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It’s been a while since we’ve done a math show. So this hour, some discussion of just what mathematics even is in the first place.

Plus, some news from the world of math: A look at three landmark papers bridging the gap between quantum physics and formal mathematics.

And: the low-dimensional topology of… knitting.

GUESTS:
Sabetta Matsumoto - A theoretical physicist and applied mathematician at Georgia Tech, where she leads The Matsumoto Group studying the geometry of materials
Alec Wilkinson - Staff writer at The New Yorker
Charlie Wood - Contributing writer to Quanta Magazine

It&rsquo;s been a while since we&rsquo;ve done a math show. So this hour, some discussion of just&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/what-is-mathematics">what mathematics even is</a>&nbsp;in the first place.
Plus, some news from the world of math: A look at three landmark papers&nbsp;<a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematicians-prove-2d-version-of-quantum-gravity-really-works-20210617/">bridging the gap between quantum physics and formal mathematics</a>.
And: the low-dimensional topology of&hellip;&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/how-one-physicist-unraveling-mathematics-knitting'">knitting</a>.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Sabetta Matsumoto&nbsp;- A theoretical physicist and applied mathematician at Georgia Tech, where she leads&nbsp;<a href="http://matsumoto.gatech.edu/">The Matsumoto Group</a>&nbsp;studying the geometry of materials</li>
<li>Alec Wilkinson&nbsp;- Staff writer at&nbsp;The New Yorker</li>
<li>Charlie Wood&nbsp;- Contributing writer to&nbsp;Quanta Magazine</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

The Longest Continuous Human Thought: A Look At Mathematics

The word "like" has been around for centuries, but it reached a new cultural prominence in the 1980s, partially thanks to Frank Zappa's song "Valley Girl." Since then, "like" has taken on a life of its own, inspiring strong emotions. This hour, we look at the meaning and evolution of "like." Plus, how movies like the now 30-year-old Clueless have impacted our language.

GUESTS:


Megan C. Reynolds: Former editor at Dwell and author of Like: A History of the English Language’s Most Hated (and Misunderstood) Word


Kory Stamper: Lexicographer and author of Word By Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries


Veronica Litt: English Professor and author of Ugh! As If!: Clueless

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, Dylan Reyes, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Isaac Moss contributed to this show, which originally aired August 20, 2025.

The word "like" has been around for centuries, but it reached a new cultural prominence in the 1980s, partially thanks to Frank Zappa's song "Valley Girl." Since then, "like" has taken on a life of its own, inspiring strong emotions. This hour, we look at the meaning and evolution of "like." Plus, how movies like the now 30-year-old Clueless have impacted our language.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>
Megan C. Reynolds: Former editor at Dwell and author of <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/like-megan-c-reynolds?variant=43182606647330">Like: A History of the English Language&rsquo;s Most Hated (and Misunderstood) Word</a>
</li>
<li>
Kory Stamper: Lexicographer and author of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/530504/word-by-word-by-kory-stamper/">Word By Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries</a>
</li>
<li>
Veronica Litt: English Professor and author of <a href="https://ecwpress.com/products/ugh-as-if">Ugh! As If!: Clueless</a>
</li>
</ul>
The Colin McEnroe Show 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>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe, Dylan Reyes, Robyn Doyon-Aitken, and Isaac Moss contributed to this show, which originally aired August 20, 2025.

Why does "like" bother us so much?

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 spousal knowledge, tree sperm, progressive candidates, tree sperm, hitpeople, tree sperm, sleepy bees … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we’re doing another one.
In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour about whatever you want to talk about. 888-720-9677.‌

Music featured (in order):
thank u i guess – forrest nolan
Museum of Idiots – They Might Be Giants
Love Is Salvation – Jesca Hoop
I Don’t Know Anything – Alan Hsiao
Something’s Coming – Laura Anglade
Mary Singletary – Deer Tick
With New Eyes – Simon Lynge

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 &mdash; This hour, the conversation winds around to spousal knowledge, tree sperm, progressive candidates, tree sperm, hitpeople, tree sperm, sleepy bees &hellip; Anything. (Seemingly) everything.
These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we&rsquo;re doing another one. In other words: Give us a call during the 1 p.m. EDT hour about&nbsp;whatever you want to talk about.&nbsp;<a href="tel:8887209677">888-720-9677</a>.&zwnj;
Music featured (in order):
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ZmP35jWFQ">thank u i guess</a>&nbsp;&ndash; forrest nolan</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHcWXRCsknE">Museum of Idiots</a>&nbsp;&ndash; They Might Be Giants</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bQkgF9rkyA">Love Is Salvation</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Jesca Hoop</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zIVr9dRFPY">I Don&rsquo;t Know Anything</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Alan Hsiao</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSUysarBS_g">Something&rsquo;s Coming</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Laura Anglade</li>
<li><a href="https://youtu.be/oG5_PejyAVE">Mary Singletary</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Deer Tick</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQP5chmfiFg">With New Eyes</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Simon Lynge</li>
</ul>

All Calls: Stop spraying your sperm-laden dust on my Subaru Outback

Billy Joel has reportedly sold more than 160 million albums. He’s been nominated for 24 Grammy Awards (and won six of them), an Emmy, and a Tony Award (which he won). In the U.S., he’s had 33 top 40 singles and 11 top 10 albums. He’s simply one of the most popular recording artists in the history of music.

But. Critics have never been terribly kind to him, and a lot of the general public hasn’t either.

This hour, we look at the two-part, nearly five-hour HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. And we look at Billy Joel more generally and at the love/hate relationship we all seem to have had with him and his music for more than 50 years now.

GUESTS:
Jen Allen: A pianist, composer, arranger, and educator; her new album is Possibilities
Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications and the director of marketing at Washington Montessori School
Jack Hamilton:Slate’s pop critic and the author of Just Around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination
Gene Seymour: A “writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek,” and he now writes the That Gene Seymour Substack

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 Isaac Moss contributed to this show, which originally aired August 8, 2025.

Billy Joel has reportedly sold more than 160 million albums. He&rsquo;s been nominated for 24 Grammy Awards (and won six of them), an Emmy, and a Tony Award (which he won). In the U.S., he&rsquo;s had 33 top 40 singles and 11 top 10 albums. He&rsquo;s simply one of the most popular recording artists in the history of music.
But. Critics have never been terribly kind to him, and a lot of the general public hasn&rsquo;t either.
This hour, we look at the two-part, nearly five-hour HBO documentary Billy Joel: And So It Goes. And we look at Billy Joel more generally and at the love/hate relationship we all seem to have had with him and his music for more than 50 years now.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Jen Allen: A pianist, composer, arranger, and educator; her new album is&nbsp;<a href="https://trrstore.bandcamp.com/album/possibilities">Possibilities</a></li>
<li>Rebecca Castellani: Co-founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://quietcornercommunications.com/">Quiet Corner Communications</a>&nbsp;and the director of marketing at Washington Montessori School</li>
<li>Jack Hamilton: Slate&rsquo;s pop critic and the author of Just Around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination</li>
<li>Gene Seymour: A &ldquo;writer, professional spectator, pop-culture maven, and jazz geek,&rdquo; and he now writes&nbsp;the <a href="https://thatgeneseymour52.substack.com/">That Gene Seymour</a> Substack</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&nbsp;<a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/colinmcshow">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe and Isaac Moss contributed to this show, which originally aired August 8, 2025.

The Longest Continuous Human Thought: A Look At Mathematics

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