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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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March 9, 2026 - Mark Malkoff on "Love Johnny Carson," Stereophonic, and Pedro Alonzo
Comedian and author Mark Malkoff joins The Culture Show to discuss his new book “Love Johnny Carson: One Obsessive Fan’s Journey to Find the Genius Behind the Legend.” Drawing on hundreds of interviews with comedians, writers, and others connected to The Tonight Show, the book revisits Carson’s career, comic instincts, and the influence he continues to have on late-night television.The Tony Award–winning play “Stereophonic” is now on national tour and heading to Boston. The play captures the obsession, tension, and creative friction behind making an album that could define careers. We speak with cast members Jack Barrett, who plays Grover, and actor Steven Lee Johnson, who plays Charlie, about bringing this behind-the-scenes drama to life. “Stereophonic” is onstage at Emerson Colonial Theatre March 10 - March 15. To learn more go here.And Culture Show contributor Pedro Alonzo returns with dispatches from a recent road trip through Mexico. From folk-art towns and a church tower rising from a field of lava to the cowboy culture of Sonora and new gathering spaces in desert cities, he shares stories about the places and cultural scenes he encountered along the way. -
March 6, 2026 - Week in Review: Philip Glass' "Lincoln" at Tanglewood, Iranian cultural landmarks, and RFK Jr vs Dunkin
On this edition of The Culture Show, Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Joyce Kulhawik, go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines.First up, Composer Philip Glass canceled the Kennedy Center debut of his new symphony “Lincoln,” saying the institution’s current leadership conflicts with the work’s message. Now the BSO will give the piece its first performance this summer at Tanglewood.And folks flooded the National Capital Planning Commission’s public comment page in response to President Trump’s proposed White House ballroom renovation. Critics called the design everything from a “gold-plated monstrosity” to “cheap and appalling,” turning the docket into a kind of national design jury.Then, fighting intensifies across the Middle East, cultural landmarks are increasingly at risk. Airstrikes and shelling have threatened historic sites including Tehran’s Golestan Palace and the Bauhaus buildings of Tel Aviv’s UNESCO-listed White City, raising alarms among historians about the loss of cultural memory.Plus, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken aim at ultra-sugary coffee drinks sold by major chains, including Dunkin’. In Massachusetts, the reaction has been swift and caffeinated, with politicians and fans rushing to defend a brand many treat as a regional institution.Finally it’s a week in preview with host recommendations of upcoming events and happenings to take in. Callie offers Maple Days at Old Sturbridge Village; Jared suggests “Masako Miki: Midnight March” at MAAM; and Joyce recommends getting your Oscar ballots in. -
"Stereophonic" Heads to Boston
The Tony Award–winning play “Stereophonic” drops audiences into a 1970s recording studio, where a rising rock band pushes toward greatness — and the breaking point. Now on national tour and heading to Boston, the play captures the obsession, tension, and creative friction behind making an album that could define careers. We speak with cast members Jack Barrett, who plays Grover, and actor Steven Lee Johnson, who plays Charlie, about bringing this behind-the-scenes drama to life. “Stereophonic” is onstage at Emerson Colonial Theatre March 10 - March 15. To learn more go here. -
March 5, 2026 - Boston Pops' Keith Lockhart, To Kill a Mockingbird at Umbrella Arts Center, and Julia Swanson
Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart is being honored with the Third Lantern Award at Old North Church, recognizing his role in using music to connect civic life and shared memory. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, he joins The Culture Show to reflect on the power of orchestral music at historic moments. Keith Lockhart will accept the award on April 16th at Old North Church. To learn more about the ceremony go here. Director Scott Edmiston brings “To Kill a Mockingbird” to life at The Umbrella Arts Center in Concord, revisiting a courtroom drama that continues to confront audiences with questions of justice and courage. He joins The Culture Show to discuss why this American classic still resonates. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is onstage through March 22. To learn more go here.Julia Swanson of the Art Walk Project compares WINTERACTIVE and the Boston Public Art Triennial, and explains how placement, context, and play can transform a city block. To learn more about the Art Walk Project, go here. -
March 4, 2026 - Namwali Serpell's "On Morrison," Mary Grant, and the Fitchburg Art Museum at 100
Toni Morrison transformed American literature, reshaping narrative form and placing Black life at the center of her fiction with language both lyrical and unflinching. In her new book “On Morrison,” award-winning novelist and critic Namwali Serpell reexamines Morrison not just as a cultural icon, but as a daring literary architect whose innovations in time, voice, and structure changed what novels can do. Serpell joins The Culture Show to discuss her book and to the radical craft behind Morrison’s enduring work.Mary Grant, president of MassArt, returns for our recurring feature “AI: Actual Intelligence,” where we spotlight original thinking from leaders across our region. Grant joins The Culture Show to share her latest observations on art, education, and the evolving role of creative institutions today.The Fitchburg Art Museum turns 100 this year, celebrating the vision of painter Eleanor Norcross, who believed a mill town deserved world-class art. Director Nick Capasso joins The Culture Show to discuss the museum’s century of growth, its bilingual community focus, and plans for four years of centennial events and free admission. To learn more go here.
