The Culture Show Podcast

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...

Megan Marshall, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography, has long been revered for her storytelling  skills and deep insights into historical figures, such as the poet Ellizabeth Bishop,  and Margaret Fuller, the 19th century journalist and celebrated intellectual of her time.  In her latest book,” After Lives: On Biography and the Mysteries of the Human Heart ,” Megan Marshall takes a turn at...

Culture Show co-hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and James Bennett II go over this latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review. First up, hundreds of artists protest new National Endowment for the Arts restrictions,  asking the NEA  to reverse policy changes made in response to executive orders issued by President Trump. From there, it’s the JFK Library and Museum, which was forced t...

Comedian, television host, advocate and New York Times bestselling author Chelsea Handler joins The Culture Show to talk about her forthcoming book “I’ll Have What She’s Having.” It’s a collection of hilarious and heartfelt essays that detail what it took for her to become the woman she always wanted to be. It’s in bookstores on February 25th and is available for preorder on her website . On Febru...

Recently a rare violin crafted in 1714 by Antonio Stradivari during his renowned “Golden Period” fetched  $11.3M at Sotheby’s New York with the proceeds benefiting New England Conservatory. The funds will be used to establish the largest named endowed scholarship in support of future generations of musicians. The result places the violin among the most valuable musical instruments ever sold at auc...

Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston , joins The Culture Show to talk about what it means to honor Black History Month amid President Trump’s DEI rollbacks. From there Mikko Nissinen, Artistic Director of Boston Ballet, joins The Culture Show for a preview of their upcoming production of “ Swan Lake ,” which is onstage at the Citizens Opera House February 27th through March 16...

“New York Times” bestselling author Joseph Finder joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest book, “The Oligarch’s Daughter,” which tells the story of Paul Brightman, a man on the run, living under an assumed name in a small New England town with a million-dollar bounty on his head. The suspenseful thriller takes us into the worlds of global intelligence, Wall Street and Russian Oligarchs. Fr...

 Culture Show 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,  President Trump purges  the Kennedy Center and appoints himself Chair of the Board. From there, it’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which just unveiled its list of the 2025 nominees. Patti Smith announces a sprawling tour schedule to mar...

Amor Towles.  The bestselling author of “Rules of Civility,”  “A Gentleman in Moscow,” and “The Lincoln Highway,”  jins The Culture Show to talk about his new bestseller, “Table for Two” From there, we get an inside perspective on how Notre Dame was rebuilt. Vermont timber framer Will Gusakov, owner of Goosewing Timberworks ,  was among the international craftspeople tapped to work on  the cathedr...

Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic for The Washington Post, Sebastian Smee joins the Culture Show to talk about his new book, “ Paris in Ruins ,” which  takes us to 19th century Paris, where the horrors of government corruption, civil war, and rampant destruction were beyond brutal. Smee also details how it created a generation of  artists  who responded to the despair by using vivid colors and swi...

Oscar-winning actor Cillian Murphy  discusses his film  “Small Things Like These,”  which he produced and starred in. He also gives us a preview of the Peaky Blinders movie. From there, Annette Gordon-Reed. She’s an historian, lawyer and Pulitzer-prize winning writer. Her latest book, “On Juneteenth,” explores the holiday commemorating the day Union troops announced the end of slavery in Texas.  F...

Actor and author Marianne Leone joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest book, “Five-Dog Epiphany: How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy,”   From there New Bedford poet Erik Andrade joins The Culture Show to talk about poetry as activism. Erik Andrade is an award winning spoken word poet. Recently his work was included in “Black Fire This Time Vol. 2,”  a groundbreaking antholog...

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, Emilia Pérez.  Two weeks ago the movie seemed destined for Oscars gold with 13 nominations. Now leading actress Karla Sofía Gascón’s Academy Award campaign is in tatters amid a string of controversies that has Netflix  distancing itself  from he...

Chelsea Spear, the poet with the golden ukulele joins The Culture Show for an in studio performance and to talk about her latest endeavor. She is the creative force behind the ukulele power pop project “Travels with Brindle” Her latest  album, “No. 1 in Heaven Starring Travels With Brindle,” will be released on March 7th. On February 7th she drops her title track followed by a single release party...

Filmmaker Bruce David Klein discusses his latest documentary “Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story.”  Its Boston premiere is February 7th at the Regent Theatre in Arlington. Bruce David Klein will be there for a Q and A. To learn more about the event go here . From there Mahesh Daas , president of Boston Architectural College, joins The Culture Show for his recurring feature “AI: Actual in...

The Tony and Emmy-award winning actor, writer and singer Alan Cumming joins The Culture Show to talk about his hit reality TV series, “The Traitors,”  which kicked off season three last month. To keep abreast of everything Alan Cumming is up to, go here . From there the thrash metal band from Waipu, New Zealand, Alien Weaponry, joins  The Culture Show ahead of tonight’s 7:00 show at the Royale. To...

Courtney Swain, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, vocalist, songwriter and sound artist joined The Culture Show for an in-studio performance. We were also joined by Nicole Taney, Artistic Director at Celebrity Series. On February 11th Courtney Swain will be performing at the Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, as part of the contemporary music festival, Stave Sessions, which is presented by Celebrity...

Today Jared Bowen, Edgar B. Herwick III and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week- in- review. First up, the Smithsonian Institution. They’re closing their DEI office and freezing federal hiring, following President Trump’s mandate. Even though the Smithsonian is not a federal agency, it gets  a big chunk of funding from federal appropriati...

Fabiola Méndez,  the celebrated Puerto Rican cuatrista and singer, joins T he Culture Show for an in-studio performance.  Méndez and her ensemble are performing February 8th, as part of CROMA Space’s 2025 season. CROMA Space, which is located in Boston’s historic Arlington Street Church, is dedicated to Latin American cultural diversity. To learn more about this upcoming show go here . From there,...

The musical “Funny Girl,” is coming to town by way of  Broadway in Boston. We get a preview with actress Hannah Shankman who stars as Fanny Brice. “Funny Girl” is onstage at Citizens Opera House February 4th through February 16th. To learn more go here . From there, the Boston Athenaeum has launched its newest exhibition, “Frank M. Costantino: Visionary Projects,” presenting the drawings of eminen...

Playwright Jordan E. Cooper  joins The Culture Show to talk about his play “Ain’t No Mo,’” a satirical take on racism in America, which garnered six Tony award nominations. “Ain’t No Mo’” is a co-production by SpeakEasy Stage Company and Front Porch Arts Collective. It’s onstage through February 8th at Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion. To learn more, go here . From there, storied indepe...

Alton Brown, the television personality, food show presenter, food scientist, author, voice actor, and cinematographer joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book  “ Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations .”   It’s a debut collection of personal essays defined by his flair, wit, and insight. On February 8th at 1:00 you can catch Alton Brown at a book signing event at Harvard Book Store, mo...

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, the Oscar nominations are out and “Emilia Pérez” breaks the record for the most Oscar nominations for a foreign language film. “Wicked” and “The Brutalist” aren’t far behind, with each movie garnering 10 Oscar nods.  We’ll look at the other surp...

The documentary film, “ Resistance: They Fought Back ”  tells the little-known story of how widespread and prevalent Jewish resistance to Nazi barbarism was during World War II. The film’s Executive Producer Paula Apsell joins The Culture Show to talk about it ahead of its premiere on PBS, January 27th, which is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. To learn more about how to watch it, go here...

The dynamic dining duo, Jenny Johnson and Billy Costa join the Culture Show to go over the local restaurant acne, from the latest openings, to the latest closings and must-have meals. Jenny Johnson and Billy Costa are co-hosts of NESN's "Dining Playbook" and "Meet Boston with Billy and Jenny.” Their  new book is  “A Taste of Boston: The Definitive Cookbook of the City We Love.”  From there it’s co...