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Have you ever heard someone say that East Coasters are kind but not nice, and West Coasters are nice but not kind? This hour, we’re figuring out what “niceness” is, why it's so important to us, and how can it sometimes mask not-so-nice things.

GUESTS: 
Carrie Tirado Bramen: Professor at the University at Buffalo and author of the book “American Niceness: A Cultural History”
Amit Kumar: Assistant Professor of Marketing and Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin
Jordan Green: Self-proclaimed “kind West Coaster”
Mia Mercado: Humor writer and author from the Midwest who wrote “She's Nice Though: Essays on Being Bad at Being Good”

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, 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, Lily Tyson, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

Have you ever heard someone say that East Coasters are kind but not nice, and West Coasters are nice but not kind? This hour, we’re figuring out what “niceness” is, why it's so important to us, and how can it sometimes mask not-so-nice things.
GUESTS: 
<ul>
<li>Carrie Tirado Bramen: Professor at the University at Buffalo and author of the book <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674976498" data-cms-ai="0">“American Niceness: A Cultural History”</a></li>
<li>Amit Kumar: Assistant Professor of Marketing and Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin</li>
<li>Jordan Green: Self-proclaimed “kind West Coaster”</li>
<li>Mia Mercado: Humor writer and author from the Midwest who wrote <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/shes-nice-though-mia-mercado?variant=40957106126882" data-cms-ai="0">“She's Nice Though: Essays on Being Bad at Being Good”</a></li>
</ul>
Join the conversation on <a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow" data-cms-ai="0">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow" data-cms-ai="0">Twitter</a>.
The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-colin-mcenroe-show/id714179884" data-cms-ai="0">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p?si=89RJodkWRsOo1dck5BCdMA&amp;nd=1" data-cms-ai="0">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvYWMwYmU5NjktZDdkZi00NjBjLWE2NmMtYTZmOTAwZTFlYmQxLzcxZGM0YTBmLWU4Y2EtNDAyMS1hZWM5LWFhMDMwMDI2MDQyZC9iNjk1Y2I4Ny1mNmE5LTRjNzYtOGYxMS1hYTAzMDAyNjA0M2IvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M" data-cms-ai="0">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/colin-mcenroe-show-rsspodcast" data-cms-ai="0">Stitcher</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
<a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/newsletters" data-cms-ai="0">Subscribe to The Noseletter</a>, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.
Colin McEnroe, Lily Tyson, and Cat Pastor contributed to this 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 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

From "Iowa nice" to New England blunt, how do we define "nice" in America?

Mike Pesca is one of our very favorite guests — onanynumberoftopics.

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, Carlos Mejia, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 7, 2018.

Mike Pesca is one of our very favorite guests &mdash; <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2025-03-19/march-madness-2025">on</a> <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2023-05-01/the-artist-formerly-known-as-the-colin-mcenroe-show-conversations-about-rebranding">any</a> <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/arts-and-culture/2019-05-23/from-the-bad-ideas-dept-its-a-show-about-towels">number</a> <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2025-03-21/from-the-bad-ideas-dept-todays-show-is-not-about-tapirs">of</a> <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2022-03-03/an-hour-with-the-gist-podcast-host-mike-pesca">topics</a>.
His book, <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/mike-pesca/upon-further-review/9781455540372/">Upon Further Review: The Greatest What-Ifs in Sports History</a>, 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? <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/upon_further_review/2018/05/the_new_podcast_from_slate_s_mike_pesca_explores_the_greatest_what_ifs_in.html">What if Nixon had been good at football?</a> What if Bobby Fischer had received proper psychiatric help? <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2018/05/what-if-the-dodgers-had-never-left-brooklyn.html">What if the Dodgers hadn&rsquo;t left Brooklyn?</a> What if basketball rims were smaller than basketballs? <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2018/06/what-if-the-1999-u-s-womens-national-soccer-team-had-lost-the-womens-world-cup.html">What if the 1999 U.S. women&rsquo;s national soccer team had lost the Women&rsquo;s World Cup?</a> And yes: What if the Olympics had never dropped tug of war?
It goes on and on.
Pesca joins us for the hour.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Will Leitch: Contributing editor at New York magazine, founder of Deadspin, and a whole bunch of other things</li>
<li>Mike Pesca: Host of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mikepesca.com/thegist">The Gist</a>&nbsp;and the author of Upon Further Review</li>
<li>Louisa Thomas: Staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.louisathomas.com/#louisa">Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams</a></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, Carlos Mejia, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired June 7, 2018.

What if tug of war were still an Olympic sport? And other questions with Mike Pesca

The Trump administration’s messaging around the war with Iran feels reminiscent of stuff like … cowboy movies. And video games. And the manosphere. This hour, a look at the rhetoric around the war and where it’s all coming from.

GUESTS:
Casey Ryan Kelly: Professor of Rhetoric and Public Culture in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is also Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Speech, and author of books including Manifesting Violence: White Terrorism, Digital Culture, and the Rhetoric of Replacement
Jonathan Guyer: Program Director at the Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group, and a reporter and editor focused on foreign policy, national security, and the Middle East. He is host of the podcast “None of the Above”
Roger Stahl: Author and Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Georgia. He is director of the documentary Theaters of War

Music featured (in order):
“Hoe-Down” from Rodeo – Aaron Copland, NYO-USA, Michael Tilson Thomas
You Should Have Seen the Other Guy – Nathaniel Rateliff
Under My Thumb – Rolling Stones
Son of Your Father – Elton John
Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other – Orville Peck and Willie Nelson
I Am a Rock – Simon and Garfunkel

The Trump administration&rsquo;s messaging around the war with Iran feels reminiscent of stuff like &hellip; cowboy movies. And video games. And the manosphere. This hour, a look at the rhetoric around the war and where it&rsquo;s all coming from.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Casey Ryan Kelly:&nbsp;Professor of Rhetoric and Public Culture in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is also Editor of the Quarterly Journal of Speech, and author of books including&nbsp;Manifesting Violence: White Terrorism, Digital Culture, and the Rhetoric of Replacement</li>
<li>Jonathan Guyer:&nbsp;Program Director at the Institute for Global Affairs at Eurasia Group, and a reporter and editor focused on foreign policy, national security, and the Middle East. He is host of the podcast &ldquo;None of the Above&rdquo;</li>
<li>Roger Stahl:&nbsp;Author and Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Georgia. He is director of the documentary&nbsp;Theaters of War</li>
</ul>
Music featured (in order):
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYdDYSTEuWo">&ldquo;Hoe-Down&rdquo; from Rodeo</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Aaron Copland, NYO-USA, Michael Tilson Thomas</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IB9bO4XD7I">You Should Have Seen the Other Guy</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Nathaniel Rateliff</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBdKMv9_vPE">Under My Thumb</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Rolling Stones</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL-gy1VyIa0">Son of Your Father</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Elton John</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BirJMnMcfBs">Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Orville Peck and Willie Nelson</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2nN-Yrt1EU">I Am a Rock</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Simon and Garfunkel</li>
</ul>

How cowboys, action movies, and hypermasculinity can help us understand the war with Iran

From the Golden Globes, to global conflicts, to elections, prediction markets have moved into the mainstream. What happens when we can bet on anything? What are the cultural impacts of that? This hour, we take stock of the status of prediction markets, and look at what they might do to politics and polling. Plus, a look at the "Wisdom of Crowds".

GUESTS:
Kate Knibbs: Senior Writer at WIRED
Danny Funt: Reporter and author of Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling
Sarah Hughes-Berheim: Postdoctoral researcher in the Special Education Department at Vanderbilt University
James Surowiecki: Journalist and author of The Wisdom of Crowds

Music featured (in order):
Future Lover – Thee Sacred Souls
Everybody Knows – Leonard Cohen
Something’s Gotta Give – Sammy Davis Jr.
We Can’t Predict the Future – The Flaming Lips
What Comes Next? – Jonathan Groff, Hamilton
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall – Bob Dylan

From the Golden Globes, to global conflicts, to elections, prediction markets have moved into the mainstream. What happens when we can bet on anything? What are the cultural impacts of that? This hour, we take stock of the status of prediction markets, and look at what they might do to politics and polling. Plus, a look at the "Wisdom of Crowds".
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Kate Knibbs:&nbsp;Senior Writer at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wired.com/author/kate-knibbs/">WIRED</a></li>
<li>Danny Funt:&nbsp;Reporter and author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Everybody-Loses/Danny-Funt/9781668062029">Everybody Loses: The Tumultuous Rise of American Sports Gambling</a></li>
<li>Sarah Hughes-Berheim:&nbsp;Postdoctoral researcher in the Special Education Department at Vanderbilt University</li>
<li>James Surowiecki:&nbsp;Journalist and author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/175380/the-wisdom-of-crowds-by-james-surowiecki/">The Wisdom of Crowds</a></li>
</ul>
Music featured (in order):
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eABalevWjQM">Future Lover</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Thee Sacred Souls</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu8u9ZbCJgQ">Everybody Knows</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Leonard Cohen</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzgiP1N6e8M">Something&rsquo;s Gotta Give</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Sammy Davis Jr.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIZ_5ZQC2Po">We Can&rsquo;t Predict the Future</a>&nbsp;&ndash; The Flaming Lips</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKw6n0PnTMY">What Comes Next?</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Jonathan Groff, Hamilton</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXn9ZKPx6CY">A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Bob Dylan</li>
</ul>

From "Iowa nice" to New England blunt, how do we define "nice" in America?

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