Playwright Jordan E. Cooper  joins The Culture Show to talk about his play “Ain’t No Mo,’” a satirical take on racism in America, which garnered six Tony award nominations. “Ain’t No Mo’” is a co-production by SpeakEasy Stage Company and Front Porch Arts Collective. It’s onstage through February 8th at Roberts Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion. To learn more, go here.

From there, storied independent record label Run For Cover Records is celebrating its 20th anniversary – teaming up with The Bowery Presents – for “Something In The Way,”  a two-day indie rock, emo, and shoegaze festival taking place at Roadrunner this weekend, February 1st and 2nd. Tom Chiari, label manager at Run For Cover Records, joins The Culture Show for an overview. To learn more go here.

Finally, National Book Award–winning writer Imani Perry joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest book “Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My People.”  It’s a meditation on the color blue and its  role in Black history and culture. Tonight at 6:00 she’ll be at The Brattle Theatre at an event sponsored by Harvard Book Store. To learn more about the event, go here.

Alton Brown, the television personality, food show presenter, food scientist, author, voice actor, and cinematographer joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book  “Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations.”  It’s a debut collection of personal essays defined by his flair, wit, and insight. On February 8th at 1:00 you can catch Alton Brown at a book signing event at Harvard Book Store, more details here. Brown will  return to Boston by way of his “Last Bite”  tour at the Boch Center Wang Theatre on March 14th. To learn more go here.

From there Beth Gilligan, Deputy Director at Coolidge Corner Theatre, previews their upcoming series “Cary Grant: The Man From Dream City,” which runs February 4th through February 25th. To learn more go here.

Finally Kate Hamill, actor and playwright, joins The Culture Show to talk about “The Odyssey. ” Commissioned by the American Repertory Theater, Hamill turns a contemporary lens on Homer’s “Odyssey,” reimagining the stories of both Odysseus and his wife, Penelope, and asking  how we can learn to embrace healing and forgiveness in order to end cycles of violence and revenge. “The Odyssey,” is onstage at ART’s Loeb Drama Center February 9th through March 16th. To learn more go here.

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, the Oscar nominations are out and “Emilia Pérez” breaks the record for the most Oscar nominations for a foreign language film. “Wicked” and “The Brutalist” aren’t far behind, with each movie garnering 10 Oscar nods.  We’ll look at the other surprises, snubs and snoozers.

And, “The Brutalist” might be shining at the Oscars, but the light is going out on modern architecture with President Trump’s executive order, mandating classical architecture for all federal buildings.

Plus  it’s a tabloid takedown, with Prince Harry settling a legal battle with Rupert Murdoch –winning an apology and an eight figure sum. 

Finally, The Doobie Brothers, George Clinton and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins are among the  Songwriter Hall of Fame 2025 inductees.

The documentary film, “Resistance: They Fought Back”  tells the little-known story of how widespread and prevalent Jewish resistance to Nazi barbarism was during World War II. The film’s Executive Producer Paula Apsell joins The Culture Show to talk about it ahead of its premiere on PBS, January 27th, which is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. To learn more about how to watch it, go here. Paula Apsell is a Senior Executive Producer Emerita of “Nova” and “Nova Science Now” and CEO of Leading Edge Productions.

From there Chemehuevi photographer Cara Romero joins The Culture Show to talk about her first major solo exhibition at the Hood Museum of Art, Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light). Spanning the past decade of her work, this exhibition presents a thematic examination of Romero's complex and layered images, which celebrate the multiplicity, beauty, and resilience of Native American and Indigenous experiences.

Finally we look at the state of the craft brewing industry. In a recent New York Times article, Joshua M. Bernstein writes about its breakneck growth over the decades, and its decline. 2024 marked the first time since 2005 that more breweries closed than opened. Joshua M. Bernstein is an award-winning writer and beer, spirits, food and wine journalist. His latest book is “The Complete Beer Course.”

The dynamic dining duo, Jenny Johnson and Billy Costa join the Culture Show to go over the local restaurant acne, from the latest openings, to the latest closings and must-have meals. Jenny Johnson and Billy Costa are co-hosts of NESN's "Dining Playbook" and "Meet Boston with Billy and Jenny.” Their  new book is  “A Taste of Boston: The Definitive Cookbook of the City We Love.” 

From there it’s countdown to the Boston Public Art Triennial.  It will feature 18 large-scale public art commissions, by local, national and international artists. Including the artist collective  and self-proclaimed  “public secret society,” New Red Order, whose work imagines what an Indigenous future could look like.  Multimedia artist Jackson Polys is one of the core members. Polys and culture show contributor Pedro Alonzo, who is  Artistic Director of the Boston Public Art Triennial, join The Culture Show.

Finally, we get an overview of the Boston Public Library’s Winter Reading Challenge to read a book by an author from each of six geographic regions: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. Veronica Koven-Matasy, the reader services supervisor at the central library in Copley Square, joins The Culture Show for an overview.

“Forbidden Broadway,” is a Tony award-winning show that skewers Broadway musicals with love. It’s the brainchild of playwright and parodist Gerard Alessandrini.  Debuting in 1982, Alessandrini has created multiple iterations of  “Forbidden Broadway.” His latest  production is “Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song. “ Alessandrini, a Needham native and founding father of the spoof “Spamilton” joins The Culture Show for a preview of “Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song,” which is onstage at the Emerson Colonial Theatre  for three performances, February 8th and 9th. To learn more, go here.

From there we’re joined by Mumbai-based writer and director Payal Kapadia, Her debut dramatic feature film, “All We Imagine as Light” has garnered international acclaim, which includes the  prestigious Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Closer to home, she recently received The Coolidge Breakthrough Artist Award. Her film will be opening in multiple theatres across Boston this Friday, January 24th. For a deeper look at the film, on February 9th “All We Imagine as Light,” will be featured at West Newton Cinema’s “Behind the Screen” event. To learn more, go here.

Finally, writer Karen Valby joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest book, “The Swans of Harlem: Five Black Ballerinas, Fifty Years of Sisterhood, and Their Reclamation of a Groundbreaking History,”  It is among the New York Times’ 100 Notable books of 2024.

Culture Show co-hosts Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Edgar B. Herwick III discuss President Trump’s inauguration through the lens of arts and culture. They’ll also focus on what Trump’s presidency will mean for the arts and culture sector.

From there we mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a conversation about The Embrace memorial and sculpture on Boston Common, which honors  Martin Luther King, Jr., Correta Scott King and their fight for civil rights. Jha D. Amazi joins us to talk about the collaborative effort that went into creating The Embrace, which was  crafted by MASS Design Group in partnership with artist Hank Willis Thomas. Jha D. Amazi is a  senior associate at MASS Design Group, and Director of the Public Memory and Memorials Design Lab. 

Finally, Culture Show contributor Julia Swanson takes us on a public art tour of the public art throughout Greater Boston that honors Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders. Julia Swanson is a multidisciplinary artist and award-winning photographer who is the creator  of The Art Walk Project, a series of self-guided micro tours.   

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:  the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision upholding a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company to sell the platform in order for the app to continue operations in the United States. What could this mean for the social media juggernaut, and for free speech?

From there, we remember the legacy of the innovative and industrious filmmaker, artist and composer David Lynch, who died at age 78. He radicalized film and influenced a generation of actors and directors.   

And California is still ablaze, leaving a number of architectural landmarks in ashes and disrupting awards season, prompting a debate if they should be televised–or even happen– amid the devastation.

Finally, Bad Bunny returns to his roots with a concert residency in Puerto Rico. 

In 1991 New England Law Professor Mary Joe Frug was murdered in Harvard Square. More than 30 years on, the case remains unsolved. Michael Cassidy was a prosecutor in Massachusetts when the  crime was committed. He’s been haunted by  the slaying ever since.  One way to grapple with it, write a legal thriller based on the case. His inaugural novel is titled “‘When the Past is All Deception.”  He joins The Culture Show to talk about writing the  legal thriller. Michael Cassidy is a nationally recognized expert in criminal law and legal ethics and a professor of law at Boston College Law School.

From there it’s cooking up a new way to teach, literally. Erica Pernice, an adjunct faculty member at Rhode Island School of Design, is teaching her industrial design students product development in the kitchen. It’s a place where they can learn how to Iterate, critique, and control one variable at a time and iterate again, and again.

Finally Andrés Holder, Executive Director of Boston Children’s Chorus joins The Culture Show  to  preview their 22nd annual Martin Luther King, Jr. tribute concert, “Road to Freedom,” which explores the legacies of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. The performance is on January 20th at 4:00 at Symphony Hall. To learn more, go here.

Pianist and composer Barron Ryan joins “The Culture Show” ahead of his January 17th concert at the First Congregational Church in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. His latest album is “There Arises Light in the Darkness.” To learn more about Barron Ryan’s concert go here.

Tara Sellios is a Boston based artist whose  photographs highlight the beauty of the grotesque. Sellios creates still life vignettes from organic materials including animal bones, insect specimens, and dried flowers which she photographs using a large format 8 X 10 camera.  Her  new exhibition, "Tara Sellios: Ask Now the Beasts" is on view at the Fitchburg Art Museum January 18, 2025 - January 18, 2026. To learn more, go here.

WINTERACTIVE is back. The free, walkable art experience features more than 15 artworks and interactive play elements. Michael Nichols and Mike Geiger join The Culture Show for an overview. Michael Nicols is the President of the Downtown Boston Alliance, which is hosting and producing WINTERACTIVE in partnership with Quebec-based curatorial partners and independent artists working in Boston, Canada, and beyond. Mike Geiger is an artist whose light installation, “Nature’s Glow,” is featured among the WINTERACTIVE works of public art.