This year marks 100 years since F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby was first published. And it turns out that it took a while for the novel to catch on in the United States, where it is now considered a classic.

This hour, we revisit the novel and its cultural impact.

GUESTS: 

• Rob Kyff: Teacher and author of Gatsby’s Secrets. He also writes a nationally syndicated column on language
• Maureen Corrigan: Book critic for NPR's Fresh Air, and a Distinguished Professor of the Practice in Literary Criticism at Georgetown University. She is the author of So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came To Be and Why It Endures
• Sara Chase: Actress who created the role of Myrtle Wilson in the Broadway production of The Great Gatsby 

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New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote a column proclaiming that "America Is Not Made for People Who Pee." It hit a nerve. People responded with stories that all seemed to agree with him.

So, why don't we complain about locked doors, long lines (for women), or the lack of a public toilet where one should be? Lezlie Lowe might say that we don't like to talk about bodily functions that are perceived as kind of, well, gross.

This hour, we talk about public toilets, including one that people like.

GUESTS:

• Lezlie Lowe: Teaches journalism at the University of King's College and is the author of No Place To Go: How Public Toilets Fail Our Private Needs

• Evan Madden: Sales manager for The Portland Loo

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe to The Noseletter, an email compendium of merriment, secrets, and ancient wisdom brought to you by The Colin McEnroe Show.

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.

Colin McEnroe, Cat Pastor, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 15, 2021. 

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.The Colin McEnroe Show.

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This hour we talk about the history of the Second Red Scare, a period also known as McCarthyism.

We learn about why the Scare took off in the United States, its impact, and how it eventually fizzled out. Plus, we’ll look at the parallels and throughlines between that time period and our current moment.

And, a look at how the Second Red Scare impacted Hollywood, and how it, in turn, was reflected back through the movies.

GUESTS: 

• Clay Risen: Reporter and editor at The New York Times, and the author of Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America
• Ann Hornaday: The Washington Post's Senior Film Critic. She is the author of Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies

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This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, John Belushi, John Candy, Rick Moranis.

Animal House, The Blues Brothers, Beverly Hills Cop, Caddyshack, The Jerk, Ghost Busters, ¡Three Amigos!, Funny Farm, Spaceballs, Stripes.

We maybe didn’t properly appreciate it at the time, but the 1980s were one of the most fertile periods ever for screen comedies and screen comedians.

This hour, a look at the mavericks who shaped a whole comedy aesthetic and at some of the most popular movie comedies ever made.

GUESTS:

• Nick de Semlyen: Editor of Empire magazine and the author of Wild and Crazy Guys: How the Comedy Mavericks of the ’80s Changed Hollywood Forever
• Daniel Kalwhite: A standup comedian based in New Haven
• Carolyn Paine: An actress, comedian, and dancer; she is founder, director, and choreographer of CONNetic Dance

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 contributed to this show, which originally aired July 11, 2019, in a different form.

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You know Michael Schur from the shows he’s created, like The Good Place, Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

This hour we talk with Schur about his book, How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question.

Through the conversation we discuss moral philosophy, and big moral questions like “should you return your shopping cart to the cart corral?”

GUEST:

• Michael Schur: TV writer and producer and the author of How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question

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!

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 3, 2022.

Our programming is made possible thanks to listeners like you. Please consider supporting this show and Connecticut Public with a donation today by visiting ctpublic.org/donate.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jane Austen completed six full-length novels. And today, 250 years after her birth, those novels are all still present in our culture.

This hour, a look at Austen’s life and work, the world of Janeites, and the many film and television adaptations of her work.

GUESTS:

• Devoney Looser: Author of The Making of Jane Austen and Sister Novelists: The Trailblazing Porter Sisters, Who Paved the Way for Austen and the Brontës

• Deborah Yaffe: Author of Among the Janeites: A Journey Through the World of Jane Austen Fandom

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, Anya Grondalski, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired July 28, 2022.

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Finally, baseball is back!

This hour, a look at all the fun, weird, interesting storylines in this new season — including, yes, the so-called torpedo bats.

Plus: Is Aaron Judge the best right-handed hitter … ever? Is Shohei Ohtani the best baseball player … ever? How the A’s lost their Oakland. How the Rays lost their ballpark. The future of umpires and umpiring … And more.

GUESTS:

• Adam Elder: A writer covering sports and culture; he is the author of New Kids in the World Cup: The Totally Late ’80s and Early ’90s Tale of the Team That Changed American Soccer Forever
• Linda Holmes: A pop culture correspondent for NPR and the host of Pop Culture Happy Hour; her new novel is Back After This
• Sam Miller: Writes the Pebble Hunting Substack; he is the co-author of The Only Rule Is It Has To Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team

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, and Lily Tyson contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour we took your calls about anything you wanted to talk about.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s something kind of special about the experience of a really great, really bad movie.

Think Red Dawn or Under Siege. Snakes on a Plane or Batman & Robin.

Independence Day is nearly perfect and so rewatchable — and also terrible.

This hour, a Nose-ish look at the joy of bad movies.

GUESTS:

• Theresa Cramer: A freelance writer and editor and the co-founder of Quiet Corner Communications
• Alicia di Leo: A para-educator in the integrated preschool program in the Manchester school system
• David Edelstein: America’s Greatest Living Film Critic
• Severn Sandt: Associate director of strategic partnerships and outreach at Trinity College in Hartford
• Howard Sherman: A theater administrator, writer, and advocate; he is the U.S. columnist for The Stage newspaper of London and the author of Another Day’s Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century

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 Eugene Amatruda contributed to this show, which originally aired August 2, 2024.

Support the show: http://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.