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.
Latest episodes
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49 min
All Calls: I wish Byron Eddie-cucha-catcha-cama-tosta-nana-tosta-noka-samma-camma-wacky-brown was my uncle
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…
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49 min
The Nose looks at ‘You Can See Everything’
Note: This episode contains spoilers for You Can See Everything. You Can See Everything is a three-hour experimental documentary (quasi-documentary?) directed by Nathan Fielder and…
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50 min
The (so-called) dying art of dinner parties
News outlets and opinion writers have called it: The traditional dinner party is dead. But are dinner parties really so bad? Or are we just bad at hosting them? This hour, the hist…
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50 min
The other Dan Sullivan: Name doppelgängers and cases of mistaken identity
Do you share a name with someone more famous then you? Is it impossible to look yourself up on the internet? Are you the least famous "Alexa"? Then you have a “name doppelgänger”!…
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50 min
Exploring the landscapes and legacy of painter Frederic Church
Painter Frederic E. Church was born in 1926 on Temple Street, Hartford. In the 200 years since then, his paintings have travelled the world and helped define American art. This hou…
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50 min
All Calls: Euell Gibbons wrote "Ozymandias" –– everybody knows that
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…
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41 min
The Nose looks at ‘The Social Reckoning’ and ‘War’
The Social Reckoning is the fourth movie written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. It’s his follow-up to The Social Network, and it stars Jeremy Allen White, Mikey Madison, and Bill Bu…
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42 min
A (Paul) Winter’s Tale
This hour, we’re joined in studio by seven-time Grammy Award-winning local musician Paul Winter. Winter is known for his annual solstice concerts and his “earth music," which featu…
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42 min
A look at the quiet power of the Schuyler sisters, Eliza and Angelica
You may know the Schuyler sisters, Angelica and Elizabeth (and Peggy!), from Hamilton. But the musical just scratches the surface of their fascinating lives. This hour, Amanda Vail…
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42 min
Exploring our “gerontocracy” with Samuel Moyn
Samuel Moyn joins us to talk about how older people are hoarding political power and resources, what that means for all of us, and how we could forge a new path with better represe…
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42 min
All calls: Custom Hobo is the name of my fashion line
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…
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50 min
The Nose looks at ‘Tony’ and ‘Ted Lasso: Season Four’
This hour, The Nose looks at two current bits of pop culture with men’s names that start with the letter T: Tony is the fifth movie co-written and directed by Matt Johnson and the…
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50 min
‘Thou mayest’: A look at ‘East of Eden’
John Steinbeck considered East of Eden to be his magnum opus. And it’s now thought of as one of the great American novels. Netflix’s new seven-part limited series adaptation is cre…
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50 min
Keeping it brief: A celebration of short stories
When was the last time you read a short story? This hour, we talk about why short stories are so popular in the classroom, but why adults don’t seem to read them much once they’re…
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49 min
All calls: Teach your praying mantises to attack Amazon drones
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…
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50 min
Listen and you shall hear the lore and legend of Paul Revere
What do you know about silversmith Paul Revere besides that he borrowed a horse to warn American colonists that the British troops were coming? If Revere had help, why is he the on…
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49 min
The Amazins! A look at the New York Mets
This month marks the 40th anniversary of the last time the New York Mets won the World Series. The Mets came in last in the National League East this season, but Mets fandom seems…
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50 min
George Orwell saw it coming
George Orwell's novels 1984 and Animal Farm feel especially prescient in this moment, as surveillance technologies continue to expand, and history and language are weaponized. We t…
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50 min
We’re lonelier than ever. Being “a regular” could help.
Do you have a place where everybody knows your coffee order? Your cat's name? How you like your eggs? Then congrats! You're a regular! This hour, we explore the value of becoming a…
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50 min
Radical or relevant? How the Luddites can help us relate to today’s technology
Today “Luddite” is used as a derogatory term for someone who doesn’t understand technology. But the original Luddites weren’t behind. They were technical workers who were concerned…