The Colin McEnroe Show

On The Nose this week, a viral video musical tribute to Chinese food triggers cries of racism, a father welcoming his fourth daughter into the world, and opens up a can of complicated thoughts about that. And we talk about the time we walked in the shoes of the opposite sex. Listen to our weekly culture panel live from New Haven on WNPR.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The electrical grid has been described as the glass jaw of American industry. According to some reports, we’re just one solar flare or cyber-attack away from massive, cascading power failures. This has happened before. In 2012, a cascading power failure in India plunged around 680 million into darkness. And in 2011, some Connecticut residents found themselves without power for more than a week thanks to a freak October snowstorm. We’ll chat with energy experts about how to strengthen the electrical grid.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's hard to believe that each one of us throws away over seven pounds of trash every day, adding up to about 102 tons over a lifetime. In part, that's because we're used to having our garbage whisked away while we sleep, waking to an empty barrel and a license to buy some more.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today you're going to meet the new State Troubadour, Kristen Graves, and renew your acquaintance with three former troubadours.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A popular video this week was a highlight reel of Stephen Colbert being unable to stay in character as a pompous, self-pleased right wing blowhard. Instead, Colbert is swept up in the hilarity of the material. One of his adorable tricks is to hide the lower half of his face behind something, allowing us to see only his laughing eyes.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Almost every cure and treatment of diseases exists thanks to medical research on animals. Through animal research, we can understand the addictive nature of Oreos like in a study from Connecticut College recently, and Macaques are crucial for the development of AIDS vaccine strategies. We’ll find out why certain animals work best for certain studies, some big challenges in finding the healthiest control subjects, and more.GUESTS:Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watching the movie "Captain Phillips" -- in which Tom Hanks plays a commercial freighter captain kidnapped by Somali pirates -- I had a sense of deja vu. Movies like this are becoming a type. They're about the interaction between the U.S. and people who don't like us. In "Zero Dark 30" and "Captain Phillips," a crack Seal team shows up, so much better equipped and trained than our adversaries that the whole thing feels like an overmatch.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's probably an accident that there are so many ways to experience the story of Macbeth right now.We seem to be living in a moment where ambition has gone mad.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Consumer activism is older than the nation. The colonists’ rejection of British imports started a tradition of voting with your knife, fork, teacup and credit card. But it’s complicated! Whole Foods isn’t perfect. And maybe you should reward Wal-Mart for at least trying to improve. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's become a cliché to say everything has a story, but in baseball, you could make the argument that everything really does. Even the baseball itself is a story -- one of geography and symbolism -- an almost holy relic of American culture. Sportswriter Steve Rushin tells the story of these objects in his latest book, The 34-Ton Bat.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.