The Colin McEnroe Show

President Donald Trump has been using the phrase “common sense” a lot. But it turns out that this is nothing new for politicians. This hour, we look at how common sense is used in politics. Plus, is there really such a thing as common sense? We dig into what it means and if it’s possible to teach it to artificial intelligence. GUESTS: Sophia Rosenfeld: Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania; she is the author of multiple books, including Common Sense: A Political History and her new book, The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life Mark Whiting: Research fellow at the Computational Social Science lab at the University of Pennsylvania and chief technology officer of the startup Pareto.AI; you can find the common sense survey here Mayank Kejriwal: Research professor and principal scientist at the University of Southern California 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, Angelica Gajewski, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 6, 2025.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. This hour, the conversation — with our old friend Chion Wolf at the helm this time! — winds around to tilting at (actual) windmills, which way you should put the silverware in your drying rack, reactions to the murder of Charlie Kirk, float tanks, water cremation, online dating … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Laura Nyro’s most famous compositions — “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Stoney End,” “When I Die,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Eli’s Coming” — are jewels of mainstream music, and her covers of songs like “Jimmy Mack” and “Gonna Take a Miracle” are legendary. But she was uncomfortable under the spotlight and withdrew from it to become the Belle of Danbury, Connecticut. This hour: a night of singing, reflecting, and celebrating recorded in front of a live audience at Watkinson School in Hartford. GUESTS: Jim Chapdelaine: Guitar and vocals Latanya Farrell: Vocals and tambourine Steve Metcalf: Piano and vocals 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, which originally aired February 21, 2020.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It has been 24 years since the sunny late summer Tuesday morning that changed basically everything. This hour, a look back at September 11, 2001, and its long shadow, still darkening our days a bit now. We talk to a historian about the generation that has lived its life in a post-9/11 world and a critic about the influence of 9/11 on and in our popular culture. GUESTS: Lindsay Ellis: An author, video essayist, and film critic; her new novel is Apostles of Mercy Matthew Warshauer: Professor of history at Central Connecticut State University and the author of Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation: The Real Story of September 11 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 September 11, 2024.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The history of sugar is a complicated one. Once available to only the rich and powerful, sugar now shows up in everything from cereals and soups, to cigarettes and body scrubs. It is known to both have medicinal qualities and to contribute to a variety of health problems. This hour we trace the history of sugar and discuss how the sugar industry may be driving a global addiction to the sweet substance. GUESTS: Marc Aronson: Associate Professor at Rutgers University and co-author of Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science Gary Taubes: Investigative science and health journalist and author of The Case Against Sugar: Why We Get Fat and What to Do About It Kathleen DesMaisons: Expert in chemical dependency treatment and author several books including Potatoes Not Prozac: Solutions for Sugar Sensitivity 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 Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on January 9, 2018.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. Postal Service was one of our earliest experiments in democracy. The vast transportation networks that led to more than 30,000 post offices remain at the heart of many communities and still reach into the most remote parts of our country. Today, a look at the past and the future of the post office. GUESTS: Winifred Gallagher: Author of several books including How the Post Office Created America: A History Evan Kalish: Self-proclaimed postal tourist and creator of Postlandia. He manages the world’s largest curated collection of post office building photographs and has now visited over 11,000 post offices Amanda Martinez: Former Market Research Analyst at United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General Risk Analysis Research Center 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 Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired December 14, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Robert Frost, bucket lists, the Supreme Court, spotted lantern flies, New England autonomy, and dating. … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. MUSIC FEATURED (in order): Sweet Love by Jen Allen The Second Time Around (The Dutch Heritage Series) by Fay Claassen & the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw Raised on Robbery by Kate Staples, Jesca Hoop, & Lail Arad Do (The City Winery Sessions) by Lawrence & Lake Street Dive Don't Let The Bastards Get You Down by Margo Price Jessie (The Sweater Sessions II) by Couch Ninho de Vespa by Dori Caymmi, MPB4, & Paulo Cesar Pinheiro You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. 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. Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You have probably encountered Robert Frost through his poems “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” or “The Road Not Taken.” But how much do you know about the man behind the poetry and the rest of his work? This hour, we learn about the life and poetry of Robert Frost and discover how he’s helped to inspire other poets. GUESTS: Sydney Lea: Former poet laureate of Vermont and the author of 16 poetry collections, seven collections of personal essays, and two novels Adam Plunkett: Literary critic and the author of Love and Need: The Life of Robert Frost’s Poetry 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, Dylan Reyes, and Kathy Wang contributed to this show, which originally aired February 24, 2025.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What can you say about the sun? It sits at the center of our solar system and has, over time, been at the center of religions, scriptures, songs, art, and countless other aspects of our culture. We’ve relied on its light, heat, and gravity for as long as we’ve been around, and we continue to find ways to harness its energy for our daily needs. This hour, we look at the place our sun holds kind of literally at the center of all of human history and ask what the future holds for our nearest star. GUESTS: Christina Agapakis: Creative director at Ginko Bioworks Sarbani Basu: William K. Lanman Jr. Professor of Astronomy at Yale University John Grim: Senior lecturer and research scholar teaching in the joint MA program in religion and ecology at Yale University School of the Environment and Yale Divinity School John Perlin: Physicist at UCLA Santa Barbara and the author of Let It Shine: The 6,000-Year Story of Solar Energy 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, Greg Hill, Betsy Kaplan, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired August 11, 2016.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Swift’s upcoming nuptials and the state of her relationship with Blake Lively, motives for murder, the grooming of flies, rum raisin ice cream, inside jokes and nicknames and things, quieting the monkey mind … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. MUSIC FEATURED (in order): Strategy by TWICE Call Me by Sachal Vasandani featuring Dayna Stephens I Guess I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times by Martina DaSilva, Alex Goodman, et al. The Glow Worm by Kurt Elling, et al. Do I Move You by Nicole Zuraitis, Tom Scott, et al. (from the live album) Candy by Joshua Lee Turner, Martina DaSilva Right Down the Line by Joshua Lee Turner Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You hear a lot about the ongoing American crisis among men, among boys, around masculinity, right? You see lots of headlines about how we got here, what caused all this, where the crisis came from. Well, the cultural critic Jessa Crispin thinks we can all learn a lot about all of this by looking at … Michael Douglas movies. And I mean, that sounds like a show we’d do, doesn’t it? And so here we are. Crispin joins us for the hour. GUEST: Jessa Crispin: The author of What Is Wrong with Men: Patriarchy, the Crisis of Masculinity, and How (of Course) Michael Douglas Films Explain Everything Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the you sit contemplating the end of long summer days, you might wonder what might have been. What might have been if there was a song of the summer! The consensus is that there was no Song of the Summer for 2025. To help fill that void in your life, Colin sits down with technical producer Dylan Reyes to form the public radio supergroup CG/WLM (cranky guys who like music) and talk about what they're listening to, and what song they think should have won the season. GUEST: Dylan Reyes: Technical Producer, Assistant Director of Radio Operations at Connecticut Public MUSIC FEATURED (in order): Stare at Me by JANE HANDCOCK, Anderson .Paak Golden by HUNTR/X, EJAE, Audrey Nuna, REI AMI The Subway by Chappell Roan To Keep by Dominique Adams Little Less Over You by Couch Flor de Lis (Upside Down) by Samara Joy DON'T SPEAK by LOADED HONEY Good To Be Alone by Stacey Ryan, Cory Henry Suzanne by Mark Ronson, RAYE Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The political newsletter Tangle approaches things differently than most news organizations. Each day they do a deep-dive on one topic where they lay out the facts, then give a glimpse of "What the left is saying," "What the right is saying," and then "My take," where an editor explains their opinions on an issue. The newsletter is the brainchild of politics reporter Isaac Saul, who joins us for an hour to talk through the latest news, his approach to reporting, and how we move forward in these divided times. GUEST: Isaac Saul: Executive Editor and Founder of the non-partisan, independent newsletter Tangle, which summarizes the best arguments from the right and left on the big political news of the day 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. Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We tend not to think much about that pat of butter we put on our morning toast, including how the store-bought sweet cream butter we're eating likely pales in comparison to the rich, nutty flavor of the cultured butter not found in many stores. Nor, do we think about butter sculpture, butter bogs, pleasure dairies, or the dairymaids, those once respected and well-paid artisans and economic powerhouses of our nations earliest days. We definitely don't think about the nationwide 'war' between butter-loving dairy farmers and the margarine industry. It led to smear campaigns, state laws against margarine, and a ruling by the Supreme Court that led to pink margarine. You may not even know it's okay to eat butter again after decades of being told to stay away from the death-inducing fats found in butter. So, go ahead and eat that toast with butter. Today, a show about butter. GUESTS: Elaine Khosrova: Author of Butter: A Rich History, a former pastry student at Culinary Institute of America and a former test kitchen editor at Country Living magazine Doug Moe: Wisconsin-based author and journalist who has written for newspapers and magazines for almost 40 years Adeline Druart: Former president of Vermont Creamery. Adeline brought her knowledge of butter-making to Vermont from her home country of France 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. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired December 19, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the first half of today's show, Colin will take your calls about whatever you want to talk about. Then, it’s been a minute since Senator Chris Murphy joined Colin for a check-in on state matters and a chat about the weather in Washington. And we don’t think the senator has ever pulled up a chair to The World’s Most Important Table (™).Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It’s been a minute since Senator Chris Murphy joined Colin for a check-in on state matters and a chat about the weather in Washington. And we don’t think the senator has ever pulled up a chair to The World’s Most Important Table (™). Around 1:30, Senator Murphy joins us in studio.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week’s Nose, guest hosted by comedian Shawn Murray, looks at: Highest 2 Lowest is the fifth collaboration between director Spike Lee and actor Denzel Washington and their first in 19 years, since Inside Man in 2006. It is an adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 police procedural, High and Low, which is, itself, an adaptation of the Ed McBain novel King’s Ransom. It also stars Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, A$AP Rocky, Ice Spice, Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson, Wendell Pierce, and more. Highest 2 Lowest is in a strangely limited release — it’s in just three theaters in Connecticut — and it hits Apple TV+ on September 5. And: Alien: Earth is the first TV series — after nine movies — in the Alien franchise. It is a prequel set two years before the events of the original movie, and it’s created be Noah Hawley, who also created the Fargo TV series, among other things. Alien: Earth is set, somewhat logically, on Earth. GUESTS: Taneisha Duggan: Director of arts, culture, and entertainment for the city of Hartford Sam Hadelman: Director of public relations at Dark Matter Media Lindsay Lee Wallace: A writer and journalist covering culture, health, technology, bats, and anything else people will answer her questions about Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University and the author of The Spike Lee Enigma: Challenge and Incorporation in Media Culture 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. Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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: Theater critic for The Washington Post. 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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The word "like" has been around for centuries, but it reached a new cultural prominence in the 1980s, partially thanks to Frank Zappa's song "Valley Girl." Since then, "like" has taken on a life of its own, inspiring strong emotions. This hour, we look at the meaning and evolution of "like." Plus, how movies like the now 30-year-old Clueless have impacted our language. GUESTS: Megan C. Reynolds: An editor at Dwell and author of Like: A History of the English Language’s Most Hated (and Misunderstood) Word Kory Stamper: Lexicographer and author of Word By Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries Veronica Litt: English Professor and author of Ugh! As If!: Clueless Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you make a 100-meter telescope that folds down to three meters so you can tuck it inside a space vehicle? How do you make a heart stent that folds out inside the human body? In each case, researchers have turned to masters of origami, the thousand-year-old art of paper folding. This hour, a look at how paper folding went from a quaint, simple hobby to an extensive form of art that can achieve hundreds of intricate folds. Plus: the ways origami is used beyond the art world, in mathematics, science, and technology. GUESTS: Erik Demaine: Professor of computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Robert J. Lang: The author of co-author of more than 20 books on origami art and design 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, Betsy Kaplan, and Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired March 13, 2014.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. This hour, the conversation winds around to the bilateral meeting in Alaska between Presidents Trump and Putin, the bilateral and multilateral meetings in Washington DC with Presidents Trump and Zelenskyy, our Mark Twain show, President Trump possibly one day getting the Nobel Peace Prize, ABBA possibly one day getting the Nobel Peace Prize, comparisons between Neville Chamberlain and Trump … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael M. Grynbaum's new book Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America, traces the rise of Condé Nast's magazines. This hour Grynbaum joins us to explain how Condé Nast magazines and their editors achieved their status as cultural tastemakers, and where these magazines, and that industry, stand today. Plus, we hear from an editor at The Week about how that magazine is approaching this moment. GUESTS: Michael M. Grynbaum: A media correspondent for The New York Times and author of the new book Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America Mark Gimein: Managing Editor at the print edition of The Week Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chances are, you know Richard Thomas as John-Boy on The Waltons. Or maybe you saw him more recently in his many-episode arcs on shows like The Americans and Ozark. You might’ve even seen him on Broadway in Our Town or as Atticus Finch in the tour of To Kill a Mockingbird. He’s in town doing the very first authorized production of Mark Twain Tonight! since Hal Holbrook died. And John Jeremiah Sullivan has won the Pushcart Prize, two National Magazine Awards, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. His essay “Twain Dreams: The Enigma of Samuel Clemens” ran in the 175th anniversary issue of Harpers. This hour, Thomas and Sullivan join us to talk Twain. GUESTS: John Jeremiah Sullivan: A writer, musician, and editor Richard Thomas: An Emmy Award-winning and Tony Award-nominated actor 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, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Betsy Kaplan, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, parts of which originally aired February 4, 2015; September 14, 2023; and June 5, 2024, in a different form.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to mytho-historical accounts, the ancient Amazons wore pants while riding into battle. But the trend this tribe of warrior women set was short lived. For nearly two millennia after their demise, the notion of women wearing pants was steeped in controversy. And while this controversy has diminished, it is by no means over. From the fuss over politician's pant suits to the unofficial dress codes which still pervade corporate America, there are indications that we've yet to move past old expectations of women's fashion. This hour we speak with historians and fashion experts about the history of women and pants. GUESTS: Gayle Fischer: Professor of History at Salem State University and author of Pantaloons and Power: A Nineteenth-Century Dress Reform in the United States Kathleen Cooper: Writer whose work has appeared in The Toast, The Airship, The Washington Post, and elsewhere Hannah Kimberley: Teacher at the Academy at Penguin Hall in Wenham, Massachusetts, and author of A Woman's Place Is at the Top: A Biography of Annie Smith Peck, Queen of the Climbers 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. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 7, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smiling is a universal way to show happiness. But not all smiles are happy. In reality, we smile less for happiness than for social reasons that have nothing to do with happiness. That said, few things are more ingratiating and calming as another person's genuinely warm smile. But, maybe it's because a genuine smile is such a great thing that we're always looking for the false one. But we shouldn't assume that a smile that reflects something other than unadulterated joy is always a bad thing. Smiling has an evolutionary function, helping to ensure our survival after birth. Babies first smile while still in the womb and deliberately smile at us shortly thereafter less because they're thrilled to have us as parents and more to keep us happy with them. There's a reason for this. Smiling has high social benefits: those who smile are considered more social, more accessible, more helpful, and more attractive. But, what happens when you can't smile? The absence of a smile is life-changing, yet until we lose it, we take it for granted. There are many illnesses that make it difficult to smile including Parkinson's Disease, Bell's Palsy, and Moebius Syndrome, a particularly devastating illness that afflicts babies. Today, we talk to Jonathan Kalb, a professor of Theatre at Hunter College who spent three years recovering his smile after developing what he thought was a temporary bout of Bell's Palsy. He wrote this thoughtful essay on his experience for The New Yorker. Beyond the inability to smile, what happens you just don't want to smile? The social customs for smiling vary between countries, with many countries feeling we Americans simply smile too much. Partly, it depends on whether you're a woman. As a result, women may smile more, even when they don't want to. GUESTS: Jonathan Kalb: Professor of Theatre at Hunter College CUNY and the author of multiple books on theatre Marianne LaFrance: Professor of Psychology and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies at Yale University and the author of Why Smile: The Science Behind Facial Expressions Margaret Livingstone: Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard University, and author of Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing 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. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on March 31, 2015.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. This weeks’ topics include the Statue of Liberty, comedy in New Haven and New York, what's going on in DC, state pension funds, NPR federal funding cuts, and more.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Billy Joel has reportedly sold more than 160 million albums. He’s been nominated for 24 Grammy Awards (and won six of them), an Emmy, and a Tony Award (which he won). In the U.S., he’s had 33 top 40 singles and 11 top 10 albums. He’s simply one of the most popular recording artists in the history of music. But. Critics have never been terribly kind to him, and a lot of the general public hasn’t either. This hour, we look at the new two-part, nearly five-hour HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. And we look at Billy Joel more generally and at the love/hate relationship we all seem to have had with him and his music for more than 50 years now. GUESTS: Jen Allen: A pianist, composer, arranger, and educator; her new album, Possibilities, comes out August 22 Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and the director of marketing at Washington Montessori School Jack Hamilton: Slate’s pop critic and the author of Just Around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek,” and he now writes Gene’s Substack 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 wear pajamas at all? And if we do don a pair, are they only for bed? Or should pajamas have their day in the sun? If our PJs are making a fashion statement just what exactly are they saying? We’re talking today about what we wear to bed, but who knows? Does not wearing pajamas to bed have health and other benefits once we settle in under the covers? GUESTS: Henry Alford: American humorist and journalist, author of books including I Dream of Joni: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell in 53 Snapshots Clare Sauro: Director of The Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection and Assistant Professor of Design & Art History at Drexel University W. Chris Winter: Sleep specialist, neurologist and author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It 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. Produced by Debora Timms. Colin McEnroe, Betsy Kaplan, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 8, 2019.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it mean to have 'good taste'? And what would it take to develop it? This hour, we talk about taste and discernment. Plus, a look at flavor and why some things taste good. GUESTS: Henry Oliver: Writes the literary Substack “The Common Reader,” and is the author of Second Act: What Late Bloomers Can Tell You About Reinventing Your Life. He is part of the Emerging Scholars Programme at the Mercatus Centre Becca Rothfeld: The Nonfiction Book Critic at The Washington Post, an editor at The Point, and a contributing editor at The Boston Review. She is the author of All Things Are Too Small: Essays in Praise of Excess Nik Sharma: A molecular biologist turned two-time James Beard finalist, best-selling cookbook author, photographer, columnist, and editor at America’s Test Kitchen. His cookbooks include The Flavor Equation: The Science of Great Cooking Explained in More Than 100 Essential Recipes, among others Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rust is all around us. It’s in our cars, our homes, our infrastructure. It’s also the subject of Jonathan Waldman’s book Rust: The Longest War, which introduces us to the people who fight it. This hour, Waldman joins us. Plus: a visual artist who has found a way to incorporate rust into her work. GUESTS: Esther Solondz: A Rhode Island-based visual artist Jonathan Waldman: Author of Rust 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, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired March 25, 2015.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. This hour, the conversation winds around to counterfactuals in baseball, majoring in art history, adult softball, The Terror on AMC and The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley, the Connecticut Sun leaving for Boston, Northern Ireland and the Troubles … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. 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. Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Isaac Moss, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eddington is the fourth feature film written and directed by Ari Aster. It’s a neo-Western comedy set in the fictional and titular New Mexico town during May, 2020. Eddington was nominated for the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and it’s one of three Pedro Pascal movies that are currently in the top 20 at the domestic box office. And: Sunday Best is a new Netflix documentary directed by, and in memory of, the late journalist, musician, and filmmaker Sacha Jenkins. It’s about the cultural importance of The Ed Sullivan Show and Sullivan’s “legacy of equality.” GUESTS: RS Benedict: A writer and bureaucrat whose fiction and non-fiction has been published in the New Haven Review, Fangoria, Current Affairs, and a bunch of other places Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmballpodcast Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monsters are our subconscious perversions, our twisted fears realized, but what causes their creation, and how are they made? This hour, we look at fantastical creatures, terrifying beasts, and the scariest monsters of all: humans. GUESTS: Natalie Lawrence: Historian of science and the author of Enchanted Creatures: Our Monsters and Their Meanings Surekha Davies: Historian of science, speaker, and monster consultant for radio, tv, and film. She writes a newsletter called “Strange and Wondrous: Notes from a Science Historian,” and is the author of books including Humans: A Monstrous History Margery Cuyler: Author of 62 children’s books including Monster Mess, Bonaparte Falls Apart, Skeleton Hiccups, and the forthcoming Stompie the Zombie Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Headache symptoms can strike sufferers without warning, disabling them for even days at a time. There have been nearly 4,000 years of documented headache disorders — and virtually everyone has had headaches — yet their underlying neurological cause is still unknown. This hour, a look at the long history of headaches and the current science around and treatments for headaches. Plus: headaches in our literature and popular culture. GUESTS: Kathleen O’Shea: The editor of So Much More Than a Headache: Understanding Migraine Through Literature Tom Zeller Jr.: The author of The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Condition and the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Undark 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.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

They're in the books we read, the shows we watch, and the art we hang on our walls. They conjure notions of might, magic, romance, and more. Castles, perhaps as much as any other architectural structure in history, define the landscape of our fantasy and imagination. But is our imagination an accurate lens through which to view these fortresses of ol'? And why, after hundreds of years, does our culture's fascination with these structures seem to be on the rise? This hour, we speak with experts and enthusiasts about the reality and mystique of castles. GUESTS: Marc Morris: Medieval historian and author of books including Castles: Their History and Evolution in Medieval Britain Victor Lodato: Playwright, poet, and novelist whose books include Edgar and Lucy Edward Town: Assistant Curator of Paintings and Sculpture at the Yale Center for British Art Brent Bruns II: - Star of the hit National Geographic reality TV show "Doomsday Castle" 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. Colin McEnroe and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 18, 2017.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we're doing another one.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Pesca is one of our very favorite guests — on any number of topics. His book, Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History, is a whole series of earth-shattering, hypothetical, what-if questions (and posited answers to said earth-shattering, hypothetical, what-if questions): What if a blimp full of money had exploded over world track headquarters in 1952? What if Nixon had been good at football? What if Bobby Fischer had received proper psychiatric help? What if the Dodgers hadn’t left Brooklyn? What if basketball rims were smaller than basketballs? What if the 1999 U.S. women’s national soccer team had lost the Women’s World Cup? And yes: What if the Olympics had never dropped tug of war? It goes on and on. Pesca joins us for the hour. GUESTS: Will Leitch: Contributing editor at New York magazine, founder of Deadspin, and a whole bunch of other things Mike Pesca: Host of The Gist and the author of Upon Further Review Louisa Thomas: Staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams 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 Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 7, 2018. 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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does reality television shape our politics and our opinions? This hour two reality TV scholars join us to discuss how reality TV helps us understand (or sometimes misunderstand) actual reality. GUESTS: Danielle Lindemann: Professor of Sociology at Lehigh University and a Visiting Professor in Gender and Sexuality Studies at Princeton University. She is also the author of the book True Story: What Reality TV Says About Us. Eunji Kim: Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University and Faculty Affiliate at the Data Science Institute. Her new book is The American Mirage: How Reality TV Upholds the Myth of Meritocracy. Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dating back to Homer and Hesiod, artists have been calling on muses for inspiration. This hour, we look at the mythology of the muses, real-life muses, and what they can all teach us about creativity. GUESTS: Alison Habens: Novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and lecturer and Programme Lead at the University of Portsmouth Francine Prose: Author of many books, including The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired. She is also Distinguished Writer in Residence at Bard College Brendan O'Connell: American painter Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nobody likes termites. They get into the wood in our homes and can lead to infuriating and expensive repairs. What’s to like? It turns out, there’s a lot to like about termites. Scientists study how they build their mounds for clues to solving some of the world’s most pressing problems, like mitigating the effects of drought, building colonies on Mars, and creating biofuels. Plus, their ability to adapt to the harshest conditions over millions of years says a lot about them. Almost 90% of the microbes found in their guts are unique to the termite. Those same gut microbes are what make them so productive and, on the flip side, so destructive. Lastly, some believe termites work with joy and have a soul. You be the judge. GUESTS: Jennifer Dacey: An entomologist and a wildlife biologist and integrated pest management technician in the UConn Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture Lisa Margonelli: Author of Underbug: An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology Mick Pearce: An architect 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 Jonathan McNicol contributed to this show, which originally aired August 29, 2018. 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/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. This hour, the conversation winds around to thunderstorms and lightning, squirrels, the band (and word) Enigma, trains … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. You can now watch our calls shows on Connecticut Public’s YouTube. Subscribe and get notified when we go live. Or join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter. 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. Colin McEnroe, Coco Cooley, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Isaac Moss, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.