The Colin McEnroe Show

If you listen to The Colin McEnroe Show regularly, you likely know that Colin has been influenced by two media theorists: Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman. Postman wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death , among other books, and McLuhan is probably most famous for the phrase "The medium is the message," in addition to other influential ideas. This hour, we look at the ideas of McLuhan and Postman, and d...

This hour, we take a critical look at the role of art critics in our world. What is the status of criticism, and is it under threat? GUESTS:  Naveen Kumar: Theatre critic and journalist. He is associate director of the National Critics Institute, the leading arts-writing workshop for professional journalists. He has twice served on the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama Kathryn VanArendonk:...

We’ve been doing these shows 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 — calls about grammar, gardening, long-distance dialing, autotune. Anything. Everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we’re doing another one. In other words: Give us a ca...

The Sheep Detectives  is a live-action talking animals cozy murder mystery comedy directed by Kyla Balda, whose previous movie credits are pretty much exclusively about animation. It’s based on a German-language novel,  Three Bags Full , by Leonie Swann. As a PG-rated murder mystery, it’s maybe doing surprisingly well at the box office. And:  Marty, Life Is Short  i...

Stephen Colbert’s nearly-11-year run on  The Late Show  comes to an end tonight. And  The Late Show ’s nearly-33-year run on CBS comes to an end  tonight, too. This hour, as the late-night TV landscape rejiggers itself, a look at the state and future of late-night comedy. Plus: A look at the FCC’s crusade against ABC ( and, seemingly, Jimmy Kimmel ). And:&nbsp...

Do we really need politicians? What would our politics look like without them? These are some of the ideas that Yale political scientist Hélène Landemore explores in her work, including in the  Connecticut Citizens’ Assembly , taking place this summer. Landemore joins us for the hour. GUEST: Hélène Landemore:  Professor of Political Science at Yale Unive...

The word "like" has been around for centuries, but it reached a new cultural prominence in the 1980s, partially thanks to Frank Zappa's song "Valley Girl." Since then, "like" has taken on a life of its own, inspiring strong emotions. This hour, we look at the meaning and evolution of "like." Plus, how movies like the now 30-year-old Clueless have impacted our language. GUESTS: Megan C. Reynolds: F...

We’ve been doing these shows 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 spousal knowledge, tree sperm, progressive candidates, tree sperm, hitpeople, tree sperm, sleepy bees … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us...

Billy Joel has reportedly sold more than 160 million albums. He’s been nominated for 24 Grammy Awards (and won six of them), an Emmy, and a Tony Award (which he won). In the U.S., he’s had 33 top 40 singles and 11 top 10 albums. He’s simply one of the most popular recording artists in the history of music. But. Critics have never been terribly kind to him, and a lot of the genera...

The Hartford circus fire in 1944 was the deadliest disaster in the history of Connecticut. Our friend Jacques Lamarre (if you listen to The Nose most Fridays, you know Jacques) has written a big-deal new play about the fire and its aftermath that TheaterWorks Hartford is currently world premiering. This hour, a conversation recorded in front of a live audience at TheaterWorks about the play Circus...

What does it mean to have 'good taste'? And what would it take to develop it? This hour, we talk about taste and discernment. Plus, a look at flavor and why some things taste good. GUESTS:  Henry Oliver: Writes the literary Substack “ The Common Reader ,” and is the author of Second Act: What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Reinventing Your Life . He is part of the Emerging Schol...

We’ve been doing these shows 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 vertical hold, campus protests, the Catholic church,  Bob’s Burgers , Luke Bronin, the fears of men … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for...

Michael M. Grynbaum's book Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America , traces the rise of Condé Nast's magazines. This hour Grynbaum joins us to explain how Condé Nast magazines and their editors achieved their status as cultural tastemakers, and where these magazines, and that industry, stand today. Plus, we hear from an editor at The Wee...

Lord of the Flies  is a BBC and Netflix limited series and the first ever television adaptation of the 1954 novel by William Golding. It is written and created by Jack Thorne, who also wrote and co-created  Adolescence , among a bunch of other stuff. The series features an ensemble cast of more than 30 boys, many of them making their professional acting debuts. And:  The Fall and Ri...

What do you know about silversmith Paul Revere besides that he borrowed a horse to warn American colonists that the British troops were coming? If Revere had help, why is he the only rider taught in history classes throughout America? We talk with Kostya Kennedy about his book, ‘ The Ride ,’ and learn the story behind a man—and an act on horseback—that was, “deeper an...

George Orwell's novels  1984  and  Animal Farm  feel especially prescient in this moment, as surveillance technologies continue to expand, and history and language are weaponized. We take a look at the life and literature of George Orwell. And ask: what does the term "Orwellian" really mean? GUESTS: Laura Beers:  Professor of History at American University, and the author...

Monsters are our subconscious perversions, our twisted fears realized, but what causes their creation, and how are they made? This hour, we look at fantastical creatures, terrifying beasts, and the scariest monsters of all: humans. GUESTS: Natalie Lawrence: Historian of science and the author of Enchanted Creatures: Our Monsters and Their Meanings Surekha Davies: Historian of science, speaker, and...

We’ve been doing these shows 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 spiders, seashells and 86ing, a  possible $70 million Rothko , Cinco de Mayo, Texas (and Hawaii) as its own country … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows ar...

Rupert Holmes won two Tony Awards for his musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood . His single “ Escape (The Piña Colada Song) ” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His dramedy Remember WENN was AMC’s first original scripted series. And his newest novel, Murder Your Employer , was a New York Times bestseller. This hour: Rupert Holmes . GUEST: Rupert Holmes: Playwright, comp...

Shakespeare’s tragedy about two star-crossed lovers,  Romeo and Juliet , has appealed to audiences for centuries. It’s been adapted countless times for stage and screen. This hour, we talk with experts exploring the play and its legacy, from The Hartford Stage on the set of their recent adaptation. GUESTS:  David Sterling Brown:  Associate professor of English at Trinity...

Occam’s razor states that “entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.” This hour: Occam’s razor — where the principle came from, how it impacts science, its role in medicine, and how it shapes our daily lives. GUESTS: Kurt Andersen: Co-founder of Spy magazine, the host and co-creator of Studio 360 , and the author of  Fantasyland: How America Went Haywir...

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, historian Beverly Gage took a road trip around the country to visit over three hundred historic sites. Those travels are documented in her new book,  This Land is Your Land: A Road Trip through U.S. History . Gage joins us this hour to reflect on what she learned about the country, and what's ahead on this a...

We’ve been doing these shows 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 crushes on Colin and colonoscopies, leaf blowers, Colchester and the Roman Empire, This Is a Gardening Show with Zach Galifianakis, it books and the book It , home ownership &hel...

Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, John Belushi, John Candy, Rick Moranis. Animal House , The Blues Brothers , Beverly Hills Cop , Caddyshack , The Jerk , Ghost Busters , ¡Three Amigos! , Funny Farm , Spaceballs , Stripes . We maybe didn’t properly appreciate it at the time, but the 1980s were one of the most fertile periods ever for screen comedies and screen comedi...

Gregg Phillips, the current head of the largest division at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has said that he has teleported multiple times — including at least once to a Waffle House. We checked, and it’s still true that we don’t have the technology for human teleportation. At the same time, quantum teleportation is totally a thing ! This hour, a look at teleportation in...