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!

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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.

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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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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.

This hour, the conversation winds around to old radio shows, "No Kings" protests, the phrase "Let's go", The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest, culverts, Garrison Keillor … Anything. (Seemingly) everything.

Music featured (in order):

• I Don’t Understand – MT Jones
• Train of Thought – Olive Klug
• Light by the Window – Elmiene, Raphael Saddiq
• Ancient Light – I’m With Her
• Shaky Eyes – Hiss Golden Messenger
• Tell Me A Tale – Michael Kiwanuka (also live)
• I Hate the Way I Look Today. – RAYE

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Project Hail Mary is the fifth movie directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. It’s written by Drew Goddard and based on the Andy Weir novel. It’s the second movie adapted from a Weir novel, and the second adapted by Goddard, after The Martian. It stars Ryan Gosling as a high school science teacher who’s tasked with … going to space basically alone and saving the world. Project Hail Mary is the No. 1 movie in the world. Its opening last weekend was the biggest of the year so far, and its domestic opening was the second-biggest of Gosling’s career (after Barbie) and the second-biggest ever for a non-franchise movie (after Oppenheimer).

And: Saturday Night Live UK is an official international adaptation of regular, old SNL stateside. It, too, premiered last weekend with an episode hosted by (noted non-Brit) Tina Fey. New episodes will appear Sunday nights on Peacock in the U.S. Eight episodes have been ordered, so far.

GUESTS:

• Shawn Murray: A stand-up comedian, writer, and the host of the Fantasy Filmball podcast
• Irene Papoulis: Taught writing for a long time at Trinity College
• Bill Yousman: Professor of media studies at Sacred Heart University

Music featured (in order):

• Sign of the Times – Harry Styles
• Stargazer – Neil Diamond
• Catch These Fists (Live on SNL UK) – Wet Leg
• See You On The Radio – Grayson Hugh

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What would it mean if nothing matters? This hour, a look at the philosophy of nihilism, and how it shows up online and in children's books.

GUESTS:

• Nolen Gertz: Associate Professor of Applied Philosophy at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. He is author of books including Nihilism and Nihilism and Technology
• Charlie Warzel: Staff writer at The Atlantic and the host of its technology podcast, "Galaxy Brain"
• Jon Klassen: Author and illustrator of books including I Want My Hat Back, This Is Not My Hat, The Rock From The Sky, and The Skull

Music featured (in order):

• Caring is Creepy – The Shins
• I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ – Shirley Horn
• Nothing from Nothing – Billy Preston
• Battle of Who Could Care Less – Ben Folds Five
• Hurt – Johnny Cash
• Nothing – A Chorus Line Broadway cast

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This hour, we look at the spread of measles in the United States. And we 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 the Brown School of Public Health, and a Professor of Epidemiology
• Brinda Adhikari: Award-winning executive producer, showrunner and journalist, who is Co-Host of the "Why Should I Trust You?" podcast
• Teri Mills: Retired nurse educator, grandmother, and Board member and Vice President of Media for Grandparents for Vaccines

Music featured (in order):

• Sickness – runo plum
• Contagious – Ani DiFranco
• Cat’s Got the Measles – The New Lost City Ramblers
• Catch My Disease – Ben Lee
• Soul Vaccination – Tower of Power
• Grandma’s Hands – Bill Withers

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Ringo Starr. Charlie Watts. John Bonham. Hal Blaine. Moe Tucker. Dave Grohl. Lars Ulrich. Meg White. Tony Thompson. Questlove. Karen Carpenter. Sam Lay.

The list goes on.

This hour, a look at the backbone (and the backbeat) of rock and roll: the drummer.

GUESTS:

• Jim Chapdelaine: An Emmy-winning musician and a patient advocate for people with rare cancers
• John Lingan: The author, most recently, of Backbeats: A History of Rock and Roll in Fifteen Drummers
• Molly Sayles: A percussionist and music educator and the Official Drummer of 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!

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, Maegn Boone, and Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.