The Colin McEnroe Show

There's a debate over whether college should prepare kids with specific skills that will prepare them for jobs, or give them a wide-ranging but more general liberal arts education. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I could have called myself a Stradivarius, for though I, of course, was just an ordinary violin, waiting, ready to be held for the first time in a musician’s hands, primed to be played, mobilized by all my busy genes to become music – when first I felt the quiver of its stirring sound, I became, imparadised, the most priceless stringed instrument on the face of the earth. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Public radio is one of the few places where you can avoid ads for daily fantasy football companies like DraftKings and FanDuel. If you go anywhere else on the radio dial or turn on the TV, you'll probably encounter at least a few commercials. Now the industry is under intense scrutiny after an employee at DraftKings won $350,000 at FanDuel using insider information.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 24 hours, UConn freshman Luke Gatti became a viral video sensation. By now, millions have turned on their computers to watch the apparently-intoxicated 19-year-old taunting and shoving a UConn food court manger. Over what? Mac 'n cheese, of course. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Philippe Petit made his walk between the towers of the World Trade Center over 40 years ago. He stayed up on that wire for 45 minutes, made 8 passes between the towers, got down on his knees, and he even laid down on it! But it's more than that one feat - it was a placeholder for a much broader philosophy of risk and creativity, and evidence of who the man really is.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justin Lifflander wanted nothing more than to become a spy for the CIA. Growing up during the Cold War, he practiced spying on friends, family, and schoolmates in preparation for what he thought would be a career full of high-tech gadgetry and secret rendezvous. When Lifflander was finally assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow in 1987, he thought his dream was coming true.What followed was something Lifflander could never have predicted. He was a mechanic at the embassy, then an inspector of Soviet missile sights, and then a suspected American agent followed at every turn by the KGB. Lifflander found himself living in a world which very much resembled his childhood dream -- but he was never a spy.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The opening credits of your favorite movies and television shows set the mood, tone, and characters for what's to come, and allow you to relax and get ready for the show. Some fast-forward through the opening credits to avoid distraction from the main performance. Others say title sequences are supposed to be more like a score: felt, but not noticed. The film industry first fell in love with titles in the 1950s, when iconic opening sequences from Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo and Rod Serling's The Twilight Zone were etched deep in our memories. The opening notes are still recognizable half a century later. The same can be said for the well-known HBO series Game of Thrones. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our weekly Monday afternoon "Scramble" continues the conversation arising from last week’s school shooting in Oregon. As the number of mass shootings continues to rise, the nationwide discussion has reached a stalemate. Is there a different, more effective way to talk about guns? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, Pope Francis was the biggest thing to hit America since the British Invasion. You could buy Pope-themed dolls, cookies with the Pope's face, hats, coffee mugs, backpacks, and even a Pope Bobblehead. It was the pope's first visit to the U.S., and he seemed eager and happy to be here. He spoke passionately about the poor, climate change, and the migrant crisis, and cautioned against religious extremism. It has left some people wondering why he met privately and secretly with Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refuses to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alan Doyle is best known as lead singer of the Canadian band Great Big Sea. Recently, however, he's been touring with a different act: Alan Doyle and The Beautiful Gypsies. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.