Episodes
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March 14, 2025 - Week in Review: The Pink House, the Pit in Harvard Square, and Boston's FIFA World Cup song
Callie Crossley, James Bennett and Lisa SImmons go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review.First up, the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library is honored with the Harleston Parker Medal for best new architecture. Then it’s onto a structure that has no honor despite a public campaign to save it– The Pink house has been demolished. From there, President Trump removes Shelley C. Lowe, Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities and finally a tribute to D’Wayne Wiggins, a pioneer of neo soul who was a guitarist and singer for Tony! Toni! Toné! -
March 13, 2025 - Chris Wallace, the Newton Piano Summit, and Mary Grant
Veteran television journalist and anchor Chris Wallace joins The Culture Show to talk about the state of media today, a polarize nation and why presidential debates still matter.From there Chris Pitts, the founder and producer of the Newton Piano Summit, which showcases world-class professional musicians in a series of concerts each season, joins The Culture Show to preview the 2025 season, which kicks off March 15th. Participating musician Anastassiya Petrova, a jazz pianist and organist, also joins The Culture Show with an in-studio performance. The Newton Piano Summit is 3:00-5:00 PM March 15, 16, 22 and 23 at Second Newton Church in Newton. To learn more, go here.Finally Mary Grant, President of MassArt, joins the Culture Show for her monthly appearance. This month, as we near the 5th anniversary of the COVID shutdown, she reflects on how the pandemic upended higher education and the arts sector. She also previews this year’s MassArt Auction. -
March 12, 2025 - Parade, Meow Meow, and James Carson
“Parade,” the Tony-winning revival on Broadway, is now onstage at Emerson Colonial Theatre through March 23rd. The musical is a dramatization of the real life, trial and tragedy of Leo Frank. He was a Jewish man from Brooklyn who found himself in Atlanta in 1913. As a northerner in the south, he quickly found himself subject to rampant antisemitism which culminated in Frank being tried and convicted for the rape and murder of a 13-year old white girl. He was imprisoned and subsequently abducted and lynched by white supremacists. Max Chernin who plays Leo Frank, and Talia Suskauer who stars as his wife Lucille Frank join The Culture Show to talk about bringing this story to life. From there it’s the post-post-modern diva Meow Meow. Internationally renowned for her chansons, cabaret classics, and covers–she brings mischief and mayhem to her performances. She joins The Culture Show ahead of her March 15 show at Sanders Theatre, An Evening with Meow Meow, presented by Celebrity Series. Finally the acclaimed pianist and filmmaker James Carson joins The Culture Show to talk about his endeavor–two decades in the making–to find a new way to perform and have audiences experience music. He captures this odyssey in his documentary film, “Cabin Music,” which he’s screening throughout Massachusetts. To learn about upcoming events go here. -
March 11, 2025 - The Seasons with Anthony Roth Costanzo and Sarah Ruhl, the Hundred-Year Book Debate 2025, and Melody Munitz of The Addams Family
The new baroque opera “The Seasons,” is making its world premiere in Boston. It was conceptualized by Anthony Roth Costanzo and playwright Sara Ruhl who joined The Culture Show for an overview. The Seasons Is set in the near future when the seasons are out of order and extreme weather upends the life and aspirations of a group of artists who’ve escaped the city for a creative retreat on a remote farm. The music is Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” along with other compositions and the libretto is by Sarah Ruhl. “The Seasons” is a co-Production with Boston Lyric Opera, SCENE, and AMOC,* co-presented by ArtsEmerson. It’s onstage March 12th through March 16th. To learn more go here.From there Lisa Fagin Davis joins The Culture Show for a recap of the Hundred-Year Book Debate 2025. Every year the Associates of the Boston Public Library ask “are the books that were published a hundred years ago still relevant today?” The 1925 classics that competed this year for relevancy supremacy were “The Trial,” by Franz Kafka. “Mrs. Dalloway,” by Virginia Woolf and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.”Finally theater artist Melody Munitz joins The Culture Show to talk about playing Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family. The national Broadway tour brings the show to Boston at the Wang Theatre at the Boch Center March 21-March 23. To learn more go here. -
March 10, 2025 - Craig Ferguson, Big Screen Classics at the Coolidge, and Gaze to the Stars at MIT
Craig Ferguson, the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning actor, writer, producer, director and comedian joins The Culture Show to talk about his “Pants on Fire” tour, which brings him to Boston for a show at The Wilbur on March 13th. To learn more go here.From there Mark Anastasio, Program Manager & Director of Special Programming at Coolidge Corner Theatre, joins The Culture Show for an overview of their Big Screen Classics series, which is on now through mid-June. To learn more go here.Finally we head to the MIT campus where the “Great Dome,” will be illuminated. The exhibition titled, “Gaze to the Stars,” is part of Artfinity, MIT’s Festival for the Arts. The creative force behind this installation, Behnaz Farahi, a professor at the MIT Media Lab, joins The Culture Show for a preview. To learn more about the exhibition go here. -
March 7, 2025 - Week in Review: Hamilton at the Kennedy Center, Meghan Markle, and stolen piglets
Culture Show co-hosts Jared Bowen, James Bennett II and Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik go over the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review.First up, Lin-Manuel Miranda cancels “Hamilton’s” upcoming run at the Kennedy Center amid leadership and ideological changes. From there it’s a look at a freedom of speech issue as the publisher of the romance novel series “Sparrow and Vine,” pulls the books amid readers’ backlash over a character expressing pro Elon Musk sentiments. Then it’s onto Meghan Markle–now Meghan the Duchess of Sussex–and her lifestyle Netflix series, which has been universally panned. Finally, it’s a conversation about Serena Williams who is now an investor in the WNBA. -
March 6, 2025 - Tiana Clark, PopUp Bagels, and Charles Atlas
Award-winning poet Tiana Clark joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest collection of poems, “Scorched Earth.” Tiana Clark will be at a book event March 6th at 7:00 at Porter Square Books: Boston Edition. To learn more, go here.From there Brian Harrington joins The Culture Show. He’s the owner and operator of PopUp Bagels in the Seaport District, which will soon expand into Somerville at Assembly Row. It’s famous for being served piping hot, and for those long lines.Finally the pioneering video artist Charles Atlas joins The Culture Show to talk about his major retrospective at the ICA, which is on view through March 16th. On March 6th he’ll be in conversation with ICA curator Jeffrey De Blois. To learn more go here. -
March 5, 2025 - James Parker, Pixels + Petals at the New England Botanic Garden, and Paul Daigneault
James Parker, a staff writer at “The Atlantic,” joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest piece “When Robert Frost was Bad.” James Parker runs the Black Seed Writers Group—a weekly writing workshop for homeless, transitional, and recently housed writers–and he edits “The Pilgrim,” a literary magazine from the homeless community of downtown Boston. His latest book is “Get Me Through the Next Five Minutes.” From there Marissa Gallant, director of education at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, joins The Culture Show to give us an overview of their exhibition “Pixels+Petals,” which features over 2,000 orchids. It’s on through March 23rd.Finally Paul Daigneault, Producing Artistic Director at SpeakEasy Stage, joins The Culture Show to talk about stepping down after leading the theater company for over 30 years. He also discusses his farewell production, the musical “A Man of No Importance,” which is onstage through March 22nd. To learn more go here. -
March 4, 2025 - Reginald Dwayne Betts, Margaret Cho, and the Vinfen Film Festival
Reginald Dwayne Betts is an award-winning poet, a lawyer and founder of Freedom Reads, a first of its kind organization working to transform access to books in prisons. He joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest book “Doggerel: Poems.” From there comedian, actress and singer-songwriter Margaret Cho joins The Culture Show to talk about her new album “Lucky Gift,” and her “Live and Livid” comedy show, which brings her to The Wilbur on March 14th. Finally David Brown,Vice President of Communications and Development, at Vinfen joins The Culture Show for a preview of the Vinfen Film Festival. Every year Vinfen uses the power of film to raise awareness and fight against the discrimination and stigma often faced by people with mental health conditions and disabilities. The Vinfen Film Festival is March 15th. -
March 3, 2025 - Oscars roundup with Joyce Kulhawik, James Stavridis, and Danyson Tavares
Joyce Kulhawik joins The Culture Show for an Oscars recap with her take on the snoozers, snubs and surprises. Joyce Kulhawik is a Culture Show contributor, Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter and president of the Boston Theatre Critics Association. You can find her reviews at Joyce’sChoices.From there, Admiral James Stavridis. He led NATO's global operations from 2009 to 2013 as Supreme Allied Commander for the alliance. He is also a prolific and popular author of historical military fiction whose novels offer cautionary tales. He joins The Culture Show to talk about geopolitics, European history and his process as a writer.Finally Danyson Tavares, the Executive Director of the Boston Society for Architecture joins The Culture Show for his take on President Trump’s executive order, mandating classical architecture for government buildings.
