You know all the reasons Trump won, right?

Economic anxiety. Racial anxiety. The forgotten working class. The forgotten rustbelt...

But what if the real cause were something much simpler and much more pervasive: our popular culture.

This hour, a conversation with Peter Biskind, the author of The Sky Is Falling: How Vampires, Zombies, Androids, and Superheroes Made America Great for Extremism.

You know all the reasons Trump won, right?
<a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2016/11/10/elections/economic-anxiety-key-some-trump-voters" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.marketplace.org/2016/11/10/elections/economic-anxiety-key-some-trump-voters">Economic anxiety</a>. <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/16/17980820/trump-obama-2016-race-racism-class-economy-2018-midterm" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/10/16/17980820/trump-obama-2016-race-racism-class-economy-2018-midterm">Racial anxiety</a>. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/upshot/why-trump-won-working-class-whites.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/10/upshot/why-trump-won-working-class-whites.html">The forgotten working class</a>. <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/how-rust-belt-delivered-trump-presidency-deep-dive-522091" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://www.newsweek.com/how-rust-belt-delivered-trump-presidency-deep-dive-522091">The forgotten rustbelt</a>...
But what if the real cause were something much simpler and much more pervasive: our popular culture.
This hour, a conversation with Peter Biskind, the author of <a href="https://thenewpress.com/books/sky-falling" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-cke-saved-href="https://thenewpress.com/books/sky-falling">The Sky Is Falling: How Vampires, Zombies, Androids, and Superheroes Made America Great for Extremism</a>.

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

How Vampires, Zombies, Androids, And Superheroes Made America Great For Extremism

We’ve been doing these shows 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 spiders, seashells and 86ing, a possible $70 million Rothko, Cinco de Mayo, Texas (and Hawaii) as its own country … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Music featured (in order):
Sunflower Waltz – Duved Dunayevsky, Susanne Ortner, Molly Reeves, Zach Valentine
Side Slider – Isaia Huron
Bando – Angelique Kidjo, Pharrell Williams, Quavo
White Roses – Fetty Wap (feat. Divinity & Ymanie)
This Can’t Be Love – Jaimee Paul
Meat Machines – The Claypool Lennon Delirium
Che sarà terra e sarà mare – Tosca

We&rsquo;ve been doing these shows where we don&rsquo;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 spiders, seashells and 86ing, a&nbsp;<a href="https://ocula.com/magazine/art-news/sothebys-new-york-may-sales-led-by-rothko/">possible $70 million Rothko</a>, Cinco de Mayo, Texas (and Hawaii) as its own country &hellip; Anything. (Seemingly) everything.
These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.
Music featured (in order):
<ul>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/W_bmb6cT8r8">Sunflower Waltz</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Duved Dunayevsky, Susanne Ortner, Molly Reeves, Zach Valentine</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7SMiqw6yaQ">Side Slider</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Isaia Huron</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5HPaCO0uwk">Bando</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Angelique Kidjo, Pharrell Williams, Quavo</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aB57_9rLZE8">White Roses</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Fetty Wap (feat. Divinity &amp; Ymanie)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aTiyvnoPHg">This Can&rsquo;t Be Love</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Jaimee Paul</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISd5whqq8kQ">Meat Machines</a>&nbsp;&ndash; The Claypool Lennon Delirium</li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/WpyZCQpk0tw">Che sar&agrave; terra e sar&agrave; mare</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Tosca</li>
</ul>

All calls: ‘I’ll never call while eating a hamburger again’

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 bestseller.

This hour: Rupert Holmes.

GUEST:
Rupert Holmes: Playwright, composer, singer-songwriter, and author

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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired April 20, 2024, in a different form.

Rupert Holmes won two Tony Awards for his musical <a href="https://www.rupertholmes.com/the-mystery-of-edwin-drood/">The Mystery of Edwin Drood</a>. His single &ldquo;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXG_I_tf_i4">Escape (The Pi&ntilde;a Colada Song)</a>&rdquo; went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. His dramedy <a href="https://www.amcplus.com/shows/remember-wenn--1052130">Remember WENN</a> was AMC&rsquo;s first original scripted series. And his newest novel, <a href="https://www.rupertholmes.com/murder-your-employer/">Murder Your Employer</a>, was a New York Times bestseller.
This hour: <a href="https://www.rupertholmes.com/">Rupert Holmes</a>.
GUEST:
<ul>
<li>Rupert Holmes: Playwright, composer, singer-songwriter, and author</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 and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired April 20, 2024, in a different form.

An hour with Rupert Holmes

Shakespeare’s tragedy about two star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, has appealed to audiences for centuries. It’s been adapted countless times for stage and screen.

This hour, we talk with experts exploring the play and its legacy, from The Hartford Stage on the set of their recent adaptation.

GUESTS: 
David Sterling Brown: Associate professor of English at Trinity College; he is the author of Shakespeare’s White Others and a development associate and scholar in residence for the American Globe Center, and he is on the curatorial team for Claudia Rankine’s The Racial Imaginary Institute
Melia Bensussen: Hartford Stage’s artistic director
Carman Lacivita: Actor who played Friar Laurence in Hartford Stage’s production of Romeo and Juliet; he is a recipient of the Bayfield Award — given to the best performance of Shakespeare in the New York Metropolitan Area

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

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.

Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 6, 2025. Thank you to the staff and volunteers at the Hartford Stage, including Lucas Clopton, Wesley McCabe-Schroeder, Lindsay Abrams, Zoe Golub-Sass, Jennifer Levine, Todd Brandt, and the volunteer ushers.

Shakespeare&rsquo;s tragedy about two star-crossed lovers,&nbsp;Romeo and Juliet, has appealed to audiences for centuries. It&rsquo;s been adapted countless times for stage and screen.
This hour, we talk with experts exploring the play and its legacy, from The Hartford Stage on the set of their recent adaptation.
GUESTS:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>David Sterling Brown:&nbsp;Associate professor of English at Trinity College; he is the author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/shakespeares-white-others/F2DFE968C825182E53052A09E8CE4EAE">Shakespeare&rsquo;s White Others</a>&nbsp;and a development associate and scholar in residence for the American Globe Center, and he is on the curatorial team for Claudia Rankine&rsquo;s The Racial Imaginary Institute</li>
<li>Melia Bensussen:&nbsp;Hartford Stage&rsquo;s artistic director</li>
<li>Carman Lacivita:&nbsp;Actor who played Friar Laurence in Hartford Stage&rsquo;s production of&nbsp;Romeo and Juliet; he is a recipient of the Bayfield Award &mdash; given to the best performance of Shakespeare in the New York Metropolitan Area</li>
</ul>
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide &amp; Crisis Lifeline.
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.
Join the conversation on&nbsp;<a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a>.
Colin McEnroe, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, Megan Fitzgerald, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on May 6, 2025. Thank you to the staff and volunteers at the Hartford Stage, including Lucas Clopton, Wesley McCabe-Schroeder, Lindsay Abrams, Zoe Golub-Sass, Jennifer Levine, Todd Brandt, and the volunteer ushers.

How Vampires, Zombies, Androids, And Superheroes Made America Great For Extremism

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