The Colin McEnroe Show

Facebook announced Thursday that its umbrella company will rebrand as “Meta.” Mark Zuckerberg said that the new name reflects the full breadth of the future the company wants to help build: “Now we have a new North Star: to help bring the Metaverse to life. From now on, we’re going to be Metaverse first, not Facebook first.” And: Do we want TV shows (and movies and books, etc.) to acknowledge the pandemic? It’s an odd conundrum. When shows deal with it, it seems intrusive. When they don’t, it seems unrealistic. And finally: Dune: Part One is the fourth screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s book series that dates back to the 1960s. It is directed and co-written by Denis Villeneuve, and it debuted in theaters and on HBOMax on October 22. A sequel was officially greenlit this week. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Mort Sahl, Whose Biting Commentary Redefined Stand-Up, Dies at 94 A self-appointed warrior against hypocrisy, he revolutionized comedy in the 1950s by addressing political and social issues. There’s No Dave Chappelle or Hannah Gadsby Without Mort Sahl Before Sahl, who died at 94 on Tuesday, intellectual arguments and controversial stances were off-limits to stand-ups seeking mass acceptance. James Michael Tyler death: ‘Friends’ star who played Gunther dies from cancer, aged 59 ‘If you met him once you made a friend for life,’ family says of actor The First Thing We Do, Let’s Kill All the Leaf Blowers Photos Are Too Flattering Now An ode to the bygone days of blurry, poorly lit images What happens when your favorite thing goes viral? A 2002 song by the Mountain Goats about a doomed divorce is suddenly big on TikTok. Why? Joe Exotic, Carole Baskin, And Jeff Lowe’s Complicated Saga Continues In The First Trailer For “Tiger King 2” The big cat owners and their bigger rivalries will return to Netflix next month. There is a consistency to the debate over book censorship: Distress about change The Alec Baldwin shooting has some people calling for only computer-generated gunshots. It’s not as easy as it sounds. Creating a realistic muzzle flash is a key part of the problem Gwyneth Paltrow, Jada Pinkett Smith Declare Porn ‘Harmful to Women’ Chappelle is unapologetic in his first public statement on ‘The Closer’ controversy The 37-Year-Olds Are Afraid of the 23-Year-Olds Who Work for Them Twenty-somethings rolling their eyes at the habits of their elders is a longstanding trend, but many employers said there’s a new boldness in the way Gen Z dictates taste. GUESTS: Helder Mira - Multimedia producer at Trinity College and co-host of the So Pretentious podcast Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Join the conversation on Facebook (I’m pretty sure it’s still called that) 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.

We realized a few years ago that — basically because Colin and I are fraidy cats — The Nose doesn’t cover very much horror stuff. So we started doing an annual Halloween special that tackles horror head-on, in a vaguely Nose-ish way. This year: Could it be that the one genre with a certain amount of immunity from the Disneyfication, the cinematic universeification of everything… is horror? And: There’s an ongoing renaissance in Black horror dating back to Jordan Peele’s Get Out in 2017. This year’s best example is probably Nia DaCosta’s Candyman reboot/remake/sequel (co-written by DaCosta and Peele). But horror’s creeping (you see what I did there) reckoning with racism is having its share of ups and downs, too. And finally: We have a largely arbitrary tradition of spending a chunk of this show on a horror classic that’s celebrating, specifically, its 40th anniversary. Previously, it’s been Halloween, Alien, The Shining. This year: An American Werewolf in London. GUESTS: Raquel Benedict - Claims to be the most dangerous woman in speculative fiction; she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast David Jesudason - A freelance writer and journalist Rich Johnson - Writes about movies; he’s the host of two movie podcasts: Film & and Mondo Moviehouse Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An entrenched anxiety is taking hold throughout America. You can feel it in the air and see it in the rise of guns, doomsday preppers, and mask wars. The deep economic and social insecurity at the root of our anxiety comes from political decisions made since 9/11 that starve the public to benefit the private. The elections of Barack Obama and Donald Trump, the Black Lives Matter movement, the global pandemic, and our endless war on terror have exposed our failures and electrified our anxiety. Today, we talk about the cost of our public discontent and endless war. GUESTS:  Evan Osnos - A staff writer at The New Yorker, a CNN contributor, and a senior fellow at Brookings Institution; his most recent book is Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury Samuel Moyn - Teaches law and history at Yale; his most recent book is Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Cat Pastor and Colin McEnroe contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From ancient scrolls to modern toner cartridges, ink (in one form or another) has been around for millennia. And while we may take it for granted now, for much of that time, it was a precious and coveted substance. Ink makers closely guarded their recipes; spy agencies developed secret, invisible ink formulations; and even now, billions are spent to create the perfect printer inks. This hour, we look back at the history of ink and ask whether its heyday might be coming to a close. GUESTS: Ted Bishop - Author of Ink: Culture, Wonder And Our Relationship With The Written Word Kristie Macrakis - Author of Prisoners, Lovers, & Spies: The Story of Invisible Ink from Herodotus to al Qaeda Kyle Wiens - Founder of iFixit Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 9, 2017.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 - Author of Major Labels: A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres and a staff writer at The New Yorker  Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, BBC Culture dropped its list of “The 100 Greatest TV series of the 21st Century.” No. 1 is exactly what you’d think it’d be, but below that, there’s plenty to argue about. (Deadwood at 18?! Horse pucky.) The Nose, over the years, has covered many of the shows on the list, by the way: Atlanta, Black Mirror, Fleabag, Game of Thrones, The Good Place, I May Destroy You, Mindhunter, OJ: Made in America, The Queen’s Gambit, Schitt’s Creek, Stranger Things, The Underground Railroad, Watchmen… to name a few. And, speaking of shows: Maid is a Netflix limited series inspired by Stephanie Land’s memoir, Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, and created by Molly Smith Metzler. Netflix describes it this way: “After fleeing an abusive relationship, a young mother finds a job cleaning houses as she fights to provide for her child and build them a better future.” Its 10 episodes dropped on October 1. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Alec Baldwin Fired Prop Gun That Killed Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, Injured Director Hartford names city’s first troubadour and flow artist; Khaiim Kelly and Lael Marie Saez will serve three-year terms The Many Decades of Bond “How has someone who is a borderline rapist, murderer, and potential sociopath, endured through all these decades?” Michael Caine Says His Latest Film Is His Last, but He’s Not Retired The 88-year-old screen legend says he’s transitioning to writing, while his representatives walk back his remarks. Americans Are Overworked And Over Work “As I’ve gotten older, work is definitely [still] really important, but I think I’ve started to see it less as my identity.” ​​It’s Quitting Season ‘I Screwed Up’: Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Addresses Dave Chappelle Fallout Netflix Staff Raised Concerns About Chappelle Special Before Its Release The company is dealing with an internal outcry unprecedented in its history. Dave Chappelle’s views on gender are problematic and hurtful Addison Rae Was Permanently Banned From TikTok For Literally Like A Day, So I Guess She Can Go Back To Dancing Now “Time to get a job.” Why ‘Y: The Last Man’ Was Abruptly Canceled Six years after landing at FX for development, the drama based on the beloved comic series was axed before it could even finish its first and (possibly) only season. Y: The Last Man Might Get Resurrected On HBO Max The Huge Box Office For Halloween Kills Seemingly Says A Lot About Peacock Succession at Scholastic Seemed to Be a Shock, Even to the New Chairwoman The powerhouse children’s publisher, known for Harry Potter, had been passed from father to son until Iole Lucchese, a top executive, was given control. Top 40 New Wave Albums The Believer Literary Magazine Shutting Down Issue No. 139, due out in February 2022, will be its last Kanye West is now officially ‘Ye’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Author Margaret Atwood Faces Backlash for Gender Neutrality Tweet MLB Just Tried a Bunch of Experimental Rules in the Minors. How Well Did They Work? Several minor leagues served as the guinea pig for ideas that could improve the pace of play, including robo umps, pushing the mound back, and bigger bases. Were they effective? ‘The Sopranos’: WarnerMedia In Talks With David Chase About HBO Max Prequel Series Why Groundhog Day Left Harold Ramis And Bill Murray’s Friendship In Shambles Royal Caribbean to offer 274-night cruise — the world’s longest GUESTS: Rand Richards Cooper - A fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal, and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Courant Mercy Quaye - Founder and principal consultant for The Narrative Project 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.

Rust is all around us. It’s in our cars, our homes, our infrastructure. It’s also the subject of Jonathan Waldman’s book Rust: The Longest War, which introduces us to the people who fight it. This hour, Waldman joins us, and we hear from a visual artist who has found a way to incorporate rust into her work. GUESTS: Esther Solondz - A Rhode Island-based visual artist Jonathan Waldman - Author of Rust: The Longest War Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired March 25, 2015.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been doing these shows most weeks where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. The last few times, we haven’t even started with the suggestion of a topic that your calls might, potentially, be about. And those shows have been fun. 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.

Jews have a long history of resistance against antisemitism that has sought to eradicate their literal existence. The power of their resistance lies in Jewish cultural and spiritual unity and the resulting close-knit communities that have survived and thrived in response to hate. This hour, we talk about how Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood came together in 2018 after a shooter killed eleven Jewish worshippers in a synagogue as they were preparing for their Saturday morning services. We also talk about the thousands of Jewish ‘family camps’ and partisan fighters who survived and triumphed in the forests of Eastern Europe during World War II. Some of their descendants settled in Connecticut. Resistance can take many forms beyond warfare. Photo Courtesy Of The Langerman And Lazowski FamiliesBeryl Sakier, Tania, Miriam, Rochel, Morris, and Luba Rabinowitz after arriving in Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy GUESTS:  Mark Oppenheimer - Senior Editor at Tablet, where he hosts the podcast Unorthodox; he is the author of five books including, most recently, Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood Rebecca Frankel - A journalist and author; her most recent book is Into the Forest: A Holocaust Story of Survival, Triumph, and Love 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.

Drinking alcohol has a number of negative impacts. But humans have been doing it for thousands of years, and show no signs of stopping. This hour, we discuss why we drink, why more people are moving towards sobriety through the “sober curious” movement, and the rise of nonalcoholic cocktails. GUESTS: Edward Slingerland - Author of Drunk: How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization, and a professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia  Hilary Sheinbaum - Journalist and author of The Dry Challenge: How to Lose the Booze for Dry January, Sober October, and Any Other Alcohol-Free Month Elva Ramirez - Journalist, media consultant and author of Zero Proof Cocktails: 90 Non-Alcoholic Recipes for Mindful Drinking Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, The Nose talks about Netflix’s hit show Squid Game. Plus: the viral New York Times Magazine article “Who Is The Bad Art Friend?” GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani - Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer Taneisha Duggan - A director, producer, arts consultant, and an artist working at the crossroads of performance and creative leadership Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Human beings are wired to hate pain, even in the form of a teeny tiny needle delivering life-saving elixir. Needle phobia, or trypanophobia, ranges from slight discomfort to crippling anxiety—and these fears can cause serious harm for people who avoid medical care. Despite this, we’ve been using syringes and needles forever. The ancient Greeks were using syringes to drain wounds, acupuncture was developed in China thousands of years ago, and tattoos can be found on mummies and bodies preserved in 5,000 year old ice. Yet your expected lifespan is probably a lot longer due to one invention: the hypodermic syringe. This hour we look at the history of needles, their stigma and controversies, and figure out how to get through fear of shots without judgement. GUESTS: Dr. Jeremy Greene - Professor of Science, Technology, and Medicine at Johns Hopkins University Dr. Meghan McMurtry - Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Guelph, and a Psychologist at McMaster Children's Hospital Johanna Korson - A graduate student working towards licensure as a clinical mental health counselor, and a person who has struggled with needle phobia herself Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a potpourri of topics: the Senate parliamentarian, local news, and wheelie suitcases. First, we talk about the Senate parliamentarian. And then: we discuss the value of local news, through the case study of The Hartford Courant. Finally, we learn about the invention of the wheelie suitcase. GUESTS: Elana Schor - Congress editor at Politico David Folkenflik - NPR’s media correspondent Katrine Marçal - Author of Mother Of Invention: How Good Ideas Get Ignored In An Economy Built For Men Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody loves a bulldozer. In fact, we all grew up loving bulldozers, didn't we? From Benny the Bulldozer to Katy and her big snow, from all the Tonka toys to all the die cast model Caterpillars, the bulldozer is more of an icon in American popular culture than we maybe realize. But the first scholarly "biography of the bulldozer" argues that there's a darker side to the demolition and clearance that gives these big machines purpose. And then, maybe there is a certain violence inherent here too. This hour, the history of bulldozing, the future of bulldozers, and a look at heavy construction equipment as adventure destination. GUESTS: Francesca Russell Ammon - Author of Bulldozer: Demolition and Clearance of the Postwar Landscape Jason Anetsburger - Project manager for Komatsu America's Intelligent Machine Control line of bulldozers and excavators Kate McMullan - Children's book author and executive producer of The Stinky and Dirty Show Randy Stenger - Founder and CEO of Extreme Sandbox Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Alex Ingberg, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired April 21, 2016.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been doing these almost weekly shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. This hour, we do it again.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Many Saints of Newark is a film prequel to The Sopranos. It takes place in the 1960s and ’70s, and part of Tony Soprano’s origin story is one of its secondary narratives. It opened in theaters last weekend and will run on HBOMax through October. And: The Closer is Dave Chappelle’s sixth and final (for now, at least) feature-length standup special for Netflix. It is, let’s say, provocative. (The Nose has previously covered three of Chappelle’s other Netflix specials: Equanimity and The Bird Revelation in 2017 and Sticks & Stones in 2019.) Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Alan Kalter, ‘Late Show With David Letterman’ Announcer, Dies at 78 Who Is the Bad Art Friend? Art often draws inspiration from life — but what happens when it’s your life? Inside the curious case of Dawn Dorland v. Sonya Larson. Hell Is the New York Times Publishing Your Group Chat A Botched Circumcision and Its Aftermath The constant discomfort of a genital injury creates a covenant of pain. It is impossible to think about anything else. People Are Arguing Over Whether It’s OK For A 30-Year-Old To Date A 19-Year-Old, And It’s Very Controversial “It’s not the age gap, it’s the mind gap.” How Silence Became a Luxury Product Upcoming HBO Max Movies To Keep An Eye On William Shatner Reveals Feelings Ahead Of Space Flight: “I’m Captain Kirk And I’m Terrified” Marvel’s What If…? Writer Explains A Presumed Infinity Stone Plot Hole Is it time to hire a chief metaverse officer? Brands are entering the metaverse through virtual stores, AR, gaming and digital fashion shows. While many have relied on external partnerships, an internal expert or team might be on the horizon. No Time To Die Costume Designer Shares How You Dress The Most Stylish Spy In Movie History GUESTS: Rich Hollant - Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From our favorite songs and movies, to Shakespeare and Maya Angelou, we regularly quote others in our daily lives. This hour, we talk about famous quotations and misquotations, and discover why some quotations endure through history, while others don’t. Plus, why is Mark Twain misquoted so often? GUESTS: Elizabeth Knowles - Editor of The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations Fred Shapiro - Editor of The New Yale Book of Quotations, and associate director for collections and special projects at the Yale Law Library Kent Rasmussen - Editor of The Quotable Mark Twain and Mark Twain A to Z, among other books Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COVID is no match for the enduring power of the handshake. It has survived cholera, the 1918 pandemic, and Donald Trump’s lengthy grip. It has thrived when other shakes, snaps, and pats have failed, such as the penis handshake and the beard-and-pat. The handshake is our most enduring symbol of egalitarianism and brotherhood. It has helped elect politicians to office, to seal the deal on contracts, and grease the wheels of women’s suffrage. The handshake has been around for seven million years, says Ella Al-Shamahi, author of The Handshake: A Gripping History. Scientists trace it to chimps, our closest living relatives, and the Neanderthals. COVID is no match for something so deeply ingrained into our DNA. The handshake is here to stay. This hour, the history and symbolism of the handshake, including the “dap.” GUESTS:  Ella Al-Shamahi - A National Geographic Explorer, a TV presenter, palaeo-anthropologist, evolutionary biologist, and a stand-up comic, who has taken four shows to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; her latest book is The Handshake: A Gripping History Tyler D. Parry - Assistant Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies within the Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies Department, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; he’s the author of Jumping the Broom: The Surprising Multicultural Origins of a Black Wedding Ritual Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During his remarkable career with the Boston Red Sox, Ted Williams earned many nicknames: The Kid, The Splendid Splinter, Teddy Ballgame… but the only nickname that he ever wanted was “the greatest hitter who ever lived.” And maybe he really was? He’s baseball’s all-time leader in on-base percentage, and he’s second behind only Babe Ruth in both slugging and on-base plus slugging percentages. He’s the last guy to hit .400, and that was 80 years ago. And on top of all that, he lost close to five full seasons (and three of them in the prime of his career) to serve in two different wars. This hour, a look at the man, the hitter, and the pitchman (you see what I did there) that was Ted Williams. GUESTS: Jim Baumer - A Maine-based writer and the author of Moxie: Maine in a Bottle Nick Davis - Produced and directed Ted Williams: “The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived”; his newest film, about the 1986 New York Mets, is Once Upon a Time in Queens Sam Miller - National baseball writer at ESPN Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Catie Talarski contributed to this show, which originally aired July 19, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been doing these almost weekly shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. The last few times, we haven’t even started with the suggestion of a topic that your calls might, potentially, be about. And those shows have been fun. 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.

So you get home from a long day of work, and then you spend a long evening dealing with the family and the dinner and the house and the pets. And then you finally get some time to yourself to… play stupid Candy Crush on your phone. Or watch hours of HGTV that you don’t even like. Or whatever. While you should be sleeping so you can be well-rested for your long day of work tomorrow. There’s a term for that: revenge bedtime procrastination. Plus: A look at the vocal minority of vaccine refusers in the NBA, of all places. And: Cry Macho is a neo-Western drama directed by, produced by, and starring Clint Eastwood. It’s in theaters and on HBOMax. Eastwood, 91, takes his 39th turn directing, and it’s his 53rd credited acting role in a motion picture career dating back to the Eisenhower administration. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Tommy Kirk, Old Yeller And The Shaggy Dog Star, Has Died At 79 Joel Coen: Streaming Is Reason ‘Risky’ Films Like ‘Tragedy of Macbeth’ Can Still Exist “The worst nightmare as a filmmaker is that someone watched your film on an airplane,” Coen said at NYFF, while acquiescing that streaming is how movies like “Macbeth” get made. How does a comedy outsider make sense of Norm Macdonald? What I found valuable after hearing about Norm Macdonald’s death was not watching his old greatest hits on Youtube. It was reading the eulogies written for him by people who appreciated his genius. The Complicated Legacy of Norm Macdonald Norm Macdonald, who passed away at 61 from cancer, was a comedy legend. But these women say he sexually harassed them, and comedy clubs took measures to protect women from him. ‘Law & Order’ Revived By NBC For Season 21 From Dick Wolf & Rick Eid Beck Bennett Leaves ‘SNL’ as Cast Veterans Set to Return, Three New Featured Players Join for Season 47 For Al Franken, a Comeback Attempt Goes Through Comedy Clubs Onstage, the ex-senator and “S.N.L.” star doesn’t exactly address his fall from grace. But he doesn’t not address it either. Asked if he’ll run again, he is noncommittal. America as an Internet Aesthetic TikTok’s Americancore meme critiques cultural appropriation by exoticizing the familiar. Who has the last laugh? For $84,000, An Artist Painted Two Blank Canvasses Titled ‘Take The Money And Run’ Why Is Every Young Person in America Watching ‘The Sopranos’? The show’s new audience is also seeing something different in it: a parable about a country in terminal decline. Why Are People Nostalgic for Early-Pandemic Life? Pandemic fatigue is fueling a bizarre sense of longing. The Best Movies Of 2021 So Far You Can Spend The Night In The House From Scream This Halloween Scientists created the world’s whitest paint. It could eliminate the need for air conditioning. Marvel’s What If…? Episode 8 Appears To Enter The Star Wars Universe Shakira Was Attacked By Wild Boars “They’ve destroyed everything.” The Melting Face Emoji Has Already Won Us Over Of the 37 new emojis approved this year, one has stood out as a visual proxy for our collective malaise. Super Bowl 2022 Halftime Performers Revealed: Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Mary J. Blige and Snoop Dogg ‘Drunk’ man reported missing joins his own search party Men weaponize incompetence to avoid housework, caring for kids GUESTS: Tracy Wu Fastenberg - Development officer at Connecticut Children’s Bill Yousman - Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University 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.

It’s been a while since we’ve done a math show. So this hour, some discussion of just what mathematics even is in the first place. Plus, some news from the world of math: A look at three landmark papers bridging the gap between quantum physics and formal mathematics. And: the low-dimensional topology of… knitting. GUESTS: Sabetta Matsumoto - A theoretical physicist and applied mathematician at Georgia Tech, where she leads The Matsumoto Group studying the geometry of materials Alec Wilkinson - Staff writer at The New Yorker Charlie Wood - Contributing writer to Quanta Magazine Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we’re joined by novelist Ruth Ozeki. Her latest novel is The Book of Form and Emptiness. We talk about animism, hearing voices, and how Zen Buddhism informs her writing. GUESTS: Ruth Ozeki - Novelist, filmmaker, and professor of English language and literature at Smith College Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we talk about movie trailers. Maybe you wonder what a movie critic thinks of them. Actually, critics don’t see as many as you do because they often go to special screenings. I asked America’s Greatest Living Film Critic, David Edelstein, about trailers. He answered, “Actually, I avoid them like the plague. I don’t watch them online, and when I see movies in theaters, I often whip out my Kindle and plug my ears. If I’m on the aisle, I leave and get a Diet Coke. Trailers give away everything. They give away jokes. More than that, they orient you to the narrative in a way I don’t like being oriented. (Of course, I have the luxury of going into a movie not knowing what it’s even about because I get paid to do so, but that’s my preferred way to work – to be left in the hands of the storyteller.) As for as awful ones I have seen… I remember Nebraska in particular as being terrible because the pace and tone of that movie are antithetical to the way mainstream trailers work. It said quirky. Offbeat. Lovable. Among the best, I recall Batman Returns as being so great. I thought the movie itself was an overrated shambles – a really terrible piece of storytelling – but even Tim Burton’s worst movies have so many good images and set-pieces that they really read in trailers.” For the rest of us, trailers are either a pain or a pleasure. GUESTS: Allan Arkush - Contributor to Trailers from Hell; he worked in the trailer department for Roger Corman Stephen Garrett - Founder of Jump Cut Sam Hatch - Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH Kevin O’Toole - Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on WWUH Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Lydia Brown, John Dankosky, Greg Hill, Tucker Ives, Harriet Jones, Betsy Kaplan, Jonathan McNicol, Patrick Skahill, Catie Talarski, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 2, 2014.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 is the novel Monkey Boy 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.

Y: The Last Man is an FX on Hulu television series (whatever that means) based on the DC comics series. It stars Diane Lane as President Jennifer Brown and Ben Schnetzer as Yorick Brown, the last living person with a Y chromosome. And: Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie were (at least aspiring) #vanlife influencers. Tragedy, and our culture around this particular sort of tragedy, has turned them into pop culture figures of an entirely different kind. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Melvin Van Peebles, Godfather of Black Cinema, Dies at 89 He directed ‘Watermelon Man,’ did everything on ‘Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song’ and wrote a pair of Broadway musicals. Beloved ‘Sex And The City’ Actor Willie Garson Dies At 57 Chris Rock says he has COVID-19, urges vaccination The Song That Never Ends: Why Earth, Wind & Fire’s ‘September’ Sustains The Man Behind Those Annual ‘Sept. 21’ Videos Has Made His Last Masterpiece Not Enough Has Changed Since Sanford and Son The unwritten rules of Black TV James Corden Is Getting Called Out For Making An Ageist Joke About BTS Fans And…Yikes When will celebs learn not to come for the fandoms?! Johnny Depp Says Cancel Culture Is “So Far Out Of Hand” & “No One Is Safe”, Asks People To “Stand Up” Against “Injustice” The Emmys Underlined the Paradox of Too Much TV The people handing out the awards were a diverse lot. The ones receiving them, much less so. Japanese school students sent a message in a bottle. 37 years later, it washed up in Hawaii No sign of £4.8m golden toilet stolen from Blenheim Palace, two years on World’s first 108-key concert grand piano built by Australia’s only piano maker Netflix now owns the screen rights to Roald Dahl’s entire catalog The acquisition of the Roald Dahl Story Company follows three years of partnership Eddie Murphy Signs Three-Picture & First-Look Film Deal With Amazon Studios Reading a Novel Set Entirely in Slack In “Several People Are Typing,” Calvin Kasulke takes office agony to its outer limits. Elon Musk and Grimes break up after three years together GUESTS: Raquel Benedict - Claims to be the most dangerous woman in speculative fiction; hosts the Rite Gud podcast Brian Slattery - Arts editor for the New Haven Independent and a producer at WNHH radio 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.

Radiation is everywhere. It’s emitted by our sun, by cat litter, by bananas, and occasionally by nuclear bombs. It’s even emitted by you and by me and by every living (and dead) person in the world. So why are we so scared of something so prevalent in our everyday lives? While certain types of radiation can be very harmful in high doses, our fears may have more to do with how radiation is portrayed than it does with the actual danger of exposure. This hour, we talk with experts about the benefits, risks, and oftentimes misguided fears of radiation. GUESTS: Francis Cucinotta - Professor for the department of health physics and diagnostic sciences at the University of Nevada Tim J. Jorgenson - Author of Strange Glow: The Story of Radiation David Ropeik - Author of How Risky Is It, Really? Why Our Fears Don’t Match The Facts Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Ray Hardman, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired November 21, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, about 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seventeen AFC East championships. Nine Super Bowl appearances. Six Lombardi trophies. Twenty seasons pairing maybe the greatest head coach in the history of the NFL with maybe the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL. At the same time, there are words like “spygate.” “Deflategate.” And even “solicitation in Florida.” This hour, a look at one of the all-time great (and all-time most divisive) sports dynasties: the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick/Robert Kraft New England Patriots. GUEST: Jeff Benedict - Special features writer for Sports Illustrated and the author of 16 books; his latest is The Dynasty Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired December 9, 2020.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Animals, which were in the service of man, could be arrested, tried, convicted and executed,” according to Edmund P. Evans in his book The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals, published in 1906. They could also be excommunicated from the church. Our relationship to our pets and wildlife has mellowed over the centuries, but we still can’t figure out how to share space and food with the wildlife that lives among us without conflict, especially when resources get tight. We can’t translocate, trap, tase, laser, bomb, and euthanize our way toward a good solution. And aren’t we part of the problem? So, how do we coexist when humans make all the rules? GUESTS:  Mary Roach - The author, most recently, of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law Ben Kilham - Founder of the Kilham Bear Center in New Hampshire and the author of two books, Among the Bears: Raising Orphan Cubs in the Wild and In the Company of Bears Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Only Murders in the Building is a half-hour-ish (!) mystery-comedy series on Hulu. It stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, and Amy Ryan. Five first-season episodes have dropped so far, and it was renewed for a second season this week. And: Small Engine Repair is a film adaption written by, directed by, and starring John Pollono and based on his black comedy drama (black dramedy?) stage play of the same name. It is the first movie showing exclusively in theaters that the Nose has covered since January, 2020. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Norm Macdonald Dies: Influential Comedian & Former ‘SNL’ Weekend Update Anchor Was 61 Rolling Stone: The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time For the first time in 17 years, we’ve completely remade our list of the best songs ever. More than 250 artists, writers, and industry figures helped us choose a brand-new list full of historic favorites, world-changing anthems, and new classics Empire: The 50 Best Animated Movies John Mulaney was performing a role all along Parasocial relationships aren’t to blame for the John Mulaney/Olivia Munn pregnancy discourse. Twitter Has a Parasocial Relationship with the Word Parasocial Epic v. Apple judge rules Fortnite’s Peely can appear naked in court Peely’s ‘just a banana man,’ after all Porno Hustlers Of The Atari Age The newly unearthed history behind one of the most offensive video games ever made Owen Wilson Is Doing Great, Thanks The veteran actor has a cold, but that’s nothing a few avocado pancakes, some hydration therapy, a bike ride, hot tea, half a slice of Key-lime pie, and the magic of life can’t fix. Three days with the star of Loki, The French Dispatch, and all those movies you know by heart. Drake And Kanye Owe Us More Than This The collision of Certified Lover Boy and Donda should have been a thrilling moment. Instead, it’s petty, frustrating, and lacking in high stakes. Welcome to Dunkin’ World With streetwear-style drops and a shrewd embrace of social media, New England’s favorite purveyor of extremely normal coffee has turned itself into a lifestyle brand. Why “Jeopardy!” Might Not Survive The Mike Richards Debacle “Many people saw it basically as kind of like Dick Cheney conducting a search for the vice president…and then deciding that he would be the best vice president.” Christopher Nolan Exits Warner Bros. After Nearly Two Decades, New Film Set Up at Universal Nolan’s follow-up to “Tenet” will reportedly begin production in the first quarter of 2022. ‘Necessary Roughness’ Made Texas Football Into a Joke. But It Also Moved the Chains. Kick off the football season with this underappreciated, Denton-filmed comedy, which captured some truths about Texas football that later, more-serious movies would expand on. Emmys 2021: Who Will Win, Who Should Win Ahead of Sunday night’s ceremony, we place our bets on likely winners and shout out those shows and stars poised to get robbed Nicki Minaj isn’t anti-vax, exactly. That’s why her vaccine resistance is so concerning. Minaj, under the guise of urging vaccine caution, is helping mainstream a dangerous form of anti-science. Dune Director Denis Villeneuve Is Not A Fan Of Marvel Movies, Sorry The once-sedate astronomy world is quarreling over whether ’Oumuamua was an alien craft Alien probe or a “chunk of Pluto”? The scientific debate over ’Oumuamua continues Diarrhea incident continues to spell problems for Ultimate Slip ’N Slide The Bobby Moynihan/Ron Funches-hosted reality series finds itself stuck without an ending, and pulled from its plum post-Olympics timeslot GUESTS: Theresa Cramer - A freelance writer and editor and the co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications Bill Yousman - Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University 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.

Gossiping is considered a bad habit. But, when done well, it can actually have social benefits. This hour on the Colin McEnroe Show, we’ll discuss what gossip is, its benefits and drawbacks, and why we’re interested in celebrity gossip. GUESTS: Frank McAndrew - Psychology professor at Knox College Shayla Love - Senior staff writer of features at Vice  Amanda Kehrberg - Adjunct media studies faculty at Arizona State University Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a smorgasbord of disparate topics: mandates, mammoths, and merch. First, a look at the state of America’s patchwork of COVID vaccine requirements. And then: New England’s own Dunkin' has started doing limited-edition merchandise drops. Can normie coffee make itself into a lifestyle brand? Finally: Scientists are trying to genetically resurrect the woolly mammoth. “Life, uh, finds a way,” and all that. GUESTS: Debbie Kaminer - Professor of law at the CUNY Baruch College Lora Kelley - A contributor to GQ Carl Zimmer - The science columnist for The New York Times 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.

Fire imagery abounds in music, literature, art, and scripture. It thrives at the center of ceremony and ritual around the world. We associate fire with sentiments of passion, anger, transformation, purity, and even evil itself. Some say our fascination with fire is owed to the fact that, of all creatures, we alone possess the ability to create and control it. They say at its center, fire burns hottest. So stand back and listen close, for this hour, we journey straight to its core. It’s one heck of a hot topic, and we’re guessing it’ll spark your interest. GUESTS: Steve Pyne - Author of Moved by Fire: History’s Promethean Moment and Fire: A Brief History Eric Rabkin - Professor emeritus of English language and literature and of art & design at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Gary Snyder - Poet Christian Tryon - Assistant professor of anthropology at Harvard Charles Wright - The 50th Poet Laureate of the United States Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired January 14, 2015.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been doing these weekly shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. A few times, we haven’t even started with the suggestion of a topic that your calls might, potentially, be about. And those shows have been fun. So we’re doing it again this week. 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. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mimes have been gesticulating their way into our hearts (or nightmares) nearly for forever. It may be that the legendary Marcel Marceau popularized the mime, but people have been communicating through movement since the very beginning. Today, characters in big-budget Hollywood movies and television shows routinely rely on pantomime techniques to create the on-screen characters we love. This hour, the past, present, and future of mimes. GUESTS: Doug Jones - A trained mime, contortionist, and award-winning actor known for his roles in The Shape of Water, Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth, Hocus Pocus, Star Trek: Discovery, and more Richard Knight - Author of Mime the Gap: Techniques in Mime and Movement Shawn Wen - Author of A Twenty Minute Silence Followed by Applause Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired August 30, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

B. F. Skinner thought pigeons were so smart they could be used to guide missiles during World War II. He proposed a system in which pigeons would essentially pilot a missile. Skinner said pigeons could be trained to peck at a screen to adjust the trajectory of the missile toward its target. Project Pigeon was funded but never used. In 2013, New York conceptual artist Duke Reilly trained half his flock of pigeons to carry contraband cigars from Cuba to Florida and the other half to carry tiny video cameras documenting the smuggling flight of their comrades. Another group of researchers trained pigeons to reliably distinguish between the paintings of Picasso and Monet, even if they had never seen a particular painting before. This hour, everything you ever wanted to know about pigeons but were afraid to ask. GUESTS: Yoni Applebaum - A social and cultural historian Andrew Blechman - Author of Pigeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled Bird Wanda Corn - The Robert and Ruth Halperin Professor Emerita in the department of art and art history at Stanford University Patrick Skahill - Senior reporter at Connecticut Public Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired November 12, 2013.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 8, 1966, NBC aired the premiere of a new series called Star Trek. The episode was “The Man Trap.” The star date was 1513.1, in case you’re interested in that kind of thing. I am not interested in that kind of thing. The Star Trek canon encompasses 10 television shows — 811 episodes, so far — and 13 movies. I’ve just never been into it. I tried to get into it for this show, but it didn’t work. But here’s the thing: It doesn’t matter. “Beam me up.” “Live long and prosper.” “Redshirt.” “Vulcan.” “Klingon.” The English language’s best known split infinitive. Regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of Star Trek, Star Trek is a big damn deal, with nearly boundless influence. “Star Trek is more than pop culture; it’s 20th century mythology,” according to The AV Club’s Caroline Siede. This hour, a look at some of the more than 36,000 minutes — more than 25 days — of television and movies that is Star Trek. GUESTS: Sam Hatch - Co-host of The Culture Dogs on WWUH Timothy Sandefur - Author of The Permission Society: How the Ruling Class Turns Our Freedoms Into Privileges and What We Can Do About It; he wrote an essay on the politics of Star Trek Caroline Siede - Freelance writer Linda Wetzel - Associate professor of philosophy at Georgetown University Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Rebecca Castellani, Greg Hill, Chion Wolf, and Alan Yu contributed to this show, which originally aired September 8, 2016.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The word “bastard” hasn’t always been meant to offend. Used simply as an indication of illegitimate birth at first, the label “bastard” didn’t bring with it shame or stigma until long after it first appeared in the Middle Ages. Today, while its original meaning has not been forgotten, its use is largely reserved for insult. Yet, ironically, the underdog status once associated with a person of illegitimate birth is now something our modern culture celebrates. From Alexander Hamilton to Game of Thrones’s Jon Snow, the bastard’s ability to rise above his or her unfortunate circumstances to achieve greatness has become something to root for. This hour, a look at the origin, evolution, and pop culture triumph of the bastard! GUESTS: Scott Andrews - Science fiction reviewer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, columnist for Winter Is Coming, and the author of The Guild Leader’s Handbook Joanne Freeman - Professor of history and American studies at Yale University and the editor of The Essential Hamilton: Letters & Other Writings Sara McDougall - Associate professor of history at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York and the author of Royal Bastards: The Birth of Illegitimacy, 800–1230 Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 18, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Vulture, TV’s white guys are in crisis, and specifically on a bunch of shows The Nose has covered: Kevin Can F**k Himself, The White Lotus, The Chair, Ted Lasso… Oh, and Jeopardy! And speaking of TV’s white guys, Seinfeld is coming to Netflix next month. Eric Deggans wonders why it hasn’t caught on with young people the way shows like The Office and Friends have. And finally: The Chair is a Netflix miniseries about the English department at fictional Pembroke University. It stars Sandra Oh, Jay Duplass, Bob Balaban, Holland Taylor, and more. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: How MLB pushed back the Atlantic League mound and pushed fed-up players to the brink of a work stoppage Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker Is Finally Ready to Talk Ryan Fischer took a bullet trying to save the pop star’s French bulldogs from being dognapped. He knows you have questions Inside the Weird World of Out-of-Office Messages ‘Jeopardy!’ Had To Clarify Its Rules Because A Very Good Champion Has A Very Annoying Answering Habit Joe Rogan, a podcasting giant who has been dismissive of vaccination, has Covid. Al Leiter, John Smoltz won’t appear at MLB Network studios after refusing vaccine After Pink criticized the parents of a 14-year-old YouTuber who was pictured in a bikini, the girl said the swimsuits aren’t sexual unless you ‘view us that way’ Who asked for this? We don’t know. But Flamin’ Hot Mountain Dew is here anyway. The People Who Make Ted Lasso Can See Your Tweets, You Know ABBA Reunite for First Time in 40 Years, Announce New Album and Digital Concert Swedish pop group finally releases singles “I Still Have Faith In You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down” A Dishonest Study on Dishonesty Puts a Prominent Researcher on the Hot Seat A complete timeline of how Bishop Sycamore fooled ESPN McDonald’s Mascot Grimace Is a What Now?!? Truly did not need this information in my life. GUESTS: Elizabeth Keifer - Professor emerita of English at Tunxis Community College Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Bill Yousman - Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University 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.

In the 20 years since Christopher Nolan’s Memento hit theaters, his movies have grossed more than $5 billion, earned 36 Academy Award nominations, and won 11 Oscars. His Dark Knight films helped spark the comic book movie renaissance we’re still experiencing, and his seventh feature, Inception, is the highest-grossing totally standalone live action movie ever made. This hour, a look at the filmmaker behind Batman Begins, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Tenet, and more: Christopher Nolan. GUESTS: Kayleigh Donaldson - A pop culture writer and critic James Hanley - Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Tom Shone - Author of The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan 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.

From New Kids on the Block to *NSYNC to One Direction, boy bands have been a staple of popular music for decades. This hour, a look back at the history — and future — of boy bands. GUESTS: Maria Sherman - Author of Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS Aja Romano - A culture staff writer for Vox  Brad Fischetti - The surviving member of LFO  Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Life is a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution.” That’s the so-called “NASA definition of life.” Or there’s Russian-born geneticist Edward Trifonov’s take: Life is “self-reproduction with variations.” Or there’s “Life is an expected, collectively self-organized property of catalytic polymers.” Or “Life is a metabolic network within a boundary.” It’s said that, “There are as many definitions of life as there are people trying to define it.” And yet, none of those definitions is quite right. Science writer Carl Zimmer says that’s strange behavior for scientists: “It is as if astronomers kept coming up with new ways to define stars.” Plus: Linguist Ben Zimmer (no relation to Carl*) on what it means to be human. Or, at least, as much as we can tell about what it means to be human by looking at Dr. Fill, the artificial intelligence that won a national crossword puzzle tournament. *No relation beyond that they’re brothers, I mean. GUESTS: Ben Zimmer - A linguist, lexicographer, and the language columnist for The Wall Street Journal Carl Zimmer - The science columnist for The New York Times; his newest book is Life’s Edge: The Search for What It Means To Be Alive Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired May 26, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been doing these weekly shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. The last couple weeks, we haven’t even started with the suggestion of a topic that your calls might, potentially, be about. And those shows have been fun. So we’re doing it again this week. 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. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a longstanding tendency among tech CEOs to be sort of performatively photographed with bare feet. Also: It’s gross. And: Washington Post humorist Gene Weingarten got himself into a bit of trouble this week for saying that Indian cuisine is based entirely on one spice. And and: Pumpkin spice lattes are back. Already. (Also: It’s 90 degrees outside.) And finally: Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain is, well, a documentary film about Anthony Bourdain. It’s available as a $20 rental right now, and it’ll hit HBO Max and air on CNN in the future. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Don Everly, Older Brother in Groundbreaking Rock Duo, Dies at 84 The Everly Brothers, Don and Phil, were the most successful rock act to emerge from Nashville in the 1950s, rivaling Elvis Presley for radio airplay. Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones’ Drummer and Inimitable Backbone, Dead at 80 Rock & roll legend “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier [Tuesday] surrounded by his family,” according to publicist ‘Never Call Me Your Drummer Again’ The full story of the time Charlie Watts punched Mick Jagger, excerpted from Sympathy for the Drummer. Man Photographed As A Baby On ‘Nevermind’ Cover Sues Nirvana For Sexual Exploitation OnlyFans Is Reversing Its Ban On Adult Content, But Sex Workers Say It’s Already Cost Them Followers And Money “Every single dime that company has made has revolved around porn whether they want to admit it or not … I think it’s hilarious now watching them try to pick up the pieces from a vase they threw at the wall.” 25 Tweets That Prove No One Was Emotionally Prepared For The “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Trailer The Karate Kid Stage Musical To Wax On In A Pre-Broadway Run In 2022 Sean Penn still has more to say He’s supposed to be talking about his new movie. But there’s so much else. Tom Hanks Sells 4 Vehicles From His Collection His marquee item in the auction, an Airstream trailer bought in the “Sleepless in Seattle” era, brought in over $200,000. Looking Back On 15 Years Of ‘Idiocracy,’ One The Most Memorable And Sadly Relevant Comedies Of The 21st Century Parents Are Not Okay We’re not even at a breaking point anymore. We’re broken. Even Billy Joel Mocked ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire.’ I Loved It. As a 4-year-old, our critic couldn’t get enough of this manic 1989 hit, a crash course in U.S. history. Now the song lives on in parodies and memes. Ted Lasso Is a Perfect Show If You Hate Laughing This “balm for the soul” is supposed to be a comedy? Tom Cruise Performed 13,000 Motorbike Jumps To Prep For A Mission: Impossible 7 Stunt He’s No Longer Host. But Mike Richards Is Still Running ‘Jeopardy!’ Defying a backlash over sexist and crude comments, a top Sony TV executive told the show’s staff that the studio stood behind Mr. Richards as the executive producer. GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani - Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer Mercy Quaye - Founder and principal consultant for The Narrative Project 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.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released a report detailing the latest scientific understanding about climate change. This hour, we learn about what’s included in that report. And, we’ll discuss some climate solutions, including carbon capture, oysters, and granting rights to rivers and lakes. GUESTS: Rebecca Leber - Climate reporter at Vox David Bercovici - The co-director of the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture and a professor in Yale’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Danielle Bissett - Director of Restoration for the Billion Oyster Project Kelsey Leonard - Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Waters, Climate, and Sustainability, and a citizen of the Shinnecock Nation Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Profanity used to be about someone swearing insincerely to God. Then the Reformation came along and made profanity about sex and the body. Today, our most unspeakable words are are slurs against other groups at a time when Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and cancel culture are driving our cultural narrative. This hour: the past, present, and future of profanity. GUEST: John McWhorter - Author of Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter — Then, Now, and Forever and host of Slate’s Lexicon Valley podcast Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired May 13, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a potpourri of topics. First, some new thinking around dental cavities — are they really an oral microbiome problem? And, as we endure another record-setting fire season, scientists are wondering, does Smokey Bear need a makeover? Finally, what happens if we look at Earth as an exoplanet? GUESTS: Jaime Green - Associate editor of Future Tense Maggie Koerth - Senior science writer for FiveThirtyEight Jennifer Oldham - Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been doing these weekly shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. This week, we aren’t even starting with the suggestion of a topic that your calls might, potentially, be about. 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. Colin McEnroe and Gene Amatruda contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose had planned to discuss all the scandals around Jeopardy! executive-producer-turned-incoming-host Mike Richards. But then he quit this morning, so The Nose discusses that instead. And: Larry David (the real guy, not the TV character — as much as those are two different things) went off on Alan Dershowitz in a Martha’s Vineyard grocery store. And finally: FBOY Island is HBO Max’s first reality TV dating show. It’s not the sort of thing The Nose would normally cover, which is exactly why The Nose is covering it. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Chuck Close, Artist of Outsized Reality, Dies at 81 He found success with his large-scale Photorealist portraits, becoming one of the leading artists of his generation. Late in life he faced allegations of sexual harassment. Sean Lock Dies: ‘8 Out Of 10 Cats’ Comedian Was 58; Tributes From Ricky Gervais, Bill Bailey, David Baddiel & More Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Abuse By Bob Dylan Britney Spears Is Under Investigation For Battery After A Dispute With A Staff Member No one was injured in the alleged altercation between Spears and a member of her staff. New pictures show Wally the Walrus relaxing on a small boat in Crookhaven Wally the walrus is set to get a ‘floating couch’ in an effort to prevent him from sinking more boats. Carrie Underwood Faced Backlash Online After She Liked An Anti-Mask Video On Twitter Mr. McFeely’s son, a real-life mail carrier, to deliver in Daniel Tiger’s neighborhood Why Country Music Was (Finally) Ready to Come Out “It was like, ‘I can be comfortable and out and gay, or I can do country music, but I definitely can’t do both,’” says one artist. Now that dichotomy appears to be falling apart The Coen Brother If Ethan Coen is done making movies with his brother Joel, what might that mean for projects from each Coen Brother going forward? OnlyFans Says It Will Ban Sexually Explicit Content The new policy takes effect Oct. 1. GUESTS: Xandra Ellin - Associate producer at Pineapple Street Media, and she writes the On the Media newsletter Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer; founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Cat Pastor - Assistant radio operations manager at Connecticut Public Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.