The Colin McEnroe Show

This week’s Nose got the walls wet and on fire. We present here a podcast-only segment on I Am Groot, Marvel’s new Disney+ series of shorts (each episode is three minutes long plus credits and logos) following the adventures of Baby Groot during the period between Guardians of the Galaxy and a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 mid-credits sequence. (I’m not making this up, I swear.) I’d explain why we’re doing this special segment, but the reason is very, very dumb. Also, Colin explains it...

This week’s Nose got the walls wet and on fire. The producers of an upcoming biopic about Fidel Castro’s exiled daughter, Alina of Cuba, reportedly did extensive heraldry and skull-shape analysis and somehow came to the conclusion that … James Franco should play Castro. The internet doesn’t think that’s a good idea. (Also: It’s not.) And: The Rehearsal is Nathan Fielder’s new HBO docu-comedy series. The show “explores the lengths one man will go to reduce the uncertainties of everyday...

How do you like to relax? Do you read a book? Go for a hike, maybe? How about grabbing dinner with friends? The list goes on, and we consider these activities leisure. This hour, we learn what leisure is and how to master it. We take a look at the importance of leisure for health, how the concept differs around the world, and what it means to value your free time. Finally, we examine what the future holds for leisure. In case you find some inspiration in this hour, here’s a list of leisure...

In her book Sandy Hook, Elizabeth Williamson investigates the conspiracy theories that arose following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut. GUEST: Elizabeth Williamson:Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin...

Food isn't just a way to cure hunger. In it, we find identity, history, politics, and more. This hour, Colin and his guests discuss the evolution of food and how our perception of different diets and lifestyles is changing. GUESTS: Cathy Kaufman: Dr. Uma Naidoo: This Is Your Brain On FoodAnthony Jung: The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Support the...

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month 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 R&B trio AKNU, calling everybody “guys” indiscriminately, force-field analysis, the writing of the U.S. Constitution, and the Bloomfield aquifer project. There’s also a point in this show when Colin says, “No call is recherché,” which may be simultaneously...

The Nose is off this week. In its place this hour, a look at why, more than half a century after they first came walking down the street, we’re still bananas for The Monkees. GUESTS: Mark Rozzo:Vanity FairThe Most Influential Pop-Rock Band Ever? The Monkees!Andrew Sandoval:Come to the SunshineRosanne Welch:Why The Monkees Matter: Teenagers, Television and American Pop CultureBrian Williams:NBC Nightly News The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google...

Stickiness. We know it when we see it — or when we feel it under our feet at the movie theater. But what is stickiness, scientifically speaking? How do geckos climb? Why don’t Post-it Notes ruin our books? This hour, we talk to scientist Laurie Winkless about her book, Sticky, and figure out what holds it all together. GUESTS: Laurie Winkless:Sticky: The Secret Science of the SurfacesDr. Alyssa Stark:Will Coldwell:Bursting the Bubble: How Gum Lost Its CoolThe Economist The Colin McEnroe...

Think about it: When’s the last time you saw a brand-new instrument in a marching band? New instruments don’t come around too often — but it’s not for lack of trying. Getting a new sound off the ground involves design, production, music expertise, composition, and fans. It’s no easy task to invent the next best thing, but this hour we talk to inventors, composers, teachers, and the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition to learn about the future of sound. GUESTS: Jason Freeman:Kyle...

Humans have been trying for, well, forever to predict the future. But how helpful is predicting the future, really? And what factors determine whether someone is successful at doing it, or not? This hour, we try to predict whether predicting the future is useful, and understand why we’re so interested in doing so. GUESTS: Amanda Rees:HumanWarren Hatch:Good Judgment Inc.Allan Lichtman:Thirteen Cracks: Repairing American Democracy After Trump The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast...

Former Senator Joe Lieberman believes the center of Congress is the best place from which to legislate. It’s the sweet spot for negotiation and compromise and making the deals that move the country forward. He thinks Congress would get more done if members would shift closer to the center and away from the fringe. But how do you bring legislators in today’s Congress together when they don’t all share one set of facts? And at what point does centrism become opportunism and the bridge-builder...

This week’s Nose poured gasoline on the tapes and lit them on fire. Armageddon and Deep Impact and Antz and A Bug’s Life in 1998. The Illusionist and The Prestige in 2006. Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down in 2013. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessand Everything Everywhere All at Once this year. What is the deal with Hollywood sometimes putting out multiple movies about the same thing at the same time? And: How do you organize your bookshelves? By subject? Author? Title?...

Jane Austen, the English novelist, wrote six full-length novels in her lifetime. And, over 200 years after Austen’s death, those novels are still present today, from English classes, to her devoted fans, known as Janeites. This hour, we look at Austen's life and work, the world of Janeites, and the many film adaptations of her work. GUESTS: Devoney Looser: The Making of Jane AustenDeborah Yaffe: Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen FandomSupport the show:...

Joni Mitchell is a singer-songwriter from Alberta, Canada. In 1968, her debut album, Song to a Seagull, was released and since then, Mitchell has become one of the most influential and greatest recording artists. Mitchell has won nine Grammys, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, and countless music awards, and her albums are considered among the best ever made. We're big fans. It turns out we're not alone. This hour, we talk to a few friends of the show to discuss Mitchell's influence...

We’ve all heard the generational stereotypes, and rolled our eyes at them. This hour: we investigate generational groupings to discover why we’re interested in separating people into generations, when it is useful, and when it is not. GUESTS: Ziad Ahmed:Justin Charity:The RingerIt’s Time to Accept That Millennials and Gen Z Are the Same GenerationBobby Duffy:The Generation Myth: Why When You’re Born Matters Less Than You Think The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple...

Snacking on snacks, savory or sweet, has become a way of life. This hour Colin and his guests sink their teeth into our snack-food obsessions. GUESTS: Andrea Hernández: SnaxShotMark Schatzker: Modern Diet and Physiology Research CenterThe End of CravingThe Dorito EffectSteakChris Prosperi: Metro BisJulia PistellSeaTea ImprovSupport the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose is off this week. In its place, a look at movie trailers. Maybe you wonder what a movie critic thinks of trailers. Actually, critics don’t see as many as you do because they often go to special screenings. Colin asked America’s Greatest Living Film Critic, David Edelstein, about trailers. Here’s what AGLFC said: “Actually, I avoid them like the plague. I don’t watch them online, and when I see movies in theaters, I often whip out my Kindle and plug my ears. If I’m on the aisle, I...

Malls are an important gathering place for people of all ages to shop, eat, be entertained, walk, and enjoy the controlled temperature. This hour, we look back at the history of malls in America, discuss their unique design, and look ahead to the future of those spaces, now that there are dead malls all over the country. Finally, we’ll learn about the art of curating mall music. GUESTS: Alexandra LangeThe Design of ChildhoodMeet Me By the Fountain: An Inside History of the MallErik...

Baseball’s All-Star Game was Tuesday night. (The American League won for the ninth year in a row, which doesn’t matter at all.) As such, the sports calendar is basically empty today. So why not spend the hour talking about sports? And why not start with baseball? It’s how our conversation about this show started sometime last week. Me, a Yankees fan: “I do think the Yankees being historically great should be a topic.” Colin, a Red Sox fan: “In other words, you think I’ll be dead by...

Conspirituality is a convergence of right-wing conspiracy, New Age spirituality, and grift. The throughline from a left-leaning yoga instructor to a right-wing QAnon conspiracist is skepticism of institutional authority and Western medicine. Skepticism within both groups accelerated during the pandemic, making wellness communities more vulnerable to the anti-vax, anti-COVID messaging QAnon packaged in softer tones and imagery that appealed to women concerned with health and wellness. This...