July 15, 2026 - Sebastian Smee on Trump's Arch, Uli Lorimer on summer watering, and Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea

July 15, 2026 - Sebastian Smee on Trump's Arch, Uli Lorimer on summer watering, and Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea

Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic Sebastian Smee discusses President Trump’s proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery. His Atlantic essay, “Trump’s Arch Is Atrocious. Don’t Build It,” [https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026/06/trump-arch-atrocity/687402/] considers how the monument could reshape a landscape devoted to sacrifice and remembrance. As drought strains Massachusetts gardens, horticultural expert Uli Lorimer explains why water should go to mature trees, shrubs and perennials before lawns. Lorimer is director of horticulture at Native Plant Trust [https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/] and author of The Northeast Native Plant Primer [https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/for-your-garden/books-by-our-experts/]. Cape Ann Museum director Oliver Barker and curator Eliza Rathbone explore the friendship among Milton Avery, Adolph Gottlieb and Mark Rothko—and how their summers in Gloucester shaped their art. Avery, Gottlieb & Rothko: By the Sea [https://www.capeannmuseum.org/exhibition/avery-gottlieb-rothko-by-the-sea/] is on view through September 27.

July 14, 2026 - "Paranormal Activity" on stage, Mahesh Daas on the Obama Pres. Center, and My Armenia

Playwright Levi Holloway discusses transforming the slow-building dread of the hit film Paranormal Activity from screen to stage. Directed by Sleep No More co-creator Felix Barrett, the new story uses live illusion, darkness and sound to build suspense. It runs at the Emerson Colonial Theatre [https://us.atgtickets.com/events/paranormal-activity/emerson-colonial-theatre/] through July 30. Mahesh Daas, president of Boston Architectural College, shares his impressions of the newly opened Obama Presidential Center [https://www.obama.org/visit/], considering how its museum and public campus recast the presidential library as a civic gathering place—and how its monumental design enters Chicago’s storied architectural landscape. Photographer Winslow Martin and Project SAVE executive director Arto Vaun discuss My Armenia (1999–2008) [https://www.projectsave.org/events], an exhibition of black-and-white photographs tracing everyday life during the first decade of Armenia’s independence. The show also inaugurates Project SAVE’s expanded Watertown gallery dedicated to contemporary photography.

July 13, 2026 - Jane Eaglen, Caroline Bicks on "Monsters in the Archives," and Rhett Price

Grammy-winning soprano Jane Eaglen, president of the Boston Wagner Society, previews the American Wagner Festival [https://www.bostonwagnersociety.org/events/american-wagner-festival-2026], running July 27 through August 8 with masterclasses, performances and the popular Wagner and Vino. Shakespeare scholar Caroline Bicks, the Stephen E. King Chair in Literature at the University of Maine, discusses Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/771482/monsters-in-the-archives-by-caroline-bicks/], her investigation into the drafts, revisions and creative process behind King’s early fiction. Boston-based violinist, songwriter and producer Rhett Price talks about his debut album, Renaissance Man [https://www.rhettypants.com/], and his journey from subway busking and viral cover songs to placing his own original music at center stage.

July 10, 2026 - Week in Review: Emmy nominations, XBox and Playstation controversy, and John Oliver on General Hospital

This week on The Culture Show, Jared Bowen is joined by Culture Show Culture Show contributors Joyce Kulhawik and  James Sullivan for a look at the week’s top arts and culture headlines. James Sullivan is  a journalist and author specializing in popular culture and Americana who is also on the faculty of Emerson College. Joyce Kulhawik is an Emmy-award winning arts and entertainment reporter and President of the Boston Theatre Critics Association. You can find her reviews on Joyce’s Choices. [http://www.joyceschoices.com/]  * The Emmy nominations are out, with The Pitt leading the field and Hacks making comedy history. We’ll look at the surprises, snubs and first-year series breaking into the top categories. * The White House is taking aim at the Smithsonian, accusing the National Museum of American History of turning away from patriotic storytelling in a new Fourth of July report. * The Boston Hunters are stepping up to the plate as one of the first four franchises in the Women’s Pro Baseball League, with play beginning August 1. * Microsoft is cutting thousands of Xbox jobs and closing studios, marking a major reversal after years of gaming-industry expansion. * Bonnie Tyler, the Welsh singer whose unmistakable raspy voice turned heartbreak into high drama, has died at 75.

July 9, 2026 - Judy Collins, Betrayal at Gloucester Stage Company, and First Peoples, First Stories

Judy Collins [https://www.judycollins.com/] joins us ahead of her “Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: Farewell Tour” [https://www.bso.org/events/collins-carpenter-cash] stop at Tanglewood [https://www.bso.org/tanglewood] on August 30, co-starring Mary Chapin Carpenter and Rosanne Cash, with special guest Amanda Shires. Collins discusses “Both Sides Now,” interpreting other writers’ songs and writing her own material. Rebecca Bradshaw [https://gloucesterstage.com/about/] of Gloucester Stage Company [https://gloucesterstage.com/] joins us to discuss Harold Pinter’s Betrayal [https://gloucesterstage.com/betrayal/], onstage through August 1. The play traces a love triangle in reverse, moving backward through an affair, a marriage and the betrayals between friends. Francene Blythe-Lewis [https://visionmakermedia.org/about/], president and CEO of Vision Maker Media [https://visionmakermedia.org/], joins us to discuss the new PBS limited series First Peoples, First Stories [https://www.pbs.org/show/first-peoples-first-stories/], featuring short films by emerging Native filmmakers about their own communities. Episodes are available through PBS Passport [https://video.wgbh.org/explore/passport/].