The Colin McEnroe Show

This hour, we revisit the classic debate about whether or not we have free will. Plus: Is there anything that makes you feel like you have free will more than a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book? We revisit the series … if you choose to listen, that is. GUESTS:  Kevin J. Mitchell:  Associate Professor of Genetics and Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin. His new book is  Free Agents: How Evolutio...

In the Know  is a stop-motion, claymation, half-hour comedy series created by Zach Woods, Brandon Gardner, and Mike Judge. It follows a third-rate NPR host, Lauren Caspian (voiced by Woods), a “well-meaning, hypocritical nimrod puppet” and his third-rate NPR interview show,  In the Know . And:  Shocking, Heartbreaking, Transformative  is a limited-series podcast from  Radiotopia Presents . It is c...

This hour: popular songs are getting shorter, tropical sand is made of fish poop, and Scramble the weather-predicting duck puts Punxsutawney Phil to shame. GUESTS:  Joe Bennett:  Forensic musicologist and a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston Joe Roman:  Conservation biologist at the University of Vermont and author of book, “Eat, Poop, Die: How Animals Make Our World”  Isaac Torcellin...

What is yodeling, anyway? Some consider it singing, some say it’s an ululation, and still others consider it merely a means to herd animals. Whatever yodeling is, one thing’s clear: Yodeling has been around for thousands of years and shows no signs of disappearing. This hour, we speak with a musicologist, a DJ, and a professional singer about this age-old vocal practice. We trace yodeling’s histor...

This hour, we take a look at the state of philanthropy with Amy Schiller, author of the new book,  The Price of Humanity: How Philanthropy Went Wrong and How to Fix It . We’ll look at the evolution of philanthropy through history, and potential reforms for its future. Plus, we’ll discuss the rise of effective altruism, the philanthropic philosophy of LeBron James, and what we can learn from the ex...

Samuel and Olivia Clemens and their children moved into the house they’d had built at Nook Farm in Hartford — the house that we now call the Mark Twain House — in 1874, 150 years ago this year. Partly to celebrate that anniversary, we present this hour a new version of our 2015 interview with the late Hal Holbrook. Holbrook was probably best known for his one-man show, Mark Twain Tonight! , which...

Jodie Foster and Kali Reis in Alaska in  True Detective: Night Country . Juno Temple, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Richa Moorjani in Minnesota in the recent fifth season of Fargo . Emma Corrin and Brit Marling in Iceland in  A Murder at the End of the World . There’s something going on with all these TV mysteries set in the frozen, frigid North with all these neo noiry North Country female leads. Thi...

Have you ever heard someone say that East Coasters are kind but not nice, and West Coasters are nice but not kind? This hour, we’re figuring out what “niceness” is, why it's so important to us, and how can it sometimes mask not-so-nice things. GUESTS:  Carrie Tirado Bramen : Professor at the University at Buffalo and author of the book  “American Niceness: A Cultural History” Amit Kumar:  Assistan...

This hour we take a look at the science fiction books and movies set in 2024 to see how close to reality they turned out to be. We'll discuss the 1960 film  Beyond the Time Barrier , the 1975 film  A Boy and His Dog , and Octavia E. Butler's 1993 novel  Parable of the Sower . Plus, we'll hear from a speculative fiction writer about the challenge, and value, of imagining the future. And, we'll talk...

Loneliness: It’s often cited as an “epidemic” and can have a health impact comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day . This hour, we talk about what loneliness looks like in the brain and how public policy could affect our loneliness epidemic. Plus: a conversation with an expert on making friends as an adult! GUESTS: Elisa Baek: Assistant professor of psychology at USC Dornsife Chris Murphy: U.S....

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. SONGS:  “Now You Know” by the Original Cast of Merrily We Roll Along “Winston Churchill’s Boy” by Benjamin Clementine “Give Him a Great Big Kiss” by The Shangri-Las "Bombay Bicycle Club" by Fantasneeze (feat. Matilda Mann) "The Telephone Call" by Kraftwerk Subscribe to The Noseletter , an email compendium of merriment, secrets, an...

Saltburn  is the second movie written and directed by Emerald Fennell, following  Promising Young Woman . It is a comedy-drama-thriller set mostly on the titular sprawling estate during summer break from Oxford University. Barry Keoghan and Rosamund Pike were both nominated for Golden Globes for their performances. And:  The Holdovers  is the eighth feature film directed by Alexander Payne and the...

From abortion rights to partisan school board elections, ballot measures are a big deal in 2024. But what are they? A drop of direct democracy to defend against corrupt politicians? A pawning-off of governance to voters who don’t know what they’re voting on? This hour: the good, the bad, and the weird of ballot measures. GUESTS:  Dane Waters:  Founder of the  Initiative and Referendum Institute  a...

In Greek mythology, Prometheus stole fire from the gods to give it to humans, and suffered an eternity of punishment for doing so. This hour, we revisit that myth, and talk about why it resonates so much today. Plus, a look at the Alien prequel Prometheus . GUESTS: Annie Dorsen: Theater director; her most recent production was  Prometheus Firebringer Adrienne Mayor: Research scholar in the Classic...

Why do humans cry? This hour, we look at the science of crying and discuss what it does for us, emotionally and culturally. Plus: musician Dar Williams on why some songs make us cry. And: We investigate “crocodile tears” with a crocodile biologist. GUESTS: Benjamin Perry: Minister at Middle Church and the author of  Cry, Baby: Why Our Tears Matter Kent Vliet: An expert in crocodilian biology Dar W...

In lieu of a standard Nose, we decided to take a show-length look at some of the best stand-up comedy from 2023 and some of the most-anticipated stand-up comedy of 2024. There are the new controversial specials from  Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais . But there are also good, recent specials from folks like  Kenny DeForest , Gary Gulman, Dina Hashem, Pete Holmes, and  Beth Stelling . And there’s ...

Somewhere along the way, cars stopped being just a means of transportation — now, they’re also a dining room, an entertainment center, even an extension of our selves. And apparently, they’re sharing and selling data about you that you might not know they collected in the first place. This hour: everything you didn’t know about that thing you sit in for an hour every day. GUESTS: Jen Caltrider: Pr...

It’s kind of Civil War days right now. Presidential candidate Nikki Haley choked on the cause. Former President Trump is being disqualified from state ballots based on an amendment intended to keep Confederate leaders from holding federal offices and charged with another offense derived from the Civil War. This hour: Are we in the Civil War era? And what would it mean if we were? Plus, what anothe...

There’s an old Latin saying from the early Middle Ages: Verba volant, scripta manent — What is written remains, what is spoken flies away. Essentially, it means you should write down your contracts. But according to Alberto Manguel, author of A History of Reading , the phrase can be interpreted in a different way: What is written is stuck to the page. It’s only when you give it a voice that it acq...

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. 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 . The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Google Podcasts ,  Amazon Music ,  TuneIn ,  Listen Notes , or wh...

Anatomy of a Fall  ( Anatomie d’une chute ) is a French courtroom drama thriller directed by Justine Triet and written by Triet and Arthur Harari. It won the Palme d’Or (and the Palm Dog Award —  which is a real thing , it turns out) at Cannes last year. It is currently nominated for four awards at Sunday’s Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture — Drama. And: Provocative sex has returned to...

In honor of Merriam-Webster’s 2023 Word of the Year, we're doing a show on authenticity! What is it? Why do we care about it? And whether we're talking about historical paintings or people — how do you figure out what's authentic? GUESTS:  Peter Sokolowski:  Editor-at-large at Merriam-Webster George Newman:  Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Toronto Ethan Bueno de...

This hour we look at the world of political merchandise. We explore the history of political merchandise, what it can tell us about an election, and the latest trends going into 2024. Plus, we’ll talk with a t-shirt maker to learn about the current landscape of political merchandise, and what sales can tell us about the priorities of voters. GUESTS:  Claire Jerry:  Curator of Political History for...

Before Covid,   Most Americans couldn’t imagine the staggering loss of life that earlier generations experienced during epidemics of smallpox, diphtheria, polio and other fatal infectious diseases. We’ve been living in a golden age since WWII, when widespread use of vaccines and antibiotics eradicated the biggest killers and doubled life expectancy. But the catch-22 of medical discovery is that ov...

Continuing a streak of long, strange years, it’s been a long, strange year. And so, The Nose wonders how our popular culture is dealing with it all. We look back at a whole bunch of movies and TV shows: American Symphony , Barbie , Black Mirror , The Curse , Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 , Headliners Only , Killers of the Flower Moon , Leave the World Behind , Maestro , Oppenheimer , Reservation...