The Colin McEnroe Show

Donald Trump's election last month was the culmination of a venom-filled campaign that was nastier than almost any in recent memory. The mean-spirited comments tossed to voters eager to "lock her up" fell just shy of the malicious rhetoric coming from Thomas Jefferson's presidential campaign in 1796. Jefferson's hatchet-man called John Adams a "hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither...

  The way we listen to music has been changing for years: iPods replaced Walkmans, playlists replaced albums, and streaming services replaced shopping for music altogether. And as our listening habits have changed, so has the business of being a musician. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Voice of ​America is a U.S.- funded and independent source of news that airs in societies that don't have a free press. Last week, Congress decided to shift oversight from an independent board to one person chosen by the president. President Obama embraced the shift from an unwieldy part-time advisory board to a professional CEO. Do we trust Donald Trump, a man who has threatened to change lib...

In case you missed it, there was a major summit in Manhattan earlier this week, a meeting of the minds at Trump Tower: Kanye West went to see the President-elect. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If there's one thing we've never been good at, it's limiting ourselves. We eat too much junk food, watch too much T.V., and engage in all manner of self-indulgence. So why then, do we continue to adhere to the limitations of monogamy? If love is so grand, why not celebrate a lifestyle which encourages loving multiple partners? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listene...

Electoral College. There's a pair of words you've maybe heard once or twice recently. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Felix Funicello walks into the historic Garde Arts Center in New London to prepare for his Monday night film class. He takes a moment to appreciate the splendor of the old building and consider the talented performers who have played at the Garde. He then climbs the staircase lined with movie posters from films as far back as 1926 to enter the production room at the top of the landing. That's...

Nancy Butler was first touched by God while listening to bible stories at the Methodist bible camp she attended when she was nine-years-old. By the end of the week, she was ready to give her life to God, first through through daily prayer and bible readings, later by founding one of the first inclusive evangelical churches that welcomed everyone regardless of sexual orientation.  God bec...

My mom liked Moonlight . She compares it favorably to other movies she's liked like Brokeback Mountain . But she's not sure that she left the theater a different person from when she went in , that she was transformed by the movie , that it is transcendent . And so: Is it good enough to merely like a movie that the zeitgeist says is a masterpiece ? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See...

There's a theory that ours isn't the only universe . That there are, actually, infinitely many universes. That there are, then, infinitely many yous. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gustave Whitehead became a household name in Connecticut in 2013 when the editor of the highly-respected aviation magazine  IHS Jane's All the World's Aircraft ,  declared Gustave Whitehead had been treated "shabbily by history." This comment came after Australian historian John Brown found a picture of a plane he alleged Gustave Whitehead flew in Bridgeport two years before th...

Why is there something rather than nothing? This has been described as perhaps the most sublime philosophical question of all. Today, on The Colin McEnroe Show , we answer it. But as we do, we realize that it's not just a philosophical quandary; it's a scientific, cultural, and theological one as well. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

Donald Trump will make an announcement on December 15 that he will leave his business "in total" to focus on the presidency.  This will likely mean he is transferring management responsibilities to three of his five children: Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric. But a transfer may be nearly impossible, given the wide-ranging and deep entanglements Trump's children have in his business.  Su...

Many Americans were surprised by the results of the presidential election last month. During the early morning hours of November 9, half of America celebrated the ascension of the man (and not the first woman) that championed the needs of Americans who felt betrayed by those in power. The other half feared the election of a man with no experience in government and a stated desire to dismantle much...

Imagine if you couldn't speak and had no capacity for learning language as we know it. You couldn't choose words to communicate your feelings and desires and needs. You wouldn't know words that help others understand the world in which you live. This isn't like vacationing in a country that speaks a different language where the words are different but still convey universal concepts. It's so diffi...

As social creatures we know that isolation can be emotionally difficult, but research shows that it can be psychologically damaging as well. So why then, would anyone live this way by choice? This hour, we hear two such cases of isolated living. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jerks . Jackasses . A-holes . Some people are just ... the worst . Aren't they? But so: Why? And what do we do about it? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The charged language used by President-elect Donald Trump this election season may have emboldened people with open hostility toward blacks, gay people, Muslims, Mexicans, Jews, and women. How do we respond to incidents of hate and people who feel emboldened to hate? How do we teach our children to respond? How do we begin to see bigotry through a wider lens? Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/...

For the last 18 months, we've kind of all seen Donald Trump's possible presidency as, well, implausible. As funny on its face. But guess what. It's a real thing that's going to actually happen. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why do we vote the way we do? The easy answer, of course, is that we pick the politician whose values, beliefs and opinions most closely resemble our own. But while that does play a part, there are other, less obvious influences as well. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Colin is back, and we've got some questions, and we're guessing you do too. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the men of Apollo 11 returned home to ticker tape parades, the women who made their journey possible worked quietly behind the scenes. Since its founding in 1958, NASA has been heavily reliant on the skills of such women, many of whom have gone unrecognized for their bravery and hard work. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are few genres of entertainment more American than the Western. But for a genre so steeped in the iconography of our past, its accuracy in portraying historical event leaves much to be desired. Many argue that the Western is more myth than reality, and that this myth is akin to revisionist history. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...

What can you say about the sun? It sits not only at the center of our solar system but has, over time, been at the center of religions, scriptures, songs, art and countless other aspects of our culture. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What makes a great audiobook? What makes a great audiobook narrator? (And, for that matter, what makes a not-so-great audiobook and audiobook narrator?) Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.