The Culture Show Podcast

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Astronaut Cady Coleman spent nearly six months aboard the International Space Station, contributing to scientific research while orbiting Earth more than 2,500 times. A chemist, Air Force officer, and NASA veteran, she helped expand the role of women in spaceflight during a pivotal era of exploration. In her book Sharing Space, she reflects on what life in orbit taught her about curiosity, collaboration, and making room for others to follow. Tomorrow night you can catch her for an author talk at the BPL’s Central Library in Copley Square at 6:00.For generations, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the New England Conservatory have shaped classical music — with BSO musicians teaching at NEC and NEC-trained artists stepping onto Symphony Hall stages. Now, a new BSO x NEC alliance formalizes that relationship, strengthening opportunities for mentorship, training, and performance. Chad Smith, President and CEO of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Andrea Kalyn, President of the New England Conservatory, join us to discuss what this means for the future of music in Boston.The Boston electronic group Battlemode uses Game Boys to create chiptune, a genre built from the 8-bit sounds of early video games. They’re also behind Boston Bitdown, a multi-day festival featuring more than 50 performers from across the country, running March 5 through 8 at venues across Greater Boston. Battlemode joins us to demonstrate how a handheld gaming device becomes a tool for live music. To learn more about Boston Bitdown go here.

In the late 1860s, Susan Dimock defied barriers that kept women out of medicine, earning her degree in Zurich after being rejected by Harvard Medical School and returning to Boston as a pioneering surgeon. Before her life was cut short in a shipwreck at 28, she helped reshape medical care for women and founded one of the nation’s first professional nursing training programs. Historian Susan Wilson joins us to discuss her biography, “Women and Children First: The Trailblazing Life of Susan Dimock, M.D.” You can catch Susan Wilson for an author talk at the Jamaica Plain Branch of the Boston Public Library on Thursday March 12, and on March 26th she’ll be at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre. Creative Sector Day brings artists directly into the Massachusetts State House, transforming the seat of government into a live showcase of music, dance, poetry, and visual art. The event comes as federal cultural funding cuts have withdrawn nearly $2.8 million from Massachusetts organizations, putting hundreds of creative jobs at risk. MASSCreative Executive Director Emily Ruddock joins us to discuss what’s at stake for the Commonwealth’s arts community. Creative Sector Day is tomorrow, 10:00 AM-3:00 PM at the State House, learn more here.An upcoming exhibition at the New Bedford Art Museum, “Resistance: Cultural and Political Narratives in Mexican Art” brings together artists responding to censorship, political pressure, migration, and cultural survival. Through sculpture, printmaking, and installation, their work reflects the realities shaping contemporary life in Mexico. Executive Director and Chief Curator Suzanne de Vegh and exhibiting artist Adela Goldbard join us to preview the exhibition, on view March 11 through May 31. To learn more go here.

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 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. Lehane also serves as writer and executive producer. From there it’s “My First Ex-Husband,” an adaptation of true stories by Joy Behar, writer, comedienne and co-host of The View. The play explores the messy, hilarious truths of love, sex, and relationships. Joy Behar joins The Culture Show to talk about creating this work.Finally, bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest thriller, “All This Could Be Yours,” The book centers on debut sensation Tessa Calloway. She’s on a whirlwind book tour for her instant bestseller, But there's a chilling problem—she soon discovers she is being stalked by someone who's obsessed not only with sabotaging her career, but also with destroying her perfect family back home.

First up, Sally Mann. In 2015 renowned photographer Sally Mann published her memoir “Hold Still,” an inquiry into family history, the American South and the nature of creativity. Now, comes her book “Art Work: On the Creative Life.” It is laugh-out-loud funny. It’s irreverent. And it’s refreshingly practical as she guides the reader through her experience and process of being an artist. From there Jeremy Sewall, Chef and Owner of Row 34, shares recipes and stories from his new “Everyday Chef: Simple Dishes for Family and Friends,” which illustrates how restaurant expertise can translate into simple, satisfying meals at home.Finally, Richard Smith. For more than a quarter century he embodied Henry David Thoreau—donning the waistcoat and straw hat, walking the paths of Concord, and giving voice to one of New England’s most enduring thinkers. Now, after 26 years of living deliberately in another man’s shoes, Smith has stepped away from the role. Closing a chapter that made Thoreau’s world vividly real for thousands who visited Walden Pond.

James Sullivan, a journalist, author and longtime contributor to the Boston Globe, joins The Culture Show to talk about his book Which Side Are You On?: 20th Century American History in 100 Protest Songs.From there Aisha Muharrar joins The Culture Show to talk about her debut novel “Loved One.” She’s an Emmy Award–winning writer and producer who has worked on “Hacks,” “Parks” and “Recreation,” and “The Good Place.”Finally, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Richard Russo joins The Culture Show, to talk about his new book "Life and Art.” It’s a COVID-era meditation on his childhood, adulthood and what it means to be an artist.

Author Gish Jen discusses her novel, “Bad Bad Girl.” In this witty and deeply personal work, Jen blends fiction and autobiography to imagine her mother’s life and explore the distance between them — uncovering how storytelling can bridge what family history leaves unsaid. From there we’re joined by Sam Kissajukian. In 2021 the Aussie comedian quit stand-up, rented an abandoned cake factory, and became a painter. Over the course of what turned out to be a six-month manic episode, he created three hundred large-scale paintings, unknowingly documenting his mental state through the process. He turned this experience into his one-man show “300 Paintings.”Finally, pastry chef and author Gesine Bullock-Prado talks about her cookbook “My Harvest Kitchen: 100+ Recipes to Savor the Seasons.” From Hollywood lawyer to Vermont baker, she shares how cooking with what’s close at hand — and in season — can feed both body and spirit.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Stephen Greenblatt joins The Culture Show, to talk about his latest book, “Dark Renaissance:The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival.” It traces the meteoric rise and violent end of Christopher Marlowe—playwright, poet, spy, and heretic—whose genius endures today. From there, Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore discusses her new book, “We the People." Published on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding—the anniversary, too, of the first state constitutions—"We the People" offers a wholly new history of the Constitution.Finally writer Nicholas Boggs joins The Culture Show to talk about his book, “Baldwin: A Love Story.” It's the first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades, revealing how the writer’s personal relationships shaped his life and work.

Robert Reich served in three presidential administrations, including as Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. 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 book “Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America.” He joins The Culture Showto talk about it. From there Marianne Leone is an actress, author, and screenwriter. She joins The Culture Show to talk about her novel “Christina The Astonishing," a coming-of-age story about Christina Falcone and her desire to break free from Catholic school nuns, Italian mothers, and small-town Massachusetts. Finally, Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated actor Sam Waterston joins The Culture Show to talk about the role that launched his career, Nick Caraway in the 1974 film adaptation of “The Great Gatsby.” And for your culture calendar, here is where you can see Jared's picks for his weekend recommendations.

Christopher Castellani’s new novel “Last Seen” follows four young men who vanish on separate winter nights and find one another in the afterlife. The book blends elements of mystery with a meditation on identity, longing, and visibility, told through four distinct voices. Castellani joins The Culture Show to discuss why he chose to tell the story from the afterlife, and what these characters reveal about love, loss, and the people who carry on without them. Castellani has a number of book events in the area. To learn more go here.The Lynch Family Skatepark in East Cambridge is both a skating destination and a rare public canvas, where graffiti and mural work are encouraged as part of the park’s identity. The exhibition “Free to Be: Skate, Paint, Imaginate,” on view at the Multicultural Arts Center through March 6, brings that creative energy indoors, featuring murals, photographs, and visual art shaped by the park’s community. Photographer and curator Matt Ringler and Charles River Conservancy program manager Taylor Leonard join The Culture Show to discuss how skating, street art, and public space come together in this evolving cultural landmark. To learn more about the exhibition go here.

Today we’re putting on our warmest winter gear and bundling up for our Wednesday Watch Party — the show where we revisit the movies that shaped us, and ask if they still hold up. This month Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Joyce Kulhawik enter a snow globe of crime, manners, and very bad decisions by way of the Coen Brother’s 1996 “Fargo.” A snow-covered noir where decency and depravity share the same frozen frame. In 2026 our hosts ask: does it still hold up?

Joyce Linehan joins “The Culture Show” to reflect on the legacy of documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. As Chief of Policy for Mayor Marty Walsh she was key to Wiseman’s documentary “City Hall,” which is an expansive exploration of how Boston runs.Dell M. Hamilton, interim director of the Alain Locke Gallery of African & African American Art, joins us to discuss Renaissance, Race, and Representation, on view through June 6 at Harvard. The exhibition spans nearly two centuries of Black printmaking and explores how artists used reproducible media to shape representation and the public record.Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture at the Native Plant Trust and a 2026 Distinguished Service Medal recipient from the Garden Club of America, explains the hidden benefits of this winter’s deep snowpack. Sustained snow cover stabilizes soil temperatures, protects roots, preserves moisture, and can help suppress certain pests — setting the stage for a stronger spring across New England.Matthew Shifrin, founder and CEO of Bricks for the Blind, returns for our recurring feature “AI: Actual Intelligence.” This month, he shares what it’s like to travel blind — from navigating unfamiliar hotels to the unpredictability of ride-shares and the way weather reshapes a city through sound.

After more than a decade as Executive Director and CEO of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, Katherine Tallman is stepping down. She reflects on expanding the Brookline art house, elevating its national profile, and guiding it through the shifts of streaming and the pandemic — reshaping what independents can be. To keep on top of all of Coolidge's programming go here.Ceramic artist Roberto Lugo blends classical porcelain with hip-hop, portraiture, and social critique — asking who belongs in museums and who gets left out. His exhibition “(In)visible Ink” is on view at the Robert Lehman Art Center at Brooks School in North Andover though March 6. It brings together porcelain, painting, and customized sneakers in a powerful conversation about visibility. To learn more about the exhibition go here. Chompon Boonnak, co-owner of Mahaniyom in Brookline and its cocktail slinging sibling Merai, joins us after a double Michelin distinction: a Bib Gourmand for Mahaniyom and an Exceptional Cocktails Award for his bar program. He talks about balancing bold street food with serious mixology and what the recognition means for Greater Boston’s dining scene.

On this edition of The Culture Show, Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Lisa Simmons, go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines.First up, the Winter Olympics delivered medals — and meltdowns. Norway’s biathlon star Sturla Holm Lægreid hijacked headlines with a tearful on-air confession about cheating on his girlfriend, while ski jumping faced a surreal scandal dubbed “Penis-gate,” with allegations that athletes gamed suit measurements for an aerodynamic edge. And on the ice, Ilia Malinin’s crowd-roaring backflip revived debate decades after Surya Bonaly was penalized for the very same move.Then we remember James Van Der Beek, who died this week at 48. The former Dawson’s Creek heartthrob later reinvented himself, gleefully skewering his teen-idol image with sharp, self-aware performances that proved he was always in on the joke.Plus nearly two centuries after Wuthering Heights, the mystery of Heathcliff endures. A new film adaptation has revived debate over the character’s racial identity — and how Emily Brontë’s “dark-skinned” antihero should be portrayed today.Finally it’s a week in preview with host recommendations of upcoming events and happenings to take in. Callie offers “Romantasy Trivia” on February 14th at the Trident Booksellers & Cafe; Lisa Simmons highly “Say It Loud: AAMARP, 1977 to Now” on view at the ICA; and Jared suggests “The Moderate,” presented by Central Square Theater.

Actor Alan Cumming returns to the show fresh off receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Tony, Emmy, BAFTA, and Olivier Award winner talks about being a buck naked vegan, the runaway success of his reality series “The Traitors,” now the most-watched unscripted streaming program, and who he thinks is a traitor to American values.British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg joins us with his new rapid-response protest anthem, “City of Heroes,” written in solidarity with Minneapolis demonstrators and inspired by recent anti-ICE resistance. A legendary voice of political music for more than four decades, Bragg reflects on the role of songs in moments of social upheaval—and looks ahead to this summer, when he’ll reunite with Wilco to perform their Woody Guthrie project Mermaid Avenue at the Solid Sound Festival. To learn more go here.At the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, the ancient myth of “The Odyssey” gets a mythic makeover in “Penelope,” a one-woman, cabaret-style musical that tells the story of the wife left behind. Composer Alex Bechtel’s intimate song cycle explores patience, loneliness, and resilience. Performed by Aimee Doherty and directed by Courtney O’Connor, they join us to discuss giving a new voice to a timeless tale. Penelope is onstage through March 1. To learn more go here.

Last spring, the Louvre looked untouchable, with a couture exhibition and a grand renovation plan led by director Laurence des Cars. Then came a cascade of crises, including a brazen jewel heist that stole $100 million in French Crown Jewels, along with strikes and a damning security audit. Journalist Elaine Sciolino joins us to discuss the turmoil. Elaine Sciolino is the former Paris bureau chief for the New York Times and a bestselling author. Her latest book, “Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum,” is out in paperback this March. Winter doesn’t slow down New England ice cream fans, and J.P. Licks has new flavors to prove it. Founder Vince Petryk talks about February specials, including Strawberry Cookies ’N’ Cream, and the company’s community programs like its Girl Scout cookie partnerships and sock drive for Rosie’s Place. To learn more go here.Mahesh Daas returns for our feature “AI: Actual Intelligence” with fresh, off-algorithm insights. This month he looks at reconstruction—from replicas of Thoreau’s Walden cabin to rebuilding communities after the California wildfires. Mahesh Daas is president of Boston Architectural College and the co-author of the graphic novella about artificial intelligence, titled “I, Nobot.”

The MFA recently announced layoffs and voluntary buyouts to close a projected $13-million budget gap. Pierre Terjanian, the Ann and Graham Gund Director and CEO of the Museum of Fine Arts, joins us on what drove the cuts and what they mean for the museum’s next chapter.Filmmaker and novelist John Sayles is back with “Crucible,” a new historical novel set in Henry Ford’s early-20th-century Detroit, where labor, power, and industry collide. You can catch him tonight at 7 p.m. at Porter Square Books in Cambridge. To learn more go here.Playwright Ken Urban joins us to talk about “The Moderate,” his new play about a man hired to moderate graphic social media content—and the toll it takes. It’s onstage at Central Square Theater through March 1. To learn more go here.

Filmmaker Harry Lighton joins us to discuss his debut feature Pillion, a darkly funny and tender look at a relationship shaped by power, trust, and BDSM. The film premiered at Cannes, where it won Best Screenplay, and stars Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling. Lighton will appear in person tonight at 7:00 p.m. at the Coolidge Corner Theatre for a screening, Q&A and to receive the Coolidge Breakthrough Artist Award. To learn more go here.Cultural critic Fran Lebowitz brings her signature wit to the show, talking about aging, cities, manners, and why she avoids football. The author and star of Netflix’s Pretend It’s a City appears live at the Emerson Colonial Theatre on February 19. To learn more go here.It’s Monday afternoon quarterbacking with co-host Callie Crossley and Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik as we unpack the Super Bowl as a pop-culture spectacle. From the halftime show to the commercials, we look at the moments everyone’s talking about. Joyce Kulhawik is an Emmy Award–winning arts and entertainment reporter and President of the Boston Theatre Critics Association, you can read Kulhawik’s reviews here.

On this edition of The Culture Show, Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Lisa Simmons, go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines.First up, In an era of bloated blockbusters, YouTuber Markiplier bypassed Hollywood entirely, writing, financing, and releasing his sci-fi horror film Iron Lung on his own — and turning a $3 million budget into more than $17 million at the box office.And, the bots are coming, the bots are coming. Moltbook is a new social platform built entirely for bots — they post, argue, organize, and even police each other, creating a strange, self-contained online culture with no humans at the controls.Then we remember Woodie King Jr., the pioneering theater producer who spent decades creating space for Black playwrights and performers, launching careers and reshaping American theater through the New Federal Theatre.We also reflect on the legacy of Demond Wilson who died this week. The actor and writer best known as Lamont on the groundbreaking sitcom Sanford and Son, bringing Black family life and humor into millions of homes.And we head to Rome; the city introduces a new tourist tax at the Trevi Fountain, putting a modern price tag on the timeless coin toss and giving fresh meaning to “cash flow.”Finally, Callie recommends the star-studded Super Bowl commercials, with a focus on Dunkin’ ads; Lisa Simmons suggests a Sidney Poitier film festival for Black History Month. “Icons: Poitier” runs at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, “A Warm December” screens at the Somerville Cine-Club, and “In the Heat of the Night” and “Pressure Point” screen at the Somerville Theatre; Jared offers the 100 Year Book Debate at the Boston Public Library,

Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston and a co-chair of Everyone 250 join us for our recurring segment “AI: Actual Intelligence.” This month we focus on his recent piece on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., and if the Super Bowl can and should be non political.Composer Kevin Day and cellist Leo Eguchi, co founding artistic director of Sheffield Chamber Players, join us to discuss Day’s “Overture to Springtime,” created in collaboration with City Strings United, ahead of the Overture to Spring: A Black History Month Family Concert on Feb. 15 at 3 p.m. at The Strand Theatre. To learn more go here.Vanessa Bumpus, exhibition coordinator at Museum of Worcester, explains how entrepreneur Esther Howland helped turn Worcester into an early hub of Valentine’s Day card production—and what that history reveals about labor, industry, and the business of romance.

Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.com, joins us to talk about how the job search has changed — again. When Monster launched in 1994, it moved job listings out of newspaper classifieds and onto the internet. Now Taylor is back with a new platform, Boomband, and discusses job hunting in the age of bots, when software increasingly decides what gets seen and what doesn’t.Mary Grant, president of Massachusetts College of Art and Design, returns for our recurring segment AI: Actual Intelligence. She joins us each month to offer her human, experience-driven perspective on creativity, art and education. Today she and Jared discuss the art of dissent–all the ways that musicians, poets, graphic designers are using their craft to protest ICE.Veronica Koven-Matasy, Reader Services Director at the Boston Public Library, joins us to talk about the library’s annual “Blind Date with a Book” event. For the month of February, selected titles are wrapped in paper and stripped of covers, authors, and blurbs, inviting readers to discover something unexpected. The program is available through the end of the month at the Central Library in Copley Square.

Playwright Joshua Harmon joins us to talk about his new play, “We Had a World.” The work turns inward, following a playwright asked by his grandmother to write about their family — a request that opens up a fraught history of love, resentment, humor, and truth-telling across three generations. “We Had a World” is onstage at the Huntington Theatre Company from February 12 through March 15.Ball in the House is a Boston-based a cappella group working across R&B, soul, and pop. They’ve opened shows for artists including the Jonas Brothers, Fantasia, and Lionel Richie, and join us ahead of upcoming performances in Foxborough and Shirley. All five members stop by the studio to talk about touring, vocal music, and what’s next.A year ago, Philip Kennicott warned that President Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center threatened the independence of one of America’s most important cultural institutions. Now that warning is playing out: this week the administration announced plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years as part of what Trump calls a “complete rebuild,” following months of leadership upheaval, cancellations, and declining ticket sales. Kennicott joins The Culture Show to discuss how unprecedented this level of presidential control is — and what it could mean for the future of federal support for the arts. Philip Kennicott is a Pulitzer Prize-winning art and architecture critic for The Washington Post.

What do MBTA service alerts sound like as show tunes? “T: An MBTA Musical” turns the daily frustrations of riding Boston’s transit system — delays, shuttle buses, and all — into a two-act musical that’s equal parts satire and love letter to riders. Composer and lyricist Mel Carubia and Cassandra West , Executive Producer of Infinite Rotary Productions join us to talk about the show’s return, now onstage at the Boston Center for the Arts and The Rockwell.After ten years leading the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Peggy Fogelman reflects on a decade of continuity and change at one of Boston’s most distinctive institutions. She joins us to talk about expanding contemporary exhibitions and performance, steering the museum through the pandemic, and what it means to lead a place so shaped by history, memory, and public expectation. To learn about all of the museum’s programming go here.A new production of William Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the BrickBox Theater in Worcester is set in a 1980s nightclub called The Wood, awash in leather, glitter, and neon. Livy Scanlon, artistic director of The Hanover Theatre and Alan Seiffert, the new president and CEO of The Hanover Theatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts join us for an overview. To learn more, go here.

On this edition of The Culture Show, Jared Bowen, Lisa Simmons, and Edgar B. Herwick III go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines.First up, Catherine O’Hara, the Emmy and Golden Globe winning actress who starred in films including Home Alone, Beetlejuice and numerous collaborations with Christopher Guest, has passed at age 71.Then, protest music and cultural backlash. Bruce Springsteen released a new protest track taking aim at immigration raids, while the Dropkick Murphys reworked their 2005 song “Citizen CIA” into “Citizen ICE” for their upcoming album “New England Forever”. Neil Young also made a geopolitical gesture, offering free access to his music in Greenland amid rising political tensions.The reaction to the killing of Alex Pretti has rippled across culture and sports. At Sundance, filmmakers and actors spoke out against ICE, and the NBA postponed a Minnesota Timberwolves game as players grappled with the moment—underscoring how quickly politics and culture are colliding.Also in the headlines: the documentary “Melania” has struggled to find an audience despite a reported $75 million price tag, with some screenings selling zero tickets and one London show drawing just a single attendee.Plus, The Museum of Fine Arts is laying off dozens of employees amid financial strain, raising questions about sustainability even at major institutions. Meanwhile, three Bob Ross paintings Finally, it’s a week in preview, with the hosts offering their suggestions for arts and culture happenings to take in. Jared suggests “Some Like it Hot,” now onstage through February 8; Lisa Simmons is suggesting a screening of the documentary “Harm in the Water,” on February 5, and Edgar B. Herwick III offers a Kubrick film festival at the Harvard FIlm Archives.

Donald Nally, founder and conductor of The Crossing, a Grammy-winning ensemble dedicated almost entirely to new music, joins The Culture Show ahead of their performance at Symphony Hall. The Crossing is joining the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a program exploring sacred music in the 21st century. The concert pairs David Lang’s “poor hymnal” with the Boston premiere of Carlos Simon’s “Good News Mass”. To learn more about upcoming performances go here. Culture Show producer Max Chow-Gillette takes inside 25 hours of the 30th Moby-Dick marathon, an annual voyage at the New Bedford Whaling Museum where Melville enthusiasts read the entire novel aloud.Culture Show contributor Julia Swanson takes us downtown for a Public Service Arts Announcement, spotlighting Boston Bricks — bronze reliefs embedded in the sidewalks of Winthrop Lane. An award-winning photographer, multidisciplinary artist and founder of The Art Walk Project, Swanson guides us through this hidden gem of a public art installation that tells Boston’s story from the ground up.

Today we’re hitting the snooze button for our Wednesday Watch Party — the show where we revisit the movies that shaped us, and ask if they still hold up. This month Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III are stuck in a time loop with “Groundhog Day.” Released in 1993, the Bill Murray comedy starts as a small-town farce and turns into something stranger and deeper: a romantic comedy about repetition, self-improvement, and what it means to actually change. In 2026 our hosts ask: does it hold up today? And do we get more out of the movie every time we watch it?

Noelle Trent, President and CEO of the Museum of African American History in Boston and Nantucket, joins us as Black History Month marks its centennial—100 years since Carter G. Woodson launched Negro History Week. She joins us to discuss why this milestone matters now and to give an overview of the museum’s Black History Month programming. To learn more go here. Bass-baritone Davóne Tines joins us ahead of his Boston concert with early-music ensemble Ruckus, “What Is Your Hand in This?”—a genre-hopping exploration of Revolutionary-era hymns and ballads traced through American history. He reflects on his boundary-crossing career in opera and protest music, and how performance can become a form of cultural reckoning. To learn more about the upcoming concert go here.Bruno Carvalho, Harvard professor and co-director of the Harvard Mellon Urban Initiative, discusses his new book The Invention of the Future: A History of Cities in the Modern World. He traces how cities—from Rio to Paris to New York—have been shaped by art, politics, and competing visions of modern life, and what urban history reveals about the futures we’re building. You can catch him tonight at Harvard Book Store.

After the White House ordered a sweeping review of exhibitions and interpretive text at the Smithsonian Institution, historians launched an unprecedented public documentation effort. Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian recruits volunteers to photograph artifacts, wall labels, and explanatory text across museums—creating a time-stamped, independent archive they call a “Crowd to Cloud” record. Co-founder Chandra Manning joins us to explain how the project works, and why preserving the public record matters now. Chandra Manning is a Professor of U.S.History at Georgetown University, a best-selling author and a former National Park Service Ranger. Max Wolf Friedlich’s high-pressure play, “JOB” is set entirely inside a mandatory therapy session between a content moderator and a company-appointed counselor. Now in Boston. Friedlich joins us to unpack how “JOB” explores power, surveillance, and mental health in the modern workplace. “JOB” is presented by SpeakEasy Stage Company, onstage through Feb7 at Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts. To learn more go here.Who decides what makes a building beautiful—the jury, or the public? Voting is now open for the Boston Society for Architecture’s Harleston Parker People’s Choice Award, where the public weighs in on the same finalists considered for the historic Harleston Parker Medal. Paige Johnston, the BSA's Senior Director of Programs & Impact, joins us to talk about this year’s finalists and what they reveal about how Greater Boston thinks about design. To learn more go here.

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, awards season. The Oscar race is underway, with “Sinners” leading with 16 nominations and major snubs including “Wicked: For Good” and stars Paul Mescal and George Clooney. The Razzies roasted flops like “Snow White” and “The Electric State,” while the Public Domain Film Remix Awards spotlighted artists reinventing newly public-domain classics from “All Quiet on the Western Front” to “Betty Boop” and “Nancy Drew.:And Williamstown Theatre Festival is taking a summer season off as it retools its artistic and financial model, with plans to move toward a biennial schedule. The pause raises broader questions about sustainability, funding, and the future of regional theater in the U.S.From there, Green Day is set to open the Super Bowl ceremony, bringing anti-establishment punk to one of the most mainstream stages in American television. Bad Bunny is also fueling Super Bowl buzz with a newly released trailer for his halftime show.Plus, the Songwriters Hall of Fame announced its 2026 inductees, including Taylor Swift, Alanis Morissette, and Kiss’s Gene Simmons, honoring the architects behind decades of hits across genres and generations.Finally, it’s our week in preview with host recommendations for the weekend. Jared’s pick is the movie “H is for Hawk,” Callie’s offering is Candlelight Concerts: The Best of Hans Zimmer.and Edgar recommends the “Beasts of Burren Rolling Stones tribute in honor of photographer, Charles Daniels” at The Burren.

Actress Claire Foy joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest film, “H Is for Hawk”, adapted from Helen Macdonald’s bestselling memoir. Known for performances defined by restraint and emotional precision, Foy reflects on inhabiting grief, solitude, and endurance in a story that unfolds through the training of a goshawk. “H is for Hawk” opens in Boston area theaters this Friday. Stephanie Thorassie is Executive Director of the Seal River Watershed Alliance, an Indigenous-led partnership of four First Nations working to protect the Seal River Watershed in northern Manitoba. She joins us to discuss the documentary We Are Made from the Land: Protecting the Seal River Watershed, screening this Saturday at the Peabody Essex Museum alongside the exhibition Knowing Nature: Stories of the Boreal Forest. To learn more go here.Mary Grant, President of Massachusetts College of Art and Design, joins us for our recurring segment AI: Actual Intelligence. We talk about shrinking attention spans, the impact of scrolling culture, and how practices like slow looking — drawn from art history and museums — may help restore focus, curiosity, and deeper ways of thinking.

Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik joins us for Stage and Screen, with her latest picks for what to see in theaters and cinemas right now. An Emmy Award–winning arts and entertainment reporter and President of the Boston Theatre Critics Association, you can read Kulhawik’s reviews here.We continue our Michelin Guide series with Tracy Chang, chef and owner of PAGU in Central Square. Known for deeply personal cooking that blends Japanese technique, Spanish influence, and the flavors of her Taiwanese heritage, Chang reflects on what it means for a neighborhood restaurant to receive a Michelin Bib Gourmand — and how the honor fits into a career rooted in community and care. To learn more about PAGu go here.Every year the Associates of the Boston Public Library ask: of the books that were popular one hundred years ago, which one still resonates today? On Tuesday, February 10, that question fuels the Hundred-Year Book Debate of 1926, as “The Sun Also Rises,” “The Weary Blues,” and “Winnie-the-Pooh” go head-to-head-to-head— with the audience deciding. Lisa Fagin Davis, Board Member and Chair of the Hundred-Year Book Award Committee for the Associates of the Boston Public Library, joins us for an overview. To learn more about the debate go here.

Paul Salopek has spent more than a decade walking the globe on foot as part of the “Out of Eden Walk,” retracing ancient human migration routes from East Africa toward Tierra del Fuego. A two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and National Geographic Explorer, Salopek joins us from Alaska, where he’s pausing for the winter before continuing his journey through the Americas. To read all of his reporting go here.After twelve years as chief restaurant critic for “The New York Times,” Pete Wells stepped away from the role following a health reckoning brought on by the demands of professional eating. He joins us to discuss “Reset Your Appetite,” his month-long series about developing healthier habits. A new article appears each Monday this month. You can read the current series here: January 5, January 12, and January 19.Michael Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston Alliance, joins us to talk about Winteractive, the free public art program transforming downtown Boston this winter. From giant staring eyes to surreal sea creatures, the walkable exhibition invites passersby to look up — and see the city differently. To learn more go here.

Tracy K. Smith, former U.S. Poet Laureate discusses her book “Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times” — an invitation to listen, reflect, and let poetry guide us through uncertainty. Don Gillis and Ray Flynn join The Culture Show to discuss Gillis’ new book “The Battle for Boston: How Mayor Ray Flynn and Community Organizers Fought Racism and Downtown Power Brokers.” On June 5th at 6:00 Don Gillis will be at a book event at the Roslindale Public Library. To learn more go here.Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David McCullough spent decades helping Americans see their past in human terms. A new collection, “History Matters”, gathers his essays and speeches on why history endures — edited by his daughter Dorie McCullough Lawson and longtime collaborator Mike Hill. She joins us ahead of her American Ancestors Headquarters event today at 5 p.m. To learn more go here.

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.

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.

Now that the Michelin Guide has put Boston on the map, we’re kicking off a new series checking in with the restaurants on that list — to see what Michelin has meant for their kitchens, their dining rooms, and the city around them. Our first stop is South Boston with chef Karen Akunowicz. Her two Italian restaurants on West Broadway — Fox & the Knife and Bar Volpe — each earned Michelin’s Bib Gourmand designation, recognizing the caliber of cooking she’s been known for long before Michelin came to kick the tires on Boston’s restaurant scene. Karen Akunowicz is a James Beard Award–winning chef and “Top Chef” alum. Nonprofits across Boston are confronting rising costs, shrinking support, and tough decisions about which programs can survive. Ali Noorani, the new president of the Barr Foundation, talks with us about how philanthropy is shifting, what’s at stake for arts and education organizations, and how funding priorities can reshape the cultural life of an entire region.Mahesh Daas, president of Boston Architectural College, returns for our “AI: Actual Intelligence” segment to examine how urban design can restrict who gets to fully use public space. From benches outfitted with barriers to ledges lined with studs, he breaks down how hostile architecture works — and what it reveals about a city’s values. Daas also updates us on his creative work, including his graphic novella on artificial intelligence,”I, Nobot.”

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.”

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.

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, “Heated Rivalry,” the hockey romance that’s become an unexpected breakout hit. What began as a niche sports drama has grown into a word-of-mouth phenomenon, drawing praise for its explicit intimacy, emotional depth, and its nuanced take on masculinity, fame, and desire inside the high-pressure world of professional sports.Next, BTS is reuniting after completing South Korea’s mandatory military service. With all seven members back together for the first time in years, the group’s return marks a major moment not just for fans, but for the global pop industry — reigniting questions about longevity, fandom, and the scale of their cultural influence.And the British Museum is now hiring a specialist to help recover antiquities stolen from its own collection. The move follows a major internal security scandal and raises larger questions about how museums track objects once they disappear, and what it takes to recover cultural history in a global art market.Then we turn to Jim Beam. After more than two centuries as a pillar of Kentucky bourbon, the company is halting production at its flagship distillery amid changing consumer habits and ballooning stockpiles — a signal of broader shifts in the spirits industry.Finally, Jared, Callie and Edgar share their recommendations for arts and culture events to take in. Jared’s pick: the play “Is This a Room,” Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company, Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St., Chelsea. Callie is looking forward to watching “Can This Love Be Translated?”, a new K-drama on Netflix, and Edgar is gearing up to watch the NFL Playoffs.

As part of our recurring segment AI: Actual Intelligence, Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston and a co-chair of Everyone 250 joins us.. Jeffries shared original, human-centered insights on civic memory, public history, and the work of shaping a more inclusive narrative as Massachusetts approaches its 250th anniversary.Photographer Amani Willett joins us to discuss his latest book, “Invisible Sun.” His most intimate project to date, Willett discusses how the book confronts his childhood medical trauma and explores what it means to carry personal history in the body. Willett is an Associate Professor of Photography at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. To learn more about “Invisible Sun” go here.We wrap up the show with cocktail authority Jackson Cannon, Beverage Director for ES Hospitality and a longtime force behind Boston’s modern cocktail revival. Cannon broke down the enduring appeal of the martini — from dry to dirty to Vesper — and previewed his upcoming Martini 2.0 cocktail class, a deep dive into the technique, history, and style behind one of America’s most iconic drinks. To learn more about this January 24th event go here.

Joyce Kulhawik joins The Culture Show with highlights from the annual voting of the Boston Society of Film Critics, following their marathon session at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, which could be an indicator of this year’s Oscar contenders. The Boston Society of Film Critics awards crowned Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, as Best Picture, alongside honors for standout performances, documentaries, animation, and the repertory screenings that kept Boston’s movie houses buzzing. Joyce Kulhawik is a Culture Show contributor, an Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter and President of the Boston Theatre Critics Association. You can find her reviews at Joyce’s Choices.Salem’s inaugural Poet Laureate, J.D. Scrimgeour, discusses writing about the “other Salem” — the daily, lived-in city beyond witch-trial lore and Halloween tourism. As part of the Salem 400+ celebrations, he talks about his new book “Poet in High Street Park: Prose & Poetry for Modern Salem.” On January 11, he’ll be at the Peabody Essex Museum for a PEM Reads event, reading from and discussing his new book as part of the official Salem 400+ celebrations. To learn more go here.Boston-based sculptor Alison Croney Moses is one of four artists featured in this year’s Foster Prize exhibition at Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, on view through January 19. She joins us to talk about her work, receiving the 2025 James and Audrey Foster Prize, and what it takes to carve out a life and career as an artist in Boston. To learn more about the James and Audrey Foster Prize and exhibition go here.

Bestselling author George Saunders joins The Culture Show to talk about his forthcoming novel “Vigil.” Set over a single night, the book follows Jill “Doll” Blaine, a long-deceased guardian figure who keeps watch over a dying oil executive, returning Saunders to the moral and metaphysical terrain familiar from “Lincoln in the Bardo.” “Vigil” is out January 27, with a Harvard Book Store event on January 29 at the Back Bay Events Center; to learn more go here.“Fight for America!” is a large-scale interactive simulation that revisits the events of January 6, 2021. Produced by the american vicarious, the project takes the form of a live tabletop “megagame,” placing participants into opposing roles to examine how democratic norms can fracture under pressure. Christopher McElroen, the Founding Artistic Director of the american vicarious and the co-creator, writer, and director of “Fight for America!” joins us for an overview. “Fight for America!” is scheduled for presentations in Boston, spring 2026; to learn more go here.Matthew Shifrin, founder and CEO of Bricks for the Blind, returns for the recurring feature AI: Actual Intelligence. Best known for translating LEGO’s visual instructions into accessible text for people with vision loss, Shifrin discussed his latest work focused on making music more accessible for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.

Samuel Barber’s Vanessa is a psychologically charged American opera centered on denial, obsession, and self-deception. Premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1958, the work earned composer Samuel Barber the Pulitzer Prize for Music. The Boston Symphony Orchestra, in collaboration with Boston Lyric Opera, will be performing Vanessa for the first time in BSO history, conducted by Andris Nelsons, with mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey appearing as Erika. Tony Fogg, BSO’s Vice President of Artistic Planning, and Samantha Hankey join us for an overview. “Vanessa” will be performed January 8 and January 10 at Symphony Hall. To learn more go here.Boston comedian and actor Steve Sweeney joins The Culture Show to talk about his new film “Townie,” which is drawn directly from his Charlestown upbringing. Known for comedy rooted in working-class Catholic culture, Sweeney uses the neighborhood as a lens on loyalty, memory, and what it means to stay put as a place — and a city — changes. You can catch a screening of “Townie,” on January 16 at The Cut in Gloucester. To learn more go here.Grammy-winning soprano Jane Eaglen returns for the Culture Show’s recurring feature AI: Actual Intelligence. A veteran of the world’s major opera stages, Eaglen is on the faculty at New England Conservatory and serves as President of the Boston Wagner Society, bringing a performer’s perspective to questions of tradition, audience, and the future of classical music.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Stephen Greenblatt joins The Culture Show, to talk about his latest book, “Dark Renaissance:The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival.” It traces the meteoric rise and violent end of Christopher Marlowe—playwright, poet, spy, and heretic—whose genius endures today. From there, Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore discusses her new book, “We the People." Published on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding—the anniversary, too, of the first state constitutions—"We the People" offers a wholly new history of the Constitution.Finally writer Nicholas Boggs joins The Culture Show to talk about his book, “Baldwin: A Love Story.” It's the first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades, revealing how the writer’s personal relationships shaped his life and work.

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 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. Lehane also serves as writer and executive producer. From there it’s “My First Ex-Husband,” an adaptation of true stories by Joy Behar, writer, comedienne and co-host of The View. The play explores the messy, hilarious truths of love, sex, and relationships. Joy Behar joins The Culture Show to talk about creating this work.Finally, bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest thriller, “All This Could Be Yours,” The book centers on debut sensation Tessa Calloway. She’s on a whirlwind book tour for her instant bestseller, But there's a chilling problem—she soon discovers she is being stalked by someone who's obsessed not only with sabotaging her career, but also with destroying her perfect family back home.

Author Gish Jen discusses her novel, “Bad Bad Girl.” In this witty and deeply personal work, Jen blends fiction and autobiography to imagine her mother’s life and explore the distance between them — uncovering how storytelling can bridge what family history leaves unsaid. From there we’re joined by Sam Kissajukian. In 2021 the Aussie comedian quit stand-up, rented an abandoned cake factory, and became a painter. Over the course of what turned out to be a six-month manic episode, he created three hundred large-scale paintings, unknowingly documenting his mental state through the process. He turned this experience into his one-man show “300 Paintings.”Finally, pastry chef and author Gesine Bullock-Prado talks about her cookbook “My Harvest Kitchen: 100+ Recipes to Savor the Seasons.” From Hollywood lawyer to Vermont baker, she shares how cooking with what’s close at hand — and in season — can feed both body and spirit.