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The 25-hour Moby Dick Marathon sails on in New Bedford
Every winter, thousands of fans descend on the New Bedford Whaling Museum to hear the novel out loud.
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July 16, 2025 - Adam Aleksic, "Back to The Future - The Musical," and Steve Locke
Adam Aleksic—founder and former president of the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society, and content creator posting educational videos as the “Etymology Nerd”—joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book “Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language.” Tonight he’ll be at the Harvard Book Store. To learn more go hereIn 1985 Marty McFly skateboarded onto the silver screen — and into cinematic history — with the blockbuster, “Back to The Future.” In this sci-fi classic, the eccentric scientist Doc Brown turns a DeLorean into a plutonium-powered time machine. Then, in an experiment gone awry, Marty McFly finds himself taking a ride of his lifetime, going back to 1955 where he meets his parents when they were teenagers. Now audiences can time travel back to 1985 by way of “Back to the Future, The Musical.” It’s onstage at Citizens Opera House by way of Broadway in Boston through July 20th. To learn more go here.Finally, artist Steve Locke. His exhibition at Mass MoCA, “The Fire Next Time,” is a nod to James Baldwin’s 1963 book by the same name. Like Baldwin, in this exhibition Steve Locke contemplates American history, racism and violence directed at Black and queer people. Steve Locke is a professor of fine art at Pratt Institute. He joins The Culture Show to talk about his work. -
July 15, 2025 - Gregory Maguire, Margaret Cho, and Jane Eaglen
What happened to young Elphaba before she was saddled with the wicked mantle? Almost 30 years after the publication of “Wicked,” Gregory Maguire offers readers Elphaba’s origin story in a new book titled “Elphie: A Wicked Childhood.” He joins The Culture Show to talk about it.From there comedian, actress and singer-songwriter Margaret Cho joins The Culture Show to talk about her new album “Lucky Gift.”Finally, the film “Maria,” tells the story of a diva in decline: Maria Callas, one of history's most celebrated opera sopranos. The reviews from film critics are mixed, but what does Jane Eaglen, the Grammy award-winning soprano think about the biopic? Jane Eaglen is on the faculty at New England Conservatory and is the President of the Boston Wagner Society. -
July 14, 2025 - Reginald Dwayne Betts, David Grann, and Chelsea Handler
Reginald Dwayne Betts is an award-winning poet, a lawyer and founder of Freedom Reads, a first of its kind organization working to transform access to books in prisons. He joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest book “Doggerel: Poems.” From there David Grann, author of “The Wager,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon," is a #1 “New York Times” best selling author and an award-winning staff writer at “The New Yorker” magazine. He joins The Culture Show to talk about his writing and reporting process, and adapting his work for the screen.Finally comedian, television host, advocate and New York Times bestselling author Chelsea Handler joins The Culture Show to talk about her new book “I’ll Have What She’s Having.” It’s a collection of hilarious and heartfelt essays that detail what it took for her to become the woman she always wanted to be. -
July 11, 2025 - Devo at 50, Alison Bechdel, and James Parker
Mark Mothersbaugh and Gerald Casale, the cofounders of the new wave band Devo join The Culture Show to talk about cultural de-evolution, the genesis of their band, how they came to be one of the most original groups in the history of rock music.From there “New York Times” bestselling author Alison Bechdel joins The Culture Show to talk about her new comic novel “Spent.” Finally James Parker, a staff writer at “The Atlantic,” joins The Culture Show to talk about his piece “When Robert Frost was Bad.” James Parker runs the Black Seed Writers Group—a weekly writing workshop for homeless, transitional, and recently housed writers–and he edits “The Pilgrim,” a literary magazine from the homeless community of downtown Boston. His latest book is “Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes.” -
July 10, 2025 - Baseball: The Movie, Dart Adams on 3 Feet High and Rising, and Max Heinegg
Today writer Noah Gittell joins The Culture Show to talk about his book “Baseball: The Movie.” Gittell, a sportswriter and film critic, takes us through the history of the baseball movie; tracking how they have changed over the years from being mostly feel good to nostalgic to to cynical. Gittell says that the way the baseball film has changed reflects how American values have changed. From there we launch our inaugural episode in our series “Sound Files.” We’ll be inviting local musicians and cultural critics to zero in on one of their favorite entries in the US National Recording Registry. First up, Dart Adams. The journalist, historian and lecturer has chosen to go deep on De La Soul’s “3 Feet High and Rising.” Finally, Medford’s new poet Laureate, Max Heinegg joins The Culture Show to talk about his vision for making poetry more accessible. Heinegg is a high school English teacher, published poet, recording artist and he co-owns Medford Brewing Company. To learn more go here.
