1,804 episodes
The Colin McEnroe Show Connecticut Public
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- Society & Culture
The Colin McEnroe Show is public radio’s most eclectic, eccentric weekday program. The best way to understand us is through the subjects we tackle: Neanderthals, tambourines, handshakes, the Iliad, snacks, ringtones, punk rock, Occam’s razor, Rasputin, houseflies, zippers. Are you sensing a pattern? If so, you should probably be in treatment. On Fridays, we try to stop thinking about what kind of ringtones Neanderthals would want to have and convene a panel called The Nose for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.
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The Bard’s the thing: A show about Shakespeare
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 centuries). So, fine. Cancel Shakespeare, then, one argument goes. Because here’s the thing: Shakespeare’s plays and poems ARE dirty and smutty and gory — and that’s a big part of what makes them so great.
And: Earlier this year, the romantic comedy Anyone But You became the highest-grossing live-action Shakespeare adaptation ever made. So we look at Shakespeare as fertile rom-com IP, from 10 Things I Hate About You and beyond.
And finally, Bardcore is a thing. The one and only Hildegard von Blingin’ joins us.
GUESTS:
Maureen Lee Lenker: A senior writer at Entertainment Weekly and the author of the novel It Happened One Fight
Drew Lichtenberg: Associate director at Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC
Hildegard von Blingin’: A singer and illustrator
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Colin McEnroe, Meg Dalton, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.
Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.
Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Sun, sand, and a book — a look at the beach read
Just in time for your summer vacation, an hour about beach reads. We look at how the term came to be, get some beach read recommendations, and even hear a case against reading on the beach.
GUESTS:
Meghan Hayden: Owner of River Bend Bookshop, which has locations in Glastonbury and West Hartford, Connecticut
Andrew Limbong: Reporter for NPR’s Culture Desk and Host of NPR's Book of the Day podcast
Donna Harrington-Lueker: Professor in the Department of English, Communications, and Media at Salve Regina University. She is author of Books for Idle Hours: Nineteenth-Century Publishing and the Rise of Summer Reading
Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate
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Our (maybe) 14th (almost) annual song of the summer show
We’ve done a version of this show every year since 2013. And we did it in 2011. We probably even did one in 2010. (We just can’t prove it.)
So it’s a bit of a tradition. It’s a tradition that … makes some people angry, we realize.
And that has a lot to do with how we define the term “song of the summer.” We use the Amanda Dobbins definition:
Let’s be clear about how this works: There is no such thing as a “personal” song of summer. We do not anoint multiple songs of summer. There can only be one; the Song of Summer, by its very definition, is a consensus choice. It is the song that wrecks wedding dance floors. It is the song that you and your mother begrudgingly agree on (even though your mom has no idea what rhymes with “hug me” and won’t stop yelling it in public). It does not necessarily have to hit No. 1 on the charts, but it should probably be on the charts because it must be widely played. It must bring people together. It must be a shared enthusiasm.
So it’s our job here to figure out what song from 2024 will get added to the long list of song of the summer classics like “Party Rock Anthem,” “Call Me Maybe,” “Despacito,” and “Blurred Lines.”
And if we’re wrong, well, it really just won’t matter at all.
GUESTS:
Sam Hadelman: Works in music public relations and hosts The Sam Hadelman Show at Radio Free Brooklyn
Brendan Jay Sullivan: A writer, producer, and DJ
Cassie Willson: A comedian, musician, and content creator
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Colin McEnroe contributed to this show.
Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today.
Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
The first presidential debate is June 27. But will it matter?
With the first presidential debate just two weeks away, an hour on the art and science of the presidential debate. We look at the evolution of debates through history, question whether or not they matter to the election, and even learn about the art of the political putdown.
GUESTS:
Kathryn Cramer Brownell: Associate Professor of History at Purdue University. She is author of Showbiz Politics: Hollywood in American Political Life and 24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News
Aaron Kall: Director of Debate and a Lecturer in the Department of Communication at the University of Michigan. He is also author of Debating The Donald
Chris Lamb: Professor of Journalism at Indiana University Indianapolis, and author of The Art of the Political Putdown: The Greatest Comebacks, Ripostes, and Retorts in History
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, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.
Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.
Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
Every step you take: How walking and walkability shape our lives
"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 Winchester
Dr. I-Min Lee: Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Join the conversation onFacebook andTwitter.
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode.
Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
Colin McEnroe, Eugene Amatruda, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on November 2, 2023.
Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. -
The Nose looks at ‘Godzilla Minus One’ and the current crisis at the box office
Godzilla Minus One (Gojira -1.0) is the 37th movie in the Godzilla franchise, the 33rd Godzilla movie from Toho Studios, and the fifth movie in the franchise’s Reiwa era. It has grossed more than $150 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing Japanese Godzilla movie. It is the first Godzilla movie ever nominated for an Academy Award, which it won, for Best Visual Effects. Godzilla Minus One is a prequel to the original movie, Godzilla (1954).
And: Following the worst Memorial Day weekend at the domestic box office in nearly 30 years and the disappointing openings of the big-budget summer action movies The Fall Guy and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, industry watchers are, let’s say … in a bit of a panic. The Nose has thoughts and concerns.
GUESTS:
Raquel Benedict: Claims to be the most dangerous woman in speculative fiction, and she’s the host of the Rite Gud podcast
James Hanley: Co-founder of Cinestudio at Trinity College
Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Nobody Asked Shawn podcast
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Colin McEnroe and Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.
Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.