The Colin McEnroe Show

Food isn’t just a way to cure hunger. In food, we find identity, history, politics, and more. This hour, a look at the evolution of food and how our perception of different diets and lifestyles is changing. GUESTS: Anthony Jung: Executive chef of retail dining at UMass Amherst Cathy Kaufman: Lecturer of food studies at The New School and chairwoman of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery Uma N...

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 the statute of limitations on break room food, Ron DeSantis, (the lack of) motorcycle helmet laws in Connecticut, an ad running on our air about junking vehicles, stat...

Over the last year, The Nose has covered 14 of this year’s Academy Award-nominated movies, encompassing 64 nominations. So on this special edition of The Nose, we look back at our discussions of nominated movies, and we look ahead to Sunday’s Oscars ceremony with film and television star (and Oscars voter) Illeana Douglas. Some of the movies covered include: The Banshees of Inisherin , Elvis , Eve...

I’m so excited!!! The exclamation point is the only punctuation mark that can express (and evoke) strong emotion. You either love them or hate them. Writers use it to express emotion that words can’t fully capture, politicians and advertisers can use it to manipulate and alarm, and authors and their editors often clash over its appropriate use. Our brains physically respond to the sight of it. Thi...

Snacking on snacks, savory or sweet, has become a way of life. This hour, we sink our teeth into our snack-food obsessions. GUESTS: Andrea Hernández: Founder of  SnaxShot Julia Pistell: Freelance writer and co-founder of  SeaTea Improv Chris Prosperi: Chef and owner of  Metro Bis Mark Schatzker: Writer in residence at the  Modern Diet and Physiology Research Center  and the author of  The Dorito E...

Jane Austen completed six full-length novels. And today, more than two centuries later, those novels are all still present in our culture. This hour, a look at Austen’s life and work, the world of Janeites, and the many film and television adaptations of her work. GUESTS: Devoney Looser: Author of  The Making of Jane Austen  and  Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way...

Have you noticed that voice assistants like Alexa and Siri default to female voices? This hour, we talk about how artificial intelligence is reinforcing gender biases. Plus, a look at how representations of artificial intelligence in pop culture have contributed to this model. GUESTS: Kerry McInerney: Research fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence and co-host of  The Good...

This week’s Nose has never asked the men for anything. Not a single thing. Women Talking is an adaptation of Miriam Toews’s 2018 novel written and directed by Sarah Polley. It’s Polley’s fourth feature film as writer and director. Polley is nominated for the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the film is nominated for Best Picture. It’s the story of the women of an isolated religious community...

This hour, the full measure of short stature, from personal health, professional discrimination, and environmental impact to Humphrey Bogart’s strap-on inch-adders. GUESTS: Arne Hendriks: Artist, researcher, and exhibition-maker based in Amsterdam who writes about height at  The Incredible Shrinking Man William Mann: Author and historian whose new book, Bogey and Bacall , comes out in June Tanya O...

We’re now three years into the COVID-19 pandemic. This hour we look back at the past few years, and how we attempt to make sense of them. We’ll talk with the co-director of a COVID-19 oral history project, and an author who’s included the pandemic in her latest novel. Plus, we’ll get an update on the state of the virus. GUESTS:  Dr. Saskia Popescu:  Infectious Disease Epidemiologist, and an Assist...

Malls are an important gathering place for people of all ages to shop, eat, be entertained, walk, and enjoy the controlled temperature. This hour, the history of malls in America, their unique design, and a look ahead to the future of those spaces, now that there are dead malls all over the country. Plus: the art of curating mall music. GUESTS: Michael Bise: A former Gap employee who runs the  Gap...

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 tailgating in the snow, modern monetary theory, the left hemisphere of the human brain, cycling, raising guide dogs for the blind, UFOs … Anything. (Seemingly) everyth...

This week’s Nose has every right to be consulted about your schemes and machinations regarding its property. To this point, The Nose has covered exactly one significantly animated movie that came out in 2022. (We did also tackle I Am Groot , thank you very much.) So we decided to devote this show to three of the Best Animated Feature nominees at this year’s Academy Awards. Guillermo del Toro’s Pin...

Today is Curling is Cool Day, Digital Learning Day, Single-Tasking Day, National Chili Day, and Introduce a Girl To Engineering Day. And these are just a few of hundreds of examples of unusual holidays observed throughout the year. This hour we learn all about these unusual holidays and how they’re created. We discover why some people find joy in celebrating these days, and we talk with the creato...

UFOs are in the news again. This hour we look at how a once fringe interest in UFOs became mainstream. We discuss why so many Americans believe in extraterrestrial life, how our relationship to UFOs have changed over time, and how the government and pop culture contribute to these beliefs. Finally, we learn about the frequency illusion, and what that can teach us about the prevalence of unidentifi...

Homer’s The Iliad is a literary classic. This hour, we look at some of the many ways the epic applies to life today, in our understanding of plague, death, politics, and anger. We look at the value of returning to the story over and over again and how it can be used as a framework for other stories. GUESTS: Emily Katz Anhalt: Professor of classical languages and literature at Sarah Lawrence Colleg...

If I say “Liam Neeson movie,” you picture, at this point, a pretty specific thing , right? It’s kind of an action-thriller. Neeson is avenging some wrong. It’s usually some wrong against his family. And it’s usually avenged with Neeson’s “ particular set of skills .” Basically, the movie is some version of Taken , right? Well, Taken came out in 2008. Liam Neeson has been making these movies for 15...

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 Terrible: S...

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 surprising and compelling. This hour, the conversation focuses largely on right to die laws and mental health, while also winding around to a private high school closing in Uncasville, stuff that’s wrong with the human body, public disclosure of lotte...

This hour, a look at how the pandemic shaped dating, long-term relationships, and love over its first two years. GUESTS: Philippa Found: An artist and writer and the creator of  Lockdownlovestories Hiwote Getaneh: A producer on the  This Is Dating  podcast Laura Kipnis: Author of  Love in the Time of Contagion: A Diagnosis The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts , Spotif...

Burt Bacharach was, simply put, one of the most important figures in popular music in the 20th century. He wrote 73 Top 40 hits, including songs like “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” “That’s What Friends Are For,” and “Arthur’s Theme.” He was nominated for six Academy Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, of which he won three Oscars,...

This week’s Nose needs food to live, so it begins to devour its host from within. The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic TV series adapted for HBO from the classic PlayStation game. It stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. And: Triangle of Sadness is a black comedy written and directed by Ruben Östlund. It’s his English-language feature film debut, and it won the Palme d’Or at last year’s Cannes Film...

Everyone loves a good band breakup story. But it’s far more unusual to find bands that manage to stay together for the long haul. This hour we explore the challenges musicians face as they seek band harmony, and discuss what makes them succeed – or fail – together. GUESTS:  Steven Hyden:  Cultural critic at UPROXX and the author of several books on rock music, most recently  Long Road: Pearl Jam a...

This hour, a look at misunderstood monsters, why humans create monsters in the first place, and the benefits of hearing a monster’s perspective. Plus, we learn more about Medusa and talk to a researcher who studied purported yeti samples to find the animal behind the myth. GUESTS: Natalie Haynes: A writer and broadcaster; her newest book is  Stone Blind Charlotte Lindqvist: Associate professor in...

What counts as a robot? This hour, a look at what robots are and the latest in robot technology. Plus, how robots were used and thought about in medieval times and Ancient Greece and the role of robots in science fiction. GUESTS: Chris Atkeson: Professor at the Robotics Institute and the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University Adrienne Mayor: Author of  Gods and Robots:...