© 2026 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

A look at human stupidity, from Socrates to today

A look at the history and philosophy of stupidity, and explore how it shows up in our daily lives and politics.
Steve Hix
/
Corbis RF Stills / Getty Images

Are we as a population getting dumber? How would we know if we were? This hour: stupidity. We’ll look at the history and philosophy of stupidity, and explore how it shows up in our daily lives and politics.

GUESTS:

  • Lane Brown: Features writer for New York Magazine, who recently wrote "A Theory of Dumb"
  • Stuart Jeffries: Journalist and author. His new book is A Short History of Stupidity
  • Shannon Mancus: Teaching Professor and Associate Department Head in the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences Department at the Colorado School of Mines. You can follow Dr. Shan on Instagram and Substack at “Pop Smart Media”

MUSIC FEATURED (in order):

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicTuneInListen 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 Dylan Reyes contributed to this show.

Stay Connected
Lily is the senior producer for 'The Colin McEnroe Show'. She's also a producer of the narrative podcasts 'Generation Barney' and 'Generation Gilmore Girls.' She first worked at Connecticut Public as an intern in 2014. She has previously worked for WBUR, KUNC and as a producer for the New England News Collaborative's weekly show 'Next'. Lily can be reached at ltyson@ctpublic.org.