The Culture Show Podcast

Peter Drummey, Chief Historian at the Massachusetts Historical Society, joins The Culture Show for an overview of their new exhibition “1775: Rebels, Rights & Revolution.”  The exhibition explores the pivotal events and personal stories that ignited the American Revolution. It’s on view through December 2025. To learn more, go here . From there playwright Robert Horn joins The Culture Show to...

Today on The Culture Show, co-hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review. First up, President Trump’s latest directive to control culture. Yesterday he signed an Executive Order intended, in his words, to Restore Truth and Sanity to American History. He’s called for the restoration of monuments, memorials and stat...

When it comes to Jeff and Julie Kinney, their life is one for the books. Jeff Kinney is the author of the blockbuster, best selling  “ Wimpy Kid ,” kingdom, which is reaching a milestone this year, with Kinney publishing his 20th title, .“Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper.”  Together, Jeff and Julie  own An Unlikely Story bookstore and cafe,” in downtown Plainville, MA, which they opened ten years...

Director Igor Golyak is the founder of Arlekin Players Theatre based in Needham. He joins T he Culture Show to talk about upcoming events, productions and what it means to be embarking on its 15th anniversary year. To learn more about Arlekin Players Theatre and their programming, go here . Since 1938 researchers at Harvard have been studying the lives of hundreds of people and their families to d...

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 Boston Celtics’ president Rich Gotham joins The Culture Show to talk about the new HBO docu-series “Celtics...

The new comedy film, “ The Ballad of Wallis Island ,” stars Tim Key as a lottery winner who tries to reunite his favorite musical duo Mortimer-McGwyer, played by Carey Mulligan and Tom Basden, also a romantic couple that broke up many years ago. Distributed by Focus Features,  the film hits theaters on March 28th. Ahead of its release Tim Key and Tom Basden, who co-wrote and co-star in the film, j...

Culture Show co-hosts 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 reflect on the 35th anniversary of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum robbery, the largest art heist in the world and Boston’s most famous unsolved mystery. Then it’s something that’s hardly the steal of this century, the Boston Celtics ha...

Fabiola Jean-Louis, a visual activist working in photography, paper textile design, and sculpture joins The Culture Show  to talk about her solo exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum “Waters of the Abyss: An Intersection of Spirit and Freedom.” The exhibition features a large amount of original commissions from the Haitian artist, crafted from paper pulp, mineral stones, shells, metals...

Joshua Croke, the President and Founder of the organization Love Your Labels joins The Culture Show to preview their “Threads Youth Fashion Showcase,” which features the artistry of youth designers, ages 13-19.  The showcase is this Sunday at the Jean McDonough Arts Center in Worcester. To learn more, go here. From there, by day she teaches theater to Boston’s youth; by night, she channels those s...

We mark the 35th anniversary of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum art heist with Holly Salmon, the John L. and Susan K. Gardner Director of Conservation and Anthony Amore, head of security and chief investigator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. From there Emmy Award-winning director Lauren Stowell joins The Culture Show to talk about the HBO documentary series “ Celtics City ,” which is a...

Kim David Smith, the internationally acclaimed singer and actor , joins The Culture Show to discuss his new album, “Mostly Marlene,” and to preview his show at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater on March 21st, "Mostly Marlene: a Dietrich-Drenched Album Debut!"   To learn more, go here . From there we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Riverdance. Steven O Broin was an original company member. He joins...

Callie Crossley, James Bennett and Lisa SImmons go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review. First up, the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library is honored with the  Harleston Parker Medal for best new architecture. Then it’s onto a structure that has no honor despite a public campaign to save it– The Pink house has been demolished. From there, President Trump removes...

Veteran television journalist and anchor Chris Wallace joins The Culture Show to talk about the state of media today, a polarize nation and why presidential debates still matter. From there Chris Pitts,  the founder and producer of the Newton Piano Summit, which showcases world-class professional musicians in a series of concerts each season,  joins The Culture Show to preview the 2025 season, whi...

“Parade,” the Tony-winning revival on Broadway, is now onstage at Emerson Colonial Theatre through March 23rd.  The musical is a dramatization of the real life, trial and tragedy of Leo Frank. He was a Jewish man from Brooklyn who found himself in Atlanta in 1913. As a northerner in the south, he quickly found himself subject to rampant antisemitism which culminated in Frank being tried and convic...

The  new baroque opera “The Seasons,” is making its world premiere in Boston. It was conceptualized by Anthony Roth Costanzo and playwright Sara Ruhl who joined The Culture Show for an overview. The Seasons Is set in the near future when the seasons are out of order and extreme weather upends the life and aspirations of a group of artists who’ve escaped the city for a creative retreat on a remote...

Craig Ferguson, the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, producer, director and comedian  joins The Culture Show to talk about his “Pants on Fire” tour, which brings him to Boston for a show at The Wilbur on March 13th. To learn more go here . From there Mark Anastasio,  Program Manager & Director of Special Programming at Coolidge Corner Theatre, joins The Culture Show for an overvie...

Culture Show co-hosts Jared Bowen, James Bennett II and Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review. First up,  Lin-Manuel Miranda cancels “Hamilton’s” upcoming run at the Kennedy Center amid leadership and ideological changes.  From there it’s a look at a freedom of speech issue as the publisher of the romance novel series “Sparrow a...

Award-winning poet Tiana Clark   joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest collection of poems, “Scorched Earth.” Tiana Clark will be at a book event March 6th at 7:00 at Porter Square Books: Boston Edition. To learn more, go here . From there Brian Harrington joins The Culture Show . He’s the owner and operator of PopUp Bagels in the Seaport District, which will soon expand into Somerville...

James Parker, a staff writer at “The Atlantic,” joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest piece “ When Robert Frost was Bad .”  James Parker runs the Black Seed Writers Group—a weekly writing workshop for homeless, transitional, and recently housed writers–and he edits  “The Pilgrim,” a literary magazine from the homeless community of downtown Boston. His latest book is “Get Me Through the N...

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 comedian, actress and singer-songwriter Margaret Cho joins The Culture Show to talk about her new album “Lucky Gift,” and her “Live and Livid...

Joyce Kulhawik joins The Culture Show for an Oscars recap with her take on the snoozers, snubs and surprises.  Joyce Kulhawik is a Culture Show contributor, Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter and president of the Boston Theatre Critics Association. You can find her reviews at Joyce’sChoices . From there, Admiral James Stavridis . He led NATO's global operations from 2009 to 2013 as...

Culture Show co-hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and James Bennett II go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review. First up, the return of the Fyre Festival. Notorious for scamming people the first time around, it’s back selling tickets that range between $1,400 and $1.1 million.  From there it’s the legacy of Soul and R&B icon Roberta Flack,reflecting on the versatil...

Boston’s high-octane New Orleans-inspired brass band, Revolutionary Snake Ensemble , is celebrating Mardi Gras with a show this Saturday at Scullers.  Musician, composer and founder of Revolutionary Snake Ensemble Ken Field, and acclaimed trumpeter Jason Palmer join The Culture Show for a preview.  From there the new director of the MIT Museum , Michael John Gorman, joins The Culture Show to talk...

Art and science converge in the exhibition “ Nebulae: The Universe Unveiled ,” on view at the New Bedford Art Museum through March 9th.  Six NASA photographs from the Webb and Hubble telescopes are on display with works by artists who have either been directly inspired by the NASA photographs or inspired by the marvels of the night sky.  Suzanne de Vegh, Executive Director  of  The New Bedford Art...

Max Hodge’s, CEO of The Shed in New York City and Alex Poots, Artistic director at The Shed, join The Culture Show to talk about the innovative arts and culture venue and their current exhibition “ Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy ,” which is open through March 16, 2025. From there artist Jay Critchley joins The Culture Show to talk about his exhibition, Jay Critchley: Democracy of the Land, Inc., FLA...