What matters to you.
0:00
0:00
NEXT UP:
 
Top
Four smiling people in the center of a colorful graphic with the words "The Culture Show" written beneath them
Weekdays from 2 to 3 p.m.

GBH Executive Arts Editor Jared Bowen and a rotating panel of cultural correspondents and co-hosts provide an expansive look at society through art, culture and entertainment, driving conversations about how listeners experience culture across music, movies, fashion, TV, art, books, theater, dance, food and more. To share your opinion, email thecultureshow@wgbh.org or call/text 617-300-3838.

The show also airs on CAI, the Cape, Coast and Islands NPR station.

Come see The Culture Show LIVE at the  GBH BPL Studio every Friday at 2pm, and streaming on  GBH News YouTube.

EXPLORE MORE
Support for GBH is provided by:

Listen to previous shows

  • The Culture Show's co-hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III talk through the latest headlines on our arts and culture week-in-review.First up, Popeye the Sailor is famous for his catchphrase “I yam what I yam.” Now he’s whoever you want him to be. Popeye –along with Heminginway’s “Farewell to Arms,” and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” are among the thousands of creations whose copyrights expired this week. From there it’s President Jimmy Carter, the prolific writer. He wrote over 30 books, ranging from poetry, novels and memoirs. We’ll look at his literary legacy. Plus in 2024 moviegoers were truly repeat offenders. Nine of the top 10 box office hits this year were sequels. And number 10 was the prequel, “Wicked.”Speaking of spinoffs, has Walmart bested the Birkin Bag with its budget-friendly “Wirkin Bag"?Finally, the photography of Robert Frank. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston has acquired his work capturing life in Paris in the 1940’s.
  • Curt DiCamillo joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book “A British Country House Alphabet,” which explores intriguing historical events tied to country houses in the UK, with stunning illustrations.Three volumes in total, the first covers the letters A through H. Curt DiCamillo is an American architectural historian and a recognized authority on the British country house. He is also the Curator for Special Collections at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston.From there it’s all aboard the Pequod. Amanda McMullen, President and CEO of the New Bedford Whaling Museum joins The Culture Show to preview the 29th annual Moby-Dick Marathon. With related events kicking off on January 3rd, the Moby-Dick Marathon features a 25-hour read-a-thon from Saturday to Sunday, interspersed with exciting Melville-inspired activities. To learn more about the marathon experience, go here. Last but not least, comedian, actor and writer Tony V joins The Culture Show. He discusses the state of Boston’s comedy scene and what it means to be a comedian when comedy, once exempted from cultural norms, has been subjected to political correctness and cancel culture.
  • The three-time US Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky has been lauded as one of the last civic poets. Yes, he’s an esteemed professor and renowned critic of poetry, but he is first and foremost a poet’s populist. It has been his mission to bring poetry to the people and the people to poetry. Robert Pinsky joins The Culture Show to discuss a new collection of work called: “Proverbs of Limbo.” From there, it’s rapper Cakeswagg. By day she is a theater teacher working with youth, and by night, she puts her theatrical skills to use, assuming her larger-than-life alter ego, Cakeswagg. After making a splash at Boston Calling she joins us to talk about her sophomore album, “Michelin Star.”Finally, artist Keefer Glenshaw has turned playing cello into an endurance sport. He’s performed for 24 hours straight. And, with a prompt from Yoko Ono, he performed another work that took him into the woods of Lexington. He joins The Culture Show with a performance and to talk about his creative pursuits.
  • Coinneach MacLeod is better known as The Hebridean Baker. His simple living, Scottish accent, and photographs of Scotland’s rugged landscape have made him an international bestseller. And then there are his bakes. He joins us to talk about his latest cookbook, “The Hebridean Baker at Home”From there, we head to the North End to find out what makes a perfect meatball and if it’s served with gravy or sauce.Finally, we’ve moved well beyond clam chowder and baked beans. Boston is now a foodie town and a new cookbook, “A Taste of Boston: The Definitive Cookbook of the City We Love,” by Jenny Johnson and Billy Costa, celebrates both our culinary landscape and the chefs who built it.
  • Today we cross into the underworld by way of “Eurydice.” It’s a hell raising opera, truly. With music by Matthew Aucoin and based on the play “Eurydice,” by Sarah Ruhl, it’s a retelling of the myth of Orpheus, from the perspective of his bride. In this adaptation we follow Eurydice’s descent into the underworld, where her encounters are humorous, and heartbreaking–especially when she reunites with her father…a bond that proves hard to break. Eurydice had its Metropolitan Opera premier in 2021. Then it came here by way of Boston Lyric Opera which debuted a new orchestral arrangement. Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhl join The Culture Show to discuss.From there, it’s viva la diva! Have we got it all wrong when it comes to throwing around the terms Diva and Prima Donna? Grammy award-winning diva, I mean soprano Jane Eaglen joins us to break down the opera parlance. Jane Eaglen is on the faculty at New England Conservatory and is the President of the Boston Wagner Society. Finally, countertenor Reginald Mobley joins The Culture Show for an in-studio performance and to talk about his album, Because.