The Colin McEnroe Show

The word “bastard” hasn’t always been meant to offend. Used simply as an indication of illegitimate birth at first, the label “bastard” didn’t bring with it shame or stigma until long after it first appeared in the Middle Ages. Today, while its original meaning has not been forgotten, its use is largely reserved for insult. Yet, ironically, the underdog status once associated with a person of illegitimate birth is now something our modern culture celebrates. From Alexander Hamilton to Game of Thrones’s Jon Snow, the bastard’s ability to rise above his or her unfortunate circumstances to achieve greatness has become something to root for. This hour, a look at the origin, evolution, and pop culture triumph of the bastard! GUESTS: Scott Andrews - Science fiction reviewer for The Philadelphia Inquirer, columnist for Winter Is Coming, and the author of The Guild Leader’s Handbook Joanne Freeman - Professor of history and American studies at Yale University and the editor of The Essential Hamilton: Letters & Other Writings Sara McDougall - Associate professor of history at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York and the author of Royal Bastards: The Birth of Illegitimacy, 800–1230 Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 18, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Vulture, TV’s white guys are in crisis, and specifically on a bunch of shows The Nose has covered: Kevin Can F**k Himself, The White Lotus, The Chair, Ted Lasso… Oh, and Jeopardy! And speaking of TV’s white guys, Seinfeld is coming to Netflix next month. Eric Deggans wonders why it hasn’t caught on with young people the way shows like The Office and Friends have. And finally: The Chair is a Netflix miniseries about the English department at fictional Pembroke University. It stars Sandra Oh, Jay Duplass, Bob Balaban, Holland Taylor, and more. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: How MLB pushed back the Atlantic League mound and pushed fed-up players to the brink of a work stoppage Lady Gaga’s Dog Walker Is Finally Ready to Talk Ryan Fischer took a bullet trying to save the pop star’s French bulldogs from being dognapped. He knows you have questions Inside the Weird World of Out-of-Office Messages ‘Jeopardy!’ Had To Clarify Its Rules Because A Very Good Champion Has A Very Annoying Answering Habit Joe Rogan, a podcasting giant who has been dismissive of vaccination, has Covid. Al Leiter, John Smoltz won’t appear at MLB Network studios after refusing vaccine After Pink criticized the parents of a 14-year-old YouTuber who was pictured in a bikini, the girl said the swimsuits aren’t sexual unless you ‘view us that way’ Who asked for this? We don’t know. But Flamin’ Hot Mountain Dew is here anyway. The People Who Make Ted Lasso Can See Your Tweets, You Know ABBA Reunite for First Time in 40 Years, Announce New Album and Digital Concert Swedish pop group finally releases singles “I Still Have Faith In You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down” A Dishonest Study on Dishonesty Puts a Prominent Researcher on the Hot Seat A complete timeline of how Bishop Sycamore fooled ESPN McDonald’s Mascot Grimace Is a What Now?!? Truly did not need this information in my life. GUESTS: Elizabeth Keifer - Professor emerita of English at Tunxis Community College Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Bill Yousman - Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University 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.

In the 20 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. 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 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.

From New Kids on the Block to *NSYNC to One Direction, boy bands have been a staple of popular music for decades. This hour, a look back at the history — and future — of boy bands. GUESTS: Maria Sherman - Author of Larger Than Life: A History of Boy Bands from NKOTB to BTS Aja Romano - A culture staff writer for Vox  Brad Fischetti - The surviving member of LFO  Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Life is a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing Darwinian evolution.” That’s the so-called “NASA definition of life.” Or there’s Russian-born geneticist Edward Trifonov’s take: Life is “self-reproduction with variations.” Or there’s “Life is an expected, collectively self-organized property of catalytic polymers.” Or “Life is a metabolic network within a boundary.” It’s said that, “There are as many definitions of life as there are people trying to define it.” And yet, none of those definitions is quite right. Science writer Carl Zimmer says that’s strange behavior for scientists: “It is as if astronomers kept coming up with new ways to define stars.” Plus: Linguist Ben Zimmer (no relation to Carl*) on what it means to be human. Or, at least, as much as we can tell about what it means to be human by looking at Dr. Fill, the artificial intelligence that won a national crossword puzzle tournament. *No relation beyond that they’re brothers, I mean. GUESTS: Ben Zimmer - A linguist, lexicographer, and the language columnist for The Wall Street Journal Carl Zimmer - The science columnist for The New York Times; his newest book is Life’s Edge: The Search for What It Means To Be Alive Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired May 26, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been doing these weekly shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. The last couple weeks, we haven’t even started with the suggestion of a topic that your calls might, potentially, be about. And those shows have been fun. So we’re doing it again this week. 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. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is a longstanding tendency among tech CEOs to be sort of performatively photographed with bare feet. Also: It’s gross. And: Washington Post humorist Gene Weingarten got himself into a bit of trouble this week for saying that Indian cuisine is based entirely on one spice. And and: Pumpkin spice lattes are back. Already. (Also: It’s 90 degrees outside.) And finally: Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain is, well, a documentary film about Anthony Bourdain. It’s available as a $20 rental right now, and it’ll hit HBO Max and air on CNN in the future. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Don Everly, Older Brother in Groundbreaking Rock Duo, Dies at 84 The Everly Brothers, Don and Phil, were the most successful rock act to emerge from Nashville in the 1950s, rivaling Elvis Presley for radio airplay. Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones’ Drummer and Inimitable Backbone, Dead at 80 Rock & roll legend “passed away peacefully in a London hospital earlier [Tuesday] surrounded by his family,” according to publicist ‘Never Call Me Your Drummer Again’ The full story of the time Charlie Watts punched Mick Jagger, excerpted from Sympathy for the Drummer. Man Photographed As A Baby On ‘Nevermind’ Cover Sues Nirvana For Sexual Exploitation OnlyFans Is Reversing Its Ban On Adult Content, But Sex Workers Say It’s Already Cost Them Followers And Money “Every single dime that company has made has revolved around porn whether they want to admit it or not … I think it’s hilarious now watching them try to pick up the pieces from a vase they threw at the wall.” 25 Tweets That Prove No One Was Emotionally Prepared For The “Spider-Man: No Way Home” Trailer The Karate Kid Stage Musical To Wax On In A Pre-Broadway Run In 2022 Sean Penn still has more to say He’s supposed to be talking about his new movie. But there’s so much else. Tom Hanks Sells 4 Vehicles From His Collection His marquee item in the auction, an Airstream trailer bought in the “Sleepless in Seattle” era, brought in over $200,000. Looking Back On 15 Years Of ‘Idiocracy,’ One The Most Memorable And Sadly Relevant Comedies Of The 21st Century Parents Are Not Okay We’re not even at a breaking point anymore. We’re broken. Even Billy Joel Mocked ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire.’ I Loved It. As a 4-year-old, our critic couldn’t get enough of this manic 1989 hit, a crash course in U.S. history. Now the song lives on in parodies and memes. Ted Lasso Is a Perfect Show If You Hate Laughing This “balm for the soul” is supposed to be a comedy? Tom Cruise Performed 13,000 Motorbike Jumps To Prep For A Mission: Impossible 7 Stunt He’s No Longer Host. But Mike Richards Is Still Running ‘Jeopardy!’ Defying a backlash over sexist and crude comments, a top Sony TV executive told the show’s staff that the studio stood behind Mr. Richards as the executive producer. GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani - Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer Mercy Quaye - Founder and principal consultant for The Narrative Project 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.

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently released a report detailing the latest scientific understanding about climate change. This hour, we learn about what’s included in that report. And, we’ll discuss some climate solutions, including carbon capture, oysters, and granting rights to rivers and lakes. GUESTS: Rebecca Leber - Climate reporter at Vox David Bercovici - The co-director of the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture and a professor in Yale’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences Danielle Bissett - Director of Restoration for the Billion Oyster Project Kelsey Leonard - Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo, a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Waters, Climate, and Sustainability, and a citizen of the Shinnecock Nation Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Profanity used to be about someone swearing insincerely to God. Then the Reformation came along and made profanity about sex and the body. Today, our most unspeakable words are are slurs against other groups at a time when Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and cancel culture are driving our cultural narrative. This hour: the past, present, and future of profanity. GUEST: John McWhorter - Author of Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter — Then, Now, and Forever and host of Slate’s Lexicon Valley podcast Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired May 13, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a potpourri of topics. First, some new thinking around dental cavities — are they really an oral microbiome problem? And, as we endure another record-setting fire season, scientists are wondering, does Smokey Bear need a makeover? Finally, what happens if we look at Earth as an exoplanet? GUESTS: Jaime Green - Associate editor of Future Tense Maggie Koerth - Senior science writer for FiveThirtyEight Jennifer Oldham - Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.