Episodes
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March 13, 2026 - Week in Review: Andris Nelsons, an Oscars preview, and a Chalamet faux pas
On this edition of The Culture Show, Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Cristina Quinn go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines, which include:The Boston Symphony Orchestra says it will part ways with music director Andris Nelsons after the 2026–27 season, ending a 13-season run. His tenure brought Grammy-winning recordings, international recognition, and a major role in shaping the orchestra’s sound in Boston and beyond.Timothée Chalamet stirred debate during a filmed Variety and CNN town hall with Matthew McConaughey when the conversation turned to opera and ballet. His joking but dismissive remarks touched a nerve, raising familiar questions about cultural relevance, audience tastes, and what kinds of art get taken seriously.Concert ticket prices remain one of the biggest frustrations in live music, with fans facing surging costs, layered fees, and little transparency. Now regulators are targeting Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, in a case that could reshape the live-music business and potentially open the door to more competition.Those financial pressures are also changing the theater world. More producers are developing work in London’s West End and other overseas markets, where mounting a production can cost far less than it does on Broadway. -
March 12, 2026 - Dhruv Khullar on "The Pitt," conductor Cristian Măcelaru, and Maureen Abood's "Lebanese Baking"
In his New Yorker essay “What The Pitt Taught Me About Being a Doctor,” Dhruv Khullar reflects on how the HBO drama captures the human strain of practicing medicine inside a broken health-care system. He joins The Culture Show to discuss why the show resonates — and what it reveals to him about his own work as a doctor. Dhruv Khullar, a contributing writer at “The New Yorker,” is a practicing physician and an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. He writes about medicine, health care, and politics.Conductor Cristian Măcelaru returns to a pivotal part of his own story on March 15, leading the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra at Symphony Hall in the world premiere of Wynton Marsalis’s new work for cello and orchestra with Yo-Yo Ma. Once an Interlochen student himself, Măcelaru now comes to Boston as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestre National de France. To learn more about the concert go here.For Maureen Abood, baking is a way of carrying culture, memory, and family tradition forward. She joins Jared to talk about her new cookbook, “Lebanese Baking,” and what its recipes reveal about Lebanese life at home and around the table. You can catch her tonight at 6:00 for a tasting and book signing event at Sofra Bakery + Cafe in Allston. To learn more go here. -
March 11, 2026 - Chef Paul Wahlberg, the Vinfen Film Festival, and Chef Tiffani Faison
Chef and restaurateur Paul Wahlberg joins The Culture Show to talk about family, Dorchester roots, and the new Wahlburgers “Brothers’ Combo,” a limited-time menu featuring signature burgers from Paul, Mark, and Donnie. He’ll also appear at a March 16 pop-up celebration at the original Wahlburgers restaurant in Hingham, with proceeds supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester.The Vinfen Film Festival returns March 28 to GBH’s Brighton studios, featuring films and discussions that challenge stigma around mental health conditions and disabilities. Vinfen’s Vice President of Communications & Development David Brown joins The Culture Show with a preview of this year’s lineup. To learn more go here.Chef and restaurateur Tiffani Faison joins Jared to discuss Tigerbaby, her newest concept at High Street Place Food Hall. Inspired by her former Fenway restaurant Tiger Mama, the counter-service spot brings Southeast and East Asian flavors back into her culinary orbit — and marks her fifth concept in the downtown food hall. -
March 10, 2026 - Shaina Taub on "Suffs," a Secret Boston St. Patrick's Day, and Fabiola Méndez
Shaina Taub made Broadway history as the first woman to win Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score on her own, for the musical SUFFS. The show follows the suffragists’ hard-fought campaign for the 19th Amendment, bringing figures like Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, and Mary Church Terrell to life onstage. Now, SUFFS comes to Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre from March 17 through March 29, and Taub joins us to discuss reviving their story. To learn more go here.Then there are more ways to observe St. Patrick’s Day in Boston than the parade route and the pub crawl. Kiernan Schmitt, author of Secret Boston, joins The Culture Show to explore hidden sites that reveal the city’s Irish and Catholic past — from memorials and monuments to chapels and stories tucked into Boston’s walls.Finally, Fabiola Méndez is bringing the Puerto Rican cuatro to new audiences and bigger stages. Ahead of her Regattabar performance on March 13, and April 30th performance at GBH’s Jazz NOW series, the singer, composer, and bandleader joins Jared Bowen to discuss shaping a musical voice that has taken her from folk-rooted performance to the global stage alongside Bad Bunny. To learn more about the Regattabar performance go here. To learn more about the International Jazz Day show at GBH on April 30 go here. -
March 9, 2026 - Mark Malkoff on "Love Johnny Carson," Stereophonic, and Pedro Alonzo
Comedian and author Mark Malkoff joins The Culture Show to discuss his new book “Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan’s Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend.” Drawing on hundreds of interviews with comedians, writers, and others connected to The Tonight Show, the book revisits Carson’s career, comic instincts, and the influence he continues to have on late-night television.The Tony Award–winning play “Stereophonic” is now on national tour and heading to Boston. The play captures the obsession, tension, and creative friction behind making an album that could define careers. We speak with cast members Jack Barrett, who plays Grover, and actor Steven Lee Johnson, who plays Charlie, about bringing this behind-the-scenes drama to life. “Stereophonic” is onstage at Emerson Colonial Theatre March 10 - March 15. To learn more go here.And Culture Show contributor Pedro Alonzo returns with dispatches from a recent road trip through Mexico. From folk-art towns and a church tower rising from a field of lava to the cowboy culture of Sonora and new gathering spaces in desert cities, he shares stories about the places and cultural scenes he encountered along the way. -
March 6, 2026 - Week in Review: Philip Glass' "Lincoln" at Tanglewood, Iranian cultural landmarks, and RFK Jr vs Dunkin
On this edition of The Culture Show, Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Joyce Kulhawik, go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines.First up, Composer Philip Glass canceled the Kennedy Center debut of his new symphony “Lincoln,” saying the institution’s current leadership conflicts with the work’s message. Now the BSO will give the piece its first performance this summer at Tanglewood.And folks flooded the National Capital Planning Commission’s public comment page in response to President Trump’s proposed White House ballroom renovation. Critics called the design everything from a “gold-plated monstrosity” to “cheap and appalling,” turning the docket into a kind of national design jury.Then, fighting intensifies across the Middle East, cultural landmarks are increasingly at risk. Airstrikes and shelling have threatened historic sites including Tehran’s Golestan Palace and the Bauhaus buildings of Tel Aviv’s UNESCO-listed White City, raising alarms among historians about the loss of cultural memory.Plus, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken aim at ultra-sugary coffee drinks sold by major chains, including Dunkin’. In Massachusetts, the reaction has been swift and caffeinated, with politicians and fans rushing to defend a brand many treat as a regional institution.Finally it’s a week in preview with host recommendations of upcoming events and happenings to take in. Callie offers Maple Days at Old Sturbridge Village; Jared suggests “Masako Miki: Midnight March” at MAAM; and Joyce recommends getting your Oscar ballots in. -
"Stereophonic" Heads to Boston
The Tony Award–winning play “Stereophonic” drops audiences into a 1970s recording studio, where a rising rock band pushes toward greatness — and the breaking point. Now on national tour and heading to Boston, the play captures the obsession, tension, and creative friction behind making an album that could define careers. We speak with cast members Jack Barrett, who plays Grover, and actor Steven Lee Johnson, who plays Charlie, about bringing this behind-the-scenes drama to life. “Stereophonic” is onstage at Emerson Colonial Theatre March 10 - March 15. To learn more go here. -
March 5, 2026 - Boston Pops' Keith Lockhart, To Kill a Mockingbird at Umbrella Arts Center, and Julia Swanson
Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart is being honored with the Third Lantern Award at Old North Church, recognizing his role in using music to connect civic life and shared memory. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, he joins The Culture Show to reflect on the power of orchestral music at historic moments. Keith Lockhart will accept the award on April 16th at Old North Church. To learn more about the ceremony go here. Director Scott Edmiston brings “To Kill a Mockingbird” to life at The Umbrella Arts Center in Concord, revisiting a courtroom drama that continues to confront audiences with questions of justice and courage. He joins The Culture Show to discuss why this American classic still resonates. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is onstage through March 22. To learn more go here.Julia Swanson of the Art Walk Project compares WINTERACTIVE and the Boston Public Art Triennial, and explains how placement, context, and play can transform a city block. To learn more about the Art Walk Project, go here. -
March 4, 2026 - Namwali Serpell's "On Morrison," Mary Grant, and the Fitchburg Art Museum at 100
Toni Morrison transformed American literature, reshaping narrative form and placing Black life at the center of her fiction with language both lyrical and unflinching. In her new book “On Morrison,” award-winning novelist and critic Namwali Serpell reexamines Morrison not just as a cultural icon, but as a daring literary architect whose innovations in time, voice, and structure changed what novels can do. Serpell joins The Culture Show to discuss her book and to the radical craft behind Morrison’s enduring work.Mary Grant, president of MassArt, returns for our recurring feature “AI: Actual Intelligence,” where we spotlight original thinking from leaders across our region. Grant joins The Culture Show to share her latest observations on art, education, and the evolving role of creative institutions today.The Fitchburg Art Museum turns 100 this year, celebrating the vision of painter Eleanor Norcross, who believed a mill town deserved world-class art. Director Nick Capasso joins The Culture Show to discuss the museum’s century of growth, its bilingual community focus, and plans for four years of centennial events and free admission. To learn more go here. -
March 3, 2026 - Astronaut Cady Coleman, BSO x NEC Alliance, and Battlemode's Boston Bitdown
Astronaut Cady Coleman spent nearly six months aboard the International Space Station, contributing to scientific research while orbiting Earth more than 2,500 times. A chemist, Air Force officer, and NASA veteran, she helped expand the role of women in spaceflight during a pivotal era of exploration. In her book Sharing Space, she reflects on what life in orbit taught her about curiosity, collaboration, and making room for others to follow. Tomorrow night you can catch her for an author talk at the BPL’s Central Library in Copley Square at 6:00.For generations, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New England Conservatory have shaped classical music — with BSO musicians teaching at NEC and NEC-trained artists stepping onto Symphony Hall stages. Now, a new BSO x NEC alliance formalizes that relationship, strengthening opportunities for mentorship, training, and performance. Chad Smith, President and CEO of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Andrea Kalyn, President of the New England Conservatory, join us to discuss what this means for the future of music in Boston.The Boston electronic group Battlemode uses Game Boys to create chiptune, a genre built from the 8-bit sounds of early video games. They’re also behind Boston Bitdown, a multi-day festival featuring more than 50 performers from across the country, running March 5 through 8 at venues across Greater Boston. Battlemode joins us to demonstrate how a handheld gaming device becomes a tool for live music. To learn more about Boston Bitdown go here.
