))
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 ...
…
continue reading
Everyone has likely experienced some form of writer's block in their lives — when you sit down to write and the words just won't come. This hour we dive into the phenomenon and talk with writers about their experiences with it. What is writer's block, where does it come from, and how can you get past it? Plus, we take a look at the long history of …
…
continue reading
Randy Newman has been nominated for 22 Academy Awards (he’s won twice), for 23 Grammy Awards (seven wins), and for three Primetime Emmy Awards (and he won all three). Bruce Springsteen has called him “our great master of American song and storytelling.” Jackson Browne says Randy Newman is “the foremost satirist of our times.” And the composer John …
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
This hour, philosopher Agnes Callard joins us to talk about her new book, Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life. GUEST: Agnes Callard: Associate Professor of Philosophy at The University of Chicago. Her new book is Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener fo…
…
continue reading
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 inauguration, our immigration system, Van Gogh, The Price Is Right, Klaus Schulze’s Kontinnum … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These …
…
continue reading
We’re at a point where, for many of us, there has simply never been a popular culture in which Bob Dylan wasn’t a towering figure. And with the new Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, getting awards nominations left and right, this hour we take a look at the Poet Laureate of Rock ’n’ Roll: Bob Dylan. GUESTS: Noah Baerman: A pianist, composer, and edu…
…
continue reading
This hour we take a look at the history and evolution of chapters, and discuss how they impact our reading experiences. GUESTS: Nicholas Dames: Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, where he studies the history and theory of the novel. His new book is The Chapter: A Segmented History from Antiquit…
…
continue reading
In the century since Russia’s “Mad Monk” was poisoned, we’ve come to believe a lot of things: he was mystical, he was evil, he was the world’s greatest lover. This hour: Rasputin — the all-too-human peasant who found his way to friendship with the Romanovs and the comical, absurd version of him that just won’t die. Plus, a look at "The New Rasputin…
…
continue reading
It feels like tourism hit a breaking point this past summer, with residents around Europe protesting visitors, new entrance and tourist fees popping up at famous spots, and even a net going up to block a popular view of Mt. Fuji. This hour, a philosopher makes the case against travel. Plus, we talk about how tourism is impacting destinations, like …
…
continue reading
This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. 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 brough…
…
continue reading
Elvis left two legacies. Musically, he pulled several American musical traditions out of the shadows, braided them together, and made them mainstream. Personally, he created a far darker template for the way a musical celebrity could be devoured by the very fame he avidly sought. Recorded live in front of an audience — long before the pandemic — as…
…
continue reading
During the Inauguration in a few weeks, President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office. It's a practice that elected officials are taking part in across the country following the 2024 election. So what is the significance of this oath? This hour, we take a look at oaths, vows, and pledges. We'll discuss their history and their meaning, a…
…
continue reading
While some people decide to abstain from alcohol for Dry January, we take a look at alcohol, and our relationship with it. Drinking alcohol has a number of negative impacts. But humans have been doing it for thousands of years and show no signs of stopping. This hour, a look at why we drink, why more people are moving towards sobriety through the “…
…
continue reading
When you think of the Vikings, you probably picture a bearded man wearing a horned hat, pillaging on a Viking ship. But that's far from the whole story. This hour is all about the everyday lives of the Vikings with historian Eleanor Barraclough, from their homes and hair to their myths and music. GUEST: Eleanor Barraclough: Historian, writer, and b…
…
continue reading
This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.由Connecticut Public Radio
…
continue reading
Is there some thing that EVERYBODY seems to like that you’re just not that into? Star Wars? Game of Thrones? Seinfeld? The Beach Boys? Christopher Nolan? … Taylor Swift? Or what about some very current thing that seemingly everybody thinks is so interesting and cutting edge and exciting, but you just don’t like it? (For Colin, that very current thi…
…
continue reading
This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. 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! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merri…
…
continue reading
We’ve put on a holiday special every year for the last decade. But this year, for the first time, we did it in front of a (pretty large!) audience. On the night of December 18, Colin got 10 performers together onstage, and they rocked their way through an 18-song setlist of holiday and holiday-adjacent classics. There were nine different vocalists,…
…
continue reading
Grocery prices were a regular talking point in this past election cycle. This hour is all about the grocery store. We talk about how items get on the shelves, the unique business model of Trader Joe's, and the factors that impact grocery prices. Plus, a look at the appeal of Costco. GUESTS: Benjamin Lorr: Author of The Secret Life of Groceries: The…
…
continue reading
As we have every year for at least the last 11 years, to round out the year, we round up the best jazz of the year. GUESTS: Jen Allen: A pianist, composer, arranger, and educator; her most recent album is Sifting Grace Noah Baerman: A pianist, composer, and educator; his newest album, from the Noah Baerman Trio, is Live at the Side Door Gene Seymou…
…
continue reading
In the midst of this holiday week, we talk about the importance of rest, and how to rest well. Plus, we'll talk about the role of rest in religion, and look at the history of "the rest cure" in medicine. GUESTS: Alex Soojung-Kim Pang: Author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, and Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less—Here's How am…
…
continue reading
This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.由Connecticut Public Radio
…
continue reading
We’ve put on a holiday special every year for the last decade. But this year, for the first time, we did it in front of a (pretty large!) audience. On the night of December 18, Colin got 10 performers together onstage, and they rocked their way through an 18-song setlist of holiday and holiday-adjacent classics. There were nine different vocalists,…
…
continue reading
‘Tis the season for holiday movies. This hour, we look at this year's offerings from Netflix and Hallmark, discuss what makes a good holiday movie, and get some ideas for what to watch this holiday season. GUESTS: Laura Bradley: Entertainment and features reporter Amanda Hess: Critic at large for The New York Times Support the show: http://www.wnpr…
…
continue reading
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…
…
continue reading
