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What our tears can tell us

President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he talks about shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School during a press briefing in the East Room of the White House on January 5, 2015, in Washington, D.C.
Ken Cedeno
/
Corbis via Getty Images
President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he talks about shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school during a press briefing in the East Room of the White House on January 5, 2015, in Washington, D.C.

Why do humans cry? This hour, we look at the science of crying and discuss what it does for us, emotionally and culturally.

Plus: musician Dar Williams on why some songs make us cry. And: We investigate “crocodile tears” with a crocodile biologist.

GUESTS:

  • Benjamin Perry: Minister at Middle Church and the author of Cry, Baby: Why Our Tears Matter
  • Kent Vliet: Recently retired from his position as coordinator of laboratories at the University of Florida; he is an expert in crocodilian biology
  • Dar Williams: Singer-songwriter

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, Stacey Addo, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show.

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Lily is the senior producer for The Colin McEnroe Show. She's also a producer of the podcast 'Generation Barney.' 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.