July 17, 2026 - Week in Review: Christopher Nolan's Odyssey, frozen yogurt, and the World Cup finale

July 17, 2026 - Week in Review: Christopher Nolan's Odyssey, frozen yogurt, and the World Cup finale

On this edition of The Culture Show, Co-host Callie Crossley and contribbutors Lisa Simmons, and James Sullivan go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines. Lisa Simmons is the Artistic and Executive Director of the Roxbury International Film Festival and program manager at Mass Cultural Council. James Sullivan is a journalist and author specializing in popular culture and Americana. He’s also on the Emerson faculty. Christopher Nolan’s $250 million epic, “The Odyssey,” opens July 17 after earning widespread praise for its scale and ambition. Shot entirely with IMAX film cameras, it will screen in 70mm IMAX at only a limited number of theaters.  The Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” has become the first biographical film to pass the billion-dollar mark at the global box office, despite criticism that it sanitizes Jackson’s legacy and objections from members of his family.  Holden Caulfield turns 75 — J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye helped define the modern voice of adolescence. Its alienated narrator remains an enduring—and contested—American literary figure, recognized by generations of readers for his contempt for adult pretense. Frozen yogurt gets a wellness-era makeover — Froyo is back, with protein, probiotics and gut-health claims replacing the low-fat marketing of earlier crazes. The latest renaissance is being fueled by wellness influencers, stylish new shops and consumers looking for a health-conscious indulgence. The World Cup final expands into a global entertainment spectacle — A closing ceremony featuring Post Malone, Jennifer Hudson, Tom Cruise and other stars will precede Sunday’s match. Madonna, Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber, Burna Boy and more will then perform during the tournament’s first-ever halftime show.

July 16, 2026 - David Duchovny, Edward Gorey, and Simon Curtis

Award-winning actor, director, singer-songwriter and bestselling author David Duchovny joins The Culture Show to discuss “About Time: Poems [https://www.akashicbooks.com/catalog/about-time-poems/],” a collection that reflects on love, family, aging, and the shifting nature of time.  From there Molly Schwartzburg joins The Culture Show to talk about Edward Gorey and how Harvard’s Houghton Library has acquired never before seen Gorey illustrations. These works reveal how his time at Harvard shaped his sensibility. Molly Schwartzburg is the Philip Hofer Curator of Printing and Graphic Arts. Finally acclaimed filmmaker Simon Curtis joins The Culture Show to talk about directing “Downton Abbey:The Grand Finale.”

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.