The Colin McEnroe Show

Everybody loves a bulldozer. In fact, we all grew up loving bulldozers, didn't we? From "Benny the Bulldozer" to Katy and her big snow, from all the Tonka toys to all the die cast model Caterpillars, the bulldozer is more of an icon in American popular culture than we maybe realize.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petry wrote a column a few years ago asking if poetry was still vital enough to change anything. Poets and poetry lovers reacted strongly, sending recommendations to enlighten her and encourage her to "get out more." Petry says that column haunts her more than anything she’s ever written, enough to follow it up with a defense - and an olive branch.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most cities would be thrilled to have a major or minor-league sports franchise come to town. It will bring crowds and new business and prosperity, right? Colin talks with panelists about the benefits, history, and costs of professional sports in Hartford.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year's presidential race is exposing the vast disconnect between candidates and voters,  the inadequacy of the two-party system, and the overall breakdown of our political system.  Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last weekend, the new Starz series "The Girlfriend Experience" premiered on cable and dropped in its entirety online. The always grumpy Richard Brody called it "an artistic as well as an epistemological disaster," but he blamed all of that directly on "the rigid format of serial television."Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you like spoilers? Hate them? Whether it involves sports, television, books or movies, has a spoiler ruined something for you? Enhanced it? Do you practice spoiler etiquette?Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

History and literature are filled with their antics. From the Renaissance's Triboulet to Shakespeare's Feste from "Twelfth Night," jesters and fools have delighted us for centuries with their subversive humor and quick wit. But while comedy was their brand, there existed hardships for these characters as well.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Donald Trump was considered untouchable on his way to winning the nomination to represent the Republican Party in the 2016 election -- until establishment forces let go an unrelenting assault on his candidacy.Now there's talk of revolution at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this summer, where the votes of superdelegates, or party loyalists, get the last word on who moves forward. The Trump campaign is warning against it.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's hard to improve on the poet, Rilke, who wrote, "Love consists of this, that two solitudes meet, protect, and greet each other." But did Rilke have to deal with Angry Birds and Snap Chat? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

And after 15 seasons and 555 episodes and more than 345 Billboard chart toppers, "American Idol" is done with us. Love it or hate it, the show changed the American television business, the American reality television business, the American music business. It gave us Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson and Ryan Seacrest. And it gave us Taylor Hicks and William Hung. And Ryan Seacrest. We unpack the whole thing, the good and the bad.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.