The Colin McEnroe Show

How has our national discourse and our perception of national identity shifted in the 25 years after 9/11? And how can we heal from those traumatizing events? This hour, we talk about what we can learn from our response to 9/11 with a local psychiatrist who helped shape New York City's mental health response for its children. Plus, we look at how journalists coped with covering that day.

GUESTS:

• John Woodall: Psychiatrist whos...

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 — helmed by our old pal Chion Wolf! — winds around to “Crossing Muddy Waters” by I’m With Her, Phoebe Bridgers, The Shipping News by Annie Proulx, follow ups, paper routes and summer jobs f...

Official Movie Star of The Colin McEnroe Show Illeana Douglas’ brand new book is Jungle Red! The Making of MGM’s The Women.

Early this week, Colin went down to The Kate in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, to help launch the book.

This hour, a recorded version of that onstage conversation about the women of Hollywood’s golden age and about golden age Hollywood’s The Women.

GUEST:

• Illeana Douglas: An actress an...

Next week marks 250 years since Connecticut's Nathan Hale was executed by British soldiers. This hour we look back at the life of Nathan Hale, and the local historian who kept his legacy alive. Plus, we'll learn about spying during the Revolutionary War, and discover another Connecticut spy who escaped Hale's fate.

GUESTS:

• Alexander Rose: Author of books including Washington's Spies: The Story of America’s Firs...

Laura Nyro’s most famous compositions — “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “Stoney End,” “When I Die,” “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Eli’s Coming” — are jewels of mainstream music, and her covers of songs like “Jimmy Mack” and “Gonna Take a Miracle” are legendary.

But she was uncomfortable under the spotlight and withdr...

What happens when the people reshaping our world don't believe in introspection? This hour, a look at looking inward. And, we explore the spectrum of mental imagery.

GUESTS:

• Elizabeth Lopatto: Senior reporter for The Verge

• Maja Spener: Associate Professor in Philosophy at the University of Birmingham. She is the author of Introspection: First-Person Access in Science and Agency

• Reshanne Reeder: L...

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 oil prices, jetpacks, AI apocalypses, musicals, moving fast and breaking things … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too...

What does 9/11 mean, 25 years later? This hour, we are joined by Dan Taberski, host of the podcast "9/12", which explores how 9/11 went from a day to an idea, to talk about the failure of imagination, humor and tragedy, and how we remember well.

GUEST:

• Dan Taberski Documentary podcaster, writer, director, and producer. His podcasts include “Manifesto”, “Hysterical”, “9/12”, “...

Kurt Andersen co-created Spy magazine, which published its first issue 40 years ago next month. And he hosted and co-created Studio 360, which ran on public radio stations for nearly 20 years.

His new novel, The Breakup, follows the unraveling of a marriage … in 2045 … in a version of America that is also splitting apart after a second civil war in the 2030s.

Kurt Andersen joins us for the hour.

GU...

Ten years ago, we aired an episode commemorating the 50th anniversary of Star Trek.Ten years later, the show has stuck around—and six more shows have come out in the franchise.

So: 60 years after the first episode of Star Trek aired, we take a look back at its rocky start–and what the future of the series might be. Plus, a look at Star Trek’s fandom and some of the first ever fan conventions!–...

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 new musicals, Connecticut trails, politics, June bugs, colonoscopies … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

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

Music featur...

This week’s Nose — guest hosted by the writer and noted bat expert Lindsay Lee Wallace — looks at:

Coyote vs. Acme is the fifth original, theatrically released feature film in the Looney Tunes franchise. It is based on the classic New Yorker humor piece by Ian Frazier about Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Corporation over the continuing catastrophic failure of their products. The movie’s road to the big screen...

On September 26, 2025, last year’s Best Picture Oscar winner, One Battle After Another, a loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, hit wide release in theaters. And then 11 days later, on October 7, Pynchon published what might be his final novel, Shadow Ticket.

Not a bad year for an 89-year-old writer.

This hour, a look at the (maybe) reclusive Pynchon and the novels and stories he...

South Carolina. The clinic offered MMR vaccinations as the South Carolina Department of Health reported 876 cases of measles earlier in the week, most centered in Spartanburg County.

This hour, we look at the spread of measles in the United States. We also talk to health and science communicators who are working to tell the story of that disease in new ways.

GUESTS:

• Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo: Director of the Pandemic Center at t...

This hour we take a look at the state of immigration policy, after a week of ICE activity in Connecticut. We discuss what Americans actually want when it comes to immigration, the challenges of keeping track of immigration enforcement data, and a look at how the history of immigration policy in the United States is informing this present moment.

GUESTS:

• Sister Mary Ellen Burns: Executive Director and Attorney at Apostle I...

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 the detestable Boston Red Sox and Fenway Park, Brandi Carlile, Declan the Dog, the pronunciation of Pupienus, frustration with the Hartford region … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

These shows are fun for...

As the you sit contemplating the end of long summer days, you might find yourself wondering: what was the song of the summer? And what should have been?

To help fill that void in your life, Colin sits down with technical producer Dylan Reyes to form the public radio supergroup CG/WLM (cranky guys who like music) and talk about what they’re listening to and what song they think should have won the season.

GUEST:

• Dylan Rey...

We are now looking at our own faces more than ever before, thanks to mirrors, selfies, Zoom, and social media. This hour, we explore how our relationship with our faces has changed. Plus, a look at the rise of facial recognition technology, from your phone to security cameras. And we talk with an artist about what it means to paint faces.

GUESTS:

• Cal Revely-Calder: Writer and Literary Editor of The Telegraph
• Kashmir ...

Do you know your neighbors? This hour, we take a look at the role of our neighbors in our lives. We explore the psychological and social benefits of neighbors, hear listener stories, and discuss the role of neighbors in times of crisis. Plus, a look at "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" and how he thought about neighbors and community building.

GUESTS:

• Julie Beck: Staff writer at The Atlantic and the crea...