The Colin McEnroe Show

We all strive to be right about things — we do our research, we listen to people who seem smarter than us, we make compelling arguments over dinner tables. But is there an underappreciated art to being wrong? This hour, lessons on changing your mind and admitting mistakes, from newspaper corrections to public intellectual pivots. GUESTS:  Eranda Jayawickreme: Professor of psychology at Wake Forest...

Chimp Crazy  is a four-part HBO docuseries that “explores the captivating, often unfathomable, and secretive world of raising chimpanzees.” It is documentarian Eric Goode’s follow-up to the 2020 sensation  Tiger King . Plus: There is absolutely, definitely, 100%  a right way to load your dishwasher . And you’re the only one in your house who knows what it is. Right? The Nose gets into it. And fina...

Grocery prices are becoming a regular talking point in this election cycle. This hour is all about the grocery store. We talk about how items get on the shelves, the unique business model of Trader Joe's, and the factors that impact grocery prices. Plus, a look at the appeal of Costco. GUESTS:  Benjamin Lorr: Author of The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of the American Supermarket . Hi...

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 author of  The Unex...

This hour we took your calls about bird identification, the DNC, the World's Fair, third places, synchronicity, and more. Join the conversation on  Facebook  and  Twitter . The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Music , TuneIn , Listen Notes , or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode! Subscribe to The Noseletter , an emai...

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me , Being John Malkovich , The Blair Witch Project , The Daily Show with Jon Stewart , Eyes Wide Shut , Family Guy , Fight Club , Freaks and Geeks , Futurama , The Iron Giant , The Matrix , Office Space , Princess Mononoke , Run Lola Run , The Sixth Sense , The Sopranos , SpongeBob SquarePants , South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut , Star Wars: Episode I — The...

Trump’s trial. AI. Online learning. Everything’s a “Pandora's Box." This hour, we discuss the myth and the metaphor of Pandora's Box. Plus, a look at human curiosity. GUESTS:  Natalie Haynes:  Author of six books, including the nonfiction work  Pandora’s Jar,  and the novels  A Thousand Ships  and  Stone Blind . Her novel  The Children of Jocasta  will be re-released in October Maria Tatar:  Profe...

Everything’s felt like, and been called, a “crisis” lately. This hour, a look at all the overuse of the term “crisis” and our collective crisis fatigue. Plus: a crisis communicator on how to manage a crisis. And finally, a look at the midlife crisis. GUESTS: Eliah Bures: Historian of modern Europe and a senior fellow at the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Right-Wing Studies Barbara...

You must have heard the term “vibe” by now, right? We’ve heard about the vibe of the economy, the vibe of a music playlist, the vibe of a season, the vibe of a party … Plus there are vibe shifts and vibe checks. This hour: vibes. We learn what the word really means, where it comes from, and how the internet has given it new life. GUESTS: Kyle Chayka: Contributing writer for The New Yorker covering...

This hour, we took your calls. Topics this hour included election certification, car registration, celebrity endorsements, news radio, technology, travelling to Italy, sandwiches, and more. Join the conversation on  Facebook  and  Twitter . The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , Amazon Music , TuneIn , Listen Notes , or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscr...

The Doobie Brothers. Christopher Cross. Steely Dan. Kenny Loggins. Toto. Michael McDonald. Ambrosia. Supertramp. (The Eagles? Uh, Michael Jackson?) Something was happening in the music world out there on the West Coast in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Something with electric pianos and slower tempos and jazz and R&B influences and hi-fi, almost crystalline production. This hour, we take a de...

This hour, we look at how political campaigns use music, from the history of political jingles, to how Harris and Trump are using music in this 2024 election. GUESTS:  Dana Gorzelany-Mostak: Associate professor of music at Georgia College; she is the founder of Trax on the Trail , and her new book is Tracks on the Trail: Popular Music, Race, and the US Presidency Charlie Harding: Music journalist,...

Barcodes are everywhere, and they helped to shape the world we live in. This hour, a look at the history and impact of barcodes. Plus, the rise of QR code menus and tickets and what we might gain and lose as we move away from physical objects to digital ones. GUESTS: Jordan Frith: Pearce Professor of Professional Communications at Clemson University and the author of  Barcode Bailey Sincox: Perkin...

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour,  The New York Times ’ Carlos Lozada joins us to discuss what we can learn about politics by reading. We’ll discuss Lozada’s unique lens as a reader and the state of the 2024 election. GUEST:  Carlos Lozada:  Opinion columnist and co-host of the weekly “ Matter o...

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 J.R.R. Tolkien , the new Lady Gaga/Bruno Mars single and bridges in pop songs, a new approach to the Israel-Hamas war, Yale and New Haven public schools, electric vehicles … Anything. (Seemi...

This hour, a look at some of the ways culture and politics seem to be overlapping at the moment. First, we wonder who might play all these new candidates on the upcoming season of  Saturday Night Live . And then, we try to understand all the focus — from both sides — on Kamala Harris’ laugh . And finally, just why in the world is Donald Trump so obsessed with Hannibal Lecter ? GUESTS: Margaret Har...

Going into the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, many are comparing this year to 1968. After all, there are a number of similarities: both were Olympic years that featured student protest movements, an incumbent president deciding not to run for re-election, a Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and even a new  Planet of the Apes  movie. But there were important differences as...

Adam Wren recently reported for Politico that Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, is a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic, The Lord of the Rings . This hour we talk to Wren about Vance's interest in the work, and the politics of the series. Plus, we'll discuss Tolkien's fantasy world building, and look back on the books, their film adaptations, and their enduring appeal. GUESTS: Adam Wren: Nationa...

This hour is all about printers. We talk about printer problems and why, despite our struggles, we can’t seem to quit our printers. Plus: a rage room owner on the appeal of smashing printers. GUESTS: Cory Doctorow: Science fiction author, activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and journalist Cody Nicholas: Co-owner of the Lose It Rage Room in Woodbridge, Virginia Allen St. John: Multime...

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 the sandwichiness (or not) of hot dogs and the cube rule of food , crazy interest rates on credit cards, loud music in movies, Olympic basketball, winking … Anything. (Seemingly) everything....

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is a seven-part Netflix docuseries. It is directed and executive produced by Greg Whiteley. It follows the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ 2023–2024 season. And: Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes is a documentary from HBO Documentary Films. It is directed by Nanette Burstein and produced by J. J. Abrams. Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes was nominated...

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour, The New York Times ’ Astead Herndon joins us to talk about the run-up to 2024. We’ll talk about his unique approach to political reporting, and the state of the race. GUEST:  Astead Herndon: National politics reporter for The New York Times and the host of the p...

From pen names to online aliases, pseudonyms are all around us. This hour, we’re talking about what compels people to adopt an alternate identity when they write. Do pseudonyms liberate us? Do they make us treat each other better? Or do they stop credit from going where it’s due? GUESTS:  Carmela Ciuraru: Author of “Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms” and, most recently, “Lives of the...

It’s kind of weird how much the word “weird” has been coming up all of a sudden in the election, isn’t it? This hour, a look at weirdness and the Democrats’ new wall-to-wall, paint-Trump-and-Vance-as-weird strategy. Plus, the history of the word “weird,” what it’s like being weird, and a few minutes on quantum weirdness. GUESTS: Olga Khazan: A staff writer for The Atlantic covering health, gender,...

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. This hour, the conversation winds around to the election, debates, vice presidential picks, the Olympics opening ceremony, Kevin Spacey, a book recommendation, and more. The Colin McEnroe Show  is available as a podcast on  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Amazon Music ,  TuneIn ,  Listen Notes , or wherever you get your podcasts. S...