The Colin McEnroe Show

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 — with our old friend Chion Wolf at the helm this time! — winds around to tilting at (actual) windmills, which way you should put the silverware in your drying rack, reactions to the murder of Charlie Kirk, float tanks, water cremation, online dating … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laura Nyro’s most famous compositions — “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Stoney End,” “When I Die,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Eli’s Coming” — are jewels of mainstream music, and her covers of songs like “Jimmy Mack” and “Gonna Take a Miracle” are legendary. But she was uncomfortable under the spotlight and withdrew from it to become the Belle of Danbury, Connecticut. This hour: a night of singing, reflecting, and celebrating recorded in front of a live audience at Watkinson School in Hartford. GUESTS: Jim Chapdelaine:Latanya Farrell:Steve Metcalf: 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which originally aired February 21, 2020. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It has been 24 years since the sunny late summer Tuesday morning that changed basically everything. This hour, a look back at September 11, 2001, and its long shadow, still darkening our days a bit now. We talk to a historian about the generation that has lived its life in a post-9/11 world and a critic about the influence of 9/11 on and in our popular culture. GUESTS: Lindsay Ellis:Apostles of MercyMatthew Warshauer:Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation: The Real Story of September 11 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired September 11, 2024. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The history of sugar is a complicated one. Once available to only the rich and powerful, sugar now shows up in everything from cereals and soups, to cigarettes and body scrubs. It is known to both have medicinal qualities and to contribute to a variety of health problems. This hour we trace the history of sugar and discuss how the sugar industry may be driving a global addiction to the sweet substance. GUESTS: Marc Aronson: Associate Professor at Rutgers University and co-author of Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science Gary Taubes: Investigative science and health journalist and author of The Case Against Sugar: Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It Kathleen DesMaisons: Expert in chemical dependency treatment and author several books including Potatoes Not Prozac: Solutions for Sugar Sensitivity 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on January 9, 2018. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. Postal Service was one of our earliest experiments in democracy. The vast transportation networks that led to more than 30,000 post offices remain at the heart of many communities and still reach into the most remote parts of our country. Today, a look at the past and the future of the post office. GUESTS: Winifred Gallagher: Author of several books including How the Post Office Created America: A History Evan Kalish: Self-proclaimed postal tourist and creator of Postlandia. He manages the world’s largest curated collection of post office building photographs and has now visited over 11,000 post offices Amanda Martinez: Former Market Research Analyst at United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General Risk Analysis Research Center 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired December 14, 2017. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Robert Frost, bucket lists, the Supreme Court, spotted lantern flies, New England autonomy, and dating. … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. MUSIC FEATURED (in order): Sweet LoveThe Second Time Around (The Dutch Heritage Series)Raised on RobberyDo (The City Winery Sessions)Don't Let The Bastards Get You DownJessie (The Sweater Sessions II)Ninho de Vespa You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you listen to The Colin McEnroe Show regularly, you likely know that Colin has been influenced by two media theorists: Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman. Postman wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death, among other books, and McLuhan is probably most famous for the phrase "The medium is the message," in addition to other influential ideas. This hour, we look at the ideas of McLuhan and Postman, and discuss why they still resonate so much today. GUESTS: Bill Yousman:Megan Garber: The AtlanticOn Misdirection: Magic, Mayhem, American PoliticsNeiman Journalism LabColumbia Journalism ReviewAndrew McLuhan:The McLuhan Institute MUSIC FEATURED (in order): PassacagliaPlease Mr. PostmanThe Revolution Will Not Be TelevisedMedium is the MassageFish n’ Chip PaperAmusing Ourselves to DeathSupport the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You have probably encountered Robert Frost through his poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” or “The Road Not Taken.” But how much do you know about the man behind the poetry and the rest of his work? This hour, we learn about the life and poetry of Robert Frost and discover how he’s helped to inspire other poets. GUESTS: Sydney Lea:Adam Plunkett:Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Dylan Reyes, and Kathy Wang contributed to this show, which originally aired February 24, 2025. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can you say about the sun? It sits at the center of our solar system and has, over time, been at the center of religions, scriptures, songs, art, and countless other aspects of our culture. We’ve relied on its light, heat, and gravity for as long as we’ve been around, and we continue to find ways to harness its energy for our daily needs. This hour, we look at the place our sun holds kind of literally at the center of all of human history and ask what the future holds for our nearest star. GUESTS: Christina Agapakis:Sarbani Basu:John Grim:John Perlin:Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Betsy Kaplan, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 11, 2016. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Swift’s upcoming nuptials and the state of her relationship with Blake Lively, motives for murder, the grooming of flies, rum raisin ice cream, inside jokes and nicknames and things, quieting the monkey mind … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. MUSIC FEATURED (in order): StrategyCall MeI Guess I Just Wasn’t Made for These TimesThe Glow WormDo I Move YouCandyRight Down the LineSupport the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You hear a lot about the ongoing American crisis among men, among boys, around masculinity, right? You see lots of headlines about how we got here, what caused all this, where the crisis came from. Well, the cultural critic Jessa Crispin thinks we can all learn a lot about all of this by looking at … Michael Douglas movies. And I mean, that sounds like a show we’d do, doesn’t it? And so here we are. Crispin joins us for the hour. GUEST: Jessa Crispin:What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain EverythingSupport the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the you sit contemplating the end of long summer days, you might wonder what might have been. What might have been if there was a song of the summer! The consensus is that there was no Song of the Summer for 2025. To help fill that void in your life, Colin sits down with technical producer Dylan Reyes to form the public radio supergroup CG/WLM (cranky guys who like music) and talk about what they're listening to, and what song they think should have won the season. GUEST: Dylan Reyes: MUSIC FEATURED (in order): Stare at MeGoldenThe SubwayTo KeepLittle Less Over YouFlor de Lis (Upside Down)DON'T SPEAKGood To Be AloneSuzanneSupport the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The political newsletter Tangle approaches things differently than most news organizations. Each day they do a deep-dive on one topic where they lay out the facts, then give a glimpse of "What the left is saying," "What the right is saying," and then "My take," where an editor explains their opinions on an issue. The newsletter is the brainchild of politics reporter Isaac Saul, who joins us for an hour to talk through the latest news, his approach to reporting, and how we move forward in these divided times. GUEST: Isaac Saul: Executive Editor and Founder of the non-partisan, independent newsletter Tangle, which summarizes the best arguments from the right and left on the big political news of the day 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We tend not to think much about that pat of butter we put on our morning toast, including how the store-bought sweet cream butter we're eating likely pales in comparison to the rich, nutty flavor of the cultured butter not found in many stores. Nor, do we think about butter sculpture, butter bogs, pleasure dairies, or the dairymaids, those once respected and well-paid artisans and economic powerhouses of our nations earliest days. We definitely don't think about the nationwide 'war' between butter-loving dairy farmers and the margarine industry. It led to smear campaigns, state laws against margarine, and a ruling by the Supreme Court that led to pink margarine. You may not even know it's okay to eat butter again after decades of being told to stay away from the death-inducing fats found in butter. So, go ahead and eat that toast with butter. Today, a show about butter. GUESTS: Elaine Khosrova:Butter: A Rich HistoryCountry LivingDoug Moe: Adeline Druart: 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired December 19, 2017. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the first half of today's show, Colin will take your calls about whatever you want to talk about. Then, it’s been a minute since Senator Chris Murphy joined Colin for a check-in on state matters and a chat about the weather in Washington. And we don’t think the senator has ever pulled up a chair to The World’s Most Important Table (™). Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a minute since Senator Chris Murphy joined Colin for a check-in on state matters and a chat about the weather in Washington. And we don’t think the senator has ever pulled up a chair to The World’s Most Important Table (™). Around 1:30, Senator Murphy joins us in studio. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s Nose, guest hosted by comedian Shawn Murray, looks at: Highest 2 Lowest is the fifth collaboration between director Spike Lee and actor Denzel Washington and their first in 19 years, since Inside Man in 2006. It is an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 police procedural, High and Low, which is, itself, an adaptation of the Ed McBain novel King’s Ransom. It also stars Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, A$AP Rocky, Ice Spice, Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson, Wendell Pierce, and more. Highest 2 Lowest is in a strangely limited release — it’s in just three theaters in Connecticut — and it hits Apple TV+ on September 5. And: Alien: Earth is the first TV series — after nine movies — in the Alien franchise. It is a prequel set two years before the events of the original movie, and it’s created be Noah Hawley, who also created the Fargo TV series, among other things. Alien: Earth is set, somewhat logically, on Earth. GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan:Sam Hadelman:Lindsay Lee Wallace:Bill Yousman:The Spike Lee Enigma: Challenge and Incorporation in Media Culture 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, we take a critical look at the role of art critics in our world. What is the status of criticism, and is it under threat? GUESTS: Naveen Kumar:The Washington PostKathryn VanArendonk: Vulture New York MagazineMatt Singer: ScreenCrush Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies ForeverAleksandra Mir:Bad Reviews: An Artists' Book by 150 ArtistsSupport the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The word "like" has been around for centuries, but it reached a new cultural prominence in the 1980s, partially thanks to Frank Zappa's song "Valley Girl." Since then, "like" has taken on a life of its own, inspiring strong emotions. This hour, we look at the meaning and evolution of "like." Plus, how movies like the now 30-year-old Clueless have impacted our language. GUESTS: Megan C. Reynolds: DwellLike: A History of the English Language’s Most Hated (and Misunderstood) WordKory Stamper:Word By Word: The Secret Life of DictionariesVeronica Litt: Ugh! As If!: CluelessSupport the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you make a 100-meter telescope that folds down to three meters so you can tuck it inside a space vehicle? How do you make a heart stent that folds out inside the human body? In each case, researchers have turned to masters of origami, the thousand-year-old art of paper folding. This hour, a look at how paper folding went from a quaint, simple hobby to an extensive form of art that can achieve hundreds of intricate folds. Plus: the ways origami is used beyond the art world, in mathematics, science, and technology. GUESTS: Erik Demaine:Robert J. Lang: 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, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired March 13, 2014. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.