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

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Colin McEnroe and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on September 5, 2025.