

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

Apr 1, 2022 • 49min
The Nose on Bruce Willis’s retirement, ’The End of the Movies,’ and HBO’s ‘Winning Time’
This week’s Nose is always moving, it’s rhythmic, it’s up close and personal, there’s no pads or helmets for protection. On Wednesday, Demi Moore announced on Instagram that Bruce Willis is “stepping away” from his career after being diagnosed with aphasia. Willis turned 67 last month. And: Last Friday, before last weekend’s Academy Awards ceremonies, Ross Douthat published an opinion piece in The New York Times: “We Aren’t Just Watching the Decline of the Oscars. We’re Watching the End of the Movies.” And finally: Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is an HBO series chronicling the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers and starring John C. Reilly, Quincy Isaiah, and an ensemble cast. It is created by Max Borenstein and executive produced by Adam McKay. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Taylor Hawkins, Foo Fighters’ Drummer, Dies at 50 Hard-hitting and charismatic, he was direct about his hopes for the group’s future, even after two decades. “I want to be the biggest band in the world,” he said. Paul Herman, The Sopranos Actor, Dies At 76 Nicolas Cage Can Explain It All He is one of our great actors. Also one of our most inscrutable, most eccentric, and most misunderstood. But as Cage makes his case here, every extraordinary thing about his wild work and life actually makes perfect ordinary sense. The Real Mission Impossible: Saying “No” to Tom Cruise How the franchise superstar lawyered-up and out-gunned Paramount execs over costs, COVID and a last-minute submarine. Ryan Reynolds Is a Great Brand but an Increasingly Boring Actor Are You the Most Boring Person Alive? A recent study details the dull jobs, hobbies and personality traits that make someone a boring person Does Every Geek TV Series Need To Require Hours Of Homework? Even Before Will Smith, It Was a Strange and Awkward Oscars 2022 V.F.’s chief critic reviews the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. Both teams assured of a possession in playoff overtime with rules change approved by NFL owners GUESTS: Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer, and the founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Bill Yousman: Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University 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 McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 31, 2022 • 49min
The road to sainthood: Who’s on it and how did they get there?
This hour, a look at the path to sainthood and how it’s changed over time. Plus: the local example of the Rev. Michael McGivney. GUESTS: Teresa Berger: Professor of Liturgical Studies and Catholic Theology at Yale Divinity School Joseph Laycock: Author of The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle to Define Catholicism Rachel McCleary: Lecturer in the Economics Department at Harvard University and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute James Sullivan: Rector of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury 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! Colin McEnroe, Sara Gasparotto, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 30, 2022 • 49min
Is arguing good for us? We’re still arguing about it
We tend to associate arguing with destructive actions like quarreling or fighting. Argument is a different animal. It may be fueled by the passion that drives fights and quarrels, but effective arguing requires factual evidence and logic to support why one idea might work better than another idea. At its finest, argument opens our world to ideas and solutions we hadn’t considered, whereas the passion and clashing egos of a fight often send us sulking to our respective corners. This hour, we argue that arguing can be good for us, but one could argue that we’re wrong. GUESTS: Lee Siegel: A cultural critic and the author of seven books; his latest is Why Argument Matters Agnes Callard: An associate professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago and the author of Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic 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 McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 29, 2022 • 49min
Looking at our world through glass
Glass is all around us: from windows and mirrors, to phone screens and fiber optic cables. This hour, we learn how glass helped shape our world, efforts to create different types of glasses, and what it's like to make art out of glass. GUESTS: John Garrison: Professor at Grinnell College, and author of the book Glass. Alexis Clare: Professor of Glass Science at Alfred University. Eric Meek: Senior Manager of Hot Glass Programs at the Corning Museum of Glass. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 22, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 28, 2022 • 30min
Emergency First Responder Nose: Oscars smackdown
Note: This episode contains strong language. You may have seen that Sunday night, on the Academy Awards stage, Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith went up on stage and whacked Rock in the face, and then a few minutes later, Will Smith won the Best Actor award. A more Noseish confluence of events we may never have seen been before. And so we assembled an emergency, podcast-only, shortish Nose to deal with it. GUESTS: Jacques Lamarre: A playwright and the director of client services at Buzz Engine Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast Vivian Nabeta: Director of marketing and public relations for Capital Community College and the cohost of the So Pretentious podcast 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 McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 28, 2022 • 49min
We take your calls. Ask (or tell) us anything
We’ve been doing these shows a lot of weeks where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. We don’t even, anymore, start with the suggestion of a topic that your calls might, potentially, be about. We’ve had fun with these shows, and you seem to like them too. So we’re doing that again. In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour about anything at all. 888–720–9677. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 24, 2022 • 1h 35min
The Nose’s guide to the 94th Academy Awards
Over the last eight months, The Nose has covered 11 of this year’s Academy Award-nominated movies, encompassing 54 nominations. So on this special edition of The Nose, we look back at our discussions of nominated movies, and we look ahead to Sunday’s Oscars ceremony with film and television star (and Oscars voter) Illeana Douglas. Some of the movies covered include: Being the Ricardos, Coda, Drive My Car, Dune, House of Gucci, King Richard, Last Night in Soho, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, No Time To Die, The Power of the Dog,Spencer, West Side Story, The Worst Person in the World, and more. Note: This special two-part Oscars season finale edition of The Nose, airing over two days on the radio, is presented here as one double-length (or so) episode. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Stephen Wilhite, creator of the GIF, has died It’s pronounced ‘jif’ [Ed. note: It’s really not.] World No. 1 Ash Barty, 25, announces retirement from tennis: ‘I’m so happy and I’m so ready’ It Looks Like Rachel Zegler Is Going To The Oscars … As A Presenter Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot #1: ‘Don’t Look Up’ Is a “One-Joke Movie,” ‘CODA’ Is “Excellent in Every Way” A member of the Academy’s producers branch, granted anonymity to speak freely, shares which films earned his precious vote (and why). What’s going on with Ye — and why does it matter? Rent-a-stranger: This Japanese man makes a living showing up and doing nothing A Manifesto Against Sex Positivity GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and the co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications Illeana Douglas: A movie and television star and an Academy Awards voter Taneisha Duggan: A director, producer, and arts consultant Bill Griffith: Created the syndicated daily comic strip Zippy, and he’s the author of Nobody’s Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the university of Hartford’s Hartt School Helder Mira: Multimedia producer at Trinity College and co-host of the So Pretentious podcast Irene Papoulis: Teaches writing at Trinity College Tracy Wu Fastenberg: Development officer at Connecticut Children’s 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 McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, parts of which have aired previously in different form.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 21, 2022 • 50min
The best laid schemes of mice and men: human and wildlife conflict
“Animals, which were in the service of man, could be arrested, tried, convicted and executed,” according to Edmund P. Evans in his book The Criminal Prosecution and Capital Punishment of Animals, published in 1906. They could also be excommunicated from the church.Our relationship to our pets and wildlife has mellowed over the centuries, but we still can’t figure out how to share space and food with the wildlife that lives among us without conflict, especially when resources get tight.We can’t translocate, trap, tase, laser, bomb, and euthanize our way toward a good solution. And aren’t we part of the problem? So, how do we coexist when humans make all the rules? GUESTS: Mary Roach: The author, most recently, of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law Ben Kilham: Founder of the Kilham Bear Center in New Hampshire and the author of two books, Among the Bears: Raising Orphan Cubs in the Wild and In the Company of Bears Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 20, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 18, 2022 • 50min
Not Necessarily The Nose: The movies, mysteries, and marvels of Christopher Nolan
In the 21 years since Christopher Nolan’s Memento hit theaters, his movies have grossed more than $5 billion, earned 36 Academy Award nominations, and won 11 Oscars. His Dark Knight films helped spark the comic book movie renaissance we’re still experiencing, and his seventh feature, Inception, is the highest-grossing totally standalone live action movie ever made. This hour, a look at the filmmaker behind Batman Begins, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Tenet, and more: Christopher Nolan. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Emilio Delgado, ‘Luis’ for 44 years on ‘Sesame Street,’ dies at 81 Jane Campion apologizes for comments made about Venus and Serena Williams Pete Davidson headed to space on Blue Origin craft Senate Unanimously Passes Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent The draft law still needs to pass the House. Netflix Will Prompt Subscribers to Pay for Users Outside Their Households in New Test to Address Unauthorized Password Sharing Why bad driving habits from the pandemic might be here to stay Kanye West Suspended From Instagram For Violating Harassment, Bullying Policy The rapper has targeted his ex Kim Kardashian, her new boyfriend Pete Davidson and comedian Trevor Noah in recent posts. An Educator Read ‘I Need a New Butt!’ to Children. Then He Was Fired. Toby Price, an assistant principal at an elementary school in Mississippi, read the book to a class of second graders over Zoom. “I am a firm believer that reluctant readers need the silly, funny books to hook them in,” he said. The Age of Everything Culture Is Here When anything on social media can become A Thing, trends take on an unnerving shape and velocity. It’s Time To Rebuild the Fourth Wall Characters in film and television must stop speaking directly to us. ‘John Carter’ Changed Hollywood, but Not in the Way Disney Hoped Ten years ago, the property that inspired ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Avatar’ bombed — and now both those franchises are in the Disney family. The Things I’m Afraid to Write About Fear of professional exile has kept me from taking on certain topics. What gets lost when a writer mutes herself? GUESTS: Kayleigh Donaldson: A pop culture writer and critic James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Tom Shone: Author of The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan 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 McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired September 2, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 17, 2022 • 49min
Our 12th* (almost) annual March Madness show
The NCAA’s March Madness is back! And so the only logical thing to do is to get improv comedian Julia Pistell and the actual Bill Curry together to talk basketball for an hour on the radio. That may not be the only logical thing to do. It may be that that’s not actually a logical thing to do at all. But we’re doing it anyway. *It’s our 12th one of these unless it isn’t. Our thinking is that we’ve done this show every year from 2010 on, but for 2020. Though, in 2012, we used our brackets to pick a new Connecticut state bird. But we’re counting it. GUESTS: Eugene J. Cornacchia: President of Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, New Jersey Bill Curry: Playing the part of Bill Curry Frankie Graziano: A reporter for Connecticut Public Julia Pistell: A founding member of Sea Tea Improv, among a number of other things Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


