The Colin McEnroe Show

The New York Times has called Harris Yulin "something of the character actor's character actor." You know him from, well... pretty much everything: Scarface, Ghostbusters II, Clear and Present Danger, Bean, The Hurricane, Rush Hour 2, Training Day, The Place Beyond the Pines, 24, Veep, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Ozark. It goes on. Yulin is here playing Righty in the Yale Repertory Theatre's world premiere production of The Plot, which is playwright Will Eno's latest. Eno's previous work includes Middletown; The Open House; The Realistic Joneses, which also premiered at Yale Rep and which went on to Broadway; and Thom Pain (based on nothing), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Yulin and Eno (and Eno's adorable daughter, Albertine) are our guests. GUESTS: Albertine - The adorable daughter of Will Eno and Maria Dizzia Will Eno - An Obie Award-, Drama Desk Award-, and Lucille Lortel Award-winning playwright Harris Yulin - An actor and director who has been appearing on stage and screen for going on 60 years Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe contributed to this show, which includes original music composed by Emily Duncan Wilson, sound designer for Yale Repertory Theatre's production of The Plot.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you think of taxidermy, you may imagine a trophy room in which mostly male hunters have mounted the heads of 12-point stags along wood-paneled walls. If so, your image would be incomplete. Taxidermy has gone through many interations since gentleman scientists turned to taxidermy to understand anatomy during the Enlightenment. Victorians added a touch of whimsy, decorating their homes with birds under glass and falling in love with Walter Potter's anthropomorphized cats. Later still, Norman Bates shifted the cultural understanding of taxidermy from art to something more macabre after he taxidermied his mother in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho."  Today, animal-loving Millennial women are taking taxidermy to new levels of artistry and craftsmanship, from rogue taxidermists who mix and match animal parts to the mallard wing bridal veil of a couture taxidermist.   In the end, isn't taxidermy about immortality and how we choose to remember?  GUESTS: Kristen Arnett is a librarian and a queer fiction and essay writer. She’s the author of the novel, NYT bestseller Mostly Dead Things, and a short fiction collection, Felt in the Jaw.(@Kristen_Arnett) Beth Beverly is a couture taxidermist and the owner of Diamond Tooth Taxidermy. Her work has been featured in The New York Times and most recently the Netflix series "Stranger Things" (@bethbeverly) John Whitenight is an educator, author, and artist. He’s the author of Under Glass: A Victorian Obsession Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is perhaps no figure more emblematic of the paranormal than the psychic. Able to predict the future, see into the past, and even communicate with the dead, the psychic's awesome gifts are matched only by his or her ability to withstand skepticism and ridicule. But are our misgivings towards these intuitives justified? Is it merely smoke and mirrors which they've learned to master or are they, in fact, possessed of powers beyond our comprehension? This hour we speak with believers, skeptics and self-proclaimed psychics to find out.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Private weather companies are cropping up to produce weather and climate models that has historically been provided by the government at taxpayer expense. Private weather forecasting is a $7 billion industry that threatens the National Weather Services hold on the best data and could lead to a tiered system of access. Also this hour: Montrealers are united around their bagels. Until now, the biggest division was over who made the best bagel. Now, environmental concerns have divided them into those who want to ban the wood-burning ovens that make Montreal bagels unique and traditionalists who want to preserve the city's Jewish history and social fabric.  Lastly, the Apostrophe Preservation Society has closed its doors. It's 96-year-old chairman said "ignorance and laziness" has won. We take your calls (pet peeves) about the apostrophe. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last Thursday, Elon Musk unveiled Tesla's Cybertruck and Sacha Baron Cohen gave the keynote address at an Anti-Defamation League summit. Both performances have drawn mixed reactions. And: The Mandalorian is the big, new, original, launch title for Disney's new streaming service, Disney+. It's a half(ish)-hour western set in the Star Wars universe, and three episodes have dropped so far.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you ever drive across the country, you’ll notice there is a surprising amount of World’s Largest attractions. West Virginia has the world’s largest teapot, California has the world’s largest yo-yo and Arkansas, for whatever reason, has the world’s largest Spinach can. This hour we talk to the man who brought the world’s tallest Uncle Sam to Danbury, Connecticut.  We also speak with the only person in history who claims to have built two full-size replicas of Stonehenge, and a cartoonist that is very well-traveled. Lastly, we speak to someone who is the attraction. He's gone viral for knitting sweaters of roadside attractions, then taking selfies in front of them. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper demanded the resignation of Navy Secretary Richard Spencer on Sunday. Esper said he had lost confidence in Spencer. Esper's action follows Spencer publicly disagreeing with President Trump over the military's decision to demote one of three war criminals the president pardoned against military advice. What are the consequences of presidential interference in the military code of justice? Also this hour: Students from Yale and Harvard protested during Saturday's Yale-Harvard football game in New Haven, to call on both universities to divest their investments in fossil fuels. About 350 additional fans joined them on the field to the sounds of John Denver. Sam Waterston was there too. Lastly, a group of student body senators at the University of Florida initiated impeachment proceedings against their student body president for using student fees to promote a political agenda. He specifically wanted to pay Donald Trump Jr. to speak on campus.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Irishman is Martin Scorsese's first gangster movie in thirteen years. It's his first feature-length film with Robert De Niro in 24 years and his first with Harvey Keitel in 31 years. It's Joe Pesci's first onscreen performance since 2010 and just his third since 1998. It's the first time any combination of Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, and/or Harvey Keitel has ever worked together, and it's the first time Scorsese has ever directed Pacino. The Irishman is also Scorsese's first film for Netflix. As such, a number of theater chains in our area are boycotting the picture. But some aren't -- and it'll be streaming right to a Netflix machine near you as of November 27, just in time for the long holiday weekend. And: The French post-impressionist Paul Gauguin died more than 116 years ago. Is it time to cancel him?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ralph Nader's niece died when Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 max 8 jet crashed in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, in March 2019.  Since that day, her family has been trying to prove that Boeing put profits before public safety when they failed to ground the plane when they recognized the danger it posed.  There is a poignancy in the notion that this family has to fight this battle against corporate greed and deregulation. It's been the fight of their lives.  Now, the fight is more personal.  Also this hour: Myles Garrett, a defensive end for the Cleveland Browns, was suspended indefinitely for attacking another player on the field. He likes poetry, astrophysics and paleontology. He's the least likely guy to exhibit violence. Why did he do it and what can we learn from it? Lastly, a long-lost Stradivarius comes home. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

William Outlaw is a natural leader. He's been a key figure in helping to lower New Haven's homicide rate over the last decade. He's a strategist and an organizer who can size up a situation quickly. He can defuse a threatening situation with his charisma and charm. He can run a business.  As a street outreach worker in New Haven, he uses all the same skills today that he used when he co-ran New Haven's largest cocaine gang in the 1980's.  He spent twenty years behind bars, surviving some of the most dangerous prisons in America. For the last decade, he's been giving back to the community he once harmed. William takes responsibility for his crimes.  He also recognizes that people make decisions within the framework of the opportunities and experiences available to them. The difference between William and an Ivy-educated CEO may be that William grew up in a public housing project steeped in a culture of violence and poverty.  William is still running a gang --  but using the same skills for a very different outcome.  GUESTS: Charles Barber - Writer in residence at Wesleyan University and a lecturer in psychiatry at Yale. He’s the author of three books, most recently Citizen Outlaw: One Man’s Journey from Gangleader to Peacekeeper William Juneboy Outlaw III- Co-directs the Connecticut Violence Interruption Project, which seeks to reduce youth violence in New Haven. He’s also Senior Community Advocate at Good Will where he helps formerly incarcerated people reenter the community. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.