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Exclusive: BSO President Chad Smith defends decision to oust Andris Nelsons
In his first broadcast interview, Smith told GBH’s The Culture Show that the decision to part ways with Nelsons stems from "a need for alignment."
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September 18, 2026 - Week in Review: Macklemore v. Bob Kraft, Sydney Sweeney, and Bob Mackie
Jared Bowen is joined by Culture Show Contributors Maurice Emmanuel Parent and Joyce Kulhawik. Maurice Parent is an award-winning actor, Professor of the Practice, Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at Tufts University, and Producing Artistic Director at Front Porch Arts Collective. Joyce Kulhawik is an Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter and President of the Boston Theatre Critics Association. You can find her reviews on Joyce’s Choices.They go over some of the week’s biggest arts and culture stories, which include: Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian remarks at MetLife Stadium ignited a larger fight over political speech, commercial pressure and Sheeran’s Loop Tour. Sweeney’s nearly nude Novig campaign is drawing criticism from female athletes who say it relies on the sexualization of women in sports. Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon found common ground at the Pro-Human Assembly as concern grows over the speed and consequences of AI. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens in Los Angeles, bringing everything from Norman Rockwell and Frida Kahlo to comics, manga and Star Wars under one roof. We remember the legendary designer who dressed Cher, Carol Burnett and generations of stars in feathers, fringe, sequins and spectacle. -
September 17, 2026 - Doug Robb of Hoobastank, Mary Grant, and Hank Phillippi Ryan
More than two decades after “The Reason” turned Hoobastank into a mainstream phenomenon, frontman Doug Robb looks back at the song’s enormous success, the backlash that came with it and eventually finding his way back to it. The band also has its first new music in eight years and plays the Xfinity Center in Mansfield September 18 with Staind, Seether and Hinder. MassArt President Mary Grant joins us for another edition of AI: Actual Intelligence to discuss commemorating Constitution Day and fostering civic engagement.Bestselling author and Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan joins us with her 17th thriller, Mother Daughter Sister Stranger, and talks about the long relationship between her reporting and fiction. Tonight at 6:30, Ryan also joins the Ashland Public Library for a virtual event. -
September 16, 2026 - Elizabeth Alexander, Goodnow Farms Chocolate, and Patrick Page
Poet, essayist and Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander joins us to talk about her new book, Signals Across Vast Distances: Essays and Tales, which moves through poetry, art, history, family and public life. Alexander appears tonight with former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith at the Brattle Theatre in an event presented by Harvard Book Store.At Goodnow Farms Chocolate in Sudbury, Monica and Tom Rogan trace flavor all the way back to the cacao bean — sourcing directly from growers, roasting each origin differently and even pressing their own cocoa butter. The award-winning chocolate makers join us to explain how one ingredient can yield notes of berries, honey, coffee and toasted marshmallow. Grammy Award-winning and Tony-nominated actor Patrick Page has made a career of getting inside the minds of some very bad men. In All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, he moves through more than a dozen Shakespeare characters to examine how the playwright’s villains became increasingly, unsettlingly human. Page brings the solo show to Boston October 28 through November 1 at the Emerson Paramount Center, presented by ArtsEmerson. -
September 15, 2026 - Emmys recap, Will Poulter and Adam Meeks on Union County, and the Boston Film Festival
Joyce Kulhawik: The Emmys have been handed out; now comes the verdict. Emmy Award-winning arts and entertainment critic Joyce Kulhawik joins us to sort through the winners, surprises, snubs and moments worth remembering — including a Massachusetts victory for Boston Casting’s Angela Peri and Lisa Lobel.Actor Will Poulter and director Adam Meeks: In Union County, Will Poulter plays a young man navigating addiction, recovery and an Ohio court program where a relapse could mean prison. Writer-director Adam Meeks made the film in partnership with a real recovery court, casting people from the community alongside professional actors. Poulter and Meeks join us ahead of special advance screenings and an in-person Q&A September 15 at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. The film opens there September 18.Robin Dawson: Alice Cooper, Joe Perry and the Hollywood Vampires are among the names coming to Boston for this year’s Boston Film Festival. Executive Director Robin Dawson previews a lineup spanning rock and roll, baseball, independent film and new work from emerging filmmakers. The 42nd Boston Film Festival runs September 17–21. -
September 14, 2026 - Mahesh Daas, Jennifer Holliday, and Lecolion Washington of Handel and Haydn Society
Boston Architectural College President Mahesh Daas looks at two architectural experiments in how much change a place can absorb: centuries-old Japanese timber buildings being dismantled and rebuilt an ocean away, including here in Massachusetts, and a new skyscraper redrawing Paris’ famously restrained skyline.Before Dreamgirls reached Broadway, Boston audiences encountered Jennifer Holliday as she was still finding the role of Effie White at the Shubert Theatre. Forty-five years later, the Tony and Grammy Award winner returns to that Boston connection as the Boston Arts Academy Foundation’s 2026 Music Honoree. Holliday will be celebrated at the Foundation’s HONORS gala on October 22 at MGM Music Hall at Fenway.The Handel and Haydn Society begins its 212th season with a new President and CEO. Acclaimed bassoonist and longtime Boston arts leader Lecolion Washington joins us to talk about taking the helm of one of the city’s oldest cultural institutions, reaching new audiences and the season ahead, which opens October 2 and 4 with The Art of Living at Symphony Hall. All are welcome to join a webinar hosted by Lecolion Washington and H+H Artistic Director Jonathan Cohen September 15 at 6pm. This "Beyond the Baton" webinar is free and open to all. Lecolion and Jonathan will explore Handel’s L’Allegro, its lasting resonance, and what to listen for when H+H performs it at Symphony Hall on Oct 2 and 4. Please register here.
