The Colin McEnroe Show

For a period of about 50 years, many of America's top cartoonists and illustrators lived within a stone's throw of one another in the southwestern corner of Connecticut. Comic strips and gag cartoons read by hundreds of millions were created in this tight-knit group -- Prince Valiant, Superman, Beetle Bailey, Hägar the Horrible, Hi and Lois, Nancy, The Wizard of Id, Family Circus... I could keep going. This hour, a look at the funny pages, and at Connecticut's cartoon county. GUESTS: Bill Griffith - The creator and author of the daily comic strip Zippy Henry McNulty - A writer and editor who worked for the Hartford Courant for more than 25 years Cullen Murphy - Editor-at-large for Vanity Fair and the author of Cartoon County: My Father and His Friends in the Golden Age of Make-Believe Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Kevin MacDermott, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired January 11, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A number of media critics gave poor grades to reporters questioning President Biden at his first formal press conference last week. Is there a disconnect between what the media cares about, such as the filibuster and the 2024 election, and what people care about? Also this hour: An Amazon executive set off a firestorm after boasting on Twitter that Amazon was the "Bernie Sanders of employers." Workers weighed in on whether a company was progressive if workers felt they had to urinate in a bottle in order to meet production quotas. How will all this attention influence whether workers at an Alabama Amazon warehouse decide to unionize? Lastly, the first dogs are home, sweet home. GUESTS: Dan Froomkin - The editor of Press Watch Ken Klippenstein - An investigative reporter for The Intercept focusing on national security Rachel Treisman - A production assistant on NPR's Digital News Desk 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.

As with all weeks, it's been a strange week. First there were the Cinnamon Toast Crunch shrimp tails. And then an enormous container ship got stuck in the Suez Canal. And now there might be another toilet paper shortage. Which would be bad for the Amazon drivers who have to poop in their trucks. Maybe it's been an especially strange week. Separate from all that: For All Mankind is Ronald D. Moore's alternate history of a world where the space race never ended. It's six episodes into Season Two on AppleTV+. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: George Segal, Veteran of Drama and TV Comedy, Is Dead at 87He is best remembered for his Oscar-nominated dramatic role in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and was later a familiar comic actor. "Arrested Development" Star Jessica Walter Has Died At 80Walter was best known for playing Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development and voicing Malory Archer in Archer. R.I.P. Talladega Nights actor Houston Tumlin Ronnee Sass, Veteran Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Publicist, Dies at 72 The Extended Universe: What the Snyder Cut Means for the Future of FandomThe campaign demanding the release of Zack Snyder's 'Justice League' got its payoff with the release of the four-hour movie last weekend. Does it mean anything for similar movements for 'Suicide Squad' and 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'? Justice League's Epilogue Is Its Messiest, Most Dangerous Indulgence 5 widescreen videos to watch instead of the 4:3 Snyder Cut of Justice League'That's no moon' High school baseball: How Juab beat Provo 29-28 in the highest-scoring game in state history Dr. Oz is hosting Jeopardy! and everyone hates it Every DC Comics Movie, Ranked How Beeple Crashed the Art WorldAn N.F.T., or "non-fungible token," of the digital artist's work sold for sixty-nine million dollars in a Christie's auction. It's good news for crypto-optimists, but what about for art? 'Black Widow' Will Hit Disney+ and Theaters on July 9, 'Shang-Chi' Delayed, and More Disney Release Date Changes An Interview With Mike Birbiglia About Pizza And Only Pizza 'Superstore' Was the Perfect Comedy for Less-Than-Funny TimesThis week's series finale closes out a delightful sitcom that didn't shy from the challenges faced by America's low-wage workers, including the current pandemic. Dave Chappelle to perform at Foxwoods with rapid COVID testing at the door The Definitive Ranking of Ducks Beyond Peak TVIt's no longer enough to flood the zone with new television in general. Now, the zone is flooded with specific individual brands -- over and over again. Oscar Producers Facing Backlash And Logistical Headaches After Requiring Nominees To Attend Ceremony In Person, Not On Zoom Not-So-Special Characters: The Biggest Grifters, Frauds, and Outright Nobodies on Today's Typographical Scene Johnny Depp denied appeal in case that found 'wife beater' article about him 'substantially true' Here's Why Taylor Swift Is Re-Releasing Her Old Albums Is the guitar solo dead in the 21st century? GUESTS: Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer; founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Pedro Soto - President and CEO of Hygrade Precision Technologies Coach Catie Talarski - Senior director of storytelling for Connecticut Public 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.

On March 6, 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a year of pandemic, we're all itching to break from the restrictions of the pandemic. We want to travel and explore. It makes sense; we're hard-wired to explore. Our ancestors would not have survived absent the drive to seek food and safety from the dangers of the day. Safe and satiated, they later sought new lands to conquer and later still, to escape the constraints and cruelties of rapid industrialization. If the recent pandemic left you yearning to explore, you might be inspired by this show we first aired in 2017.  GUESTS: David Grann - Staff writer for The New Yorker, author of The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon and most recently, Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI Hugh Thomson - Writer, filmmaker and author of many books including The White Rock: An Exploration of the Inca Heartland and A Sacred Landscape: The Search for Ancient Peru Kathryn Schulz - Staff writer for The New Yorker and author of Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last week's violence at three spas in Georgia, followed a year of escalating violence against Asian Americans, some of it captured on videos that went viral. Despite visual evidence, New Yorker writer Hua Hsu, writes that this current moment stresses the "in-between space Asian Americans inhabit." It's hard to prove bias when we lack a historical understanding of what Asian American racism looks like.  The 21-year-old man who killed eight people last week, six of whom were Asian women, told investigators that he attacked the spas because he was struggling with a “sex addiction” and wanted to eliminate the “temptation” of buying sex. Psychologist Joshua Grubbs writes that religion is deeply intertwined with perceptions of sexual behavior and moral beliefs about sexuality.  GUESTS:  Hua Hsu is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of A Floating Chinaman: Fantasy and Failure Across the Pacific. He is an associate professor of English at Vassar College (@huahsu) Joshua Grubbs is an assistant professor of psychology at Bowling State University. His research is primarily concerned with the scientific study of addiction, personality, and morality (@joshuagrubbsphd) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It might just be that the pandemic is starting to wind down. Advertisers are anxious to act like it is. We're all maybe anxious to get some hugs back into our lives, or maybe we'll all just always be anxious about hugs. And: How does this all work for half-vaccinated couples? Plus: The Nose sees some parallels in the sexlessness of superheroes. And: Promising Young Woman is Emerald Fennell's feature-film debut as a writer, director, and producer, and it's made her an Academy Award-nominated writer, director, and producer. The movie is nominated for five Oscars overall, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Carey Mulligan. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Yaphet Kotto, Bond Villain and 'Alien' Star, Dies at 81Well known for playing hardened personalities, he was also seen in movies like "Midnight Run" and the TV show "Homicide: Life on the Street." Boxing great Marvelous Marvin Hagler dies at 66 Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez Announce They Are Still TogetherLess than a day after E! News confirmed reports that Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez were going their separate ways, the music superstar and actress and retired MLB star issued a joint statement How Hollywood Is Complicit in the Violence Against Asians in AmericaReducing Asians, women and sex workers to flat punchlines isn't just degrading -- it's dangerous 'Avatar' Overtakes 'Avengers: Endgame' As All-Time Highest-Grossing Film Worldwide; Rises To $2.8B Amid China Reissue 2021 Oscar Stats: Two Female Filmmakers Are Up for Best Director for the First Time; Plus Historic Nods for Viola Davis, Riz Ahmed, Steven Yeun, More The Winners and Losers of the 2021 Oscar NominationsThe good: 'Minari' and 'Nomadland' leading a far less local slate. The bad: Delroy Lindo getting snubbed. Razzie Awards 2021: Robert Downey Jr., Adam Sandler, Anne Hathaway Among Nominees Movies That Would Have Been Better with Richard Kind in Them The Mound Is Too Damn CloseFor nearly 130 years, the distance between pitchers and batters has remained the same. But as pitchers get better and bigger -- and balls in play become increasingly rare -- MLB could benefit from giving hitters some space. Prominent NCAA tournament players launch '#NotNCAAProperty' protest as March Madness begins Why Channel 37 Doesn't Exist (And What It Has to Do With Aliens)Since the advent of analog TVs, channel 37 has always been static. Here's why. '60 Songs That Explain the '90s': The Ugly Beauty of ToolUp next on our trek through the decade: "Stinkfist," one of the hardest, crudest songs from one of rock's hardest, crudest bands Sanitary CultureExperts brightly offer to help create a society so safe, clean, inoffensive, and nontoxic art disappears. Show them the door. Teen Vogue Editor Resigns After Fury Over Racist TweetsThe hiring of Alexi McCammond, who was supposed to start at the Condé Nast publication next week, drew complaints because of racist and homophobic tweets she had posted a decade ago. Topps removes Garbage Pail Kids collectible sticker card featuring bruised BTS after backlash NYC man sells fart for $85, cashing in on NFT craze If You Look at Your Phone While Walking, You're an Agent of ChaosAn experiment by Japanese researchers revealed how just a few distracted walkers really can throw off the movements of a whole crowd. Is This Going To Be The Horniest Summer Of All Time? GUESTS: Tracy Wu Fastenberg - Development officer at Connecticut Children's Bill Yousman - Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writer and essayist Lauren Oyler, joins Colin to talk about Fake Accounts, her new novel on internet culture. They'll also talk about literary fiction, cultural criticism, ghostwriting, and her staunch defense of semicolons, among other things. Lauren Oyler will be at the Mark Twain House & Museum, Tuesday, March 23, 7-8 pm. The event is free. You can register at marktwainhouse.org GUEST: Lauren Oyler’s essays have appeared in the London Review of Books, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, Bookforum, New York Magazine’s The Cut, and elsewhere. Her first novel is Fake Accounts. (@laurenoyler) Find us on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Gene Amatruda contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every year around this time, there's a big-old college basketball tournament. So every* year around this time, for every* year that this show has been on the air, we've put together a big-old hour of radio about said big-old college basketball tournament. Until last year, of course. Last year, we were right in the middle of getting this show together when quarantines started, when we closed our building to the outside world, when sports seasons were suspended and canceled, when we all suddenly switched to working remotely. Last year, the NCAA basketball tournaments were canceled, so we had to cancel this show. And so we're very excited to be doing this show again this year. We're still working from home, but that's no reason not to do an hour of radio about basketball with an improv comic and an ex-politican-turned-political-pundit. There are a bunch of other reasons not to do that, but we don't care about any of them very much. *Our best guess is that this is the 11th version of this show we've done. It might be the 10th, maybe the ninth. But we're going with 11th. It could be that one of the 11 was a show more about birds than it's about basketball, but whatever. GUESTS: Bill Curry - Playing the part of Bill Curry Julia Pistell - A founding member of Sea Tea Improv, among a number of other things Gregory S. Woodward - President of the University of Hartford 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.

On the one hand, obituaries are an amalgam of a bunch of different kinds of journalism: they're feature stories, they're profile pieces, they cover history, and they're hard news too. On the other hand, the subject is always... dead. This hour, a look at the art of obituaries and obituarists. GUESTS: Kate Cimini - A reporter for The Salinas Californian and CalMatters Vanessa Gould - Produced and directed the documentary Obit. Heather Lende - Obituarist for the Chilkat Valley News in Alaska and the author of Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons from a Small-Town Obituary Writer Bruce Weber - Retired New York Times obituarist Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 24, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.