The Culture Show Podcast

Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston, joins The Culture Show for his monthly segment  “AI: Actual Intelligence.” This month we get his take on Bunny’s final concert in Puerto Rico, which Jeffries attended. It wasn’t just a performance — it was a homecoming and a moment of pride for millions across the diaspora. We’ll also get his take on the reaction that Bad Bunny’s Super Bow...

We continue our “Countdown to 2026”  series with the Museum of Fine Arts to look at the art  reframing  our understanding of the American Revolution. Ahead of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we zoom in on Fritz Scholder’s “Bicentennial Indian.”  Ethan Lasser, John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the Americas and Marina Tyquiengco, Ellyn McColgan Associate Curator of Native American Art, lead the conversation....

Today Culture Show co-hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III drive our arts and culture week-in-review. First up, Taylor Swift dropped her new album at midnight. “Life of a Showgirl” blends spectacle with storytelling, marking –and marketing–another milestone in her reign over pop culture. From there, Bad Bunny is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, a career touchdown tha...

Celebrated writer Walter Mosley joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest book in his Easy Rawlins series, “Gray Dawn: An Easy Rawlins Mystery.”  Easy has led readers through Los Angeles — from the 1940s to the turbulent 1970s — with stories that combine the pace of classic crime fiction and the depth of literary character. In “Gray Dawn” a search for a missing woman drags Easy back into sec...

Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Edgar B. Herwick III host our inaugural Wednesday Watch Party with a comedy classic: Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America . The 1988 hit follows a prince who trades royal privilege for a crash course in Queens. At the time critics were divided, audiences were not. It was a box office smash at the time, now  we ask you, nearly 40 years later, does it hold up.  From the...

We continue our Countdown to 2026 series with  Andrea Puccio, Director of the Library at The Clark Art Institute . She gave us an overview  of their new exhibition “Back Bay to the Berkshires: Celebrating 250 Years of Art in Massachusetts.” Russell Lord, Chief of Curatorial Affairs at the Norman Rockwell Museum , also joined us with a preview of  their upcoming exhibition “Visions of a Nation: 250...

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Stephen Greenblatt joins The Culture Show , to talk about his latest book, “ Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival .”  It traces the meteoric rise and violent end of Christopher Marlowe—playwright, poet, spy, and heretic—whose genius endures today.  Stephen Greenblatt is the John Cogan University Professor of the Humani...

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: Jimmy Kimmel is back on late night. After ABC pulled his show, he returned with a monologue defending satire and drawing his biggest audience in years. From there, Apple TV+ has postponed “The Savant,” Jessica Chastain’s thriller about infiltra...

Acclaimed filmmaker Simon Curtis joins The Culture Show to talk about directing “Downton Abbey:The Grand Finale.”  To learn more go here . Boston comedian Tony V has collaborated with renowned musicians on “Rock Bottom: The Musical,” which debuts tonight as part of National Recovery Month. To learn more go here. McGonagle’s Pub has landed a spot on “The New York Times” list of America’s best resta...

 Joyce Kulhawik joins the Culture Show with Balancing Acts, a look at the latest plays in the area with a focus on what to prioritize amid an abundance of productions.  Joyce Kulhawik is an Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter, president of the Boston Theatre Critics Association and you can find her reviews on joyceschoices.com From there we get a preview of Club Passim’s “Reimaginin...

Actor Barry Bostwick joins The Culture Show  ahead of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show 50th Anniversary Spectacular” at Emerson Colonial Theatre. The celebration includes the unedited film, a live shadow cast, audience participation, a costume contest, and VIP meet-and-greets— it’s  the full midnight-movie experience. The event is on Wednesday, October 1st. To learn more go here . From there Susanne...

Boston’s dining scene just scored a national spotlight: “The New York Times” has named La Padrona one of the best restaurants in America. The Back Bay restaurant is the vision of Eric Papachristos and chef Jody Adams. Eric Papachristos joins The Culture Show to talk about this recognition and the state of Boston’s restaurant scene; he’s a co-founder and CEO of A Street Hospitality Group. From ther...

Today Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III host our arts and culture week-in-review. First up, Late-night just got quieter. ABC has yanked Jimmy Kimmel Live! indefinitely after the host’s remarks about Charlie Kirk’s assassination sparked outrage from conservatives and the FCC. From there, after nearly 50 years, Jerry Greenfield is leaving Ben & Jerry’s, saying their parent co...

For more than a quarter century, Richard Smith embodied Henry David Thoreau—donning the waistcoat and straw hat, walking the paths of Concord, and giving voice to one of New England’s most enduring thinkers. Now, after 26 years of living deliberately in another man’s shoes , Smith is stepping away from the role. Closing a chapter that made Thoreau’s world vividly real for thousands who visited Wal...

We continue our Countdown to 2026 series with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Each month we  look at artworks that shed new light on the American Revolution and the people who shaped it. Today Layla Bermeo joins us to talk about Miguel de Herrera’s  Portrait of Doña Feliciana Belendes y Ramirez.  Layla Bermeo is the Kristin and Roger Servison Curator of Paintings, Art of the Americas. Singer-song...

Award-winning singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier joins The Culture Show ahead of her concert at The First Church in Belmont with special guest Jaimee Harris. Rooted in folk and country traditions, Gauthier has built a career on transforming hard experiences into songs that connect and heal.  To learn more about this Friday’s concert go here . At  Emerson College comedy is no laughing matter. Decades...

First up, we recap the 2025 Emmy Awards with Callie Crossley , Culture Show co-host and host of Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik, Emmy Award–winning arts and entertainment critic and President of the Boston Theater Critics Association. You can find her reviews at  Joyce’s Choices . At Boston’s historic King’s Chapel, a new Living Memorial is taking s...

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: Our local culinary scene. It’s having a moment; in its list of America’s 50 Best restaurants, The New York Times names five from New England.  The list includes the upscale Italian fare at  La Padrona in Boston’s Raffles Hotel and the modern twist on Irish pub fo...

Award-winning actor, director, singer-songwriter and bestselling author David Duchovny joins The Culture Show to discuss “ About Time: Poems ,” a collection that reflects on love, family, aging, and the shifting nature of time.  From there Robin Dawson, Executive Director of Boston Film Festival previews the 41st season, which kicks off on September 18th. To learn more go here . Finally Obie Award...

Joyce Kulhawik joins The Culture Show  for our recurring feature, Stage and Screen Time–a look at the latest movies and plays in theaters now. Joyce Kulhawik is an Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter and president of the Boston Theatre Critics Association. You can find her reviews on Joyce’s Choices . From there Maurice Emmanuel Parent joins us for a preview of Katori Hall’s Olivier...

Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston, joins The Culture Show to preview this Saturday’s Embrace Massó "¡Con Salsa!” International Music Festival. It’s a celebration of music, culture, and social justice. To learn more go here . From there Molly Schwartzburg joins The Culture Show for an overview of a  new exhibition “Edward Gorey: The Gloomy Gallery. It’s on view at Harvard’s...

Writer Ben Shattuck’s award-winning story “The History of Sound,” is now a feature length film.   Set in World War I,   it   follows two young men who set out into the woods of Maine to collect folk songs before they vanish. The film is a love story, a time capsule, and a meditation on who gets remembered and how.   He joins The Culture Show to talk about adapting his short story to the Silver Scr...

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, we look at the redesign of the Massachusetts state flag and seal.  More than 1,150 public submissions  have been narrowed down to just a few options for further review.  From there we move to Florida now where Governor Ron DeSantis is taki...

In 2015 renowned photographer Sally Mann published her memoir “Hold Still,” an inquiry into family history, the American South and the nature of creativity. Now, comes her book  “Art Work: On the Creative Life.”  It is laugh-out-loud funny. It’s irreverent. And it’s refreshingly practical as she guides the reader through her experience and process of being an artist. On September 8th Sally Mann ap...

Independent Curator and Artistic Director of the Boston Public Art Triennial Pedro Alonzo joins The Culture Show with Adela Goldbard. She is an interdisciplinary artist-scholar and educator from Mexico and an Associate Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. They’re previewing Goldbard’s Triennial pyrotechnic performance , which will happen at Boston City Hall Plaza, September 12, at 7:00....