The Colin McEnroe Show

There are nine movies nominated for Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. And, as of this week, The Nose has seen eight of them. We saw Get Out way back in last March. We saw Dunkirk over the summer. We went to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri at night. And this awards season, we've gone to Greta Gerwig's Lady Bird and Steven Spielberg's The Post and Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who's afraid of the Bix bad Beiderbecke?Hartford has an amazing jazz history, and Colin has a lot of jazz musician friends. This hour, a little onstage jazz party.Colin and the panel look to make jazz accessible to mere mortals. They talk about what makes jazz jazz, invite the audience to sing, and teach the audience to scat.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you remember where you were on April 1, 2010? That's the last time the U.S. Census Bureau counted you as one of the 323.1 million people who live in the U.S. Don't remember? No problem. It's time for the 2020 Census. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In looking to our past, a curious trend appears. A vast amount of mankind's great accomplishments in art, music, science, technology and language seem to emerge from a relatively small number of cities:  Athens, Hangzhou, Florence, Rome, Calcutta, Vienna, and Silicon Valley-- just to name a few.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There have been some really great Super Bowl ads over the last 35 years. They changed the way we spoke and the way ads were created and consumed.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I, Tonya is a big, brash, brightly-colored, quirky comedy that happens to be telling a story that's ultimately kind of super sad. It's that mixture of tones -- a cinematic style seemingly at odds with the film's content -- and its Oscar-nominated performances by Margot Robbie and Allison Janney that have earned the movie a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Nose picks it apart.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The history of mazes and labyrinths spans thousands of years. From Bronze Age stone carvings, to Medieval gardens, to modern-day laboratories, these elaborate designs continue to be used for a variety of reasons and in some surprising places.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Americans like to argue, a lot. In politics, in media, and in society at large, arguing has (arguably) become the default means by which we handle disagreement. But is it the most effective way, and has our readiness to wage a war with words gotten out of hand?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Federal regulatory requirements mandate* that all public media outlets occasionally devote significant air time to the health and welfare of bees.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The central question in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation is whether a foreign agent interfered in our electoral process and whether the Trump campaign colluded in that effort. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread is nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Anderson, and Best Supporting Actress for Lesley Manville. Oh, and including Best Actor in a Leading Role for Daniel Day-Lewis. It's Day-Lewis's sixth nomination in the category. He's won the award three times previously, including for his work in Anderson's There Will Be Blood. If Day-Lewis were to win again this year, he'd join Katharine Hepburn as the only people ever to win four acting Oscars. It'd be a fitting end to a career that Day-Lewis says is over.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've been trying to push this show out for quite a while now. It's been a bit of a strain, and we got kind of backed up.But, this hour, we let loose a long look at... constipation.It should be a big relief for everyone involved.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Acceptance for medical marijuana is growing among people who swear by marijuana's power to relieve their ills. Older people are choosing marijuana for their aches and pains, parents are moving to states where marijuana is legal for children with seizure disorders, even pet owners are using pot to ease their pup's pain.  It's currently legal in 28 states with several more on deck.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A hard-boiled private eye, a glamorous blond, and a hapless drifter all sit at a bar on the seamy side of town. It's night, the streets are wet, the shadows are long. They each nurse a drink to the notes of a mournful saxophone and a lonely piano.  Smoke from the cigarettes swirls in the darkness. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is one of the worst flu seasons in a decade. For the first time in thirteen years, the entire country is getting sick at the same time. While the government shutdown ended today, the two days of closure remind us what services could be lost when we most need them.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Post is Steven Spielberg's first movie since he turned 70 (and it's actually his first movie since he turned 71 too). It's just a little newspaper picture with a cast of newcomers like Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks and Bob Odenkirk and Matthew Rhys that Spielberg tossed off while he was simultaneously making Ready Player One (which comes out in a couple months). Oh, and it was nominated for six Golden Globes including Best Picture -- Drama and Best Director, and it's probably about to be nominated for a bunch of Oscars too. The Nose has seen it.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Predictions of a paperless future go back to the 1800's. And since then, as technology has advanced, such predictions  have only increased. Today, despite a dizzying array of technological alternatives to paper, those prediction have not come true.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From ancient scrolls to modern toner cartridges, ink (in one form or another) has been around for millennia. And while we may take it for granted now, it was for much of that time a precious and coveted substance.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They smell better, they're better at sensing temperature changes and they can handle more pain. These are just a few of the actual differences between redheads and the rest of us. But while having red hair does come with certain advantages, there are more than a few disadvantages as well.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Race is a myth; racism is not. I'm stealing this line from Gene Seymour, one of our guests on our show today. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave Chappelle somewhat famously walked away from his Comedy Central series and went twelve years without releasing a comedy special. He broke that streak by putting out no less than four specials in 2017, and now he's maybe threatening to go back on another hiatus? Netflix released two new Chappelle specials -- "Equanimity" and "The Bird Revelations" -- on December 31, and The Nose has watched both.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For a period of about fifty years, many of America's top cartoonists and illustrators lived within a stone's throw of one another in the southwestern corner of Connecticut.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some would say we're living in a golden age of awkwardness. We recognize it in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Girls, and Silicon Valley. It's in Buzzfeed gif-ticles, and those old reruns of Seinfeld. Let's not forget Holden Caulfield, Owen Meany and Winnie the Pooh. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The history of sugar is a complicated one. Once available to only the rich and powerful, sugar now shows up in everything from cereals and soups, to cigarettes and body scrubs. It is known to both have medicinal qualities and to contribute to a variety of health problems.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Goldwater Rule was put in place by the American Psychological Association in 1964. It says it's unethical for psychiatrists to give a professional opinion about public figures they have not examined.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amy Sherman-Palladino created "Gilmore Girls." Her new Amazon Prime show, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," is nominated for Golden Globes for Best Television Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a Television Musical or Comedy for Rachel Brosnahan in the title role. "Mrs. Maisel" sounds a lot like "Gilmore Girls" with the stylized, rapid-fire, overlapping dialogue. The biggest difference between the two shows is probably that this one is set mostly in 1960s New York City. Oh, and that Lenny Bruce is a recurring character. The Nose has thoughts.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's cold, snowy winter times like this that make us question why we choose to live in a place where snow, sleet, and wind define one-third of the year.  It's a great excuse to complain, but does it also make us stronger and better people?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Because Thomas Hooker left Massachusetts and founded Connecticut so there could be jazz, we'll take it upon ourselves to look back at the best jazz of last year with people who eat, sleep, drink, and love jazz.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump is changing the office of the presidency.He spent his first year in office defying political conventions and norms followed by the forty-four presidents before him. Some would say that he is squandering the moral integrity of the presidency. Will these changes outlast his tenure? How durable is the office of the presidency?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever woken in the middle of the night, looked at the clock, and noticed that it's the same time you woke up the night before - and the night before that? How does your body know what time it is?  You're not sure but the passage of minutes makes you worry that if you don't get back to sleep, you'll be too tired in the morning to get your work done on time. You can't get back to sleep. The minutes are ticking. You feel the pressure of the clock bearing down on you. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netflix's The Crown tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II, starting with her wedding in 1947. The second season, released this month and nominated for a 2018 Golden Globe for Best Television Series -- Drama, covers 1956 through 1963. The Nose has thoughts....And this Nose also has an expanded, year-end, best-of, New Year's Eve Eve Eve endorsements extravaganza covering all of our favorites from the dumpster fire that was 2017 (but, I mean, there were some good new movies and podcasts and toaster ovens and stuff -- this part of the show'll be more about that stuff and less about the dumpster fire).Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Don't miss -- for the 5th year -- a very badly planned live New Year's Eve special featuring chaos muppet and music legend "Big Al" Anderson and the great Jim Chapdelaine!Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kurt Andersen's new book is Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire. It's a 500-year history "of America jumping the shark." The idea, largely, is that our present post-fact, fake-news moment is... nothing new.This hour, we look back at the history. We look at our present -- which is to say, we look at our present president: "To describe [Trump] is practically to summarize this book," Andersen says in Fantasyland. And we wonder if there's any way to regain and retain reality in America.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump's election last November was the culmination of a venom-filled campaign that was nastier than almost any in recent memory. Mean-spirited comments fell just shy of the malicious rhetoric coming from Thomas Jefferson's presidential campaign in 1796. Jefferson's hatchet-man called John Adams a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force and firmness of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman."Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greta Gerwig's solo directorial debut, Lady Bird, is a coming-of-age comedy/drama that stars Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, and Lucas Hedges. Oh, and it's currently at 99% on the Tomatometer. So here's the question: Can a movie that's at 99% on the Tomatometer really ever be anything other than a letdown?And then: Is the English translation of the Lord's Prayer actually a mistranslation? The Pope thinks it might be.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Siri, Alexa, Cortana, Google Assistant, etc. These are just the beginning of what experts believe will be a future filled with verbally interactive, digital and robotic assistants. And as we become more accustomed to interacting with machines, the machines are becoming more life-like.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Argus Pheasant is a lifelong bachelor. He mates with multiple females but has no further contact with his mates or the baby pheasants he sires. By human terms, not much of a feminist.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We tend not to think much about that pat of butter we put on our morning toast, including how the store-bought sweet cream butter we're eating likely pales in comparison to the rich, nutty flavor of  the cultured butter not found in many stores.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Ashbrook. John Hockenberry. Michael Oreskes. David Sweeney. Garrison Keillor. Tavis Smiley. Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz. Charlie Rose.There's no way around it: The sexual misconduct reckoning that's happening in media and politics and elsewhere has hit public television and radio particularly hard.This hour we wonder why, and we take your calls.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For once in our lives, it's actually kind of obvious what this week in pop culture has been all about.Star Wars's Episode VIII -- the ninth live-action Star Wars movie -- is out. The Last Jedi officially opens today, and it's projected to take in nearly half a billion dollars this weekend. The Nose stayed up late last night to catch a midnight showing. Or something like that.And this week saw what is quite possibly the world's first viral short story. The New Yorker's "Cat Person" happens to be about just the right topic at just the right cultural moment. Perhaps not surprisingly, some men are missing the point.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Alexis de Tocqueville toured America in the early 1830's to gather observations that he would later put on the pages of Democracy in America, he was impressed with the efficiency of our American Postal Service.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Geno Auriemma has been a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame since 2006, and he's coached the UConn Women's Basketball team since 1985.This hour, Coach Auriemma joins us to talk about anything and everything... Anything and everything except basketball.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Few things evoke such antipathy and condemnation from the western world than the idea of children toiling away for low pay in dangerous conditions. And while there are cases of child labor which truly warrant our concern, the broader truth is a bit more complicated.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harvey Weinstein was vanquished from atop his powerful perch just over two months ago after an investigation by the New York Times uncovered allegations of sexual harassment and assault that lasted over three decades. The women were finally ready to talk - and they're still talking. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Patti Smith wasn't seeking fame when she landed in Manhattan in 1969.  She was a fan of the greats of the day - like Dylan, Mapplethorpe, Pollock, Ginsberg - who she followed and emulated, hoping to find her own creative space next to those she most admired. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My mom would take me and my brothers to the beach on summer days when I was a little kid. I couldn't yet swim but I could stand in Long Island Sound when the tide was low and my brothers were close enough to save me if I fell. I loved it. On the way home, we'd pile into the back of our station wagon, roll down the windows and stop at the donut shop for a dozen sugar-coated jelly donuts.  We'd eat them with our heads out the window and I'd end up with my hair stuck in the jelly on my face by the time I got home. Mmmm donuts.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marie Antoinette's breasts were believed to inspire the design of the shallow French champagne coupes we see on the shelves of the local Pottery Barn. Mae West noted in her 1959 memoir, Goodness Had Nothing To Do With It, that she regularly rubbed cocoa butter on her breasts and spritzed them with cold water.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaws, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones. Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan. Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. And the list goes on.Steven Spielberg is very simply the most successful filmmaker in the history of filmmaking.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John McPhee is a writer's writer. He's thought of as one of the progenitors of the New Journalism, of creative nonfiction or narrative nonfiction, along with people like Gay Talese and Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson. But his style is... quiter than those folks'. His writing is transparent. He tends to keep himself out of the narrative. He doesn't even, in fact, have an author photo.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is probably the funniest movie you'll ever see about a mother trying to avenge the rape and murder of her daughter. And... that's pretty much all I need to say about it, don't you think? The Nose, though, has much more to say about it.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.