The Colin McEnroe Show

In 2007, journalist Alan Weisman published The World Without Us. It was an international bestseller. The book tries to answer what is ultimately a simple question: What happens to the Earth if human beings disappear? Here's how Weisman puts it in the book: "Say a Homo sapiens-specific virus -- natural or diabolically nano-engineered -- picks us off but leaves everything else intact." Then what? And over these last few months, we've gotten maybe a fraction of a percentage point there. Temporarily. Maybe not directly because of coronavirus, but indirectly because of our absence and scarceness due to stay-at-home orders and the like. And so... then what? Well, goats "took over" a town in Wales. Wild boar "invaded" a town near Barcelona. Salamanders "own the road" in Maine. And the air got cleaner and the night sky got clearer. And so it follows: Now what? GUESTS: Beth Gardiner - Author of Choked: Life and Breath in the Age of Air Pollution Brandon Keim - A freelance journalist specializing in animals, nature, and science Alan Weisman - The author of six books including The World Without Us 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.

When did the horrors that once seemed unthinkable become commonplace? We're in the throes of a global pandemic. People protesting a police officer who kept his knee on a black man's neck for over eight minutes, two minutes beyond when he lost consciousness, were tear gassed to make room for a photo op for President Trump. But relax. Nothing is wrong, or at least that's what we're told by a president who thinks this is a wonderful time to be alive. There is no climate change (even though we'll soon see water where there once was land). The pandemic will go away any minute now. There'll be a wonderful vaccine soon (different from all the others I pan). In the meantime, we can take a very (un)safe drug that works miracles if we get infected. The underlying economy is great (except for the 40 million currently unemployed), and I'm the most stable of geniuses. GUEST: Alexandra Petri - Columnist for The Washington Post; her new book is Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why: Essays (@petridishes) 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.

Something different is happening in America at this moment. Do you feel it? We want to hear from you. Call us during our live show Tuesday, from 1 to 2 p.m., at 888-720-9677 or 888-720-WNPR. People across America are protesting the same police brutality against black Americans that never seems to stop. America has suffered more deaths from COVID-19 than any other nation, and we still don't have a federal plan to deal with it, despite the efforts of health care workers and scientists. President Trump had threatened to deploy the military if the state officials he first felt the need to denigrate couldn't control the looting in their locales. He proceeded to order the police to use tear gas and flash grenades to disperse peaceful protesters so that he could pose in front of a burned church with a Bible in his hand. Let's not forget the President's efforts to disenfranchise the same voters he's gassing by trying to prevent them from voting in November. Are we finally at a turning point where we can no longer tolerate the lies and cruelty of the last three years? GUEST: Lawrence Douglas - Author of Will He Go? Trump and the Looming Electoral Meltdown in 2020 Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Catie Talarski contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The pandemic has laid bare how racism in housing, education, employment, and access to health care, disproportionately hurts Black Americans more than White Americans and leads to police brutality against people the police are supposed to protect. The country is reacting against both the trauma and rage from sustained racism and frustration over a pandemic we can't control. Will the outcry finally lead to lasting change or will we focus on "riots" instead of the underlying problem? Most states have begun to reopen and many Americans shed their masks and social distancing and their concerns about the virus. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security. The virus hasn't gone away and there's no evidence that warm weather will make it disappear. GUESTS: Alan Dove is a science journalist with a Ph.D in microbiology, a podcaster, blogger, and a co-host of the podcast "This Week in Virology" (@alandove) Marcus Thompson II is a lead columnist at The Athletic and the author of the biography Golden: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry (@ThompsonScribe) Danielle Kilgo is an assistant professor of journalism in The Media School at Indiana University. She focuses on media coverage of social justice issues and protests. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hannah Gadsby has been a prominent comedian in Australia for going on 15 years. In America, though, she arrived seemingly from nowhere in 2018 with a Netflix special called Nanette, which won a Peabody and an Emmy. Douglas is Gadsby's follow-up Netflix special. It's, as she calls it, her "difficult second album that is also [her] tenth and some people's first." And: I Know This Much Is True is a six-part HBO miniseries set in Connecticut and based on the Wally Lamb novel of the same name. Mark Ruffalo plays two twin brothers, one who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and one who doesn't. Three episodes have aired so far. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Top Sheets Are The LITERAL [...] WORST — Here's WhyOh sheet. Crocs Are Back In Style. And Not Just Because of Coronavirus.Stay-at-home adults are wearing the comfy shoes. So are young shoppers who want to be seen. 'They are the Nickelback of footwear.' Yankee Stadium Is Being Turned Into a Drive-in Concert and Movie Venue This SummerEnjoy the fun of a festival from the safety of your car. The fate of the summer movie season rests on one Christopher Nolan filmHis new film 'Tenet' is seen as a test of whether, and how, Americans can return to movie theaters after the coronavirus shutdowns end The game that ate the world: 40 facts on Pac-Man's 40th birthdayThe iconic maze chase has been played billions of times, created one of the 80s' strangest sex symbols, stupefied Martin Amis -- and is now enshrined in a leading art museum Will the coronavirus pandemic open the door to a four-day workweek?When New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern floated the idea of a four-day workweek, an audience outside the country took notice. GUESTS: Cara McDonough - A freelance writer; you can read her blog at caramcduna.com 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.

As the world waits for an end to Covid-19, billions of people find themselves betwixt and between two realities: The pre-pandemic reality we knew, and the post-pandemic reality that is yet to come. As author and Professor of Theology Shelly Rambo wrote in the wake of hurricane Katrina, "Life as it once was cannot be retrieved,... life ahead cannot be envisioned." On today's show we'll explore the concept of crisis liminality and examine ways in which people are trying to cope with the unknown. We'll also speak with experts about the myriad of possible changes that may arise from this liminal state. We will emerge from this crisis changed; for the better or worse remains to be seen. GUESTS: Blanka Domagalska - Lecturer at Otis College of Art and Design teaching courses on product Design, with expertise in art history, media and cultural theory, philosophy and aesthetic liminality  Leysia Palen - Professor of Computer Science, as well as Professor and Founding Chair of the Department of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. She’s also a leader in the field of crisis informatics Gerd Leonhard - Futurist, speaker and author of several books including Technology vs. Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shortly after the pandemic shifted our weekday work scenario from one of shared space and bursts of spontaneous conversation, to one hour-long weekly Zoom meeting, Colin shared his urge to sit down with a few old friends to talk about life in the shadow of a pandemic.  We take for granted the small connections we make every day, including how good it can feel to talk to a stranger, let alone friends and colleagues. Today, Susan Campbell and Colin get together (by Zoom) to talk about life, pain, and keeping faith amid the successive shockwaves of 9/11, the 2016 election, and a global pandemic. (and some fun stuff too) GUESTS: Susan Campbell is a journalist, columnist, and a distinguished lecturer at the University of New Haven. She’s the author of Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism and the American Girl; Tempest-Tossed: The Spirit of Isabella Beecher Hooker; and, most recently, Frog Hollow: Stories from an American Neighborhood. (@campbellsl) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. is on track to reach 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week. Yet, most states began reopening last week using data that may be undercounting how many people are currently infected.  The reopening of some businesses and activities is a step that can lull us to believe that this pandemic is almost behind us. That would be a mistake. The only thing that's changed since March is that we have isolated ourselves from each other enough to let the sick get well before more well people get sick. The virus will continue to infect us - and we'll infect each other - faster than we can control it if we stop wearing masks or socially distancing. A vaccine may not emerge for a long time. We can't jump over the scientific obstacles to getting one, no matter how much the President promotes "Operation Warp Speed."  We talk with an epidemiologist and a former musician turned physician, who will talk about his shift from artist to healer. They're not that different.     GUESTS:  Gregg Gonsalves is the codirector of the Global Health Justice Partnership at Yale Law School and an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health. He also writes a weekly series for The Nation. (@gregggonsalves) Hugh Blumenfeld is a ​family physician in Hartford. He's also a ​singer/songwriter,  a former English professor, and Connecticut's 7th State Troubadour.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, in lieu of The Nose, an hour with America's Greatest Living Film Critic, David Edelstein. GUEST: David Edelstein - America's Greatest Living Film Critic 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.

Who would have guessed a face mask would become the latest cultural symbol of our identity, one more way to express our politics, our sense of style, and our deepest beliefs in what it means to be American. Whether you wear a mask might depend less on the science behind the advice, and more on how you view society - are we in this together or is it each (wo)man for him or herself.  The mask has become a fashion statement, a staple of our daily attire as we adapt to the reality masks are likely here to stay. We may as well look good while we're going through it. Unless, you're a member of Congress. Fashion designers and DIY sewers are upping the style, many directing surplus to areas of shortage.  Masks are even part of the politics of religion. In one case, ancient mummy masks were destroyed as part of a scam to try and rewrite the history of Christianity. We'll explain. We have bogged down the once simple face mask with the weight of our human frailties. I hope they don't split at the seams.  GUESTS:  Ryan Lizza is Chief Washington Correspondent for Politico and a senior political analyst at CNN. He’s writing a book about 2020 with Olivia Nuzzi. (@RyanLizza)  Robin Givhan is fashion critic for The Washington Post. She’s the author of The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled into the Spotlight and Made History. (@RobinGivhan)   Ariel Sabar is an award-winning journalist and author. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, and Smithsonian Magazine. His latest book is Veritas: A Harvard Professor, A Con Man, And the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife. (@arielsabar) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.