We did our usual all-calls show earlier this week. Except that our phones didn’t work. And our computers were messed up. And there probably wasn’t any running water.

But the point is, we couldn’t actually take your calls during our all-calls call-in show this week.

So we decided to try again.

This hour, the conversation winds around to Trump signs around the neighborhood, cheeses, grilled cheeses, Victor Orban’s re-election hopes, Jury Duty Presents: Company Retreat on Prime Video, Tucker Carlson … anything. Seemingly everything.‌

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A new study shows that AI chatbots often engage in sycophantic behavior. Just like some humans. This hour, we take a look at sycophants in literature and in politics. And we talk about sycophancy and artificial intelligence.

GUESTS:

• Mark Parker: Professor Emeritus of English at James Madison University and co-author of Sucking Up: A Brief Consideration of Sycophancy
• Virginia Heffernan: Writes a regular column for The New Republic and the Substack “Magic + Loss.” She is co-host of the podcast “Omnishambles”
• Malihe Alikhani: Assistant Professor at Northeastern University’s Khoury College of Computer Sciences, and a resident Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution with a focus on AI policy

Music featured (in order):

• Overture to Rigoletto – Giuseppi Verdi, Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmoniker
• I Believe in You – Peggy Lee
• Don’t Cry – Seal
• You Fascinate Me So – Mabel Mercer
• What You Want To Hear – Sub-Radio
• Flattery – Rosemary Clooney, Jose Ferrer

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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. These shows are fun for us, and they seem to be fun for you, too. So we did another one. Except the phones didn't work. Topics included dogs, Neanderthals, candy, and more.

Music featured (in order):

• That Moon Song – Gregory Alan Isakov
• In the Sea – Alyssa Allgood
• Doctrine of Love – Jalen Ngonda
• Mutual – PJ Morton
• Happier Times Ahead. – RAYE
• Flying Things – Tyler Ramsey, Carl Broemel (ft. the Secret Sisters)
• When the Flowers Started – Caity Gyorgy

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Rust is all around us. It’s in our cars, our homes, our infrastructure. It’s also the subject of Jonathan Waldman’s book Rust: The Longest War, which introduces us to the people who fight it.

This hour, Waldman joins us. Plus: a visual artist who has found a way to incorporate rust into her work.

GUESTS:

• Esther Solondz: A Rhode Island-based visual artist
• Jonathan Waldman: Author of Rust

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!

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Colin McEnroe, Greg Hill, Jonathan McNicol, and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired March 25, 2015.

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Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is the fourth feature film written and directed by Matt Johnson. It is cowritten and scored by Jay McCarrol, and it is an adaptation of and spiritual sequel to the 2017 television series Nirvanna the Band the Show, which is an adaptation of and spiritual sequel to the 2007 web series Nirvana the Band the Show. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie stars Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol as Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol. Here is Neon’s synopsis: “When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008. Blah blah blah blah blah.”

And: Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere is a Netflix documentary produced and presented by Theroux. It explores how social media figures like HSTikkyTokky, Myron Gaines, Sneako, Justin Waller, and Ed Matthews “are helping to reshape young men’s ideas about masculinity and fueling a resurgent global men’s rights movement.”

GUESTS:

• Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast
• Carolyn Paine: An actress and comedian; she’s the founder and director of Connetic Dance and the creative producer and choreographer for The Bushnell’s Digital Institute
• Lindsay Lee Wallace: A writer and journalist covering culture, health, technology, bats, and anything else people will answer her questions about

Music featured (in order):

• The Waters of March – Susannah McCorkle
• Back in Time – Huey Lewis and The News
• It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World – Seal
• Macho Man – The Village People
• See You On The Radio – Grayson Hugh

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Henry David Thoreau is a bit of a polarizing figure. He has been both celebrated and criticized for his writing. He’s considered an inspirational figure for retreating to the woods, but mocked for his reliance on his mother during that same period.

This hour, in celebration of the new PBS documentary about the writer, we look at the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, and ask what his example can teach us about who is remembered and celebrated.

GUESTS:

• Laura Dassow Walls: Professor emeritus of English at the University of Notre Dame and the author of Henry David Thoreau: A Life

• Alex Beam: Author, journalist, and contributor to The Boston Globe

• Tracy Fullerton: Director of the Game Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California and the designer and director of Walden, A Game

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.

Colin McEnroe and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired on April 27, 2022.

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On the morning of May 24, 2019, Jennifer Dulos dropped her kids off at New Canaan Country School. And then minutes later, she vanished.

Her presumed murder quickly became a national story.

This hour, Wall Street Journal columnist Rich Cohen joins us to talk about his book, Murder in the Dollhouse: The Jennifer Dulos Story.

Plus: a look at our ongoing obsession with these true crime stories.

GUESTS:

• Rich Cohen: Writer at large at Air Mail and a columnist at The Wall Street Journal; his new book is Murder in the Dollhouse

• Bethany Usher: A journalist and academic and the author of Journalism and Crime

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 Dylan Reyes contributed to this show, which originally aired on July 17, 2025.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thousands of Americans gathered over the weekend for "No Kings" protests. So this hour, we take a look at kings around the world, from history to the present moment. Plus, why are we so interested in royalty? And, what is the role of the king in chess?

GUESTS:

• Mauro Guillén: Vice Dean of Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives. He is the author of books including The Perennials: The Megatrends Creating a Postgenerational Society. He has been named a Commander of the Royal Order of Civil Merit by King Felipe VI of Spain
• Arianne Chernock: Professor in the Department of History and Associate Dean of the Faculty for the Social Sciences at Boston University. She is the author of books including The Right to Rule and the Rights of Women: Queen Victoria and the Women’s Movement
• Jenny Adams: Professor and Department Chair of English at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is the author of books including Power Play: The Literature and Politics of Chess in the Late Middle Ages

Music featured (in order):

• It’s Good To Be King – Tom Petty
• Brilliant Mistake (King of America) – Elvis Costello
• Royals – Lorde
• King of Nothing – Seals and Crofts
• Her Majesty – The Beatles
• Only a Pawn in their Game – Bob Dylan

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