The Colin McEnroe Show

The secret lives of numbers

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Numbers are so fundamental to our understanding of the world around us that we maybe tend to think of them as an intrinsic part of the world around us...

All calls: Booing, showering, pinball (again), suits, and more

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting ...

The Noscars 2025

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve never done this before. The Nose has done Oscars shows any number of times, but they’ve basically all been preview shows of one kind...

The Nose looks at ‘Severance’ and ‘Rosebud Baker: The Mother Lode’

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Severance is a science fiction office comedy psychological thriller series created by Dan Erickson and executive produced and primarily directed by Be...

The romance of the north

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's cold, snowy winters like this that make us question why we choose to live in a place where snow, sleet, and wind define one-third of the year. &n...

A show about how we pick the music for shows

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You may notice that we curate our music rather carefully, the music we use going in and out of segments. This hour, a look at how we do that, what our...

All calls: Pinball, voting with your dollars, winter, model trains, and more

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Suppor...

Beyond woods and roads: The life and poetry of Robert Frost

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You have probably encountered poet Robert Frost through his famous poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” or “The Road Not Tak...

‘Live from New York!’ A look at ‘Saturday Night’ and ‘SNL’

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This past weekend, Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary with a concert and a special. This hour, a look at the institution SNL has beco...

One man’s bureaucracy is another’s “deep state”

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump and his new administration have been dismantling the U.S. government's administrative state, what they call the "deep state." This hou...

Shell we talk about eggs?

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What else besides an egg can give us human life, culinary delight, life-saving vaccines, jarping, the Clowns International Egg Registry, and...

All calls: Reacting to Trump's presidency, football, the genius of younger generations, and more

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support ...

A look at one of our most forgotten presidents: Chester A. Arthur

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour is all about America’s 21st president, Chester A. Arthur, who took office after President James Garfield was assassinated. We look at ...

Should theaters have to tell us the real movie start times?

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

State Sen. Martin Looney has proposed a bill in the Connecticut legislature that would require movie theaters to publish the actual start times of mov...

The secret language of animals and how we're learning to understand it

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever wish you could have a conversation with your pet, or the bird outside your window? This hour, we learn about how animals communicate with ...

An appreciation of squirrels

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I’ve had some well-documented trouble with our neighborhood squirrels over the last few winters. It could be that most homeowners in the Northea...

Everyday Carry: Unpacking what we carry with us and why

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What’s in your pockets right now? Phone, wallet, keys … maybe some discarded receipts or old gum? This hour: what we carry with us every ...

All calls: Talking with friends, the King of Haiti, worrying about the future, and more

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. The Colin McEnroe Show is av...

The Nose looks at ‘Sing Sing’ and ‘American Primeval’

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sing Sing is a theater and prison drama directed by Greg Kwedar and written by Clint Bentley and Kwedar from a story by Bentley, Kwedar, Clarence &ldq...

'I once had a dentist named Dr. Fillmore': Stories of nominative determinism

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 di...

It’s time to talk about the alphabet in the room

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Most of the Western world is organized by alphabetical order, which is so much more than the 26 letters that make up the alphabet. Alphabetical order ...

Eventually the world will end. Why can't we stop imagining it?

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just last week, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight. The end of the world has been something humans have...

All calls: Connecticut’s Grammy winners, the ‘SNL’ music doc, and just a general searching for the way forward

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting ...

From ‘Ninotchka’ to ‘Love Actually’: A celebration of the romantic comedy

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In his book From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy, Scott Meslow lays out two ways to tell if a given mov...

Occam’s razor makes the case for simplicity in a complex world

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Occam’s razor states that “entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity.” This hour is all about Occam’s razor: where th...

The weird and fundamental idea that is zero

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Zero is considered by many mathematicians to maybe be humanity’s greatest achievement. This hour, a look at the strange and essential conce...

A big, hulking, concrete look at brutalism

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Crawford Hall at Yale. The Louis Micheels House in Westport. The Babbidge Library at UConn. Hotel Marcel in New Haven. Connecticut is dotted with stun...

I'm having writer's block writing this headline about writer's block

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Everyone has likely experienced some form of writer's block in their lives — when you sit down to write and the words just won't come. This hour...

‘A kind of musical Mark Twain’: A look at Randy Newman

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Randy Newman has been nominated for 22 Academy Awards (he’s won twice), for 23 Grammy Awards (seven wins), and for three Primetime Emmy Awards (...

How should we treat the dead?

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, we look at our cultural fascination with dead bodies. What do we owe the dead? What can the dead teach us? What does a body represent to yo...

Socrates' lessons on life, death, and conversation with Agnes Callard

22 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, philosopher Agnes Callard joins us to talk about her new book, Open Socrates: The Case for a Philosophical Life. GUEST:  Agnes Callar...

All calls: The inauguration, ‘The Price Is Right,’ Van Gogh, Klaus Schulze, and more

21 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting ...

The Poet Laureate of Rock ’n’ Roll: A look at Bob Dylan

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’re at a point where, for many of us, there has simply never been a popular culture in which Bob Dylan wasn’t a towering figure. And wit...

The story of book chapters, one page at a time

16 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we take a look at the history and evolution of chapters, and discuss how they impact our reading experiences. GUESTS:  Nicholas Dames:...

Why we’re still mesmerized by the myth of Rasputin

15 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the century since Russia’s “Mad Monk” was poisoned, we’ve come to believe a lot of things: he was mystical, he was evil, he...

Are we thinking about travel the wrong way?

14 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It feels like tourism hit a breaking point this past summer, with residents around Europe protesting visitors, new entrance and tourist fees popping u...

All calls: How our music tastes change, movie credits, red and blue states, and more

13 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about. The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazo...

The King: Before there was Lebron, there was Elvis

10 Jan 2025

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....

The power of promises, from inaugural oaths to marriage vows

09 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During the Inauguration in a few weeks, President-elect Donald Trump will take the oath of office. It's a practice that elected officials are taking p...

Alcohol is bad for us. So why have humans been drinking it for thousands of years?

08 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While some people decide to abstain from alcohol for Dry January, we take a look at alcohol, and our relationship with it. Drinking alcohol has a numb...

The real lives of the Vikings

07 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When you think of the Vikings, you probably picture a bearded man wearing a horned hat, pillaging on a Viking ship. But that's far from the whole stor...

All calls: Robot throuples, The Golden Globes, AI and music, and more

06 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

A look at the bullying impact of the canon and the zeitgeist

03 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Is there some thing that EVERYBODY seems to like that you’re just not that into? Star Wars? Game of Thrones? Seinfeld? The Beach Boys? Christoph...

All Calls: Stealing punchlines, judging Colin, chaos Muppets part 2, and more

02 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. The Colin McEnroe ...

Live from Watkinson, it’s part 2 of our 2024 holiday spectacular

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve put on a holiday special every year for the last decade. But this year, for the first time, we did it in front of a (pretty large!) audien...

From the cereal aisle to the ballot box, how groceries shape our lives

30 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Grocery prices were a regular talking point in this past election cycle. This hour is all about the grocery store. We talk about how items get on the ...

Our favorite jazz of 2024

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As we have every year for at least the last 11 years, to round out the year, we round up the best jazz of the year. GUESTS: Jen Allen: A pianist, com...

Our relationship with rest is changing, and it’s about time

26 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the midst of this holiday week, we talk about the importance of rest, and how to rest well. Plus, we'll talk about the role of rest in religion, an...

All calls: Bathroom signage, Chaos Muppets, secrets, and more

23 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Live from Watkinson, it’s part 1 of our 2024 holiday spectacular

21 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve put on a holiday special every year for the last decade. But this year, for the first time, we did it in front of a (pretty large!) audien...

The joy of Christmas movies, from the classics to the NFL and ‘Hot Frosty’

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

‘Tis the season for holiday movies. This hour, we look at this year's offerings from Netflix and Hallmark, discuss what makes a good holiday mov...

The legends of King Arthur and why they still matter today

19 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, we take a look at the legends of King Arthur. We discuss their evolution and why they endure. Plus, we talk with author Lev Grossman about ...

Our hour with the late Hal Holbrook

18 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

Who are epigraphs for?

17 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour: the art of the epigraph. We talk with writers about how they pick the quotes that open their books, what epigraphs can do well, how the bus...

All calls: Corniness, sappiness, Irishness, words like ‘personally,’ the Packers, and more

16 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting ...

A look at the current Irish invasion of the popular culture

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Say Nothing. Small Things Like These. Kneecap. Bad Sisters. All of Us Strangers. The Banshees of Inisherin and An Cailín Ciúin a couple ...

A look at ‘brain rot,' from TikTok to Thoreau

12 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Oxford University Press has named “brain rot” the word of the year for 2024. The term beat out five other finalists: “demure,”...

The Bard’s the thing: A show about Shakespeare

11 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shakespeare, it turns out, is not immune to the culture wars, the book banning, the cancel culture (despite his being dead for more than four centurie...

From can openers to ricers, a look at what’s in our kitchens

10 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What’s in your kitchen? With a plethora of kitchen tools available to us today, the contents of our kitchen drawers varies. But a recent survey ...

All calls: Colin's favorite song, reading, The Whalers, and more

09 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Suppor...

The Nose looks at ‘Lioness’ and ‘The Remarkable Life of Ibelin’

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lioness is the seventh of eight TV series created by Taylor Sheridan. It’s a spy thriller starring Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Mich...

We're reading fewer books. That's not good

05 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, we're going to take stock of what it's like to read as an adult, and discuss why some Americans, including college students, are reading fe...

From a jar to a box — How we misunderstand Pandora and her legacy

04 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Trump’s trial. AI. Online learning. Everything’s a “Pandora's Box." This hour, we discuss the myth and the metaphor of Pandora's Box. Plus, a lo...

The music, medicine, and mystery of humming

03 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From Thurston Harris and Crash Test Dummies to that noise your refrigerator makes, humming sounds are all around us (especially if you’ve been to Wi...

All calls: ‘Say Nothing,’ ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas,’ the windshield phenomenon, and more

02 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surp...

What makes a book a classic? A read of the Western canon and how it’s changing

26 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, we look at the idea of the Western canon and those books that are considered “classics.” We talk about what’s in the canon, what isn’...

Want to really know someone? Look in their fridge

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, a look at refrigeration and how it’s shaped what we eat and how we live with Nicola Twilley, author of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Chang...

‘Though the heavens fall’: The JFK assassination in our media and culture

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22, 1963. It would be hard to argue that the modern American era, the era that we’re still...

We're still pushing the boulder on the meaning of Sisyphus

21 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, a look at the myth of Sisyphus, and how we invoke it today. Plus, we'll hear from a musician who has found inspiration in the story, and we...

The weird and fundamental idea that is zero

20 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Zero is considered by many mathematicians to maybe be humanity’s greatest achievement. This hour, a look at the strange and essential concept of the...

Why some women ‘boycott’ men, from Ancient Greece to the 4B Movement

19 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some women in the United States are adopting the 4B Movement from South Korea: no marriage, no childbirth, no dating, and no sex. This hour we take st...

All calls under the influence (of Novocain): Jethro Tull, making love courteously, Yeats, and more

18 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

An hour with Griffin Dunne

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Note: This episode contains strong language. Griffin Dunne is Jack Goodman in John Landis’ classic horror-comedy An American Werewolf in Londonand ...

Brian Reed wants you to “Question Everything” about journalism

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You probably know Brian Reed from his hit award-winning series "S-Town." Now, Brian has a new podcast, "Question Everything," where he is re-examining...

Kafka and his legacy, 100 years after his death

13 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Franz Kafka died 100 years ago, but his work is still very much alive today in literature classes and, surprisingly, on social media. This hour, we lo...

All calls: tables, Keri Russell, the election, and more

12 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surp...

How algorithms shape our world, for better and for worse

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We hear about algorithms all the time, but what is an algorithm exactly? This hour, we learn about how algorithms work, a bit about their history, and...

Roommates wanted: How the people you live with impact your life

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Roommates: can't live with them, can't (afford to) live without them. They're the people who use your dishes and don't wash them. They're the people w...

OK. Well. The election is over

06 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As I type this, four states remain uncalled, including two battlegrounds. It could take days or longer to determine the final popular vote tally. Cont...

‘Citizen Observers’ share their voting stories from around the state

05 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On Election Day we do a show where we ask people across Connecticut to do a simple thing: Go vote in your town before 1 p.m. Then call us between 1 an...

All calls: A cargo transportation idea, early voting, football superstition, and more

04 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

The Nose helps you get through this last weekend before Election Day

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Four days left. Four (4!) days until Election Day. We’re feeling the stress, the anxiety. And we’re guessing you are too. In one of our show meeti...

Does democracy have a design problem?

31 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we talk with experts in ballot design about how to put together a ballot that's accessible to everyone, and all of the things to keep in min...

From jingles to Beyoncé: How music shapes political campaigns

30 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, we look at how political campaigns use music, from the history of political jingles to how Harris and Trump are using music in the 2024 ele...

From jelly beans to Diet Mountain Dew, how politicians eat and why it matters

29 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Food is an important part of the campaign trail, from tamales to McDonald's. This hour is all about how food is used in politics, including in the Whi...

All calls: Election stress, comedy vs. journalism, Declan the Dog … and stuff like that

28 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been doing these shows where we don’t book any guests, where we fill the hour with your calls. And your calls have been interesting and surp...

‘Hey, boppers, keep your radio tuned tight’: A look at ‘The Warriors’

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton follow-up is here, and it’s a concept album — a musical adaptation, written with Eisa Davis, of the 1979 film The ...

The year in horror, 2024

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s our annual Halloween special, a look at the year in horror! We delve into the economic- and artistic wherewithal of the genre surrounded by a l...

Some people are considering whether it’s time to leave the United States

23 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some Americans are considering whether this country is a place where they want to live in the future. This hour is all about leaving the United States...

Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat on global authoritarianism and the future of democracy

22 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour, we talk wi...

All calls: Retirement, early voting, dragonflies, and more

21 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about. Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.Support the show: http://www.wnpr....

‘Live from New York!’: A look at ‘Saturday Night’ and ‘SNL’

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Saturday Night Live started its 50th season in September. This hour, a look at the institution SNL has become over five decades on television. Plus: J...

George Washington is having a moment

17 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From Saturday Night Live to the cover of The Atlantic, George Washington is having a bit of a moment. This hour is about our first president and his l...

Is print dead or is it making a comeback?

16 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Is print dead? Or will it make a comeback? This hour, we talk about the benefits and drawbacks of getting your news in print form. We learn about the ...

Christian nationalism, religiosity, and the 2024 election with Brad Onishi

15 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour, we talk wi...

All calls: Columbus Day, textures, textiles, Tolkien, and more

14 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, the conversation winds around to Columbus Day, Colin’s favorite joke, textures, J.R.R. Tolkien, the movie The Apprentice, food allergies,...

Playwright Jeffrey Lieber on truth, lies, memory and ‘Fever Dreams’

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jeffrey Lieber was one of the Emmy-nominated creators of the TV series Lost. He has been a showrunner on series like NCIS: New Orleans and Charmed and...

Today: Did episode on notebooks & diaries, bought kiwi fruit, had teeth cleaning

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour is all about notebooks. We'll talk about the history and evolution of notebooks, favorite examples, and celebrate the joy of writing things ...

All calls: How to find an artsy community, towns governed by oral tradition, toothpaste, and more

10 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Words, words, words: A look at style guides and Britishisms in American English

08 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This hour, a look at words and usage and grammar and language and all that fun stuff. Have you noticed how we Americans have become “so bloody keen ...