Episodes
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May 10, 2024 - Week in Review: Eurovision protests, Frank Stella, and zombies in Worcester
Today Culture Show co hosts Callie Crossley, Edgar B. Herwick III and Jared Bowen go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review, which includes Eurovision. in 2019 Tel Aviv hosted the song contest. Now, amid Israel’s war on Gaza, the Olympics of pop music is politically charged as pro-Palestinian protesters denounce Israel’s participation. And we remember the inventive artist, who even reinvented himself, Frank Stella. Born in Malden, he found outsized success in 1960’s New York – and he never stopped, from minimalism to maximalism, he remained a giant in the art world. Plus, “The Walking Dead” stages a zombie takeover in Worcester. And, when it comes to Marylin Monroe, something’s gotta give as owners of her house sue Los Angeles so that they can demolish it. -
May 9, 2024 - Jane Schoenbrun, William Forsythe, and the West Newton Cinema
The new film “I Saw the TV Glow” is a complex exploration of childhood nostalgia and how it can haunt us into adulthood. It also explores the irresistible pull of pop culture. Writer and director Jane Schoenbrun joins The Culture Show ahead of their Saturday appearance at the Coolidge to receive their Breakthrough Artist Award, which spotlights the next generation of filmmaking talent. From there we talk to another innovator, William Forsythe. He is known internationally as one of the most influential choreographers working today, lauded for the contemporary perspective and consideration he gives to classical ballet. He joins us to talk about Boston Ballet’s Spring experience, which includes Forsythe’s Blake Works III (The Barre Project). Finally, Elizabeth Heilig, president of the West Newton Cinema Foundation, joins us to talk about how an anonymous donation changes their race to save the beloved institution–nearly 90 years old– from demolition. -
May 8, 2024 - Spiritus/Virgil's Dance, lilacs, and Isabella Stewart Gardner
Is it the human condition to take life for granted? Do we need to be confronted with death as a way to acknowledge life, appreciate life and to find meaning in life? These are both metaphysical and matter-of-fact questions that are central to Dael Orlandersmith’s solo play “Spiritus/Virgil’s Dance.”It is described as being in conversation with Dante’s Divine Comedy, where Virgil guides Dante’s journey through hell and purgatory. In Orlandersmith’s hands, Virgil is an adrift 20 something –a Bronx native who instead of navigating hell, is navigating Manhattan. When Virgil’s mother and father die just a year apart, it’s a loss that reorients Virigl’s life and renews a sense of purpose.“Spiritus/Virgil’s Dance” is written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith and directed by Neel Keller. Orlandersmith joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest work. From there it’s purple reign. This Sunday more than 400 lilacs will be in bloom at the Arnold Arboretum. Arboretum horticulturist Conor Guidarelli joins us for a preview. .Finally, most of us know the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. But what do we know about the woman behind it? Writer Natalie Dykstra’s latest biography, “Chasing Beauty” conveys the spirit of Gardner's complicated personality and how she found her niche, and created a legacy, as a patron and friend of the arts. -
May 7, 2024: AJ Jacobs, Amanda Shea, and Porchfest
From guns to reproductive rights, the majority of Supreme Court justices think we should follow the original intentions of the Constitution as closely as possible. So what does that mean in modern-day America? Writer A.J. Jacobs went to find out.In his latest book, “The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution’s Original Meaning.” Jacobs documents living as closely to the original meaning of the Constitution as possible, which includes carrying a musket, and personally delivering a list of grievances to Congress. Though this full constitutional immersion is humorous, Jacobs is not in this just for the laughs. He also finds a nation losing its hold on the values implicit in the constitution: responsibility, community and civic engagement. He joins The Culture Show to talk about it all.From there Revolutionary Spaces gives us a different look at American history with a program that spotlights the people who exercised their right to petition because they didn’t have the fundamental right to make their voice heard, the right to vote. Spoken word artist Amanda Shea, and Anne Freeh Engle, Deputy Director and Chief Strategy Officer at Revolutionary Spaces join The Culture Show to preview “All the Voices in the House: Hear My Plea, Know My Truth.” Finally, all the world’s a Porch. Culture Show producer Kate Dellis gives us a primer on Somerville’s forthcoming, annual music festival: Porchfest. -
May 6, 2024 - Reginald Dwayne Betts and Porsha Olayiwola
When Reginald Dwayne Betts was 16 years old, he was an honors student. He was also arrested for carjacking. Prosecuted as an adult, he spent eight years in a Virginia prison, existing among grown up men. What got him through those years behind bars? Books. Betts left prison a poet; he then became an Ivy League-educated Lawyer and now he’s on a mission to bring libraries into prisons with a first-of-its kind organization called “Freedom Reads.” He joins The Culture Show to talk about how he aims to radically transform access to literature for people behind bars. From there we continue the poetry conversation with Boston Poet Laureate Porsha Olayiwola who deconstructs her poem, “MARGARET GARNER CROSSES THE OHIO RIVER ONLY TO GET CAUGHT AND SOLD DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI OR THE MOTHER STANDS TRIAL FOR MURDERING HER CHILDREN,” which was inspired by Toni Morrison’s novel, “Beloved.” -
May 3, 2024 - Week in Review: Public art, the Mona Lisa, and Kendrick v. Drake
Today on The Culture Show co hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III go over the latest arts and culture headlines on our week-in-review. First up, Boston will host its first ever public art triennial. A year from now the city will be populated by public art from international superstars to locally renowned artists. From there, disappointed museum goers are putting the moan in Mona Lisa. The Louvre has plans to move da Vinci’s masterpiece underground so that audiences don’t have to be dissatisfied with what is now considered an overrated work.Plus, the Tony nominations are out, we look at the surprises, snubs and snoozers.And, where’s the beef? Look no further than hip-hop heavyweights Kendrick Lamar and Drake. We track how their feud has escalated and ask if this modern-day rap battle is proof that when it comes to a duel, the pen is mightier than the sword. -
May 2, 2024 - ArtLords, City Hall, and the Worcester Symphony Orchestra
When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, creating art was dangerous. The Taliban disapproved of music and banned all artistic representations of the human form. They saw art as an expression of protest and resistance. After their reign, when Afghanistan functioned as an open society, art flourished. But since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, after the final US troops left Afghanistan, art has literally been wiped out and artists are again being oppressed.Driven by the desire to promote the arts, artists, and the transformative power that art can have, Omaid Sharifi co-founded the artist collective ArtLords in the heart of Kabul. He joins The Culture Show along with ArtLords artist and current student at Dean College, Fatima Wojohat .And, as we continue our Boston Design Week coverage, The Culture Show’s Edgar B. Herwick III investigates how people feel about one of Boston’s most contentious designs: Boston City HallFinally, May the 4th be with you. Roderick MacDonald, music director of the Worcester Symphony Orchestra, and president of the WSO, Edgar Cyrus, join us to talk about their upcoming concert,”The Magic of Hollywood,” which will feature scores from the silver screen, from “Star Wars” to “Harry Potter.” -
May 1, 2024 - Back to the Future, Joywalk Fenway, and Mahesh Daas
The Culture Show Podcast May 1, 2024. -
April 30, 2024 - Robert Jan van Pelt, Boston Design Week and Ngoc-Tran Vu
The Culture Show Podcast April 30, 2024. -
April 29, 2024: Oliver de la Paz, Pope Francis and Adam Gardner
The Culture Show Podcast April 29, 2024.
