Episodes
-
September 4, 2025 - Sally Mann, Joy Behar, and Voices and Votes: Democracy in America
In 2015 renowned photographer Sally Mann published her memoir “Hold Still,” an inquiry into family history, the American South and the nature of creativity. Now, comes her book “Art Work: On the Creative Life.” It is laugh-out-loud funny. It’s irreverent. And it’s refreshingly practical as she guides the reader through her experience and process of being an artist. On September 8th Sally Mann appears at the Brattle Theater for an event sponsored by Harvard Book Store. Tickets are sold out but there is a waitlist. Also, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has announced that she’ll appear as part of the Shapiro Celebrity Lectures next February. “My First Ex-Husband” is an adaptation of true stories by Joy Behar, writer, comedienne and co-host of The View. The play explores the messy, hilarious truths of love, sex, and relationships. Ahead of its run at The Huntington Theatre, Joy Behar joins The Culture Show to talk about creating this work. “My First Ex-Husband” is onstage September 12 - September 28. To learn more go here. Finally we continue our series “Countdown to 2026” with Kate Fox, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, which is leading the Massachusetts 250 campaign, and Brian Boyles, the Executive Director at Mass Humanities. He sits on the state's Special Commission on the 250th Anniversary of the American Revolution and he co-chairs Everyone 250. To stay on top of all things MA250 go here. -
September 3, 2025 - Adela Goldbard and Pedro Alonzo, Jyoti and Auyon Mukharji, and Mahesh Daas
Independent Curator and Artistic Director of the Boston Public Art Triennial Pedro Alonzo joins The Culture Show with Adela Goldbard. She is an interdisciplinary artist-scholar and educator from Mexico and an Associate Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. They’re previewing Goldbard’s Triennial pyrotechnic performance, which will happen at Boston City Hall Plaza, September 12, at 7:00. To learn more go here. From there mother and son duo Jyoti Mukharji and Auyon Mukharji, join The Culture show to talk about their new collaboration “Heartland Masala: An Indian Cookbook from an American Kitchen.” On September 4th you can catch them at Davoll’s General Store at 4:00 in South Dartmouth, MA. To learn more go here. You can also catch them at Brookline Booksmith on September 5th, more information on that event is here.Finally, Mahesh Daas, president of Boston Architectural College joins The Culture Show for his monthly appearance. Today he’s discussing the art and science of relocating a building, a conversation that was inspired by this story about a church on the move. Mahesh Daas is the author of four books including Towards A Robotic Architecture and I, Nobot, a graphic novella exploring relationships among artificial intelligence, robotics, and cities. -
September 2, 2025 - Marianne Leone, Rachel Ruysch at the MFA, and Passengers at the ART
Marianne Leone is an actress, author, and screenwriter. She joins The Culture Show to talk about her novel “Christina The Astonishing," a coming-of-age story about Christina Falcone and her desire to break free from Catholic school nuns, Italian mothers, and small-town Massachusetts. On September 10th she’ll be at Porter Square Books, in conversation with Chris Cooper. To learn more go here. From there we head to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for an overview of their new exhibition “Rachel Ruysch: Artist, Naturalist, and Pioneer.” Antien Knaap, the MFA’s Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, Curator of Paintings, Art of Europe, and Charles Davis, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University join The Culture Show.Finally Shana Carroll, the Co-Founding Artistic Director of the Montreal based circus company The 7 Fingers joins us to talk about “Passengers,” which is written, directed and choreographed by Carroll. “Passengers,” is a kinetic show about train travel as a metaphor for life that blends circus, music, dance and storytelling. It’s onstage at the American Repertory Theater’s Loeb Drama Center through September 26th. It is co-produced by TOHU and ArtsEmerson. To learn more go here. -
September 1, 2025 - Shark Week: Wendy Benchley, "Jaws at 50," and the life of Robert Shaw
Wendy Benchley joins The Culture Show. She is the wife of the late author Peter Benchley, who wrote the bestselling novel “Jaws.” Since the success of the book and subsequent film, Wendy Benchley has dedicated much of her life to conservation. She is an award-winning ocean advocate and scuba diver. She is cofounder of the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards. Along with Laura Bowling, Wendy Benchley is the Executive Producer of the new film “Jaws at 50: The Definitive Inside Story.” It's a National Geographic documentary produced in partnership with Amblin Documentaries and Nedland Films. To learn more go here.From there Anna Barber, Curator of Exhibitions at Martha's Vineyard Museum joins The Culture Show for an overview of their sprawling exhibition “Jaws’ at 50: A Deeper Dive,” It’s on view through September 7th. To learn more go here.Finally we end where we began, wading into the ocean with another look at “Jaws” at 50. Writer Christopher Shaw Myers joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book “Robert Shaw: An Actor’s Life on the Set of JAWS and Beyond.” -
August 29, 2025 - "EEPHUS," Chef Andy Husbands, and John Flansburgh
Director Carson Lund joins The Culture Show to talk about his debut feature film “Eephus,” a quintessentially New England baseball film. Find out more, here.From there Andy Husbands, chef and owner of The Smoke Shop BBQ, has co-authored the “Quick and Easy Burger Cookbook,” which will bump your burger game with creative recipes. He joins The Culture Show to talk about how we can turn our nothing burger into a something burger. Finally we talk to John Flansburgh, one half of the iconic alt-rock duo They Might Be Giants. TMBG have charmed audiences with their eclectic, genre-bending style for decades. They’ve released countless albums, contributed music to TV shows such as “Malcolm in the Middle,” and wriggled their way into the public consciousness with songs like “Doctor Worm” and “Birdhouse in your Soul.” -
August 28, 2025 - Peter Wolf and Regie Gibson
Music legend Peter Wolf has had a long solo career and rose to recognition as former lead singer of the J. Geils Band–famous for its high-octane shows and top 40 hits. Wolf joins The Culture Show to talk about his new memoir “Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters and Goddesses.”. Regie Gibson, an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and an instructor at Clark University, has been selected as Massachusetts’ first Poet Laureate. He joins The Culture Show to talk about how he’ll define this role, his path to poetry and to share some of his work. Gibson is a songwriter, author, spoken-word poet and former National Poetry Slam Individual Champion. -
August 27, 2025 - Ben Shattuck, Cakeswagg, Andre Dubus III
Ben Shattuck’s latest book, “The History of Sound: Stories” is a collection of interconnected stories that examine the lives and landscapes of New England where Shattuck spans centuries in these haunting and often humorous stories. From there it’s teacher by day, Cakeswagg by night. The Boston-based Lyricist and rapper joins us to talk about her sophomore album “Michelin Star.”Finally writer Andre Dubus III. He joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest work, a collection of personal essays, “Ghost Dogs: On Killers and Kin,” Andre Dubus III teaches writing at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. -
August 26, 2025 - J. Courtney Sullivan, Colm Tóibín, and Dart Adams on De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising”
Best-selling author J. Courtney Sullivan joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest novel, “The Cliffs.” It is an intricately layered novel of family, spirits, and secrets set on the seaside cliffs of Maine.Then author Colm Tóibín joins us. He doesn’t like 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 it’s time for “Sound Files,” our recurring series where we invite local musicians and cultural critics to zero in on one of their favorite entries in the US National Recording Registry. Today Dart Adams, a journalist, historian and lecturer, has chosen to go deep on De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising.” -
August 25, 2025- Dread Scott, André Aciman and Janie Barnett on "She's So Unusual."
Interdisciplinary artist Dread Scott joins The Culture Show. In 1989, the US Senate outlawed his artwork and President Bush declared it "disgraceful" because of its transgressive use of the American flag. Dread became part of a landmark Supreme Court case when he and others burned flags on the steps of the Capitol. He is a revolutionary artist who gives us a new way to see some ugly truths about America. From there the acclaimed author André Aciman joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book “Room on the Sea: Three Novellas.” Finally, it’s another episode of “Sound Files.” Our ongoing series when we invite local musicians and cultural critics to zero in on one of their favorite entries in the US National Recording Registry. On tap today, Janie Barnett has chosen to go deep on Cyndi Lauper’s “She’s So Unusual.” Janie Barnett’s latest album is “Under My Skin: Reimagining Cole Porter.” -
August 22, 2025 - Week in Review: The return of Victorian fashion, performative males, and the Laufey library card
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, fashion backward. We look at a new trend, people wearing vintage clothing with styles inspired by period dramas such as “The Gilded Age” and “Downton Abbey.” From there we analyze the “Sex in the City,” sequel, “And Just Like That.” The series finale was this week and it left fans feeling flat. Then it’s off to the box office where comedies are having a comeback. In recent years they have been sidelined to streaming platforms. Now, with movies such as “The Naked Gun” and “Freakier Friday “ emerging as box office hits, will there be more comedic films having theatrical releases? Finally, we look at how recreational reading rates have steadily declined in the US over the last 20 years, and we’ll look through some of the latest words entered into the Cambridge Dictionary this year.
