Episodes
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April 29, 2025 - Hannah Selinger, Eephus, and Rock to Baroque: Four Decades of Music Photography
Hannah Selinger is a James Beard Award-nominated lifestyle writer. She joins The Culture Show to talk about her debut memoir, “Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly.” On April 30th she’ll be at the Boston Public Library Central Library in Copley Square for an author talk. To learn more, go here.From there director Carson Lund joins The Culture Show to talk about his debut feature film “Eephus,” a quintessentially New England baseball film. Find out more, here.Finally, photographer Eric Antoniou discusses his new book “Rock to Baroque: Four Decades of Music Photography.” The book’s official release is Thursday, May 1 with a photo exhibition at the Panopticon Gallery at Boston’s Commonwealth Hotel. To learn more, go here. -
April 28, 2025 - Robert Pinsky, arts funding and advocacy, and public art in Kendall Square
Three-time U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky joins The Culture Show to talk about retiring from Boston University where he has been a professor since 1989. He’ll preview his retirement celebration, which is this Thursday, May1st atop “The Jenga Building” on the BU campus. He’ll recite poetry, there will be screenings and a reception. The event is open to the public and it's free. To learn more, go here.From there it’s Creative Sector Advocacy Week. We’re using this as an opportunity to look at the state of the arts and culture sector in Massachusetts with a focus on funding. Julie Wake, Executive Director at Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, and Ami Bennitt, an advocate and founder of Art Stays Here, join The Culture Show for this conversation.Finally, Culture Show contributor Julia Swanson takes us on a tour through Kendall Square with a look at SciArt. Julia Swanson is a multidisciplinary artist and award winning photographer who is the creator of The Art Walk Project – a series of self-guided micro tours of art across Greater Boston. -
April 25, 2025 - Week in Review: Pope Francis' cultural impact, YouTube at 20, and Ryan Coogler's Sinners deal
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, Pope springs eternal. Pope Francis was a champion of the arts. He is the only pontiff who has attended the Venice Biennale, he opened up a gallery for contemporary art in the Vatican Library and he convened over 100 comedians to share a communal laugh at the Vatican.From there, YouTube turns 20. Everything from “Hot Ones,” to “how to” videos have become online mainstays and along the way, the most-viewed “Baby Shark” has accumulated nearly 16 billion views.Finally, a roundup of high profile trials, from Harvey Weinstein facing a new jury to Karen Read’s retrial to Sean Combs heading to court next week. -
April 24, 2025 - Dana Caspersen, Loudon Wainwright III, and Younes Rahmoun: Here, Now at Smith College
Dana Caspersen is a conflict engagement specialist, award-winning performing artist, and best-selling author. She joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest book, “Conflict Is an Opportunity: Twenty Fundamental Decisions for Navigating Difficult Times.”From there, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter and folk music legend Loudon Wainwright III, joins The Culture Show ahead of his show in Northampton, MA at The Iron Horse and at The Town and The City Festival in Lowell. Finally Emma Chubb, Charlotte Feng Ford '83 Curator of Contemporary Art at Smith College Museum of Art joins The Culture Show for an overview of their exhibition, “Younes Rahmoun: Here, Now,” which is on view through July 13, 2025. To learn more, go here. -
April 23, 2025 - Devo, Alan Michelson, and the Old North Church's angels
Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale, the cofounders of the new wave band Devo join The Culture Show to talk about cultural de-evolution, the genesis of their band, how they came to be one of the most original groups in the history of rock music. In 2023 they kicked off their 50th anniversary tour, which has been extended.” Devo: 50 Years Of De-evolution...continued!” comes to MGM Music Hall at Fenway on May 9th. To learn more, go here.From there acclaimed artist Alan Michelson discusses his “The Knowledge Keepers,” his site-specific sculptures created for the Museum of Fine Arts inaugural “Huntington Avenue Entrance Commission.” His installation honors local Indigenous presence and is, in part, a challenging response to Cyrus Dallin’s Appeal to the Great Spirit (1909), a sculpture that has occupied the entrance plaza since 1912. The MFA commissioned Michelson for this project and produced this in partnership with the Boston Public Art Triennial. Alan Michelson is a Mohawk member of Six Nations of the Grand River and School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University alumnus.Finally, an interior revolution is underway at Boston’s Old North Church with artisans working on a conservation and restoration project to uncover 18th-century painted angels lost to history and layers of paint - until now. -
April 22, 2025 - Martín Espada, Radius Ensemble, and Lisa Genova
National Book Award winner Martín Espada joins The Culture Show to talk about his new collection of poetry, “Jailbreak of Sparrows.” On April 23rd Martín Espada will be at Porter Square Books in Cambridge at 7:00. To learn more, go here. In celebration of MIT’s new Thomas Tull Concert Hall, Radius Ensemble will perform works by MIT faculty on April 24th. Oboist Jennifer Montbach, Radius Ensemble’s Artistic & Executive Director and Eran Egozy, a clarinetist and Professor of the Practice in Music Technology at MIT join The Culture Show for a preview. To learn more about the concert, go here. Finally Harvard-trained neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author Lisa Genova joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest novel, “More or Less Maddy,” which is about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder. -
April 21, 2025 - Alton Brown, Candlepin Bowling and Orville Peck
Alton Brown, the television personality, food show presenter, food scientist, author, voice actor, and cinematographer joins The Culture Show to talk about his book “Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations.” From there we head to candlepin city: Worcester. Vanessa Bumpus, Exhibits Coordinator for the Museum of Worcester gives us an overview of a recent exhibition that focussed on the history of Candlepin Bowling.Finally, Orville Peck joins The Culture Show to talk about what it’s like to be regarded as country music’s most mysterious outlaw. -
April 18, 2025 - Week in Review: Blue Origin's all-female space flight, AI action figures, and a Phantom reboot
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, Blue Origin’s all-female space flight and the backlash that followed. From there how venerated architect Antoni Gaudí may become a saint and as we near the 250th anniversary of the American Revolutionary war, the surplus of events in Massachusetts that await history buffs, from the reenactment of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride to the reconstruction of the battles of Lexington and Concord. Finally, “Phantom of the Opera,” returns to New York under a new name–”Masquerade,” and with an immersive experience twist. -
April 17, 2025 - Boston's Big Queer Food Fest, the Black Patriots of Lexington, and Mary Grant
Bring your big appetite to Boston’s Big Queer Food Fest, a multi-day happening, celebrating the contributions of the queer community to the culinary world. It kicks off on April 28th and wraps up on May 4th. David Lewis, co-founder of Big Queer Food Fest, and participating Chef, restaurateur and Food Network's Tournament of Champions winner Tifanni Faison join The Culture Show for a preview. To learn about the Big Queer Food Fest and to get tickets, go here.From there we continue our ongoing series celebrating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution with historian Sean Osborne. He’s the co-founder of the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington, which recently launched the Black Patriots of Lexington. A project that includes a nine-part YouTube series exploring the lives of soldiers and residents who fought for freedom and were witnesses to history.Finally Mary Grant, President of Mass Art joins The Culture Show for her monthly appearance. Today she talks about Project Beethoven, a collaboration between Mass Art and Handel + Haydn Society. -
April 16, 2025 - The 250th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, Flemish masterpieces at the Peabody Essex Museum, Pedro Alonzo, and a first hand account of Patriots' Day
As we near the 250th anniversary of Patriots’ Day, Kate Fox and David Wood join The Culture Show for a conversation about the major events that ignited the first year of the American Revolution: the battles of Lexington and Concord. Kate Fox is the Executive Director at the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, which is leading the Massachusetts 250 campaign. David Wood is the Curator at Concord Museum. His latest book is “Eyewitness to Revolution: The American Revolution Collection at the Concord Museum.”From there, Karina Corrigan joins The Culture Show for an overview of the Peabody Essex Museum’s exhibition “Saints, Sinners, Lovers and Fools: Three Hundred Years of Flemish Masterworks." Karina Corrigan is PEM's Associate Director–Collections and The H.A. Crosby Forbes Curator of Asian Export Art.Then, Culture Show contributor Pedro Alonzo joins us for his monthly appearance. He is a Boston-based independent curator who specializes in public art projects. He is also the Artistic Director of the Boston Public Art Triennial.Finally, we return to 1775 by way of some archival audio from WGBH’s vault, a recording of the late Doctor Alfred Worcester recalling the story his great grandmother told him about experiencing Patriots’ Day in 1775.
