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‘Home of egg rolls, jazz and blues,’ Chan’s celebrates 120 years in Rhode Island
Music lovers put this Woonsocket music venue and restaurant on their bucket lists.
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November 20, 2025 - 2000 Meters to Andriivka, Evan Dando of The Lemonheads, and Improv Asylum's Norm Laviolette
FRONTLINE and the Associated Press return to Ukraine with “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” a gripping new documentary from the Oscar-winning team behind “20 Days in Mariupol.” The film embeds with Ukrainian soldiers fighting to reclaim a village outside Kyiv, offering an unfiltered view of life — and loss — in a grinding, three-year conflict. FRONTLINE’s Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer Raney Aronson-Rath joins The Culture Show to talk about the filmmakers, the collaboration, and the responsibility of documenting war. “2000 Meters to Andriivka,” premieres on November 25th on PBS and various streaming platforms. To learn more go here.Evan Dando, the Boston-born frontman of The Lemonheads, joins us to talk about a remarkable stretch of new work: “Rumors of My Demise,” his new memoir tracing the highs, lows, and chaotic detours of rock-star life. “Love Chant,” The Lemonheads’ first album of original music in nearly 20 years and a national tour that brings the band back home for a show at the Wilbur Theatre on November 26. To learn more about the show go here.After a catastrophic flood shut down its North End theater last March, Improv Asylum is officially back at 216 Hanover Street. Following months of rebuilding and reimagining, the company celebrated its Grand Reopening in October — and returned with its Main Stage revue, “The North End Justifies the Means.” Co-founder and CEO Norm Laviolette joins The Culture Show to talk about the flood, the comeback, and what’s next for the comedy institution. To learn more about all things Improv Asylum go here. -
November 19, 2025 - Mary Grant, the Florida Highwaymen, and Chef Daniel Kenney's Thanksgiving tips
Mary Grant, president of MassArt, joins us for her monthly episode, “AI Actual Intelligence.” This month she talks about the Department of Homeland Security’s use of Norman Rockwell’s paintings on their social media channels.Then we look at the Florida Highwaymen, the group of Black painters who turned Florida’s wild horizons into some of the most sought-after landscapes of the 20th century. Their vibrant scenes—sunrises, storm fronts, and stretching marshland—are now the focus of a major exhibition at the Addison Gallery. Curator Gordon Wilkins joins us to explore their artistry, their hustle, and the legacy they carved outside the mainstream. To learn more, go here.Chef Daniel Kenney, Executive Chef of Willow & Ivy at The Lenox Hotel, shares his approach to a lower-stress Thanksgiving: Willow & Ivy’s Take & Bake feast. The feast feeds a table of eight and eliminates the holiday heavy lifting. To learn more about this recipe for Thanksgiving Day success go here. -
November 18, 2025 - Ins Choi on "Kim's Convenience," Dread Scott, and Pedro Alonzo
Playwright Ins Choi joins us to discuss Kim’s Convenience, his hit play now onstage at the Huntington Theatre Company (November 6–30, 2025). Drawing on his Korean-Canadian upbringing, the story follows a family running a corner store and the cultural and generational tensions that shape their lives. Choi originally played the son and now portrays the father, offering fresh insight into the world he created. Tickets and info: Huntington Theatre CompanyVisual artist Dread Scott—known for work that confronts power and scrutinizes America’s layered history—joins us to talk about Fall of Freedom. The sweeping, multi-city project is being organized amid growing concerns about democratic backsliding. Dread Scott is part of a coalition of artists, which includes Ava Duvernay, John Legend, Jeffrey Wright, who are responding to rising threats to civil liberties and engaging the public in collective acts of resistance. “Fall of Freedom” is nationwide, with local arts organizations hosting events in Massachusetts. To learn more go here.Contributor Pedro Alonzo examines how tech consolidation, shrinking competition, and unchecked corporate power are reshaping daily life in America. For him, it echoes the Mexico he grew up in, where monopolies and political control once stifled innovation and opportunity. Pedro draws the parallels—and the warnings—these trends carry for the present moment. -
November 17, 2025 - Serj Tankian, Nora Burnett Abrams, and Jane Eaglen
Serj Tankian, the electrifying voice of System of a Down and a defining figure in alternative metal, steps into a new creative realm with The Art of Disruption: The Art and Impact of Serj Tankian at the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown. The exhibition, which is on view through Feb 28 2026, blends sound, color, and political urgency—and you can check it out here.Then Nora Burnett Abrams joins us. She is the Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston’s Ellen Matilda Poss Director. After fifteen years at MCA Denver, she brings a bold curatorial vision and a deep commitment to emerging artists. She joins us to talk about her plans for the ICA’s future.Finally it’s time for our recurring series “AI: Actual Intelligence.” Grammy-winning soprano Jane Eaglen joins us. A performer on the world’s greatest opera stages and now a faculty member at the New England Conservatory, she also serves as President of the Boston Wagner Society. -
November 14, 2025 - Week in Review: Pope Leo XIV's favorite films, AI-generated music , and RIP the penny
Today Jared Bowen, Edgar B. Herwick III, and Callie Crossley go over the latest arts and culture headlines. First up, Pope Leo XIV has revealed his four favorite movies: “It’s a Wonderful Life” “The Sound of Music,” “Ordinary People” and “Life Is Beautiful.” He’s sharing his watchlist ahead of the Vatican’s first-ever “Meeting with the World of Cinema,” a Hollywood summit inside the Apostolic Palace that invites filmmakers and faith leaders to talk art, empathy, and storytelling.From there, Boston’s Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame is set to honor a dozen musical legends who are responsible for some of the greatest music moments of the past century. The esteemed list of inductees includes some of the most notable names in folk, Americana, and roots music history, such as Jackson Browne, Aretha Franklin and Muddy Waters. And “Walk My Way,” becomes the first AI-generated song to top the Country Music Billboard charts. Created by the artificial band Breaking Rust.. And it’s not alone: R&B’s newest sensation is the AI generated hit “How Was I Supposed to Know?” Finally, after more than two centuries in circulation, the penny is finally making a change of its own. The U.S. Mint has pressed its last one-cent coin, ending a 232-year run for the country’s smallest piece of currency.
