The Colin McEnroe Show
The Colin McEnroe Show
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 …Follow the podcast:
'Our President is not a King': Examining the January 6 and presidential immunity cases in the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court recently started hearing oral arguments about whether the January 6 attacks constitute obstruction of an official proceeding. Tomorrow, they'll hear arguments on Trump's claim of presidential immunity. This hour, a status update on the confusing, monumental, and democracy-defining…
48:59
The late Daniel Dennett on consciousness, faith, and more
Daniel Dennett was one of the most famous philosophers in the world, one of the so-called “Four Horsemen of the New Atheism.” Dennett died April 19 at age 82. This hour, our 2015 conversation with Daniel Dennett, as recorded onstage at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford. GUEST: Daniel D…
50:00
A look at juries, from '12 Angry Men' to the Trump trial
It took almost a week to select the jurors and alternates for the Manhattan trial of former President Donald Trump. This hour is all about juries. We'll talk about jury selection, how to root out potential bias, and the process of choosing an impartial jury in this day and age. Plus, we'll look at …
48:58
An hour with Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes won two Tony Awards for his musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood. His single “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His dramedy Remember WENN was AMC’s first original scripted series. And his newest novel, Murder Your Employer, was a New York Times bests…
50:00
The Nose looks at ‘Civil War’ and ‘Manhunt’
In January, we did a show that wondered both how much the American Civil War speaks to the present American moment and how likely a new American Civil War might be. Well, movies and television have now, finally caught up with us. Civil War is the fourth film written and directed by Alex Garland. I…
43:30
A look at Trump’s hush money trial, the Golden Divorce, and slouching
This hour, we've got one show with three topics. First, the Trump 'hush money' trial; next, the history of slouch-shaming; and finally, the Golden Bachelor's divorce news. GUESTS: Mark Joseph Stern: Senior writer at Slate covering courts and the law Beth Linker: Professor and Chair of History…
41:20
Where does the idea of the tortured poet come from?
Taylor Swift’s newest album, The Tortured Poets Department, comes out Friday. So this hour, we are taking a look at the idea of the actual tortured poet. We talk about where the idea of tortured poets came from, learn about the nature of creativity, and hear from a poet about where their inspiratio…
41:41
Unburying the truth about pirates with Rebecca Simon
We imagine pirates to be the quintessential rule-breakers — but really, they had their own strictly-followed codes. How did 18th-century pirates dictate their own community standards? How did they create social mobility in an age when changing one's social status was nearly impossible? This h…
41:00
We take your calls
We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month 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 an essay about NPR in The Free Press, NPR’s response to the essay…
41:30
The Nose looks at ‘Ripley’ and a new version of Scrabble
Ripley is an eight-episode limited series adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels. It is the first serialized screen version of those stories following five feature film adaptations, including the 1999 film The Talented Mr. Ripley, starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jude Law. The Ne…
41:21