The Colin McEnroe Show

Connecticut Public
  • 4.4 (216)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Daily

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.

  1. The bold, beautiful, and dramatic world of soap operas

    8h ago

    The bold, beautiful, and dramatic world of soap operas

    The soap opera began on the radio in the 1930s, and since then it's evolved quite a bit. This hour, we take a look at soaps and soapiness, from daytime dramas to reality TV. GUESTS: Charlotte Druckman: Journalist and the co-author of Love in the Afternoon, and Evening: Essays and Conversations on Soap Operas Mayukh Sen: Co-author of Love in the Afternoon, and Evening: Essays and Conversations on Soap Operas. He is also a professor at NYU and author of Love, Queenie: Merle Oberon, Hollywood’s First South Asian Star Justis Bolding: Actress, singer, voice artist, and narrator, who played Sarah Roberts in ABC’s One Life to Live Music featured (in order): Faces of the Heart – Dave Koz No More Drama – Mary J. Blige Erica Kane – Aaliyah A Little Bit of Soap – The Jarmels General Hospi-tale – The Afternoon Delights Soap Opera – Brandy Clark Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
  2. Fly with us to Neverland: Why we’re forever hooked on Peter Pan

    1d ago

    Fly with us to Neverland: Why we’re forever hooked on Peter Pan

    It's been over one hundred years since J. M. Barrie first told the story of Peter Pan, Wendy, and Neverland. Since then, Peter Pan has been adapted countless times, and become a constant reference point in popular culture. This hour, a look at the lasting cultural and psychological impact of Peter Pan.   GUESTS: Maria Tatar: Professor emerita of folklore and mythology at Harvard University; her latest book is The Heroine with 1001 Faces; she is also the editor of The Annotated Peter Pan: The Centennial Edition Jonathan Russell Clark: The author of Skateboard and An Oasis of Horror in a Desert of Boredom; his writing has appeared in The New York Times, L.A. Times, The Boston Globe, and Esquire Ann Yeoman: A Jungian analyst and the author of Now or Neverland: Peter Pan and the Myth of Eternal Youth and the co-author of C.G. Jung's Collected Works: The Basics MUSIC FEATURED (in order): I Don't Wanna Grow Up – Tom Waits Never Never Land – James Taylor I’ve Gotta Crow – Mary Martin, Kathy Nolan Darling Children – Alison Fraser I'm Flying – Mary Martin Captain Hook’s Waltz – Cyril Ritchard, Peter Pan Ensemble I Won’t Grow Up – The Fools 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, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 17, 2025. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
  3. How Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman can help us break the spell of technology on our lives

    2d ago

    How Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman can help us break the spell of technology on our lives

    If you listen to The Colin McEnroe Show regularly, you likely know that Colin has been influenced by two media theorists: Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman. Postman wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death, among other books, and McLuhan is probably most famous for the phrase "The medium is the message," in addition to other influential ideas. This hour, we look at the ideas of McLuhan and Postman, and discuss why they still resonate so much today. GUESTS: Bill Yousman: Professor of Media Studies at Sacred Heart University Megan Garber: Staff Writer at The Atlantic who writes about the intersection of politics and culture. She is the author of On Misdirection: Magic, Mayhem, American Politics. She previously worked for Neiman Journalism Lab and the Columbia Journalism Review Andrew McLuhan: Founder and director of The McLuhan Institute, which was founded to conserve and continue media studies in the McLuhan tradition. He is the son of Eric McLuhan and the grandson of Marshall McLuhan MUSIC FEATURED (in order): Passacaglia by Johan Halvorsen (performed by Grégoire Blanc) Please Mr. Postman by The Marvelettes The Revolution Will Not Be Televised by Gil Scott-Heron Medium is the Massage by Akira the Don, Marshall McLuhan Fish n’ Chip Paper by Elvis Costello Amusing Ourselves to Death by Winston Apple 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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 5, 2025. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
  4. What is culture without the guidance of critics?

    3d ago

    What is culture without the guidance of critics?

    This hour, we take a critical look at the role of art critics in our world. What is the status of criticism, and is it under threat? GUESTS:  Naveen Kumar: Theatre critic and journalist. He is associate director of the National Critics Institute, the leading arts-writing workshop for professional journalists. He has twice served on the jury for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama Kathryn VanArendonk: Critic at Vulture and New York Magazine Matt Singer: Editor and Critic at ScreenCrush and a member of the New York Film Critics Circle. He is the author of numerous books, including Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever Aleksandra Mir: Artist, whose work has been included in 370 exhibits worldwide. She is co-editor of the book Bad Reviews: An Artists' Book by 150 Artists 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, Dylan Reyes, and Isaac Moss contributed to this show, which originally aired August 21, 2025. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
  5. We take your calls

    4d ago

    We take your calls

    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 surprising and amusing — calls about grammar, gardening, long-distance dialing, autotune. Anything. Everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we’re doing another one.In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour about whatever you want to talk about. 888-720-9677.‌ Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min
  6. The Nose looks at ‘The Sheep Detectives’ and ‘Marty, Life Is Short’

    May 22

    The Nose looks at ‘The Sheep Detectives’ and ‘Marty, Life Is Short’

    The Sheep Detectives is a live-action talking animals cozy murder mystery comedy directed by Kyla Balda, whose previous movie credits are pretty much exclusively about animation. It’s based on a German-language novel, Three Bags Full, by Leonie Swann. As a PG-rated murder mystery, it’s maybe doing surprisingly well at the box office. And: Marty, Life Is Short is a Netflix celebrity documentary about the life and work of Martin Short. It’s directed by Lawrence Kasdan (who wrote The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark and wrote and directed Body Heat, The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, and more). It includes new interviews with Short, Eugene Levy, Steve Martin, John Mulaney, Catherine O’Hara, Steven Spielberg, and more. GUESTS: Carolyn Paine: An actress and comedian, she’s the founder and director of CONNetic Dance and the creative producer and choreographer for The Bushnell’s Digital Institute Irene Papoulis: Taught writing for a long time at Trinity College Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  7. May 21

    As ‘The Late Show’ ends, a look at the state of late-night comedy

    Stephen Colbert’s nearly-11-year run on The Late Show comes to an end tonight. And The Late Show’s nearly-33-year run on CBS comes to an end tonight, too. This hour, as the late-night TV landscape rejiggers itself, a look at the state and future of late-night comedy. Plus: A look at the FCC’s crusade against ABC (and, seemingly, Jimmy Kimmel). And: the banal horror of Jimmy Fallon. GUESTS: Eric Deggans: Critic-at-large at NPR, and he writes the Switching Codes Substack Jon Greenaway: A writer and podcaster and the author of Capitalism: A Horror Story — Gothic Marxism and the Dark Side of the Radical Imagination Jason Zinoman: Critic at large for the culture section of The New York Times, where he writes the On Comedy column Music featured (in order): Lost in a Wonderland – SNL Band The Party’s Over – Nat King Cole Colbert – Pivot Gang ABC – Jackson 5 The FCC Song (from “Family Guy”) – Cast – Family Guy Only A Fool Would Say That – Steely Dan Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
  8. We don't need politicians. Hélène Landemore makes the case

    May 20

    We don't need politicians. Hélène Landemore makes the case

    Do we really need politicians? What would our politics look like without them? These are some of the ideas that Yale political scientist Hélène Landemore explores in her work, including in the Connecticut Citizens’ Assembly, taking place this summer. Landemore joins us for the hour. GUEST: Hélène Landemore: Professor of Political Science at Yale University. Her new book is Politics Without Politicians: The Case for Citizen Rule Music featured (in order): Hands Across The Sea – John Philip Sousa as performed by “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart – Stevie Wonder People Have the Power – Patti Smith Democracy – Leonard Cohen Love Is Sweeping the Country – Chris Connor Of Thee I Sing – Ella Fitzgerald Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min
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4.4
out of 5
216 Ratings

About

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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