The Colin McEnroe Show

Why is there something rather than nothing? This has been described as perhaps the most sublime philosophical question of all. This our, we try to answer it. But as we do, we realize that it's not just a philosophical quandary; it's a scientific, cultural, and theological one as well. Indeed, to the extent that "nothing" is even understood, it is understood so differently across different domains that one person's nothing truly is another person's something. Confused? You're not alone. The concept has vexed, distressed, and seduced all manner of folk, from Aristotle to Einstein, and remains no less mysterious to today's brightest minds. GUESTS: Ronald Green - Author of Nothing Matters: A Book About Nothing Jim Holt - Author of Why Does The World Exist? An Existential Detective Story James Owen Weatherall - Author of Void: The Strange Physics of Nothing Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired December 6, 2016.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In March, Lou Ottens died in Duizel in the Netherlands. He was 94. I don't think I had ever heard of Ottens before, but the news of his death quickly filled my social media feeds. Ottens, you see, invented the compact cassette in the 1960s. There's a certain romance to the cassette tape, right? They're more fun than mp3s, for sure. And it turns out they're having a little mini resurgence right now. Last year, cassette sales hit their highest mark since 2003. Some old, hard to find tapes sell for crazy prices. Blank tapes still sell well. There are cassette-only record labels. There are even podcast episodes out on tape. This hour, a look at the long past and surprising present of the cassette tape. GUESTS: Joe Carlough - Runs This And That Tapes Lory Gil - A writer in the tech industry Sommer McCoy - Founder of The Mixtape Museum Zack Taylor - Director of Cassette: A Documentary Mixtape Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired March 24, 2021.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From ancient scrolls to modern toner cartridges, ink (in one form or another) has been around for millennia. And while we may take it for granted now, for much of that time, it was a precious and coveted substance. Ink makers closely guarded their recipes; spy agencies developed secret, invisible ink formulations; and even now, billions are spent to create the perfect printer inks. This hour, we look back at the history of ink and ask whether its heyday might be coming to a close. GUESTS: Ted Bishop - Author of Ink: Culture, Wonder And Our Relationship With The Written Word Kristie Macrakis - Author of Prisoners, Lovers, & Spies: The Story of Invisible Ink from Herodotus to al Qaeda Kyle Wiens - Founder of iFixit Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 9, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rust is all around us. It's in our cars, our homes, our infrastructure. It's also the subject of Jonathan Waldman's book Rust: The Longest War, which introduces us to the people who fight it. This hour, Waldman joins us, and we hear from a visual artist who has found a way to incorporate rust into her work. GUESTS: Esther Solondz - A Rhode Island-based visual artist Jonathan Waldman - Author of Rust: The Longest War Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired March 25, 2015.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Radiation is everywhere. It's emitted by our sun, by cat litter, by bananas, and occasionally by nuclear bombs. It's even emitted by you and by me and by every living (and dead) person in the world. So why are we so scared of something so prevalent in our everyday lives? While certain types of radiation can be very harmful in high doses, our fears may have more to do with how radiation is portrayed than it does with the actual danger of exposure. This hour, we talk with experts about the benefits, risks, and oftentimes misguided fears of radiation. GUESTS: Francis Cucinotta - Professor for the department of health physics and diagnostic sciences at the University of Nevada Tim J. Jorgenson - Author of Strange Glow: The Story of Radiation David Ropeik - Author of How Risky Is It, Really? Why Our Fears Don't Match The Facts Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired November 21, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fire imagery abounds in music, literature, art, and scripture. It thrives at the center of ceremony and ritual around the world. We associate fire with sentiments of passion, anger, transformation, purity, and even evil itself. Some say our fascination with fire is owed to the fact that, of all creatures, we alone possess the ability to create and control it. They say at its center, fire burns hottest. So stand back and listen close, for this hour, we journey straight to its core. It's one heck of a hot topic, and we're guessing it'll spark your interest. GUESTS: Steve Pyne - Author of Moved by Fire: History's Promethean Moment and Fire: A Brief History Eric Rabkin - Professor emeritus of English language and literature and of art & design at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Gary Snyder - Poet Christian Tryon - Assistant professor of anthropology at Harvard Charles Wright - The 50th Poet Laureate of the United States Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired January 14, 2015.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's a special, Juneteenth (observed)-observing, Thursday edition of The Nose. First: The lack of Afro-Latinx actors in the movie version of In the Heights has caused some controversy. Lin-Manuel Miranda has apologized. And: High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America is a four-part docuseries hosted by Stephen Satterfield. All four episodes hit Netflix on May 26. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Congress Has Made Juneteenth A National Holiday. Just Don't Talk About The Legacy Of Slavery.As conservatives seek to ban critical race theory from schools, many Black Americans wonder if children will fully understand the new holiday marking the end of slavery. Ned Beatty, titanic character actor of 'Network,' dies at 83 Opinion: Tom Hanks Is A Non-Racist. It's Time For Him To Be Anti-Racist James Corden Is Facing Backlash For His "Spill Your Guts" Segment"It's blatant racism." How 'WandaVision,' 'The Umbrella Academy,' 'Harley Quinn' Subvert the Superhero Genre Tina Fey Looks Back at Problematic '90s Trends During 'Girls5Eva' Tribeca Panel: 'We All Cosigned That?' The Girl Scouts Have Unsold Cookies Left. 15 Million Boxes! How Working From Home Has Changed EmployeesThey are used to far greater independence. And they may value personal time more. Bosses better be ready to adapt. An Oral History Of 'Freddy Got Fingered,' Tom Green's Glorious Broadside Against The Fame Industry That Made Him Cristiano Ronaldo snub sees Coca-Cola market value fall by $4bn 'The Cable Guy' Turns 25: How Jim Carrey’s $20 Million Salary Shook Up Hollywood A David Bowie Painting That Sold For $4 At A Thrift Store Is Now Up For Auction Robert Altman's 20 best films -- ranked!From The Long Goodbye to Short Cuts, Altman's innovative movies have influenced a generation of film-makers. With the re-release of Nashville and a BFI tribute, we rank the work of one of America’s greatest directors GUESTS: Rand Richards Cooper - A fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal, and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Courant Shawn Murray - A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We don't do grief very well in this country. We don't talk about, we get uncomfortable around it, and in some mind-twisting way, we hope grief will leave us alone if we pretend it doesn't exist. But that's not how grief works. Even professionals trained in grief tend to pathologize it when the grieving don't 'get over it' or 'recover ' from it fast enough.  Today, a hard look at what is grief, including how to survive it and how we can all better support those who are living in it. GUESTS: Nelba Marquez-Greene is the Director for Community Advancement at Central CT State University, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and the founder of the Ana Grace Project. (@Nelba_MG) Megan Devine is a psychotherapist, writer, and grief advocate. She’s the founder of Refuge in Grief and the author of It’s OK That You’re Not Okay: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn’t Understand and most recently, How To Carry What Can’t Be Fixed @refugeingrief Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Betsy Kaplan has been producing episodes of The Colin McEnroe Show for a decade. Today is her last day. (Ostensibly, anyway. She's producing our show next Monday, which isn't really how last days are supposed to work. But it's very much how Betsy Kaplan works.) The Nose is crestfallen. And: In the Heights is the big (and/or small) screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's multiple Tony Award-winning musical. It is directed by Jon M. Chu and stars Anthony Ramos. It debuted in theaters and on HBOMax on Thursday. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Those Descriptions on the Inside of Book Covers Are Full of ItThey've become meaningless mush -- but they don't have to be. Bogus Social Media Outrage Is Making Authors Change Lines in Their Books NowThe silly idea that a fictional character's statements reflect an author's actual beliefs is spreading. 'Raiders of the Lost Ark': Why the "Indy Doesn't Matter" Criticism Needs to Be Put in the GroundHere's what an often-cited "plot hole" completely misunderstands about storytelling. Actress Karen Allen addresses her character's underage relationship with Indiana Jones: 'I don't think of him as a pedophile' Grown-ups, it's okay to love pop culture for kids. Stop being embarrassed about it. Chris Harrison Is Officially Out As Host Of The "Bachelor" FranchiseDeadline reported that Harrison, who hosted the franchise for nearly two decades, will receive an eight-figure payout. Dove Cameron Just Got So Real About Coming Out, And We Need To Talk About ItWe stan a bi queen! GUESTS: Carmen Baskauf - Produces Where We Live on Connecticut Public Radio Lydia Brown - Managing producer of Vermont Public Radio's Vermont Edition John Dankosky - Host The CT Mirror's Steady Habits podcast, and he is news and special projects editor for Science Friday Robyn Doyon-Aitken - Senior producer for Seasoned on Connecticut Public Taneisha Duggan - Artistic producer at TheaterWorks Jacques Lamarre - A playwright, and director of client services at Buzz Engine Jonathan McNicol - Hasn't quit his job producing The Colin McEnroe Show Ali Oshinskie - A corps member with Report for America covering the Naugatuck River Valley for Connecticut Public Patrick Skahill - A reporter at Connecticut Public Radio, and he was the founding producer of The Colin McEnroe Show Chion Wolf - Hosts Audacious with Chion Wolf on Connecticut Public Radio Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Many people are reassessing how they view their work after a year of Covid. The pandemic magnified everything we don’t like about modern work - too many hours for too little pay in the context of a loosely woven national safety net. Some people are switching jobs, others are dropping out of the workforce entirely. The reasons why people are leaving work vary, but it gets to a bigger societal question that asks what kind of work we value and how that value is rewarded. Jobs no longer provide the economic security, pension and room for advancement that helped build the middle class after World War II. And we all learned this past year that the workers who were "essential" during the pandemic have historically been undervalued.   Today, are we getting what we need from work? GUESTS: Katie Heaney is a senior writer at "The Cut" and the author of several books including the her YA novels Girl Crushed and the forthcoming The Year I Stopped Trying  Erin Cech is an assistant professor of Sociology and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Her new book, The Trouble with Passion: How Searching for Fulfillment at Work Fosters Inequality will be published in October.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.