

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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 27, 2026 • 49min
The Nose looks at ‘Project Hail Mary’ and ‘Saturday Night Live UK’
Project Hail Mary is the fifth movie directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. It’s written by Drew Goddard and based on the Andy Weir novel. It’s the second movie adapted from a Weir novel, and the second adapted by Goddard, after The Martian. It stars Ryan Gosling as a high school science teacher who’s tasked with … going to space basically alone and saving the world. Project Hail Mary is the No. 1 movie in the world. Its opening last weekend was the biggest of the year so far, and its domestic opening was the second-biggest of Gosling’s career (after Barbie) and the second-biggest ever for a non-franchise movie (after Oppenheimer). And: Saturday Night Live UK is an official international adaptation of regular, old SNL stateside. It, too, premiered last weekend with an episode hosted by (noted non-Brit) Tina Fey. New episodes will appear Sunday nights on Peacock in the U.S. Eight episodes have been ordered, so far. GUESTS: Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast Irene Papoulis: Taught writing for a long time at Trinity College Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University Music featured (in order): Sign of the Times – Harry Styles Stargazer – Neil Diamond Catch These Fists (Live on SNL UK) – Wet Leg See You On The Radio – Grayson Hugh Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 26, 2026 • 50min
How nihilism can help us find meaning in this moment
What would it mean if nothing matters? This hour, a look at the philosophy of nihilism, and how it shows up online and in children's books. GUESTS: Nolen Gertz: Associate Professor of Applied Philosophy at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. He is author of books including Nihilism and Nihilism and Technology Charlie Warzel: Staff writer at The Atlantic and the host of its technology podcast, "Galaxy Brain" Jon Klassen: Author and illustrator of books including I Want My Hat Back, This Is Not My Hat, The Rock From The Sky, and The Skull Music featured (in order): Caring is Creepy – The Shins I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ – Shirley Horn Nothing from Nothing – Billy Preston Battle of Who Could Care Less – Ben Folds Five Hurt – Johnny Cash Nothing – A Chorus Line Broadway cast Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 25, 2026 • 50min
What do rising measles cases say about public health and trust?
This hour, we look at the spread of measles in the United States. And we talk to health and science communicators who are working to tell the story of that disease in new ways. GUESTS: Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo: Director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown School of Public Health, and a Professor of Epidemiology Brinda Adhikari: Award-winning executive producer, showrunner and journalist, who is Co-Host of the "Why Should I Trust You?" podcast Teri Mills: Retired nurse educator, grandmother, and Board member and Vice President of Media for Grandparents for Vaccines Music featured (in order): Sickness – runo plum Contagious – Ani DiFranco Cat’s Got the Measles – The New Lost City Ramblers Catch My Disease – Ben Lee Soul Vaccination – Tower of Power Grandma’s Hands – Bill Withers Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 24, 2026 • 50min
The backbone of rock and roll: The drummer
Ringo Starr. Charlie Watts. John Bonham. Hal Blaine. Moe Tucker. Dave Grohl. Lars Ulrich. Meg White. Tony Thompson. Questlove. Karen Carpenter. Sam Lay. The list goes on. This hour, a look at the backbone (and the backbeat) of rock and roll: the drummer. GUESTS: Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers John Lingan: The author, most recently, of Backbeats: A History of Rock and Roll in Fifteen Drummers Molly Sayles: A percussionist and music educator and the Official Drummer of The Colin McEnroe Show 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, Maegn Boone, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 23, 2026 • 49min
All calls: The ninjas next door took my parents’ stuffed owl
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 Iran war, what to do with the old stuff of deceased parents, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Gov. Lowell Weicker, our Mary show, whether or not you can tell time by a cat’s eye … 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): Can I Believe You – Fleet Foxes Joy Spring – Karrin Allyson I’m In Trouble – Alessia Cara, Norah Jones A Brother (Just Like You) – Nnenna Freelon Both Can Be True – Trousdale Anyone in Love – Jalen Ngonda June It’s Gonna Happen – Rumer 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, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 20, 2026 • 50min
How WWE got a chokehold on U.S. politics
Josephine Riesman, author of Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America, argues that understanding WWE can help us understand President Donald Trump and his politics. This hour, we learn about WWE and its impact on Trump, and discuss the experience and appeal of watching wrestling. GUESTS: Josephine Riesman: Author of Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America Tim Kail: Creator of “The Work of Wrestling” website and podcast. He is also the host and producer of “The Sarah Lawrence College Podcast” 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, Meg Dalton, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 7, 2025.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 19, 2026 • 50min
How do we calculate the cost of war?
How do we begin to understand the full economic, human, and environmental impacts of war? This hour we talk with someone who is doing that math. Plus, a look at the opportunity costs of spending on war. And, the costs of The American Revolution. GUESTS: Neta Crawford: Professor of International Relations at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and Co-Founder and Strategic Advisor at The Costs of War Project. She is also author of books including The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War: Charting the Rise and Fall of U.S. Military Emissions Joseph Ellis: Author of fourteen books, including the Pulitzer Prize winning Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation, and National Book Award winning American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson. His newest book is The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding Music featured (in order): The World Is A Ghetto – War Loose Ends – Sergio Mendes, Justin Timberlake, Pharoahe Monch The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar – Bob Dylan When the War Came – The Decemberists Hiway 9 – Eliza Gilkyson Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) – Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 18, 2026 • 50min
March Madness 2026
March Madness is here! And so the only logical thing is to get improv comedian Julia Pistell and the actual Bill Curry together to talk basketball for an hour on the radio. For the 16th* time. That may not be the only logical thing to do. It may be that that’s not a logical thing to do at all. But we’re doing it anyway. *It’s our 16th one of these, unless it isn’t. Our story is that we’ve done this every year since 2010 except for 2020 — which is to say, every year our show has been on that there actually was a March Madness tourney. And we’re pretty sure our story is true. One of those years, the show was actually about birds. But so what? GUESTS: Bill Curry: Playing the part of Bill Curry Mike Pesca: Hosts the independent daily podcast The Gist Julia Pistell: A founding member of Sea Tea Improv, among a number of other things Elizabeth Davis: The 12th president of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina Music featured (in order): D-Code – Dust Devil This Happy Madness – Frank Sinatra (ft. Antônio Carlos Jobim) I Wish I Could Go Back To College – Avenue Q The Paladins Song – Furman University Fight Song Ballad of Paladin – Johnny Western I Wish (Radio Edit) – Skee-Lo Basketball – Kurtis Blow 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 17, 2026 • 49min
All calls: Crows make better noise than Oasis
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. So we did another one. This hour, the conversation winds around to America 250, Oasis, bird songs, the SAVE Act, Trump, natural lawns … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. Music Featured (in order): bite my tongue – wiltwon’t make it out alive – Nicole Zuraitis, Larry Goldings Just Say You Want Me – Lo Steele Teach Me Tonight – Ledisi I Do, I Do – Dua Saleh Penny In The Lake – Ratboys We Made It – Sammy Rae and the Friends ft. CELISSE Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 16, 2026 • 49min
The Noscars 2026
The 98th Academy Awards were Sunday night. KPop Demon Hunters swept its two nominations. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein cleaned up in the craft categories and won three awards. But the big question going into the night was what would win the big awards. Would it be Sinners, with its record-setting 16 nominations, or the seemingly inevitable One Battle After Another? Inevitability won out. One Battle After Another won six Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Paul Thomas Anderson. This hour, The Nose reacts to the Oscars — the awards themselves, the ceremony as television, the fashion, the memes, Conan O’Brien’s turn as host — the whole thing. GUESTS: Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast Vivian Nabeta: Director of digital marketing for Connecticut State Community College Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek Music featured (in order): There’s No Business Like Show Business – The Original Movie Orchestra Peg – Steely Dan Everything’s Come Up Roses – The Replacements I Lied to You (Live at the Oscars) – Miles Canton, Shaboozey, Brittany Howard, Eric Gales, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram Golden (Live at the Oscars) – EJAE, Audrey Nuna and Rei Ami The Way We Were – Barbra Streisand (but the original proper version) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


