The Colin McEnroe Show

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.

Guam came into America's consciousness this past week as the war of words between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened the island of Guam with nuclear annihilation. The rhetoric has since cooled but America is more aware of how little they really know about Guam or how much the legacy of war is part of their daily life. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The American Psychological Association says the 2016 presidential election was a major source of stress for a majority of Americans regardless of political affiliation. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hundreds of followers of the white nationalist movement came to Charlottesville over the weekend to protest the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee. The City Council voted to remove it from a park whose name they changed from Lee Park to Emancipation Park.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark Boal is a journalist who has written for Rolling Stone and Playboy and who partnered with Serial on the podcast's second season. Kathryn Bigelow is the director behind movies like Point Blank and Strange Days. As writer and director, Boal and Bigelow have collaborated on three films.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Native Americans have been getting forced off their land for a long time. Thomas Jefferson forced them from their ancestral home in 1804 after he signed the Louisiana Purchase and promised they shall know the United States as only "friends and benefactors." 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.

Where have all the guitar heroes gone? Where has all the guitar music gone? Where have all the guitar sales gone?Are rumors of the electric guitar's death exaggerated or no?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday the Justice Department will aggressively pursue the leaking of classified information that undermines national security. This announcement was made following the release by the Washington Post of transcripts between Trump and leaders from Mexico and Australia. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Netflix has marketed its new series "Ozark" as " 'Breaking Bad' plus Jason Bateman," which might make you picture... a funnier version of "Breaking Bad"? "Ozark" is not a funnier version of "Breaking Bad." If anything, it's a bleaker version of "Breaking Bad." And maybe even a more bingeable version of "Breaking Bad"? The Nose might just have an answer to that question.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the men of Apollo 11 returned home to ticker tape parades, the women who made their journey possible worked quietly behind the scenes. Since its founding in 1958, NASA has been heavily reliant on the skills of such women, many of whom have gone unrecognized for their bravery and hard work.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neonaticide is a hard concept for most of us to wrap our heads around. Yet, the CDC estimates that "a baby born in the United States is ten times more likely to be killed during its first day than at any other time of life. And for the first week, a baby's killer is likely to be its mother."Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Iannazzo was a baseball star at Norwalk High School, pitching them to an FCIAC title in 2007. At the University of Pittsburgh, he was an All-Conference pitcher. Out of college, Iannazzo signed with the Chicago Cubs and played two seasons near the bottom of their organization. Then he pitched for the Bridgeport Bluefish in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week, the "skinny" repeal of the Affordable Care Act died a buzzer-beating (and perhaps temporary) death on the Senate floor. The Ringer's Bryan Curtis notes that, "Minus the life-and-death part, it had the feel of an unexpectedly competitive Pac-12 football game that the country noticed in installments."Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's quite a trick Christopher Nolan has played on us over the course of a career that includes movies like Memento and Inception. His latest, Dunkirk, weaves together three storylines: One takes place on land over a week. One takes place on the sea over a day. And one takes place in the air over an hour. I walked out of the theater thinking, "That was a pretty straightforward narrative for a Christopher Nolan movie." The Nose has a lot to say about this new epic.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You might say that we’ve done a lot of coverage of The Trump Era.It began with a show sixteen months ago that imagined a Trumpian future. We didn't take it terribly seriously then. We do now.This hour, we've gathered a number of the people we've talked to along the way for a retrospective: Where have we been since last March, since Election Day, since Inauguration Day?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1959, Soviet geneticist Dmitri Belyaev started an ambitious experiment to study the origins of domestication -- he would attempt to breed domesticated wild foxes by selecting on their behavior alone, a process he imagined our ancestors carried out with dogs thousands of years before.This hour, we look at the history and progress of this more-than-50-year experiment: What can it tell us about our animal companions -- and ourselves?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It should be no surprise that video games have the potential to become addictive. But a spate of recent events has shown they can also be deadly: From young players dying of mid-game heart attacks to parents so immersed in their virtual environment that they forget to feed their children.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost nine months after the 2016 election, there still isn’t one generally agreed-upon theory of what happened.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Big Sick, written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani (who you know from "Silicon Valley"), tells the "awkward true story" of their courtship and stars Nanjiani as a version of himself. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the movie proves "the standard romcom formula still has some fresh angles left to explore." The Nose weighs in.And then: What's with all the hating on Ed Sheeran? No, like: Really. The Nose doesn't get it.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hobby Lobby recently paid a $3 million fee for illegally buying smuggled ancient Iraqi artifacts.This hour: What is the relationship between collecting antiquities and the looting of them in countries that are experiencing violent conflicts and societal breakdown? Do Western museums and collections have a role to play in saving at-risk antiquities?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump is the most ridiculed president in the history of late night comedy.That's not hyperbole, and it's not just common sense either. There's actual data (PDF link) to back it up.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The word bastard hasn't always been meant to offend. Used simply as an indication of illegitimate birth at first, the label bastard didn't bring with it shame or stigmatization until long after it first appeared in the Middle Ages.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump Jr. thinks it's no big deal that he met with an emissary of the Russian government because the meeting didn't provide him with useful material.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is the sixth American Spider-Man feature film, and it's the 16th title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it's the first movie that's both a Spider-Man feature and part of the MCU all at once. Is that a milestone worth noting? I'm not sure. I barely even understood what all that meant. The Nose weighs in.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump is in France today, and he plans to hold a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris during the noon eastern hour.NPR will provide live special coverage of the press conference, which is expected to include questions about Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election and the ongoing investigation of Russian contacts with Trump campaign and administration officials.For whatever part of the 1:00 pm hour doesn't include a Trump/Macron press conference, we'll try to parse said press conference amid the rest of the news of the day.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.