The Culture Show Podcast

Artist Steve Locke’s   exhibition at Mass MoCA, “ The Fire Next Time ,”  is a nod to James Baldwin’s 1963 book by the same name. Like Baldwin, in this exhibition Steve Locke contemplates American history, racism and violence directed at Black and queer people. Formerly a fixture in Boston where he was on the faculty of  MassArt, Locke is now based in New York  where he’s  a professor of  fine art...

Music Worcester’s THE COMPLETE BACH is an audacious 11 year project, which Music Worcester has launched to present all of the known works of J. S. Bach.  Every season, beginning with 2024-2025, will feature a dozen concerts with music from each genre of Bach’s massive compositional output. it will wrap up  on March 21, 2035—the 350th anniversary of the Baroque master’s birth. And it all begins  wi...

Today The Culture Show’s  co-hosts Edgar B Herwick III, Callie Crossley and James Bennett II go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review, First up, Merriam-Webster Dictionary adds 200 new words to the lexicon, which includes Gen Z slang such as “touching grass,” and “ FYP,”  And  after guiding the Celtics to victory, Jaylen Brown lands on  the cover of TIME Magazine’s 100 l...

Pianist and composer Barron Ryan joins The Culture Show ahead of his performance tonight at Mechanics Hall. As part of their “ Beyond the Frames: A Series in Jazz ,” he will debut an original work inspired by William and Martha Brown, business owners and abolitionists who lived in Worcester in the 1800s. From there Olivier Meslay, Hardymon Director of the Clark Art Institute, joins The Culture Sho...

Reynaliz Herrera is a classically trained percussionist who found her voice when she realized that a bicycle is a wildly versatile percussive instrument.  She is a musician, an educator and founder of Ideas, Not Theories, a theatrical percussion company for unconventional percussion instruments. She joins us to talk about her debut album,  “BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra”, ...

The HONK! Festival of Activist Street Bands   is back with its 19th annual multi-day music extravaganza. It is outrageous and inclusive, brass and brash, percussive and persuasive. It kicks off October 4th and honks its way through the streets of Somerville and Cambridge through October 6th. HONK! Committee representatives, Reebee Garafalo and John Bell – who are also members of  The Good Trouble...

Sarah Ganz Blythe is the newly appointed Elizabeth and John Moors Cabot Director of the Harvard Art Museums. She joins The Culture Show to talk about starting this new post and what her vision is for The Harvard Art Museums. To see all of their events and exhibitions you can visit their website here .  From there, Morning Edition co-host Jeremy Siegel joins The Culture Show to talk about the makin...

Today Edgar B. Herwick III, Jared Bowen and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review. First up: we remember actor Dame Maggie Smith, who has died at age 89. A legend of the British stage, she also won Oscars, Tonys and Golden Globes. She enchanted new generations by way of Harry Potter. And, then of course, she was the Dowager Counte...

Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney. She has become an astute observer of the ever widening cultural divide in American politics. Now in her memoir, “Oath and Honor,” she paints a scathing portrait of the Republican party, condemning her former colleagues and party leaders who after the 2020 election were willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loya...

Uzo Aduba,  the award-winning actress spans television, film, and theater.  Her road to success is explained in her debut memoir “The Road is Good: How a Mother’s Strength Became a Daughter's Purpose.” In the book, Aduba tells her own coming-of-age story, growing up in Medfield, Massachusetts and studying the Arts at Boston University,  by simultaneously telling the story of her late Mother.  She...

“Mamma Mia!” The musical’s 25th anniversary tour has arrived at the Citizen’s Opera House  by way of Broadway in Boston.  “Mamma Mia!” is full of surprise appearances, comic situations and misunderstandings that culminate in an unexpected wedding. It has all the makings of a Shakespearean comedy, only it’s told through ABBA’s greatest hits.  Phyllida Lloyd, a theater powerhouse, known for putting...

Writer Amor Towles is the  bestselling author of “Rules of Civility,”  “A Gentleman in Moscow,” and “The Lincoln Highway.” Now he has another bestseller, “Table for Two.”  His latest book is  a collection of short stories that land us in New York. The second part of the book moves us to Los Angeles in a novella set during the Golden Age of Hollywood.   Towles joins The Culture Show ahead of his ap...

Today  Culture Show co-hosts  Callie Crossley, Edgar B. Herwick III and Jared Bowen go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week in review. First up, we remember two music legends: Tito Jackson and JD Souther. From there we look at the lawsuit filed against Miley Cyrus alleging that her hit track “Flowers,” includes lifted passages from Bruno Mars’ “When I was Your Man.” Then we look...

Culture Show co-host Edgar B. Herwick III sits down for a chat with Dave Barry, the acclaimed humor columnist who popularized Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Coinneach MacLeod is  better known as The Hebridean Baker. His simple living, Scottish accent, and photographs of  Soctland’s rugged landscape have made him an international bestseller. And then there are his bakes.  He joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest book “The Hebridean Baker: At Home: Flavors & Folklore from the Scottish Islands.” From there Edgar B. Herwick III, Culture Show...

Kneecap. The Belfast-based rap group join The Culture Show ahead of their sold-out show at Paradise to talk about their debut album and biopic, “Kneecap.” From there, is it easy being green? With “Shrek the Musical”  now on tour, Morning Edition Co-host Jeremy Siegel goes behind the scenes to find out what it takes to become the beloved, outsized ogre. Finally, Grammy-nominated composer Carlos Sim...

In 2018 Hannah Gadsby  experienced seismic success with Nanette, a Nextflix special that upended standup comedy. Since then Gadsby has had other solo shows, written a memoir and hosted the recent Netflix comedy special, “Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda.” Now their latest standup tour, titled  “Woof!”  is bringing  them to the Emerson Colonial Theatre on September 19th for two performances. They join...

Writer Zadie Smith’s latest novel, “The Fraud”  is historical  fiction, set in Victorian England. Based on real events in 19th century Jamaica and England, her  characters  are grappling with many of the issues that we’re grappling with  today: class, gender, and the reverberations of slavery. This is a work that is about so much – it’s a novel about a mediocre novelist falling out of favor, it’s...

On today’s arts and culture week-in-review Jared Bowen, Edgar B. Herwick III and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons, the artistic and executive director of the Roxbury International Film Festival and program manager at Mass Cultural Council, go over the latest headlines. First up, Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris for president and encourages everyone over the age of 18 to register to vote. ...

Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston and  José C. Massó III,  the longtime host of WBUR’s “¡Con Salsa!,” join The Culture Show to preview  The Embrace Massó "¡Con Salsa!” International Music Festival,  a celebration of music, culture, and social justice.  From there it’s Swampscott native Spencer Charnas. The frontman of the horror metal band Ice Nine Kills is also the curator...

The Tony winning Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater  Diane Paulus. She is a master revivalist. If you thought you knew the story of  “Porgy and Bess,”  or  “Pippin,”  Paulus has given the classics a new life by giving audiences a new way of experiencing them. Now she’s reframing “Romeo and Juliet,” with an emphasis on the lovers’ love . Diane Paulus and  theater legend Terrence Ma...

Actor and Comedian Eugene Mirman was born in Moscow, raised in Lexington, and he honed his craft working the stages of  Boston's comedy circuit. Today he is known as the voice of Gene Belcher on the FX animated hit “Bob’s Burgers” and for his inventive standup.. He joins The Culture Show ahead of his appearance at the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville. From there, Edgar B. Herwick III takes us to Wor...

Today on The Culture Show Katie Bach, acting director of the Kodály Music Institute and music teacher at the Peabody School, talks about bringing  the Kodály method of teaching music into local classrooms. From there we raise a glass to Boston Rum Week, which kicks off on September 15th. Olivier Raynaut, one of the head organizers, joins us for an overview. Finally, artist Sandra Sawatzky has crea...

On this Friday’s arts and culture week-in-review, Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B Herwick III go over the latest headlines. First up, it looked like it was going to be curtains for West Newton Cinema, but in a major plot twist, it could be a Hollywood ending for the independent movie house, which  has a  new owner. And, the latest buzz is that Boston could be getting boozier, from a drama...

Eric Vloeimans is a Dutch trumpet sensation, Cambridge native Will Holshouser is an accordion master.  Together they create original, evocative compositions that draw on jazz, classical and folk music. Ahead of their upcoming shows – one tonight  at the Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke, MA and one at  the Lilypad in Inman Square this Saturday – they join The Culture Show for an in-studio performanc...