Episodes
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February 16, 2026 - Katherine Tallman on the Coolidge Corner Theater, Roberto Lugo, and Chompon "Boong" Boonnak
After more than a decade as Executive Director and CEO of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, Katherine Tallman is stepping down. She reflects on expanding the Brookline art house, elevating its national profile, and guiding it through the shifts of streaming and the pandemic — reshaping what independents can be. To keep on top of all of Coolidge's programming go here.Ceramic artist Roberto Lugo blends classical porcelain with hip-hop, portraiture, and social critique — asking who belongs in museums and who gets left out. His exhibition “(In)visible Ink” is on view at the Robert Lehman Art Center at Brooks School in North Andover though March 6. It brings together porcelain, painting, and customized sneakers in a powerful conversation about visibility. To learn more about the exhibition go here. Chompon Boonnak, co-owner of Mahaniyom in Brookline and its cocktail slinging sibling Merai, joins us after a double Michelin distinction: a Bib Gourmand for Mahaniyom and an Exceptional Cocktails Award for his bar program. He talks about balancing bold street food with serious mixology and what the recognition means for Greater Boston’s dining scene. -
February 13, 2026 - Week in Review: Olympic cheaters, Wuthering Heights, and a sad horse plush
On this edition of The Culture Show, Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Lisa Simmons, go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines.First up, the Winter Olympics delivered medals — and meltdowns. Norway’s biathlon star Sturla Holm Lægreid hijacked headlines with a tearful on-air confession about cheating on his girlfriend, while ski jumping faced a surreal scandal dubbed “Penis-gate,” with allegations that athletes gamed suit measurements for an aerodynamic edge. And on the ice, Ilia Malinin’s crowd-roaring backflip revived debate decades after Surya Bonaly was penalized for the very same move.Then we remember James Van Der Beek, who died this week at 48. The former Dawson’s Creek heartthrob later reinvented himself, gleefully skewering his teen-idol image with sharp, self-aware performances that proved he was always in on the joke.Plus nearly two centuries after Wuthering Heights, the mystery of Heathcliff endures. A new film adaptation has revived debate over the character’s racial identity — and how Emily Brontë’s “dark-skinned” antihero should be portrayed today.Finally it’s a week in preview with host recommendations of upcoming events and happenings to take in. Callie offers “Romantasy Trivia” on February 14th at the Trident Booksellers & Cafe; Lisa Simmons highly “Say It Loud: AAMARP, 1977 to Now” on view at the ICA; and Jared suggests “The Moderate,” presented by Central Square Theater. -
February 12, 2026 - Alan Cumming, Billy Bragg, and Penelope at Lyric Stage Company
Actor Alan Cumming returns to the show fresh off receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Tony, Emmy, BAFTA, and Olivier Award winner talks about being a buck naked vegan, the runaway success of his reality series “The Traitors,” now the most-watched unscripted streaming program, and who he thinks is a traitor to American values.British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg joins us with his new rapid-response protest anthem, “City of Heroes,” written in solidarity with Minneapolis demonstrators and inspired by recent anti-ICE resistance. A legendary voice of political music for more than four decades, Bragg reflects on the role of songs in moments of social upheaval—and looks ahead to this summer, when he’ll reunite with Wilco to perform their Woody Guthrie project Mermaid Avenue at the Solid Sound Festival. To learn more go here.At the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, the ancient myth of “The Odyssey” gets a mythic makeover in “Penelope,” a one-woman, cabaret-style musical that tells the story of the wife left behind. Composer Alex Bechtel’s intimate song cycle explores patience, loneliness, and resilience. Performed by Aimee Doherty and directed by Courtney O’Connor, they join us to discuss giving a new voice to a timeless tale. Penelope is onstage through March 1. To learn more go here. -
February 11, 2026 - The Louvre heist with Elaine Sciolino, Vince Petryk of JP Licks, and Mahesh Daas
Last spring, the Louvre looked untouchable, with a couture exhibition and a grand renovation plan led by director Laurence des Cars. Then came a cascade of crises, including a brazen jewel heist that stole $100 million in French Crown Jewels, along with strikes and a damning security audit. Journalist Elaine Sciolino joins us to discuss the turmoil. Elaine Sciolino is the former Paris bureau chief for the New York Times and a bestselling author. Her latest book, “Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum,” is out in paperback this March. Winter doesn’t slow down New England ice cream fans, and J.P. Licks has new flavors to prove it. Founder Vince Petryk talks about February specials, including Strawberry Cookies ’N’ Cream, and the company’s community programs like its Girl Scout cookie partnerships and sock drive for Rosie’s Place. To learn more go here.Mahesh Daas returns for our feature “AI: Actual Intelligence” with fresh, off-algorithm insights. This month he looks at reconstruction—from replicas of Thoreau’s Walden cabin to rebuilding communities after the California wildfires. Mahesh Daas is president of Boston Architectural College and the co-author of the graphic novella about artificial intelligence, titled “I, Nobot.” -
February 10, 2026 - MFA president Pierre Terjanian, John Sayles on "Crucible," and Ken Urban on "The Moderate"
The MFA recently announced layoffs and voluntary buyouts to close a projected $13-million budget gap. Pierre Terjanian, the Ann and Graham Gund Director and CEO of the Museum of Fine Arts, joins us on what drove the cuts and what they mean for the museum’s next chapter.Filmmaker and novelist John Sayles is back with “Crucible,” a new historical novel set in Henry Ford’s early-20th-century Detroit, where labor, power, and industry collide. You can catch him tonight at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books in Cambridge. To learn more go here.Playwright Ken Urban joins us to talk about “The Moderate,” his new play about a man hired to moderate graphic social media content—and the toll it takes. It’s onstage at Central Square Theater through March 1. To learn more go here. -
February 9, 2026 - "PILLION," Fran Lebowitz, and Super Bowl Postgame
Filmmaker Harry Lighton joins us to discuss his debut feature Pillion, a darkly funny and tender look at a relationship shaped by power, trust, and BDSM. The film premiered at Cannes, where it won Best Screenplay, and stars Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling. Lighton will appear in person tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theatre for a screening, Q&A and to receive the Coolidge Breakthrough Artist Award. To learn more go here.Cultural critic Fran Lebowitz brings her signature wit to the show, talking about aging, cities, manners, and why she avoids football. The author and star of Netflix’s Pretend It’s a City appears live at the Emerson Colonial Theatre on February 19. To learn more go here.It’s Monday afternoon quarterbacking with co-host Callie Crossley and Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik as we unpack the Super Bowl as a pop-culture spectacle. From the halftime show to the commercials, we look at the moments everyone’s talking about. Joyce Kulhawik is an Emmy Award–winning arts and entertainment reporter and President of the Boston Theatre Critics Association, you can read Kulhawik’s reviews here. -
February 6, 2026 - Week in Review: National Film Registry, an AI social network, and Iron Lung
On this edition of The Culture Show, Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Lisa Simmons, go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines.First up, In an era of bloated blockbusters, YouTuber Markiplier bypassed Hollywood entirely, writing, financing, and releasing his sci-fi horror film Iron Lung on his own — and turning a $3 million budget into more than $17 million at the box office.And, the bots are coming, the bots are coming. Moltbook is a new social platform built entirely for bots — they post, argue, organize, and even police each other, creating a strange, self-contained online culture with no humans at the controls.Then we remember Woodie King Jr., the pioneering theater producer who spent decades creating space for Black playwrights and performers, launching careers and reshaping American theater through the New Federal Theatre.We also reflect on the legacy of Demond Wilson who died this week. The actor and writer best known as Lamont on the groundbreaking sitcom Sanford and Son, bringing Black family life and humor into millions of homes.And we head to Rome; the city introduces a new tourist tax at the Trevi Fountain, putting a modern price tag on the timeless coin toss and giving fresh meaning to “cash flow.”Finally, Callie recommends the star-studded Super Bowl commercials, with a focus on Dunkin’ ads; Lisa Simmons suggests a Sidney Poitier film festival for Black History Month. “Icons: Poitier” runs at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, “A Warm December” screens at the Somerville Cine-Club, and “In the Heat of the Night” and “Pressure Point” screen at the Somerville Theatre; Jared offers the 100 Year Book Debate at the Boston Public Library, -
February 5, 2026 - Imari Paris Jeffries, the Overture to Spring Black History Month Concert, and Worcester's Valentines
Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston and a co-chair of Everyone 250 join us for our recurring segment “AI: Actual Intelligence.” This month we focus on his recent piece on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., and if the Super Bowl can and should be non political.Composer Kevin Day and cellist Leo Eguchi, co founding artistic director of Sheffield Chamber Players, join us to discuss Day’s “Overture to Springtime,” created in collaboration with City Strings United, ahead of the Overture to Spring: A Black History Month Family Concert on Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. at The Strand Theatre. To learn more go here.Vanessa Bumpus, exhibition coordinator at Museum of Worcester, explains how entrepreneur Esther Howland helped turn Worcester into an early hub of Valentine’s Day card production—and what that history reveals about labor, industry, and the business of romance. -
February 4, 2026 - Jeff Taylor, Mary Grant, and Blind Date with a Book at the BPL
Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com, joins us to talk about how the job search has changed — again. When Monster launched in 1994, it moved job listings out of newspaper classifieds and onto the internet. Now Taylor is back with a new platform, Boomband, and discusses job hunting in the age of bots, when software increasingly decides what gets seen and what doesn’t.Mary Grant, president of Massachusetts College of Art and Design, returns for our recurring segment AI: Actual Intelligence. She joins us each month to offer her human, experience-driven perspective on creativity, art and education. Today she and Jared discuss the art of dissent–all the ways that musicians, poets, graphic designers are using their craft to protest ICE.Veronica Koven-Matasy, Reader Services Director at the Boston Public Library, joins us to talk about the library’s annual “Blind Date with a Book” event. For the month of February, selected titles are wrapped in paper and stripped of covers, authors, and blurbs, inviting readers to discover something unexpected. The program is available through the end of the month at the Central Library in Copley Square. -
February 3, 2026 - "We Had a World" with Joshua Harmon, Ball in the House, and Philip Kennicott on the Kennedy Center
Playwright Joshua Harmon joins us to talk about his new play, “We Had a World.” The work turns inward, following a playwright asked by his grandmother to write about their family — a request that opens up a fraught history of love, resentment, humor, and truth-telling across three generations. “We Had a World” is onstage at the Huntington Theatre Company from February 12 through March 15.Ball in the House is a Boston-based a cappella group working across R&B, soul, and pop. They’ve opened shows for artists including the Jonas Brothers, Fantasia, and Lionel Richie, and join us ahead of upcoming performances in Foxborough and Shirley. All five members stop by the studio to talk about touring, vocal music, and what’s next.A year ago, Philip Kennicott warned that President Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center threatened the independence of one of America’s most important cultural institutions. Now that warning is playing out: this week the administration announced plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years as part of what Trump calls a “complete rebuild,” following months of leadership upheaval, cancellations, and declining ticket sales. Kennicott joins The Culture Show to discuss how unprecedented this level of presidential control is — and what it could mean for the future of federal support for the arts. Philip Kennicott is a Pulitzer Prize-winning art and architecture critic for The Washington Post.
