The Colin McEnroe Show

My son, Simon, is a year old. His mother and his grandmother are both librarians. His father is, well, me. Simon is, predictably, obsessed with books. Back before everything changed, we'd gotten into a pretty good reading routine. Every morning before Simon went to his grandparents', we'd read a big pile of books. Every evening when I got home from work, we'd read a big pile of books. We'd read Goodnight Moon. We'd read Little Blue Truck. We'd read Peek-a Who? and Peek-a Moo! and Peek-a Zoo! We'd read Who Hoots? and Who Hops? We'd read Dear Zoo and Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? and Each Peach Pear Plum and Spooky, Spooky, Little Bat and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? And then we'd probably read them all again. Now that our whole family stays home all day every day, we still do all the reading. What's lost is the routine. What's lost is any sort of limit at all. From Simon's point of view, there's nothing to stop us from reading all day every day, from when he jams me in the back with his copy of The Mixed-Up Chameleon too early in the morning until he falls asleep wearing one sock and with a clump of Cheerios somehow stuck in his diaper too late at night. If you've got smallish kids and you're staying home these days, children's literature has undoubtedly become a much larger part of your life than you'd ever bargained for. This hour, a look at what it's like reading kids' books as an adult. GUESTS: Bruce Handy - The author of Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult Julia Pistell - Managing director of Sea Tea Improv and cohost of the Literary Disco podcast Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired April 9, 2020.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It took two years for the word AIDS to get from coinage to dictionary. It took COVID-19 thirty-four days. The pandemic has inspired a thousand new or repurposed words, slang, nicknames, and neologisms. It has changed the way we speak.   We made technical medical language part of everyday conversation. We created new words to describe  emotions that had no words. We repurposed old words or combined two words to express a way of life we never expected. Lockdowns. WFH. Pancession. Doomscrolling. We made phrases to unite us, others to make us laugh, and some to explain our confusion. Workers became essential and advertisers made them heroes.    Do you speak Corona? GUESTS: Peter Sokolowski is a lexicographer and editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster; he's also a musician and public radio jazz host at NEPR, and he's the author of a chapter in The Whole World in a Book (@PeterSokowski)  Tony Horne is a linguist, lexicographer, and a language consultant in the faculty of Arts and Humanities, at King’s College, London (@tonythorne007)  Justin Peters is a correspondent for Slate and the author of  The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet (@justintrevett) 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.

Historian Christine Sismondo says that "America, as we know it, was born in a bar." Taverns were where the Boston Tea Party was planned. They were where court cases were carried out, where land was bought and sold, where immigrants came to congregate. Over the centuries since, bars have fostered so much social change. And today, they're where we go to meet people, to catch the game, to talk about our problems, to relax. Or at least they were. Back when bars were open, back when there were games to catch... Back when we could relax. This hour, a look at what we've been missing these last few months when we've been missing bars. GUESTS: Rand Richards Cooper - A contributing editor at Commonweal, and he writes the "In Our Midst" column for Hartford Magazine Christine Sismondo - The author of America Walks into a Bar: A Spirited History of Taverns and Saloons, Speakeasies and Grog Shops Karl Franz Williams - Principle, The Anchor Spa in New Haven Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Religious scholar Elaine Pagels trusted the Gospel of Thomas to get her through the almost unbearably painful years after the death of her six-year-old son -- born with a congenital heart defect -- followed one year later by the unexpected death of her husband.  Thomas was one of many hidden texts discovered in a cave in Egypt in 1945, written around the time of Jesus but omitted from the New Testament.  Pagels's exploration of the secret gospels revealed early Christianity to be a mix of traditions, stories, music, mysticism, art, and poetry that were lost in later versions perpetuated by individual Christian groups. Pagels wonders how Roman Catholics, Baptists, Mormons, and Quakers -- to name a few -- could all proclaim themselves the one true version of Christianity. The Gnostic Gospels challenged thousands of years of Christian ideology regarding our views on God, women, sexuality, and death that still dictate the cultural values we follow today. How had we not become aware that thousands of years of censoring Christianity has come to contradict our own experience of what is meaningful in our lives? So often, religion fails us in our time of need. The Gnostic Gospels gave Elaine Pagels hope. She was grateful for that.  GUEST:  Elaine Pagels - Professor of Religion at Princeton University and the author of several books including The Gnostic Gospels, Beyond Belief, and, most recently, Why Religion? A Personal Story Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired February 21, 2019.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The number of people testing positive for coronavirus continues to rise in many parts of the U.S., with sharp rises in places like Florida, Nevada, Alabama, Texas, and Puerto Rico. Yet, President Trump continues to attribute the rise to more testing -- despite the rise in hospitalizations and deaths -- and he wants to reduce federal aid for more testing, tracing, and for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also this hour: The ABC News/Washington Post poll released Sunday shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading President Trump by 15 points among registered voters, 55% to 40%. A majority of respondents are not happy with the president's handling of the coronavirus, among other things. On a happier note: It's National Moth Week! GUESTS: Maria Sundaram is an infectious disease epidemiologist. She’s a postdoc fellow at ICES in Toronto and a regular contributor to BBC OS (@mariasundaram) Steven Shepard is senior campaign and elections editor and chief polling analyst for Politico. (@politico_steve) Liti Haramaty is a founding member of the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission and vice-chair of the East Brunswick Commission. She's co-founder of National Moth Week and a researcher at the department of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University. (@LeeTeeK) 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.

Four years ago, over the course of three days, film crews documented the musical Hamilton as performed by nearly its entire original Broadway cast. Eventually, Disney bought the distribution rights to the movie and planned to release it in theaters next fall. But then there was a pandemic, and people were stuck in their houses, and the film dropped on Disney+ earlier this month. And: Kanye West is running for president. Unless he isn't. But maybe he is. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Grant Imahara, Host of 'MythBusters' and 'White Rabbit Project,' Dies at 49 This Pickle Is a CakeWelcome to the viral world of hyper-realistic cake slicing videos. 26 Hilarious Tweets About All Those Cakes We're Seeing On The Internet"Are we human? Or are we cake?" TikTok users panic as Trump admin considers banning app Far Side creator Gary Larson publishes first new cartoons in 25 yearsAfter coming out of retirement, the cartoonist says digital technology has allowed him to rediscover the fun of drawing In Conversation: Thandie NewtonAfter decades onscreen, nothing surprises the Westworld actress, though what she’s ready to share will surprise you. This Profile of Charlie Kaufman Has ChangedHow do you write about Hollywood’s most self-referential screenwriter at a destabilizing moment in history? It takes more than one draft. How 'Inception' Redefined Christopher Nolan Could U.S. Theaters Stay Closed Until Mid-2021? Walt Disney World's Reopening Video Didn't Go Over So Well GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan - Producing associate at TheaterWorks Jacques Lamarre - A playwright and director of client services at Buzz Engine 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.

Our ancestors viewed sleep as a highly sensual and transcendent experience. Today, about a third of adults have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or feeling rested. We're becoming a nation of insomniacs. We live in what Rubin Naiman calls, a "wake-centric era,” where sleeping and dreaming are viewed as less important than being awake and on the go. It's hard to come down from the hyperaroused state we whip ourselves into by the end of a day.  It's not surprising that we can't sleep.  Insomnia can be miserable when all we want to do is sleep. But it's more a human condition than a medical condition to be solved by sleeping pills and tech gadgets.  Plus, insomnia can have its upside. Our minds can be more open to insights and new possibilities in the dark quiet of night when our thoughts can wander to unknown places that the conscious mind can’t see.  GUESTS:  Marina Benjamin is a writer and Senior Editor at Aeon magazine. She’s written five books. Her latest memoir is Insomnia. She’s also the author of The Middlepause and Garden Among Fires: A Lockdown Anthology. (@marinab52) Rubin Naiman is a psychologist, clinical assistant professor of medicine and the sleep and dream specialist at the University of Arizona Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine (@drnaiman) Charlotte Jee is a writer and reporter for MIT Technology Review, where she also writes The Download newsletter (@charlottejee) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, we didn't take television seriously. We saw it as ephemeral, as "chewing gum for the eyes," as, literally, furniture. And then, around the turn of the century, things started to change. There was The Sopranos. The Wire. And, at the same time, shows like Big Brother and The Amazing Race. For Emily Nussbaum, it was Buffy the Vampire Slayer that forever changed her take on television. And now... the president is a TV character. This hour: A serious appraisal of television with The New Yorker's television critic. GUEST: Emily Nussbaum - Television critic for The New Yorker and the author of I Like To Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution 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 number of people being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus is rising in 48 states. We're testing more, but the rate of positive tests, hospitalizations, and in some states, deaths, is also rising. On Sunday, Florida recorded 15,300 new cases, the highest single-day total to date. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 60,000 new cases in the U.S. on Monday. And we're seeing the same delays in test results and shortages of protective gear that we experienced in the spring. Should we be more focused on what's happening now instead of reopening bars and schools?  Also this hour: Election law scholar Richard Hasen says we need a 28th amendment to secure voting rights in this country. The U.S. Constitution contains no affirmative right to vote. Social policy and responsive representation should reflect everyone’s needs, not just those most likely to turn out with their votes and dollars. GUESTS: Saskia Popescu is an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Arizona (@SaskiaPopescu)   Richard Hasen is a professor of Law and Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. He is a founding co-editor of Election Law Journal and runs The Election Blog. His new book is Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat To American Democracy. (@rickhasen) 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.

"Dante's Inferno" is the most famous section of Dante Aligheri's 14,000 line epic poem, The Divine Comedy. But it's only the first part of Dante's long pilgrimage through the afterlife. He first enters the circles of hell, filled with beasts and sinners doomed to the Inferno for crimes like gluttony, lust, and treason.  Dante slowly recognizes a glimmer of each sinner's fault in his own character as he makes his way through hell. His recognition of his humanity led him up the steep mountain of purgatory and ultimately toward a paradise opened by his enlightenment.  The story of The Divine Comedy is an adventure story based on Dante's real life in 14th century Italy. He was deeply wrapped up in the politics of his time. He was a city official, diplomatic negotiator, poet, and a man who dared to cross the pope. He was exiled from his city, never to return under threat of death. He left all behind, except his unrequited love for Beatrice.  Nearly broken and in a "dark wood" of grief in midlife, Dante wrote a masterpiece that is remarkably relevant today for all of us who have ever been in the dark wood of loss. This hour, we talk to three people who walked with Dante through the dark wood. GUESTS:Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sand is the most abundant material on Earth. And, other than water and air, sand is the natural resource we consume more than any other -- more, even, than oil. The pyramids are made of sand. Our roads and driveways and sidewalks are made of sand. Concrete buildings and their concrete foundations are made of sand. From computer chips to computer screens, window panes to lightbulbs, breast implants to the Hubble telescope, sand is basically the essential building block of civilization. Humans are estimated to consume almost 50 billion tons of sand and gravel every year. Oh, and, by the way: We're running out of it. For a look at Sue McGrew's crazy impressive sand sculptures, check out her website. GUESTS: Vince Beiser - Author of The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization Sarah Page Kyrcz - A reporter who covers Guilford and Madison for the Shoreline Times Sue McGrew - Professional sand sculptor Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 9, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past weeks, cities across the country have implemented curfews in response to George Floyd protests and to enforce stay-at-home orders during COVID-19. This hour, we discuss whether emergency curfews really keep people safer or become another way to intimidate and discriminate. Also, the history and wisdom of juvenile curfews and what it's like to protest after curfew. And we learn about early curfews across the pond during the British Empire. GUESTS: Roger Ekirch - The author of five books including At Day's Close: Night in Times Past Dennis Keeney - Former police officer and current professor in the John Jay Department of Criminal Justice at City University of New York Mike Males - An American sociologist and senior researcher at the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Francisco Kalfani Ture - Assistant professor of criminology at Quinnipiac University and a former police officer Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Betsy Kaplan, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is it safe to say that we're not yet ready to kiss and make up with the banks whose reckless behavior led to the 2008 financial crisis? A little contrition would go a long way to helping us forgive and forget. That's not happening, at least not with Deutsche Bank, the preferred bank of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. Deutsche Bank lent money to rogue states that funded terrorist activities that hurt U.S. soldiers. They laundered money for Russian oligarchs, sold securities they knew were bad, gave out multimillion-dollar bonuses, and fired whistleblowers who tried to tell. They lent money to Donald Trump, despite his repeated defaults on his loans, and Jeffrey Epstein long after he was shunned for molesting young girls. You may wonder how this could happen. Basically, a massive lack of accountability on behalf of the Central Bank, the Federal Reserve, shareholders, board members, and the federal government. That's a lot of people. No wonder Elizabeth Warren threatened to take on the big banks. GUESTS: David Enrich - Business investigations editor at The New York Times and the author of Dark Towers: Deutsche Bank, Donald Trump, and An Epic Trail of Destruction 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 Argus Pheasant is a lifelong bachelor. He mates with multiple females but has no further contact with his mates or the baby pheasants he sires. By human terms, not much of a feminist. Yet, he stages a chivalrous courtship on moonlit nights on a forest stage he clears with meticulous care. He sings and dances and pecks. He encompasses his 'date' in a cape of intricately-colored four-foot-long feathers. He ends with a bow.   Evolutionarily, there's no purpose for the spectacular feathers on the Argus Pheasant - unless you consider they may have evolved to satisfy the sexual preferences of the female Argus. Darwin, while famous for his theory on evolution through battle for the fittest, also promoted a second, less popular theory of evolution through female sexual preference.  This theory may also shed light on evolved human traits and behaviors we don't need to survive - like female orgasm and same-sex preferences.  GUESTS: Richard Prum - Evolutionary Ornithologist, Professor of Ornithology at Yale and the curator of Ornithology at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History. He’s the author of The Evolution of Beauty: How Darwin’s Forgotten Theory of Mate Choice Shapes the Animal World - and Us.  Patricia Brennan - Evolutionary Biologist, Behavioral Ecologist and visiting lecturer at Mount Holyoke College. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're Not Dying. But Panic Attacks Can Make You Think You Are." width="100%">You're shopping for groceries. Out of the blue your heart starts to race, your knees feel week, you feel like you can't breathe, like you might be having a heart attack. You wonder if you're losing your mind -- but you're not. You're having a panic attack.  About 1 in 4 people have had at least one panic attack during their lives, yet few like to admit it. Because panic manifests through physical symptoms that can mimic a heart attack, a lot of people feel shame when they go to the ER and find there's nothing wrong with them. In the absence of a test that defines panic, a lot of people worry they might be losing their mind.   Also this hour: Panic ensued in Times Square in early August when a motorcycle backfired. Fear of being caught in the crossfire of gun shots has led to a collective panic of loud noises in public places.  GUESTS:   Geraldine DeRuiter - Writer, public speaker and the author of All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft. Her blog is titled, The "Everywhereist."  Jacques Lamarre - Connecticut-based playwright and director of client services at BuzzEngine Cara McDonough - Freelance writer who writes for several publications, including the Washington Post. Her blog is titled, “Caramcduna.” David Tolin - Director, Anxiety Disorders Center & Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Institute of Living 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.

The raft of renaming going on right now obviously hasn't spared popular culture. The Dixie Chicks and Lady Antebellum are now The Chicks and Lady A, respectively. Björk's record label changed its name. Democrats want to rename John Wayne Airport. FedEx has formally asked the Washington Redskins to change their name, and Guilford's board of education voted to drop the town's "Indians" nickname. And, while Splash Mountain is going to keep being called Splash Mountain, it won't be based on Song of the South anymore. And: The King of Staten Island is the sixth feature film directed by Judd Apatow. It stars Pete Davidson (who also co-wrote the movie with Apatow and Dave Sirus) as a 24-year-old high school dropout who lives with his mother on Staten Island. It's available for rental on digital platforms. Some other stuff that happened over the last month, give or take: Carl Reiner, Comedy Legend and 'Dick Van Dyke Show' Creator, Dies at 98 Joel Schumacher, Director of Batman Films and 'Lost Boys,' Dies at 80 Hugh Downs, Perennial Small-Screen Fixture, Is Dead at 99A longtime host of both "Today" and "20/20," for many years he held the Guinness-certified record for most total hours on commercial network television. Legendary Batman writer, Denny O'Neil dies at age 81 Benny Mardones, 'Into the Night' Singer-Songwriter, Dead at 73 At 99, Al Jaffee Says Goodbye to Mad MagazineAs a send-off for the cartoonist, the satirical publication has prepared an all-Jaffee issue that includes his final Fold-In. Olivia de Havilland, the Last Remaining Star of Old Hollywood, Turns 104 The Long Battle Over 'Gone With the Wind'The 1939 blockbuster once symbolized the ultimate in mass entertainment. But African-Americans have protested against it from the start, even if white America didn't want to hear it. The Gentlemanly Hater's Guide to Gone With the WindThe Hollywood classic is a soap opera and a war movie smashed together. It’s also really, really racist. 'Jaws' Is Still Devouring Us. SOS!In 1975, this thriller freaked out the world, scaring us out of the water and creating the summer-blockbuster template. It was also a warning. 'Back To The Future' At 35: Looking Back On The Movie That Made America Great Again Heads Up, Hollywood: Agents Can Vote For Oscars Now Academy delays 2021 Oscars ceremony because of coronavirus Broadway Will Remain Closed Through the Rest of the YearThe industry has not yet set a reopening date, but said it would now refund tickets through Jan. 3. Chuck E. Cheese Files for Bankruptcy Walmart Will Convert Parking Lots Into Drive-Ins This Summer, Teams with Tribeca For Touring Screening Series 'The Trip to Greece' tops New Zealand box office as cinemas return to full capacity Unsubscribe: The $0-budget movie that 'topped the US box office' Bob Dylan Has a Lot on His MindIn a rare interview, the Nobel Prize winner discusses mortality, drawing inspiration from the past, and his new album, "Rough and Rowdy Ways." Jon Stewart Is Back to Weigh In The end of credits: why doesn't Netflix want us to watch them?The end credits are an unsexy but important part of the experience -- but streaming platforms seem to be interested only in getting us to the next piece of content A Redditor Revealed He Left His Wife Over His Funko Pops Collection And People On Twitter Had Thoughts"$500 a month?! How many Funko Pops is that? Where do you put all the Funkos?!" Batman Returns! Michael Keaton in Talks to Play Bruce Wayne in 'The Flash' MovieThat plot will introduce general audiences to the idea of the multiverse, one of the of core concepts underpinning DC Comics Producer Effie Brown: "People Didn't Want to Work With Me" After Calling Out Matt Damon on 'Project Greenlight' Diversity Issues Black Performers and Other Minority Alums of The Second City and The UCB Join Forces, Asking Their Theaters To Do better Many newsrooms are now capitalizing the B in Black. Here are some of the people who made that happenIt took years of work behind the scenes, both with the Associated Press and despite seemingly sacred style rules. NFL To Play Black National Anthem Before Week One Games, Considers Placing Police Violence Victims' Names on Jerseys, Helmets Jeremy Piven Is Available For A Zoom Call If You Have A Spare... $15,000?! A 'Reimagined' Beavis and Butt-Head Is Coming to Comedy Central GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani - A music writer for the Red Hook Star Revue 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.

Maria Konnikova, best-selling New York Times author and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, has long been interested in understanding the balance between skill and luck. How much of her life could she take credit for and how much was the luck of her draw? So, she took a year away from work to become a professional poker player.  What better way to learn how skill and luck play out in life than by learning the game that best balances these two competing forces? Unlike the pure chance of roulette or the mathematical precision of chess, poker finely balances chance and skill, particularly the game of no limit Texas Hold'em. How can we use poker to help us strengthen our hand against Covid-19 and the economic downturn? How do we make the best of a bad hand? GUEST: Maria Konnikova is a New York Times best-selling author, journalist, and professional poker player. Her newest book is The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned To Pay Attention, Master Myself, And Win. She is a regularly contributing writer for The New Yorker (@mkonnikova) 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.

Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, John Belushi, John Candy, Rick Moranis. Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Beverly Hills Cop, Caddyshack, The Jerk, Ghost Busters, ¡Three Amigos!, Funny Farm, Spaceballs, Stripes. We maybe didn't properly appreciate it at the time, but the 1980s were one of the most fertile periods ever for screen comedies and screen comedians. This hour, a look at the mavericks who shaped a whole comedy aesthetic and at some of the most popular movie comedies ever made. GUESTS: Nick de Semlyen - Features editor for Empire and the author of Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the '80s Changed Hollywood Forever Daniel Kalwhite - A standup comedian based in New Haven Carolyn Paine - A standup comedian, an actress, and a dancer Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which originally aired July 11, 2019.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Your sex life doesn't have to suffer just because you're cooped up at home every day. Researchers say that sex is a healthy way to calm the anxiety of pandemic, even if you live alone. Virtual dating, masturbation, and coronavirus-related porn are more popular than ever.   Some sex researchers think our desire for sex in the middle of a pandemic is one way we cope with the prospect of our own mortality. But not everyone reacts in the same way. Some lose their desire for sex, especially when you pile on added stressors like losing a job, having kids home from school, or working in a higher-risk job. Also this hour: How will coronavirus change the way we think about touching others? We take a look at sex, dating, and relationships in the shadow of coronavirus. GUESTS: Justin Lehmiller - A research fellow at the Kinsey Institute, the founder and editor of the Sex and Psychology blog, and the author of Tell Me What You Want: The Science of Sexual Desire and How It Can Help You Improve Your Sex Life Lisa Bonos- Writes about dating and relationships for the Washington Post Amy Weissfeld - A somatic sex educator and masturbation coach Cathrine Jansson-Boyd - A consumer psychologist at Anglia Ruskin University Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, Catie Talarski, Gene Amatruda, TJ Coppola, and Joe Coss contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are just over 10 million cases of coronavirus globally and almost 500,000 deaths. U.S. deaths recently rose to 125,000. Yet, the Trump Administration continues to downplay the seriousness of this pandemic. The White House Coronavirus Task Force met Friday for the first time in two months, with Vice-President Pence acknowledging the surge in several states but insisting, "We're in a much better place," than we were two months ago.  Also this hour: The estimated backlog of unopened mail at the IRS is about eleven million. And that doesn't include the one million pieces of mail that continue to come in every day. It may take a while to get your tax refund.  Lastly, fireworks are a rite of summer. In this summer of pandemic, police brutality, and overall mistrust, fireworks have attracted darker conspiracies.  GUESTS: Rebecca Katz is a Professor and Director of the Center for Global Health Science and Security at Georgetown University Medical Center. (@rebeccakatz5)  Kelly Phillips Erb is a managing shareholder at the Erb Law Firm, a Senior Contributor at Forbes, regular columnist for Bloomberg Tax, and author of the “Taxgirl” blog. (@taxgirl) Kaitlyn Tiffany is a staff writer for The Atlantic. (@kait_tiffany) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The movie musical died a long, slow death a long time ago. Right? Well, except that there's La La Land. And Moana. And The Greatest Showman and A Star Is Born and Mary Poppins Returns. Oh, and Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman. And Frozen II and The Lion King and Aladdin. Those are just from the last five years. And I could keep going, but then I might forget to mention that Steven Spielberg's version of West Side Story is scheduled to come out this year or that the Hamilton movie comes out next week. This hour, a long look at the long-dead movie musical. Long live the movie musical. GUESTS: Jeanine Basinger - Founder of the Department of Film Studies at Wesleyan University and the author of twelve books on film; her latest is The Movie Musical! Steve Metcalf - Director of the University of Hartford's Presidents' College Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 5, 2020.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's nice to meet you! How do you like it here in Connecticut?  Small talk is both the bane of our existence and essential in our existential quest to understand our place in the world. Whether you like it or hate it may depend, in part, on whether you like speech that establishes and maintains relationships or speech that provides information.  We talk to a humorist, writing teacher, meteorologist, and philosopher about small talk. And we want to hear about your small talk stories.  GUESTS: Alexandra Petri - A columnist for The Washington Post, a punning champion, and the author of Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Garett Argianas - A forensic meteorologist and Connecticut Public Radio's weather forecaster Agnes Callard - Associate professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, monthly columnist for The Point magazine, and a contributor to The New York Times Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 4, 2020.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nobody likes termites. They get into the wood in our homes and can lead to infuriating and expensive repairs. What's to like? It turns out, there's a lot to like termites. Scientists study how they build their mounds for clues to solving some of the world's most pressing problems, like mitigating the effects of drought, building colonies on Mars, and creating biofuels. Plus, their ability to adapt to the harshest conditions over millions of years says a lot about them. Almost 90% of the microbes found in their guts are unique to the termite. Those same gut microbes are what make them so productive and, on the flip side, so destructive. Lastly, some believe termites work with joy and have a soul. You be the judge. GUESTS: Jennifer Dacey - An entomologist and a wildlife biologist and integrated pest management technician in the UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture Lisa Margonelli - Author of Underbug: An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology Mick Pearce - An architect Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired August 29, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humans typically make enough collective noise to keep the earth vibrating at a steady hum. But the pandemic has quieted that hum enough to let seismologists study the vibrations that can be hard to detect in the din of our noise. The world is eerily silent now, showing us how accustomed we have become to cacophony of loud sound in our lives. We're hardwired to focus on the sounds we need to hear and tune out those we don't. It's hard to notice what we miss when cars and horns and other noisemakers compete for our sonic attention. And we don't always notice how loud it is until it's quiet. Today, an ode to the sound we take for granted, including the soothing sound of another human voice on the telephone. Yep, that's what I said. The telephone.   GUESTS: David Owen is a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of more than a dozen books. His newest book is Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World Chris Hoff is a sound engineer and co-creator with Sam Harnett, of the podcast, "The World According to Sound." (@chrisjameshoff) Sam Harnett is a reporter and co-creator with Chris Hoff, of the podcast, "The World According to Sound." (@samwharnett) Heather Radke is a writer and critic. Her work has appeared in The Believer, The Paris Review Daily, and RadioLab, among others. Her book, BUTTS, will be published in 2021. (@hradke) Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dust is a fascinating substance. Our bodies are always shedding dust from our skin, hair, and nails, leaving little bits of DNA wherever we roam. Dust floats unseen through the air around us. It's light. It's hard to see unless it lands on a contrasting surface or crosses the path of a ray of sunshine. It can travel far and wide.   Earth collects more than 100 tons of cosmic dust a day. A speck of it might be in your rug. The unseen dust deeply embedded in our homes over many years becomes an archive of every "geochemical" substance that's ever entered our home.  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 and politics of dust. We also talk to a cleaning expert who will take your questions about dust and an artist who makes dust bunnies--bunnies sculptures from 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.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Scientists say humans don't know how to breathe very well. We don't breathe deep enough, we breathe too much, and we breathe through our mouths instead of our noses. Our bad breathing can lead to conditions that we don't typically associate with the way we breathe, such as asthma. We can't take all the blame. The tradeoff of humans evolving to have bigger brains hundreds of thousands of years ago, is that our brains squeezed our noses, sinuses, tongues, and jaws into smaller spaces. That's why humans are the only species of 5,400 mammals to have misaligned jaws, overbites, underbites, and crooked teeth. We inhale and exhale about 25,000 breaths per day, but we don't think about how we're breathing or how it makes us feel until COVID-19 and police brutality make it hard to breathe. We're finally paying attention. The science, art, and politics of breathing. GUESTS: James Nestor - A journalist and author; his most recent book is Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art Dahlia Lithwick - A senior editor for Slate and the host of Amicus 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.

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 City Sam Hadelman - Host of The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn Brendan Jay Sullivan - A writer, producer, and DJ best known for his work with Lady Gaga 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.

Social structures, in almost all cases, are defined by some form of hierarchy. Whether in academics, sports, religion, business, or politics, there's usually someone at the top and others whose goal it is to get there. But while it's easy to think that we've designed our world to be this way, the truth may be that we had no choice. Among our primate ancestors and other social animals  we can see similar hierarchies in place: Alpha males dominating the troop while subordinates fall in line, pecking orders among various birds and dominance hierarchies among wolf packs. Even insects such as bees and termites form their own systems of social ranking.  Are hierarchies mandated by evolution? Is there something in nature -- in our genes, even -- which gives rise to the stratified society we live in? Though it sounds like a notion proposed by those with power in defense of their rank, the reality is that it may be a hard truth of human nature. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. GUESTS: Melvyn Fein - Professor of Sociology at Kennesaw State University, editor of The Journal of Public and Professional Sociology, author of Human Hierarchies: A General Theory Christopher Boehm - Professor of Biological Sciences and Anthropology, former Director of The Goodall Research Center at The University of Southern California Dornsife, author of Hierarchy in the Forest: The Evolution of Egalitarian Behavior Steven A. Peterson - Director of the School of Public Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg, focusing on the intersection of biology and politics, co-author of Darwinism, Dominance and Democracy MUSIC: “Hierarchy” by The Noisettes “High School Hierarchy” by Alexander Tso “I’m In Charge” by Dee Jones Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No one likes a cloudy sky. A cloud on the horizon is seen as a harbinger of doom. We feel like clouds need to have silver linings. But here's our thesis: Clouds are unfairly maligned. Consider this: From almost any vantage point (literally — any vantage point in the universe), clouds are planet Earth's defining characteristic. They're what changes, what moves. They're what's going on on our pale blue dot. Clouds are, after all, the vehicle that spreads the sun's energy across the planet, an "expression of the atmosphere's moods." This hour, an appreciation of clouds. GUESTS: Gavin Pretor-Pinney - Founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society, author of The Cloudspotter's Guide and The Cloud Collector's Handbook David Romps - Assistant professor of Earth & Planetary Science at the University of California, Berkeley; runs The Romps Group, which studies clouds and climate Karolina Sobecka - An interdisciplinary artist and designer whose work has focused repeatedly on clouds Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Betsy Kaplan contributed to this show, which originally aired on July 6, 2016.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No Country for Old Men. Fargo. The Big Lebowski. Raising Arizona. Barton Fink. Miller's Crossing. Blood Simple. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Over the past 36 years, Joel and Ethan Coen have reliably been among the most recognizable voices in moviemaking. This hour: a Noseish look at the work of the Coen brothers. GUESTS: Tom Breen - Film critic and the host of WNHH radio's Deep Focus Skip Lievsay - Sound editor, mixer, and designer for film and television; he won the Academy Award for Best Achievement in Sound Mixing for Gravity, and he's done the sound on every Coen brothers picture Adam Nayman - The author of The Coen Brothers: This Book Really Ties the Films Together Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Betsy Kaplan contributed to this show, which originally aired November 21, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It took two years for the word AIDS to get from coinage to dictionary. It took COVID-19 thirty-four days. The pandemic has inspired a thousand new or repurposed words, slang, nicknames, and neologisms. It has changed the way we speak.   We made technical medical language part of everyday conversation. We created new words to describe  emotions that had no words. We repurposed old words or combined two words to express a way of life we never expected. Lockdowns. WFH. Pancession. Doomscrolling. We made phrases to unite us, others to make us laugh, and some to explain our confusion. Workers became essential and advertisers made them heroes.    Do you speak Corona? GUESTS: Peter Sokolowski is a lexicographer and editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster; he's also a musician and public radio jazz host at NEPR, and he's the author of a chapter in The Whole World in a Book (@PeterSokowski)  Tony Horne is a linguist, lexicographer, and a language consultant in the faculty of Arts and Humanities, at King’s College, London (@tonythorne007)  Justin Peters is a correspondent for Slate and the author of  The Idealist: Aaron Swartz and the Rise of Free Culture on the Internet (@justintrevett) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The leagues are working in earnest toward starting back up. The NBA has a plan. Major League Baseball can't seem to work one out. Major League Soccer might beat them both back onto the field. How is this all going to work? What are sports going to look like when they start playing games again? Should they start playing games again? Plus: One of the ways we've dealt with a sportsless world these last few months -- betting on esports. And, in case you didn't know there were multiple crises on at once: a look at sports in the time of protest. GUESTS: Marc Carig - Senior writer for The Athletic, where he covers Major League Baseball Ben Cohen - Sports reporter for The Wall Street Journal and the author of The Hot Hand: The Mystery and Science of Streaks Seth Schiesel A freelance writer for The New York Times and Protocol Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A group of health officials gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss infectious disease learn that forty-seven people at an internment camp in Indonesia have died from acute hemorrhagic fever. This is how Pulitzer Prize-winning author Lawrence Wright, begins his new novel that in many ways, predicts the pandemic we're currently experiencing. He joins us to talk about it.  Before we get to the fiction of pandemic, we speak with an epidemiologist about the reality of our current pandemic.  GUESTS:  Michael Mina is an assistant professor of epidemiology and faculty member at the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (@michaelmina_lab) Lawrence Wright is an author, screenwriter, playwright, and a staff writer for The New Yorker. His book, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 2007. His most recent book is The End of October, a novel about a pandemic. (@lawrence_wright) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've all seen any number of emails and Tweets and Facebook posts this week from companies supporting protests and the like. Entertainment industry firms have jumped on that bandwagon too, but The Washington Post's Alyssa Rosenberg has a different idea about how those particular players might be able to help: by shutting down all the police movies and TV shows. And: Comedian Sarah Cooper has found an elegant, perhaps surprisingly effective way to lampoon the president. She just lip syncs to his own words. And finally: The Vast of Night is the feature film debut of writer and director Andrew Patterson. He financed its $700,000 budget himself, and after its premiere at last year's Slamdance Film Festival, Amazon acquired it. The Twilight Zone-style sci-fi mystery debuted on Amazon Prime last weekend. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Christo, Artist Who Wrapped and Festooned on an Epic Scale, Dies at 84Mountains, museums, bridges and Central Park were just some of what he used to make astonishing and popular art with his wife and collaborator, Jeanne-Claude. Bruce Jay Friedman, 90, Author With a Darkly Comic Worldview, DiesAn unusual case in American letters, he moved easily between literature and pop culture, including movies like "Stir Crazy" and "Splash," to great acclaim. The Remaking of Steve BuscemiSteve Buscemi has seen it all. He was hit by a car and a bus as a kid, was once stabbed in a bar fight, volunteered as a firefighter during 9/11, and somewhere along the way became one of the most accomplished film actors of his generation. And then tragedy struck: In 2019, Buscemi lost his wife of over 30 years. In a rare interview, Hollywood's most beloved misfit opens up about anxiety, loss, and the hard work of getting through it all. Why Your Local Comics Shop Matters Now More Than Ever Feeling Lucky at 90: The Clint Eastwood Passion ProjectOne of Hollywood's most enduring icons enters his 10th decade on the planet this week. After more than 50 films, 38 directed by the man himself, what's left to say about Clint Eastwood? Two fans look at old favorites and a few less heralded works to paint a picture of sustained, often unpredictable artistry. Necco Wafers make their triumphant return 2 years after the factory that made them closed its doors HBO's 'Watchmen' Was Ahead of its Time -- By 9 Months 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 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 2007, journalist Alan Weisman published The World Without Us. It was an international bestseller. The book tries to answer what is ultimately a simple question: What happens to the Earth if human beings disappear? Here's how Weisman puts it in the book: "Say a Homo sapiens-specific virus -- natural or diabolically nano-engineered -- picks us off but leaves everything else intact." Then what? And over these last few months, we've gotten maybe a fraction of a percentage point there. Temporarily. Maybe not directly because of coronavirus, but indirectly because of our absence and scarceness due to stay-at-home orders and the like. And so... then what? Well, goats "took over" a town in Wales. Wild boar "invaded" a town near Barcelona. Salamanders "own the road" in Maine. And the air got cleaner and the night sky got clearer. And so it follows: Now what? GUESTS: Beth Gardiner - Author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution Brandon Keim - A freelance journalist specializing in animals, nature, and science Alan Weisman - The author of six books including The World Without Us 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 did the horrors that once seemed unthinkable become commonplace? We're in the throes of a global pandemic. People protesting a police officer who kept his knee on a black man's neck for over eight minutes, two minutes beyond when he lost consciousness, were tear gassed to make room for a photo op for President Trump. But relax. Nothing is wrong, or at least that's what we're told by a president who thinks this is a wonderful time to be alive. There is no climate change (even though we'll soon see water where there once was land). The pandemic will go away any minute now. There'll be a wonderful vaccine soon (different from all the others I pan). In the meantime, we can take a very (un)safe drug that works miracles if we get infected. The underlying economy is great (except for the 40 million currently unemployed), and I'm the most stable of geniuses. GUEST: Alexandra Petri - Columnist for The Washington Post; her new book is Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why: Essays (@petridishes) 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.

Something different is happening in America at this moment. Do you feel it? We want to hear from you. Call us during our live show Tuesday, from 1 to 2 p.m., at 888-720-9677 or 888-720-WNPR. People across America are protesting the same police brutality against black Americans that never seems to stop. America has suffered more deaths from COVID-19 than any other nation, and we still don't have a federal plan to deal with it, despite the efforts of health care workers and scientists. President Trump had threatened to deploy the military if the state officials he first felt the need to denigrate couldn't control the looting in their locales. He proceeded to order the police to use tear gas and flash grenades to disperse peaceful protesters so that he could pose in front of a burned church with a Bible in his hand. Let's not forget the President's efforts to disenfranchise the same voters he's gassing by trying to prevent them from voting in November. Are we finally at a turning point where we can no longer tolerate the lies and cruelty of the last three years? GUEST: Lawrence Douglas - Author of Will He Go? Trump and the Looming Electoral Meltdown in 2020 Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic has laid bare how racism in housing, education, employment, and access to health care, disproportionately hurts Black Americans more than White Americans and leads to police brutality against people the police are supposed to protect. The country is reacting against both the trauma and rage from sustained racism and frustration over a pandemic we can't control. Will the outcry finally lead to lasting change or will we focus on "riots" instead of the underlying problem? Most states have begun to reopen and many Americans shed their masks and social distancing and their concerns about the virus. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. The virus hasn't gone away and there's no evidence that warm weather will make it disappear. GUESTS: Alan Dove is a science journalist with a Ph.D in microbiology, a podcaster, blogger, and a co-host of the podcast "This Week in Virology" (@alandove) Marcus Thompson II is a lead columnist at The Athletic and the author of the biography Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry (@ThompsonScribe) Danielle Kilgo is an assistant professor of journalism in The Media School at Indiana University. She focuses on media coverage of social justice issues and protests. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hannah Gadsby has been a prominent comedian in Australia for going on 15 years. In America, though, she arrived seemingly from nowhere in 2018 with a Netflix special called Nanette, which won a Peabody and an Emmy. Douglas is Gadsby's follow-up Netflix special. It's, as she calls it, her "difficult second album that is also [her] tenth and some people's first." And: I Know This Much Is True is a six-part HBO miniseries set in Connecticut and based on the Wally Lamb novel of the same name. Mark Ruffalo plays two twin brothers, one who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and one who doesn't. Three episodes have aired so far. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Top Sheets Are The LITERAL [...] WORST — Here's WhyOh sheet. Crocs Are Back In Style. And Not Just Because of Coronavirus.Stay-at-home adults are wearing the comfy shoes. So are young shoppers who want to be seen. 'They are the Nickelback of footwear.' Yankee Stadium Is Being Turned Into a Drive-in Concert and Movie Venue This SummerEnjoy the fun of a festival from the safety of your car. The fate of the summer movie season rests on one Christopher Nolan filmHis new film 'Tenet' is seen as a test of whether, and how, Americans can return to movie theaters after the coronavirus shutdowns end The game that ate the world: 40 facts on Pac-Man's 40th birthdayThe iconic maze chase has been played billions of times, created one of the 80s' strangest sex symbols, stupefied Martin Amis -- and is now enshrined in a leading art museum Will the coronavirus pandemic open the door to a four-day workweek?When New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern floated the idea of a four-day workweek, an audience outside the country took notice. GUESTS: Cara McDonough - A freelance writer; you can read her blog at caramcduna.com 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.

As the world waits for an end to Covid-19, billions of people find themselves betwixt and between two realities: The pre-pandemic reality we knew, and the post-pandemic reality that is yet to come. As author and Professor of Theology Shelly Rambo wrote in the wake of hurricane Katrina, "Life as it once was cannot be retrieved,... life ahead cannot be envisioned." On today's show we'll explore the concept of crisis liminality and examine ways in which people are trying to cope with the unknown. We'll also speak with experts about the myriad of possible changes that may arise from this liminal state. We will emerge from this crisis changed; for the better or worse remains to be seen. GUESTS: Blanka Domagalska - Lecturer at Otis College of Art and Design teaching courses on product Design, with expertise in art history, media and cultural theory, philosophy and aesthetic liminality  Leysia Palen - Professor of Computer Science, as well as Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. She’s also a leader in the field of crisis informatics Gerd Leonhard - Futurist, speaker and author of several books including Technology vs. Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shortly after the pandemic shifted our weekday work scenario from one of shared space and bursts of spontaneous conversation, to one hour-long weekly Zoom meeting, Colin shared his urge to sit down with a few old friends to talk about life in the shadow of a pandemic.  We take for granted the small connections we make every day, including how good it can feel to talk to a stranger, let alone friends and colleagues. Today, Susan Campbell and Colin get together (by Zoom) to talk about life, pain, and keeping faith amid the successive shockwaves of 9/11, the 2016 election, and a global pandemic. (and some fun stuff too) GUESTS: Susan Campbell is a journalist, columnist, and a distinguished lecturer at the University of New Haven. She’s the author of Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism and the American Girl; Tempest-Tossed: The Spirit of Isabella Beecher Hooker; and, most recently, Frog Hollow: Stories from an American Neighborhood. (@campbellsl) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. is on track to reach 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week. Yet, most states began reopening last week using data that may be undercounting how many people are currently infected.  The reopening of some businesses and activities is a step that can lull us to believe that this pandemic is almost behind us. That would be a mistake. The only thing that's changed since March is that we have isolated ourselves from each other enough to let the sick get well before more well people get sick. The virus will continue to infect us - and we'll infect each other - faster than we can control it if we stop wearing masks or socially distancing. A vaccine may not emerge for a long time. We can't jump over the scientific obstacles to getting one, no matter how much the President promotes "Operation Warp Speed."  We talk with an epidemiologist and a former musician turned physician, who will talk about his shift from artist to healer. They're not that different.     GUESTS:  Gregg Gonsalves is the codirector of the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale Law School and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. He also writes a weekly series for The Nation. (@gregggonsalves) Hugh Blumenfeld is a ​family physician in Hartford. He's also a ​singer/songwriter,  a former English professor, and Connecticut's 7th State Troubadour.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, in lieu of The Nose, an hour with America's Greatest Living Film Critic, David Edelstein. GUEST: David Edelstein - America's Greatest Living Film Critic 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.

Who would have guessed a face mask would become the latest cultural symbol of our identity, one more way to express our politics, our sense of style, and our deepest beliefs in what it means to be American. Whether you wear a mask might depend less on the science behind the advice, and more on how you view society - are we in this together or is it each (wo)man for him or herself.  The mask has become a fashion statement, a staple of our daily attire as we adapt to the reality masks are likely here to stay. We may as well look good while we're going through it. Unless, you're a member of Congress. Fashion designers and DIY sewers are upping the style, many directing surplus to areas of shortage.  Masks are even part of the politics of religion. In one case, ancient mummy masks were destroyed as part of a scam to try and rewrite the history of Christianity. We'll explain. We have bogged down the once simple face mask with the weight of our human frailties. I hope they don't split at the seams.  GUESTS:  Ryan Lizza is Chief Washington Correspondent for Politico and a senior political analyst at CNN. He’s writing a book about 2020 with Olivia Nuzzi. (@RyanLizza)  Robin Givhan is fashion critic for The Washington Post. She’s the author of The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History. (@RobinGivhan)   Ariel Sabar is an award-winning journalist and author. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Smithsonian Magazine. His latest book is Veritas: A Harvard Professor, A Con Man, And the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife. (@arielsabar) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nyctophiliacs rejoice! The color you know and love (black) is now blacker than ever before. And never mind that black is not technically a color. The point is that as you were traipsing through graveyards and reveling under the night sky, scientists were busy inventing two new shades which are so dark they'd make Wednesday Adams reach for a flashlight. But while Vanta black and Black 3.2 are undoubtedly achievements to be celebrated, they did not come without controversy. Indeed, the feud over who could use the blackest substance on Earth soon had the tempers of some artists running red hot. Can a color even be owned? As it turns out, yes! This hour, we speak with a historian of the color black as well as the creator of one of these remarkable new shades. We'll also speak with a scientist on the other end of the color-creating spectrum about a brand new ultra-white that'll soon be brightening our lives in strange new ways. GUESTS: Stuart Semple - Contemporary British artist and creator of several unique colors including PINK, the world's pinkest pink paint, and most recently Black 3.2, the world's blackest paint John Harvey - Life fellow and former director of studies in English at Emmanuel College at Cambridge University; art critic and author of many books, including Men In Black, The Story of Black, and the 2020 U.K. Booker prize-nominated Pax Silvia Vignolini - Associate professor at the University of Cambridge in chemistry and bio-inspired materials; lead researcher and creator of a new, ultra-white coating modeled on the scales of the Cyphochilus beetle Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired February 19, 2020.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut will reopen some businesses on May 20, as coronavirus-related hospitalizations continue to decrease. This may be good news for business owners and unemployed workers, and for those looking for a glimmer of light at the end of a long tunnel. It may be scary for people with greater risk for having severe illness from COVID-19 and front-line workers with greater exposure. The bottom line is that we still don't fully understand this virus. And, not all of the 40 states set to reopen are prepared to scale up the testing, tracing, and isolating necessary to prevent a spike in the curve. We must remain vigilant in the absence of a vaccine, and the lag time it will take for a spike to emerge. We talk with a virologist about the search for a vaccine and an emergency doctor about the risks of reopening too early. We want to hear from you too. Call us at 888-720-9677 or 888-720-WNPR. GUESTS: Brianne Barker - Associate professor of biology at Drew University and a co-host of the podcast This Week in Virology (@bioprofbarker) Leana Wen - An emergency physician and public health professor at George Washington University; she previously served as Baltimore's health commissioner and is a contributing columnist for The Washington Post (@DrLeanaWen) 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.

Twitter announced on Tuesday that its employees who can work from home can continue to work from home -- for forever, if they want. One wonders how many companies will follow suit -- and how employees will feel about such an arrangement. And: Ryan Murphy is the showrunner behind things like Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story, 9-1-1, and The Politician. In 2018, Murphy signed the largest development deal in the history of television with Netflix. His new miniseries, Hollywood, is the second project to come out of that deal. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Little Richard, Founding Father of Rock Who Broke Musical Barriers, Dead at 87Pianist-singer behind "Tutti Frutti," "Good Golly Miss Molly," and "Long Tall Sally" set the template that a generation of musicians would follow Column: Will the new coronavirus kill spitting in sports? The pandemic has reminded us: We don't need more sports in our lives -- we need less Robot dogs are patrolling Singapore parks telling people to socially distance How Analog Clocks Can Give Us More by Giving Us Less Nearly Half of Men Say They Do Most of the Home Schooling. 3 Percent of Women Agree. New Banksy art unveiled at hospital to thank doctors, nurses Contact-Free Movie Theaters Being Tested in South Korea Solstice Studios' Russell Crowe Road Rage Thriller 'Unhinged' To Be First Film Back In Movie Theaters July 1 'Hamilton' Movie Will Stream on Disney Plus on July 3In a surprise move, the film of the original Broadway production is being released 15 months early. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 are being remastered for PS4, Xbox One, and PCTwo classics in one package A million people are pretending to be ants on Facebook -- and it could be therapeuticMore than 18,000 Facebook users responded to a post of ants on ice cream, writing comments like, "NOM," "SLURP" and "LIFT.TO.THE.QUEEN." Ex-Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga wants MLB to recognize 2010 perfect game, overturn blown call Bob Dylan Cancels U.S. Summer Tour in 'Interest of Public Health and Safety'"We hope to be back out on the road at the earliest possible time," he says Inside HBO Max, the $4 Billion Bet to Stand Out in the Streaming Wars GUESTS: Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer; 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.

Bats get a bad rap. People are afraid of animals that tap into our deepest fears and revulsions. Bats aren't cuddly, they fly at night, have big eyes that can’t see, and conjure creepy images of vampires who steal the  blood of the unsuspecting as they sleep.  Their role in the pandemic hasn’t made them more popular. Most scientists who study the genomes of bat viruses believe the horseshoe bat played a role in transmitting the virus from an animal to a human host. People encroaching on animal habitats and handling wildlife they shouldn't touch is way more likely to cause a pandemic than the animal who was minding its own business. But fear of bats and disease has led to violence and destruction of bat colonies worldwide. They're vital for pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal. Bats also live a long time, have highly efficient immune systems, and are social creatures that share blood with "friends" and adopt orphans.  Bats once impressed one dentist so much that he got the U.S. government to support a plan to use bats to bomb Japan during World War II.  GUESTS:  Jonathan Epstein is a veterinarian, disease ecologist and the Vice President for Science and Outreach for EcoHealth Alliance. His work has been published in Science, Nature, and Emerging Infectious Diseases, among others. (@epsteinjon) Merlin Tuttle is an ecologist, wildlife photographer, and bat conservationist. He’s the founder of Merlin Tuttle’s Bat Conservation and a research fellow at the University of Texas.  Cara Giaimo is a freelance writer. She spent three years as a staff writer at Atlas Obscura, and now writes for the New York Times, Grist, Anthropocene Magazine, and elsewhere (@cjgiaimo) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In November, 2016, we did a show about all the problems presented by, well, a-holes. And so it seems only logical to expand our scope a bit and do a show about all the problems presented by, well, a hole. For instance: How many holes are there in a straw? Did you say one? Okay, cool. Then how many holes are there in a sock? (A relatively new sock, I mean.) You said one again, right? But how can both of those things be true at the same time? Or, put another way: What happens to the hole in the donut as you eat the donut around it? This gets into mereology, the theory of parthood relations -- for our purposes, the parts and wholes of holes and the wholes the holes are parts of. Your head hurts a little, right? And then there's trypophobia, an irrational fear of clusters of holes and cracks. And finally: We've just found a black hole right in our cosmic backyard. GUESTS: Chrissie Giles - A science writer and the global health editor at The Bureau of Investigative Journalism Marina Koren - Staff writer at The Atlantic Achille Varzi - Professor of philosophy at Columbia University and the coauthor of Holes and Other Superficialities Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We can observe how economic inequality in America plays out during this pandemic by watching who gets help and who gets ignored. Two America's live side by side, often in the same community. Nowhere is it on display more than in Greenwich, Conn., where hedge fund managers in gilded mansions live across town from minimum wage workers in local service jobs. The inequality on display today is the byproduct of decades of policy choices that benefit the wealthy. Also this hour: We help you make sense of the sometimes conflicting news about COVID-19 with the host of the podcast This Week In Virology. GUESTS: Evan Osnos - Staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China Vincent Racaniello - Professor of microbiology & immunology in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and the host of the podcast This Week in Virology 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.