The Colin McEnroe Show

October of 2018 was an unremarkable month. That is, to everyone who wasn't working for Youmail. During that month, the California-based company which provides voicemail and call blocking technology, noticed something special:  On average, 164 million robocalls were being placed every single day around America. That's nearly 7 million per hour, and nearly 2,000 per second, for a grand monthly total of over 5.1 billion. It was a new national record! Unfortunately for Americans, the previous month's record of just over four billion robocalls was not one anyone wished to see broken. But broken it was and with this new record came a wave of unprecedented pressure on Congress and the FCC to act. On March 23, 2019 they did. The TRACED Act; tough new legislation against illegal robocallers sailed through the Senate 99 to 1. Simultaneously, powerful, technological tools known as STIR / SHAKEN began rolling out allowing telecom companies to authenticate incoming calls from questionable numbers more effectively. Had the problem finally been solved? All eyes turned once again to the Youmail robocall index for an answer. During March of 2019, the very same month that the TRACED Act passed, Youmail reported that 5.2 billion robocalls had been made. A brand new national record! This hour we speak with technology and telecom industry experts about the national epidemic of robocalls. Can anything be done to finally stop (or even manage) the menace? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants to give everyone a Universal Basic Income to offset the effects of automation. The plan resonates across a broad spectrum of voters from his "Yang Gang" to the alt-right and it has catapulted him to a spot in this week's Democratic primary debate alongside frontrunners Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris. Who is this guy?  Also this hour: Last month, we told you about Curtis Flowers, the Mississippi man convicted over 20 years ago of killing four people by a prosecutor with a history of racial bias and witness tampering. You may recognize the story from the APM podcast, "In the Dark." Last week, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn his latest conviction in a 7-2 decision. What's next?  Lastly, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says the Trump Administration is running "concentration camps" at our Southern border. We talk about that. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants to give everyone a Universal Basic Income to offset the effects of automation. The plan resonates across a broad spectrum of voters from his "Yang Gang" to the alt-right and it has catapulted him to a spot in this week's Democratic primary debate alongside frontrunners Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris. Who is this guy?  Also this hour: Last month, we told you about Curtis Flowers, the Mississippi man convicted over 20 years ago of killing four people by a prosecutor with a history of racial bias and witness tampering. You may recognize the story from the APM podcast, "In the Dark." Last week, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn his latest conviction in a 7-2 decision. What's next?  Lastly, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says the Trump Administration is running "concentration camps" at our Southern border. We talk about that. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose doesn't much miss a chance to cover Taylor Swift. And it turns out, Taytay's got a new song and video... for Pride Month... and it's been received, let's say, kind of skeptically. (Relatedly, here's a listicle: All 126 Taylor Swift Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best.) And then: Last year, the Obamas signed a big deal to make TV programs for Netflix. And now, the former first couple's production company is coming to an earbud near you through a podcast-making deal with Spotify. (Relatedly, here's a listicle: The best podcasts of 2019 so far.) And finally: Jim Jarmusch's new movie is... a zombie comedy? The Dead Don't Die stars Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, RZA, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Carol Kane, and more. (Relatedly, here's a listicle: 8 Great Zombie Comedies (That Aren't The Dead Don't Die).) Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Gloria Vanderbilt, socialite and designer-jeans marketer who was the subject of a sensational custody trial in the 1930s, dies at 95 An Oral History of Vincent D'Onofrio's Perfect Men in Black'Sugar Water' Scene What Really Happened to Malaysia's Missing Airplane Bill Cosby's post as 'America's Dad' on Father's Day sparks anger online John Cusack deletes tweet after being accused of anti-Semitism Today in heavy-handed metaphors: The tree that inspired Dr. Seuss' The Loraxhas fallen Today we're reminded that the singing Quiznos rats were real and not a collective fever dream Ex-MLB star Lenny Dykstra spent 9 hours dumpster diving outside a Jersey Mike's. Here's why. Summertime Sadness at the Box OfficeA stretch of June flops has once again put a magnifying glass on the health of the movie industry, as every studio not named Disney struggles to make an impact(Relatedly, here's a listicle: The 15 Best Films of 2019 (So Far).) GUESTS: Lucy Gellman - Editor of The Arts Paper and host of WNHH radio's Kitchen Sync Sam Hadelman - Host of The Sam Hadelman Show on WNHH and a journalist for the New Haven Independent Nicholas Quah - The editor and publisher of Hot Pod, a newsletter about podcasts 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.

There's much more to vending machines than those tasty, preservative-laden treats temptingly lined up on display behind the glass casing. Today we take a magical voyage to find out what these snack dispensers tell us about how we live, what we value, our stresses, and our restraints. Along the way, we check in with a local author and Hartford Courant columnist who devoured one of each snack in her workplace vending machine one afternoon without being rushed to the hospital. We discuss their role in the nation's obesity epidemic, and why they rarely offer healthy eating choices. We discover the fascinatingly strange (warm corn chowder, camouflage watches), sometimes disgusting (used women's underpants) products they pump out in Japan. And we look at what they are legally not able to offer here in Connecticut. As Yale students found out, that includes emergency contraceptives. Could self-pouring beer machines be in the state's near future? What about machine serving delicious, ready-to-eat bacon?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's hard to believe, but The Matrix is 20 years old this year. And its influence is all over the culture with bullet time and red pills and the "woah" meme and so much more. We take the question of whether we're living in a simulation much more seriously than we did 20 years ago. We're much more attuned to the allegory for the trans experience that The Matrix might well have been. And with John Wick 3 in theaters, Toy Story 4 out next week, Cyberpunk 2077out next year, and Bill & Ted 3 just beginning production, the Keanussance is upon us. GUESTS: River Donaghey - An associate editor at Vice, where he published the piece "Give Keanu Reeves Some Space, Everybody" David Sims - A staff writer at The Atlantic and the cohost of the podcast Blank Check with Griffin and David Emily VanDerWerff - The critic at large for Vox, where she published "How The Matrix universalized a trans experience -- and helped me accept my own" Rizwan Virk - Executive director of Play Labs at M.I.T.; his new book is The Simulation Hypothesis: An MIT Computer Scientist Shows Why AI, Quantum Physics, and Eastern Mystics All Agree We Are in a Video Game 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.

Connecticut remains riveted by the unfolding saga of Jennifer Dulos, the wealthy, white New Canaan woman last seen almost four weeks ago. It's a tragic and familiar story. Yet, few cases receive the notoriety of this particular case.  Today, we examine several issues raised by Jennifer's disappearance, including how domestic violence in wealthy families can play out in ways not experienced by those with less money. The night of Jennifer's disappearance, video surveillance cameras in Hartford spotted Jennifer's husband Fotis Dulos, dumping garbage bags with bloody clothing in trash bins throughout the north end of Hartford. We talk to a resident of the north end about how he feels about that.  Lastly, we talk about the current state of police surveillance technology, including in Hartford, and how it might be used in the future. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The president suggests he can take information from a foreign adversary without reporting it to the FBI. Kellyanne Conway can violate the Hatch Act without repercussion. American allies aren't sure if they can believe Trump Administration claims about Iran aggression. The president now suggests his supporters may demand that he serve more than two terms.  Amy Siskind has been documenting the erosion of democratic norms under President Trump almost since his inauguration. We spend some time with her.  The state Supreme Court released a unanimous decision Friday ordering new trials for two men convicted of a 1989 murder in New Milford. The call for new trials stems from misleading testimony by the state police forensic laboratory, under the purview of forensic scientist Henry Lee. Lee spoke this morning. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joni Mitchell is a singer-songwriter from Alberta, Canada. In 1968, her debut album, Song to a Seagull, was released and since then, Mitchell has become one of the most influential, and greatest recording artists. Mitchell has won nine Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, countless musical awards, and her albums are considered as among the best ever made. We’re big fans. It turns out we’re not alone. Today, we talk to a few friends of the show to discuss Mitchell’s influence on them while listening to their favorite Joni songs. Plus, we chat with Mitchell biographer David Yaffe who recently wrote Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are a group of Connecticut parents who feel they must relinquish custody of  their “high needs” children in order to get them into residential treatment programs when in-home services are inadequate to meet their needs.  Many years ago, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families chose to move children out of residential treatment centers and back to their families or foster care. Most agree it was a good move; residential care is expensive and many kids do better at home. Some wonder if we've gone too far. The combined effect of the closing of residential centers, budget restrictions, and lack of available community resources to fill the void have led to a perfect storm.  Connecticut is not the only state to use the 'custody-for-care' loophole. It still happens in 44 states, even though 26 of those states have statutes or policies to prevent it. Connecticut has significantly decreased its use over the last decade, but not enough. No one is a bad actor in this story. Parents do the best they can under difficult and stressful circumstances. DCF does the best they can within the reality of political and budgetary pressures. And there are systemic problems with the way insurance, hospitals, and schools are set-up to deal with the expensive and complex needs of some children.   Today, we take a look. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is really going to be the cat’s pajamas. Or is it pyjamas? Do cats even wear pajamas? Why would they? Why do we? Should any of us wear pajamas at all? And if we do don a pair, are they only for bed? Or should pajamas have their day in the sun? If our PJs are making a fashion statement just what exactly are they saying? We’re talking today about what we wear to bed, but who knows? Does not wearing pajamas to bed have health and other benefits once we settle in under the covers? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jessica Harper has starred in movies like Suspiria, Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise, Woody Allen's Stardust Memories, and Steven Spielberg's Minority Report. And now she's publishing a memoir as a podcast. Winnetka tells the story of growing up in a big family -- six kids, including two sets of twins -- in the 1950s and '60s in the midwest -- in Winnetka, Ill., you see -- and later in Connecticut. Plus: An update on the podcast industry more generally. The "Netflix of podcasts" is here. A big new study on podcasting has just come out. And... is "podcaster burnout" becoming a thing?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you one of the millions inspired by Marie Kondo and her KonMari Method to get rid of your clutter? Kondo's books, such as The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and Netflix series, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, have sparked an intense and prolonged fervor where other self-help gurus have failed.  What is it about this phenom who advocates tidying as the path to the self-actualization? Is it her respect for our stuff as animated and alive? Is it because she doesn't shame us for our consumption, even as she encourages us to consider why we consume? Do our things 'spark joy' or hold us back? Yet, she's not without her critics. The backlash has been fierce, and occasionally misconstrued  Kondo's words. What's so threatening about questioning what we value? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rocketman is the sort of movie where (tiny spoiler ahead here, I suppose) "Elton John," at one point, becomes an actual "rocket man"... and blasts off into the sky... with fire shooting out of his feet. I mean, what else do you need to know really, right? It's directed by Dexter Fletcher, whose previous film -- another little music biopic you might've heard of called Bohemian Rhapsody -- is the second-highest-grossing drama ever made. And it stars Taron Egerton, who does all his own singing, in the, uh, title role. And: Ava DuVernay is the director of Selma (which was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars), A Wrinkle in Time, and the Netflix documentary 13th (for which DuVernay was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature), among other things. Her newest project is When They See Us, a Netflix miniseries about the Central Park Five.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In early 2017, The New York Times uncovered a program at the Defense Department which investigated unidentified flying objects. Then, at the end of May, the reporters published another article, getting navy pilots to talk on the record about their encounters with unidentified flying objects.  In November 2018, the chair of Harvard's Astronomy Department, Avi Loeb, co-wrote a paper about an interestellar object, 'Oumuamua, writing, "Alternatively, a more exotic scenario is that 'Oumuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilization." What does this all mean? And does it matter that these aknowledgements are coming from a paper like The New York Times, or a scientist from Harvard?  This hour, we'll talk to Leslie Kean and Avi Loeb about their research, and we'll hear from people who have believed in extraterrestrial life all along about what it's like to see this news. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if you just don't really enjoy food very much? What if you're totally fine eating the same thing every single day? What if you think food is an inefficient way to get what you need to survive? What if, rather than eating "food," you just mixed a white powder (that is definitely not made of people because it's made of soy protein isolate instead) with water and drank that in food's place? This hour: a look at what you might call the non-foodie movement and the "powdered food" meal replacement product that is Soylent.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Darko Tresnjak has been artistic director at Hartford Stage Company since 2011. During his tenure here, he's won a Tony. He's had multiple productions make the leap to Broadway. His Anastasia has multiple tours touring internationally. And this season is his last season in Hartford. This hour: our exit interview with Darko Tresnjak.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The question of whether to allow a contested question about citizenship on the 2020 census is before the Supreme Court. How they decide may be altered by new and formerly secret files that show a long-standing relationship between the Republican Party and gerrymandering -- that includes an idea to add a citizenship question to the census to boost the voting power of "Republicans and non-Hispanic whites."  Also this hour: This weekend, over 100 artists staged a 24-hour public reading of the Mueller report in Queens. They're helping us do exactly what Robert Mueller implored us all to do. Read it in its entirety. Here's the story.  Here's the full report. Here's the audiobook. Lastly, is America still capable of doing large-scale politically-honorable deeds, such as impeaching a president? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Graduation season is upon us. Your niece is finishing high school. Your neighbor's son is graduating from Tulane. Your boss just got her second Master's. How did it get to be that the obvious gift for all of these people is... a Dr. Seuss book? And then: Vulture, this week, published a click-bait listicle ranking all the HBO shows ever. The Nose took the bait and clicked. And... Six Feet Under didn't make the top ten? Girls isn't in the top 25? John from Cincinnati made the top 30? Did anybody even understand that show? And speaking of shows, George Clooney and Grant Heslov's new Hulu miniseries is a four-and-a-half-hour, six-episode adaption of Joseph Heller's Catch-22. Is that what the world needed right now?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laszlo Ratesic is a nineteen-year veteran of the Speculative Service. He lives in the Golden State, the only place left in what was once America. Laszlo's job is to bring the worst criminals to justice, those who tell lies. In his new novel, Ben Winters creates a world which might sound Eden-esque in our era of misinformation.  It's getting more difficult to distinguish real from fake news, AI-assisted technology allows a bad actor to splice celebrity heads onto the faces of actors in a pornographic video, and major news organizations need to keep track of how often America's president lies.  Yet, we should be careful what we wish for. Philosophers like Derrida have long questioned the nature of truth; can there be one truth? If so, whose truth is it? While few of us want to return to the pre-internet days when everyone got their news from Walter Cronkite, we need to understand how to recognize when information is false and how it is spread. It's too easy to blame ignorance or a willful repudiation of the truth for the spread of misinformation. It's a lot more about who we trust.  For those who fear a Golden State could be our future, there's hope on the horizon if we're willing to pay attention. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. Dave Itzkoff's new biography is Robin. And 10 years after his death, a look back at the work of George Carlin.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. O Brother, Where Art Thou? Miller's Crossing. Over the past 35 years, Joel and Ethan Coen have reliably been among the most recognizable voices in moviemaking. Their latest, the anthology western The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, hit Netflix last fall. 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.

Seriously: a show about towels. There's the history of towels, towels in Christianity, Terrible Towels, Towel Day. Oh, and there are actual towels too. Because when has a bad idea ever stopped us before? GUESTS: Marcel Danesi - The author of Of Cigarettes, High Heels, and Other Interesting Things: An Introduction to Semiotics John Dankosky - Executive editor of the New England News Collaborative; host of The Wheelhouse and NEXT on WNPR Mike Pesca - Host of the daily Slate podcast The Gist Jackie Reeve - Bed and bath writer for Wirecutter; her blog about quilting and crafting and cooking and traveling and things is The Orange Room Jem Roberts - Comedy historian and the author of The Frood: The Authorised and Very Official History of Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Carlos Mejia, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired, in a different form, on December 6, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The American criminal justice system has become less 'just' over recent decades and prosecutors bear much of the responsibility. The tough-on-crime culture of the 1980's and 90's shifted power away from judges and juries and toward prosecutors who embraced their new power to wield mandatory sentencing laws to rack up the convictions demanded by the constituents who elected them.  The problem is they never let go of that power or the culture that rewards it, even as crime rates have plummeted to historic lows that are almost 50% below their peak in the 1990's. They continue use sentencing to extract plea bargains from almost 95% of the people who come before them, even without evidence of guilt. Some impose draconian bail and probation conditions monitored by for-profit companies that extract a premium.  Others run modern day debtors' prisons, jailing people for misdemeanor crimes like shoplifting because they can't afford bail.   Yet, there's cause for hope. A new breed of DA's are using prison as a last resort, focusing instead on "diversion" programs that offer a second chance instead of long prison sentences that research shows make worse criminals.   Is it time to rethink who belongs in prison? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Barbie Millicent Roberts -- yes, that's her name -- turns 60 we, as a plastic loving nation, celebrate! For six decades the impossibly proportioned fashion doll has been delighting children and adults around the world. But the road to 60 hasn't always been easy. Critiqued by feminists, diversity advocates, and even child psychologists for her role in perpetuating harmful sterotypes, eating disorders, and body dysmorphic syndrome among young women, Barbie may be just as controversial as she is iconic. In recent years, however, Mattel has made some long overdue changes. The new Barbies are more diverse in their career choices, body shapes, and ethnicities than ever before, and her new ad campaigns focus heavily on issues of women's empowerment and equality. But the question remains: Is it too little, too late for Mattel or are these changes enough to see Barbie into her seventies? We speak with expert guests about the good, the bad and the ugly side of Barbie, as well as about the doll's creator, Ruth Handler. And in case you were wondering, we may even get to Ken along the way!Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For everyone who watched Sunday's series finale of Game of Thrones, perhaps a better show to get a handle on what's happening inside America is Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale. People aren't going around greeting their neighbors with "Blessed by the fruit." But there's an argument to be made that news headlines from the past week are eerily similar to the fictional transpirings that gave way to Handmaid's Republic of Gilead. Today, we consider Alabama's new ultra-conservative abortion law, President Trump's desire for barriers along the Mexico border to be painted black with spikes, and the ousting of administration officials opposed to a White House plan to conduct mass raids of migrants in 10 major U.S. cities, among other recent events. Is comparing them to Handmaid's make-believe dangerously unhinged? Or is it right to be concerned that we may be heading down a potentially Margaret Atwoodian path? We'll take your calls. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a rough week for the famous. Last Saturday, Peggy Lipton died at age 72. On Monday, Doris Day died at 97. Then on Tuesday, it was Tim Conway at 85. And yesterday, I. M. Pei died aged 102. And the week's gone kind of the same way for TV shows too. On Sunday, Veep finished its seven-year run on HBO. Last night, The Big Bang Theory aired its 279th and final episode. And Game of Thrones's series finale is set to air this coming Sunday.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tracking, rewinding, ejecting, collecting - VHS broke ground in home entertainment like never before. The culture of VHS and its enormous best friend, the VCR, were kings of consumer media for decades. Despite the last VCR and VHS being manufactured just three years ago, videotapes are still consumed, collected, and in some cases, sold(!) across the country. But why? With streaming service giants like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and (soon) Disney, giving us on-demand content with the push of a button and with Blu-ray and 4K players displaying movies and TV shows at crystal clear resolutions, videotapes offer a simpler, analog experience that will just not go away. Today, a look inside the impact, history, and legacy of VHS. Plus, video stores! It was the place to get your VHS rental and consume the content you couldn’t get anywhere else. A look at life owning and working at a video store.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 18th century Parisian cafe was an incubator for the liberal tradition as it was before liberalism became a politically-loaded and dirty word. The cafe brought people together to exchange ideas, talk, connect, argue, debate, and learn about humanity, empathy, and humility outside the control of the state; a place where civil society trumped tribal impulse. We are a far more humane people today compared to what we've been, despite the astounding level of cruelty in the headlines every day. Laws still rule the day. Yet, many question whether liberalism can survive the rise of nationalist leaders from Hungary to the United States and the illiberal ideas they promote; some 2020 presidential candidates are calling for revolution. Can the long history of the liberal tradition teach us something about this current moment?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 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 Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen at 1:00 pm.  President Trump is working to block more than 20 separate Congressional investigations led by the Democratic-controlled House. Democrats say the Trump Administration has failed to respond to or comply with at least 79 requests for documents or other information. Are we in a Constitutional crisis, or not?  Also this hour: Two students lost their lives in recent weeks charging at the school shooter who was trying to kill them and other classmates. Both died and are being hailed as heroes for their actions. They are heroes. Yet, for others looking in, have adults abdicated their responsibility to protect children to the point where they believe they must take things into their own hands? Lastly, NASA will study three never touched samples from the rocks and soil astronaut Neil Armstrong scooped up during the Apollo 11 mission almost fifty years ago.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Father of the Bride is Vampire Weekend's fourth studio album, their first in nearly six years, and their first for a major label. It has been called a "masterpiece" and a "multi-layered dissertation on the world's ills." It's also been called "mild" and "some of the worst ideas the band has ever put to tape." The real question is, though: Is Vampire Weekend still cool? And then: Gorman Bechard's Pizza, A Love Story has its New Haven premiere in a few weeks at this year's NHdocs documentary film festival. The Nose talks Pizza, specifically, and pizza, more generally, from the pizza capital of the world.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hartford native Sol LeWitt was one of the giants of conceptualist and minimalist art. As an artist, he abandoned the long histories of painting and drawing and sculpture in favor of his Wall Drawings and Structures. And as an art figure, he abandoned the conventions of celebrity and resisted ever even having his picture taken. This hour, a look at Connecticut's own Sol LeWitt.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reality TV shows like the Discovery Channel's Doomsday Bunkers and National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Preppers perpetuate a stereotype of "preppers" that omits the wide swath of people who engage in preparedness in a less extreme and more varied way. Talk of nuclear war, climate apocalypse, pandemic, economic instability, and the decline of democracy has led more people to think about how to survive a catastrophic -- if not apocalyptic -- event.  Do you buy organic food? Will you drink only bottled water? Do you avoid antibiotics? You may not have an underground bunker but you might have a generator, short wave radio, extra batteries and a supply of canned foods. Today, we dive into the real world of "preppers." Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elvis left two legacies. Musically, he pulled several American musical traditions out of the shadows, braided them together, and made them mainstream. Personally, he created a far darker template for the way a musical celebrity could be devoured by the very fame he avidly sought. Recorded live in front of an audience -- and with a band! -- as part of Colin's Freshly Squeezed series at Watkinson School, an hour about the artist who defined the birth of rock and roll and was the genre's first superstar.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NPR has a new theme song. The new theme is much like the old theme with new embellishments created by a "sonic studio" instead of one artist and a "creative director" instead of a composer or arranger. After 40 years, is it time to update or do you miss the old song? Also this hour: Rachel Held Evans was a 37-year-old Christian evangelical writer with an ability to both challenge orthodoxy within the religion and bridge the political divide between conservative and progressive followers. She died this past week from complications of an infection. We pay her tribute.  Lastly, today's UN report on biodiversity makes a direct link between human behavior and the faster than expected extinction of thousands of animal and plant species. Today's report coincides with a new Yale-led study showing that thousands of species of amphibians will go extinct faster than expected if we don't take action now. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Avengers: Endgame is the 22nd feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the fourth Avengers movie and the fourth MCU entry directed by Anthony and Joe Russo. It is the 10th film in the MCU's Phase Three and the last part of its Infinity Saga. I didn't understand very much of that stuff I just wrote, but I totally get this last bit: Avengers: Endgame may well be on its way to becoming the highest-grossing movie ever made. And then: Taylor Swift's new single/video, "Me," is setting records of its own. Never mind that the duet with Panic! at the Disco's Brendon Urie is maybe kinda... terrible? And terribleness just might be the new trend in movie trailers: There's Sonic the Hedgehog and his creepy human teeth. There's Will Smith's weird blue genie in Aladdin. Or the "live-action" Lion King and its new-look Scar. The Sonic backlash has been so bad that it looks like they might even redesign the character.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The concept of the early 20th century sideshow evokes images of bearded ladies, sword swallowers and exotic "others" exhibited as "freaks" before audiences both lured and repelled by what they saw. Crowds flocked to Coney Island sideshows where, for 10 cents, they could find solace that someone was worse off than they were during times of low life expectancy, high infant mortality, world war, and financial instability. Few had the luxury of seeing the humanity behind the act. Cartoonist Bill Griffith based his legendary character Zippy the Pinhead on Schlitzie, a real life sideshow "pinhead" who appeared in the movie Freaks. Early audiences were appalled by director Tod Browning's use of real sideshow actors who banded together to seek revenge on those who treated them with cruelty. Griffith's new graphic novel is his way to dig a little deeper into who Schlitzie was and the sideshow family who cared for and loved him. Also this hour: we learn about a man who saved thousands of premature infants over almost 40 years by exhibiting them in incubators in a Coney Island sideshow. Behind the acts, sideshow performers were often people of great compassion, courage, and humanity. GUESTS: Bill Griffith - Creator of the syndicated daily comic strip Zippy and author of two graphic memoirs, Invisible Ink: My Mother's Secret Love Affair With a Cartoonist and Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead Wolf Krakowski - Yiddish singer whose CDs are on Tzadik Records; Wolf has videotaped testimonies of Holocaust survivors for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation Claire Prentice - Award-winning freelance journalist, editor, and writer; she's the author of two non-fiction books, The Lost Tribe of Coney Island: Headhunters, Luna Park, and the Man Who Pulled Off the Spectacle of the Century and Miracle at Coney Island: How a Sideshow Doctor Saved Thousands of Babies and Transformed American Medicine Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who would have thought that a book on grammar would be #5 on Amazon's best-seller list? (Should that be "whom" would have thought? Should I write out the number five? Should it be "bestseller?" Ugh. I can't remember if the exclamation goes inside or outside the quotation mark in the sentence I just asked myself.) Benjamin Dreyer says we're all writers. Or, we can channel our best writers if we choose our words more carefully, (try not writing the words very, rather, really, quite, surely, and actually for the next week) check our spelling, and quiet our sudden impulse to use two words where one will do. (Oops. I mean, quiet your impulse to use two words where one will do.) Most of all, break those rules you were taught to obey. Language is about more than grammar. It's about artistry, voice, style. Sentences ending with a preposition shouldn't be hard to put up with. And start your sentence with an "and" or "but." Embrace the fragment. Channel your passive voice. (but only if it makes your sentence stronger) I feel freer already.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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We want to hear from you. It's just Colin and your calls. Twenty Democratic presidential contenders are in the race for 2020. Are you suffering from choice overload? Is electability your primary criteria? If so, it probably shouldn't be. Who we consider electable usually leaves out women and minorities. Do we even know what makes someone electable?  You're not alone if you're having trouble keeping up with who believes what. Give us a call. Also this hour: Sunday's shooting at Chabad Poway is more evidence in the rise of anti-semitic violence across Europe and the U.S. The nearly 2,000 incidents fueled by social media and provacative language by politicians coincide with what the Anti-Defamation League calls the biggest jump in violence since it began tracking events forty years ago. Yet, as violence against Jews surge, there is a concurrent denial that anti-Semitism exists, including by way of ignorance. Here's how both topics come together. We have an opportunity before the 2020 election to demand plans on how candidates from both parties plan to deal with the rise of white nationalist violence.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To say Beyoncé's performance at Coachella was historic feels like an understatement. In about the span of a week, Queen Bey released a two hour Netflix exclusive film (part one of her deal with the streamer) of the entire concert, a 40-track live album from the same show, which was released unexpectedly, and just for fun, she released her 2016 pop culture smash album “Lemonade” on all streaming platforms, which was originally exclusive to just Tidal. Let’s not forget Bey’s Coachella set was months in the making, required about 200 people including dancers, musicians, and backup-singers, surprise appearances from Jay-Z, Destiny’s Child, and Solange, and it marked the first time an African American female headlined the 20-year old festival. So, yeah, it’s beyond historic. Today, the Nose gets into Homecoming. Plus, is Jeopardy broken? Average joe, James Holzhauer, has set all types of record-setting feats on the game show, and he’s currently on the verge of winning the biggest cash prize in show history. How?  Finally, are podcasts just wasting our time?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.

Most of us know what Kafkaesque means even if we've never read a word Kafka wrote. For example, it's Kafkaesque when your smart home turns on you. It's not Kafkaesque when you wait in line for two hours at DMV and they close the line when you get to the front. (Well, it's a little Kafkaesque.) Franz Kafka, the man whose absurdly dark stories inspired the adjective of the same name, was an ascetic and introspective man. He was given to self-doubt, concerned over his health and obsessed with writing. He said his need to write "left empty all those abilities which were directed toward the joys of sex, eating, drinking, philosophical reflection, and above all music." Today, we talk about the man behind the adjective and the truly Kafkaesque trial to determine who owned his papers.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The number of Americans who identify as 'spiritual but not religious' is growing, especially among millennials who may not be finding what they need in the religious institutions of their parents generation. While some of the "Nones" have never affiliated with a particular religion, those who have some connection to faith yearn to find meaning they can't find in traditional churches, synagogues and mosques. We look at why people -- especially millennials -- are becoming disaffected with religion, how mainstream institutions are responding (or not) to their departure, and how others are finding that the path to religion often goes through the arts much like it did centuries ago.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re exploring the world of Barbershop Harmony; from its roots in the African American community to its influence in other genres, Barbershop is an important piece of the puzzle in the American music scene. For many, Barbershop calls to mind old people, singing old songs - but ask any Barbershopper and they’ll tell you nothing can be further from the truth. For them, there is a youthful joy, a sense of family, a love for the music and the performance in a dynamic and empowering setting. And if you let them, they’ll gladly share it with you. So sit back and enjoy the sounds of Barbershop. Hopefully, we’ll ring a few chords along the way.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, the long awaited final season of Game of Thrones launched on HBO. As more than 17 million viewers dig in for one last round, some of the Nose's most dedicated fans gather to discuss what's made this series such a hit, and what they're thinking about as the show marches toward its end. GUESTS:  Rebecca Castellani - Director of operations at We Save Music. Jim Chapdelaine - Musician, producer, composer, and recording engineer Theresa Cramer - Writer and the editor of E Content Magazine Taneisha Duggan - Producing associate at Theater Works. Jacques Lamarre - Playwright and director of client services at Buzz Engine. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.  Colin McEnroe and Betsy Kaplan contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Engineers at Ford are working hard toward a breakthrough: A car that runs on tears! Okay, maybe not, but they really should be. Why? Because people cry in cars, a lot! Whether it's a sad song playing on the radio, passing a cemetary where a loved one is buried, or simply releasing the stress of a long, hard day, the car is one of the few places that offer the privacy and intimacy necessary for a good cry. And it's not just crying that happens in cars. Awkward, sometimes difficult conversations of all manner happen in cars every day. From bad first dates, to couples breaking up, to parents talking birds and bees with their kids, cars seem somehow perfectly designed to be emotional spaces. So what is it about cars that allow us to be so vulnerable? How, while surrounded by windows on all sides, do we manage to shroud ourselves in the illusion of privacy? On today's show we talk with psychologists and self professed car-cryers to explore this very phenomenon.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It could be argued that you will never understand yourself if you don’t understand the universe. And the universe is full of both beautiful and scary things. At least once, something has come roaring out of the skies to reconfigure completely life on earth. So it might be a good idea to study the heavens. If it’s a clear night, we’ll have telescopes outdoors, but one of the many misconceptions about astronomy is that it’s entirely visual. There are blind astronomers and ways to “hear” the stars. One way or another, we’re going to blow your mind.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Between November of 2016 and June of 2018, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) saw it's membership jump from 5,000 to over 40,000.  This hour we'll explore what socialism means today, and why the ideology is having a resurgence. Plus, why are more young people getting involved in the movement? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.