrone has hit the glass ceiling of being one-fourth of a century old and must now pack her bags. This Is How the Hollywood Comeback Cycle Works Johnny Depp’s appearance at MTV’s Video Music Awards was at once bizarre and frustratingly predictable. The Alleged Celeb Civil War Between Olivia Wilde, Florence Pugh, and Shia LaBeouf, ExplainedThe gossip includes conflicting accounts, a leaked video, and an on-set romance, but how much is just in fans’ imaginations? Taylor Swift Is The Queen Of Easter Eggs And Hidden Messages. Here’s Everything That Fans Have Theorized About “Midnights” So Far. As soon as Swifties had finished screaming, crying, and throwing up over the Midnights announcement on Sunday, they got to work. Did My Cat Just Hit On Me? An Adventure in Pet Translation Entrepreneurs are aiming to put A.I.-powered pet translation tools into our pockets. The Cult of A24 The iconoclastic studio has bred superfans, dropped swag, and perfected a house style. It’s also teetering on the verge of self-parody. Every A24 Movie, Ranked Neon lights, creepy birds, white people rapping — the studio spawned an aesthetic universe. Here are the good, bad, and vibe-y. Breaking Down That Infamous E.T./Star Wars Fan Theory 2022 Fall Movie Preview: 34 Films to Watch Out For With the Venice Film Festival kicking off this week, the race is on to rule over the best season of the year for moviegoing. 25 TV Shows We Can’t Wait to See This Fall Television’s signature season offers a bounty of new series and returning favorites. ‘House of the Dragon’ Shake-Up: Co-Showrunner Miguel Sapochnik Leaving Hit Series Emmy-winning ‘Game of Thrones’ veteran Alan Taylor will join the team for season two. The Guilt-Free Pleasure of Airplane Movies Amid the endless tiny indignities of air travel, only one true retreat remains. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s Quest to Become America’s Favorite Superheroes Unpacking Kimye’s obsession, pre- and post-divorce, with Disney, “The Incredibles,” the nuclear family, and spandex. Getting Away From It All in Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Reality reality was terrible. Would virtual reality be any better? You Don’t Really Want a Twitter Edit Button Our chaotic public square will lose a lot more than typos. Pumpkin spice won. It’s time to accept it and move on. GUESTS: Raquel Benedict: The most dangerous woman in speculative fiction (and she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast) Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian and 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, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! 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.

Tuberculosis has been around for thousands of years and still infects millions per year. This hour, we look back at how tuberculosis has shaped history and how it is still impacting health today. Plus, a look at the history of tuberculosis treatment, how tuberculosis has shaped modern architecture, and the impact of tuberculosis on art and artists. GUESTS:  Heran Darwin: Professor in the Department of Microbiology at New York University, whose lab studies Mycobacterium tuberculosis Kyle Harper: Chair in the History of Liberty, professor of classics and letters at the University of Oklahoma, and the author of Plagues Upon the Earth: Disease and the Course of Human History Beatriz Colomina: Professor of the history of architecture at Princeton University and the author of X-Ray Architecture Tara Knapp: Vice president of external affairs at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare Carolyn Day: Associate professor of history at Furman University and the author of Consumptive Chic: A History of Beauty, Fashion and Disease Elizabeth Lee: Associate professor of art history at Dickinson College and the author of The Medicine of Art: Disease and the Aesthetic Object in Gilded Age America 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.

In his book, Seven Games, Oliver Roeder says that games are a “slice of life.” This hour we look at three games: chess, Scrabble, and Monopoly. We investigate why these games have endured in popularity through history, and we discuss what each one of them can teach us about life. GUESTS: Jenny Adams: Author of Power Play: The Literature and Politics of Chess in the Late Middle Ages Mary Pilon: A journalist and screenwriter and the author of The Monopolists: Obsession, Fury, and the Scandal Behind the World’s Favorite Board Game Oliver Roeder: A journalist and the author of Seven Games: A Human History Lindsay Shin: A competitive Scrabble player; she organizes an annual tournament in New Orleans 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 March 15, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we wrap our heads around clapping — its history, its varied permutations, and the kinds of occasions on which people applaud. GUESTS:  Gavin Witt: Professor of theater history at Towson University and a long-time dramaturg Erin Elstner: Percussionist and professor of percussion at Webster University Frank Rizzo: Theater critic for Variety and other publications 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 the old Hartford music venue Lloyd’s; the village of Bentonsport, Iowa, current population 44; the town of Provincetown, Massachusetts, current population 3,644; our impending, delayed, ongoing rebrand; and our world famous, award winning, but currently mothballed, Factoids segments. 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! Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s Nose is one hell of a steep climb outta there. Top Gun: Maverick is a sequel 36 years in the making. It’s also the No. 1 movie of the year, both worldwide and domestically. It’s the highest-grossing film of Tom Cruise’s long career. And it’s the highest-grossing domestic release in the history of Paramount Pictures. Top Gun: Maverick starts its fourth month in theaters this weekend, and it’s now available for sale on digital platforms. And: Val is a 2021 documentary written and photographed, from thousands of hours of videotapes and film reels documenting his life and career, by Val Kilmer, who plays Iceman in both Top Gun films. Val is, according to Kilmer in the movie, “A story about my life that is also not my life.” Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Leon Vitali, ‘Barry Lyndon’ Actor and Personal Assistant to Stanley Kubrick, Dies at 74 The 102 Best Movie Sequels of All Time Whether they come after, before, or between their predecessors, these films have their own indelible legacies. Thrones v. Rings: The Biggest Battle in TV History Is Here House of the Dragon [premiered] on HBO Max [last] weekend, The Rings of Power on Amazon two weeks later. The winner will set the course for fantasy—and streaming. The HGTV-ification of America You can’t escape gray floors. Yellowstone’s Brand of White Grievance Is Free-Range and Organic Live Performance Is Back. But Audiences Have Been Slow to Return. Attendance lagged in the comeback season, as the challenges posed by the coronavirus persisted. Presenters hope it was just a blip. Vince Gilligan Wants to Write a Good Guy After fourteen years of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” the showrunner talks about how TV has changed, the sins of auteur theory, and the appeal of an old-fashioned hero. Why Rick And Morty Creator Justin Roiland Likes Mocking Their Own Jokes Within The Show Itself Research says that your 40s are your unhappiest age. It’s worse for millennials I was already glum about soon turning 40. Then I learned that happiness is U-shaped — it bottoms out in your 40s, then starts to inch its way up again in your 50s I realised I would never be an actor — now I’m a big advocate of giving up on dreams To succeed you need self-belief and drive. But life forces us to give up all the time, and being able to let things go is also a skill You Know Holden Caulfield Isn’t Real, Right? The Commodore 64 at 40: back to the future of video games The bestselling computer made home gaming accessible for millions as it launched the industry toward the mainstream with classic titles such as Dropzone and The Sentinel An inside look at how the Girl Scouts chose their next cookie flavor, Raspberry Rally MoviePass Is Relaunching Next Month After Failing in 2019 The company was driven out of business three years ago after offering customers a too-good-to-be-true subscription model. GUESTS: James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer, and she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance 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! Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chances are you have used online reviews to try new restaurants, dry cleaners, hotels or even movies. But what makes us trust the opinions of strangers on the internet? This hour, a look at the art and the etiquette of online reviews. GUESTS:  Camilla Vásquez: Author of The Discourse of Online Consumer Reviews Chef Tyler Anderson: Owner of Tanda Hospitality Lauren Dragan: Senior staff writer at Wirecutter Xandy Schiefer: Co-host of the podcast Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet  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, Eugene Amatruda, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his new book, From Hollywood with Love, critic Scott Meslow lays out two ways to tell if a given movie is a rom-com. First, his own definition: “A romantic comedy is a movie where (1) the central plot is focused on at least one romantic love story; and (2) the goal is to make you laugh at least as much as the goal is to make you cry.” And then, The Donald Petrie Test, named for the director of some rom-coms, like Mystic Pizza and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but also some edge cases, like Miss Congeniality and Grumpy Old Men: “If you removed the love story from this [comedy], would you still have a movie? If the answer is no, it’s a romantic comedy. […] If the answer is yes, it’s a comedy with a romantic subplot.” So those are the litmus tests. Now, does that make Broadcast News a rom-com, or no? What about Annie Hall? Or something like Grosse Pointe Blank? How about His Girl Friday? Or even, actually, Love Actually? This hour, a deconstruction — and celebration — of the romantic comedy. Some favorite rom-coms from some of the people on this show: Illeana DouglasTheodora Goes Wild (1936)Bringing Up Baby (1938)Ninotchka (1939)Too Many Husbands (1940)The More the Merrier (1943)Christmas in Connecticut (1945)Cluny Brown (1946)Pillow Talk (1959)The Apartment (1960)What’s Up, Doc? (1972)Foul Play (1978)Arthur (1981) David EdelsteinTrouble in Paradise (1932)The Awful Truth (1937)Ninotchka (1939)Midnight (1939)The Lady Eve (1941)His Girl Friday (1940)The Philadelphia Story (1940)The Shop Around the Corner (1940)Cluny Brown (1946) Scott Meslow’s five recommended under-seen rom-coms from the past decade Populaire (2012)A zippy, ultra-stylish French rom-com about the romance between a dapper boss and his secretary, set amid the long-forgotten craze for competitive speed typing. Sleeping with Other People (2015)Alison Brie and Jason Sudeikis are at the peak of their charms in this witty rom-com about two friends who reunite years after losing their virginities to each other — the rare rom-com to get the balance of raunchy and sweet just right. Man Up (2015)Ignore the lame title — this rom-com, in which Lake Bell plays an unlucky-in-love woman who pretends to be a man’s blind date, is pure, fizzy fun (and is also the only rom-com I’ve seen to borrow a plot point from The Silence of the Lambs). Destination Wedding (2018)Other critics weren’t as high on this extremely stripped down rom-com, in which Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves snark their way through a wedding they’d both prefer not to be attending — but in a genre in which so many characters have “negative” qualities that are actually just adorable, I appreciated this movie’s deliberately sour tone. Plus One (2019)A delightfully unapologetic throwback to the genre’s ’90s heyday, but with a modern touch, as two platonic friends (Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine) agree to be each other’s plus-ones for a packed wedding season before realizing they may actually have a spark after all. Colin’s 5 (or 6) favorite rom-coms Heaven Can Wait (1978)I realize this is assailable on the basis of Julie Christie not being an especially memorable character and getting less screen time than, say, Jack Warden. Warren Beatty is so vain, he probably thinks this movie is about him, and he’s sort of right. But it is very nearly perfect and enriched by an amazing ensemble of supporting players. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)I surprised myself by ranking SLP this high, but I love the frank and funny handling of mental illness and its indistinguishability from being an Eagles fan. I’ve seen it quite a few times, and I invariably cry at the end. I love what J-Law does with her part, and Chris Tucker and John Ortiz are standouts among the fine supporting cast. Shout out to Kevin Lowry for his work as dolly grip on the “A” camera. The Lady Eve (1941) / Intolerable Cruelty (2003)These are both “rom-cons” involving grifts by a femme fatale who is usually a few steps ahead of the male lead. Barbara Stanwyck actually generates more sexual heat than the smoldering Catherine Zeta-Jones. She was still doing that 42 years later, hitting on a rain-streaked, bare-chested priest played by Richard Chamberlain in The Thorn Birds. But I do love Intolerable Cruelty. I think it’s the only Coen brothers rom-com and definitely an homage to the ’30s and ’40s. Say Anything (1989)I loved John Cusack during this period. A few years later, I was seeing a psychotherapist who looked exactly like him. It was distracting. I’ve learned that Cusack didn’t really see himself as a romcom person and even pushed back against the iconic boombox scene. That has something to do with why this movie works so well. Bringing Up Baby (1938)Grant. Hepburn. Two leopards. Thirty pounds of sirloin. What’s not to love? GUESTS: Illeana Douglas: A movie and television star David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic Scott Meslow: The author of From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy 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 and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bears, bobcats, coyotes, and deer are repopulating Connecticut, despite being hunted to near extinction by early settlers. Is the mountain lion among those returning? The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection thinks it’s unlikely. They investigate hundreds of mountain lion sightings every year without finding physical evidence of their presence. The sightings increased in 2011, after a driver hit and killed a mountain lion who was trying to cross the Merritt Parkway in Milford. But the mountain lion’s DNA was traced to South Dakota. Mountain lions in Connecticut are a lot like Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster: elusive and spectacular creatures that are widely spotted but leave no trace. This hour, we talk about wildlife in Connecticut, including the Greenwich mountain lion and Buddy the beefalo. GUESTS:  Jason Hawley: A wildlife biologist for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection William Stolzenburg: A screenwriter and journalist and the author of Heart of Lion: a Lone Cat’s Walk Across America Ed Benecchi: Retired police officer 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, Megan Fitzgerald, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show. Special thanks to Jennifer Ahrens, Julia Gill, Peter Herrmann, and Anna Huether for contributing stories.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.