The Colin McEnroe Show

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all recognize the big names or fall in love with a brand-new star — but what about that lady who killed it with her one line about the coffee? She's a professional actor, too! On this hour of The Colin McEnroe Show, we learn about the art of the smaller role: how they're cast, how to nail it, and what it's like to have a long resume of one-liners. And don't forget the extras a...

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. You can reach us at 888-720-9677. Join the conversation on  Facebook  and  Twitter . Subscribe to The Noseletter , an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on  Apple Podcasts ,  Spotify ,  Google Podcasts ,  Amazon Music...

This week’s Nose has had to work through the occasional civilian who’s stood between eyes and the prize. The Killer is the 12th movie directed by David Fincher and his first credited feature film collaboration with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker since 1995’s Se7en . It’s Fincher’s second movie for Netflix, who describe it this way: “After a fateful near-miss an assassin battles his employers, an...

COVID, by the way, is … still a thing. The new vaccines are here, and  people mostly aren’t getting them . The new variants are here, and the people who’re getting COVID  are mostly getting them . Just this week, some new data seems to show that getting your COVID and flu shots together isn’t just safe —  it might actually be the better thing to do . And it turns out that Paxlovid rebound probably...

You likely know historian Heather Cox Richardson from her Substack, “Letters from an American,” where she puts the news of the day into historical context. Now Cox Richardson has a new book out,  Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America , where she looks at the crossroads we’re at as a country, how we got here, and where we could go from here. Today we spend the hour with Heather Cox Ric...

This hour: bedtime stories. What can we learn from people who write and tell them? How can we all be more intentional and magical about the last things we think about before sleeping? GUESTS: Faith Adiele: Travel writer, speaker, teacher, and Thailand’s first Black Buddhist nun; she writes sleep stories for adults on the  Calm  app Adam Mansbach: Author, screenwriter, and cultural critic who wrote...

Marching bands are now a staple at halftimes. But why? This hour, we discuss the art of the marching band. We’ll talk about all of the work that goes into coordinating them, and the evolution of marching band music and competitions. Plus, a look at the history of halftime. GUESTS:  Justin McManus:  Director of Athletic Bands at the University of Connecticut Dylan Reyes:  Student at the University...

Don't turn your nose up at it! This hour, we'll hear a defense of reality TV from some of its most fiery fans. Plus: an exploration into the show taking TV screens by storm,  The Golden Bachelor. GUESTS: Danielle Lindemann:  Sociologist and author of the book  "True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us" Kay Brown  is the host of  The Betchelor  podcast Mireille Silcoff:  Regular essayist with the...

Let’s be honest, sometimes we all just read the headline of a story, and nothing more. After all, who has time to read every article? Headlines help us decide what to click on, and give us a sense of what’s going on in the world. But often the headline tells only a very small part of the story, or even the wrong story. This hour we talk about the art of the headline. We'll look at why headlines ma...

It's becoming easier every day to pay for things without cash. You can pay with your credit card, your phone, an app, or even your palm. So how does the move away from cash change how we think about our money? This hour, we look at our changing attitudes towards money, and what we gain and lose as we use less cash. Plus, we'll look at the history and future of ATMs. GUESTS:  Jay Zagorsky:  Clinica...

Remote controls date all the way back to the 1800s, but they only entered most households in the 1950s or later. What impact did this have on how we watch television, and how we use other devices in our homes? This hour we look at the history and the impact of the remote control, and discuss what the remote control of the future will look like. And we'll take a look at buttons, and how they shape...

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 Facebook scams, running,  Multivac , local elections … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did an...

“ Now and Then ” is the first Beatles single of any kind in more than 27 years, and it may well be their last. It was released Thursday. “Now and Then” was originally written and recorded by John Lennon circa 1977. Using machine learning technology developed for the Get Back documentary , Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were able to isolate Lennon’s vocals, record new instrumentation and vocals, an...

"These boots are made for walking…" but instead, they sit by the door while you watch TV. This hour: Why is it often so hard to get walking? And what can our footsteps tell us about ourselves and the world? GUESTS: Jeff Speck:  City planner and author of the book  “Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time” Liam Satchell:  Senior lecturer in Psychology at the University of W...

This hour, we talk about the election of the new House Speaker: Representative Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana. We'll talk about Speaker Johnson, including the role of his faith in his politics, and what we can learn from how he dresses. Plus, we'll look at why we even have a House Speaker to begin with. GUESTS:  Vanessa Friedman:  Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic of  The New Yo...

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 Portmann: Taught moral p...

We’ve done a Halloween special each year for the past five years. And each year, and for no particular reason, we’ve spent a chunk of the show covering a classic horror movie celebrating , specifically , its 40th   anniversary . I’m a little sad to say that this year we’re breaking the tradition, partly because 1983 was a strikingly barren year for horror movies (notwithstanding, uh, Cujo , I gues...

Sometimes, we just love to hate. From reality TV shows like The Bachelor and The Real Housewives franchise to movies like The Room and Twilight , sometimes it’s so bad it’s good. The phenomenon of hate-watching has reached new audiences on social media platforms such as Twitter and YouTube. Haters are more vocal than ever. In this episode we ask why we want to watch and suffer through movies and T...

News outlets and opinion writers have called it: The traditional dinner party is dead. But are dinner parties really so bad? Or are we just bad at hosting them? This hour, the history of dinner parties and some advice from people who turn party-hosting into an art form. GUESTS: Rand Richards Cooper: Fiction writer, contributing editor at Commonweal , and the restaurant critic for the Hartford Cour...

We've recently discovered, thanks to TikTok, that many more people are thinking about the Roman Empire than you might expect... including the host of this radio show. This hour, we talk about why people think about the Roman Empire, and we talk with the preeminent scholar of the Roman Empire, Mary Beard, about all the things you could think about if you wanted to think about the Roman Empire. GUES...

This hour is about the psychology of fandom. We look at how the mind of a fan operates. We talk with experts about the mental attachments and connections fans have with their favorite shows and fictional characters. Plus, there are many reasons why one becomes a fan. We’ll talk about that, and how fandoms have evolved over time. Finally, a look at the types of emotions fans feel and how they expre...

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 uptalk, mortality, the zipper merge, the health of the baby boom generation, regionalizing cities, proving that you’re not a witch … Anything. (Seemingly) everything....

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is the highest-grossing concert film ever made, and it’s only been in theaters for five days. It took in more than $100 million in global presales alone. The 169-minute, 41-song-long movie is nothing short of a phenomenon. Speaking of a phenomenon, you may have heard that Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce are a couple. Swift and Kelce haven’t publicly...

A wealthy prince needs your help (via a wire transfer) to unfreeze his fortunes. He’ll reward you handsomely. While you’re sending him the money, listen to this show about scam emails. We'll talk about the surprising history and future of scam emails and what you can do to protect yourself. Plus: a conversation with an author who got caught up in an infamous email scam. GUESTS: Arun Vishwanath:  C...

What can we learn about ourselves from what we sit on? This hour, the history of chairs, their impact on our lifestyle and health, and what’s in store for their future. Plus, we celebrate the joy of a well-designed chair, talk with a chair maker, and discuss some of our favorite examples. GUESTS: Galen Cranz: Professor emerita of architecture at the University of California at Berkeley and a found...