The Colin McEnroe Show

No one likes a cloudy sky. A cloud on the horizon is seen as a harbinger of doom. We feel like clouds need to have silver linings.But here's our thesis: Clouds are unfairly maligned.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

FBI Director James Comey recommended no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a personal email server while she was Secretary of State. His judgment came on the heels of the FBI's more than three hour interview with Hillary Clinton on Saturday. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Thighmaster, the Chop-O-Matic, the George Foreman Grill and the Clapper: Products which are all part of American consumer culture and which were all introduced through infomercials. But as online shopping increases and traditional television watching decreases, are we beginning to see the end of these high-energy, late-night shows?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From scientists to fiction writers, conspiracy theorists to theologians, aliens have captured the imagination of us all. But as we ponder the possibilities let us pause to ask ourselves why.Why do these yet to be found creatures from space occupy such a central role in the musings of so many? And should their existence be confirmed, what will it mean for us on Earth?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since its discovery in 1900, adrenaline and pop-culture have gone hand-in-hand. From extreme sports, to the latest energy drinks, to pulse pounding Hollywood blockbusters, the rush of this hormone is portrayed in countless ways.But these portrayals seldom tell the whole story. So what exactly is adrenaline, and why does our society seem so keen on celebrating it?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Before Stephen Colbert and John Oliver, before Jon Stewart and Conan O’Brien, before "The Simpsons," before David Letterman, before "Saturday Night Live," before The National Lampoon… before all the great subversive American satirists that we’ve all grown… used to — before all that, there was MAD magazine.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

My Batman story begins with a crime. I was in third grade. I went to the barber shop in West Hartford Center where there were comic books to read while you waited.I had never seen any superhero comic before and I started reading a Batman story. It was great but I didn't have enough time to finish it. So, when my haircut was done, I took it home with me. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The British voted to leave the European Union yesterday. Let that sink in for a minute. This decision will likely cause geopolitical and economic turmoil and uncertainty for years to come as the world negotiates how to separate Britain from our global economy.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of us know Cinderella as the poor servant girl who stuck it to her mean stepmother and stepsisters by proving she was good enough to marry the rich and handsome prince. She had a little help from a fairy godmother, a pumpkin coach, and a foot small enough to fit into the glass slipper.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's easy to think of borders as fixed, almost sacrosanct lines, so rooted in the natural order of things that it often doesn't occur to us to question them. But borders were not always thought of this way. In fact, the notion of well understood, and agreed upon boundaries between nations is somewhat new.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier this year at the Golden Globes, the top TV honor, Best Television Series -- Drama, went to USA's hacker technothriller series "Mr. Robot." Last year, the trophy went to Showtime's "The Affair."Between those two new shows, there are three point-of-view characters, three narrators. And you can’t really trust, you can't fully believe a one of them.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump has had a really bad few weeks. His poll numbers are dropping to the lowest point for any general election candidate in the last three years. He's coming under fire for his response to last week's shootings in Orlando, and for saying U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel -- who is the judge overseeing the fraud case against Trump University -- may be biased against him because of his Mexican heritage.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I swear we almost never pick the Nose panelists based on the topics we plan to discuss. (We barely ever even plan in the first place, to be honest.) I asked Mr. Dankosky -- former Vice President of News for WNPR, current Executive Editor of the New England News Collaborative -- weeks ago to make his Nose debut this Friday.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you "pull a Benedict Arnold," you sell out your side to join the stronger side of a situation out of fear, not honor.  Needless to say, that's not a compliment.More than 230 years after America secured independence from Britain, this skilled warrior and confidante of George Washington is remembered as a traitor and coward for defecting to the British side.But it's not that easy.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Animal rights have come a long way over the last century, providing, of course, we're not talking about fish. While other vertebrates have slowly been recognized as social, feeling, even sentient beings, fish remain good for three things: owning, catching and eating.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Orlando, Florida was the scene of a mass shooting Sunday that left 50 people dead and dozens more injured. We've heard the story before: a shooter walks into a crowded room with multiple weapons to kill large numbers of people in an astonishingly small amount of time.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America's Greatest Living Film Critic David Edelstein has called "Weiner," the new documentary about former Congressman Anthony Weiner's ill-fated 2013 run for mayor of New York City, "one of the most provocative [docs] of its kind" that he's seen.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New York magazine's Will Leitch has called ESPN's new documentary "O.J.: Made in America" a masterpiece, and he thinks it'll be "the only thing this country's going to be talking about" as it airs next week. The Nose has already seen it, and it's all we're going to be talking about this week.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Hamilton," the wildly popular musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda, will likely win several Tony Awards this weekend for changing the form of musical theater from what most of us perceive it to be. He uses rap lyrics that challenge what we think we know about the founding of our nation.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every year, we do a Song of the Summer show. It always makes people angry. There is no evidence that it has ever made people happy. A lot of it has to do with the way we define the term. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Between orthodoxy and cultism exists a narrow divide; a proving ground of public opinion where spirited groups vie for entry into the hallowed halls of true religion. Few are more firmly planted in this place than the Jehovah's Witnesses.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There has never been a time in the last ten presidential cycles when voters have disliked two presidential front-runners as much as they dislike Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Yes, the country is becoming increasingly polarized, but that doesn't explain why the candidates aren't well-liked by their respective parties.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paul Simon's 13th solo studio album, Stranger to Stranger, is out on Friday. It has apparently been gestating for going on four years, and it's full of Harry Partch's microtonal instruments like cloud chamber bowls and the chromelodeon. Dean Drummond's zoomoozophome even makes an appearance. At the same time, the album is pretty rockin' and fun.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we define intelligence? Where does it come from, and what roles do genetics and environment play in its development? We live in a world that values different types of intelligence subjectively -- and we watch as those values shift in accordance with changing cultural attitudes. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ron Darling won a World Series. He was a Major League All-Star and a Gold Glove winner. He pitched a record-setting eleven hitless innings in an NCAA playoff game at Yale Field. He threw 2,742 and one-third professional innings over 15 professional seasons, winning 157 professional games.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Krista Tippett must know something. After all, she's been hosting a show -- originally called Speaking of Faith and now called On Being -- for about 15 years. She talks to the wisest of the wise and the sagest of the sage, about matters of existence, transcendence, and, you know, what does it all mean? What kind of universe is this anyway?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Comedian Maria Bamford's new Netflix single-camera sitcom, "Lady Dynamite," premiered last Friday. And it's... odd. It's surreal. It's sad. It's a comedy that's very much about mental illness and loneliness and anxiety. And it's a comedy that's very much about itself too.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most of us have heard that our bodies need eight cups of water every day to stay healthy and hydrated. Some think that's the minimum we should drink to prevent the chronic dehydration that doesn't trigger the usual warnings of dryness, like thirst.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the more than six years that it's been on the air, we've never taken The Colin McEnroe Show to the Peabody Museum before. (Crazy, right?) And: In the more than six years that it's been on the air, we've never done a Colin McEnroe Show about dinosaurs before. (Crazy! Right!?)Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The man who once walked on the moon, and helped America define itself as a leader in space travel is now out with a new book. It reads half as a memoir, and  half as a motivational speech to the next generation of explorers who he hopes will carry on America's legacy. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former Governor Lowell Weicker says the Republican Party no longer embraces the ideals of prudent financial governance and social conscience that once defined them.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Rio 2016 Olympics are set to start in less than three months’ time. But Brazil’s Zika outbreak is worse than we thought. And there’s ongoing political unrest. And Rio’s water supply comes with an extra helping of “trash and contamination.” What to do? Postpone the games? Move them? Both?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flash fiction goes by many names: micro-fiction, nano-fiction, short-shorts, and with the emergence of Twitter-fiction; twiction and twisters have also entered the fray. Whatever you choose to call it one thing's for sure: these pint-sized tales often punch way above their weight.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colin has a "pet" raccoon that visits his porch. The raccoon will press her tiny paw up against the outstretched palm of Colin's significant other, which rests on the indoor side of the glass. Eventually, the raccoon gets a bit of food because "she" is too cute to resist. The pleased raccoon now visits on a regular basis. Colin fears this cannot end well.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Okay, this show comes with a trigger warning.We talk about things people eat, and some of those things are not for the squeamish. This is a conversation about disgust, and specifically, how our reflexive response of disgust may get in the way of things we probably need to think about doing.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Reporters at The Washington Post noted that Donald Trump has a history of calling reporters under the guise of phantom spokespersons named John Barron and John Miller. He uses the guise to share the wonderful things he's been up to, or depending on how you look at it, to spin his bad press into something more golden, especially his relationships with women he believes are attracted to him. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Friday, "Captain America: Civil War" debuted in theaters. It is the inaugural film in 2016's summer movie season. It's also the third Captain America picture. And people are calling it The Avengers 2.5. It is the first movie in Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, of which it is the thirteenth film. Some people are choosing sides, declaring allegiance to one "team" or another. Some people just want to know if Bucky got his plums.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wilhelm Reich was a once promising psychoanalyst and scientist under the guidance of Freud in pre-World War II Europe. He promoted "sexual revolution" to support his belief that sexual repression was linked to the bodily and societal ills of neurosis and fascism.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

David Rieff isn't against the lessons of remembrance, but he believes it shouldn't be the only morally-sanctioned option. Forgetting may be the better choice.David Rieff isn't against the lessons of remembrance, but he believes it shouldn't be the only morally-sanctioned option. Forgetting may be the better choice.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rather than me ham-handedly trying to summarize Stephen Metcalf's Slate cover story, "Donald Trump, Baby Boomer," read his thesis below.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it mean to say that someone, or something, is ugly? For a label that gets tossed around so often, its meaning is hard to pin down. Perhaps that's because, throughout history and around the world, our notions of ugliness have shifted considerably.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, the Nose does its best to tackle four full topics.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's easy to see how this year's polarized political climate has split conservatives, but how has it affected conservative talk radio? Those that listen can tell you: The once unified voices of these daytime talkers are beginning to show signs of a deep divide.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is not so well known, as it should be, that this federal gem [John Adams], this apostle of the parsons of Connecticut, is not only a repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite, and an unprincipled oppressor, but that he is, in private life, one of the most egregious fools upon the continent. It is not so well known, as it should be, that this federal gem [John Adams], this apostle of the parsons of Connecticut, is not only a repulsive pedant, a gross hypocrite, and an unprincipled oppressor, but that he is, in private life, one of the most egregious fools upon the continent. He went on to "enquire by what species of madness America submitted to accept, as her president, a person without abilities, and without virtues."Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

During Connecticut's 2014 gubernatorial election, Republican candidate Tom Foley chose a failing paper mill in Sprague as the "stage" upon which he'd blame the Malloy administration's economic policies on the mill's demise. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a kind of idiocy about the way the White House Correspondents Dinner is, conceptually, a Feast of Fools with a comedian as Lord of Misrule, a night when decorum is suspended, comedy rules, etc. And then D.C. never goes all-in. The crowd doesn’t laugh, and then there’s this post-mortem in which interested parties pull organs out of the comedy set and weigh them on political scales and try to make something out of them. The whole city should sign a disarmament pact or just stop doing this thing.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We plan to spend upwards of half of this hour unpacking Beyonce's new visual album, Lemonade. And we will barely have gotten the wrapper off by the time we're done.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Tragedy of the Commons follows the theory that people can't be trusted to take care of common property without degrading it or taking more than their fair share of resources. This idea was popularized by William Forster Lloyd, who published a pamphlet in 1833 using cow herders to prove that people couldn't be trusted to share our common resources wisely. He believed property should be owned privately.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From scientists to fiction writers, conspiracy theorists to theologians, aliens have captured the imagination of us all. But as we ponder the possibilities, let us pause to ask ourselves why. Why do these yet-to-be-found creatures from space occupy such a central role in the musings of so many? And should their existence be confirmed, what will it mean for us on Earth? While none can say for sure, there's certainly no shortage of ideas. From a peaceful first contact to doomsday scenarios of all sorts, the possibilities are endless. This hour, we speak with a scientist, a science fiction writer and a professor of theology about their thoughts on "E.T." GUESTS: Paul Davies - Regent Professor of physics at Arizona State University, where he directs the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science; author of The Fifth Miracle: The Search for the Origin and Meaning of Life Lee Billings - Editor at Scientific American and author of Five Billion Years of Solitude: The Search for Life Among the Stars Brian Trent - Award winning science fiction writer and lecturer from Waterbury, including for Analog, COSMOS, and Fantasy and Science Fiction; author of Rahotep Celia Deane-Drummond - Professor of Theology at Notre Dame University, and author of Wonder and Wisdom: Conversations in Science, Spirituality, and Theology MUSIC: “Two Little Men In A Flying Saucer”by Ella Fitzgerald “Starman” by David Bowie “Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft”by The Carpenters 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.

It's Primary Day in Connecticut and I'm excited about it.For the first time in a long time, Connecticut voters feel they have a say in which candidate moves on to the general election in November, most of whom spent time speaking to voters in Connecticut this weekend.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.