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Devo at 50: ‘We're like the house band on the Titanic at this point’
Devo's 50th anniversary tour called "50 Years of De-Evolution… Continued!" is headed to Boston on May 9.
Listen to previous shows
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September 3, 2024 - Sebastian Smee, The Hombres, and art on the MBTA's Red Line
Pulitzer Prize-winner Sebastian Smee, art critic for The Washington Post, and author of “The Art of Rivalry” joins The Culture Show for a discussion of his new book “Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism.” From there Gloucester Stage Company and Teatro Chelsea are collaborating on “The Hombres,” in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month. Actor Jaime José Hernández who stars in the play as Beto is also Teatro Chelsea’s Program Manager. He joins The Culture Show ahead of “The Hombres” regional premiere. Finally, we look at an underground art movement, literally. Culture Show contributor Julia Swanson, who runs The Art Walk Project, takes us on a tour of the MBTA’s Red Line subway art scene. -
September 2, 2024 - Toni Stone, baseball in the movies, and foul balls
Today we bring you three very different takes on Baseball. First up. from a diamond in the rough to the baseball diamond. Toni Stone made history as the first woman to play professional baseball in the mens’ Negro League. It’s the subject of Lydia Diamond’s latest play.From there it’s sportswriter and film critic Noah Gittell. In his new book he merges two American pastimes: baseball and movies. In looking at how the baseball movie has changed over the decades – from sports glory, to nostalgia to cynicism – he says we can also see how American values have changed.And Finally, why do baseball fans get to keep a foul ball if they catch it? Edgar B. Herwick III has the answer. -
August 30, 2024 - Raj Tawney, Joanne Chang, and Marsha Lindsey
Writer Raj Tawney. Growing up in a multicultural household, his coming of age story happened in the kitchen, helping his mother and grandmother cook recipes from their homelands. Themes of food, memory and identity come together in his memoir, “A Colorful Palate: A Flavorful Journey through a Mixed American Experience”From there, it’s award-winning pastry chef Joanne Chang. She joins us with her theory on why there is a comfort food revival, putting her spin on the classics and how, for her, a recipe is always a work in progress.Finally we top things off, by topping one off with mixologist Marsha Lindsey, As the principal bartender at SRV where she also runs the bar program, she raises a glass to Black history by introducing us to some of her favorite black owned spirits–and her craft cocktails. -
August 29, 2024 - Girl From the North Country, Janie Barnett, and Already Dead
Turn up the volume because we have three takes on music, from Bob Dylan to Cole Porter to populist punk.First up, the Irish dramatist Conor McPherson wrote and directed a play incorporating 20 songs by Bob Dylan. This is no JukeBox musical. And though it is set in Dylan’s hometown of Duluth, Minnesota it’s no bio-musical either. It’s titled “Girl From the North Country.” He joins us to talk about weaving Dylan’s songbook into a deeply stirring show. From there it’s singer-songwriter Janie Barnett. She has reimagined Cole Porter, Americana style. We talk to her about this genre-bending work and what it took to be the queen of the jingle, belting out classic, commercial earworms.Finally, the populist punk band “Already Dead” wrote an anthem about our housing crisis with their track “Landlord.” Now they take on the economic divide in their new release “The Spirit of Massachusetts Avenue.” -
August 28, 2024 - Audra McDonald and Leslie Odom Jr.
Summertime, and the living is easy. Or, if you’re Audra McDonald, you make it look and sound easy. The award winning singer and actor earned her fifth – of a record-breaking six– Tony awards for her portrayal of Bess in the Broadway hit “The Gershwins Porgy and Bess,” which was mounted right here at The American Repertory Theater.Jared Bowen caught up with McDonald when she was in Boston for a one-night only performance.Then it’s another star of the stage Leslie Odom, Jr. The award winning actor and singer’s portrayal of Aaron Burr in“Hamilton,” gave us a new way to think about America’s historyAnd if history doesn’t repeat itself, it rhymes. In his latest return to Broadway, Odom starred in a play that skewers racism in America. He joined The Culture Show to talk about performing on Broadway and his latest album, “When a Crooner Dies.”
