In the century since Russia’s “Mad Monk” was poisoned, we’ve come to believe a lot of things: he was mystical, he was evil, he was the world’s greatest lover.

This hour: Rasputin — the all-too-human peasant who found his way to friendship with the Romanovs and the comical, absurd version of him that just won’t die.

GUESTS:
Chris Roberson: Co-writer of the Hellboy comic Rasputin: Voice of the Dragon
Douglas Smith: Historian and author of Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs

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!

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 3, 2022.

In the century since Russia’s “Mad Monk” was poisoned, we’ve come to believe a lot of things: he was mystical, he was evil, he was the world’s greatest lover.
This hour: Rasputin — the all-too-human peasant who found his way to friendship with the Romanovs and the comical, absurd version of him that just won’t die.
GUESTS:
<ul>
<li>Chris Roberson: Co-writer of the Hellboy comic <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/36962973-rasputin#:~:text=With%20the%20World%20War%20II,deadly%20mystics%2C%20and%20Nazi%20agents">Rasputin: Voice of the Dragon</a></li>
<li>Douglas Smith: Historian and author of <a href="https://douglassmith.info/books/rasputin/">Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs</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?si=89RJodkWRsOo1dck5BCdMA&amp;nd=1">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cub21ueWNvbnRlbnQuY29tL2QvcGxheWxpc3QvYWMwYmU5NjktZDdkZi00NjBjLWE2NmMtYTZmOTAwZTFlYmQxLzcxZGM0YTBmLWU4Y2EtNDAyMS1hZWM5LWFhMDMwMDI2MDQyZC9iNjk1Y2I4Ny1mNmE5LTRjNzYtOGYxMS1hYTAzMDAyNjA0M2IvcG9kY2FzdC5yc3M">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/colin-mcenroe-show-rsspodcast">Stitcher</a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!
Join the conversation on <a href="https://facebook.com/ColinMcShow">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/wnprcolin">Twitter</a>.
Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, Cat Pastor, Dylan Reyes, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired May 3, 2022.

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

Why we’re still mesmerized by the myth of Rasputin

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month 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 our old friends evolving (or not), sports losing its magic (or not), spending billions of dollars trying to get rockets to Mars (or not), Fat Bear Week, radio call-in shows, sane washing … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

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

We’ve been doing these shows a couple times a month 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 our old friends evolving (or not), sports losing its magic (or not), spending billions of dollars trying to get rockets to Mars (or not), <a href="https://explore.org/fat-bear-week">Fat Bear Week</a>, radio call-in shows, <a href="https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2024/sanewashing-meaning-donald-trump-journalists/">sane washing</a> … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.
These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

All calls: Fat Bear Week, sports, call-in shows, Mars, and more

Percival Everett is the author of 24 novels, four short story collections, and six collections of poetry.

His 2001 novel Erasure was adapted as the feature film American Fiction, which was nominated this year for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Everett has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

His newest novel, James, reimagines Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.”

This hour, Percival Everett joins us in studio.

GUEST:
Percival Everett: Novelist and poet

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 Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired June 5, 2024.

Percival Everett is the author of 24 novels, four short story collections, and six collections of poetry.
His 2001 novel <a href="https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/erasure" data-cms-ai="0">Erasure</a> was adapted as the feature film <a href="https://www.ctpublic.org/show/the-colin-mcenroe-show/2024-02-16/the-nose-looks-at-american-fiction-and-criminal-record" data-cms-ai="0">American Fiction</a>, which was nominated this year for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Everett has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
His newest novel, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738749/james-by-percival-everett/" data-cms-ai="0">James</a>, reimagines Adventures of Huckleberry Finn “from the enslaved Jim’s point of view.”
This hour, Percival Everett joins us in studio.
GUEST:
<ul>
<li>Percival Everett: Novelist and poet</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" data-cms-ai="0">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/0AXtqrzWounIoJyIqz003p" data-cms-ai="0">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9b6b3cee-f69b-4729-a78b-181f851d80e8/the-colin-mcenroe-show" data-cms-ai="0">Amazon Music</a>, <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/The-Colin-McEnroe-Show-p1208473/" data-cms-ai="0">TuneIn</a>, <a href="https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/the-colin-mcenroe-show-connecticut-public-lXR08dxQSM5/" data-cms-ai="0">Listen Notes</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.
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>.
Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired June 5, 2024.

An hour with Percival Everett

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour, we talk with veteran journalist Mark Jacob about the state of American journalism and its impact on the upcoming election.

GUEST: 
Mark Jacob: Writes the weekly newsletter “Stop the Presses.” He is the former Metro Editor of The Chicago Tribune and former Sunday Editor of The Chicago Sun-Times. He is also the co-author of ten books on history and photography

Going into November, we’ll be doing some shows where we talk with one guest, for the hour, who knows a lot about the election. This hour, we talk with veteran journalist Mark Jacob about the state of American journalism and its impact on the upcoming election.
GUEST: 
<ul>
<li>Mark Jacob: Writes the weekly newsletter “<a href="https://www.stopthepresses.news/">Stop the Presses</a>.” He is the former Metro Editor of The Chicago Tribune and former Sunday Editor of The Chicago Sun-Times. He is also the co-author of ten books on history and photography</li>
</ul>

Why we’re still mesmerized by the myth of Rasputin

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