The Colin McEnroe Show

Black Widow is the 24th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the ninth, and final, one to feature Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, and it’s the first film in Phase Four of the M.C.U. I don’t know what a lot of that stuff means, but Black Widow has already set a number of pandemic box office records. It has grossed more than $200 million worldwide so far. And: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson is Robinson’s Netflix sketch comedy series. Its six second season episodes debuted on July 6. The episodes are all less than 20 minutes long (!). Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Charlie Robinson, Who Played Mac on ‘Night Court,’ Dies at 75 Mj Rodriguez Just Became The First Transgender Person To Be Nominated For A Major Lead Acting Emmy The Emmys Have Gone Mildly Wild Best Actor Or Actress? Gender-Expansive Performers Are Forced To Choose Jason Sudeikis Is Having One Hell of a Year Thom Yorke and Radiohead Release Music Video for “Creep (Very 2021 Rmx)” Olivia Rodrigo Went To The White House To Talk About Vaccinations Mint condition Super Mario 64 game sells for record $1.5m This Insect Drinks Your Milkshake Man fuels his personal fart-cycle with gas from a swamp The newest clip from Netflix’s Sexy Beasts dating show offers fresh nightmare fuel The Only ‘New’ Thing About Cross-Cultural Casting Is Who’s Getting The Roles GUESTS: Raquel Benedict - Claims to be the most dangerous woman in speculative fiction, and she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast Tom Breen - Managing editor of The New Haven Independent, and he hosted Deep Focus on 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.

When we think of unicorns, many of us picture idyllic white horses with a single horn, surrounded by rainbows. But that’s not how unicorns have always been depicted. This hour, we discuss the history of unicorns, and their enduring popularity. GUESTS: Martha Bayless - The Director of Folklore and Public Culture and a professor of English at the University of Oregon Adam Gidwitz - Author of The Unicorn Rescue Society series, among other books, and the creator of the podcast Grimm, Grimmer and Grimmest Sarah Laskow - Author of The Very Short, Entirely True History of Unicorns and senior editor for science at The Atlantic Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plum Island sits less than 7 miles off the coast of Connecticut in Long Island Sound. It is completely owned by the federal government and controlled by the Department of Homeland Security. Since 1954, it has been the site of the soon-to-be-decommissioned Plum Island Animal Disease Center. “All islands carry a certain mystery, but Plum Island has more than its share of stories and secrets,” according to Marian Lindberg. This hour, a look at the place Dr. Hannibal Lecter calls “Anthrax Island”: Plum Island, New York. GUESTS: Ellen Killoran - Staff reporter and editor at Crime Online Marian Lindberg - Conservation specialist for The Nature Conservancy and the author of Scandal On Plum Island: A Commander Becomes the Accused Geoff Manaugh - Co-author of Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine 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.

On the one hand, it kind of feels like the pandemic is winding down, right? On the other hand, the daily caseload in the U.S. is 23,000, up 94% versus two weeks ago. At the same time, the Teletubbies are all vaccinated, so that’s a welcome relief. How are you handling this strange gray area in which we find ourselves? Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour: 860–275–7266, 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.

Most of the Western world is organized by alphabetical order, which is so much more than the 26 letters that make up the alphabet. Alphabetical order is an organizing principle that allows us to save, order, and access thousands of years of humankind's most precious documents and ideas. Without it, we'd never know what came before us or how to pass on what's with us. It's ubiquitous, yet invisible in daily life. This hour, a conversation about how we order our world and why we do it. GUESTS: Nicholson Baker - A novelist and essayist; he's the author of 17 books, including, most recently, Baseless: My Search for Secrets in the Ruins of the Freedom of Information Act Judith Flanders - Author of A Place For Everything: The Curious History of Alphabetical Order Peter Sokolowski - A lexicographer and editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster and co-host of the podcast Word Matters Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 21, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose is all TV all the time this week. First: Is the era of the unifying television hit already over? And: Has Netflix already lost its cool? And then: Kevin Can F**k Himself is both a multi-camera sitcom and a single-camera drama at the same time. It airs on AMC and stars Annie Murphy. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Richard Donner, Director of 'Superman,' 'The Goonies' and 'Lethal Weapon,' Dies at 91 R.I.P. filmmaker and actor Robert Downey Sr.His son, actor Robert Downey Jr., confirmed the news on Instagram What Deadlines Do to LifetimesCan we find a balance between structuring our time and squandering it? Brace yourself for the Bill Cosby media redemption tourIn the comedy world he may still be persona non grata. But can TV news divisions resist the ratings he'd pull in? 2021 Miss Nevada Will Be The First Openly Transgender Miss USA Contestant Everyone is praising Selena Gomez's unedited swimsuit and bikini pictures"Seeing Selena Gomez's stomach & body WITHOUT PHOTOSHOP is fire" The Pop Music You Listen to Really Does MatterThe story of Dr. Luke and Doja Cat shows how the industry relies on consumer passivity. But audiences can still stand against alleged abusers. Future Lord of the Rings films should acknowledge the book's queer leaningsNobody wants to see a horny Gollum or Orcs with raging hard-ons – but why shouldn't some of Middle-earth's denizens be gay? If they won't let Zack Snyder make a stupid Star Wars, he'll just make his own stupid Star Wars Zack Snyder is making an Akira Kurosawa-inspired sci-fi epic for Netflix How Disney Mismanaged the Star Wars UniverseAnd how The Mandalorian can restore the true power of George Lucas's galaxy The Urge to Destroy a ViolinAn Instagram account reveals both our reverence for and our loathing of classical instruments. The Games Done Quick Marathon Is More Important Than EverFor years, GDQ has brought together gamers to speedrun for charity. After a year of loss and loneliness, the event means so much more. Returnal and Why Games Need More Badass Middle-Aged WomenWomen in video games are either young and sexy or old and wise. But a character who’s built up the strength and confidence of experience? Sign me up. How "The Print Shop" Turned People into Banner Wizards in the 1980s Mathematicians Prove 2D Version of Quantum Gravity Really WorksIn three towering papers, a team of mathematicians has worked out the details of Liouville quantum field theory, a two-dimensional model of quantum gravity. What Gets Lost as Little Leagues Get SmallerTown leagues, unprofessionalized and open to all, knit neighborhoods together in ways that intensive and competitive travel teams do not. How "Rick and Morty" and "Loki" built thoughtful altars to apathy for everything we hold dearBoth shows acknowledge that gods exist. But each questions the zealotry with which we follow them 'Legally Blonde' Oral History: From Raunchy Script to Feminist ClassicAlong the way, adult zingers were edited out, Jennifer Coolidge struggled with the "bend and snap" and the ending was changed at least three times. You Really Need to Quit TwitterHow could I have succumbed to this common, embarrassing habit that just about everyone on Earth knows is a scourge? Why Is Everyone Talking About the "Cat Person" Short Story Again? "Cat Person" and MeKristen Roupenian's viral story draws specific details from my own life. I've spent the years since it published wondering: How did she know? Nicholas Braun is going to be the Cat Person asshole in the viral story's movie adaptationEmilia Jones will play Margot, the 20-year-old who goes on a bad date with the Cat Person Admit it: Grilling is bad GUESTS: Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer; founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance 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.

At 10 years old, M. Leona Godin began losing her vision. Her experience with sight and blindness is detailed in her new book, There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness. In it she also explores blindness throughout literature, and through key figures and inventions throughout history. This hour, we’re joined by Godin to discuss "the vast, dappled regions between seeing and not-seeing, blindness and sight, darkness and light."  GUEST: M. Leona Godin - Author of There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness 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.

John McPhee is a writer's writer. He's thought of as one of the progenitors of the New Journalism, of creative nonfiction or narrative nonfiction, along with people like Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson. But his style is... quiter than those folks'. His writing is transparent. He tends to keep himself out of the narrative. He doesn't even, in fact, have an author photo. McPhee has written for The New Yorker since 1963, and he's taught writing at Princeton University since 1975. He is the author of 32 books, including Coming Into the Country, A Sense of Where You Are, Oranges, and Annals of the Former World, which won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction. GUEST: John McPhee - Staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of 33 books; his latest are Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process and The Patch Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which originally aired September 28, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The impending doom of an asteroid (or comet or whatever) colliding with the Earth is the premise of any number of movies and books and such. But what would we really do to stop such a thing from happening, if we had to? One solution might be to try to nudge the asteroid off its collision course with us, and NASA is about to test a way to do just that. And: A few points about baseball's two-way phenom, Shohei Ohtani. He might be having the best season anyone's ever had, "it's almost inarguable that he's the most physically talented all-around athlete ever to play the game," and, also according to Ben Lindbergh, "if you can't get into Ohtani, maybe baseball isn't for you." But are we maybe not appreciating Ohtani enough? And finally: If I say "shark," you think of Jaws, right? But there are two major problems with the shark-as-villain stereotype. First, sharks are fascinating and awe-inspiring more than they're scary. And second, we need to be more afraid for sharks than afraid of them. GUESTS: Ben Lindbergh - Staff writer at The Ringer and co-host of Effectively Wild Melissa Cristina Márquez - A marine biologist and shark scientist Andrew Rivkin - A planetary astronomer and the DART Investigation Team Lead at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory 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.

Bo Burnham: Inside is a Netflix standup comedy concert play documentary thing written, shot, edited, directed, and performed by Bo Burnham. Burnham made it by himself, with no audience and no crew, during pandemic lockdowns. And: No Sudden Move is Steven Soderbergh's sixth movie in the four years since he returned from retirement, and his second for HBOMax. It's a neo-noir crime thriller set in 1950s Detroit, and it's got an all-star enemble cast: Don Cheadle, Benicio del Toro, David Harbour, Amy Seimetz, Jon Hamm, Ray Liotta, Kieran Culkin, Brendan Fraser, and more. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction overturned by court College Athletes May Earn Money From Their Fame, N.C.A.A. RulesHere's a breakdown of why the N.C.A.A. finally relented to pressure to allow athletes to make money beyond the cost of attending their universities. Does the Job of Talk-Show Sidekick Even Make Sense Anymore?Andy Richter reinvigorated the thankless, tired role, but now that "Conan" is going off the air, it's time to re-evaluate work that was often mired in stereotypes. Why 'Fast & Furious' Is Our Best -- And Worst -- Franchise F9 Makes Dom Toretto Canonically Tall The Life and Death of Pete Davidson's ChadDavidson and the creators of Saturday Night Live's monosyllabic icon chart his improbable rise and explosive fall. Bullshitting Is Actually a Sign of Intelligence, Study FindsThis is not BS. NPR's Joy Generator A Food Critic Reviews the Swedish Chef's New Restaurant What Gets Lost as Little Leagues Get SmallerTown leagues, unprofessionalized and open to all, knit neighborhoods together in ways that intensive and competitive travel teams do not. It's Not Easy Being GreenspeopleTransforming winter into spring or creating faux forests and fanciful estates is all in a day's work for these behind-the-scenes masters of foliage on movie and TV sets. When A City-Size Star Becomes A Black Hole's Lunch, The Universe Roils With gift from David Geffen, Yale's drama school goes tuition-free Elvis Costello dismisses claims Olivia Rodrigo plagiarized his music, saying that's rock and roll The Tin Man Gets His Heart: An Oral History of 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day'Three decades ago, James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Linda Hamilton joined forces again to make the biggest, baddest, most eye-popping sequel ever. Here's the story of how the machines took over Hollywood. Judge Denies Britney Spears' Request To Have Her Father Removed From Conservatorship How Twitter can ruin a lifeIsabel Fall's sci-fi story "I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter" drew the ire of the internet. This is what happened next. GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani - Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications, Marketing and Events Manager at the Simsbury Meadows Performing Arts Center, and a freelance writer James Hanley - Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scrolling through online real estate listings, a practice known as "Zillow surfing," has become a popular pastime this past year. And it's not just for people who are actually looking to buy houses... It's also for snooping on the value of other people's homes, imagining different lives for yourself, or just finding unusual houses to make fun of and share with friends. This hour, a look at the appeal of Zillow surfing. GUESTS: Ariel Norling - Author of the "I Know A Spot" Newsletter Dana Bull - Realtor with Sagan Harborside Sotheby's International Realty, based in Massachusetts 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.

The Thighmaster, the Chop-O-Matic, the George Foreman Grill, and the Clapper... products which are all part of American consumer culture and which were all introduced through infomercials. But as online shopping increases and traditional television watching decreases, are we beginning to see the end of these high-energy, late-night shows? What will become of iconic pitchmen like Ron Popeil, Tony Little, and Richard Simmons in an age where consumerism is changing by the day? This hour, we look back at some of the most memorable infomercials of all time and ask if they still have a place in our national media landscape. GUESTS: Kevin Harrington - The unofficial "King of Infomercials" and the author of Key Person of Influence: The Five-Step Method to Become One of the Most Highly Valued and Highly Paid People in Your Industry Ron Popeil - Inventor and iconic infomercial pitchman Remy Stern - Author of But Wait… There's More! Tighten Your Abs, Make Millions, and Learn How the $100 Billion Infomercial Industry Sold Us Everything But the Kitchen Sink Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Lydia Brown, Ray Hardman, Greg Hill, Betsy Kaplan, Ross Levin, Jonathan McNicol, Stephanie Riefe, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired March 7, 2016.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dragons have captured our imagination going back to the Greek and Roman Empires when the skeletal bones of dinosaurs fed the myths we still believe today. And those myths show up in our most popular popular culture today -- in the Harry Potter books and movies, in Tolkien's Middle-earth books and movies, in George R. R. Martin's Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. This hour, a look at dragons from the ancients through Game of Thrones. GUESTS: Cressida Cowell - Author of the How to Train Your Dragon series Adrienne Mayor - Author of The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times and Fossil Legends of the First Americans ‌William O'Connor - Author and illustrator of the Dracopedia book trilogy Matthew Reilly - Author The Great Zoo of China, among many other novels Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, Chion Wolf, and Alan Yu contributed to this show, which originally aired June 4, 2015.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why is there something rather than nothing? This has been described as perhaps the most sublime philosophical question of all. This our, we try to answer it. But as we do, we realize that it's not just a philosophical quandary; it's a scientific, cultural, and theological one as well. Indeed, to the extent that "nothing" is even understood, it is understood so differently across different domains that one person's nothing truly is another person's something. Confused? You're not alone. The concept has vexed, distressed, and seduced all manner of folk, from Aristotle to Einstein, and remains no less mysterious to today's brightest minds. GUESTS: Ronald Green - Author of Nothing Matters: A Book About Nothing Jim Holt - Author of Why Does The World Exist? An Existential Detective Story James Owen Weatherall - Author of Void: The Strange Physics of Nothing Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired December 6, 2016.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In March, Lou Ottens died in Duizel in the Netherlands. He was 94. I don't think I had ever heard of Ottens before, but the news of his death quickly filled my social media feeds. Ottens, you see, invented the compact cassette in the 1960s. There's a certain romance to the cassette tape, right? They're more fun than mp3s, for sure. And it turns out they're having a little mini resurgence right now. Last year, cassette sales hit their highest mark since 2003. Some old, hard to find tapes sell for crazy prices. Blank tapes still sell well. There are cassette-only record labels. There are even podcast episodes out on tape. This hour, a look at the long past and surprising present of the cassette tape. GUESTS: Joe Carlough - Runs This And That Tapes Lory Gil - A writer in the tech industry Sommer McCoy - Founder of The Mixtape Museum Zack Taylor - Director of Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 24, 2021.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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

It's a special, Juneteenth (observed)-observing, Thursday edition of The Nose. First: The lack of Afro-Latinx actors in the movie version of In the Heights has caused some controversy. Lin-Manuel Miranda has apologized. And: High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America is a four-part docuseries hosted by Stephen Satterfield. All four episodes hit Netflix on May 26. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Congress Has Made Juneteenth A National Holiday. Just Don't Talk About The Legacy Of Slavery.As conservatives seek to ban critical race theory from schools, many Black Americans wonder if children will fully understand the new holiday marking the end of slavery. Ned Beatty, titanic character actor of 'Network,' dies at 83 Opinion: Tom Hanks Is A Non-Racist. It's Time For Him To Be Anti-Racist James Corden Is Facing Backlash For His "Spill Your Guts" Segment"It's blatant racism." How 'WandaVision,' 'The Umbrella Academy,' 'Harley Quinn' Subvert the Superhero Genre Tina Fey Looks Back at Problematic '90s Trends During 'Girls5Eva' Tribeca Panel: 'We All Cosigned That?' The Girl Scouts Have Unsold Cookies Left. 15 Million Boxes! How Working From Home Has Changed EmployeesThey are used to far greater independence. And they may value personal time more. Bosses better be ready to adapt. An Oral History Of 'Freddy Got Fingered,' Tom Green's Glorious Broadside Against The Fame Industry That Made Him Cristiano Ronaldo snub sees Coca-Cola market value fall by $4bn 'The Cable Guy' Turns 25: How Jim Carrey’s $20 Million Salary Shook Up Hollywood A David Bowie Painting That Sold For $4 At A Thrift Store Is Now Up For Auction Robert Altman's 20 best films -- ranked!From The Long Goodbye to Short Cuts, Altman's innovative movies have influenced a generation of film-makers. With the re-release of Nashville and a BFI tribute, we rank the work of one of America’s greatest directors GUESTS: Rand Richards Cooper - A fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal, and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Courant Shawn Murray - A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We don't do grief very well in this country. We don't talk about, we get uncomfortable around it, and in some mind-twisting way, we hope grief will leave us alone if we pretend it doesn't exist. But that's not how grief works. Even professionals trained in grief tend to pathologize it when the grieving don't 'get over it' or 'recover ' from it fast enough.  Today, a hard look at what is grief, including how to survive it and how we can all better support those who are living in it. GUESTS: Nelba Marquez-Greene is the Director for Community Advancement at Central CT State University, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and the founder of the Ana Grace Project. (@Nelba_MG) Megan Devine is a psychotherapist, writer, and grief advocate. She’s the founder of Refuge in Grief and the author of It’s OK That You’re Not Okay: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand and most recently, How To Carry What Can’t Be Fixed @refugeingrief Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Betsy Kaplan has been producing episodes of The Colin McEnroe Show for a decade. Today is her last day. (Ostensibly, anyway. She's producing our show next Monday, which isn't really how last days are supposed to work. But it's very much how Betsy Kaplan works.) The Nose is crestfallen. And: In the Heights is the big (and/or small) screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's multiple Tony Award-winning musical. It is directed by Jon M. Chu and stars Anthony Ramos. It debuted in theaters and on HBOMax on Thursday. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Those Descriptions on the Inside of Book Covers Are Full of ItThey've become meaningless mush -- but they don't have to be. Bogus Social Media Outrage Is Making Authors Change Lines in Their Books NowThe silly idea that a fictional character's statements reflect an author's actual beliefs is spreading. 'Raiders of the Lost Ark': Why the "Indy Doesn't Matter" Criticism Needs to Be Put in the GroundHere's what an often-cited "plot hole" completely misunderstands about storytelling. Actress Karen Allen addresses her character's underage relationship with Indiana Jones: 'I don't think of him as a pedophile' Grown-ups, it's okay to love pop culture for kids. Stop being embarrassed about it. Chris Harrison Is Officially Out As Host Of The "Bachelor" FranchiseDeadline reported that Harrison, who hosted the franchise for nearly two decades, will receive an eight-figure payout. Dove Cameron Just Got So Real About Coming Out, And We Need To Talk About ItWe stan a bi queen! GUESTS: Carmen Baskauf - Produces Where We Live on Connecticut Public Radio Lydia Brown - Managing producer of Vermont Public Radio's Vermont Edition John Dankosky - Host The CT Mirror's Steady Habits podcast, and he is news and special projects editor for Science Friday Robyn Doyon-Aitken - Senior producer for Seasoned on Connecticut Public Taneisha Duggan - Artistic producer at TheaterWorks Jacques Lamarre - A playwright, and director of client services at Buzz Engine Jonathan McNicol - Hasn't quit his job producing The Colin McEnroe Show Ali Oshinskie - A corps member with Report for America covering the Naugatuck River Valley for Connecticut Public Patrick Skahill - A reporter at Connecticut Public Radio, and he was the founding producer of The Colin McEnroe Show Chion Wolf - Hosts Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public Radio Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many people are reassessing how they view their work after a year of Covid. The pandemic magnified everything we don’t like about modern work - too many hours for too little pay in the context of a loosely woven national safety net. Some people are switching jobs, others are dropping out of the workforce entirely. The reasons why people are leaving work vary, but it gets to a bigger societal question that asks what kind of work we value and how that value is rewarded. Jobs no longer provide the economic security, pension and room for advancement that helped build the middle class after World War II. And we all learned this past year that the workers who were "essential" during the pandemic have historically been undervalued.   Today, are we getting what we need from work? GUESTS: Katie Heaney is a senior writer at "The Cut" and the author of several books including the her YA novels Girl Crushed and the forthcoming The Year I Stopped Trying  Erin Cech is an assistant professor of Sociology and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Her new book, The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfillment at Work Fosters Inequality will be published in October.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've done this show every year since 2013. We almost certainly didn't do it 2012. But we did in 2011. And there's good circumstantial evidence that we did it in 2010 too, but no actual record of that possibly inaugural episode survives. Point is: Our song of the summer show is a bit of a tradition. It's a tradition that... makes some people angry, we realize. It's a tradition that we're not sure has ever made anyone happy. And that all has to do with how we define the term. We use the Amanda Dobbins definition: Let's be clear about how this works: There is no such thing as a 'personal' song of summer. We do not anoint multiple songs of summer. There can only be one; the Song of Summer, by its very definition, is a consensus choice. It is the song that wrecks wedding dance floors. It is the song that you and your mother begrudgingly agree on (even though your mom has no idea what rhymes with 'hug me' and won't stop yelling it in public). It does not necessarily have to hit No. 1 on the charts, but it should probably be on the charts because it must be widely played. It must bring people together. It must be a shared enthusiasm. And so, our job here is to try to predict a thing that you and your mom will agree on like three months from now. Try not to get too annoyed with us. GUESTS: Abby Govindan - A standup comedian based in New York CitySam Hadelman - Host of The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn and the editor-in-chief of Cut/Break MagazineBrendan Jay Sullivan - A writer, producer, and DJ best known for his work with Lady GagaSupport 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 animated television series 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.

Nat Love was born a slave, but died a free cowboy and a legend of the Old West. After the Civil War freed Love from slavery, he walked to Dodge City, Kansas, and got a job breaking horses - after he could prove that he could rope a bucking horse, climb on its back without a saddle, and ride him without falling off. He got the job. Thus began Nat's life as a cowboy. We don't typically include Black cowboys as part of the American story of the West,  even though one in four American cowboys are Black. Black cowboys are as American as baseball.  GUESTS: Zaron Burnett III is an investigative reporter and longform feature writer for MEL Magazine. He’s the host and creator of the iHeartRadio podcast “Black Cowboys” (@zaron3)  Patricia Kelly is U.S. Marine Corp Vietnam-era veteran, an African-American cowgirl, and the founder of Ebony Horsewomen. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in 2015. (@ebonyhorsewomen) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over just six years, from 1954 to 1960, Alfred Hitchcock made four movies -- Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), and Psycho (1960) -- that are routinely mentioned among the very best movies ever made. It's maybe an unparalleled run in the history of cinema. And that's just those four movies. Hitchcock's filmography is full of classics: Notorious (1946), Strangers on a Train (1951), The 39 Steps (1935), The Wrong Man (1956), The Birds (1963). The list goes on. At the same time, Hitchcock's relationship with his actors has been the subject of much discussion and debate for many decades. He's said to have thought of them as "cattle" and "animated props." He's said to have sexually harassed at least one of them. At the same time as that, Hitchcock's films earned eight of his actors nine Academy Award nominations and produced many more all-time-great screen performances, from Joan Fontaine in Rebecca (1940) to Tippi Hedren in Marnie (1964) and many others. This hour: a look at the work of Alfred Hitchcock... and his actors. GUESTS: Tom Breen - Managing editor of the New Haven Independent and the host of Deep Focus on WNHH radio Dan Callahan - Author of The Camera Lies: Acting for Hitchcock Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 3, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dust is everywhere, but we rarely see it. We shed it from our skin, hair, and nails, leaving little bits of DNA wherever we roam.  More than 100 tons of cosmic dust fall to Earth each day, leaving an archive of every "geochemical" substance that has fallen - at least some of it into our homes. All of history is recorded in the dust we create: the pollution we make, the fires we start, the chemicals we use, the volcanos that erupt. Scientists can learn about the Roman Empire through the dust that has been compressed each year for thousands of years into layers of ice sheets in Greenland.  Today, we talk about the science, politics and ephemeral nature of dust. GUESTS:  Jay Owens - Geographer and research director at Pulsar Platform. She writes a newsletter about dust she calls, “Disturbances.” (@hautepop) Jolie Kerr - Cleaning expert and advice columnist for The Inventory and the host of the podcast “Ask a Clean Person.” She’s also the author of My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag...and Other Things You Can't Ask Martha. She’s the resident cleaning expert for the New York Times. (@joliekerr) Suzanne Proulx - Artist, sculpture and Assistant Professor, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.  Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.  Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show. This show first aired on January 15, 2019Support 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 Enquirer, 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.

Beavers build sophisticated dams and deep-water ponds that slow erosion of riverbanks, create cooler deep-water pools for temperature-sensitive plant and fish species, and increase the water table, a big deal for Western states coping with drought. And they're social animals who have mates, kits, and an active social life.  But centuries-old myths and fables about the beaver have led to their destruction and prevented us from recognizing their charms and value to the ecosystem. We fear them, dislike them, and use them for all the wrong reasons, like killing them for their pelts. Let's celebrate the beaver! GUESTS: Jim Robbins - freelance journalist based in Montana and a frequent contributor to the New York Times. He’s the author of several books including, “The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and An Urge To Save the Planet.” Rachel Poliquin - freelance writer and curator. She’s the author of “The Breathless Zoo: Taxidermy and the Cultures of Longing,” and “Beaver,” for the Reaktion Books’ Animal Series. Heidi Perryman - child psychologist and the founder of Worth-A-Dam Sherri Tippie - the top live-trapper of Beaver in North America. She rescues beaver in Colorado and rehabilitates and relocates them to areas where there ponds are needed. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.  Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adrian Lopez is a high school kid from East Vale, California. He had planned a high school kid's birthday party at some fire pits for last weekend. But then the TikTok flyer for the party went viral, thousands of people showed up to two different locations, and the whole thing has been described as a "zombie apocalypse" of "17 to 19 year olds." And: Hacks is a half-hour sitcom from HBO Max. It stars Jean Smart as a late-career Vegas comedian, and it's written and created by three people who wrote for Broad City on Comedy Central. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Eric Carle, Author of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar,' Dies at 91A self-described "picture writer," he wrote and illustrated more than 70 books for young children, selling more than 170 million copies. Samuel E. Wright, The Voice Behind The Beloved "Little Mermaid" Character Sebastian, Has DiedThe actor was also nominated for two Tony awards for his performances in The Tap Dance Kid and The Lion King. 'Simpsons' writer (opinion): Why I love to make fun of Connecticut How Girls5Eva Is Making Up for 30 Rock's PastThe Tina Fey-verse has finally outgrown Liz Lemon. This Was the Week That Movie Studios Finally Lost Control of the IndustryIn a world where the theatrical release is an option, not a necessity, movie studios are no longer in charge of Hollywood. Fresh Off A Viral Library Gig, The Linda Lindas Get A Record Deal The Whole Parade: On the Incomparable Career of Nicolas Cage Johnny Knoxville's Last RodeoAs he prepares to release his final Jackass film, the stuntman takes stock of a surprisingly long, hilariously painful, and unusually influential career. J.J. Abrams Reflects on 'Star Wars' and When It's Critical to Have a Plan"I do think that there's nothing more important than knowing where you're going." Broadway's Tony Awards, Delayed by Pandemic, Set for SeptemberMost of the prizes will be announced on the Paramount+ streaming service, followed by a starry concert celebrating Broadway on CBS television. James Bond, Meet Jeff Bezos: Amazon Makes $8.45 Billion Deal for MGMMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer, while diminished, commanded a premium price, with Amazon seeking to bolster its crucial Prime membership offering. Streaming TV Costs Add Up as Americans Add More Services Vanessa Redgrave no longer set to appear in Kevin Spacey filmActor had been linked to her husband Franco Nero's Italian drama, set to be Spacey's comeback after sexual misconduct accusations New York's Hyphenated HistoryIn Pardis Mahdavi's new book Hyphen, she explores the way hyphenation became not only a copyediting quirk but a complex issue of identity, assimilation, and xenophobia amid anti-immigration movements at the turn of the twentieth century. In the excerpt below, Mahdavi gives the little-known history of New York's hyphenation debate. The Mesmerizing Pull of Plastic Surgery VideosProcedures used to be done in secret, but in the post-Kardashian world, transparency is just part of the process. GUESTS: Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer, and she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College 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.

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

Thornton Wilder's Our Town debuted more than 80 years ago. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and, over the decades since, it has continuously been one of the most produced of American plays. It is known for its spare set -- just some chairs and tables, perhaps some ladders -- and lack of props and sometimes even costumes. It's known for its metatheatricality and its Stage Manager character, who addresses the audience directly and rarely participates in the action of the play, as much as there really is any. It is known as old-fashioned, sentimental, nostalgic and, simultaneously, obviously and intentionally not old-fashioned, sentimental, and nostalgic. This hour, a look at perhaps the quintessential American play: Our Town. GUESTS: Howard Sherman - The author of Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder's Our Town in the 21st Century Kate Powers - A stage director and the founder of The Redeeming Time Project; in 2013, she directed a production of Our Town at Sing Sing Correctional Facility Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 24, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

'Cancel culture' has become a phrase that means so much that it means nothing at all. It originated in Black culture as a way to hold the powerful accountable, but was eventually appropriated as a political weapon for (mostly White) conservatives and liberal progressives, each group using it in very different ways. Cancel culture has brought much-needed attention to societal inequities, but also toppled careers - some justifiably, others more questionably. In the end, the most powerful scalawags seem too big to cancel. We parse out the nuance of 'cancel culture' with three thoughtful people, including one who has been canceled and who now counsels the canceled.  GUESTS: Gene Seymour is a film and jazz critic and a cultural critic for CNN.com, the New Republic, and the Nation.  Clyde McGrady is a Style features writer for the Washington Post focusing on race and identity. Alice Dreger is a writer, historian, journalist, and local news publisher with Ph.D in History of Science. Her best known book is Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and One Scholar’s Search for Justice, and her bylines include the New York Times, WIRED Magazine, and the Atlantic. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a long absence from Twitter, Donald Glover last week, in a series of since-deleted tweets, blamed boring culture on cancel culture. After a long absence from the popular culture, Sinéad O'Connor has a memoir coming out. And: The Underground Railroad is a 10-part limited series on Amazon Prime. It's Barry Jenkins's adaptation of Colson Whitehead's 2016 novel. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Paul Mooney Dies: Trailblazing Comedian, Writing Partner Of Richard Pryor Was 79 Charles Grodin, Star of 'Beethoven' and 'Heartbreak Kid,' Dies at 86A familiar face who was especially adept at deadpan comedy, he also appeared on Broadway in "Same Time, Next Year," wrote books and had his own talk show. Inside the All-hands Meeting That Led to a Third of Basecamp Employees QuittingThe company's senior leadership wanted to quell employees' concerns, and only made things much, much worse Jon Bon Jovi, Don Henley Called Antitrust "Co-Conspirators"An outfit representing some 10,000 radio stations wants to depose star musicians in a heavyweight legal battle. Oregon Trail Gets A Makeover With More Accurate Native American Representation Ellen DeGeneres' Farewell Tour Is Already a Whiny, Tone-Deaf DisasterWhile DeGeneres complains about the reports of her behavior and toxic workplace, it's even harder to remember what it was about the show that changed history -- and was so good. I'll Take 'White Supremacist Hand Gestures' for $1,000How hundreds of "Jeopardy!" contestants talked themselves into a baseless conspiracy theory -- and won't be talked out of it. Only Shooting Stars Break the Mold: The Massive Musical Footprint of 'Shrek'Thanks to 'All Star' to 'Hallelujah,' the animated blockbuster’s soundtrack has maintained a quietly rich legacy. The people behind the film -- and musicians behind its songs -- break down how it came together and why it still matters, even as the years started coming and didn’t stop coming. The New 'Right Stuff' Is Money and LuckRich people are heading to space, and they're changing what it means to be an astronaut. Goop Responds to "Frivolous" Lawsuit Claiming That Its Vagina Candles Explode After LightingThis class action filing comes after another customer claimed at the beginning of the year that the candle turned her living room into an "inferno." How a Review Changed Both Sarah Silverman and Our CriticA.O. Scott critiqued her approach to comedy in a 2005 movie. Now they sit down to talk about what he got right and wrong, and why owning up to mistakes is freeing. GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan - Artistic producer at TheaterWorks Rich Hollant - Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford 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.

Bob Dylan turns 80 years old on May 24. His first album, 1962's Bob Dylan, is in its 60th year on record store shelves. We're at a point where, for most of us, there has simply never been a popular culture in which Dylan wasn't a towering figure whose influence seems to touch, well, everything. This hour, a look at Bob Dylan at 80. GUESTS: Noah Baerman - A pianist, composer, and educator Fred Bals - Hosted the Dreamtime podcast, covering Theme Time Radio Hour with Your Host, Bob Dylan Sean Latham - Director of the Institute for Bob Dylan Studies, editor of The World of Bob Dylan, and the writer and narrator of It Ain't Me You're Looking For: Bob Dylan at 80 Gayle Wald - Professor of American studies at George Washington University; her most recent book is It's Been Beautiful: Soul! and Black Power Television 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.

Using our private bathrooms while working from home opened our eyes to how uncomfortable it can be to use public bathrooms at the office - especially when you have a digestive issue. Also this hour: "Familect" are the invented nicknames, references, and jokes shared by people who live together. For example, my husband calls me "diller," because I remind him of the hard-headed armadillo that kept crashing into our tent on our honeymoon.  Lastly, the semiotics of unmasking.  GUESTS:  Angela Lashbrook is a health, tech, and books writer. Her work has appeared in OneZero, Refinery29, The Atlantic, Vice, Vox, The Outline, and other places.   Dr. Neil Parikh is a gastroenterologist for Hartford Healthcare and Connecticut GI   Kathryn Hymes is a computational linguist and the co-founder of Thorny Games, a game studio out of Washington DC Mignon Fogarty is the founder of the Quick and Dirty Tips network and creator of the Grammar Girl website and podcast. She’s the author of Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. Glynnis MacNicol is a writer and the author of No One Tells You This: A Memoir. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Cut, and the New York Daily News among others.  Emily Gardner Xu Hall is a musical theatre writer, composer and actor. Born in Tokyo and raised in London, she now lives in Harlem, New York City.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who's afraid of the Bix bad Beiderbecke? Hartford has an amazing jazz history, and Colin has a lot of jazz musician friends. This hour, a little onstage jazz party recorded in front of a live audience long before the pandemic put a pause on live audiences as a thing. Colin and the panel look to make jazz accessible to mere mortals. They talk about what makes jazz jazz, invite the audience to sing, and teach the audience to scat. GUESTS: Steve Davis - Trombone Atla DeChamplain - Vocals Matt DeChamplain - Piano Henry Lugo - Bass Jocelyn Pleasant - Drums Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. This show originally aired February 8, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced. Artists like Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Todd Rundgren, Tina Turner, LL Cool J, Kraftwerk, and Gil Scott-Heron got in. Folks like Iron Maiden, Chaka Kahn, Rage Against the Machine, Devo, and Dionne Warwick did not. And: Mare of Easttown is a seven-episode HBO limited series starring Kate Winslet. The fifth episode airs Sunday. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Norman Lloyd, Associate of Welles, Hitchcock and Others, Dies at 106He was seen in movies and on TV shows like "St. Elsewhere" and worked with some of the biggest names in show business, even though his own name was little known. 1980s siren Tawny Kitaen of music videos and 'Bachelor Party' dies at 59 Ellen DeGeneres to End Talk Show: "I Need Something New to Challenge Me"DeGeneres gets candid about her decision to wrap up the show in 2022, the allegations that nearly sent her packing and the parts that she'll miss most -- and least -- about her daily platform. NBC Will Not Air Golden Globes in 2022 Due To Ongoing HFPA Controversy Ummm, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Were Spotted Hanging Out Together at a Resort in Montana Gen Z Is Bringing Emo Back, But This Time It's Not Just A Bunch Of White Dudes The Jean War between millennials and Gen Z cannot be won The Squandered Promise of Chet Hanks's White-Boy SummerPerhaps, in the end, we weren't nearly as ready for it as we might have wanted to be. Cinemark Signs Deals With 5 Major Hollywood Studios for Shorter Theatrical Windows STAR WARS Answers the Mystery of Luke's Missing Hand Reddit just realized that Jerry Seinfeld's TV apartment defies the laws of science Is rewatching old TV good for the soul? Andrew McCarthy Revisits the Brat PackIn a new memoir, the actor reflects on being typecast in his twenties, his struggles with addiction, and learning to like John Hughes movies. David Chase and The Sopranos writers break down 'Pine Barrens', 20 years onThe Sopranos creator and two of his closest collaborators, Terence Winter and Tim Van Patten, discuss the origin of 'Pine Barrens' -- the greatest TV episode of all time -- and why the glorious ambiguity that permeated the show keeps it relevant today The State of Baseball: Inside the biggest questions MLB is facing with the future of the sport at stake Gal Gadot Confirmed Reports That Joss Whedon "Threatened" Her While Shooting "Justice League""I handled it on the spot." Cut the intermission, please. Why I hope the pandemic ends a theatrical tradition Who Should John Mulaney Be Now? Just 12 People Are Behind Most Vaccine Hoaxes On Social Media, Research Shows GUESTS: Mercy Quaye - Founder and principal consultant for The Narrative Project and a columnist with Hearst Connecticut Media Group Brian Slattery - Arts editor for the New Haven Independent and a producer at WNHH radio 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 slurs against other groups at a time when BLM, #MeToo, and cancel culture are driving our cultural narrative. We talk about the past, present, and future of profanity.  GUEST: John McWhorter teaches linguistics, American studies, and music history at Columbia University. He’s a contributing editor to The Atlantic and host of Slate’s Lexicon Valley podcast. His new book is Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2017, The New York Times uncovered a program at the Defense Department which investigated unidentified flying objects. This year, the former chair of Harvard's astronomy department published a book arguing that we may recently have been "visited by advanced alien technology from a distant star." This week, The New Yorker has a long piece on changing attitudes and fading taboos around UFOs. What does this all mean? Does it matter that these acknowledgements are coming from The New York Times, The New Yorker... the astronomy department at Harvard? Could it be that the concept of UFOs has finally escaped the crackpot fringe? GUESTS: Leslie Kean - An investigative journalist and the author of UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record Avi Loeb - Former chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University and the author of Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond the Earth Mike Panicello - Mutual UFO Network CT state director Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 6, 2019.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Semiotics is the study of sign process, which is to say: it's the science of the search for meaning. And then, part of the underlying premise of semiotics -- which just happens to be part of the underlying premise of The Colin McEnroe Show, itself -- is that there's meaning... everywhere. Why do people smoke cigarettes even though everyone knows they're terribly harmful? Why do women wear terribly uncomfortable high-heeled shoes? Could it simply be because those things are... interesting? This hour: a crash course in the study of meaning-making, in the science of semiotics. GUEST: Marcel Danesi - The author of Of Cigarettes, High Heels, and Other Interesting Things: An Introduction to Semiotics Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired September 6, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex Trebek’s imprint as the host of "Jeopardy" looms large over the show, making it hard for anyone else to live up to the impeccable standard he demanded during his 37 seasons as the show's iconic host. But more than a dozen guest hosts have tried, from big winner Ken Jennings to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Who will the next host be and what will the next iteration look like? Also this hour: two-time Grammy Award winner Van Morrison is best known for the volumes of soulful love songs he's written over his five decade career. So, why did the 75-year-old musician release a 28-song album filled with paranoia, antisemitic rants, and grievance against well, just about everyone.   Lastly, people are showering less during the pandemic - and loving it!   GUESTS: Amanda Hess is a critic-at-large for the New York Times. She writes about the internet and culture. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN the Magazine, and Wired, among others. Louis Keene is a staff reporter at The Forward Maria Cramer is a breaking news reporter for The New York Times. She previously covered legal affairs for The Boston Globe Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elon Musk will host tomorrow night's Saturday Night Live. It is, if nothing else, an odd choice. Speaking of choices, Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Sitcoms of All Time is out this week. Finally, This Is a Robbery: The World's Biggest Art Heist is a four-part Netflix docuseries about the 1990 robbery of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. The burglary was the largest museum heist in history in terms of value (thought to be as much as $600 million) until 2019. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Jeff Goldblum's a movie star, jazz pianist and an inescapable meme. What's behind his enduring appeal? On That Bombshell Billie Eilish Cover for British VogueThe pop star known for defying gender stereotypes got a glamour makeover with a corset. Not everyone is happy about it. Broadway Is Reopening. But Not Until September.Even as New York City begins to reopen this summer, Broadway will not resume performances until Sept. 14. Here's why. I'm Not Ready to PerformA great rock-and-roll show means openness, confrontation, and a kind of danger, and those ideas right now feel too heavy to lift. Jason Concepcion Is Still Working Through His Early-Pandemic Pasta Purchase"I've always had an affinity for the cuisine of the Italians" Eww, That's Gross. And We Like It That Way.Why the tasteless humor of "Bad Trip," starring Eric Andre, is a feat to be celebrated. Few can pull off transgression so skillfully. German Gymnasts Cover Their Legs In Stand Against Sexualization Prince's epic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" guitar solo has a new director's cut Ethan Hawke Waits for Godot, or for the Zoom Screen to UnfreezeAfter a rehearsal for a virtual production of the play, Hawke and his co-star John Leguizamo ponder how all dialogue now sounds like Beckett. Prancer, the 'demonic' Chihuahua who went viral, finds his forever homePrancer has adjusted to both his new life and his viral celebrity status quite well. Here Are The First Official Photos From HBO's "House Of The Dragon"The show will debut on HBO and on its streaming platform HBO Max in 2022. Heads Up! A Used Chinese Rocket Is Tumbling Back to Earth This Weekend.The chances of it hitting a populated area are small, but not zero. That has raised questions about how the country’s space program designs its missions. GUESTS: Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer, and she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance 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.

Numbers are so fundamental to our understanding of the world around us that we maybe tend to think of them as an intrinsic part of the world around us. But they aren't. Humans invented numbers just as much as we invented all of language. This hour, we look at the anthropological, psychological, and linguistical ramifications of the concept of numbers. And we look at one philosophical question too: Are numbers even real in the first place? GUESTS: Brian Clegg - Author of Are Numbers Real? The Uncanny Relationship of Mathematics and the Physical World Caleb Everett - Professor and chair of anthropology at the University of Miami and the author of Numbers and the Making of Us: Counting and the Course of Human Cultures Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired October 12, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Newsletters have become a great way for journalists and others to dive deep into less-covered topics and engage directly with their readers in ways not always possible in the mainstream media ecosystem. The platform Substack is making it easy for them. The subscription-based model offers writers more editorial control and the ability to offer free content and earn a sustainable salary at a time when public trust in media is low, local news is thinning and media content is often driven by social-media algorithms. We talk about newsletters with people who write them and critique them. GUESTS: Heather Cox Richardson - Professor of history at Boston College; she writes the Letters from an American newsletter Gabe Fleisher - Student at Georgetown University and the author of the Wake Up To Politics newsletter Isaac Saul - A journalist and the author of the Tangle newsletter Ben Smith - Media columnist for The New York Times and the founder and former editor-in-chief of Buzzfeed News 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.

to help. They chose to be nurses at a time when the risk to their own health was never greater. Why are some people willing to run toward the fire when others are running away from it? Most of us fall somewhere on a spectrum of altruistic behavior. We might adopt a stray pet, donate a liter of blood, or check on an older neighbor. Others pursue a career based on helping others, and, at the extreme end of the spectrum, some choose to donate their kidney to a stranger or rush into traffic to save a stranger's life. We talk to two nurses, a kidney donor, and a psychologist about nursing and the nature of altruism. GUEST: Kelly Chevalier - Interim director of emergency services at Trinity Health of New England/St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center  Tracy Gordon Fox - A former journalist for the Hartford Courant; she’s currently a staff nurse on the general surgery floor at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center Lauren Herschel - An anonymous kidney donor who lives in Calgary, Alberta Abigail Marsh - A professor of psychology and a neuroscientist in the Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Program at Georgetown University; she directs their Lab on Social & Affective Neuroscience, and she’s the author of The Fear Factor: How One Emotion Connects Psychopaths, Altruists, and Everyone In Between  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aaron Rodgers leaked his dissatisfaction with the Green Bay Packers just before last week's NFL opening round. The NFL draft drew about 2 million people and has become something of a cultural event. In essence, he made himself the story within the story. So, what's going on with Aaron Rodgers? Does he have a future with the Packers, another NFL team, or will he head to Jeopardy and date Shailene Woodley? Also this hour: a story about cows who love classical music. Lastly, an ode to the reviled wasp. It's time we learn to love the wasp.  GUESTS:  Ben Shpigel is a sports reporter for The New York Times, covering the NFL since 2011. (@benshpigel) Lisa Abend is a journalist based in Copenhagen and the author of The Sorcerer's Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Adria's Elbulli. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, TIME magazine, and The Atlantic, among other publications. (@LisaAbend) Seirian Sumner is professor of Behavioral Ecology at University College London. She's the co-founder of Soapbox Science and The Big Wasp Survey. (@WaspWoman) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we were preparing for our show on underdogs, I kept saying that we shouldn’t overlook the fact that, often, to be an underdog in the first place, you have to be relatively bad at the thing you’re an underdog about. The more we talked about it, the more I found myself making the case that losers and losing are fascinating. And they are. There’s a whole podcast about political candidates who lost. We romanticize losers in movies and TV and songs and stories. And think just about the phrase “lovable losers.” In a culture where we focus seemingly entirely on the positive half of the zero sum, where we endlessly exalt WINNING, it’s kind of interesting that we love the losers too, isn’t it? This hour, a long look at losers and losing. GUESTS: Jason Cherkis - Political reporter for The Huffington Post and the co-host of Candidate Confessional Josh Keefe - An investigative reporter at the Bangor Daily News; in a piece for Slate’s Sports Nut, he claimed that he was the worst high school quarterback ever Jonathan McNicol - Producer at Connecticut Public Radio Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College 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 Betsy Kaplan contributed to this show, which originally aired August 1, 2016.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.