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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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August 8, 2025 - Week in Review: Versailles AI, South Park, and Hamilton at 10
Today Jared Bowen, Edgar B. Herwick III, and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons go over the latest arts and culture headlines on our week-in-review.First up, the Palace de Versailles is bringing some of its statues to life, using AI to make them interactive. From there, it’s been 10 years since Hamilton bounded on to Broadway. We’ll look at how it changed the way people think about musicals and produced them.Plus with Great Gatsby 100 years old this year we’ll endeavor to decode its iconic book cover.And Steve Martin is the ambassador for the Frick Collection, filming a series of videos encouraging visitors to return to the Fri’s revamped home on 5th Avenue. -
August 7, 2025 - Michael Ansara, Christine Baranski, and Van Gogh's Roulin Family Portraits
Michael Ansara spent years as an activist and an organizer, starting with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, going on to be a regional organizer for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). He spent 10 years organizing opposition to the war in Vietnam. For 15 years, he was a community organizer, including directing Mass Fair Share. He has worked on political campaigns, coordinated voter registration efforts, and trained many organizers. He joins The Culture Show to talk about his new memoir “The Hard Work of Hope,” which takes us into his days of activism. Ansara is also a published poet and co-founder of Mass Poetry. To learn more about his upcoming book events go hereChristine Baranski has played a variety of strong women on stage and screen, including Agnes van Rhijn in HBO’s “The Gilded Age” and attorney Diane Lockhart on “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight.” She joins The Culture Show ahead of “The Gilded Age’s” season finale and to preview her event tonight, headlining a special edition of the John G. Winslow Lecture at The Elms, one of the famous Gilded Age mansions of Newport, Rhode Island. To learn more go here.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. -
August 6, 2025 - Dennis Lehane on "Smoke," a Boston Mayoral Forum on Arts and Culture recap, and Mahesh Daas
Dennis Lehane, known for writing literary crime novels such as “Mystic River,” “Gone, Baby, Gone,” and “Shutter Island,” joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest collaboration with Apple TV+, the new crime series “Smoke.” Created by Dennis Lehane, the nine-episode drama – inspired by true events – follows an arson investigator who teams up with a police detective to stop two serial arsonists. The series is gripping, full of twists, secrets, and believably complex characters. Lehane also serves as writer and executive producer. Episodes drop every Friday. The series finale is on August 15th. To learn more go here.From there we look at the Boston Mayoral candidates and their vision for Boston’s arts and culture sector. Emily Ruddock, Executive Director of MASSCreative, joins The Culture Show to recap last week’s Mayoral forum on arts and culture, which was organized by MASSCreative as part of its Create the Vote Boston 2025 campaign.Finally, Mahesh Daas, president of Boston Architectural College joins The Culture Show to talk about development and construction in Boston and what the city’s skyline can accommodate when it comes to building skyscrapers. 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.” -
August 5, 2025 - Robert Reich, The Ciota Brothers on "Cassino in Ischia," and Phoebe Potts on "Too Fat for China"
Robert Reich served in three presidential administrations, including as Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. He’s served as an advisor– endeavoring on behalf of working people exploited by the system. As a professor he has been the ultimate explainer about rising inequality. As a public intellectual he pulls no punches–calling out the bullies: anyone and any institution that threatens democracy and human decency. It’s a life’s work on which he reflects in his new book “Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America.” He joins The Culture Show to talk about it. On September 2nd he’ll be at Harvard Book Store. To learn more go here.From there the filmmaking duo, brothers Frank Ciota and Joe Ciota, join The Culture Show to talk about their years of collaboration and their new film, “Cassino in Ischia.” It’s a romantic comedy that follows the misadventures of Nic Cassino, a fading action hero who is fighting for an ultimate cinematic comeback. Finally comedian and story teller Phoebe Potts joins The Culture Show to talk about her one-woman show “Too Fat for China,” centers on the ups and downs of her quest to adopt a child. It’s onstage at Central Square Theater August 7th through August 10th. To learn more go here. -
August 4, 2025 - Imari Paris Jeffries, Chan's Home of Egg Rolls and Blues, and Elijah Wald
Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston, joins The Culture Show to talk about the W.E.B. Du Bois Sculpture Project, in partnership with Embrace Boston, a life-size bronze monument of W.E.B. Du Bois was recently unveiled in Great Barrington, MA, Du Bois’ hometown and birthplace. The unveiling marks the beginning of a statewide initiative through the Everyone250 coalition – a statewide effort to commemorate untold stories and elevate inclusive history as part of the U.S. Semiquincentennial.From there Culture Show producer Kate Dellis takes us to Woonsocket, Rhode Island for a night at Chan’s Home of Egg Rolls and Blues, one of the best jazz and blues venues hiding in plain sight.Finally we’re joined by Elijah Wald. On August 6, the musician and historian, whose book inspired the Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," will perform his show "Bob Dylan in Greenwich Village" at Club Passim. In this historical concert, Elijah will weave together music and storytelling to trace Dylan's evolution from a young folk and blues singer into the iconic voice of a generation. To learn more go here.
