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What makes something tacky? This hour is a celebration of all things "tacky" with Rax King, author of the new book, "Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer." Plus, we look at why reality tv is sometimes tacky, and discuss the tackiest home décor.

GUESTS:
Rax King - Author of “Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer,” and co-host of the podcast “Low Culture Boil.” 
Brian Moylan - A writer, reality tv show recapper, and author of “The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives.”
Peter York - A journalist and author of “Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World’s Most Colorful Despots,” among other books. 

What makes something tacky? This hour is a celebration of all things "tacky" with Rax King, author of the new book, "Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer." Plus, we look at why reality tv is sometimes tacky, and discuss the tackiest home d&eacute;cor.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Rax King&nbsp;- Author of &ldquo;Tacky: Love Letters to the Worst Culture We Have to Offer,&rdquo; and co-host of the podcast &ldquo;Low Culture Boil.&rdquo;&nbsp;</li>
<li>Brian Moylan&nbsp;- A writer, reality tv show recapper, and author of &ldquo;The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives.&rdquo;</li>
<li>Peter York&nbsp;- A journalist and author of &ldquo;Dictator Style: Lifestyles of the World&rsquo;s Most Colorful Despots,&rdquo; among other books.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

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.

<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/about">The Colin McEnroe Show</a> 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 <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/tags/the-nose">The Nose</a> for an informal roundtable about the week in culture.

The Colin McEnroe Show

A celebration of all things tacky and why "tackiness is joyfulness"

Touch, grip, read, dance, gesture — what can’t they do? Our fingers are so vital to our everyday life, sometimes it seems they have minds of their own.

This hour, a look at the hidden language of finger gestures, the future of Braille, and the joys and challenges of animating fingers for the movies.

GUESTS:
Kensy Cooperrider: Cognitive scientist, writer, and host of the Many Minds podcast
Jonathan McNicol: Producer of The Colin McEnroe Show
Sile O’Modhrain: Professor at the University of Michigan studying sound and touch and the ways in which they interact
Carlos Fernandez Puertolas: Animator with DreamWorks

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, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 31, 2022.

Touch, grip, read, dance, gesture &mdash; what can&rsquo;t they do? Our fingers are so vital to our everyday life, sometimes it seems they have minds of their own.
This hour, a look at the hidden language of finger gestures, the future of Braille, and the joys and challenges of animating fingers for the movies.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Kensy Cooperrider: Cognitive scientist, writer, and host of the&nbsp;<a href="https://manyminds.libsyn.com/">Many Minds</a>&nbsp;podcast</li>
<li>Jonathan McNicol: Producer of The Colin McEnroe Show</li>
<li>Sile O&rsquo;Modhrain: Professor at the University of Michigan studying sound and touch and the ways in which they interact</li>
<li>Carlos Fernandez Puertolas: Animator with DreamWorks</li>
</ul>
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9b6b3cee-f69b-4729-a78b-181f851d80e8/the-colin-mcenroe-show">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/The-Colin-McEnroe-Show-p1208473/">TuneIn</a>, <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-colin-mcenroe-show-connecticut-public-lXR08dxQSM5/">Listen Notes</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters">Subscribe to The Noseletter</a>, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
Join the conversation on <a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 31, 2022.

Two thumbs up: A show all about fingers

All calls: Boomy babers are the ones who worry about the mail

What is the status of expertise in our world? This hour we look at the so called "death of expertise." We talk about the role of experts throughout society. Plus, we learn how to master a skill, and the joy of trying.

GUESTS: 


Tom Nichols: Staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters. He is also a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, and a five-time undefeated Jeopardy champion


Alan Dove:Science journalist and co-host of the podcast This Week in Virology


Adam Gopnik: Staff writer for The New Yorker. He is the author of The Real Work: On The Mystery of Mastery,among other books

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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 22, 2025.

What is the status of expertise in our world? This hour we look at the so called "death of expertise." We talk about the role of experts throughout society. Plus, we learn how to master a skill, and the joy of trying.
GUESTS:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>
Tom Nichols: Staff writer at The Atlantic. He is the author of <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-death-of-expertise-9780197763834?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;">The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters</a>. He is also a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, and a five-time undefeated Jeopardy champion
</li>
<li>
Alan Dove: <a href="https://alandove.com/pages/about/">Science journalist</a> and co-host of the podcast <a href="https://www.microbe.tv/twiv/">This Week in Virology</a>
</li>
<li>
Adam Gopnik: Staff writer for <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/adam-gopnik">The New Yorker</a>. He is the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Real-Work-Mystery-Mastery/dp/1324090758">The Real Work: On The Mystery of Mastery</a>, among other books
</li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on&nbsp;<a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow">Twitter</a>.
The Colin McEnroe Show&nbsp;is available as a podcast on&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884">Apple Podcasts</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p">Spotify</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9b6b3cee-f69b-4729-a78b-181f851d80e8/the-colin-mcenroe-show">Amazon Music</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/The-Colin-McEnroe-Show-p1208473/">TuneIn</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-colin-mcenroe-show-connecticut-public-lXR08dxQSM5/">Listen Notes</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters">Subscribe to&nbsp;The Noseletter</a>, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by&nbsp;The Colin McEnroe Show.
Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 22, 2025.

A celebration of all things tacky and why "tackiness is joyfulness"

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