EXPLORE MORE
Boston Pops conductor breaks down the genius of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’
Welcome to SOUND FILES, a deep dive with area musicians and music lovers into one specific entry in the U.S. National Recording Registry. Keith Lockhart joins Edgar B. Herwick III to wax operatic about his love of Queen's 1975 masterpiece “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
Listen to previous shows
-
January 16, 2026 - Week in Review: Time Out Market, the National Portrait Gallery, and MTV Rewind
On this edition of The Culture Show, 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, inaugural poet Amanda Gorman, who wrote a new poem for Renée Good — a Minneapolis poet and mother killed by a federal ICE agent — refusing to let her be reduced to a headline. Gorman’s poem turns grief into public witness, calling out power and insisting on accountability.Then Boston’s food scene is losing two very different kinds of hangouts. Time Out Market in Fenway is closing January 23, while UNO is shrinking again in Massachusetts, with locations in Dedham, Braintree, and Revere shutting down.Plus we dig into the latest James Bond casting buzz — with Callum Turner’s name in the mix as a possible next 007. What makes a convincing Bond now, and why do these rumors catch fire so fast?And from superspy shake-ups to superhero succession: we talk about the speculation that Damson Idris could play the next T’Challa in Black Panther 3. What would that kind of recasting mean for the franchise — and for the character’s legacy?Finally, Jared, Callie and Edgar share their recommendations for arts and culture events to take in. Jared’s pick: Company One Theatre’s “The Great Privatin.” Callie is looking forward to exploring “WINTERACTIVE” and Edgar’s heading to Scullers for John Coltrane and Miles Davis centennial shows. -
January 15, 2026 - Congressman Jim Clyburn, Scottish Fish, and To Be Read Conference
In “The First Eight: A Personal History of the Pioneering Black Congressmen Who Shaped a Nation,” Jim Clyburn revisits the lives of eight Black congressmen from South Carolina who served during Reconstruction, testing the meaning of representation in the aftermath of slavery. Drawing on history and his own decades in Congress, Clyburn reflects on their legislative ambitions, the backlash they faced, and why their brief moment in power still shapes American democracy today.Boston-based Celtic quintet Scottish Fish joins The Culture Show with music rooted in tradition and sharpened by years of playing together. Ahead of this year’s Boston Celtic Music Festival, the group talks about their shared history, their approach to arranging fiddles and cello, and what it means to be named the Brian O’Donovan Legacy Artist at this year’s BCMF. This festival is January 15–18, 2026. To learn more go here.Whitney Scharer is the co-founder of To Be Read (TBR), a new writing and publishing conference launching Saturday, January 17, at Lesley University in Cambridge. Co-founded with writer Sonya Larson, TBR brings writers together with agents, editors, booksellers, and publishing professionals for conversations about craft, careers, and the forces reshaping the literary world. Scharer also discusses Publishing Matchmaker, a new system designed to rethink how writers and literary agents connect by reversing the traditional submission process. Learn more here. -
January 14, 2026 - Chef Karen Akunowicz, Ali Noorani of the Barr Foundation, and hostile architecture w/ Mahesh Daas
January 15, 2026 - Chef Karen Akunowicz, Ali Noorani of the Barr Foundation, and hostile architecture w/ Mahesh Daas -
January 13, 2026 - "Breaking the Deadlock," Diane Paulus, and Pedro Alonzo
PBS’s Breaking the Deadlock drops former politicians, judges, and veteran journalists into staged constitutional crises and asks them to work from the same facts, limits, and scenarios. Moderator Aaron Tang, a UC Davis law professor, joins us to talk about what these simulations reveal about civil discourse and the power of reasoning amid deep disagreement. Their forthcoming episode, “A Matter of Life and Death,” airs on January 20, 2026. To learn more about “Breaking the Deadlock,” go here. Tony Award–winning director Diane Paulus, Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater, joins us to talk about “Masquerade,” an immersive reimagining of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera.” Set in a five-story former department store on West 57th Street, the production turns the Paris Opera House into a candlelit maze of salons, staircases, and hidden rooms, bringing audiences in masks inches from the show’s spectacle and romance. To learn more go here.In our recurring feature “AI: Actual Intelligence,” independent curator and Culture Show contributor Pedro Alonzo takes us to Los Angeles by way of two museum exhibitions, The Brick’s Monuments and LACMA’s “Grounded.” -
January 12, 2026 - Damien Hoar de Galvan, "The Great Privation," and Paul Revere's Sons of Liberty Bowl
Damien Hoar de Galvan created one sculpture a day for an entire year, using discarded materials like scrap wood, jars, and household objects. His 365 works are now on view at the ICA, where he’s been awarded the 2025 Foster Prize. He joins us to talk about the project and why these everyday materials matter to him. The Foster Prize exhibition is on view through January 19. To learn more go here.“The Great Privation” spans two centuries to examine how Black Americans have been forced to survive systems built on taking — from labor to land to bodies. Summer L. Williams, Company One’s co-founder and Associate Artistic Director, joins us to discuss the production. “The Great Privation” is a co-production of Company One Theatre and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, now onstage through January 31. To learn more go here.As part of Countdown to 2026, we explore Paul Revere’s Sons of Liberty Bowl, crafted in 1768 to honor a Massachusetts vote rejecting new British taxes. Engraved with the names of lawmakers who opposed those measures, it’s a key artifact of early resistance. Ethan Lasser, Chief of Curatorial Affairs and Conservation at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, joins us for an overview. To learn more about the Sons of Liberty Bowl and the MFA’s exhibitions and programming go here.
