Episodes
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May 15, 2024 - Miranda July, Ekua Holmes, and the Elliot Norton Awards
Miranda July, a triple threat in the art world as an innovative visual artist, filmmaker, and writer has just released a new novel titled “All Fours.” It’s a coming-of-middle-age story about a married woman who is either experiencing a turning point or is turning her world upside down when she derails a solo road trip by abruptly checking into and staying at a highway motel. She joins The Culture Show to talk about it and her creative process.From there we look at another innovative artist, the illustrator and activist Ekua Holmes who has redefined children’s books with her bold colors and sophisticated collage work. She’ll joins us to preview this Saturday’s Roxbury Book Fair and to discuss her latest book, a biography of Coretta Scott King.Finally Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik joins us. She’s president of the Boston Theatre Critics Association, which sponsors the Elliot Norton Awards. She’ll talk through this year’s nominees and preview next Monday’s awards ceremony. -
May 14, 2024 - "Touching the Void", Colm Tóibín, and The Plastic Bag Store
Climbing a mountain is a metaphor frequently used to describe something that seems insurmountable. For the Chelsea-based Apollinaire Theatre Company, they are both figuratively and literally climbing a mountain in their latest production “Touching the Void.” The play involves a climbable mountain, a Scottish pub, a base camp, and the ever-present void. Two of the actors starring in this production, Parker Jennings and Patrick O’Konis, join us to talk about taking theater to new heights. Then author Colm Tóibín joins us. He doesn’t care for sequels. He thinks of them as kind of a literary copout. But 15 years after he published his critically acclaimed novel “Brooklyn,” he has written a follow up: the novel “Long Island.” He joins us to talk about the hold that his protagonist, Eilis Lacey has had on him. Finally, do you want plastic or plastic? You have only one option at “The Plastic Bag Store,” an immersive art experience now open at MASS MoCA, presented in association with Williamstown Theatre Festival. We talk to the creative force behind this, artist Robin Frohardt who has found multiple uses for single use plastics. -
May 13, 2024 - Kerri Greenidge, the BSO, and LexSeeHer
The landmark Supreme Court case that struck down racial segregation in public schools helped to dismantle the legal apparatus of white supremacy. It also prompted a civil rights movement. With This Friday marking the 70th anniversary of this ruling, Kerri Greenidge, associate professor in history and in the department of race, colonialism, and diaspora at Tufts University, joins us to talk about its legacy and limitations. From there we look at racial imbalance in another realm, classical music. U.S. orchestras have come under scrutiny in recent years for being predominantly white –now they’re working to change that. CRB’s Brian McCreath takes us to Symphony Hall with a look at how the Boston Symphony Orchestra is encouraging a new generation of diverse musicians.Finally, sisters are doing it for themselves. As America prepares to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution, Lexington, Massachusetts is telling a story about the women who were a part of this history but were forgotten or erased and never celebrated. Hence, the monument “Something is Being Done.” Years in the making it will be unveiled this Wednesday at 10:30 . It depicts women with Lexington roots, from the 18th century to the present.Jared Bowen talks to Meredith Bergmann, the acclaimed Massachusetts sculptor who created this monument and Jessie Steigerwald, president of LexSeeHer, Inc. -
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.”
