The Colin McEnroe Show

How do you feel about your neck? Maybe you only think about it when you’re sore from sleeping wrong or from sitting at a desk all day. But for centuries, humans have worried about their necks, decorated them with jewelry and clothes and ties, and exploited their weaknesses with knives and garrotes and guillotines. This hour, a look at necks — human and animal. Plus, the history and sym...

Beavers build sophisticated dams and deep-water ponds that slow erosion of riverbanks, create cooler deep-water pools for temperature-sensitive plant and fish species, and increase the water table, a big deal for Western states coping with drought. And they're social animals who have mates, kits, and an active social life. But centuries-old myths and fables about the beaver have led to their destr...

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls, calls about anything, everything. And we’re doing another one. In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour. 888-720-9677. And! Now you can watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Come say (nice) things to us in the comments! Colin McEnroe, Jonath...

In January, World Wrestling Entertainment's (WWE) Monday night show, Raw , moved to Netflix. The move comes around the time that a known WWE fan and Hall of Famer, President Donald Trump, entered the White House. Josephine Riesman, author of Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America , argues that understanding WWE can help us understand Trump and his politics. This hour, we learn about...

President Donald Trump has been using the phrase “common sense” a lot. But it turns out that this is nothing new for politicians. This hour, we look at how common sense is used in politics. Plus, is there really such a thing as common sense? We dig into what it means and if it’s possible to teach it to artificial intelligence. GUESTS:  Sophia Rosenfeld: Walter H. Annenberg P...

Numbers are so fundamental to our understanding of the world around us that we maybe tend to think of them as an intrinsic part of the world around us. But they aren’t. Humans invented numbers just as much as we invented all of language. This hour, we look at the anthropological, psychological, and linguistical ramifications of the concept of numbers. And we look at one philosophical questio...

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 booing, the separation of church and state, our anniversary party , showering in the morning vs. at night, pinball ( again ), Gene Hackman, whether or not Colin owns a suit &hell...

We’ve never done this before. The Nose has done Oscars shows any number of times, but they’ve basically all been preview shows of one kind or another on the Friday and/or Saturday before the Sunday ceremony. But this year, we’re doing the other thing: a Monday reaction show after the Sunday ceremony. (The closest we’ve come before was a short emergency Nose to deal with The...

Severance is a science fiction office comedy psychological thriller series created by Dan Erickson and executive produced and primarily directed by Ben Stiller. After a 32-month hiatus between seasons, its second season is running now on Apple TV+. And: The Mother Lode is a standup special from comedian Rosebud Baker. It stitches together two performances from The Comedy Cellar in Manhattan &mdash...

It's cold, snowy winters like this that make us question why we choose to live in a place where snow, sleet, and wind define one-third of the year.  It's a great excuse to complain, but does it also make us stronger and better people? This hour, we'll explore the idea of "northmanship." We'll talk about what it means to be from the north and to be inspired by the north. Is there a connection...

You may notice that we curate our music rather carefully, the music we use going in and out of segments. This hour, a look at how we do that, what our standards are, and how we make those choices about music. GUEST: Robyn Doyon-Aitken: Deputy director of audio storytelling and talk shows at Connecticut Public The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Mus...

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You have probably encountered poet Robert Frost through his famous poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” or “The Road Not Taken.” But how much do you know about the man behind the poetry and the rest of his poems? This hour, we learn about the life and poetry of Robert Frost and discover how he's helped to inspire other poets. You can hear Adam Plunkett talk about hi...

This past weekend, Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary with a concert and a special. This hour, a look at the institution SNL has become over five decades on television. Plus, a look at Jason Reitman’s movie, Saturday Night , which tells (a version of) the story of SNL ’s inception in 1975. GUESTS: Dave Itzkoff: A journalist and writer and the author of four books; his...

President Trump and his new administration have been dismantling the U.S. government's administrative state, what they call the "deep state." This hour, we take a look at what government bureaucrats do, the impact of Trump's actions, and how the reality of the administrative state differs from the rhetoric surrounding it. Plus, we'll hear from the longtime congressional staffer who popularized the...

What else besides an egg can give us human life, culinary delight, life-saving vaccines,  jarping , the  Clowns International Egg Registry , and a satisfying bit of  schadenfreude , all wrapped in one small package? Making a great omelet is the tip of the eggshell for the versatility of the egg. This hour, a hard-boiled look at the ubiquitous, yet overlooked egg. GUESTS: John Portma...

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour is all about America’s 21st president, Chester A. Arthur, who took office after President James Garfield was assassinated. We look at Arthur’s life and legacy and at what happens when someone unexpectedly takes over the highest office in the land. GUESTS: David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic Scott S. Greenberger: Executive editor of Stateline and the a...

State Sen. Martin Looney has proposed a bill in the Connecticut legislature that would require movie theaters to publish the actual start times of movies , rather than the time all the commercials and trailers and ads for concessions start. This hour, a Nose-ish look at, well, that bill and the effects it would have on movie theaters and moviegoing. Plus: the art and history of movie trailers, the...

Do you ever wish you could have a conversation with your pet, or the bird outside your window? This hour, we learn about how animals communicate with one another, how we communicate with them, and what this can teach us about human language. Plus, some pet owners are turning to soundboards to communicate with their pets. We'll talk with a researcher who's exploring how effective that is, and what...

I’ve had some well - documented trouble with our neighborhood squirrels over the last few winters. It could be that most homeowners in the Northeast and beyond feel like they’ve had some sort of conflict with the local squirrels. But we maybe misunderstand squirrels. Their seemingly scattershot behaviors actually suggest a fascinating intelligence and intentionality. And while we see s...

What’s in your pockets right now? Phone, wallet, keys … maybe some discarded receipts or old gum? This hour: what we carry with us every day, from flashlights the size of a lip balm to a life-saving medicine. GUESTS: Bernard Capulong:  Founder and editor-in-chief of  everydaycarry.com Peter Canning:  A Hartford paramedic, an emergency medical services coordinator at Joh...

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter . 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,...

Sing Sing is a theater and prison drama directed by Greg Kwedar and written by Clint Bentley and Kwedar from a story by Bentley, Kwedar, Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin, and John “Divine G” Whitfield. It is nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Colman Domingo and Best Adapted Screenplay. And: American Primeval is a Netflix limited series written and crea...

There’s a theory that people are drawn to work that fits their name. This hour, an exploration of nominative determinism. Plus, a look at the different ways your name impacts your life. GUESTS: David Bird: Emeritus professor of wildlife biology and director of the Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University Brett Pelham: Professor of psychology at Montgomery College Tess Terri...