Episodes
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September 18, 2025 - Richard Smith as Henry David Thoreau, MIT's Great Glass Pumpkin Patch, and a fall TV guide
For more than a quarter century, Richard Smith embodied Henry David Thoreau—donning the waistcoat and straw hat, walking the paths of Concord, and giving voice to one of New England’s most enduring thinkers. Now, after 26 years of living deliberately in another man’s shoes, Smith is stepping away from the role. Closing a chapter that made Thoreau’s world vividly real for thousands who visited Walden Pond.From there, If you think carving a pumpkin takes skill, imagine shaping one in glass heated to nearly 2,000 degrees. At MIT’s Glass Lab—a place where art meets science—students, faculty, and alumni practice the craft of glassblowing. It’s one of the only university studios of its kind. And each fall, the fruits of their labor gleam on the campus lawn in what is known as the Great Glass Pumpkin Patch, taking place September 27th at MIT's Kresge Oval. To learn more, go here.And, Chris Vognar, the Boston Globe’s new TV and pop culture critic is here. He’ll give us a preview of what to watch on the small screen this month, from the chilling sci-fi of Alien: Earth to the Jude Law-Jason Bateman brotherly bond in Black Rabbit. To read Chris' reviews, go here. -
September 17, 2025 - Portrait of Doña Feliciana Belendes y Ramirez, Will Dailey, and the Fluff Festival
We continue our Countdown to 2026 series with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Each month we look at artworks that shed new light on the American Revolution and the people who shaped it. Today Layla Bermeo joins us to talk about Miguel de Herrera’s Portrait of Doña Feliciana Belendes y Ramirez. Layla Bermeo is the Kristin and Roger Servison Curator of Paintings, Art of the Americas.Singer-songwriter Will Dailey also joins us to talk about his latest album, Boys Talking and his $10 Song project, an experiment connecting fans directly to the music. You can catch him live this Saturday, September 20th, at 8:00 PM at Meadow Hall at Groton Hill Music Center. To learn more go here.And Somerville stirs up one of its sweetest celebrations—the annual “What the Fluff?” Festival. On Saturday, September 20th from 2:00 to 6:00 PM, Union Square fills with music, games, and marshmallow mayhem in honor of the hometown invention that made the fluffernutter a legend. Jessica Eshleman, Executive Director of Union Square Main Streets, joins us for an overview. To learn more go here. -
September 16, 2025 - Mary Gauthier, the American Comedy Archives with Eddie Brill, and Mary Grant
Award-winning singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier joins The Culture Show ahead of her concert at The First Church in Belmont with special guest Jaimee Harris. Rooted in folk and country traditions, Gauthier has built a career on transforming hard experiences into songs that connect and heal. To learn more about this Friday’s concert go here.At Emerson College comedy is no laughing matter. Decades before it launched the nation’s first comedy degree, Emerson was sending performers like Jennifer Coolidge and Jay Leno into the spotlight. Now the school is reviving its American Comedy Archives, with candid new interviews featuring Bill Burr, Paula Poundstone, and others. Comedian and Emerson alum Eddie Brill, who lead these conversations, joins us for an overview. To explore the archives go here.Finally MassArt President Mary Grant joins us for her monthly appearance. Today she reflects on freedom of speech on college campuses. -
September 15, 2025 - Recapping the Emmy Awards, Unbound at King's Chapel, and Jane Eaglen
First up, we recap the 2025 Emmy Awards with Callie Crossley, Culture Show co-host and host of Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik, Emmy Award–winning arts and entertainment critic and President of the Boston Theater Critics Association. You can find her reviews at Joyce’s Choices.At Boston’s historic King’s Chapel, a new Living Memorial is taking shape to honor the lives of 219 enslaved people once tied to the church. We’re joined by Harmonia Rosales, visual artist and creator of Unbound, and Rev. Joy Fallon, Senior Minister at King’s Chapel.Finally, Jane Eaglen joins us for her take on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of the Opera.” Jane Eaglen is a Grammy Award–winning soprano, faculty member at New England Conservatory and President of the Boston Wagner Society, explores if there are any traces of traditional opera in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera. -
September 12, 2025 - Week-in-Review: Japanese egg salad sandwiches and actress Polly Holliday
Today Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III go over the latest headlines on The Culture Show’s week-in-review.First up: Our local culinary scene. It’s having a moment; in its list of America’s 50 Best restaurants, The New York Times names five from New England. The list includes the upscale Italian fare at La Padrona in Boston’s Raffles Hotel and the modern twist on Irish pub food at McGonagle’s in Dorchester.From there, Banksy strikes again. The artist unveiled a new mural at the Royal Courts of Justice building in London, 48 hours after its discovery, it was removed. The irony: The mural was a commentary on the suppression of freedom of speech.Finally, we remember actress Polly Holliday who was best known as the wisecracking waitress Flo on the 1970s sitcom Alice. She died this week at age 88. -
September 11, 2025 - David Duchovny, a Boston Film Festival preview, and The Kittie Knox Plays
Award-winning actor, director, singer-songwriter and bestselling author David Duchovny joins The Culture Show to discuss “About Time: Poems,” a collection that reflects on love, family, aging, and the shifting nature of time. From there Robin Dawson, Executive Director of Boston Film Festival previews the 41st season, which kicks off on September 18th. To learn more go here.Finally Obie Award-winning playwright Kirsten Greenidge joins The Culture Show to discuss “The Kittie Knox Plays.” Presented by Plays in Place in collaboration with MassBike, the series kicks off on September 13th. To learn more about performance times and venues go here. -
September 10, 2025 - Joyce Kulhawik, The Mountaintop, and Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez
Joyce Kulhawik joins The Culture Show for our recurring feature, Stage and Screen Time–a look at the latest movies and plays in theaters now. Joyce Kulhawik is an Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter and president of the Boston Theatre Critics Association. You can find her reviews on Joyce’s Choices.From there Maurice Emmanuel Parent joins us for a preview of Katori Hall’s Olivier Award-winning play “The Mountaintop. It reimagines events on the night before Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. While a fictional take on events, Hall creates a humanizing glimpse into the civil rights leader’s final hours, The Front Porch Arts Collective is opening its 2025/2026 season with this work. It’s directed by Maurice Emmanuel Parent who is also the Porch's co-founder and Producing Artistic Director. To learn more go here.Finally internationally acclaimed artist Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez joins The Culture Show for an overview of his solo exhibition at Boston University At Galleries, Ni de Aquí, Ni de Allá (Not From Here, Not From There).The works on view include over a dozen original paintings that combine acrylic, oil, and custom textiles, with embellishments painted directly onto the gallery walls extending the artwork beyond the frame and into the space itself. The exhibition is on view through December 10. To learn more go here. -
September 9, 2025 - Imari Paris Jeffries, Edward Gorey: The Gloomy Gallery, and Baldwin: A Love Story
Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston, joins The Culture Show to preview this Saturday’s Embrace Massó "¡Con Salsa!” International Music Festival. It’s a celebration of music, culture, and social justice. To learn more go here.From there Molly Schwartzburg joins The Culture Show for an overview of a new exhibition “Edward Gorey: The Gloomy Gallery. It’s on view at Harvard’s Houghton Library through January 12th. Molly Schwartzburg is the Philip Hofer Curator of Printing and Graphic Arts. She co-curated this exhibition with Maggie Erwin. To learn more go here.Finally writer Nicholas Boggs joins The Culture Show to talk about his book, “Baldwin: A Love Story.” It's the first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades, revealing how the writer’s personal relationships shaped his life and work. Tonight Nicholas Baldwin will be at Harvard Book Store. To learn more go here. -
September 8, 2025 - Ben Shattuck, David Baron, and Mariachi musician Veronica Robles
Writer Ben Shattuck’s award-winning story “The History of Sound,” is now a feature length film. Set in World War I, it follows two young men who set out into the woods of Maine to collect folk songs before they vanish. The film is a love story, a time capsule, and a meditation on who gets remembered and how. He joins The Culture Show to talk about adapting his short story to the Silver Screen. “The History of Sound’s” theatrical release in the U.S. is September 12th. To learn more go here.From there writer David Baron joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America. David Baron is an award-winning journalist and author who writes about science, nature, and the American West. While writing “THE MARTIANS,” David Baron served as the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation.Finally, we get a jump on Mexican Independence Day with Veronica Robles. She and her all-female Mariachi band will perform this Sunday at The Charles Hotel Lower Courtyard in Harvard Square. The celebrations start at 4:00. To learn more go here. Veronica Robles is Mariachi singer, musician and Latin American folkloric dancer and choreographer. She is also the co-founder and Director of the Veronica Robles Cultural Center in East Boston. -
September 5, 2025 - Week in Review: Massachusetts' new flag proposals, South Park, and Giorgio Armani
Today Jared Bowen, Edgar B. Herwick III and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons go over the latest arts and culture headlines on our week-in-review.First up, we look at the redesign of the Massachusetts state flag and seal. More than 1,150 public submissions have been narrowed down to just a few options for further review. From there we move to Florida now where Governor Ron DeSantis is taking his “war on woke” to the streets—literally. His administration has ordered the removal of rainbow crosswalks, murals, and other community artwork across the state, calling them unsafe and politically charged. Finally we remember Giorgio Armani who died this week at 91. Armani changed fashion by making formal wear as comfortable as sportswear, with his signature unstructured jackets and streamlined style. His influence stretched from the runway to the red carpet, building a global brand that came to define modern elegance.
