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 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston  has returned ownership of two monumental stoneware vessels to the descendants of David Drake — an enslaved potter.. It’s the first U.S. museum to resolve ownership for art made under slavery, linking creativity to accountability and justice. From repatriation to restitution — another story of art and accountability is unfolding overseas. French police have arrested additional suspects in the daylight robbery that stunned Paris last month, when thieves made off with royal jewels worth millions from the Louvre. From the galleries of Paris to the corridors of power in Washington: President Trump has fired all six members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, the body that advises on the design of national monuments, memorials, and federal buildings.  And, grab your candy stash — The Culture Show is getting into the Halloween spirit. Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Edgar B. Herwick III dig into the season’s spookiest trends, from the hottest costumes of 2025 to the great candy controversies — plus a few ghost stories haunting New England’s history.

A century ago, the Wang Theatre—now part of Boston’s Boch Center—opened as a lavish movie palace, a cathedral to the golden age of entertainment. Since then, it’s hosted everything from vaudeville to Broadway, rock legends to symphony orchestras. As the Boch Center celebrates its 100th anniversary, President and CEO Casey Soward joins The Culture Show to reflect on the theater’s storied past and the next century of live performance in Boston. To learn more about their upcoming shows and events go here. For more than eight centuries, the Louvre has stood as both fortress and museum—home to masterpieces and mysteries alike. Journalist,  former “New York Times Paris” bureau chief, and bestselling author  Elaine Sciolino explores its history and allure in her new book, “Adventures in the Louvre: How to Fall in Love with the World’s Greatest Museum”  She joins us to unpack the recent high-stakes jewelry heist and what it reveals about art, identity, and intrigue in modern France. What happens when Shakespeare’s witches get a modern reawakening? In “The 4th Witch,”  Chicago-based collective Manual Cinema conjures Macbeth’s world through light, shadow, and live music—telling the story of a young refugee who transforms grief into power. Co-founder and Co-artistic Director  Ben Kauffman joins The Culture Show to discuss the company’s handmade cinematic style and how this haunting new work reinvents one of literature’s darkest spells. “The 4th Witch,” is in Boston by way of ArtsEmerson, onstage at Emerson Paramount Center through November 9th. To learn more go here.

After her mother’s death, writer Alysia Abbott was raised by her father—poet Steve Abbott—in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury during the height of counterculture. Her memoir “Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father” captures that vivid, unconventional childhood and the complexities of growing up amid both liberation and loss. Now adapted into a feature film produced by Sofia Coppola, Abbott joins us to reflect on seeing her story come to life on screen. On November 1st there will be a special screening of “Fairyland” at the Coolidge Corner Theatre.” To learn more go here. Photographer Anthony Barboza returns to his hometown of New Bedford for a career-spanning retrospective at the New Bedford Art Museum. From James Baldwin to Betty Carter, his portraits have helped shape how Black creativity and culture are seen. The exhibition, “I Return With a Feeling of Us,” is on view through November 23 and celebrates his decades-long impact on American photography. Anthony Barboza and the New Bedford Art Museum’s Executive Director Suzanne de Vegh join The Culture Show for an overview. To learn more go here.  Finally, acclaimed drummer and composer Allison Miller joins The Culture Show. She  defies category, blending jazz, rock, and folk with fearless originality. A longtime bandleader and collaborator with artists like Brandi Carlile and Ani DiFranco she recently joined Berklee’s Harmony and Jazz Composition Department as the Ken Pullig Visiting Scholar in Jazz Studies. Her latest album is “Big & Lovely”  by Allison Miller with the One O’Clock Lab Band. 

As part of our ongoing “Countdown to 2026” series, we explore how Massachusetts is commemorating 250 years of American history. Veterans Services Secretary Jon Santiago joins us to discuss the new Massachusetts Veterans Legacy Trail, a statewide digital map linking more than 1,200 monuments and memorials that honor generations of service. Created by the Healey–Driscoll administration for the MA250 commemoration, the trail invites residents to engage with the Commonwealth’s military past — from the Revolution to today. To learn more about the trail go here. From there actress Lesley Ann Warren joins “The Culture Show” to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the cult classic film “Clue.”  The Oscar- and Golden Globe–nominated performer, who played the unforgettable Miss Scarlet, will be in Boston to host a special anniversary screening at the Emerson Colonial Theatre. To learn more go here. Finally travel writer Kiernan Schmitt takes us on a Halloween-inspired journey through the hidden and haunting corners of the city. His book “Secret Boston: An Unusual Guide”uncovers the eerie and unexpected — from ghostly convents to abandoned zoos and the bizarre sculpture garden known as Ponyhenge. Schmitt, who co-hosts the travel podcast “Out of Office,” returns to the show to reveal the stories and curiosities hiding in plain sight.

Hockey historian Mike Commito joins The Culture Show to celebrate the Boston Bruins—one story at a time. His new book, Bruins 365, serves up a memorable moment for every day of the year, combining sharp research with the spirit of the game. From there it’s another edition of “Sound Files,”  our ongoing series when we invite local musicians and cultural critics to zero in on one of their favorite entries in the US National Recording Registry. On tap today, Grammy Award–winning drummer, composer, and founder of the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice, Terri Lyne Carrington. She goes deep on “Lift Every  Voice and Sing.” Finally, roller derby veteran and author Erica Vanstone takes us inside her fast-paced, full-contact memoir “Don’t Let Them Eat the Baby: Why Roller Derby is the Greatest Sport Never Sold.” From the Camden rinks to the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, Vanstone tells a story of resilience, rebellion, and the community that helped her—and a sport—find their soul.

Edgar B. Herwick III,  Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons  and Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik co-host this week’s arts and culture week-in-review. First up, the Louvre heist. Thieves disguised as maintenance workers pulled off a seven-minute jewel theft at the world’s most famous museum — raising questions about how security slipped for treasures worth nearly $100 million. From there a look at Hollywood’s fading star power: From Julia Roberts to Dwayne Johnson, A-list names aren’t guaranteeing box-office gold anymore. What’s dimming their shine? Plus Eric Lu’s Triumph. The Massachusetts-born pianist made history in Warsaw, becoming the first American in 55 years to win the International Chopin Competition. And the legacy of Allan Crite. Boston’s own “artist-reporter” is celebrated in a major exhibition from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Boston Athenaeum, honoring his vivid portrayals of everyday Black life.

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.   From there Mary  Grant, president of MassArt joins us for her monthly appearance as part of our recurring series “AI: Actual Intelligence.” Finally Berlin-based baker Laurel Kratochvila joins the Culture SHow to talk about her new cookbook  Dobre Dobre: Baking from Poland and Beyond. The book celebrates Poland’s baking traditions — from Jewish-diasporic classics to regional favorites — and reveals how migration and memory live on in every recipe. She’ll appear at Harvard Book Store tonight at 7 p.m.  to learn more go here.

Halloween is lurking around the corner and the Coolidge Corner Theatre is preparing for its 24th annual Halloween Horror Marathon. Mark Anastasio, the Coolidge’s Program Director, joins us to preview twelve hours of horror classics, creature features, and surprise screenings — all shown on 35 millimeter film. To learn more go here. Then, author Gish Jen discusses her new 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. On October 25th you can catch her at  a Boston Book Festival event at  3:00. To learn more go here. 

It’s October in Salem, where history and Halloween converge. Peabody Essex Museum curator-at-large Paula Richter joins The Culture Show to talk about the Ropes Mansion — its role as “Allison’s House” in Hocus Pocus, and how the museum brings it to life each October. Starting October 23 and continuing through Halloween, the mansion’s exterior will once again be decorated in full “Hocus Pocus” style, drawing crowds to its front steps and gardens. To learn more about all things PEM, go here. Then, pastry chef and author Gesine Bullock-Prado on her new 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. Tonight she'll be at Trillium Fort Point in Boston’s Seaport at 6 p.m.for a Q&A and signing. To learn more go here.

As the only son of Johnny Cash and June Carter, John Carter Cash has carried forward one of America’s most enduring musical legacies. A Grammy-winning producer, songwriter, and author, he’s worked with artists from Willie Nelson to Sheryl Crow while preserving his parents’ archives and spirit. He joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest book, The Complete Johnny Cash: Lyrics from a Lifetime of Songwriting, which gathers more than five decades of his father’s words—offering insight into the man behind the Man in Black. From there it’s Cuban-born pianist, vocalist and composer Zahili Gonzalez Zamora. She brings a deep, cross-cultural fluency to her music—melding Afro-Cuban rhythms, jazz improvisation, and storytelling. A faculty member at Berklee College of Music, she joins “The Culture Show” to talk about her forthcoming album “Overcoming,” which comes out this Friday; on Friday night she’ll be performing at Scullers Jazz Club at 7:00. To learn more go here.

Today Edgar B. Herwick III, Callie Crossley and Culture Show contributor Lisa Simmons,  artistic and executive director of the Roxbury International Film Festival and program manager at Mass Cultural Council, go over the latest arts and culture headlines.  First up, remembering Diane Keaton, the Oscar-winning actress of “Annie Hall,” “The Godfather,” and “Something’s Gotta Give.” Over five decades, Diane Keaton redefined Hollywood stardom with her originality, and offbeat authenticity. From there we reflect on D’Angelo, the R&B singer, songwriter, and producer behind “Brown Sugar"and “Voodoo” who died at 51.  And we honor Susan Stamberg, a founding voice of NPR, who has died at 86. Her curiosity, and signature cranberry relish became synonymous with the golden age of public radio and its spirit of storytelling. Plus actor Stephen Graham is expanding his Netflix series Adolescence into a new book on masculinity. His project invites fathers around the world to write letters to their sons about what it means to be a man today — continuing the conversation his show began.

Donnie Wahlberg — familiar to millions as “Blue Bloods’” Detective Danny Reagan — spent fourteen seasons trading barbs, saying grace, and solving crimes in New York City. Now Danny Reagan is back — but this time, he’s doing it Boston-style. “Blue Bloods” followed a multi-generational law-enforcement family bound by duty, faith, and those famous Sunday dinners. In "Boston Blue, " premiering this Friday on CBS, Wahlberg once again steps into Reagan’s shoes — this time moving the New York detective to Wahlberg’s own hometown. He joins “The Culture Show” to talk about a new chapter in the “Blue Bloods” universe and about his homecoming. To learn more about “Boston Blue” go here. From there it's comedian Hari Kondabolu. He's known for turning cultural critique into comedy. His documentary “The Problem with Apu,” took on stereotypes in “The Simpsons” and sparked a national conversation about representation.  His new stand-up on race, parenthood, and the politics of everyday life takes aim at how we talk, what we laugh at, and who gets to tell the joke. He joins us  ahead of his show at The Rockwell in Somerville. To learn more go here.

Acclaimed glass artist Josh Simpson crafts luminous worlds in miniature. His signature “Planets” —swirls of color and complexity sealed inside glass  — reflect his lifelong fascination with space and science. Now, he’s received a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts grant to explore how lunar dust could be melted into glass for future Moon habitats, in collaboration with architect Martin Bermudez of Skyeports, LLC. Simpson’s new book, “Josh Simpson: 50 Years of Visionary Glass,” and his retrospective of the same is  on view at the Sandwich Glass Museum through October. To learn more go here. From there we’re joined by Pedro Alonzo, independent curator and Artistic Director of the Boston Public Art Triennial and one of the Triennial’s featured  artists, Patrick Martinez. His installation “Cost of Living.” Working with Breaktime, an organization that supports young adults experiencing homelessness, he’s created a series of illuminated signs. They look like storefront advertisements, but their messages — phrases like “People Over Property” — tell a different story: one about struggle, empathy, and being seen. To learn more go here.

Bobbi Brown built a beauty empire on simplicity and self-expression. Now, with her new book  “Still Bobbi”  she lays bare her lessons in reinvention, resilience, and redefining beauty on her own terms. Catch her at Emerson College on October 27, 2025 for “An Evening with Bobbi Brown” — learn more here. From there Culture Show contributor Joyce Kulhawik joins us for a roundup of the plays and movies to see right now. Joyce Kulhawik is an Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter, president of the Boston Theatre Critics Association and you can find her reviews on joyceschoices.com Finally, Tracy K. Smith. The former U.S. Poet Laureate discusses her forthcoming book “Fear Less: Poetry in Perilous Times” — an invitation to listen, reflect, and let poetry guide us through uncertainty. She’ll appear at TEDxNewEngland on October 30, 2025 — learn more & register TEDxNewEngland+1

Music legend Peter Wolf has had a long solo career and rose to recognition as former lead singer of the J. Geils Band–famous for its high-octane shows and top 40 hits.  Wolf joins The Culture Show to talk about his new memoir “Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters and Goddesses.”.  Regie Gibson, an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music and an instructor at Clark University, has been selected as Massachusetts’ first Poet Laureate. He joins The Culture Show to talk about how he’ll define this role, his path to poetry and to share some of his work.  Gibson is a songwriter, author, spoken-word poet and former National Poetry Slam Individual Champion. 

Jared Bowen, Edgar B. Herwick III, and Joyce Kulhawik co-host this week’s arts and Culture week-in-review. 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’s Choices. First up, In Danvers, a young-adult novel is sparking debate. “All American Boys”—the story of two teens, one Black and one white, whose lives collide after a violent encounter with police—has some parents objecting to its language and content. Teachers, meanwhile, argue its lessons on race, justice, and accountability are exactly what students should be reading. From there, Amazon’s new creative control of the James Bond franchise has fans shaken. The tech giant removed images of firearms from classic 007 artwork—erasing Bond’s trademark weapon from posters and box art. Critics say the world’s most famous spy has been stripped of his license to kill; Amazon insists it’s part of a broader effort to modernize the brand. Then country star Zach Bryan has ignited controversy with a teaser for his unreleased song “Bad News,”  which takes aim at ICE raids and the fear they sow. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the lyrics “completely disrespectful,” and the agency fired back—posting arrest footage set to one of Bryan’s earlier songs Finally, thirty original Bob Ross paintings—the misty mountains and “happy little trees” that made The Joy of Painting a PBS classic—are heading to auction to support public television. 

CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper joins The Culture Show to talk about his new book "Race Against Terror," which tells the thrilling story of how prosecutors traversed the globe, tracking down evidence to convict terrorist "Spin Ghul" for killing American servicemen in Afghanistan. On October 16th he’ll be at WBUR’s CitySpace. To learn more go here.   As a child Matthew Shifrin received a gift that changed his life -- a LEGO set with instructions hand-written in Braille. Today he is the founder and CEO of Bricks for the Blind. He joins The Culture Show to talk about how their  free Text-based Building Instructions allows  people with visual impairments to build LEGO sets . To learn more about Bricks for the Blind go here. Finally we celebrate Hispanic Heritage month with  Patricia Estorino, executive chef and co-owner of Gustazo Cuban Kitchen & Café. Gustazo has expanded into two locations, Cambridge and Waltham. The restaurant has earned widespread recognition, including repeated spots on Boston Magazine’s 50 Best Restaurants list and multiple Best of Boston awards for Latin cuisine, brunch and most recently, Best Cuban Restaurant 2025. To learn more go here.

Actor and comedian Chris Grace joins The Culture Show to talk about his one-man show, “Sardines(A Comedy About Death),” which is onstage at The Huntington Theatre through November 16th. “Sardines” explores  the tragic, hilarious, and important questions of our time: Can we enjoy life if we know how it ends?  To learn more go here. From there, under a cloak of darkness, we head to Old Sturbridge Village, where history flickers to life at “Phantoms by Firelight: The Grand Season Finale.”  It’s an immersive Halloween experience filled with ghost stories, lanterns, and the daring spectacle of Cyrkus Vampyr.  Jim Donahue, CEO and President of Old Sturbridge Village and Rhys Simmons, their Director of Interpretation, Join the Culture Show for an overview. Finally Rebecca Kean, Operations Manager and co-owner of Jamaica Plain’s Brassica Kitchen + Cafe, along with co-chef, co-owner and designer Phillip Kruta join The Culture Show to talk about their expansion. To learn more go here.

Imari Paris Jeffries, President and CEO of Embrace Boston, joins The Culture Show for his monthly segment  “AI: Actual Intelligence.” This month we get his take on Bunny’s final concert in Puerto Rico, which Jeffries attended. It wasn’t just a performance — it was a homecoming and a moment of pride for millions across the diaspora. We’ll also get his take on the reaction that Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show is already generating. 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,” now onstage at the American Repertory Theater through October 25th; more information here. Finally we get a preview of Boston Baroque’s season opener “Baroque Masterworks." The acclaimed harpsichordist and conductor  Christian Curnyn and Boston Baroque Executive Director Sarah Radcliffe-Marrs join The Culture Show. “Baroque Masterworks" is October 11th and October 12th at Jordan Hall; more information here.

We continue our “Countdown to 2026”  series with the Museum of Fine Arts to look at the art  reframing  our understanding of the American Revolution. Ahead of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we zoom in on Fritz Scholder’s “Bicentennial Indian.”  Ethan Lasser, John Moors Cabot Chair, Art of the Americas and Marina Tyquiengco, Ellyn McColgan Associate Curator of Native American Art, lead the conversation. From there, Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore examines whether the U.S. Constitution still functions as a living document. Drawing on The Amendments Project—a vast archive of thousands of failed amendment proposals—Lepore argues that structural and political barriers have made constitutional change nearly impossible. In her new book, “We the People,” she traces how that paralysis has shifted the power to interpret and reshape democracy from citizens and lawmakers to the courts. You can catch Jill Lepore tonight at the First Parish Church at 7:00. The event is hosted by Harvard Book Store. To learn more go here. Finally filmmaker Tom Clement turns his lens on a new form of activism: light projections as protest. His documentary “Projecting Protest” follows artists and activists using buildings as canvases for messages that illuminate the ongoing battle between free expression, property rights, and public space. You can catch him tonight for a free screening at MassArt. The event is at 6:00. To learn more go here.