The Colin McEnroe Show

According to Mattel, more than a billion Barbie dolls have been sold since they launched the toy in 1959. Barbie and Ken are said to be the two most popular dolls in the world. It would be hard to overstate the influence — for better and worse — that the Barbie toy line has had on our culture. And now, you may have heard, there’s a movie. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie is the No. 1 movie in the country. Its opening last weekend was the largest ever for a movie based on a toy, and it’s expected to hold onto the No. 1 spot this weekend, too. So it’s not like Barbie’s influence is waning. This hour, a look at our relationship with Barbie (and Ken), the history of Barbie and the woman who invented her, and, yes, the new movie Barbie. GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer Rand Richards Cooper: A fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal, and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Courant Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications Robin Gerber: The author of several books, including Barbie and Ruth: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Doll and the Woman Who Created Her James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Rich Hollant: Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford Michal Lev-Ram: Editor-at-large covering the technology and entertainment sectors for Fortune Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, Josh Nilaya, Cat Pastor, Lily Tyson, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired June 30, 2017; May 21, 2019; and July 28, 2023, in a different form.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It looks like this beach was a little too much beach for this week’s Nose. The Barbenheimer Apocalypse is upon us. Barbie is the fourth film written and directed by Greta Gerwig and the second Gerwig has cowritten with Noah Baumbach. It is the first film released by Mattel Films and the first live-action film based on the dolls. Oh, and it’s the No. 1 movie in the country, having grossed $495 million worldwide so far. Its opening last weekend was the highest-grossing opening ever for a movie directed by a woman and the highest-grossing opening ever for a movie based on a toy. Barbie is the sixth-highest grossing movie of 2023 so far. And: Oppenheimer is the 12th film written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It is based on the biography of J. Robert Oppenheimer American Prometheus by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, and it stars Cillian Murphy in the title role. It’s the No. 2 movie in the country. Its opening last weekend was the largest of Christopher Nolan’s career outside of his Batman films. Oppenheimer is three hours long, and IMAX prints of the film are reportedly 11 miles long and weigh 600 pounds. GUESTS: Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and a freelance writer James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

J. Edgar Hoover served as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under eight presidents and made the FBI into the organization it is today. This hour, Beverly Gage, Yale historian and author of a Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Hoover, joins us to talk about his life and legacy. Plus, a look at the status of the FBI today and the lessons we can learn from Hoover’s example. GUESTS: Beverly Gage: Professor of 20th-century U.S. history at Yale University; her newest book, G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century, received the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Biography The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been more than a decade since Tom Cruise made a movie that did NOT make $100 million. The newest Mission: Impossible just opened at $235 million. And yet. Didn’t we all decide not to like Tom Cruise anymore a long time ago? This hour — in the fifth decade of his career, in the seventh (!) decade of his life, nearly two decades after Oprah’s couch — a look at the continued phenomenon that is Tom Cruise. GUESTS: Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers Taneisha Duggan: Associate producer at Octopus Theatricals James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College Sam Hatch: Co-hosts The Culture Dogs on Sunday nights on WWUH Rich Hollant: Principal at CO:LAB, founder of Free Center, and commissioner on cultural affairs for the city of Hartford Jacques Lamarre: A playwright and chief communications officer at Buzz Engine Ben Lindbergh: Senior editor at The Ringer Stephanie Merry: Book World editor for The Washington Post Bob Mondello: NPR’s senior arts critic Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance Julia Rosenblatt: A playwright, director, actor, theater educator, and co-founder of HartBeat Ensemble Brian Slattery: Arts editor for the New Haven Independent Pedro Soto: President and CEO of Hygrade Precision Technologies The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, Cat Pastor, Catie Talarski, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired April 27, 2017; August 3, 2018; March 6, 2019; January 15, 2021; August 26, 2022; and September 30, 2022, in a different form.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, novelist Joyce Maynard joins us again to talk about her latest novel, the blurring of life and fiction, and her new career running a hotel in Guatemala. GUEST:  Joyce Maynard: Novelist whose latest book is The Bird Hotel Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Terms that started out in the therapist’s office have moved into the public discourse. This hour we talk about therapy-speak, armchair psychology, and how greater awareness of mental health terminology and diagnoses impacts the broader conversation around mental health, for better and worse. Plus, a look at how therapists are depicted on TV and how that’s impacted their work outside the screen. GUESTS:  Lucy Foulkes: An academic psychologist at the University of Oxford and author of the book Losing Our Minds: The Challenge of Defining Mental Illness Jessica Gold: Assistant Professor and the Director of Wellness, Engagement, and Outreach in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine. She works clinically as an outpatient psychiatrist, and writes about mental health for a variety of general audience publications Inkoo Kang: The television critic at The New Yorker Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s Nose wants its own water working. Showing Up is the eighth feature film directed by Kelly Reichardt, and it’s Reichardt’s fourth collaboration with Michelle Williams. Williams plays a sculptor preparing to open a new show. Showing Up is a quintessential example of so-called “slow cinema.” And: The Whale is the eighth feature film directed by Darren Aronofsky. Brendan Fraser won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance as “a reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter.” GUESTS: Susan Clinard: Owner of Clinard Sculpture Studio in Hamden, Connecticut Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if our ideas about how sleep should look are getting in the way of a good night's rest? This hour we talk about how we came to develop ideas of how, and how much, we should sleep. Plus, we'll compare how humans and animals sleep. And it turns out that some animals aren’t hibernating as well as they used to. GUESTS:  Matthew Wolf-Meyer: Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York. He is author of The Slumbering Masses: Sleep, Medicine, and Modern American Life, among other books Gandhi Yetish: Human evolutionary ecologist and anthropologist who studies sleep patterns among small-scale subsistence societies Cory Williams: Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at Colorado State University Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surprising and amusing. This hour, the conversation winds around to spongy moths, white baseball caps, Hiram Bingham, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6 … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour: recipes. We talk with someone who makes recipes found on gravestones, and we consider what makes an effective recipe, the history of the modern recipe, and the art of the recipe introduction. Plus, a look at the phenomenon of pop culture cookbooks. GUESTS: Dinah Bucholz: Author of The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook and The Unofficial Narnia Cookbook Rosie Grant: Posts gravestone recipes and cemetery stories on her TikTok and Instagram Francis Lam: Host of The Splendid Table and vice president and editor-in-chief at Clarkson Potter Chandra Ram: Cookbook author, food writer, and associate editorial director of food for Food & Wine Helen Zoe Veit: Associate professor of history at Michigan State University The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired November 22, 2022.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.