The Colin McEnroe Show

In 1955, Connecticut experienced catastrophic flooding that killed more than eighty people. Two back-to-back hurricanes  - Connie and Diane - dropped over two feet of rain across Connecticut. The rains overwhelmed the Naugatuck, Farmington, and Quinebaug Rivers and their tributaries too quickly for many to escape its wrath. After the flood, Connecticut enacted flood control measures that led to several new dams. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From his work on Wicked, to Pippin, to Godspell, to The Magic Show and more, few people have had such a hand in shaping the music of Broadway theater as Stephen Schwartz.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The devastation left by Hurricane Maria on September 20 is overwhelming the millions of Americans who are still without power and unable to meet basic needs.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I mean that verb a couple different ways. Some of The Nose suffered through Gerald's Game because they didn't like it. Some of The Nose suffered through it... because it's difficult to watch, like it or not. Regardless, following The Dark Tower and It, Netflix's small-screen, feature-length adaptation of the 1992 novel has been called "The best [Stephen] King adaptation of the year."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.

Novelists have been writing for decades about worlds in which the climate is in crisis. Those stories are becoming increasingly realistic -- in a sense, the future is already here.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody has this feeling that American Democracy isn't what we want it to be right now. It doesn't feel right, it doesn't feel like we're unified even about what the nature of our governance is. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump decertified the internationally-supported Iran nuclear deal Friday but didn't walk away from it. Instead, he kicked it to Congress to determine whether to reimpose sanctions even though the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified Iran was in compliance with the deal.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

That's not really true. LOTS of other people went to see Denis Villeneuve's "Blade Runner" sequel. It grossed almost $82 million in its opening weekend. But for a movie that cost going on $200 million to make -- and that's been anticipated on and off for 35 years -- those kinds of ticket sales mean it's probably headed toward box-office-flop status. Still, though: It's certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Numbers are so fundamental to our understanding of the world around us that we maybe tend to think of them as an intrinsic part of the world around us. But they aren't. Humans invented numbers just as much as we invented all of language.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Until about 150 years ago, most people  were born into a religion that carried them to adulthood. That's no longer the case. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is yodeling, anyway? Some consider it singing, some say it's an ululation, and still others consider it merely a means to herd animals. Whatever yodeling is, one's thing clear: Yodeling has been around for thousands of years and shows no signs of disappearing.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk to New York Times op-ed columnist Gail Collins about the Department of Health and Human Services decision Friday to give employers and corporations a reason to deny contraception coverage to their female employees. All they need is to hold a "sincerely held" religious or moral objection to birth control. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a good time to be a Star Trek fan... inasmuch as there's a bunch of new Star Trek-related content, anyway. CBS has a real-live, brand-new Star Trek TV series... that you can't actually watch on CBS. And Seth MacFarlane a has real-live Star Trek parody series that's maybe more of an homage? Or it's a real-live Star Trek homage series that's maybe more of a parody? One of those. Or maybe both?The Nose weighs in on both Star Trek: Discovery and The Orville.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The American League Division Series start today. This afternoon, the lowly Boston Red Sox play in Houston, and then tonight, the 27-time world champion New York Yankees play in Cleveland.Tomorrow, we get fully four postseason baseball games, with both National League series starting.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was 50 years ago that The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It's been called the beginning of the album era. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it #1 on their "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." It is the best-selling album of the 1960s.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mischief and mirth abound in the magical realm of fairies. Whether it's Puck from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream or J.M Barrie's Tinkerbell, you never know quite what you'll get from these fictional creatures.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A gunman opened fire on a crowd assembled for an outdoor concert festival Sunday night, killing more than 50 people and wounding hundreds, from a high floor within the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’m Chion Wolf and this is What’s Your Problem?!Since Colin McEnroe is away, I’m taking over with a radio version of my live advice show, What’s Your Problem? Here’s the idea: A lot of people love GIVING and GETTING advice. There’s a connection there, there’s a feeling that you’re LESS ALONE there.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.

In the 1800s, Connecticut peddlers would travel south to peddle goods made in small factories around the state. The best way to increase their profit margin was to slip a few pieces of prized nutmeg -- and a few fake wooden ones to match -- in their bag. It didn't take long to expose the fraud, earning us the nickname of the Nutmeg State, known by all as clever, if ethically challenged, people. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The movie "Split," by director M. Night Shyamalan, is the latest in a long line of movies that portray people with "split personalities" as either violent psychopaths or comic foils. They portray dramatic changes in identity that don't reflect the subtle transitions that usually take between six and twelve years to properly diagnose.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Waterston says he's been been lucky to have good fortune in his career and personal life. He's been nominated multiple times for Emmy, Academy, and Tony Awards and he won Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Awards for performances playing men whose moral compass points north.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As our society moves further away from paper currency, we pause to look back at the once predominant form of payment. Its look, its feel and its smell all hold a place in the collective consciousness of our nation's history.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Of the many strange behaviors we humans have engaged in, few seem more abhorrent than cannibalism. But the act of feasting on another human's flesh cannot be so easily dismissed as simply disgusting or deviant. Freud, in fact, believed cannibalism played a role in the birth of religion itself.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colin McEnroe is taking a couple weeks off, so today Chion Wolf introduces you to three Connecticut residents who have careers in very different fields of expertise. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently, I hopped into my car to go home after a long and grinding first day back to work. I had just returned the day before from a two-week vacation exploring the treasures of two foreign countries I had never seen before. The abrupt transition from play to work left me feeling quite blue, made worse by my receding memories of those weeks. Something in me needed music.  So, I traded out my usual afternoon newscast for a "soul" song that caught my ear and brightened my heart. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We spend over three trillion dollars on health care every year and we have worse outcomes than any other developed country - all of which spend on average about half of what America spends per person. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was originally released on December 14, 1977. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and has gone on to gross more than $300 million worldwide. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Like just about anything else one delves into, the subculture known as furries is more nuanced, more varied and less sensational than mass media depictions of them.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melania Trump is in many ways a first: The first First Lady to have arrived as an immigrant, the first to have been born in a communist country, and the first to be the 3rd wife of a president. She is not the first, however, to show signs of reluctance towards embracing the role of FLOTUS.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Amazons of ancient Greek mythology is that they were not entirely mythical. While many of the deeds and details ascribed to these women warriors were imagined, the Amazons themselves were inspired by a real-life horse-riding tribe of nomads called the Scythians.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Nichols, author of Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse: A Field Guide to The Most Dangerous People in America believes Donald Trump has put together the most dangerous cabinet in history. He says Trump has filled it with partisan ideologues or people with no government experience and/or unqualified to do the job of their department. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taylor Sheridan's "Wind River" has been called "a thrilling, violent finale to the 'Hell or High Water' and 'Sicario' trilogy" (Sheridan wrote the first two entries and writes and directs this newest one). "River," starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen, is a character-driven murder mystery, more literary drama than genre thriller. The Nose renders its critique.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to mytho-historical accounts, the ancient Amazons wore pants while riding into battle. But the trend this tribe of warrior women set was short lived. For nearly two millennia after their demise, the notion of women wearing pants was steeped in controversy.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The violence in Charlottesville last month over whether or not to remove a statue of Confederate soldier Robert E. Lee rekindled a heated debate that's more about national identity and race than about statues. But, it's easier to fight about statues than begin a long-overdue national discussion over how we remember our collective and complex national past - especially in the context of slavery.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut has become overconfident that money would always be found to pay the bills. For the first time, the state is realizing we can't pay the bills for pensions and retirement and infrastructure that we've put off for decades to spend on other things. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Herbert Hoover realized early in the 20th century that food was as important as bullets to win a war. After witnessing Belgians starve under the harsh treatment of Germany before World War I, he determined to never let that happen in America. So, when the men marched off to war in both World War I and again in World War II, the women marched out to the fields. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For years, there have been rumors about things Louis CK may or may not have done to women. And for years, women have been saying that CK should address the rumors. He hasn't really, and so the rumors have stayed rumors so far.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been called a "glorified game of toss" and "World of Warcraft for extroverts." But has Ultimate Frisbee quietly become a real sport?It is, apparently, a likely Olympic sport. Which would, apparently, maybe be bad for Ultimate.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the Department of Homeland Security collects plans for the US-Mexico border, the conversation is turning more towards how border walls don't work in keeping people out.This hour, we talk about what walls are effective in dividing: our psyches, our environments, and the populations around them.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If it's the clothes that make the man, then it's the costume that makes the superhero. But for as much as these brightly colored onesies reveal about their wearer, they may in fact reveal more about us as a society.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump pardoned former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio Friday. Arpaio was not going to jail for his documented brutality against immigrants, failure to investigate complaints of sexual assault, or his  arrest of journalists critical of his policies. He was going to jail for repeated contempt of a judicial order to stop illegally detaining immigrants. Arpaio and our president seem to both hold contempt for the laws they were elected to uphold. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netflix's newest series is the first season of Marvel's "The Defenders." But the series is the culmination of a number of series, a sort of crossover superhero supergroup of a series. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the one hand, obituaries are an amalgam of a bunch of different kinds of journalism: they're feature stories, they're profile pieces, they cover history, and they're hard news too.On the other hand, the subject is always... dead.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At some point in the near future we will all drive our last drive. We will get into our normal car, drive to a dealership and ride out in our first self-driving car. And that's it: The end of driving as we know it, forever and ever, maybe.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We originally aired this show last August, a full year before the excitement over the solar eclipse. Enjoy!What can you say about the sun? It sits not only at the center of our solar system but has, over time, been at the center of religions, scriptures, songs, art and countless other aspects of our culture.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cultural leaders are beating a hasty retreat from President Trump. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Actually, it's The Atlantic that wonders "Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?" And, of course, the answer is, in a word: No. But then, high school kids are less interested in driving than they used to be. Or something. So there's almost a mental health crisis. Or something. The Nose gets into it.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since the earliest humans gazed up at the sky, eclipses have been a common occurrence. But only in recent centuries have we come to understood the science behind them. Prior to that, eclipses were regarded as everything from Viking sky wolves to Korean fire-dogs, to African versions of a celestial reconciliation.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.