The Culture Show Podcast

Reginald Dwayne Betts is an award-winning  poet, a lawyer and founder of Freedom Reads, a first of its kind organization working to transform access to books in prisons. He joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest book “Doggerel: Poems.”  From there David Grann, author of “The Wager,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon," is a #1 “New York Times” best selling author and an award-winning staff w...

Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale, the cofounders of the new wave band Devo join The Culture Show to talk about cultural de-evolution, the genesis of their band, how they came to be one of the most original groups in the history of rock music. From there “ New York Times” bestselling author Alison Bechdel joins The Culture Show to talk about her new comic novel “ Spent.”  Finally James Parker, a...

Today writer Noah Gittell joins The Culture Show to talk about his book “Baseball: The Movie.”  Gittell, a sportswriter and film critic,  takes us through  the history of  the baseball movie; tracking how they have changed over the years from being mostly feel good to nostalgic to  to cynical. Gittell says that the way the baseball film has changed reflects how American values have changed.  From...

Boston Arts Academy and Wheelock Family Theater with support from The Huntington present the fifth installment of Mfoniso Udofia’s Ufot Family Cycle, “Kufre n’ Quay.”  Mfoniso Udofia joins The Culture Show to talk about reaching the midpoint of her none-play cycle. “Kufre n’ Quay” is onstage July 10 - July 26th. To learn more go here . From there artist,  arts-educator and co-founder of Street The...

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 .”.  From there, Imari Paris Jeffries, CEO and President of Embrace Boston, joins us for a recap of th...

We continue our coverage of “Jaws” at 50 with Wendy Benchley.  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 Bowl...

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...

James Parker joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest book “ Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes: Odes to Being Alive .”  He’s  a staff writer at “The Atlantic.”  Since 2011 he has been running the Black Seed Writers Group—a weekly writing workshop for homeless, transitional, and recently housed writers–and editing “The Pilgrim,” a literary magazine from the homeless community of downtown...

Ahead of Independence Day when we celebrate the rejection of King George III and his monarchy Danielle Allen joins The Culture Show for her take on the state of our democracy. Danielle Allen is the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University and director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation and of the Democratic Knowledge Project. From American history it’s an exploration o...

Robert Ellis Orrall is a singer-songwriter, producer and owner of the indie label Infinity Cat Recordings. He has worked in Nashville collaborating with Taylor Swift and Reba McEntire. Now he has a new live  album,  “The Bear is the Mountain,”  which revisits the early 80’s, featuring recordings from live performances throughout Boston.  He joins The Culture Show   ahead of a busy season of  live...

Today we continue our series with the Museum of Fine Arts, looking at works in their collection that give us insight into the people and pivotal moments that shaped America's fight for freedom. We’re joined by Lucía Abramovich Sánchez, the MFA’s Carolyn and Peter Lynch Associate Curator of American Decorative Arts and Sculpture, and medalist and sculptor Heidi Wastweet. They’ll  discuss Heidi Wast...

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, Anna Wintour. She is stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of American Vogue after 37 years at the helm. For decades she has coolly controlled the rhythms of fashion the world over…all with a steely precision. Which is why she’s also not really...

In April, Mayor Michelle Wu and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture announced that Ghanaian American poet, editor, and educator Emmanuel Oppong-Yeboah will serve as Boston’s next Poet Laureate. Oppong-Yeboah will officially assume the role in July 2025 and serve until July 2029. They join The Culture Show to talk about their poetry and vision for their role as Poet Laureate. From there the wide...

This summer Commonwealth Shakespeare Company brings “As You Like It,” to the Parkman Bandstand for this year’s annual - and free - Shakespeare on the Common production. Actress Nora Eschenheimer, who stars as Rosalind, and actor Michael Underhill, who stars as Orlando, join The Culture Show for an overview. “As You Like It” runs July 23rd through August 10th. To learn more go here . From there we...

The new book “The Dream of a Common Movement” collects essays, interviews, and speeches by the late Urvashi Vaid, whose writing and organizing fundamentally shaped the LGBTQ+ movement. It’s edited by Jyotsna Vaid and Amy Hoffman , who will be at Porter Square Books tomorrow and at RiffRaff Bookstore and Bar in Providence this Thursday. Amy Hoffman - a writer, editor, activist, and the author of fi...

Today we’re continuing our exploration of The Boston Public Art Triennial, with Culture Show contributor, Pedro Alonzo, the Triennial’s Artistic Director and one of the featured artists, the widely acclaimed Indigenous sculptor Nicholas Galanin. Galanin’s works  are on view at the MassArt Art Museum , and Evans Way Park, 1 Evans Way. To learn more  go here .  From there we get the inside scoop on...

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, “Jaws” at 50. They look at how it changed the film industry, it’s mixed legacy on shark conservation, the iconic score and how it has managed to frighten audiences with a mechanical shark named Bruce. Then it’s off to Europe where the Louv...

Regie Gibson , an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and an instructor at Clark University, has been selected as Massachusetts’ first Poet Laureate. He joins The Culture Show to talk about how he’ll define this role, his path to poetry and to share some of his work.  Gibson is a songwriter, author, spoken-word poet and former National Poetry Slam Individual Champion.  From there Micha...

Historian, lawyer and Pulitzer-prize winning author Annette Gordon-Reed joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest book “On Juneteenth,” which explores the holiday commemorating the day Union troops announced the end of slavery in Texas.  From there best-selling author J. Courtney Sullivan joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest novel, “The Cliffs.”  It is an intricately layered novel...

Imari Paris Jeffries , President and CEO of Embrace Boston, joins The Culture Show to  preview the  Embrace Ideas Festival. Kicking off on Juneteenth, this year’s festival is a celebration of joy, power,  prosperity and black creativity.  Imari Paris Jeffries also gives an overview of Embrace Boston’s latest report, which explores how cultural festivals can help build and strengthen communities. T...

Frederick Douglass had a life that could be described as operatic. The late composer Ulysses Kay, in his last major work, saw that it was. The Boston Modern Orchestra Project, in partnership with Odyssey Opera, is presenting  the New England premiere of “Frederick Douglass ” on June 20th at Jordan Hall. The piece centers on a fictionalized account of the final year of the renowned Black abolitioni...

Culture Show cohosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review. First up, they remember and celebrate  the legacies of Brian WIlson, the musical genius behind the Beach Boys and Sly Stone, the frontman, singer and songwriter of Sly & the Family Stone.  From there they recap the latest developments in the legal feud...

The American Revolution frame by frame. Today we continue our series with the Museum of Fine Arts, looking at works in their collection that give us insight into the people and pivotal moments that shaped America's fight for freedom. Today, it’s where poetry meets pottery with the work of David Drake. Joining us to discuss Drake's work and what it symbolizes are  Ethan Lasser, John Moors Cabot Cha...

Adam Met—member of the multi-platinum band AJR, climate advocate, and educator—joins The Culture Show to talk about his book Amplify: How to Use the Power of Connection to Engage, Take Action, and Build a Better World .  On June 13th he’ll be at the First Parish Church in Cambridge for a Harvard Book Store event. To learn more go here . From there we continue our celebration of the 50th anniversar...

Since 1938 researchers at Harvard have been studying the lives of hundreds of people and their families to discover what makes us happy. Some of the key findings were in the New York Times bestselling book, “ The Good Life: Lessons from the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness , ”  by Dr. Robert Waldinger and Marc Shulz. Now out in paperback, Dr. Robert Waldinger joins The Culture Show to...