Are we as a population getting dumber? How would we know if we were? This hour: stupidity. We’ll look at the history and philosophy of stupidity, and explore how it shows up in our daily lives and politics.

GUESTS:
Lane Brown: Features writer for New York Magazine, who recently wrote "A Theory of Dumb"
Stuart Jeffries: Journalist and author. His new book is A Short History of Stupidity
Shannon Mancus: Teaching Professor and Associate Department Head in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Department at the Colorado School of Mines. You can follow Dr. Shan on Instagram and Substack at “Pop Smart Media”

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):
Able Sisters – Animal Crossing New Leaf OST
Manchild – Sabrina Carpenter
Dumb All Over – Frank Zappa
Get Stupid – Aston Merrygold
How Sweet to Be an Idiot – Neil Innes
Idiot Wind – Bob Dylan

Are we as a population getting dumber? How would we know if we were? This hour: stupidity. We&rsquo;ll look at the history and philosophy of stupidity, and explore how it shows up in our daily lives and politics.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Lane Brown:&nbsp;Features writer for&nbsp;<a href="https://nymag.com/author/lane-brown/">New York</a>&nbsp;Magazine, who recently wrote "<a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/american-adult-lower-iq-scores-cognitive-decline-technology-flynn-effect.html">A Theory of Dumb</a>"</li>
<li>Stuart Jeffries:&nbsp;Journalist and author. His new book is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=a-short-history-of-stupidity--9781509563494">A Short History of Stupidity</a></li>
<li>Shannon Mancus:&nbsp;Teaching Professor and Associate Department Head in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Department at the Colorado School of Mines. You can follow Dr. Shan on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/popsmartmedia/">Instagram</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://popsmartmedia.substack.com/">Substack</a>&nbsp;at &ldquo;Pop Smart Media&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
MUSIC FEATURED (in order):
<ul>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/ZJZX0AzS6WA">Able Sisters</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Animal Crossing New Leaf OST</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSugSGCC12I">Manchild</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Sabrina Carpenter</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8TKiRo-W4U">Dumb All Over</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Frank Zappa</li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/uIJDD1Cldgc">Get Stupid</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Aston Merrygold</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weu6RozXb78">How Sweet to Be an Idiot</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Neil Innes</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex05XUddWMk">Idiot Wind</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Bob Dylan</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.