Episodes
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October 17, 2025 - Week-in-Review - Diane Keaton, D'Angelo, and the Arch de Trump
Today Edgar B. Herwick III, Callie Crossley and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons, artistic and executive director of the Roxbury International Film Festival and program manager at Mass Cultural Council, go over the latest arts and culture headlines. First up, remembering Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning actress of “Annie Hall,” “The Godfather,” and “Something’s Gotta Give.” Over five decades, Diane Keaton redefined Hollywood stardom with her originality, and offbeat authenticity.From there we reflect on D’Angelo, the R&B singer, songwriter, and producer behind “Brown Sugar"and “Voodoo” who died at 51. And we honor Susan Stamberg, a founding voice of NPR, who has died at 86. Her curiosity, and signature cranberry relish became synonymous with the golden age of public radio and its spirit of storytelling.Plus actor Stephen Graham is expanding his Netflix series Adolescence into a new book on masculinity. His project invites fathers around the world to write letters to their sons about what it means to be a man today — continuing the conversation his show began. -
October 16, 2025 - Donnie Wahlberg on his new series "Boston Blue" and Comedian Hari Kondabolu
Donnie Wahlberg — familiar to millions as “Blue Bloods’” Detective Danny Reagan — spent fourteen seasons trading barbs, saying grace, and solving crimes in New York City. Now Danny Reagan is back — but this time, he’s doing it Boston-style. “Blue Bloods” followed a multi-generational law-enforcement family bound by duty, faith, and those famous Sunday dinners. In "Boston Blue, " premiering this Friday on CBS, Wahlberg once again steps into Reagan’s shoes — this time moving the New York detective to Wahlberg’s own hometown. He joins “The Culture Show” to talk about a new chapter in the “Blue Bloods” universe and about his homecoming. To learn more about “Boston Blue” go here.From there it's comedian Hari Kondabolu. He's known for turning cultural critique into comedy. His documentary “The Problem with Apu,” took on stereotypes in “The Simpsons” and sparked a national conversation about representation. His new stand-up on race, parenthood, and the politics of everyday life takes aim at how we talk, what we laugh at, and who gets to tell the joke. He joins us ahead of his show at The Rockwell in Somerville. To learn more go here. -
October 15, 2025 - Josh Simpson on making glass on the moon, Pedro Alonzo and Patrick Martinez on "Cost of Living"
Acclaimed glass artist Josh Simpson crafts luminous worlds in miniature. His signature “Planets” —swirls of color and complexity sealed inside glass — reflect his lifelong fascination with space and science. Now, he’s received a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts grant to explore how lunar dust could be melted into glass for future Moon habitats, in collaboration with architect Martin Bermudez of Skyeports, LLC. Simpson’s new book, “Josh Simpson: 50 Years of Visionary Glass,” and his retrospective of the same is on view at the Sandwich Glass Museum through October. To learn more go here.From there we’re joined by Pedro Alonzo, independent curator and Artistic Director of the Boston Public Art Triennial and one of the Triennial’s featured artists, Patrick Martinez. His installation “Cost of Living.” Working with Breaktime, an organization that supports young adults experiencing homelessness, he’s created a series of illuminated signs. They look like storefront advertisements, but their messages — phrases like “People Over Property” — tell a different story: one about struggle, empathy, and being seen. To learn more go here. -
October 14, 2025 - Bobbi Brown, Joyce Kulhawik, and Tracy K. Smith
Bobbi Brown built a beauty empire on simplicity and self-expression. Now, with her new book “Still Bobbi” she lays bare her lessons in reinvention, resilience, and redefining beauty on her own terms. Catch her at Emerson College on October 27, 2025 for “An Evening with Bobbi Brown” — learn more here.From there Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik joins us for a roundup of the plays and movies to see right now. 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.comFinally, Tracy K. Smith. The former U.S. Poet Laureate discusses her forthcoming book “Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times” — an invitation to listen, reflect, and let poetry guide us through uncertainty. She’ll appear at TEDxNewEngland on October 30, 2025 — learn more & register TEDxNewEngland+1 -
October 13, 2025 - Peter Wolf and Regie Gibson
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.”. 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. -
October 10, 2025 - Week in Review: James Bond disarmed, Bob Ross paintings for sale, and eating pudding with a fork
Jared Bowen, Edgar B. Herwick III, and Joyce Kulhawik co-host this week’s arts and Culture week-in-review. 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’s Choices.First up, In Danvers, a young-adult novel is sparking debate. “All American Boys”—the story of two teens, one Black and one white, whose lives collide after a violent encounter with police—has some parents objecting to its language and content. Teachers, meanwhile, argue its lessons on race, justice, and accountability are exactly what students should be reading.From there, Amazon’s new creative control of the James Bond franchise has fans shaken. The tech giant removed images of firearms from classic 007 artwork—erasing Bond’s trademark weapon from posters and box art. Critics say the world’s most famous spy has been stripped of his license to kill; Amazon insists it’s part of a broader effort to modernize the brand.Then country star Zach Bryan has ignited controversy with a teaser for his unreleased song “Bad News,” which takes aim at ICE raids and the fear they sow. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the lyrics “completely disrespectful,” and the agency fired back—posting arrest footage set to one of Bryan’s earlier songsFinally, thirty original Bob Ross paintings—the misty mountains and “happy little trees” that made The Joy of Painting a PBS classic—are heading to auction to support public television. -
October 9, 2025 - Jake Tapper, Bricks for the Blind with Matthew Shifrin, and Gustazo Cuban Kitchen
CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book "Race Against Terror," which tells the thrilling story of how prosecutors traversed the globe, tracking down evidence to convict terrorist "Spin Ghul" for killing American servicemen in Afghanistan. On October 16th he’ll be at WBUR’s CitySpace. To learn more go here. As a child Matthew Shifrin received a gift that changed his life -- a LEGO set with instructions hand-written in Braille. Today he is the founder and CEO of Bricks for the Blind. He joins The Culture Show to talk about how their free Text-based Building Instructions allows people with visual impairments to build LEGO sets . To learn more about Bricks for the Blind go here.Finally we celebrate Hispanic Heritage month with Patricia Estorino, executive chef and co-owner of Gustazo Cuban Kitchen & Café. Gustazo has expanded into two locations, Cambridge and Waltham. The restaurant has earned widespread recognition, including repeated spots on Boston Magazine’s 50 Best Restaurants list and multiple Best of Boston awards for Latin cuisine, brunch and most recently, Best Cuban Restaurant 2025. To learn more go here. -
October 8, 2025 - Chris Grace on Sardines, Phantoms by Firelight at Old Sturbridge Village, and Brassica Kitchen + Cafe
Actor and comedian Chris Grace joins The Culture Show to talk about his one-man show, “Sardines(A Comedy About Death),” which is onstage at The Huntington Theatre through November 16th. “Sardines” explores the tragic, hilarious, and important questions of our time: Can we enjoy life if we know how it ends? To learn more go here.From there, under a cloak of darkness, we head to Old Sturbridge Village, where history flickers to life at “Phantoms by Firelight: The Grand Season Finale.” It’s an immersive Halloween experience filled with ghost stories, lanterns, and the daring spectacle of Cyrkus Vampyr. Jim Donahue, CEO and President of Old Sturbridge Village and Rhys Simmons, their Director of Interpretation, Join the Culture Show for an overview.Finally Rebecca Kean, Operations Manager and co-owner of Jamaica Plain’s Brassica Kitchen + Cafe, along with co-chef, co-owner and designer Phillip Kruta join The Culture Show to talk about their expansion. To learn more go here. -
October 7, 2025 - Imari Paris Jeffries, 300 Paintings with Sam Kissajukian, and Boston Baroque's Baroque Masterworks
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 Bowl halftime show is already generating.From there we’re joined by Sam Kissajukian. In 2021 the Aussie comedian quit stand-up, rented an abandoned cake factory, and became a painter. Over the course of what turned out to be a six-month manic episode, he created three hundred large-scale paintings, unknowingly documenting his mental state through the process. He turned this experience into his one-man show “300 Paintings,” now onstage at the American Repertory Theater through October 25th; more information here.Finally we get a preview of Boston Baroque’s season opener “Baroque Masterworks." The acclaimed harpsichordist and conductor Christian Curnyn and Boston Baroque Executive Director Sarah Radcliffe-Marrs join The Culture Show. “Baroque Masterworks" is October 11th and October 12th at Jordan Hall; more information here. -
October 6, 2025 - Fritz Scholder's "Bicentennial Indian," Jill Lepore, and Projecting Protest
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.From there, Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore examines whether the U.S. Constitution still functions as a living document. Drawing on The Amendments Project—a vast archive of thousands of failed amendment proposals—Lepore argues that structural and political barriers have made constitutional change nearly impossible. In her new book, “We the People,” she traces how that paralysis has shifted the power to interpret and reshape democracy from citizens and lawmakers to the courts. You can catch Jill Lepore tonight at the First Parish Church at 7:00. The event is hosted by Harvard Book Store. To learn more go here.Finally filmmaker Tom Clement turns his lens on a new form of activism: light projections as protest. His documentary “Projecting Protest” follows artists and activists using buildings as canvases for messages that illuminate the ongoing battle between free expression, property rights, and public space. You can catch him tonight for a free screening at MassArt. The event is at 6:00. To learn more go here.