The Colin McEnroe Show

The Criminal (In)Justice System

04 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The American criminal justice system has become less 'just' over recent decades and prosecutors bear much of the responsibility. The tough-on-crime cu...

What's On Your Mind? Give Us A Call

03 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We've got no guests today. It's you and Colin and whatever is on your mind. There's a lot we could talk about. There's the 2020 election, why Presiden...

The Nose On 'Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones' And 'The Last Black Man In San Francisco'

30 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sticks & Stones is Dave Chappelle's fifth standup comedy special for Netflix in three years. All four previous specials won the Grammy for Best Co...

Coming Down Fast: The Manson Family Murders, 50 Years Later

29 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, there was a movie about Charles Manson. This year, there was another movie about Charles Manson. Charles Manson is a character in Quentin T...

An Hour With Pop Culture Icon Chuck Klosterman

28 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Chuck Klosterman is a man for all seasons. He's a pop culture icon. He's a sports geek. He's interviewed Jimmy Page. He appears as himself in other pe...

Happy Birthday, Barbie! A Look Back At 60 Years Of Fun, Fashion, And Mixed Messages

27 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As Barbie Millicent Roberts -- yes, that's her name -- turns 60 we, as a plastic loving nation, celebrate! For six decades the impossibly proportioned...

Tell Colin What's On Your Mind

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

You responded so enthusiastically to our all-call show last Monday, we decided to try it again this week. What's on your mind? The world is you oyster...

The Nose On Tay Tay, Pepe's, And 'Blinded By The Light'

23 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Nose has this odd habit of covering basically every new Taylor Swift single/video. And so there's a new Taylor Swift single/video. And so The Nose...

It's A Sportsing Show!

22 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If there's one thing we know about the public radio audience, it's that you love... sports. You crave sports coverage. You live for sportstalk radio. ...

George Takei Discusses His Graphic Memoir And How America Must Learn From Its Past

21 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Today we speak with actor and human-rights activist George Takei, not about his role as Liutenant Sulu on the original Star Trek, but about a far more...

VHS Will Not Die

20 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tracking, rewinding, ejecting, collecting - VHS broke ground in home entertainment like never before. The culture of VHS and its enormous best friend,...

The Scramble Takes Your Calls

19 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We've got no guests today. So much of the burden of making today's show any good at all rests with, well: you. We can talk about pretty much whatever ...

The New Haven Nose On Our Unquenchable Cancel Culture And Amazon's 'The Boys'

16 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Everything's canceled, more or less. The movie The Hunt was canceled before anybody got to see it. People talked about canceling the mo...

'Tis The Season For Summer Shakespeare

15 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Shakespeare in the Park starts tonight in New Haven. Shakespeare & Company in the Berkshires has a new workshop production of Corio...

Liberalism Has Become A Dirty Word

14 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The 18th century Parisian cafe was an incubator for the liberal tradition as it was before liberalism became a politically-loaded and dirty word. The ...

Is Democracy Dying?

13 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Populism is on the rise from Europe to India to the United States. Americans elected Donald Trump on his promise to "Drain the swamp" of a political e...

The Mysterious Death Of Jeffrey Epstein; Trump's Horribly Wrong Photo; The Future Of Bantam Cinema

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The FBI, the Justice Department's inspector general and the New York City medical examiner will investigate how billionaire and convicted sex traffick...

The Nose On The Impossible Whopper, Nicolas Cage, 'Long Shot,' And 'The Great Hack'

09 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Two things arrived this week that the world probably didn't previously know it needed: The Impossible Whopper and "the definitive Nicolas Cage intervi...

America Loves Roadside Attractions. So We Talked To One.

08 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

If you ever drive across the country, you’ll notice there is a surprising amount of World’s Largest attractions. West Virginia has th...

Fear Of The 'Other' Through The Story Of The Roma

07 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Constantin Mutu was four-months-old when he was separated from his father, Vasily. The elder Mutu was arrested while seeking asylum at the southern bo...

Can A Con Artist Con You?

06 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Joseph Cyr, a surgeon with the Royal Canadian Navy, had to think quick when his ship came upon a rickety boat with mangled and bloody bodies at th...

'A Course In Miracles' And Marianne Williamson

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Marianne Williamson was Googled more than any other candidate after last week's Democratic debate. Voters liked her call for "some deep truth-telling"...

The Nose On The Decline Of Yelling, Quentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon A Time In... Hollywood,' And More

02 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood is Quentin Tarantino's ninth movie as writer and director. It had the biggest opening of his career last weekend, and...

Oh, The Things You'll Hear! (On This Show About Dr. Seuss)

01 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On September 3rd of 2019, Random House will release what is likely the very last Dr. Seuss book there'll ever be: Dr. Seuss's Horse Museum. The work, ...

American Women Are Dying From Childbirth. Are Midwives And Doulas The Answer?

31 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Women in America die more frequently from complications of childbirth than in any other industrialized nation in the world. In addition, women of colo...

The Art Is The Idea: A Look At Sol LeWitt

30 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hartford native Sol LeWitt was one of the giants of conceptualist and minimalist art. As an artist, he abandoned the long histories of painting and dr...

Election Security; Is Mitch McConnell A Russian Asset; Bowling And 'The Big Lebowski'

29 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Election systems in all 50 states were targeted by Russia in 2016. Those were the conclusions of a bipartisan Senate Intelligence report released on T...

The Nose On The Future Of Big-Budget Blockbuster Movies And The Present Of Little Tiny Indie Movies

26 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Last weekend, Marvel unveiled its plans for Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (along with a few hints and winks and nods about Phase Five --...

Why We Reread Our Favorite Books: The Power Of A Transformative Novel

25 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Summer is the time we look forward to reading -- or rereading -- our favorite books.   How do you choose from the stack of next-to-read book...

The Ultimate Glory Of Ultimate Frisbee

23 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's been called a "glorified game of toss" and "World of Warcraft for extroverts." But has Ultimate Frisbee quietly become a real sport? It is, appar...

What Will Robert Mueller Tell Congress?

22 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Special Counsel Robert Mueller made crystal clear that he would not comment on the long-awaited Mueller Report beyond the carefully chosen words we co...

The Nose On The New 007, Caspering, The Area 51 Raid, HBO's 'Years And Years,' And Maybe More

19 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There's kind of a lot going on this week: There's rumored to be a new 007. The Emmy nominations are out. There's a new dating trend called 'Caspe...

Our Show Today Is Really Five Short, Little Shows

18 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We live in an Everything Should Take Twenty Minutes world. Movies are too long. SundanceTV has a show that airs in ten-minute...

A Conversation With Ocean Vuong

17 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Ocean Vuong emigrated to Hartford from Vietnam when he was two years old. His family brought with them the trauma of an American-led war that ravaged ...

A World In A Grain Of Sand

16 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Sand is the most abundant material on Earth. And, other than water and air, sand is the natural resource we consume more than any other -- more, even,...

NYC Goes Dark, Baseball Ratings Sag, But Drama At The CT Lottery Corp. Carries On

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Staffing unrest at the Connecticut Lottery Corp. has been a longtanding source of intrigue. But an employee's whistleblower case before the state Comm...

The Nose On The Supposed Joys Of Summer, The Future Of Streaming TV, And 'Spider-Man: Far From Home'

12 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Spider-Man: Far From Home is the 23rd feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the final entry in its Infinity Saga. It is the 11th and final...

Wild and Crazy Guys

11 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, John Belushi, John Candy, Rick Moranis. Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Beverly Hill...

The Scottsboro Boys: Tackling Racial Injustice Through Minstrelsy

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Scottsboro Boys were arrested as freight train hoboes in Alabama in 1931 and quickly convicted by an all-white jury of raping two white women. Aft...

Beneath The Surface: A Deep Dive Into Connecticut Shipwrecks

10 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Searching for sunken treasure? The Long Island Sound is hardly the place to look. But what can be found in its murky waters are ample remains&nbs...

Earthquakes; Diminished U.S. Standing; Women's Soccer

08 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The two biggest earthquakes to hit California since 1994 rocked an area about 120 miles northeast of Los Angeles on Thursday and Friday. Seismologists...

The Nose On #NotMyAriel, Lil Nas X, 'Big Little Lies' Season Two, And 'The Big Little Podcast'

05 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

No one is surprised to hear that Disney is planning a live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. Some people were surprised, though, at the a...

Shark Fever: The Lore Of The Great White

03 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Fear of sharks spiked last summer after a great white fatally bit a 26-year-old surfer off the coast of Cape Cod. The fever still runs high as reports...

Women Buried In The Footnotes Of Scientific Discovery

02 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Women scientists and inventors have been making ground-breaking discoveries since Agnodike pretended to be a man in order to become the firs...

Isn't There A Little Prepper In All Of Us?

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Reality TV shows like the Discovery Channel's Doomsday Bunkers and National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Preppers perpetuate a stereotype o...

Finding Humanity At The Sideshow

28 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The concept of the early 20th century sideshow evokes images of bearded ladies, sword swallowers and exotic "others" exhibited as "freaks" before audi...

The 2019 Song Of The Summer Is...

27 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's SUMMER! And every year around this time, we gather up a few music mavens who help us analyze and celebrate the kind of music that gets us dancing...

Dying For A Photo

26 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

A photo of people inching their way up a snaking line to the peak of Mount Everest last month has drawn attention to a number of problems, one of whic...

Congratulations! You've Been Selected To Hear This Wonderful Show About Robocalls!!!

25 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

October of 2018 was an unremarkable month. That is, to everyone who wasn't working for Youmail. During that month, the California-based company w...

Who Is Andrew Yang; SCOTUS decision on Curtis Flowers; Defining A Concentration Camp

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants to give everyone a Universal Basic Income to offset the effects of automation. The plan ...

Who Is Andrew Yang; SCOTUS Decision On Curtis Flowers; Defining A Concentration Camp

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants to give everyone a Universal Basic Income to offset the effects of automation. The plan ...

The New Haven Nose On Taylor Swift's New Vid, The Obamas' New Pods, And Jim Jarmusch's New Zom Com

21 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The Nose doesn't much miss a chance to cover Taylor Swift. And it turns out, Taytay's got a new song and video... for Pr...

Of Coils And Coin Drops: Tales From The Vending Machine

20 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There's much more to vending machines than those tasty, preservative-laden treats temptingly lined up on display behind the glass casing. Today we tak...

Your Mind Makes It Real: 'The Matrix' 20 Years On

19 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's hard to believe, but The Matrix is 20 years old this year. And its influence is all over the culture with bullet time&nb...

Fallout From Jennifer Dulos Case: Domestic Violence; Race; Surveillance

18 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Connecticut remains riveted by the unfolding saga of Jennifer Dulos, the wealthy, white New Canaan woman last seen almost four weeks ago. It's a tragi...

Chipping Away At Democracy, One Broken Norm At A Time

17 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The president suggests he can take information from a foreign adversary without reporting it to the FBI. Kellyanne Conway can violate the Hatch Act wi...

The One About Joni Mitchell

14 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Joni Mitchell is a singer-songwriter from Alberta, Canada. In 1968, her debut album, Song to a Seagull, was released and since then, Mitchell has beco...

Giving Up Child Custody For Mental Health Care

13 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

There are a group of Connecticut parents who feel they must relinquish custody of  their “high needs” children in order to get them i...

This Show Will Be The Cat's Pajamas

12 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is really going to be the cat’s pajamas. Or is it pyjamas? Do cats even wear pajamas? Why would they? Why do we? Should any of us w...

Every Family Has Secrets: Jessica Harper's 'Winnetka'

11 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Jessica Harper has starred in movies like Suspiria, Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise, Woody Allen's Stardust Memories, and Steven Spielberg's ...

Are You Ready To Marie Kondo Your House?

10 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Are you one of the millions inspired by Marie Kondo and her KonMari Method to get rid of your clutter? Kondo's books, such as The Life-...

The Nose On 'Rocketman' And 'When They See Us'

07 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Rocketman is the sort of movie where (tiny spoiler ahead here, I suppose) "Elton John," at one point, becomes an actual "rocket man"... and blasts off...

Are We Ready To Accept That UFOs Are Real?

06 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In early 2017, The New York Times uncovered a program at the Defense Department which investigated unidentified flying objects. Then, at the end ...

Wednesday Is Soylent Day

05 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What if you just don't really enjoy food very much? What if you're totally fine eating the same thing every single day? What if you think food is an i...

An Exit Interview, Of Sorts, With Darko Tresnjak

04 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Darko Tresnjak has been artistic director at Hartford Stage Company since 2011. During his tenure here, he's won a Tony. He's had multiple productions...

Gerrymandering; Reading The Mueller Report; Are We Still Capable of Politically Honorable Deeds

03 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The question of whether to allow a contested question about citizenship on the 2020 census is before the Supreme Court. How they decide may be altered...

The Nose On 'Oh, The Places You'll Go,' All The HBO Shows, And Hulu's 'Catch-22'

31 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Graduation season is upon us. Your niece is finishing high school. Your neighbor's son is graduating from Tulane. Your boss just got her second Master...

The Truth About Lies

29 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Laszlo Ratesic is a nineteen-year veteran of the Speculative Service. He lives in the Golden State, the only place left in what was once America. Lasz...

Two Of The Greats: Robin Williams And George Carlin

28 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Rob...

Not Necessarily The Nose: The Coen Brothers And 'The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs'

24 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

No Country for Old Men. Fargo. The Big Lebowski. Raising Arizona. O Brother, Where Art Thou? Miller's Crossing. Over the past...

From The Bad Ideas Dept.: It's A Show About Towels!

23 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Seriously: a show about towels. There's the history of towels, towels in Christianity, Terrible Towels, Towel Day. Oh, and there a...

The Criminal (In)Justice System

22 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The American criminal justice system has become less 'just' over recent decades and prosecutors bear much of the responsibility. The tough-on-crime cu...

Happy Birthday, Barbie! A Look Back At 60 Years Of Fun, Fashion, And Mixed Messages

21 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

As Barbie Millicent Roberts -- yes, that's her name -- turns 60 we, as a plastic loving nation, celebrate! For six decades the impossibly proportioned...

Handmaid's Tale And Trump's America: Comparisons Frightening Or Overblown?

20 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

For everyone who watched Sunday's series finale of Game of Thrones, perhaps a better show to get a handle on what's happening inside America is Hulu's...

The Nose Says Goodbye To Tim Conway, Peggy Lipton, 'Game of Thrones,' 'Veep,' And More

17 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a rough week for the famous. Last Saturday, Peggy Lipton died at age 72. On Monday, Doris Day died at 97. Then on Tuesday, it was Tim Conway...

VHS Will Not Die

16 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Tracking, rewinding, ejecting, collecting - VHS broke ground in home entertainment like never before. The culture of VHS and its enormous best friend,...

Liberalism Has Become A Dirty Word

15 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The 18th century Parisian cafe was an incubator for the liberal tradition as it was before liberalism became a politically-loaded and dirty word. The ...

Does Religion Still Matter When We Need It Most?

14 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Religious scholar Elaine Pagels, trusted the Gospel of Thomas to get her through the almost unbearably painful years after the death of her six-y...

Congressional Showdown; Teen Victims Of Shootings As Heroes; Moon Rocks

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Listen at 1:00 pm.  President Trump is working to block more than 20 separate Congressional investigations led by the Democratic-contro...

The Nose On 'Pizza, A Love Story' And The Age-Old Question, Is Vampire Weekend Still Cool?

10 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Father of the Bride is Vampire Weekend's fourth studio album, their first in nearly six years, and their first for a major label. It has been called a...

The Art Is The Idea: A Look At Sol LeWitt

09 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Hartford native Sol LeWitt was one of the giants of conceptualist and minimalist art. As an artist, he abandoned the long histories of painting and dr...

Isn't There A Little Prepper In All Of Us?

08 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Reality TV shows like the Discovery Channel's Doomsday Bunkers and National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Preppers perpetuate a stereotype o...

The King: Before There Was Lebron, There Was Elvis

07 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Elvis left two legacies. Musically, he pulled several American musical traditions out of the shadows, braided them together, and made them mainstream....

NPR Has A New Theme Song; A Beloved Writer Dies; Humans Are Killing Thousands Of Species

06 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

NPR has a new theme song. The new theme is much like the old theme with new embellishments created by a "sonic studio" instead of one artist and a "cr...

The Nose On 'Avengers: Endgame' And Taylor Swift's 'ME!'

03 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Avengers: Endgame is the 22nd feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the fourth Avengers movie and the fourth MCU entry directed by Anth...

Finding Humanity At The Sideshow

02 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The concept of the early 20th century sideshow evokes images of bearded ladies, sword swallowers and exotic "others" exhibited as "freaks" before audi...

Lets Eat Grandma!

01 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Who would have thought that a book on grammar would be #5 on Amazon's best-seller list? (Should that be "whom" would have thought? Should I write out ...

After We Die, Our Dust Will Live Forever

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Dust is a fascinating substance. Our bodies are always shedding dust from our skin, hair, and nails, leaving little bits of DNA wherever we roam. Dust...

Anti-Semitism Is On The Rise; Twenty 2020 Democratic Candidates Are In The Race

29 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We want to hear from you. It's just Colin and your calls. Twenty Democratic presidential contenders are in the race for 2020. Are you suffering from c...

The Nose Goes To 'Homecoming' And Breaks 'Jeopardy'

26 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

To say Beyoncé's performance at Coachella was historic feels like an understatement. In about the span of a week, Queen Bey released a two hour...

Why Are We So Fascinated By Scams?

25 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Fyre Festival, Theranos, Anna Delvey, the college admissions scandal... the list goes on. And whether explored on the news or as a book, podcast, docu...

Kafka. Need I Say More.

24 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Most of us know what Kafkaesque means even if we've never read a word Kafka wrote. For example, it's Kafkaesque when your smart home tu...

In Search Of Religion

23 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The number of Americans who identify as 'spiritual but not religious' is growing, especially among millennials who may not be finding what they need i...

We're Broadcasting In Four-Part Harmony

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

We’re exploring the world of Barbershop Harmony; from its roots in the African American community to its influence in other genres, Barbershop i...

Winter Is Here: Game Of Thrones Returns

19 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

This week, the long awaited final season of Game of Thrones launched on HBO. As more than 17 million viewers dig in for one last round, some...

"Here In My Car, I Feel Safest Of All," Sang Gary Numan. He Was So Right!

18 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Engineers at Ford are working hard toward a breakthrough: A car that runs on tears! Okay, maybe not, but they really should be. Why? Because people cr...

Freshly Squeezed from Watkinson: We are Made of Star Stuff!

17 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It could be argued that you will never understand yourself if you don’t understand the universe. And the universe is full of both beautiful and ...

Why Are More People Turning Towards Socialism?

16 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Between November of 2016 and June of 2018, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) saw it's membership jump from 5,000 to over 40,000.  This h...

The Life And Promise That Comes With Being Connecticut's Chief Justice

15 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The significance of being confirmed as Connecticut's first African-American state Supreme Court chief justice last May didn't fully sink in for Richar...

The Nose Hits That ‘Old Town Road’ And Kills Time With ‘Barry’

12 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

What is country music? If you ask Billboard, it’s definitely not Lil Nas X’s viral sensation, and the number one song in America, “O...