The Culture Show Podcast

Marianne Leone is an actress, author, and screenwriter. She joins The Culture Show to talk about her novel “Christina The Astonishing," a  coming-of-age story about Christina Falcone and her desire to break free from Catholic school nuns, Italian mothers, and small-town Massachusetts. On September 10th she’ll be at Porter Square Books, in conversation with Chris Cooper. To learn more go here .  Fr...

Wendy Benchley joins The Culture Show.   She is the wife of the late author Peter Benchley, who wrote the bestselling novel “Jaws.”  Since the success of the book and subsequent film, Wendy Benchley has dedicated much of her life to conservation. She is an award-winning ocean advocate and scuba diver. She is cofounder of the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards . Along with Laura Bowling, Wendy Benchley is...

Director Carson Lund joins The Culture Show to talk about his debut feature film “Eephus,” a quintessentially New England baseball film. Find out more, here . From there Andy Husbands, chef and owner of The Smoke Shop BBQ , has co-authored the “Quick and Easy Burger Cookbook,” which will bump your burger game with creative recipes. He joins The Culture Show to talk about how we can turn our nothin...

Music legend Peter Wolf has had a long solo career and rose to recognition as former lead singer of the J. Geils Band–famous for its high-octane shows and top 40 hits.  Wolf joins The Culture Show to talk about his new memoir “ Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters and Goddesses .”.  Regie Gibson , an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and an instructor at Clark Univ...

Ben Shattuck’s latest book, “The History of Sound: Stories”  is a collection of interconnected stories that examine the lives and landscapes of New England where Shattuck spans centuries in these haunting and often humorous stories.  From there it’s teacher by day, Cakeswagg by night. The Boston-based Lyricist and rapper joins us to talk about her sophomore album “Michelin Star.” Finally writer An...

Best-selling author J. Courtney Sullivan joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest novel, “The Cliffs.”  It is an intricately layered novel of family, spirits, and secrets set on the seaside cliffs of Maine. Then author Colm Tóibín joins us. He doesn’t like sequels. He thinks of them as kind of a literary copout.  But 15 years after he published his critically acclaimed novel “Brooklyn,” he...

 Interdisciplinary artist Dread Scott joins The Culture Show. In 1989, the US Senate outlawed his artwork and President Bush declared it "disgraceful" because of its transgressive use of the American flag. Dread became part of a landmark Supreme Court case when he and others burned flags on the steps of the Capitol. He is a revolutionary artist  who gives us a new way to see some ugly truths about...

Today Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III go over the latest headlines on The Culture Show’s week-in-review. First up, fashion backward. We look at a new trend, people wearing vintage clothing with styles inspired by period dramas such as “The Gilded Age” and “Downton Abbey.”   From there we analyze  the “Sex in the City,” sequel, “And Just Like That.” The series finale  was this...

From Greenwich Village nightclubs to “The Tonight Show” to Hollywood’s red carpets, Joan Rivers made and remade her career through triumph and tragedy. Now the highs and lows of her life and career come together in the play “JOAN.” The executive producer is Melissa Rivers, an actress, writer and TV host. Melissa Rivers joins The Culture Show to talk about bringing the essence of her mother to the...

Bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest thriller, ”All This Could Be Yours,”  The book centers on debut sensation Tessa Calloway. She’s on a whirlwind book tour for her instant bestseller, But there's a chilling problem—she soon discovers she is being stalked by someone who's obsessed not only with sabotaging her career, but also with destroying her p...

Twice-a-Day Ray is an original cover band that’s too busy saving lives to write their own songs. That’s because the band is made up of three emergency doctors and an emergency medicine PA. Ahead of their August 22nd show at the Cantab Lounge in Central Square, guitarist Colin Devonshire and lead vocalist Kayla Ninteau join The Culture Show . To learn more about Twice-a-Day Ray check them out here...

The Sandwich Glass Museum is featuring the artistry of Josh Simpson in the exhibition “ 50 Years of Visionary Glass .” Josh and his wife, retired NASA astronaut Cady Coleman. Cady Coleman’s new book is “Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder and Making Change.” Josh Simpson’s new book is “Josh Simpson: 50 Years of Visionary Glass.” They join The Culture Show to talk about their com...

Today Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III go over the latest headlines on The Culture Show’s week-in-review. First up, Amazon’s “War of the Worlds” reboot earns a rare 3% rating on the movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It’s also being criticized as pro-tech propaganda. From there they’ll discuss Taylor Swift entering a new era, announcing the release of her  12th studio al...

Gloria J. Browne-Marshall joins The Culture Show to talk about  her  new book, “A Protest History of the United States . ” Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is an American civil rights attorney, author, playwright, essayist, and professor of Constitutional Law at CUNY's John Jay College of Criminal Justice. From there Aisha Muharrar joins The Culture Show to talk about her debut novel “Loved One.” She’s a...

Josh Ritter, the prolific singer-songwriter, joins The Culture Show   to talk about his forthcoming album, “I Believe in You, My Honeydew,”   and to preview his upcoming performance at the Lowell Summer Music Series. He’ll be performing with The Royal City Band on August 24th. To learn more go here . From there Ian Coss , an award-winning podcast producer joins The Culture Show to talk about his l...

We reflect on the legacy of the late NASA astronaut Jim Lovell with Cady Coleman . She’s a retired NASA astronaut, U.S. Air Force colonel, scientist, pilot and musician. She spent months working and living aboard the International Space Station. Her latest book is titled “Sharing Space: An Astronaut's Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change.”  We’ll also get her take on what the future of spac...

The Broadway hit “The Wiz” is onstage at Citizens Opera House August 12 through August 24 by way of Broadway in Boston. The book was updated by comedian, writer and actress Amber Ruffin. She joins The Culture Show to talk about giving the musical a contemporary spin. Amber Ruffin hosted the  late-night talk show, “The Amber Ruffin Show” on Peacock. She has been a writer for “Late Night with Seth M...

Today Jared Bowen, Edgar B. Herwick III, and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons go over the latest arts and culture headlines on our week-in-review. First up, the Palace de Versailles is bringing some of its statues to life, using AI to make them interactive.  From there, it’s been 10 years since Hamilton bounded on to Broadway. We’ll look at how it changed the way people think  about musicals...

Michael Ansara spent  years as an activist and an organizer, starting with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, going on to be a regional organizer for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). He spent 10 years organizing opposition to the war in Vietnam. For 15 years, he was a community organizer, including directing Mass Fair Share. He has worked on political campaigns, coordinated voter regi...

Dennis Lehane, known for writing literary crime novels such as “Mystic River,” “Gone, Baby, Gone,” and “Shutter Island,” joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest collaboration with Apple TV+, the  new crime series “Smoke.”  Created by Dennis Lehane, the nine-episode drama – inspired by true events – follows an arson investigator who teams up with a police detective to stop two serial arsoni...

Robert Reich served  in three presidential administrations, including as Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. He’s served as an advisor– endeavoring on behalf of working people exploited by the system. As a professor he has been the ultimate explainer about rising inequality. As a public intellectual he pulls no punches–calling out the bullies:  anyone and any institution that threaten...

Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston, joins The Culture Show to  talk about the  W.E.B. Du Bois Sculpture Project, in partnership with Embrace Boston, a life-size bronze monument of W.E.B. Du Bois was recently unveiled in  Great Barrington, MA, Du Bois’  hometown and birthplace. The unveiling marks the beginning of a statewide initiative through the Everyone250 coalition – a s...

Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III host our arts and culture week-in-review. First up, Elon Musk releases “Ani,” an AI anime sexualized chatbot. From there we look at how an anti-pronography group has pressured Itch.io and Steam to de-index thousands of titles that have adult and NSFW content. Then we head to DC to look at Republican lawmakers' push to rename the Kennedy Center...

David M Stewart joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest book is “There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme.”  Stewart is a film journalist who teaches film and media studies at Emerson College, Plymouth State University,  South College and Southern New Hampshire University. His latest book is “There's No Going Back: The Life and Work of Jonathan Demme.”  He has some upcomi...

“Which Side?: A Protest Music Teach-Out,” is  a concert and discussion series celebrating protest music. The series is inspired by James Sullivan’s book  Which Side Are You On?: 20th Century American History in 100 Protest Songs . James Sullivan,  a journalist, author and longtime contributor to the Boston Globe, joins The Culture Show to talk about his book and this series. The next event is sche...