Episodes
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December 24, 2025 - Two Scoops of Scrooge, Blue Heron, Dickens' home away from home
It’s a story for the past, present and future: Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.” Though it was a reflection of Dickens’ times, the struggle between selfishness and selflessness endures. In Ebeneezer Scrooge, Dickens created both an antagonist and protagonist who went from being a covetous curmudgeon to a repentant man. Today we’re serving up two scoops of Scrooge with actors David Coffee and Karen MacDonald about what it takes to the iconic character.From there we hit the pause button on the Santaland soundtrack to make room for Blue Heron. The vocal ensemble takes us back to 15th century England with medieval music that will put you in the holiday spirit of yore.And Susan Wilson, the official house historian of the Omni Parker House, takes us inside Charles Dickens’s remarkable 1867 residency at Boston’s Omni Parker House — the hotel where he rehearsed, wrote, and prepared for readings that sent the city into a literary fervor. She traces how Boston became a temporary home for Dickens and why “A Christmas Carol" still resonates here during the holidays. -
December 23, 2025 - Ron Chernow, Tara Roberts, and a Victorian Gothic Thriller
Ron Chernow―prizewinning author of seven books, including the National Book Award winner “The House of Morgan,” the Pulitzer Prize winner “Washington: A Life,” and the George Washington Book Prize winner “Alexander Hamilton”―joins The Culture Show to talk about his new biography “Mark Twain.” From there we talk to National Geographic Explorer in Residence Tara Roberts. She joins The Culture Show to talk about her book “Written in the Waters: A memoir of History, Home and Belonging.” Finally, author JM Varese joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest novel, a Victorian Gothic thriller that is rooted in the real-life Victorian scandal when arsenic was used to make decorative wallpaper. JM Varese is Director of Outreach for The Dickens Project at UC Santa Cruz. -
December 23, 2025 - BONUS EPISODE: Keith Lockhart Waxes Rhapsodic on "Bohemian Rhapsody"
The United States has a National Recording Registry— a list of more than 600 recordings that have been deemed culturally, historically or aesthetically significant by the Library of Congress. GBH’s The Culture Show is digging deep, one recording at a time, with our recurring segment SOUND FILES. In this edition, Keith Lockhart with the acclaimed orchestra Boston Pops waxes operatic about his love of Queen’s 1975 masterpiece “Bohemian Rhapsody.”“Twenty-five years ago, there were all these things that everybody knew how to sing,” Lockhart said. “These days, our audience is fragmented enough — from the younger people to the older people — that there’s only one song I can think of that pretty much everybody in every audience we ever play for knows. And that is ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’” In 2022, it was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. In its induction essay, musical artist Don Breithaupt describes it as something of a musical and technological miracle and said, simply, “it is now in a class by itself.” On its initial release back in 1975, literally millions of people across the globe bought the record. One of those buyers was a gifted 15-year-old clarinetist in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. That, of course, was Keith Lockhart. “The first rock album I bought — the first LP I bought — was Night at the Opera in the fall of 1975,” Lockhart said. “I’d heard ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in airplay on the radio, and I thought, ‘How did they do this?’” Holiday Pops is on through December 24th. To see Keith Lockhart live, learn more here. -
December 22, 2025 - Gerald Charles Dickens, The Feast of the Seven Fishes, Mrs. Claus
In the Victorian era, Charles Dickens was more than a famous author — his public readings of A Christmas Carol turned literature into live spectacle. His great-great-grandson, Gerald Charles Dickens, carries that tradition forward with a one-man performance of the holiday classic. Touring internationally since the early 1990s, he joined The Culture Show to talk about literary inheritance, live storytelling, and decades spent bringing Dickens’ ghosts to life onstage. To learn more about Gerald Charles Dickens go here.On Christmas Eve, Italian-American tables overflow with seafood for the Feast of the Seven Fishes — a tradition shaped by Catholic practice, regional custom, and availability rather than strict rules. But debates endure: why seven dishes, what counts, and how much tradition should bend? We talked with Domenic Strazzullo and The Boston Guido about how memory, argument, and improvisation have become part of the celebration itself.Susan Roberts spends the holiday season performing as Mrs. Claus — a role that blends warmth, quick thinking, and emotional awareness. Working public events and private visits, she helps manage high expectations and big feelings that come with the season. She joined The Culture Show to talk about becoming Mrs. Claus, the craft behind effortless cheer, and why the woman in red is stepping into the spotlight. To learn more about Susan Roberts go here. -
December 19, 2025 - Week in Review: The Oscars on YouTube, Rob Reiner, and Santa's beard
On this edition of The Culture Show, 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, Hollywood’s biggest night is getting a new home. The Academy Awards will leave broadcast television and stream exclusively on YouTube beginning with the 101st Oscars in 2029, ending a more than five-decade run on ABC and signaling a major shift in how global audiences gather for live cultural events.Plus the entertainment industry gets its annual checkup. UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report tracks who holds power on screen and behind the camera — and finds progress remains uneven, with representation still lagging behind the diversity of today’s audiences.Then, a long-overdue honor for Donna Summer. The Queen of Disco was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, recognized for writing and co-writing the hits that reshaped pop and dance music, from “I Feel Love” to “She Works Hard for the Money” and “Bad Girls.”And, a farewell to Rob Reiner. From playing “Meathead” on All in the Family to directing films like This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally…, Reiner’s work reshaped comedy, romance, and character-driven filmmaking.Finally, we split hairs over splitting hairs – from year-round whiskered Santas and organized beard-natural groups to professional Santas investing in hyper-real yak-hair wigs, the debate over whether Santa should grow his own beard or wear one is very much alive. -
December 18, 2025 - Imari Paris Jeffries, Mary Grant, and Cocktail Guru Jonathan Pogash
Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston and co-chair of Everyone 250, joins us for his recurring segment AI: Actual Intelligence — a space for original, human insight. This month Jeffries discussed how history, memory, and civic responsibility are shaping current cultural conversations in Greater Boston and beyond. He also previewed Everyone250’s 2026 events to confront erasure and reclaim America’s story. To learn more go here. Then Mary Grant, President of Massachusetts College of Art and Design, discusses the mass shooting at Brown University and how colleges are grappling with fear, safety, and institutional responsibility while trying to preserve the independence that defines campus life. She also shared her top list of the memorable arts and culture events of 2025.And we topped things off by topping one off with Cocktail Guru Jonathan Pogash. He returned for his annual holiday visit — offering festive cocktail and mocktail ideas, plus practical advice for stocking a bar and hosting with confidence during the season. Jonathan Pogash is President and Owner of The Cocktail Guru. These are the cocktails he made today Hanukkah Harry Nonalcoholic : POM wonderful pomegranate juice, aquafaba, lemon, turmeric, honey Winter Spice Old Fashioned - Mad River maple cask Rum, home-made winter spice grenadine, bitters Jonathan’sFamous Eggnog - A classic nog w/ Mozart white chocolate, sherry, and Mad River bourbon -
December 17, 2025 - Wednesday Watch Party: A Christmas Carol!
Today we commune with the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Edgar B. Herwick III co-host this month’s Wednesday Watch Party and revisit all the screen lives of “A Chistmas Carol.” Dickens’ tale has been adapted hundreds of times — from silent films and mid-century classics to animated versions, musicals, and comic riffs. The hosts ask listeners what versions resonate the most with them and who is their favorite Scrooge. -
December 16, 2025 - Nadya Tolokonnikova, Stefan Jackiw, and Julia Swanson
Conceptual performance artist and activist Nadya Tolokonnikova is the creator of Pussy Riot. She joins The Culture Show to discuss “Police State” — a museum installation that recreates the conditions of her incarceration through constant surveillance and confinement. The project draws directly from her imprisonment following Pussy Riot’s 2012 protest inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Tolokonnikova’s new book, also titled “Police State” documents the installation and reflects on power, punishment, and resistance. To learn more about her new book, “Police State,” go here.Internationally acclaimed violinist Stefan Jackiw joins us ahead of his chamber music concert this Thursday at the Allen Center in Newton, 7:30 PM, presented by Cherry Street Music. A Boston native who made his professional debut at age 12 with the Boston Pops, Jackiw has built a career spanning major orchestral stages and intimate chamber collaborations. To learn more about this Thursday’s concert go here. Culture Show contributor Julia Swanson returns for her monthly Public Service Arts Announcement, asking whether holiday decorations — lights, inflatables, ice sculptures, and storefront windows — can cross the line from seasonal display into public art. Swanson is a multidisciplinary artist and award-winning photographer, and the creator of The Art Walk Project, a series of self-guided micro tours of public art across Greater Boston. -
December 18, 2025 - Imari Paris Jeffries, Mary Grant, and holiday cocktails with Jonathan Pogash
Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston and co-chair of Everyone 250, joins us for his recurring segment AI: Actual Intelligence — a space for original, human insight. This month Jeffries discussed how history, memory, and civic responsibility are shaping current cultural conversations in Greater Boston and beyond. He also previewed Everyone250’s 2026 events to confront erasure and reclaim America’s story. To learn more go here. Then Mary Grant, President of Massachusetts College of Art and Design, discusses the mass shooting at Brown University and how colleges are grappling with fear, safety, and institutional responsibility while trying to preserve the independence that defines campus life. She also shared her top list of the memorable arts and culture events of 2025.And we topped things off by topping one off with Cocktail Guru Jonathan Pogash. He returned for his annual holiday visit — offering festive cocktail and mocktail ideas, plus practical advice for stocking a bar and hosting with confidence during the season. Jonathan Pogash is President and Owner of The Cocktail Guru. These are the cocktails he made today 1) Nonalcoholic Hanukkah Harry: POM wonderful pomegranate juice, aquafaba, lemon, turmeric, honey Winter Spice Old Fashioned - Mad River maple cask Rum, home-made winter spice grenadine, bitters and Jonathan’s Famous Eggnog - A classic nog w/ Mozart white chocolate, sherry, and Mad River bourbon -
December 15, 2025 - Is This A Room, Marina Abramović, and remembering Rob Reiner
Tina Statter’s “Is This A Room” uses the verbatim FBI transcript of Reality Winner’s 2017 interrogation to turn everyday language into gripping drama. Actor Parker Jennings, who plays Reality Winner, and actor Cristhian Mancinas-García, who plays Special Agent R. Wallace Taylor, join The Culture Show to discuss this production, which is now onstage at Apollinaire Theatre Company through January 18th. To learn more go here.For more than five decades, Marina Abramović has made endurance, vulnerability, and moral responsibility central to performance art. She joins The Culture Show to discuss her new BBC Maestro course, “The Marina Abramović Method: Performance and Presence.” To learn more go here.Boston Globe TV and pop culture critic Chris Vognar remembers actor and director Rob Reiner, he’ll also cut through December’s viewing overload, highlighting holiday films that still deliver, and unexpected titles worth your time.
