The Colin McEnroe Show

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.

"Dante's Inferno" is the most famous section of "The Divine Comedy," poet Dante Aligheri's, 14,000 line epic poem. It's where Dante must face his sins before moving beyond an eternity in hell, where the doomed can still find redemption in the acceptance of their humanity. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justin Lifflander wanted nothing more than to become a spy for the CIA. Growing up during the Cold War, he practiced spying on friends, family, and schoolmates in preparation for what he thought would be a career full of high-tech gadgetry and secret rendezvous. When Lifflander was finally assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in 1987, he thought his dream was coming true.What followed was something Lifflander could never have predicted. He was a mechanic at the embassy, then an inspector of Soviet missile sights, and then a suspected American agent followed at every turn by the KGB. Lifflander found himself living in a world which very much resembled his childhood dream -- but he was never a spy.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dozens of reporters rushed the apartment of the San Bernardino shooters on Friday. They live-streamed their tour through the home for 15 minutes, holding up everyday items that included personal photographs and private documents. They were roundly condemned on social media and by neighbors concerned by the frenzy. Where is the line between what people need to know and voyeurism? How does the drive for speed and ratings affect journalistic integrity?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two married shooters with a six-month-old baby rushed a social service agency this week in San Bernardino, California. They killed 14 people and injured another 21.  It's an all-too familiar scene, including the heartfelt prayers that followed. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I first met cartoonist Bill Griffith back in the 1980s. I arranged for us to tour a Boston-area Hostess Twinkie plant, which sounds like a weird first date but makes perfect sense if you're familiar with his creation "Zippy the Pinhead," an unwitting surrealist who swims happily through a sea of taco sauce, processed cheese and, well, Twinkies. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Long before evangelicalism became associated with the mostly white, conservative followers aligned with the Republican Party, a long line of progressive evangelicals led reforms to abolish slavery, give women the vote and improve public schools.But the history of evangelicalism is complicated. It has a rich history of social activism on behalf of the marginalized, mixed with deep discomfort with the very people it seeks to help.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Placebo treatments have been making people feel better for a long time. They've been working since long before Franz Mesmer was run out of 18th-century Vienna for "mesmerizing" a young pianist into regaining her eyesight, after all hope for a medical cure had been lost.  Doctors have long dismissed the placebo effect as inferior to conventional medical treatments that sometimes fail where placebo works well, including in surgical procedures like arthroscopy, a popular procedure that relieves the pain of arthritic knees. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here’s a question: If the things we’re made of — the particles, the fundamental elemental irreducible bits, the most basic littlest chunks of us — if those things are literally, actually indistinguishable from one another, from the tiniest simplest bits of everyone else, from the tiniest simplest bits of everything else… then what makes us us?What even makes us anything at all, really?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changing our mind on an issue is something we're all free to do. But that doesn't mean it comes without a cost. What would it cost a lifelong liberal to suddenly turn conservative, or a career scientist to suddenly start denying climate change? As we typically associate with others of like mind, chances are the costs could be high.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I hear the word "diorama," the first thing I think of is Mr. Mack’s fifth grade class and painting hills and grass and clouds and a fence into a shoebox and making little cardboard cut outs of Lassie and the boy she loved. God, I hated that stuff.The second thing I think of is a place like the Peabody Museum in New Haven and their incredibly, obsessively, over-the-toply detailed dioramas of the plant and wildlife of Connecticut.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lawrence Lessig recently ended his pursuit of running for president as a Democrat. But his mission to take money out of politics and fix corruption is not over. He recently slammed Connecticut Democrats who proposed suspending the state’s Citizens Election Program. He joins us to discuss his experience and struggles in running for president and Connecticut’s campaign finance laws.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaking on NBC's "Today" show Tuesday, actor Charlie Sheen revealed he is HIV-positive and has spent millions trying to hide it. This hour, we take a closer look at the words Sheen used in discussing his actions and illness. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In his latest book, author and scholar Moustafa Bayoumi takes a critical look at what it means to be Muslim-American in post-9/11 society.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After decades of being dismissed as a radical movement, socialism in America is back in the spotlight. What's fueling the newfound attention? Some point to Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign, while others say it's an increasing public distaste for the economic inequality our capitalist system has lead to. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In an era awash in the rollout of brand new gadgets, gizmos, fashions, and fads, it's easy to think of obsolescence as part of the natural order: Remember popped lapels, pay phones and laserdisc players? But the idea that an object should quickly fall from favor, lose functionality, and find itself in a landfill somewhere is quite new -- and it didn't come about by accident.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Paris bombings and shootings are the latest in a string of attacks by the Islamic State. Mourners around the world have gathered to show support for the victims and world leaders are responding politically and militarily. This hour, national security expert and Connecticut native Scott Bates discusses what the appropriate response should be.We also hear from a University of Connecticut student responding to racist graffiti on his friend Mahmoud's door.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Events this past week at Yale and the University of Missouri have sparked intense debate about the boundaries of free speech, and whether that debate is diverting the conversation away from a culture of racism at both schools that is not easily understood by those who don't live it.Can we separate the fight against racism from the freedom to speak openly about it? Are we hurting students on the brink of adulthood if we protect them from exposure to the cruelties of life?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's not uncommon to see someone wearing a prosthesis, especially after wars in Iraq and Afghanistan sent many veterans home minus a limb. While losing a limb is a life-changing event, a good prosthetist can "carve" a prosthesis with just the right fit. It's a long process that can take years to perfect. Limbs today vary from simple body-powered prostheses moved by cables to a "fully robotic arm that has 26 joints, can curl 45 pounds and is controlled by the wearer's mind." As the stigma of a prosthesis lessens, amputees are seeking enhancement over replacement, opting for limbs that transcend what's biologically possible, even if lacking the aesthetic of a natural limb.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Yale Philosophy Professor Shelly Kagan, many of today's political issues are actually philosophical ones. Kagan says no one ever asks philosophers to weigh in.Wouldn't a deeper understanding of the day's news -- including why people think what they think and hold the positions they hold -- be beneficial?One reason for the lack of philosophical commentary in the media might be the relatively short attention spans many Americans have for absorbing information. Who has time for philosophy? And are political debates real outlets for philosophical argument?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1954, Alfred Hitchcock directed two movies. They both star Grace Kelly. They’re both murder mysteries involving a married couple and a boyfriend and a girlfriend. They both take place almost entirely in one room. They both look like plays.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may best remember Ana Gasteyer eating Alec Baldwin's Schweddy Balls as Margaret Jo, the NPR co-host of The Delicious Dish on "Saturday Night Live." She was also a real-life Broadway actor and cabaret singer, and she just released her new album of jazz standards, I'm Hip. We talk about her upcoming appearance at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center on November 24, part of CPTV's new national music series, The Kate.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Star Wars fans are anxiously awaiting the release of "Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens," the seventh film in the Star Wars franchise, and first one without George Lucas at the helm. Will J.J. Abrams live up to the challenge? And where is Luke Skywalker?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colum McCann was assaulted in New Haven last summer while attending a conference on empathy. He was knocked unconscious and suffered physical and emotional injuries that lingered long after the attack.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Music can be a powerful, transformative tool in the quest for social change. Protest songs are the songs associated with a particular movement.Earlier this month, Janelle Monáe and Wondaland produced the searing protest song "Hell You Talmbout." Nearly seven minutes long, it's a tribute to a long list of black men and women lost, and has been performed alongside protesters at Black Lives Matter rallies.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coincidences happen to everyone -- whether it's hearing a song you've been thinking about all day on the radio or running into an old acquaintance whose name recently came up in conversation. For events so seemingly unlikely, coincidences certainly have a way of happening quite often. And now, after much study, psychologists and mathematicians think they know why.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caroline Jacobs is a grown woman with children of her own. But by all accounts, she's a wimp. She would prefer to suffer in silence than stand up for herself or anyone else -- until she couldn't stand it anymore.  One night, while at a public meeting and in a crowded room, she stood up, pointed her finger at the one she loathed, and shouted "F%$# You" to her nemesis. With that one phrase, she was ready to face her past. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Atlas Obscura considers itself a "friendly tour-guide to the world's most wondrous places" -- a number of which can be found right here in Connecticut. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connecticut might mean clapboard homes, leafy suburbs, and town centers that show off their roots to our colonial past. Unless you're thinking of southeastern Connecticut.The southeastern part of our state conjures images of casinos, submarines, and a blue-collar vibe that's just a little different from the rest of the state. It probably doesn't help that the Connecticut River literally cuts the state in half, separating southeastern sections from their wealthier brethren. Wally Lamb describes it as "more feisty than fashionable, more liverwurst than pate."Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year's Nobel Prize went to three Chinese scientists. It was the first time China won a Nobel in science. The committee emphasized it was not giving the award to traditional Chinese medicine, just the scientist who applied her knowledge of it to her research.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets face off in game one of the 2015 World Series. A lot has changed in the 29 years since either of these clubs won the Series: a tenfold increase in the average player's salary, the commercialization of fantasy baseball, and four new expansion teams. And 'America's pastime,' has become increasingly multi-cultural with players coming from around the world.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We had a great show planned for you today with two great authors. But, sometimes life is crazier than the fiction we talk about and today, we ended up with two great authors, but only one we expected. Sloane Crosley pays homage to Guy de Maupassant in her debut novel about three old friends searching for an elusive necklace as a way out of their quarter-life crisis, yet unable to share their deepest thoughts with their closest friends. Colum McCann was supposed to join us but was unable at the last minute. Instead, you'll hear from him next week. But, that left Colin with a lot of time on air by himself. He got to vamp for the last half hour like he hasn't been able to do since he started working at WNPR. He kind of liked it, especially when author David Mitchell dropped in for a surprise chat. You can't make up this stuff.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, movie trailers lost their way when someone advocated boycotting Star Wars VII because they believe the trailer advocated white genocide. Why? Because a black man, a woman and a Latino were prominently featured in the trailer to the detriment of you guessed it, white men. What does this say about the level of diversity in science fiction fans?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humans are used to being the predator, not the prey. But when it comes to our relationship with bed bugs - well, these little critters have been making a meal of us for thousands of years.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonathan Franzen has become that rare American author whose life and moods and sulks make news. From his friendship with David Foster Wallace to his fractious encounter with Oprah Winfrey, Franzen may have become America’s most visible intellectual. All that puts a lot of pressure on Purity, his newest novel. We’re experimenting on the show with a new book club format, asking three Connecticut literati to read and discuss the book.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than a decade after his death, Arthur Miller’s plays continue to resonate with readers and audiences across the world. This October marks his 100th birthday, and theaters from Los Angeles to London are staging Miller productions in celebration of his centennial.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bob Woodward thought he knew everything about Watergate. Then Alexander Butterfield, now in his late 80's, told him there were other stories never spoken of. Woodward focuses on these stories in his latest book on the Watergate scandal called The Last of the President's Men. This hour, we hear from the legendary Washington Post journalist.Also, the Wesleyan Argus faces an uncertain financial future. In September, the paper published an op-ed criticizing the "Black Lives Matter" movement. The backlash now threatens funding for The Argus next year.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This past week brought us the long-awaited first of six Democratic candidate debates, held at the Wynn Casino in Las Vegas. The tone was substantive, exposing a few stark differences between the candidates and their Republican opponents. They offered nuanced and complex views -- overall, a good night for voters who want to know the candidates. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three years ago, Hurricane Sandy hit the shores of Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, killing 71 people and causing damages worth $50 billion. We suffer from a kind of amnesia: we know it happened, but we hesitate to change much about the way we prepare for future events. New York invested nearly $20 billion in new protective measures, simultaneously allowing 900 new housing units to be constructed next to the water.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There's a debate over whether college should prepare kids with specific skills that will prepare them for jobs, or give them a wide-ranging but more general liberal arts education. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I could have called myself a Stradivarius, for though I, of course, was just an ordinary violin, waiting, ready to be held for the first time in a musician’s hands, primed to be played, mobilized by all my busy genes to become music – when first I felt the quiver of its stirring sound, I became, imparadised, the most priceless stringed instrument on the face of the earth. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Public radio is one of the few places where you can avoid ads for daily fantasy football companies like DraftKings and FanDuel. If you go anywhere else on the radio dial or turn on the TV, you'll probably encounter at least a few commercials. Now the industry is under intense scrutiny after an employee at DraftKings won $350,000 at FanDuel using insider information.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 24 hours, UConn freshman Luke Gatti became a viral video sensation. By now, millions have turned on their computers to watch the apparently-intoxicated 19-year-old taunting and shoving a UConn food court manger. Over what? Mac 'n cheese, of course. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justin Lifflander wanted nothing more than to become a spy for the CIA. Growing up during the Cold War, he practiced spying on friends, family, and schoolmates in preparation for what he thought would be a career full of high-tech gadgetry and secret rendezvous. When Lifflander was finally assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in 1987, he thought his dream was coming true.What followed was something Lifflander could never have predicted. He was a mechanic at the embassy, then an inspector of Soviet missile sights, and then a suspected American agent followed at every turn by the KGB. Lifflander found himself living in a world which very much resembled his childhood dream -- but he was never a spy.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Philippe Petit made his walk between the towers of the World Trade Center over 40 years ago. He stayed up on that wire for 45 minutes, made 8 passes between the towers, got down on his knees, and he even laid down on it! But it's more than that one feat - it was a placeholder for a much broader philosophy of risk and creativity, and evidence of who the man really is.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The opening credits of your favorite movies and television shows set the mood, tone, and characters for what's to come, and allow you to relax and get ready for the show. Some fast-forward through the opening credits to avoid distraction from the main performance. Others say title sequences are supposed to be more like a score: felt, but not noticed. The film industry first fell in love with titles in the 1950s, when iconic opening sequences from Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone were etched deep in our memories. The opening notes are still recognizable half a century later. The same can be said for the well-known HBO series Game of Thrones. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our weekly Monday afternoon "Scramble" continues the conversation arising from last week’s school shooting in Oregon. As the number of mass shootings continues to rise, the nationwide discussion has reached a stalemate. Is there a different, more effective way to talk about guns? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Pope Francis was the biggest thing to hit America since the British Invasion. You could buy Pope-themed dolls, cookies with the Pope's face, hats, coffee mugs, backpacks, and even a Pope Bobblehead. It was the pope's first visit to the U.S., and he seemed eager and happy to be here. He spoke passionately about the poor, climate change, and the migrant crisis, and cautioned against religious extremism. It has left some people wondering why he met privately and secretly with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refuses to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alan Doyle is best known as lead singer of the Canadian band Great Big Sea. Recently, however, he's been touring with a different act: Alan Doyle and The Beautiful Gypsies. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've been talking a lot over this last year about problems like misogyny and violence in football, rape on college campuses, mass shootings, and increasing rates of suicide and addiction. What we don't say is that men are the victims of these behaviors as much as women, albeit in different ways. We often look for explanations in mental health, failed policy, or lax laws. But men overwhelmingly engage in these behaviors. Why are we reluctant to discuss what society expects from men, and whether those expectations are realistic? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.