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Four smiling people in the center of a colorful graphic with the words "The Culture Show" written beneath them
Weekdays from 2 to 3 p.m.

GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen and a rotating panel of cultural correspondents and co-hosts provide an expansive look at society through art, culture and entertainment, driving conversations about how listeners experience culture across music, movies, fashion, TV, art, books, theater, dance, food and more. To share your opinion, email thecultureshow@wgbh.org or call/text 617-300-3838.

The show also airs on CAI, the Cape, Coast and Islands NPR station.

Come see The Culture Show LIVE at the GBH BPL Studio every Friday at 2pm, and streaming on GBH News YouTube.

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Listen to previous shows

  • Bestselling author Amor Towles has another bestseller, “Table for Two.” It’s a collection of short stories that land us in New York. The second part of the book moves us to Los Angeles in a novella set during the Golden Age of Hollywood. We caught up with Towles back in September when he was in town for a book event. He joins us again, now that “Table for Two” is out in paperback to continue the conversation, with a focus on the second part of the book, “Eve in Hollywood.”From there we continue our series “Countdown to 2026,” with Nina Zannieri, Executive Director of the Paul Revere House. She joins The Culture Show with an overview of the events and programming commemorating the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, which is April 18th. To learn more about everything that the Paul Revere House has to offer, go here,Finally Mahesh Daas, president of Boston Architectural College, discusses the lasting impact of COVID on higher education. Mahesh Daas is a Culture Show contributor who joins us monthly. He is co-author of the graphic novella about artificial intelligence, titled “I, Nobot.”
  • Actors’ Shakespeare Project closes out their 2024-25 Season with their latest production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Actor De’Lon Grant, who stars as Demetrius, joins The Culture Show to talk about the production. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is on stage, April 11- May 4 at the Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown. To learn more, go here.From there James Poniewozik joins The Culture Show to talk about today’s political TV dramas and how their adherence to White House procedures and protocols are disorienting compared to the real drama that plays out over day in Trump’s White House. Poniewozik wrote about this recently in his essay “The Sudden Weirdness of TV Presidents.” James Poniewozik is chief TV critic for The New York Times and author of Audience of One: Donald Trump, Television, and the Fracturing of America.Finally Katie Hanson, William and Ann Elfers Curator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, joins The Culture Show for an overview of their exhibition “Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits.” It’s on view through Sep 7, 2025. To learn more, go here.
  • “Night Side Songs,” a new musical created by brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour is a work that explores the myriad experiences of catastrophic illness–the fear, blame and reconciliation. Produced by the American Repertory Theater in association with the Philadelphia Theatre Company, “Night Side Songs” is onstage at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury April 9th through April 20th. Daniel and Patrick Lazour join The Culture Show for an overview. To learn more, go here.From there, famed countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, He is the new General Director and President of Opera Philadelphia and he’s on a mission to make opera more accessible and affordable. Case in point: there’s plenty to sing about with the company’s new $11 tickets. On the heels of announcing their 2025-2026 season, he joins The Culture Show to talk about his vision for Opera Philadelphia. Finally, GBH’s Paris Alston joins The Culture Show to preview the launch of “GBH News Rooted,” a new television show that continues the conversation about the Black experience. To learn more, go here.
  • Culture Show co-hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review.First up, the fate of TikTok, which is nearing its Saturday deadline to find a new buyer under federal law or it’ll have to go dark as a result of a ban in the United States.Then it’s the Netflix series “Adolescence,” which has provoked a conversation about toxic masculinity and teenagers in crisis.From there it’s a look at Sam Mendes, who has announced the cast of his Beatles biopic.Plus more White House DOGE cuts are putting a chokehold on arts and culture in this country. In the crosshairs this week: The National Endowment of the Humanities which will see 70-80% of its staff cut. And The Institute of Museum and Library Services which has just been gutted.Finally, reflecting on the career of actor Val Kilmer who died earlier this week at age 65.
  • Artist Cicely Carew joins The Culture Show to talk about her solo exhibition at the Fuller Craft Museum, BeLOVEd, a visionary site-specific installation uniting multiple media: sculpture, video and a soundscape to create an immersive, meditative experience. To learn more, go here.From there Samuel Brewer joins The Culture Show. He is a co-founder of FlawBored, a multi award winning disability led theatre company. Their show, “It’s a Motherf**king Pleasure,” is presented by ArtsEmerson, onstage through April 13th. To learn more, go here,Finally, we get an overview of the New England Aquarium’s “retirement home” island for aging penguins. Kristen McMahon, the aquarium's curator of pinnipeds and penguins, joins The Culture Show.