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The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal ro ...
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There’s something kind of special about the experience of a really great, really bad movie. Think Red Dawn or Under Siege. Snakes on a Plane or Batman & Robin. Independence Day is nearly perfect and so rewatchable — and also terrible. This hour, a Nose-ish look at the joy of bad movies. GUESTS: Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and the …
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This hour, we talk about where this election is taking place in this media environment. We'll discuss how Americans are getting their election news, investigate how misinformation spreads, take stock of the role of social media in this, and look at the state of political podcasts. GUESTS: Dannagal Young: Director of the Center for Political Communi…
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Have you ever heard someone say that East Coasters are kind but not nice, and West Coasters are nice but not kind? This hour, a look at what “niceness” is, why it’s so important to us, and how it can sometimes mask not-so-nice things. GUESTS: Carrie Tirado Bramen: Professor at the University at Buffalo and the author of American Niceness: A Cultura…
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This hour, we take a look at the legends of King Arthur. We discuss their evolution and why they endure. Plus, we talk with author Lev Grossman about his new retelling of the King Arthur legend, The Bright Sword. And, a conversation with an archeologist about excavating the history of Arthurian legends. GUESTS: Lev Grossman: Bestselling author of T…
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We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing. This hour, the conversation winds around to the election, the Olympics opening ceremony, Project 2025, the stain (maybe) of Elon Musk on Teslas. Plus some wonderings: What would aliens…
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Political satire is alive and well in America today. And it turns out it might have an important role in educating the public and the health of our democracy. This hour, a look at the state and the art of political satire with comedian Samantha Bee and Sophia McClennen, a political scientist who studies satire. GUESTS: Samantha Bee: Comedian, the h…
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From Thurston Harris and the Crash Test Dummies to that noise your refrigerator makes, humming sounds are all around us (especially if you’ve been to Windsor, Ontario). This hour — musical humming, mysterious humming, and how humming could be good for your health. GUESTS: Susan Rogers: Multi-platinum record producer, cognitive neuroscientist, profe…
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This hour, we look at the idea of the Western canon, and those books that are considered "classics." We'll talk about what's in the canon, what isn't and what should be, and how it evolves. Plus, we’ll talk about The Atlantic’s recent list of “The Great American Novels.” And, we’ll learn about a publishing company that is experimenting with artific…
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Well, we’ve had another weekend, haven’t we? So we figured you might want to talk again. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, …
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This hour on The Colin McEnroe Show, we discuss President Biden's decision not to run for reelection. We'll look at the historical precedent for this decision, talk about Vice President Kamala Harris, and hear about the role of the press in all of this. GUESTS: Bill Curry: Former White House advisor to the Clinton administration, Connecticut State …
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I saw someone on TikTok ask (rather vulgarly) that we just have, for once, a week that is … precedented. And I mean, yes. Could we? Well, not this week. The shooting. The convention. The running mate. The president with COVID. The ominous election. And then Bob Newhart died, too. So we decided we need — and that you might need, too — an hour to fig…
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This hour, we look at our cultural fascination with dead bodies. What do we owe the dead? What can the dead teach us? What does a body represent to you? We talk to a death investigator who observes what the dead can teach us about living, a poet / mortician, who laments our growing estrangement from our dead, and a reporter who has investigated the…
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This hour, we're taking stock of what the events of July 13 mean for our election and our polity. First, a conversation about the effects political violence can have on democracy. Then, a look at the rise of conspiracy thinking across the political spectrum in response to the attempted assassination of former President Trump and an analysis of the …
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In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give it to humans, and suffered an eternity of punishment for it. This hour, we revisit that myth, and talk about why it resonates so much today. Plus, a look at the Alien prequel Prometheus. GUESTS: Annie Dorsen: Theater director; her most recent production was Prometheus Firebringer Adrie…
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3 things to think about that aren’t the election: Wimbledon, (not) hugging sloths, and mapping apps
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We got to the end of this week and decided it’d be nice to have some stuff to think about besides the election. This hour, we present to you three such things. First, in advance of this weekend’s finals, we check in with arguably the grandest of the Grand Slams, the most major of the four tennis majors, The Championships, Wimbledon 2024. And then: …
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This hour, a look at refrigeration and how it’s shaped what we eat and how we live with Nicola Twilley, author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves. Plus, we’ll take a look at what we can learn about someone from the inside and outside of their refrigerator. GUESTS: Nicola Twilley: Co-host of the podcast “Gast…
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The latest from the Supreme Court: Presidential immunity, gratuities and the Chevron doctrine
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Legal gratuities for government officials, an overturning of the Chevron doctrine, and (perhaps most importantly) presidential immunity from prosecution for official acts — the Supreme Court just issued a batch of rulings that you may have noticed in the headlines, and we’re here to debrief them! Plus: a discussion on the state and future of the co…
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Somewhere along the way, cars stopped being just a means of transportation — now, they’re also a dining room, an entertainment center, even an extension of our selves. And apparently, they’re sharing and selling data about you that you might not know they collected in the first place. This hour: everything you didn’t know about that thing you sit i…
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Franz Kafka died 100 years ago last month, but his work is still very much alive today in literature classes and, surprisingly, on social media. This hour, we look at Kafka’s life and legacy, discuss the “Kafkaesque,” and investigate why the author resonates so much today. Plus, we revisit his most famous work, “The Metamorphosis,” and talk with a …
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A Quiet Place: Day One is the third movie in the A Quiet Place film series. It is a prequel to the first film, A Quiet Place. It’s written and directed by Michael Sarnoski (who wrote and directed Pig), and it stars Lupita Nyong’o. Djimon Hounsou reprises his role from A Quiet Place Part II, which hasn’t happened yet, as of Day One. And: Furiosa: A …
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This hour: we look at running mates. We'll talk about whether or not a presidential candidate's running mate matters, and their role on the campaign trail. Plus, we'll take a look at our favorite running mates from popular culture. GUESTS: Christopher Devine: Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Dayton. He is co-author of t…
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This show's all about guts! How are our guts and our brains connected? How much of our emotional lives come from our stomachs? And how, across history, did our digestive systems become such pivotal parts of our identity? GUESTS: Diego Bohórquez: Gut-brain neuroscientist Elsa Richardson: Historian of health and medicine and the author of the book, “…
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This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook andTwitter. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Mu…
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The Nose is off this week. In its place: What is a diva? And how has the term evolved? This hour, divas — from Tay-Tay to Beyoncé to Barbra to Dolly, from opera to the top of the pop charts. GUESTS: Spencer Kornhaber: Staff writer at The Atlantic and author of On Divas: Persona, Pleasure, Power Myrna Reynolds: Retired singer Zachary Woolfe: Classic…
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