Gone are the days when we’d browse a local store if we needed a new air purifier or oven mitt. Now, many people don’t dare make a purchase without first Googling “best kitchen mixer” and browsing lists of top-tens on recommendation sites.

How did these sites come to dominate our shopping carts? And if you’re not a fan of that humidifier you got off a top-ten list, are there other ways to shop?

GUESTS:

• Inger Stole is a professor emerita at the University of Illinois
• Michael Zhao was the first employee and a former deputy editor at Wirecutter
• Mark Frauenfelder is a co-editor of Recomendo

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a look at misunderstood monsters, why humans create monsters in the first place, and the benefits of hearing a monster’s perspective.

Plus, we learn more about Medusa and talk to a researcher who studied purported yeti samples to find the animal behind the myth.

GUESTS:

• Natalie Haynes: A writer and broadcaster; her newest book is Stone Blind
• Charlotte Lindqvist: Associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University at Buffalo
• Asa Simon Mittman: Professor of art and art history at California State University, Chico

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, 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 February 8, 2023.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 the speed limit, the Great American Songbook, trucks on the Merritt Parkway, the state parks, police car chases. Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

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

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, 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.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Nose is off. In its place, a look at the No. 1 podcast in America, Strike Force Five, hosted by Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver as a way to pay the late night writing staffs during the strikes.

Plus: New Yorker film critic Richard Brody joins us to extol the virtues of owning movies on physical media.

And finally: endorsements, Nose or no.

During this little period of Noselessness, we’ve decided at least to entertain ideas around doing the show differently. And we want your input! If you’re familiar with The Nose, and you have a couple minutes, please take our survey. You might even win a life-alteringly great prize! (It’s a coffee mug. You might win a coffee mug.)

GUESTS:

• Richard Brody: The movies editor for Goings On About Town at The New Yorker
• Megan Fitzgerald: Senior project manager at Connecticut Public
• Sabrina Herrera: Community engagement and social media editor at Connecticut Public
• Jennifer LaRue: A writer, editor, and publicist and a contributing producer for The Colin McEnroe Show
• Cat Pastor: Assistant radio operations manager at Connecticut Public
• Julia Pistell: A writer and comedian, a founding member of Sea Tea Improv, and a contributing producer for The Colin McEnroe Show
• Nicholas Quah: The podcast critic for New York Magazine and Vulture, where he writes the weekly newsletter 1.5× Speed
• Catie Talarski: Senior director of storytelling and radio programming at Connecticut Public
• Chion Wolf: The host of Audacious on Connecticut Public

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, TuneIn, Listen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This hour, a look at the cultural significance of the apple, from Adam and Eve to keeping the doctor away.

Plus: growing apples and the future of apples, and we compare apples and oranges.

GUESTS: 

• Martha Bayless: Director of folklore and public culture and a professor of English and folklore at the University of Oregon; she is also the founder of the Early English Bread Project, which studies the role of bread in early medieval English culture
• David Bedford: Senior research fellow in the Department of Horticultural Science at the University of Minnesota; his team is responsible for creating the Honeycrisp, SweeTango, Zestar, and Rave apple varieties, among others
• Dan Pashman: Creator and host of the The Sporkful podcast

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, 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.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What exactly is charisma? You know it when you see it, but is it possible to measure? Is it something you can learn, or just something you’re born with?

This hour we look at the impact of charisma, especially in politics.

Plus, in the world of wildlife conservation there’s a term for those animals everyone cares about: “charismatic megafauna.”

What are the impacts of decisions about conservation or leadership coming down to a nebulous trait like charisma?

GUESTS:

• John Antonakis: Professor of organizational behavior at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland
• Sophie Monsarrat: Rewilding manager with Rewilding Europe, who used to be a researcher who studied charismatic megafauna, among other topics
• Russ Schriefer: Founding partner of Strategic Partners & Media, a public affairs political consulting firm; he is senior strategist for the Tell It Like It Is super PAC that supports Chris Christie for President

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, 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.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Since we just spent a number of years thinking about viruses, here’s a question: Should we be pretty worried about funguses, too?

This hour, a look at the real-life fungal infection of ants that inspired the video game and TV series The Last of Us. Plus we talk with a local mushroom farmer and an author who writes fungal fiction and look at the role of fungi in our world.

GUESTS:

• William Beckerson: Post-doctoral research Fellow with the National Science Foundation
• Patricia Kaishian: Mycologist and visiting assistant professor of biology at Bard College
• Chris Pacheco: Owner of Seacoast Mushrooms in Mystic, Connecticut
• Jeff VanderMeer: Author of a number of books, including the Southern Reach Trilogy, which includes Annihilation; he co-founded The Sunshine State Biodiversity Group

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, 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, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired February 6, 2023.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Irving Berlin, Dorothy Fields, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Rodgers and Hammerstein. These, along with many others, are the sorts of songwriters we associate with the Great American Songbook, the amorphous canon of important 20th century pop songs, jazz standards, and show tunes from Broadway, Tin Pan Alley, and movie musicals.

But there’s another important detail here. The songs we think of as the Songbook are from, more specifically, the 1920s through the 1950s. With some simple arithmetic, you can see that they’re, uh, getting on in years — which might (must?) mean that their devotees are, too.

The Nose is off. In its place this hour, a look at and a listen to — and some concern for the future of — the Great American Songbook.

GUESTS:

• Joelle Lurie: Vocalist, songwriter, voiceover artist, and bandleader
• Steve Metcalf: Founder and director of the Garmany concert series at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, 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.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may have heard that tick borne diseases are on the rise. But don’t worry — we’ve got you covered. This hour, we’re taking you through three ways to defeat ticks. From tick-immune blood, to a tick-destroying robot and tried-and-true tweezers, this show is not for arachnids who are faint of heart.

GUESTS:

• Rick Ostfeld: Distinguished senior scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies
• Holly Gaff: Professor of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University 
• Jen Wegner: Associate curator of the Egyptian section at the Penn Museum
• Birnur Aral: Executive Director of the Beauty, Health and Sustainability Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, 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.Stacey Addo, Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we think of public health, we tend to think of things along the lines of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines, or even seatbelts and tobacco. But public health expands well beyond that, to realms like housing, climate change, access to the outdoors, and gun violence. This hour, we look broadly at the world of public health. And we ask what’s next for the field.

GUESTS: 

• Katelyn Jetelina: Epidemiologist and author of the “Your Local Epidemiologist” newsletter
• Megan Ranney: Emergency physician and Dean of the Yale School of Public Health

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.