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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 11, 2026 - Chef Paul Wahlberg, the Vinfen Film Festival, and Chef Tiffani Faison
Chef and restaurateur Paul Wahlberg joins The Culture Show to talk about family, Dorchester roots, and the new Wahlburgers “Brothers’ Combo,” a limited-time menu featuring signature burgers from Paul, Mark, and Donnie. He’ll also appear at a March 16 pop-up celebration at the original Wahlburgers restaurant in Hingham, with proceeds supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester.The Vinfen Film Festival returns March 28 to GBH’s Brighton studios, featuring films and discussions that challenge stigma around mental health conditions and disabilities. Vinfen’s Vice President of Communications & Development David Brown joins The Culture Show with a preview of this year’s lineup. To learn more go here.Chef and restaurateur Tiffani Faison joins Jared to discuss Tigerbaby, her newest concept at High Street Place Food Hall. Inspired by her former Fenway restaurant Tiger Mama, the counter-service spot brings Southeast and East Asian flavors back into her culinary orbit — and marks her fifth concept in the downtown food hall. -
March 10, 2026 - Shaina Taub on "Suffs," a Secret Boston St. Patrick's Day, and Fabiola Méndez
Shaina Taub made Broadway history as the first woman to win Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Original Score on her own, for the musical SUFFS. The show follows the suffragists’ hard-fought campaign for the 19th Amendment, bringing figures like Alice Paul, Ida B. Wells, and Mary Church Terrell to life onstage. Now, SUFFS comes to Boston’s Emerson Colonial Theatre from March 17 through March 29, and Taub joins us to discuss reviving their story. To learn more go here.Then there are more ways to observe St. Patrick’s Day in Boston than the parade route and the pub crawl. Kiernan Schmitt, author of Secret Boston, joins The Culture Show to explore hidden sites that reveal the city’s Irish and Catholic past — from memorials and monuments to chapels and stories tucked into Boston’s walls.Finally, Fabiola Méndez is bringing the Puerto Rican cuatro to new audiences and bigger stages. Ahead of her Regattabar performance on March 13, and April 30th performance at GBH’s Jazz NOW series, the singer, composer, and bandleader joins Jared Bowen to discuss shaping a musical voice that has taken her from folk-rooted performance to the global stage alongside Bad Bunny. To learn more about the Regattabar performance go here. To learn more about the International Jazz Day show at GBH on April 30 go here. -
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.
