The Colin McEnroe Show

A lot has happened since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initiated an impeachment inquiry against President Trump last week after learning that Trump asked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Velensky to interfere in the 2020 election. Public support for the inquiry is rising after an edited transcript of Trump's conversation was released to the public along with a transcipt of the whistleblower complaint at the center of the scandal. The complaint reads like a novel, alleging the use of pass code protected servers, secret meetings, and the involvement of lawyers in the State and Justice Departments. We try to make sense of all of it with Connecticut senator Chris Murphy, New York Magazine writer-at-large Frank Rich, and your calls. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose couldn't decide which of last weekend's two big new movies to go see, so it went to both. Downton Abbey, the feature film continuation of the incredibly popular PBS series, is the number one movie in the country. Its $31 million opening was the biggest ever for the studio that made it, Focus Features. Not bad for a PG-rated, special effects-free drama made for grownups. James Gray's Ad Astra is kind of at the opposite end of a number of spectrums. As a huge, expensive space adventure that travels to Neptune and back, its #2 opening is underperforming its budget a bit. But it's also being called, "one of the most ruminative, withdrawn, and curiously optimistic space epics this side of Solaris," and, "also one of the best." Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Hefty launches 'talking trash bags' for millennials, with phrases like 'I'm so trashy' and 'Feed me tacos & tell me I'm pretty' Vox Media Acquires New York Magazine, Chronicler of the Highbrow and Lowbrow Mattel helped define gender norms for decades with Barbie and Ken. Now it’s defying them. Billy Joel Anthology TV Series in the Works (Exclusive) Danny DeVito, Never Retire (Bitch) Glitter Pumpkin Butts Are the NSFW Halloween Trend You Need to See The Hyphen AffairWhy grammar nerds keep getting so furious with the Associated Press -- and why they're wrong. Ashton Kutcher Pushes For Trump Impeachment After Meeting Ukrainian President Eddie Murphy Is Bringing Eddie Murphy BackIn a wide-ranging interview, the star explains why he's returning to stand-up and the big screen, why he regrets leaving and why it's hard to watch himself in "Raw" these days. On Airlines, Window Shades Are the New Reclining Seats Is Donald Trump Really Just Andy Kaufman in Disguise? An Investigation GUESTS: Tom Breen - Film critic and reporter for the New Haven Independent; host of WNHH radio's Deep Focus Lucy Gellman - Editor of The Arts Paper; host of WNHH radio's Kitchen Sync Pedro Soto - An aerospace executive working on a secret project Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been 25 years since Bob Ross's The Joy of Painting went off the air (and 24 years since Ross died). But there are 52 episodes of the show available to stream on Netflix. Bob Ross and Chill is a thing. The 403 full episodes available on YouTube have accumulated something approaching 250 million views. And this summer, The New York Times did a big Bob Ross investigation. This hour: a look at the undying force for permed hair and puffy little clouds and happy little trees that is Bob Ross. Plus: Could we do a show about Bob Ross without also talking Thomas Kinkade? No we could not. And so no we will not. GUESTS: Nathan Badley - Cohost of the Nothing But a Bob Thang podcast Alexis Boylan - Associate professor of art history at UConn and the editor of Thomas Kinkade, The Artist in the Mall Justin Croft - Cohost of the Nothing But a Bob Thang podcast Emily Rhyne - Cinematographer at The New York Times Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An epoch of our own making is one way to describe it. And as the Anthropocene is set to be formally recognized as a chrono-stratigraphic unit in the next couple of years, scientists, philosophers, engineers and many more are exploring unconventional ways of adapting to this new era. From terraforming cities to preserve Holocenic conditions, to collaborating with non-human life forms to "re-wild" our planet, to releasing chemicals into the stratosphere to block sunlight, no experiment, it seems, is  off limits.  On today's show we'll speak with the visionary thinkers behind these ideas. Are they desperate measures meant for desperate times, a means of starting a conversation about change, or are they viable solutions to one of our species' greatest threats?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women in America die more frequently from complications of childbirth than in any other industrialized nation in the world. In addition, women of color are three to four times more likely to die than white women. And over the last 25 years that the maternal mortality was rising in America, other countries were decreasing their rate.  There are lots of reasons why maternal mortality and morbidity is rising, including  lack of access, the high rate of caesarian sections, racial bias, bias against women's health issues, and a medical model that medicalizes a normal process.   While no one action can explain why maternal mortality rates are lower in European countries, we do know that they utilize one resource that we don't: midwives and doulas. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

House Democrats are moving closer to initiating impeachment proceedings against President Trump after he confirmed that he discussed 2020 presidential candidate and political rival Joe Biden, with the Ukrainian president. The possibility that the president may have subjugated the national interest for personal political gain is a "new chapter of lawlessness," according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Is this the tipping point for impeachment? What are the implications of seeking to impeach -- or not?  Also this hour: Have you ever noticed that President Trump has a habit of quietly stating his alleged offenses out loud?  Beulah, a 54-year-old Asian elephant that belonged to Connecticut-based R.W. Commerford & Sons Zoo, died at the Big E last week, sparking outrage from animal rights activists who have been trying to have elephants removed from traveling zoos for years. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merriam-Webster has added 533 new words to its dictionary. Words like "deep state," "pickleball," "escape room," and "Bechdel test." My favorite is probably "fatberg." But there's a particular new dictionary entry that The Nose is specifically interested in: "dad joke." Also this week: The Nose tackles what we're pretty sure is its first certifiable bomb ever. The new movie adaptation of The Goldfinch opened last weekend on more than 2,500 screens at #8 at the domestic box office. It took in a little over $2.6 million. It is the sixth-worst opening for a release that wide in the history of movies. Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: SNL Fires New Cast Member Shane Gillis James Corden Has No Time for Bill Maher's Fat Shaming Piers Morgan Supports Bill Maher's Call For Fat-shaming To Make A Comeback Sean Spicer Appearing on Dancing With the Stars Is a Sign of the End Times They're Coming! Area 51 Joke Spawns Dueling Alien-Themed PartiesThe organizers of one alien-themed party went their separate ways this week, leading to accusations of secrecy and poor planning. The US Navy just confirmed these UFO videos are the real deal I Was Caroline CallowaySeven years after I met the infamous Instagram star, I'm ready to tell my side of the story. Ric Ocasek's Eternal Cool Was Ric Ocasek Actually 75?Some sources said the Cars frontman, who died Sunday, was 70. Here's how The Times figured out the right age. NBCUniversal Announces 'Peacock' As The Name Of Its Streaming Service And Unveils Initial Content Lineup Someone Just Discovered John Milton's Copy of Shakespeare, Which Is Absolutely Bananas After 350 Years, Scholars Have Found Another Hidden Message in Milton's 'Paradise Lost' Whitney Houston Hologram Tour Announces First Dates Amber Heard Defends Herself Against Backlash After Posting Risque Photo on Instagram Friends Is a Gen X Show. Why Don't We Ever Call It That? Inconceivable! Rumour of The Princess Bride remake sends fans into pit of despair Cruel Food Brands Mangle Books For Meme Challenge. Readers Aren't Having It.Books are doused with milk and gummed up with Gushers. Publishers, readers, bookstores and libraries resist. GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan - Producing associate at TheaterWorks Carolyn Paine - An actress, comedian, and dancer; founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Irene Papoulis - Teaches writing at Trinity College Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Though country music is considered the most popular genre of music in America, its influence is profoundly regional. The style is known for appealing to the white working class, and is largely sequestered in southern and midwestern pockets of the country. Meanwhile, coastal elites tend to regard the genre with disdain. "I like everything but country" is a popular refrain. This hour, we unpack one of the country's most polarizing genres.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if you just don't really enjoy food very much? What if you're totally fine eating the same thing every single day? What if you think food is an inefficient way to get what you need to survive? What if, rather than eating "food," you just mixed a white powder (that is definitely not made of people because it's made of soy protein isolate instead) with water and drank that in food's place? This hour: a look at what you might call the non-foodie movement and the "powdered food" meal replacement product that is Soylent.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ocean Vuong emigrated to Hartford from Vietnam when he was two years old. His family brought with them the trauma of an American-led war that ravaged their people and their culture. How do they retain their culture and assimilate into one that doesn't want them? His family struggled in a Hartford very different from the city that many of us experience. It's a place that still exists in the shadows. Ocean’s family is a snapshot into a bigger and more pervasive picture of the problems in America that many choose to hide -- the toll of low-wage work, poverty, drugs, violence, and the erasure of histories and ways of living life that don't fit neatly into the American myth. Ocean's first novel, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous, is an American story, albeit one about the failure of America. This is an excerpt. GUEST: Ocean Vuong - A poet and the author of the novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired July 17, 2019.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.