All calls: Columbus Day, textures, textiles, Tolkien, and more

This hour, the conversation winds around to Columbus Day, Colin’s favorite joke, textures, J.R.R. Tolkien, the movie The Apprentice, food allergies, our fundraising drives … Anything. (Seemingly) everything. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one.

Playwright Jeffrey Lieber on truth, lies, memory and ‘Fever Dreams’

Jeffrey Lieber was one of the Emmy-nominated creators of the TV series Lost. He has been a showrunner on series like NCIS: New Orleans and Charmed and the new reboot of Matlock starring Kathy Bates. And his play Fever Dreams (of animals on the verge of extinction) is currently running at TheaterW…

Today: Did episode on notebooks & diaries, bought kiwi fruit, had teeth cleaning

This hour is all about notebooks. We'll talk about the history and evolution of notebooks, favorite examples, and celebrate the joy of writing things down. Plus, a look at the Notes App. GUESTS:  Roland Allen: Book publisher and author of The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper Charley Locke:…

All calls: How to find an artsy community, towns governed by oral tradition, toothpaste, and more

This hour we take your calls about anything you want to talk about.

Words, words, words: A look at style guides and Britishisms in American English

This hour, a look at words and usage and grammar and language and all that fun stuff. Have you noticed how we Americans have become “so bloody keen on Britishisms?” Ben Yagoda joins us to talk about his new book, Gobsmacked! The British Invasion of American English. Plus, there’s been an update t…

An hour with Rupert Holmes

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 Timesbestse…

Monologuist Josh Kornbluth wonders if our society is suffering from political dementia

As a fellow at the Global Brain Health Institute, monologuist Josh Kornbluth started to see parallels between brain disease and, well, everything that’s going on in our politics today. With his new solo show, Citizen Brain, he hopes to “spark an empathy revolution.” Josh Kornbluth joins us in stu…

From boredom to handwriting: Christine Rosen on the embodied experiences we lose to technology

This hour we talk with Christine Rosen about her new book, The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. We talk about how technology has impacted face-to-face interactions, boredom, loneliness, handwriting, and more. GUEST:  Christine Rosen: Author of The Extinction of Exper…

The political importance of Gen Z with journalist Rachel Janfaza

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 journalist Rachel Janfaza about Gen Z voters. GUEST:  Rachel Janfaza: Journalist who covers Gen Z political culture and young voters in U.S. politi…

Author A.J. Jacobs says he “will never take elastic or democracy for granted again”

In A.J. Jacobs’ new book, The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning, he details his experience living by the Constitution for a year. Jacobs joins us for the hour to tell us about the experiment and what he learned. GUESTS: A.J. Jaco…