The Culture Show Podcast

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...

The Hub Theatre Company of Boston’s production of Theresa Rebeck’s "The Understudy," is onstage at Club Café through August 2nd. Paula Plum, a five-time Elliot Norton Award winner, is directing the play. The acclaimed actor, director, writer and educator joins us for an overview, To learn more about the production go here . From there sociologist and writer Tiffany Jenkins joins The Culture Show t...

Lightroom and Paquin Entertainment Group have brought  The Moonwalkers: A Journey With Tom Hanks   to Boston. This is an immersive experience combining storytelling and  rare NASA archival footage  to bring the stories of the Apollo missions to life.  It is narrated and co-written by Tom Hanks. Producer Richard Slaney, CEO of Lightroom, joins The Culture Show for an overview.  This exhibition is o...

Today Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley  and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons go over the latest arts and culture headlines on our week-in-review. First up, the latest developments in Coldplaygate. From there it’s onto Netflix, which has decided to not renew their $100 million contract with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. The Streaming network also has a hit on its hands with “K-Pop Demon Hunters”...

Elisa New joins The Culture Show to talk about her recent op-ed in the New York Times, “ Walt Whitman Would Have Hated This ,” a reflection on how the poet would have responded to federal cuts to humanities education.  Elisa New is the Director and Host of the PBS series “ Poetry in America ,” and she leads the Educational Media Innovation Studio at Arizona State University. From there Robin Givha...

 Anna Barber, Curator of Exhibitions at Martha's Vineyard Museum joins The Culture Show for an overview of their sprawling exhibition “Jaws’ at 50: A Deeper Dive,” It’s on view through  September 7th. To learn more go here . From there Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik joins us for our recurring feature, Stage and Screen Time–a look at the latest movies and plays in theaters now. Joyce Kulha...

Vanessa Bumpus, Exhibit Coordinator at Museum of Worcester,  joins The Culture Show for an overview of their permanent installation celebrating Worcester’s industry since the early 19th century. It’s an expansive survey of the innovators, workers, investors who have made industry the story of Worcester. To learn more go here .   From there, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company brings “As You Like It,”...

Actor and playwright William Jackson Harper is known for his Emmy Award-nominated performance as Chidi Anagonye on “The Good Place.” He also has an esteemed film and theater career. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Dr. Astrov in the Broadway revival of “Uncle Vanya.”  He joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest role, playing Jim in Tennessee Williams' rare prison dra...

Today Edgar B. Herwick III, Callie Crossley  and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons go over the latest arts and culture headlines on our week-in-review. First up, we look at the future of public media now that Congress has stripped more than $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. From there it’s  “Fight for America!,” a live, immersive performance centered around a large-scale...

Science Journalist and author Chris Berdik joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book “Clamor: How Noise Took Over the World and How We Can Take It Back.”  It details our chronic exposure to noise, how it's affecting our health, and the people who are working to bring the noise down and improve our quality of life. From there it’s another episode of “Sound Files.”  Our ongoing series when w...

Adam Aleksic—founder and former president of the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society, and content creator posting educational videos as the “Etymology Nerd”—joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book “Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language.” Tonight he’ll be at the Harvard Book Store. To learn more go here In 1985 Marty McFly skateboarded onto the silver sc...

What happened to young Elphaba before she was saddled with the wicked mantle?  Almost 30 years after the publication of  “Wicked,” Gregory Maguire offers readers Elphaba’s origin story in a new book titled “Elphie: A Wicked Childhood.”  He joins The Culture Show to talk about it. From there comedian, actress and singer-songwriter Margaret Cho joins The Culture Show to talk about her new album “Luc...