The Colin McEnroe Show

Bernie Sanders won a decisive victory in last week's Nevada caucuses after effectively tying with Pete Buttigieg in the less diverse states of Iowa and New Hampshire. Is he the candidate that can beat President Trump? Or the one who will lead the Democratic Party down the road to ruin? It depends on who you talk to.  Also this hour: More than 70,000 people have been infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, a novel form of coronavirus, since the first cases were confirmed in Wuhan, China, at the end of December. Significant outbreaks in multiple countries in the recent days have led health officials to worry that the virus is on the brink of becoming a pandemic. Lastly, the brazen sign stealing scandal that tainted the Houston Astros' World Series win in 2017, and near-win in 2019, is part of a bigger pattern of cheating in sports that is a symptom of something we see throughout our culture: crime pays. The lack of accountability in sports and culture has led to brazen cheating at the expense of fair play and a collective moral compass.  GUESTS: Edward-Isaac Dovere - Staff writer at The Atlantic and host of The Ticket podcast Lena Sun - National health reporter for The Washington Post Michael Baumann - Covers sports, culture, and politics for The Ringer and hosts The Ringer MLB Show 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.

Laura Nyro's most famous compositions -- "Stoned Soul Picnic," "Stoney End," "When I Die," "Wedding Bell Blues," "Eli's Coming" -- are jewels of mainstream music, and her covers of songs like "Jimmy Mack" and "Gonna Take a Miracle" are legendary. But she was uncomfortable under the spotlight and withdrew from it to become the Belle of Danbury. This hour: a night of singing, reflecting, and celebrating recorded in front of a live audience on January 29, 2020, as part of Colin's Freshly Squeezed series at Watkinson School. GUESTS: Jim Chapdelaine - Guitar and vocals Latanya Farrell - Vocals and tambourine Steve Metcalf - Piano and vocals Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been over 40 years since former President Richard Nixon resigned the presidency over Watergate. But, the story of Watergate is almost impossible to tell. It's too big and too murky. It's full of files that were burned and a tape that was erased. It's full of characters named McCord and Magruder and Mitchell, who are hard to keep track of. With each passing year, it becomes more of an inert thing and less of a breathing, wriggling, writhing creature.  And yet, Watergate survives in what we call Memes, ideas that stay alive and spread. Take something like, "It's not the crime, it's the cover-up."  That one originated with Watergate, but it has been slapped on everybody from Martha Stewart to Chris Christie.    Today, over 40 years from the date of Richard Nixon's resignation, we'll talk about all the ways the story stayed alive in our collective memory and all the ways it died.  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 nevermind 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! On Today's show 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On December 13, 2019, the House Judiciary Committee voted to recommend two articles of impeachment against President Trump, and the full House of Representatives adopted them on December 18. On February 5, 2020, the Senate acquitted the president on both articles. Going by those dates, the full, official impeachment saga lasted 54 days. Our side-project, Saturday-show chronicling of the impeachment, Pardon Me (Another Damn Impeachment Show?), launched on December 6, 2019. 11 episodes and 12 hours of radio later, Pardon Me has come to its close. This hour, in lieu of a proper Colin McEnroe Show, and continuing the Presidents' Day weekend festivities, we present the final installment of Pardon Me. GUESTS: Frankie Graziano - Reporter at Connecticut Public Radio David Plotz - CEO of Atlas Obscura, co-host of the Slate Political Gabfest Jay Rosen - Media critic and professor of journalism at NYU Philip Rucker - White House Bureau Chief at The Washington Post, co-author of A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America Chion Wolf - Host, photographer, and announcer at Connecticut Public Radio Thanks to Catie Talarski and Tim Rasmussen. Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Outsider is a planned 10-episode HBO miniseries based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. It airs on Sundays nights, and we're six episodes in so far. The premise is actually pretty simple: What if a guy actually were in two places at once? Then what? The ramifications of that, though, are about as complicated as you'd expect from Stephen King. And: a look at the Gayle King/Snoop Dogg controversy, our latest edition of Carolyn Paine Explains a New Dating Term, and Netflix finally changes that one thing you've always hated... unless you didn't hate it. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Let's break down Eminem's Oscars performance, frame by frame These zoos will name a cockroach after your ex and feed it to an animal on Valentine's Day Will Disney's Theatrical Release of 'Hamilton' Be Censored? The broom challenge may be sweeping the nation, but it's not actually as cool as you think Trump tweets 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' clip that actually mocks his supporters Here's the 'Back to the Future' Cybertruck mashup you never knew you needed Well, 'The Hunt' Is Finally Going to See the Light of Day We Asked a Hedgehog Dentist to Explain Why Sonic's Human Teeth Are So Upsetting Extremely metal scientists name new species of tyrannosaur the "reaper of death" The world just learned of the Astros' cheating. Inside baseball, it was an open secret. Why C-SPAN's quirky call-in show has endured for 40 years Stop Giving Westminster Best in Show to the Dog With the Silliest Haircut You should watch everything with subtitles on Built on Selfies, Museum of Ice Cream Has New Mantra: No Phones GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan - Producing associate at TheaterWorks Carolyn Paine- An actress, comedian, and dancer; founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is real is no longer a question for philosophers alone. In today's world, it's a question we all contend with on a daily basis. Online, on television, in print and in public discourse, facts, feelings, and flat-out lies all share the same stage. So how are we to tell the difference? Experts in technology, media, education, science, and politics are debating this very question. And while possible solutions are in the works, the truth may be that we as people simply prefer a lie that feels good over a truth that doesn't. Is the real problem our own human nature? This hour we discuss not only the present and future of fake news, but its history as well. Turns out that efforts to undermine the truth are nearly as old as truth itself.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Democratic primary season is just getting started. How have the results from the New Hampshire primary affected how you might vote?  Bernie had a good night, Biden and Warren had bad nights, and Buttigieg, Klobuchar, and Bloomberg are vying to win the middle. Are you all in for Bernie? What if he doesn't get the nomination? Will you back someone else, sit out the race, or something else, like, er, start your own party? Is it over for Biden and Warren?    Will the party split between Bernie and Buttigieg? What about Bloomberg?  Are you one of the Yang Gang? If so, who's going to get your vote? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Note: This episode contains strong language. This hour, we air an updated version of the most recent episode of our weekly impeachment show, Pardon Me, which normally airs Saturdays at noon. The Senate acquitted President Trump on both articles of the impeachment. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was the only Republican who voted to convict the president on one charge, for "egregious" behavior he believed rose to the level of a "high crime and misdemeanor." President Trump responded with anger. He fumed at his perceived enemies at Thursday's National Prayer Breakfast, he swore on live TV and radio at a rambling East Room acquittal "celebration," and then he fired two impeachment witnesses and an impeachment witness's twin brother... just to make sure he definitely got the right one, maybe? This week, Colin speaks with Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and professor Ryan Goodman about how the fallout from the Senate acquittal of the president could affect the future of the election and the country. And more. GUESTS: Ryan Goodman - Founding co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, professor of law at NYU School of Law, and professor of politics and sociology at NYU Kyle Knickerbocker - A merchant mariner from Essex, Conn., who went to see the impeachment hearings and trial in person a whole bunch of times Chris Murphy - Democratic U.S. Senator from Connecticut Chion Wolf - A producer, photographer, and announcer at Connecticut Public Radio Thanks to Eugene Amatruda. Email us your questions at [email protected]. Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Atlantic writer McKay Coppins says President Trump's reelection team is waging a massive disinformation campaign that uses the same tactics of information warfare used by autocrats like Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and by Russian President Vladimir Putin in our 2016 election. He says their tactics include coordinated bot attacks, micro-targeting millions of voters susceptible to radicalization and conspiratorial thinking, anonymous mass texting, and infiltrating local news stations with Potemkin local news websites. It's all meant to flood our senses and confuse our ability to discern fact from fiction. Also this hour: Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is on the rise. Results from the Iowa caucus and President Trump's high approval ratings have some wondering if any of the existing frontrunners could beat Trump. Is it time to take another look at Bloomberg? GUESTS: McKay Coppins - Staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of The Wilderness: Deep Inside the Republican Party's Combative, Contentious, Chaotic Quest to Take Back the White House Mike Pesca - Host of the Slate daily podcast The Gist and the editor of the book Upon Further Review: The Greatest What Ifs in Sports History Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Chion Wolf 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 around this time for some number of years now. Unless we missed a year or two in there somewhere. But we've probably tried to do this show for every year that The Nose has existed. Of course, we aren't really sure how many years The Nose has existed. But the point is: The 92nd Academy Awards are this Sunday, and so this hour, it's the 2020 edition of The Noscars, which will cover movies from 2019 just like the 2020 edition of the Oscars covers movies from 2019. Or something. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Was Letterman Really Such a Bad Oscar Host? He Still Thinks So People Are Dipping Their Testicles in Soy Sauce, So Here's Some Science 'American Dirt' Has Us Talking. That's a Good Thing. Cards Against Humanity Bought Clickhole Barack Obama Is Figuring This Whole Menswear Thing Out Spotify is buying Bill Simmons's The Ringer to boost its podcast business Pete Rose uses Astros saga to ask for reinstatement Someone Used Neural Networks To Upscale An 1895 Film To 4K 60 FPS, And The Result Is Really Quite Astounding A Kobe Bryant Joke Goes Wrong, Revealing Comedy's Troll Side GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani - A music writer for the Red Hook Star Revue Rand Richards Cooper - A contributing editor at Commonweal who writes the "In Our Midst" column for Hartford Magazine James Hanley - Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Vivian Nabeta - Director of marketing and public relations for Capital Community College Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Gene Amatruda contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William Outlaw is a natural leader. He's been a key figure in helping to lower New Haven's homicide rate over the last decade. He's a strategist and an organizer who can size up a situation quickly. He can defuse a threatening situation with his charisma and charm. He can run a business.  As a street outreach worker in New Haven, he uses all the same skills today that he used when he co-ran New Haven's largest cocaine gang in the 1980's.  He spent twenty years behind bars, surviving some of the most dangerous prisons in America. For the last decade, he's been giving back to the community he once harmed. William takes responsibility for his crimes.  He also recognizes that people make decisions within the framework of the opportunities and experiences available to them. The difference between William and an Ivy-educated CEO may be that William grew up in a public housing project steeped in a culture of violence and poverty.  William is still running a gang --  but using the same skills for a very different outcome. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

B.F. Skinner thought pigeons were so smart they could be used to guide missiles during WWII. He proposed a system in which pigeons would essentially pilot the missile. Skinner said pigeons could be trained to peck at a screen to adjust the trajectory of a missile toward its target. Project pigeon was funded but never used. It's one of the many reasons I could talk about pigeons all day.  In 2013, New York conceptual artist named Duke Reilly trained half his flock of pigeons to carry contraband cigars from Cuba to Florida and the other half to carry tiny video cameras documenting the smuggling flight of their comrades.  Another group of researchers trained pigeons to reliably distinguish between the paintings of Picasso and Monet, even if they had never before seen a particular painting.  Today, on the show, everything you wanted to know about pigeons. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Iowa caucuses descended into chaos after problems with a new app led to delays, mistrust, and renewed questions over whether Iowa should remain first in the nation. Does the primary system even work? Why don't we just hold a national primary? Ironically, the new app Democrats developed to increase transparency and speed up results led to delays, mistrust in technology and the voting process in the first presidential election after the interference of 2016. Team Trump is already firing up the conspiracy machine.  Unfortunately, candidates got lost in the problems with process and in the absence of results. Each claimed they either won or did very well in an election when most Democrats remain frozen by the fear of making the wrong choice. Is Michael Bloomberg the winner in this mess?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a Colingram, a brief encounter with the host of The Colin McEnroe Show. We’re getting ready for an all-call-in show at 1 p.m. Tuesday discussing the results of the Monday caucuses which Colin claims are in Idaho, followed by primaries in New Vermont and South Kentucky. And even if that’s not strictly correct, it doesn’t matter, because geography in 2020 is like playing horseshoes or bocce. If you’re close, sometimes that’s good enough. President Trump was very close to identifying the home state of this year’s winner of the Super Bowl which, we are pretty sure, is a croquet tournament. Listen to Colin’s take here.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a Colingram, a brief encounter with the host of The Colin McEnroe Show, recorded on Friday while we all tried to figure out whether our stealth-brand show, Pardon Me (Another Damn Impeachment Show?), would be preempted from its usual Saturday noon time slot. (Connecticut Public Radio will air it at noon on Sunday.) Colin is distraught over the news that Mr. Peanut, who is even older than Colin, will die on television during the Super Bowl instead of living out his final days in peace at an assisted snacking facility. This is especially hard for Colin who was the one who found Speedy, the Alka Seltzer kid, in an alley outside a club in Minneapolis. Even today, the words “Plop Plop Fizz Fizz” are painful for him to hear. The music played here is Ravel’s “Pavane for a Dead Peanut.”Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hello again! And by “Again,” we mean that this is the second in a possibly infinite chain of Colingrams, a new concept in which the host of The Colin McEnroe Show (whose name, confusingly, is Bart Murfreesboro) shares some small insight, while urging you to subscribe (if you haven’t) to our new stealth brand podcast Pardon Me (Another Damn Impeachment Show?), which is available on every reputable podcast platform and also on certain disreputable ones. Today, “Did Somebody Say ‘Lawyer’?” Tomorrow on Colingrams, we say goodbye, reluctantly, to Mr. Peanut, who gave his life so that we could snack.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Behold the first-ever Colingram, in which host Colin McEnroe chats briefly and possibly even engagingly about something of interest (to him anyway). Colingrams will continue through the impeachment process and slightly beyond it. Until after the aftermath, one might say. And then life will resume its normal rhythms except that the United States will be ruled by Lindsey Graham and a large robot, the two functioning as Roman-style consuls. But we will go back to doing lots of Colin McEnroe Show episodes, if it’s OK with the robot. Anyway, in today’s Colingram, a woman finds something he wrote in 1983 inside the walls of a lake house. Seriously.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Mendes's World War I drama, 1917, is currently the #1 movie in America. It won Golden Globe Awards for Best Director and Best Picture -- Drama, and it's nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and Cinematography. The cinematography nomination is probably the least surprising one, as the entire movie is shot to look as though it was one long, unbroken take. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt could be about to become 'more than just friends' 'Very Male, Very White': Let's Talk About Those Oscar Nominations This playboy tortoise had so much sex he saved his entire species. Now he's going home Universal & Warner Bros. Form Home Entertainment Joint Venture Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G. Among 2020's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees The Treatment for Sign Stealing Isn't a Cure for MLB's Disease Cooler on the Other Side: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Stuart Scott New York Mayor Scorned Over His Favorite Bagel Order Irish Island Looking for Two People To Manage Its Coffee Shop Missouri could jail librarians for lending 'age-inappropriate' books GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan - Producing associate at TheaterWorks James Hanley - Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the years, our government has been involved in some pretty shady affairs. After eugenics and internment camps but before Watergate and Iran-Contra, came mind control. And just like the other ethically dubious projects mentioned, your tax dollars paid for it. Beginning in the 1940s, multiple U.S. intelligence agencies became interested in studying how they might control people's minds to the extent that they'd be willing divulge secret information or even act in a manner contrary to their own free will. The experiments were code named MKULTRA and involved the use of psychedelic drugs, radiation, isolation, and other forms of psychological harassment or torture. This hour, we'll speak with experts on the history of these experiments and ask how their results filtered down into the world we live in today.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Life after death, in one form or another,  has been examined by multiple disciplines for centuries: From theology, to physics, to philosophy, to medicine and more. But while the topic is taken seriously by some, it remains a focus of ridicule and skepticism by others. Recently however, tests have been designed to unequivocally either prove or disprove this phenomenon once thought to be contestable. And the incredible stories of those claiming to have glimpsed what lies beyond continue to seduce and amaze. This hour we speak with an investigative journalist and medical doctors--believers and skeptics alike-- about the latest theories and evidence of life after death. This show is the fifth part of a new experiment: Radio for the Deaf. Watch a simulcast of signers from Source Interpreting interpreting our radio broadcast in American Sign Language via Facebook Live.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we air an updated version of the most recent episode of our weekly impeachment show, Pardon Me, which normally airs Saturdays at noon. Law professor Bruce Ackerman argues that President Trump's order to kill Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani is a far graver offense than his efforts to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden. Think about it: He's bragging about his decision to kill a high-ranking official of another country. Will Chief Justice John Roberts save us? And that's the positive view on the show this week. Sarah Kendzior studies autocratic governments. She thinks we'd be foolish to believe there are limits to what the Trump administration would do -- whether jailing witnesses and whistleblowers, threatening protesters, or using nuclear weapons. GUESTS: Bruce Ackerman- The Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale and the author of nineteen books, including We the People, his three-volume work on American constitutional development Frankie Graziano - Reporter at Connecticut Public Radio Sarah Kendzior - A writer, researcher, and co-host of the podcast Gaslit Nation Chion Wolf - Producer, photographer, and announcer at Connecticut Public Radio Email us your questions at [email protected]. Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We like to open the phones and hear what's on your minds. We never know what you're going to say but we love that you call us to say it.  Colin would like to start with the Oscar nominations. You let us know where you want to go from there. Maybe you want to stay there.  Call us at (888) 720-9677, which is also (888) 720-WNPR. You can also tweet us @wnprcolin or leave us a message on Facebook. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rise of Skywalker is the third and final movie in the third (and final?) trilogy -- the sequel trilogy in the trilogy of trilogies -- in the main, so-called "Skywalker Saga" of the Star Wars narrative. It's the eleventh Star Wars movie overall, the fifth since Disney bought Lucasfilm and took over the franchise, and the second directed by JJ Abrams (after The Force Awakens, the first of the Disney Star Wars films and the highest-grossing movie in the history of the United States). It is... somewhat divisive. The Nose weighs in. And: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have announced that they're backing away from their role as royals. Plus: Winter. You either hate it, or you love it. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: People are seeing 'Cats' while high out of their minds. These are their stories. Good Riddance to Ricky Gervais, the Sneering, Purposefully Intolerable Golden Globes Host The Golden Globes Sends a Message With Its Snub of The Irishman Witness the birth of the year's first meme with Tom Hanks' Golden Globes grimace Elizabeth Wurtzel, 'Prozac Nation' author who spurred a memoir boom, dies at 52 Report: Red Sox used replay room to steal signs in 2018 season John Mulaney Is Not So Square There are 2,373 squirrels in Central Park. I know because I helped count them. The Oscars Will Skip the Whole To-Do and Just Go Hostless Once Again Buck Henry Dies: 'The Graduate' Writer, 'Get Smart' Co-Creator & Early 'SNL' Favorite Was 89 Jupiter Is Flinging Comets Toward Earth Warner Bros. Will Use Artificial Intelligence to Help Decide Which Movies to Greenlight GOOP Has a Candle Called 'This Smells Like My Vagina' GUESTS: Rich Hollant - Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford Edwin Krakowiak - A navy vet going to school to become a middle school algebra teacher Helder Mira - Multimedia producer at Trinity College and a Cinestudio board member Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer, and she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance 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.

Ram Dass' 1971 book, "Be Here Now," was the gateway drug into spirituality for a lot of young people seeking answers in the era of Vietnam. Dass first tried being a psychology professor at Harvard, where he and colleague Timothy Leary sought God through experiments with psychedelics. Then, he went to India and found his guru, who taught him how to feel high without the drugs.  Many young people followed him to India, The chose to feed the hungry and serve the people, just as Ram Dass tended  to the dying, the blind, and the incarcerated. They searched for meaning away from the political tumult of 1960's America. There are parallels to today. Ram Dass died last month. But his words and life are inspiring a new generation of followers who are  using the teachings of Ram Dass to find something bigger than  the division and hatred evident in this political moment.  GUESTS:  Chris Grosso is a writer, public speaker, and author with Simon & Schuster. He’s also the host of The Indie Spiritualist Podcast on Ram Dass Be Here Now Network. Mirabai Bush - is a Senior Fellow of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society and a founding board member with Ram Dass of the Seva Foundation. She is co-author with Ram Dass of Walking Each Other Home: Conversations on Loving and Dying Sharon Saltzberg is the Cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in and the author of 10 books, including NYT bestseller, “Lovingkindness." Her newest book, “Real Change: Mindfulness To Heal Ourselves and the World,” will be published this summer.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America and Iran have not had an easy relationship since 1979, when 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days by students supporting the Iranian Revolution. The resulting rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini further weakened the relationship. Decades later, Iran is still seen by much of the democratic world through the lens of political tension, war and mistrust of political leaders who for decades have called for death to America and the destruction of Israel. Yet over those decades, the people and culture of Iran have been quietly changing at the grassroots level, unnoticed amid the amplified political rhetoric that has kept Iran divided from much of the world. Connecticut is home for many Iranians who make our state a more diverse and desirable place to live and work. Yet, we don't mingle with one another enough, sticking instead to those with whom we feel most comfortable. Maybe it's time we take another look at Iran.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They're in the books we read, the shows we watch, and the art we hang on our walls. They conjure notions of might, magic, romance, and more. Castles, perhaps as much as any other architectural structure in history, define the landscape of our fantasy and imagination. But is our imagination an accurate lens through which to view these fortresses of ol'? And why, after hundreds of years, does our culture's fascination with these structures seem to be on the rise? This hour, we speak with experts and enthusiasts about the reality and mystique of castles. This show is the sixth part of a new experiment: Radio for the Deaf. Watch a simulcast of signers from Source Interpreting interpreting our radio broadcast in American Sign Language via Facebook Live.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last month, we launched a whole other show. It's a weekly show airing on Saturdays at noon and hitting your podcast feeds on Fridays most weeks hopefully. It's called Pardon Me (Another Damn Impeachment Show?). It's about all the latest trends and tech in the world of industrial welding. Wait, no. That's not right. It's about the impeachment, silly. And so this hour, in lieu of your regular Monday Colin McEnroe Show, we present to you the fifth episode of our new impeachment show, Pardon Me. It's a little bit of a new adventure for us, and we hope you'll come along for the ride. GUESTS: Vanessa Friedman - Fashion director and chief fashion critic for The New York Times Michael Gerhardt - The Burton Craige University Distinguished Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill and the author of several books including Impeachment: What Everyone Needs To Know Bill Yousman - Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University Chion Wolf - Producer, photographer, and announcer at Connecticut Public Radio Thanks to Eugene Amatruda. Email us your questions at [email protected]. Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Obama's lists of his favorite books, movies, and TV shows of 2019 are out. They include a number of titles that are showing up on proper critics' lists -- The Irishman, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Parasite, Unbelievable, Watchmen, etc. -- but there are some surprises too. At the same time, here are all the books President Trump recommended in 2019. One other movie that shows up on Obama's list is Greta Gerwig's new version of Little Women, which is being celebrated as "a cinematic achievement" and "a masterful, passionate, all-in kind of adaptation." Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: The Best (and Worst) Food Trends From the Past Decade The Absolute Best Way to Fry an Egg, According to 42 Tests A Serious Conversation With the Man Who Made Cats Wait, What Went Down Between John Boyega and Star Wars Fans on Twitter Last Night? The Game of Thrones Creators Just Departed From Their Upcoming Star Wars Trilogy Bumble dating app blocked Sharon Stone after users thought her profile was fake This Toilet Patent Makes Workers Uncomfortable Taking Long Bathroom Breaks KISS Frontman Gene Simmons' Cereal Hack Is Melting Down Social Media Adam Sandler is the uniter we need right now Has J.K. Rowling figured out a way to break our cancel culture? GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani - A music writer for the Red Hook Star Revue Cara McDonough - A freelance writer; you can read her blog at caramcduna.com Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance 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 stereotypes around homeschooling have existed for decades. Since the modern homeschooling movement began in the late 20th century, those who favored this educational approach have largely been perceived as white, anti-establishment, radically Christian, and ultra-conservative. But while this description does apply to some, the trend lines tell a different story. In recent years, homeschooling has been increasingly adopted by an ever more culturally and ideologically diverse segment of the population.  This hour we speak with experts about the realities, controversies, and efficacy of homeschooling.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since 2014, we've gathered some of our heaviest hitters in the jazz world to talk about the year in jazz. From concept albums to masked musicians to tunes unlike anything you've ever heard, enjoy some great songs from this last crazy trip around the sun!Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During this perineum week in-between Christmas and the New Year, we decided to take your calls.  We thought about a lot of asking you to weigh in on some disturbing and heavy topics. In the end, and by popular demand, we decided to keep it lighter. That doesn't mean you can't call with a concern that weighs heavy on your mind. We just thought you could use a break.  We'll get you started with one guest talking about goats and Christmas trees. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cats -- the new feature film based on the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and starring James Cordon, Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, and others -- opened last weekend and grossed $6.6 million in the U.S. It is the 19th-worst opening for any movie in very wide release in history. The 18 movies that opened to less money on a similar number of screens are mostly a bunch of stuff that you don't remember ever existed: Hoot, The Seeker: Dark Rising, Fun Size, Hardcore Henry, Keeping Up with the Joneses, The Wild Thornberrys Movie, etc. Oh, and I forgot to say: In addition to being a financial disaster, Cats is also... terrible. It earned a C+ CinemaScore from audiences (which is really bad). And it's at 18% on the Tomatometer (which is really rotten). It's so bad that Universal released an updated version to theaters early this week that has hopefully slightly less bad special effects. Plus: This is the last Nose of 2019. (It's the last Nose of the 2010s, even!) And so we might just spend some time talking about our favorite stuff of the year -- movies, television, books, music, kitchen gadgets, barbershops -- whatever.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We wake up to coffee from a pod, listen to music on our pod devices, drive to work in our Smart cars, Fiats, or other increasingly pod-shaped vehicles, sit all day in a cubicle (pod), relax after work in a hip, new float pod, wash our clothes using detergent pods, and while we wait for them to dry, we listen to our favorite podcast. Sound about right? What is it about pods that we're so drawn to? And why do an increasing number of our products and services all feature the word pod in their name? Is it possible the pod's slick, liminal aesthetic, or the allure of its Pandorian promise holds some sway over our subconscious? Might Freud have something to say about its curvature, or its role in nature as a place of transformation, emergence, and ultimately independence? Perhaps it's the pod's minimalism and symmetry which appeal to us as we negotiate an increasingly chaotic world. Or is it simply an efficient design suited to meet the needs of our busy lives? This hour, we speak with experts and discuss the mystery of the pod in consumer- and pop-culture. We'll also look back over recent history and explore the possibility that we are, and always have been, pod-people! 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 Elvina Beck - Co-founder and CEO of Podshare, a membership based real estate startup designed to allow low cost pod living in major cities Kotaro Aoki: Former philosophy major at Wesleyan University and self professed pod napper Jim Knipfel - Novelist and author of a series of critically acclaimed memoirs including Slackjaw, Quitting the Nairobi Trio, and Ruining It for Everybody; he also authored the longrunning "Slackjaw" column which appeared in several publications 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.

Don't miss -- for what might just be the seventh year we've done this (though it might also be some other number too) -- a very badly planned Christmas Eve special featuring chaos muppet and music legend "Big Al" Anderson, the great Jim Chapdelaine, and State Troubadour Nekita Waller! GUESTS: "Big Al" Anderson - Award-winning guitarist, singer, and songwriter known for his work in the band NRBQ, among a ton of other stuff Jim Chapdelaine - Emmy Award-winning musician, producer, composer, and recording engineer; patient advocate for people with rare cancers Nekita Waller - Connecticut's 17th State Troubadour Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Eugene Amatruda and Betsy Kaplan contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Christianity Today, an evangelical Christian publication founded by Billy Graham in 1956, published an editorial Thursday by editor-in-chief Mark Galli, calling for President Trump to be removed from office.  This might sound shocking to the large number of evangelicals who steadfastly support the president despite behavior that has been at odds with Christian morality.  The response to the editorial was swift and divided, causing Christianity Today's website to crash shortly after Galli's editorial was published. Will Galli's words make a difference? Also this hour: Mayor Pete Buttigieg accused Elizabeth Warren of holding him to a purity test that she could not pass after she criticized him at Thursday's Democratic debate for holding a private fundraiser in a Silicon Valley wine cave. We look at the origins and use of the phrase "purity test."   Lastly, the darker underbelly of the origins of Christmas. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been over 100 years since the first cartoons were drawn by hand. Since then, the genre has delved into everything from sex and drugs to racial inequality and war crimes. Even the tamest, G-rated cartoons have often found ways of slipping in adult humor past the eyes of younger viewers. Cartoons have been the vehicle for government propaganda, social change, and political satire. Some have been boycotted and even banned for their content while others have been deemed masterpieces and praised by critics for their bold message and style. Today, cartoons continue to find ways of subverting the status quo in surprising (sometimes shocking) new ways. This hour, we speak with animators, animation experts, and historians about what makes cartoons so well suited for the exploration of, well, everything.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When this forum was originally scheduled, it was intended as a conversation about how our language is changing. Example, the idiom "woke" or "#woke" has a very keen set of meanings to one group and flies by another. I still want to do a little of that, but it’s also possibly more important to talk about the battle over basic meaning in the public square. I think it can be argued that: (a) some phrases are being accorded an almost incantatory power (e.g. the long-running debate over whether or when Obama would use the phrase “radical Islam”),(b) some words are used to define the political landscape despite the fact that they themselves elude definition (e.g. the way the word “elites” was used in 2016),(c) there’s a whole pile of isms – fascism, nativism, nationalism, exceptionalism , even terrorism – that currently pepper our national discourse without a common consensual understanding,(d) it seems at least possible that the events of the last two years have been grinding away like termites at the substructure of American language so that a phrase like "what’s happening last night in Sweden" – in addition to being out of tense – is no longer held to any particular meaning/standard and can be translated by its utterer into "what I saw last night on television about things that have been transpiring over a period of time in Sweden."Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fyre Festival, Theranos, Anna Delvey, the college admissions scandal... the list goes on. And whether explored on the news or as a book, podcast, documentary or feature film, consumers can't seem to get enough of this 'scamtent.' This hour, we'll talk about scams and scammers, and discuss why we as a culture can't seem to look away.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Voters in favor of Brexit handed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson an electoral victory on Thursday in a landslide not seen since Margaret Thatcher’s win in 1987. Conservatives won seats in British working-class districts that have been Labour strongholds for generations, giving Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party its biggest defeat since 1935. What can 2020 Democratic presidential candidates learn from this election?  Also this hour: President Trump signed an executive order Wednesday following Tuesday's anti-Semitic attack in a Jersey City kosher market that left six people dead, including the two shooters. The order sparked a firestorm online over fears that the order would bring up old debates about Jewish identity and squelch campus protests against Israeli political policy. We try to parse that out.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose is off this week (because, on any given day, it's entirely possible that our whole show will be off with all this impeachment nonsense going on), so David Edelstein joins Colin for the hour to talk about some of the best (and some of the worst) movies of the year. The Irishman, Diane, Once Upon at Time... in Hollywood, Uncut Gems, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, The Lighthouse, Ad Astra, Marriage Story, The Goldfinch, and Dolemite Is My Name all get mentioned. But which ones are the best, and which ones are the worst? And what about Toy Story 4? Colin's got it as his favorite movie of the year. (It's #2 on my list so far.) Edelstein's got a whole other take on the Disney/Pixar sequel. And speaking of Disney, there's some Marvel vs. movies talk here too. GUEST: David Edelstein - America's Greatest Living Film Critic Colin McEnroe contributed to this show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're preempted (again) today as the House Judiciary Committee debates its Articles of Impeachment. So, in lieu of a new episode of The Colin McEnroe Show, we thought you might enjoy this interview we did with Dave Eggers for our new, other show, Pardon Me (Another Damn Impeachment Show?). Pardon Me airs on Saturdays at noon on Connecticut Public Radio, and it's available wherever you get your podcasts. Dave Eggers is the author of six books for young readers, including The Wild Things; three works of nonfiction, including Zeitoun; twelve novels, including What Is the What, A Hologram for the King, and The Circle; and the memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. He has written three screenplays, including Where the Wild Things Are with Spike Jonze. And he is the founder of McSweeney's. Eggers's latest is The Captain and the Glory: An Entertainment, about which John Hodgman wrote, "It is difficult these days to portray the sheer, numbing, terrifying, unprecedented strangeness of what is happening in contemporary maritime life. One wants to say it mirrors politics?" This uncut interview is roughly twice as long as the version that ran in the debut episode of Pardon Me. It has been lightly edited for clarity but not for time or content. GUEST: Dave Eggers - The author of thirteen books; his latest is The Captain and the Glory: An Entertainment Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show. Email us your impeachment questions at [email protected]. Pardon Me is a production of The Colin McEnroe Show on Connecticut Public Radio.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we speak with actor and human-rights activist George Takei, not about his role as Lieutenant Sulu on the original Star Trek, but about a far more troubling chapter in his life. In his new graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy, George writes in detail about his childhood spent in an internment camp for Japanese-American citizens. It's a vivid account of one of the darkest times in America’s history as well as a wake-up call to a country currently detaining tens of thousands of immigrants and their families.  Is there still time to learn from our past mistakes or have the politics of fear and division already caused us, as a nation, to repeat them? GUESTS: George Takei - Actor, Human-rights activist and spokesperson, as well as author of the New York Time's best-selling graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Chion Wolf, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired on August 21, 2019.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We had intended to run the debut episode of our new other show, Pardon Me (Another Damn Impeachment Show?), in our hour today. But then the Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Trump. And so suddenly airing a show from last weekend seemed like a bad idea. So instead, we take to the airwaves with you as our only guest. Call in and let Colin know what you're thinking: 888-720-WNPR (888-720-9677). Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The New York Times has called Harris Yulin "something of the character actor's character actor." You know him from, well... pretty much everything: Scarface, Ghostbusters II, Clear and Present Danger, Bean, The Hurricane, Rush Hour 2, Training Day, The Place Beyond the Pines, 24, Veep, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Ozark. It goes on. Yulin is here playing Righty in the Yale Repertory Theatre's world premiere production of The Plot, which is playwright Will Eno's latest. Eno's previous work includes Middletown; The Open House; The Realistic Joneses, which also premiered at Yale Rep and which went on to Broadway; and Thom Pain (based on nothing), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Yulin and Eno (and Eno's adorable daughter, Albertine) are our guests. GUESTS: Albertine - The adorable daughter of Will Eno and Maria Dizzia Will Eno - An Obie Award-, Drama Desk Award-, and Lucille Lortel Award-winning playwright Harris Yulin - An actor and director who has been appearing on stage and screen for going on 60 years Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which includes original music composed by Emily Duncan Wilson, sound designer for Yale Repertory Theatre's production of The Plot.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you think of taxidermy, you may imagine a trophy room in which mostly male hunters have mounted the heads of 12-point stags along wood-paneled walls. If so, your image would be incomplete. Taxidermy has gone through many interations since gentleman scientists turned to taxidermy to understand anatomy during the Enlightenment. Victorians added a touch of whimsy, decorating their homes with birds under glass and falling in love with Walter Potter's anthropomorphized cats. Later still, Norman Bates shifted the cultural understanding of taxidermy from art to something more macabre after he taxidermied his mother in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho."  Today, animal-loving Millennial women are taking taxidermy to new levels of artistry and craftsmanship, from rogue taxidermists who mix and match animal parts to the mallard wing bridal veil of a couture taxidermist.   In the end, isn't taxidermy about immortality and how we choose to remember?  GUESTS: Kristen Arnett is a librarian and a queer fiction and essay writer. She’s the author of the novel, NYT bestseller Mostly Dead Things, and a short fiction collection, Felt in the Jaw.(@Kristen_Arnett) Beth Beverly is a couture taxidermist and the owner of Diamond Tooth Taxidermy. Her work has been featured in The New York Times and most recently the Netflix series "Stranger Things" (@bethbeverly) John Whitenight is an educator, author, and artist. He’s the author of Under Glass: A Victorian Obsession Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is perhaps no figure more emblematic of the paranormal than the psychic. Able to predict the future, see into the past, and even communicate with the dead, the psychic's awesome gifts are matched only by his or her ability to withstand skepticism and ridicule. But are our misgivings towards these intuitives justified? Is it merely smoke and mirrors which they've learned to master or are they, in fact, possessed of powers beyond our comprehension? This hour we speak with believers, skeptics and self-proclaimed psychics to find out.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Private weather companies are cropping up to produce weather and climate models that has historically been provided by the government at taxpayer expense. Private weather forecasting is a $7 billion industry that threatens the National Weather Services hold on the best data and could lead to a tiered system of access. Also this hour: Montrealers are united around their bagels. Until now, the biggest division was over who made the best bagel. Now, environmental concerns have divided them into those who want to ban the wood-burning ovens that make Montreal bagels unique and traditionalists who want to preserve the city's Jewish history and social fabric.  Lastly, the Apostrophe Preservation Society has closed its doors. It's 96-year-old chairman said "ignorance and laziness" has won. We take your calls (pet peeves) about the apostrophe. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Thursday, Elon Musk unveiled Tesla's Cybertruck and Sacha Baron Cohen gave the keynote address at an Anti-Defamation League summit. Both performances have drawn mixed reactions. And: The Mandalorian is the big, new, original, launch title for Disney's new streaming service, Disney+. It's a half(ish)-hour western set in the Star Wars universe, and three episodes have dropped so far.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you ever drive across the country, you’ll notice there is a surprising amount of World’s Largest attractions. West Virginia has the world’s largest teapot, California has the world’s largest yo-yo and Arkansas, for whatever reason, has the world’s largest Spinach can. This hour we talk to the man who brought the world’s tallest Uncle Sam to Danbury, Connecticut.  We also speak with the only person in history who claims to have built two full-size replicas of Stonehenge, and a cartoonist that is very well-traveled. Lastly, we speak to someone who is the attraction. He's gone viral for knitting sweaters of roadside attractions, then taking selfies in front of them. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.