The Colin McEnroe Show

Connecticut Public Radio
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Apr 7, 2022 • 50min

‘Literature as resistance.’ Azar Nafisi on the subversive power of reading in troubled times

Azar Nafisi is the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, which spent 117 weeks on the New York Times Best Sellers list. Her new book, Read Dangerously, argues that reading literature, reading challenging, dangerousliterature is foundational and fundamental to continued democracy. Imagination, itself, she says, is a threat to autocracy and totalitarianism. Imagination is inherently, by definition, “free and wayward.” “It should be clear by now that when I talk about books,” Nafisi writes, “I am not talking about literature of resistance but literature as resistance.” Azar Nafisi joins us for the hour. GUEST: Azar Nafisi: The author of six books; her newest is Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled 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! 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.
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Apr 6, 2022 • 49min

It took a global pandemic to turn us all into preppers

In the past two years, we've all turned into preppers. Whether dealing with a pandemic, supply chain disruptions, or natural disasters, we've learned the value of being prepared to be self-sufficient for a few days, weeks, or even months. This hour, we look at prepping, and talk about how it has become a part of our everyday lives.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Apr 5, 2022 • 50min

The art of gossip

Gossiping is considered a bad habit. But, when done well, it can actually have social benefits. This hour, what gossip is, its benefits and drawbacks, and why we’re interested in celebrity gossip. GUESTS: Amanda Kehrberg: Adjunct media studies faculty at Arizona State University Shayla Love: Senior staff writer of features at Vice Frank McAndrew: Psychology professor at Knox College 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 September 16, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Apr 4, 2022 • 50min

The humble fly

There are thought to be about 17 million living flies for every human alive on Earth. They’re predators and parasites and pests, but they’re pollinators too. They help us solve crimes, heal wounds, and understand genetics and evolution. And they literally help at least one artist paint his paintings. Also this hour: A look at David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of, you guessed it: The Fly. GUESTS: Jonathan Balcombe: Author of Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World’s Most Successful Insects John Knuth: An artist Gale Ridge: Associate scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Jacob Trussell: Author of The Binge Watcher’s Guide to The Twilight Zone; he published the piece “Only Jeff Goldblum Could Make Us Fall in Love with ‘The Fly.’” at Film School Rejects 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, which originally aired August 19, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Apr 1, 2022 • 49min

The Nose on Bruce Willis’s retirement, ’The End of the Movies,’ and HBO’s ‘Winning Time’

This week’s Nose is always moving, it’s rhythmic, it’s up close and personal, there’s no pads or helmets for protection. On Wednesday, Demi Moore announced on Instagram that Bruce Willis is “stepping away” from his career after being diagnosed with aphasia. Willis turned 67 last month. And: Last Friday, before last weekend’s Academy Awards ceremonies, Ross Douthat published an opinion piece in The New York Times: “We Aren’t Just Watching the Decline of the Oscars. We’re Watching the End of the Movies.” And finally: Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is an HBO series chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers and starring John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, and an ensemble cast. It is created by Max Borenstein and executive produced by Adam McKay. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters’ Drummer, Dies at 50 Hard-hitting and charismatic, he was direct about his hopes for the group’s future, even after two decades. “I want to be the biggest band in the world,” he said. Paul Herman, The Sopranos Actor, Dies At 76 Nicolas Cage Can Explain It All He is one of our great actors. Also one of our most inscrutable, most eccentric, and most misunderstood. But as Cage makes his case here, every extraordinary thing about his wild work and life actually makes perfect ordinary sense. The Real Mission Impossible: Saying “No” to Tom Cruise How the franchise superstar lawyered-up and out-gunned Paramount execs over costs, COVID and a last-minute submarine. Ryan Reynolds Is a Great Brand but an Increasingly Boring Actor Are You the Most Boring Person Alive? A recent study details the dull jobs, hobbies and personality traits that make someone a boring person Does Every Geek TV Series Need To Require Hours Of Homework? Even Before Will Smith, It Was a Strange and Awkward Oscars 2022 V.F.’s chief critic reviews the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. Both teams assured of a possession in playoff overtime with rules change approved by NFL owners GUESTS: 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 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.
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Mar 31, 2022 • 49min

The road to sainthood: Who’s on it and how did they get there?

This hour, a look at the path to sainthood and how it’s changed over time. Plus: the local example of the Rev. Michael McGivney. GUESTS: Teresa Berger: Professor of Liturgical Studies and Catholic Theology at Yale Divinity School Joseph Laycock: Author of The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism Rachel McCleary: Lecturer in the Economics Department at Harvard University and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute James Sullivan: Rector of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury 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, Sara Gasparotto, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Mar 30, 2022 • 49min

Is arguing good for us? We’re still arguing about it

We tend to associate arguing with destructive actions like quarreling or fighting. Argument is a different animal. It may be fueled by the passion that drives fights and quarrels, but effective arguing requires factual evidence and logic to support why one idea might work better than another idea. At its finest, argument opens our world to ideas and solutions we hadn’t considered, whereas the passion and clashing egos of a fight often send us sulking to our respective corners. This hour, we argue that arguing can be good for us, but one could argue that we’re wrong. GUESTS:  Lee Siegel: A cultural critic and the author of seven books; his latest is Why Argument Matters Agnes Callard: An associate professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and the author of Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic 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.
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Mar 29, 2022 • 49min

Looking at our world through glass

Glass is all around us: from windows and mirrors, to phone screens and fiber optic cables. This hour, we learn how glass helped shape our world, efforts to create different types of glasses, and what it's like to make art out of glass. GUESTS: John Garrison: Professor at Grinnell College, and author of the book Glass. Alexis Clare: Professor of Glass Science at Alfred University.  Eric Meek: Senior Manager of Hot Glass Programs at the Corning Museum of Glass. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 22, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Mar 28, 2022 • 30min

Emergency First Responder Nose: Oscars smackdown

Note: This episode contains strong language. You may have seen that Sunday night, on the Academy Awards stage, Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith went up on stage and whacked Rock in the face, and then a few minutes later, Will Smith won the Best Actor award. A more Noseish confluence of events we may never have seen been before. And so we assembled an emergency, podcast-only, shortish Nose to deal with it. GUESTS: Jacques Lamarre: A playwright and the director of client services at Buzz Engine Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast Vivian Nabeta: Director of marketing and public relations for Capital Community College and the cohost of the So Pretentious 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 Lily Tyson contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Mar 28, 2022 • 49min

We take your calls. Ask (or tell) us anything

We’ve been doing these shows a lot of weeks where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. We don’t even, anymore, start with the suggestion of a topic that your calls might, potentially, be about. We’ve had fun with these shows, and you seem to like them too. So we’re doing that again. In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour about anything at all. 888–720–9677.‌ Or 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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