The Colin McEnroe Show

Fear of sharks spiked last summer after a great white fatally bit a 26-year-old surfer off the coast of Cape Cod. The fever still runs high as reports of great white sightings coincide with people heading to the beach this 4th of July.  Yet, we have a higher risk of getting hit by lightning than killed by a great white shark. The myth of the great white, exacerbated by the 1975 megahit Jaws, is false. Great whites are not the aggressive creatures still perpetuated in popular media. We're more likely to survive a shark bite simply because sharks don't like the way we taste. They spit us out if they accidentally mistake us for a seal.   The convergence of globally warming waters off our east coast and the repopulation of seals and great whites after a previous panic nearly wiped them out, means we'll have to learn to share the ocean.  Instead of pursuing shark repellents like sonar buoys, electric shark shields, and seal contraception, should we consider how we can co-exist with the creatures of the sea? Besides, whose ocean is it anyway?  The fish were there first. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Women scientists and inventors have been making ground-breaking discoveries since Agnodike pretended to be a man in order to become the first female anatomist in ancient Greece. Yet, women's scientific contributions have historically been hidden in the footnotes of the work men claimed as their own. It's 2019. Things are better, right?  Not really. Men still hold the majority of patents, and systemic biases still lead to lower pay, less authorship for scientific papers, and overt and subtle forms of harassment. Women scientists of color and those in the LGBTQ community feel it the most. Yet, women scientists are banding together to call out bias and give credit where it's due -- one Wikipedia page at a time.  Today, we talk to four of them.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reality TV shows like the Discovery Channel's Doomsday Bunkers and National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Preppers perpetuate a stereotype of "preppers" that omits the wide swath of people who engage in preparedness in a less extreme and more varied way. Talk of nuclear war, climate apocalypse, pandemic, economic instability, and the decline of democracy has led more people to think about how to survive a catastrophic -- if not apocalyptic -- event.  Do you buy organic food? Will you drink only bottled water? Do you avoid antibiotics? You may not have an underground bunker but you might have a generator, short wave radio, extra batteries and a supply of canned foods. Today, we dive into the real world of "preppers." Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The concept of the early 20th century sideshow evokes images of bearded ladies, sword swallowers and exotic "others" exhibited as "freaks" before audiences both lured and repelled by what they saw. Crowds flocked to Coney Island sideshows where, for 10 cents, they could find solace that someone was worse off than they were during times of low life expectancy, high infant mortality, world war, and financial instability. Few had the luxury of seeing the humanity behind the act. Cartoonist Bill Griffith based his legendary character Zippy the Pinhead on Schlitzie, a real life sideshow "pinhead" who appeared in the movie Freaks. Early audiences were appalled by director Tod Browning's use of real sideshow actors who banded together to seek revenge on those who treated them with cruelty. Griffith's new graphic novel is his way to dig a little deeper into who Schlitzie was and the sideshow family who cared for and loved him. Also this hour: we learn about a man who saved thousands of premature infants over almost 40 years by exhibiting them in incubators in a Coney Island sideshow. Behind the acts, sideshow performers were often people of great compassion, courage, and humanity. GUESTS: Bill Griffith - Creator of the syndicated daily comic strip Zippy and author of two graphic memoirs, Invisible Ink: My Mother's Secret Love Affair With a Cartoonist and Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Schlitzie the Pinhead Wolf Krakowski - Yiddish singer whose CDs are on Tzadik Records; Wolf has videotaped testimonies of Holocaust survivors for the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation Claire Prentice - Award-winning freelance journalist, editor, and writer; she's the author of two non-fiction books, The Lost Tribe of Coney Island: Headhunters, Luna Park, and the Man Who Pulled Off the Spectacle of the Century and Miracle at Coney Island: How a Sideshow Doctor Saved Thousands of Babies and Transformed American Medicine Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired May 2, 2019.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's SUMMER! And every year around this time, we gather up a few music mavens who help us analyze and celebrate the kind of music that gets us dancing and singing as soon as it comes on the radio. But how do you define "Song of the Summer"? Amanda Dobbins breaks it down:  "Let’s be clear about how this works: There is no such thing as a 'personal' song of summer. We do not anoint multiple songs of summer. There can only be one; the Song of Summer, by its very definition, is a consensus choice. It is the song that wrecks wedding dance floors. It is the song that you and your mother begrudgingly agree on (even though your mom has no idea what rhymes with 'hug me' and won't stop yelling it in public.) It does not necessarily have to hit No. 1 on the charts, but it should probably be on the charts because it must be widely played. It must bring people together. It must be a shared enthusiasm."Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A photo of people inching their way up a snaking line to the peak of Mount Everest last month has drawn attention to a number of problems, one of which was the jostling at the top of the mountain to take social media-ready selfies and photos.  That got us wondering if other people were risking their lives for that perfect photo. It turns out that more than 250 people worldwide have died while taking selfies in just over the last decade, according to a study published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. Drowning, transport, and falls are the top reasons for death. Today, we talk about how a social media-driven visual culture is shaping how we work, play, and experience life. Are we willing to die for that perfect photo? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

October of 2018 was an unremarkable month. That is, to everyone who wasn't working for Youmail. During that month, the California-based company which provides voicemail and call blocking technology, noticed something special:  On average, 164 million robocalls were being placed every single day around America. That's nearly 7 million per hour, and nearly 2,000 per second, for a grand monthly total of over 5.1 billion. It was a new national record! Unfortunately for Americans, the previous month's record of just over four billion robocalls was not one anyone wished to see broken. But broken it was and with this new record came a wave of unprecedented pressure on Congress and the FCC to act. On March 23, 2019 they did. The TRACED Act; tough new legislation against illegal robocallers sailed through the Senate 99 to 1. Simultaneously, powerful, technological tools known as STIR / SHAKEN began rolling out allowing telecom companies to authenticate incoming calls from questionable numbers more effectively. Had the problem finally been solved? All eyes turned once again to the Youmail robocall index for an answer. During March of 2019, the very same month that the TRACED Act passed, Youmail reported that 5.2 billion robocalls had been made. A brand new national record! This hour we speak with technology and telecom industry experts about the national epidemic of robocalls. Can anything be done to finally stop (or even manage) the menace? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants to give everyone a Universal Basic Income to offset the effects of automation. The plan resonates across a broad spectrum of voters from his "Yang Gang" to the alt-right and it has catapulted him to a spot in this week's Democratic primary debate alongside frontrunners Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris. Who is this guy?  Also this hour: Last month, we told you about Curtis Flowers, the Mississippi man convicted over 20 years ago of killing four people by a prosecutor with a history of racial bias and witness tampering. You may recognize the story from the APM podcast, "In the Dark." Last week, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn his latest conviction in a 7-2 decision. What's next?  Lastly, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says the Trump Administration is running "concentration camps" at our Southern border. We talk about that. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants to give everyone a Universal Basic Income to offset the effects of automation. The plan resonates across a broad spectrum of voters from his "Yang Gang" to the alt-right and it has catapulted him to a spot in this week's Democratic primary debate alongside frontrunners Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Kamala Harris. Who is this guy?  Also this hour: Last month, we told you about Curtis Flowers, the Mississippi man convicted over 20 years ago of killing four people by a prosecutor with a history of racial bias and witness tampering. You may recognize the story from the APM podcast, "In the Dark." Last week, the Supreme Court ruled to overturn his latest conviction in a 7-2 decision. What's next?  Lastly, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says the Trump Administration is running "concentration camps" at our Southern border. We talk about that. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose doesn't much miss a chance to cover Taylor Swift. And it turns out, Taytay's got a new song and video... for Pride Month... and it's been received, let's say, kind of skeptically. (Relatedly, here's a listicle: All 126 Taylor Swift Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best.) And then: Last year, the Obamas signed a big deal to make TV programs for Netflix. And now, the former first couple's production company is coming to an earbud near you through a podcast-making deal with Spotify. (Relatedly, here's a listicle: The best podcasts of 2019 so far.) And finally: Jim Jarmusch's new movie is... a zombie comedy? The Dead Don't Die stars Bill Murray, Adam Driver, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, RZA, Tilda Swinton, Danny Glover, Carol Kane, and more. (Relatedly, here's a listicle: 8 Great Zombie Comedies (That Aren't The Dead Don't Die).) Some other stuff that happened this week, give or take: Gloria Vanderbilt, socialite and designer-jeans marketer who was the subject of a sensational custody trial in the 1930s, dies at 95 An Oral History of Vincent D'Onofrio's Perfect Men in Black'Sugar Water' Scene What Really Happened to Malaysia's Missing Airplane Bill Cosby's post as 'America's Dad' on Father's Day sparks anger online John Cusack deletes tweet after being accused of anti-Semitism Today in heavy-handed metaphors: The tree that inspired Dr. Seuss' The Loraxhas fallen Today we're reminded that the singing Quiznos rats were real and not a collective fever dream Ex-MLB star Lenny Dykstra spent 9 hours dumpster diving outside a Jersey Mike's. Here's why. Summertime Sadness at the Box OfficeA stretch of June flops has once again put a magnifying glass on the health of the movie industry, as every studio not named Disney struggles to make an impact(Relatedly, here's a listicle: The 15 Best Films of 2019 (So Far).) GUESTS: Lucy Gellman - Editor of The Arts Paper and host of WNHH radio's Kitchen Sync Sam Hadelman - Host of The Sam Hadelman Show on WNHH and a journalist for the New Haven Independent Nicholas Quah - The editor and publisher of Hot Pod, a newsletter about podcasts 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.