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Exclusive: BSO President Chad Smith defends decision to oust Andris Nelsons
In his first broadcast interview, Smith told GBH’s The Culture Show that the decision to part ways with Nelsons stems from "a need for alignment."
Listen to previous shows
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October 7, 2026 - Nathaniel Philbrick's "The Rush," America's Test Kitchen's "The New Cookie," and "Spamamlot"
National Book Award-winning historian Nathaniel Philbrick joins us to discuss The Rush: California Gold, the Civil War, and the Making of the Modern World, his new book tracing how the Gold Rush reshaped the country and helped propel it toward Civil War. Philbrick appears tonight at 7 p.m. at First Parish Church in Cambridge for an event presented by Harvard Book Store. Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison, executive editorial directors and co-hosts of America’s Test Kitchen and Cook’s Country, join us with The New Cookie, a collection of 150 recipes that reworks familiar favorites and pushes cookie-making in new directions with ingredients including brown butter, black sesame, matcha and malted milk chocolate. Actor Leo Roberts, who plays Sir Galahad in the national tour of Monty Python’s SPAMALOT, joins us to talk about bringing the musical’s Arthurian absurdity, killer rabbits, French taunters and medieval mayhem back to Boston. SPAMALOT runs October 8–11 at the Boch Center Wang Theatre. -
October 6, 2026 - Keith Lockhart, Martha Raddatz, and Risa Puleo and Kate Gilbert on the Boston Public Art Triennial
Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart previews the Pops’ fall and holiday lineup, including the third annual Día de Muertos concert and Holiday Pops beginning December 3, plus Disney’s The Muppet Christmas Carol in concert. ABC News chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz discusses her new book, The Hero Next Door: Stories of Patriotism and Purpose, revisiting the post-9/11 generation she covered at war and the lives they built afterward, 25 years after the invasion of Afghanistan. Risa Puleo, newly named artistic director and chief curator of the 2028 Boston Public Art Triennial, joins founder and executive director Kate Gilbert to look ahead to the next citywide exhibition, running May through October 2028. -
October 5, 2026 - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow at Old North Church, Jane Eaglen, and All My Sons at Lyric Stage
Nikki Stewart, Executive Director of Old North Illuminated, and Michael Maler, founder of Crescendo Productions, preview The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: A Musical Reading, coming to Old North Church on Oct. 9 with an original score and optional crypt tours. Grammy-winning soprano Jane Eaglen, faculty member at New England Conservatory and President of the Boston Wagner Society, joins “AI: Actual Intelligence” to talk about classical music’s culture of relentless practice and new research into how opera singers are judged. Scott Edmiston, director of Lyric Stage Boston’s production and professor of Liberal Arts at Berklee, and Bill Mootos, veteran Boston stage and film actor starring as Joe Keller, discuss Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, onstage through Oct. 25. -
October 2, 2026 - The Culture Show Live from Salem: Celebrating 400 Years
The Culture Show broadcasts live from Salem as the city marks its 400th anniversary, with an hour exploring its history, culture and the people shaping it today. Peabody Essex Museum leaders Kurt Steinberg and Petra Slinkard discuss Salem at 400, the museum’s Witch Trials collection and the city’s history beyond 1692. Kurt T. Steinberg, Ed.D., is Acting Executive Director and CEO of the Peabody Essex Museum. Petra Slinkard is The James B. and Mary Lou Hawkes Chief Curator and The Nancy B. Putnam Curator of Fashion and Textiles. The owners of Settler and Bernadette, Chef Aaron Chambers and Shanna Chambers, discuss choosing Salem to build their restaurants and helping shape the city’s growing dining scene. This October, Bernadette is also hosting “Start the Night Salem,” with complimentary cocktails and bites Tuesdays through Thursdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Aaron Chambers is Executive Chef and Owner of Settler and Bernadette. Shanna Chambers is Director of Operations and Owner of Settler and Bernadette. Salem witch, herbalist and art teacher Jacey Millett of The Witchery joins us to talk about contemporary witchcraft in the city — with a few brooms in tow. Sale’s Inaugural Poet Laureate J.D. Scrimgeour talks about Poet in High Street Park and Pieces of Salem: An Anthology of Salem Voices, two books that capture the city through the people who live and work there. J.D. Scrimgeour is a Professor of English and Coordinator of Creative Writing at Salem State University. -
October 1, 2026 - Cady Coleman, Banu Cennetoğlu, and Chris Vognar's fall TV preview
Former NASA astronaut Cady Coleman joins us to talk about Astronauts for America, a group of more than 100 former astronauts working to defend the Constitution, strengthen democracy and rebuild public trust. Coleman will represent the group at a free public event at Greenfield Community College on October 26. Learn more at Astronauts for America. Artist Banu Cennetoğlu explores the promise of universal human rights in right?, an installation made from hundreds of gold Mylar balloons that slowly deflate over time. The work is on view at the MassArt Art Museum in Boston through February 28, and admission is free. Boston Globe TV and pop culture critic Chris Vognar joins us for a preview of the fall TV slate, from the return of A Different World to the raunchy perils of dating in your 50s in HBO Max’s Young.
