The Colin McEnroe Show
The Colin McEnroe Show
Connecticut Public Radio
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 roundtable about the week in culture.
Radical or relevant? How the Luddites can help us relate to today’s technology
Today “Luddite” is used as a derogatory term for someone who doesn’t understand technology. But the original Luddites weren’t behind. They were technical workers who were concerned about the impact that technology would have on people. This hour, we look at the history of Luddites, how their philosophy applies today, and ask what our present would look like if they had won. Could we all gain something from thinking more like a Luddite? GUESTS: Miriam A. Cherry: Professor of law at St. John’s University and the author of Work in the Digital Age: A Coursebook on Labor, Technology, and Regulation Brian Merchant: Author of Blood in the Machine: the Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech Gavin Mueller: Assistant professor of new media and digital culture at the University of Amsterdam and the author of Breaking Things at Work: The Luddites Are Right About Why You Hate Your Job 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, Eugene Amatruda, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired August 21, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 29
50 min
All calls: 'Quiltin' with Paris Hilton' could never be a thing
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 Lonesome Dove, the public intellectual, how to talk in more complex sentences, tragedy and tragic figures today, quilting, the music of 1976… 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): Pizza – Eitan Kenner, Natalie Tenenbaum Bite Your Tongue – Duncan Sheik Hudson – Henry Jamison (feat. Lady Lamb) A car wash and a new pair of pants – Lizzy McAlpine I Will Be Blowing More Jazz in the Future – Dan Reeder Waters of March – Cassandra Wilson Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 28
49 min
The Nose looks at ‘Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma’ and ‘Lanterns’
This special edition of The Nose — guest hosted and co-hosted (!) by comedian and writer Shawn Murray and journalist and noted bat expert Lindsay Lee Wallace — looks at: Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is a satirical surrealist psychological romance slasher film with a film-within-a-film narrative. It’s the third feature film written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun and their followup to I Saw the TV Glow. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma stars Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson. And: Lanterns is the third TV series and fifth entry overall in Chapter One: Gods and Monsters of the DC Universe. It is created by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King, and it’s meant to tell a Green Lantern story kind of in the style of TV shows like True Detective and Slow Horses. Lanterns stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 25
50 min
Exploring the myth and metaphor of Cassandra and the price of foresight
You’ve likely heard the Greek myth of Cassandra, a woman given the gift of prophecy who was cursed never to be believed. This hour, a look at the Cassandra story and its relevance today, including some real-life Cassandras, like the diplomat who tried to stop World War II and the public health official who tried to warn us about the COVID-19 pandemic. GUESTS: Joel Christensen: Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the CUNY Graduate Center; author of The Many-Minded Man: The Odyssey, Psychology, and the Therapy of Epic Charity Dean: CEO, founder, and chairman of the Public Health Company Steve Kemper: Author of Our Man in Tokyo: An American Ambassador and the Countdown to Pearl Harbor Amanda Rees: Historian of science at the University of York and the author of Human The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, 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, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired January 25, 2023.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 24
49 min
Eventually the world will end. Why can't we stop imagining it?
People have been preoccupied with the end of the world for a very long time. And that preoccupation isn’t going anywhere. As AI experts warn about potential catastrophic scenarios and the Doomsday Clock continues to move closer to midnight, a look at how we imagine the world ending and what that says about us. GUESTS:  Dorian Lynskey: Journalist and author of multiple books, most recently Everything Must Go: The Stories We Tell About the End of the World. He is also co-host of the Origin Story podcast.  Brian Slattery: Freelance writer and editor. He is the author of four novels. His latest short story is “Clouds” which appears in the anthology Shadow Lab Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode. Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on February 4, 2025.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 23
50 min
25 years after 9/11, what our response teaches us about trauma and identity
How has our national discourse and our perception of national identity shifted in the 25 years after 9/11? And how can we heal from those traumatizing events? This hour, we talk about what we can learn from our response to 9/11 with a local psychiatrist who helped shape New York City's mental health response for its children. Plus, we look at how journalists coped with covering that day. GUESTS: John Woodall: Psychiatrist whose clinic is in Newtown. He is a former Harvard Medical School faculty, and founder of Healing the Heart of America. Sam Martin: Frank and Bethine Church Endowed Chair of Public Affairs at Boise State University. Dr. Anthony Feinstein: Professor of Psychiatry at University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. He specializes in the psychological effects of covering war and violent conflict on journalists. Music featured (in order): Listen to the Heroes Cry – Christian McBride Loose Ends – Sergio Mendes, Justin Timberlake, Pharoahe Monch Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood – Nina Simone We’re All Gonna Die – Joy Oladokun, Noah Kahan When Doves Cry – Prince Roll With the Punches – Randy Newman Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 22
50 min
Chion Wolf takes your calls!
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 — helmed by our old pal Chion Wolf! — winds around to “Crossing Muddy Waters” by I’m With Her, Phoebe Bridgers, The Shipping News by Annie Proulx, follow ups, paper routes and summer jobs for kids, loss … 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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 21
49 min
Illeana Douglas on the women of ‘The Women’
Official Movie Star of The Colin McEnroe Show Illeana Douglas’ brand new book is Jungle Red! The Making of MGM’s The Women. Early this week, Colin went down to The Kate in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, to help launch the book. This hour, a recorded version of that onstage conversation about the women of Hollywood’s golden age and about golden age Hollywood’s The Women. GUEST: Illeana Douglas: An actress and author; her new book is Jungle Red! 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, Robin Andreoli, Jacob Kaufman, and Wes Swan contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 18
50 min
The story of the "one life" novice spy Nathan Hale gave for his country
Next week marks 250 years since Connecticut's Nathan Hale was executed by British soldiers. This hour we look back at the life of Nathan Hale, and the local historian who kept his legacy alive. Plus, we'll learn about spying during the Revolutionary War, and discover another Connecticut spy who escaped Hale's fate. GUESTS: Alexander Rose: Author of books including Washington's Spies: The Story of America’s First Spy Ring. His last two books have been on American secret intelligence. He is also a writer and producer on the television series Turn: Washington’s Spies Michael Morand: Director of Community Engagement at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. He is also the City Historian of the City of New Haven Claire Bellerjeau: Co-author of Espionage and Enslavement in the Revolution: The True Story of Robert Townsend and Elizabeth and the founder of Remember Liss, a nonprofit sharing this story in schools and communities Music featured (in order): The Girl I Left Behind Me – The Norman Luboff Choir Hush – Joy Williams & Matt Berninger (Theme to the AMC Original Series “Turn”) Spies – Coldplay My Love Is Like a Red, Red Rose – Wendy Weatherby Miller and the Lass – Eliza Carthy Turpin Hero – Colin Meloy Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 17
50 min
Laura Nyro was the Emily Dickinson of American pop music
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: Guitar and vocals Latanya Farrell: Vocals and tambourine Steve Metcalf: Piano and vocals 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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 16
50 min
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