The Culture Show Podcast

Can artificial intelligence transform society without putting our jobs, privacy, and safety at risk? Aaron Tang, constitutional law professor at UC Davis and moderator of PBS's Breaking the Deadlock, joins us to discuss the latest episode, AI: Who's in Control?, premiering October 27.Operatic tenor, conductor, and founder of the American Spiritual Ensemble, Everett McCorvey has dedicated his career to preserving and celebrating America's musical heritage. As Music Worcester's artist-in-residence, he'll lead concerts celebrating Gershwin and Ellington on November 1 and featuring Margaret Bonds and Beethoven on November 6.Halloween transforms Greater Boston's neighborhoods into an open-air exhibition of public art. Multidisciplinary artist, award-winning photographer, and Culture Show contributor Julia Swanson, creator of The Art Walk Project, explores the creativity behind the season's spooky spectacles and how this could be the most democratic expression of public art.

Matthew Aucoin, the MacArthur Fellow and composer, explores mortality, technology and a planet in distress in his vocal symphony Music for New Bodies. Its first studio recording arrives October 30, ahead of a November 6 Boston Modern Orchestra Project concert featuring his music.Donna Ferrato, the pioneering photographer, has spent five decades documenting women's lives, from domestic violence to sexual freedom. Her work is on view in Donna Ferrato: “Living with the Enemy” and the Power of Women at the MFA through February 28, 2027.Amy Hwang, an award-winning New Yorker cartoonist, discusses Women Laughing, a documentary exploring the women who transformed the magazine's humor. The film screens tonight at MassArt, followed by a conversation with Hwang and filmmaker Liza Donnelly.

This week on The Culture Show, Jared Bowen is joined by Culture Show Culture Show contributors Joyce Kulhawik and  Lisa Simmons. 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. Lisa Simmons  is Artistic and Executive Director of the Roxbury International Film Festival and program manager at Mass Cultural Council. Elizabeth Holmes: Filmmakers Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim turn the cameras on the Theranos founder in You Can See Everything, a box-office sensation that blurs the lines between documentary and manipulation. Apu Returns to The Simpsons: After years of silence, Apu returns to The Simpsons, now voiced by Indian American actor Sunil Malhotra, following Hank Azaria's departure amid criticism of racial stereotyping. Bigfoot: The documentary Capturing Bigfoot uncovers apparent rehearsal footage suggesting the legendary 1967 sighting was an elaborate hoax. Liberty Biberty: A 19-year-old YouTuber has organized a protest outside Liberty Mutual's Boston headquarters on Sunday, October 25, targeting its fuzzy yellow mascot, which has also drawn the ire of comedian John Oliver.

Bill Barclay, founder and artistic director of Concert Theatre Works, discusses The Chevalier, his musical play about Joseph Bologne, the celebrated 18th-century composer and fencer whose life unfolded against the upheaval of the French Revolution. Featuring the Chamber Orchestra of Boston and musicians from Project STEP, the production comes to Emmanuel Church October 24–25 at 7 p.m.Sarah Trad, author of A House in the Lebanese Mountains: Recipes and Stories from Beit Trad, explores Lebanese cuisine, family traditions and the restoration of her ancestral home into a guesthouse. She joins chef Ana Sortun for a book event and tasting at Sofra Bakery and Cafe in Allston on October 22 at 6:30 p.m.Michael Cyril Creighton, known for Only Murders in the Building, discusses his unconventional acting career and the award-winning comedy web series Jack in a Box, inspired by his years working in a theater box office. The Emerson College alumnus returns for a master class moderated by Jared Bowen on October 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Paramount Center.

Mary Grant, president of Massachusetts College of Art and Design, joins us for her monthly “AI: Actual Intelligence” segment, sharing original, algorithm-free insights and observations.-Brendan Kenney, founder and music director of the Firebird Pops Orchestra, previews Disney’s Hocus Pocus in Concert Live to Film. The orchestra will perform John Debney’s score live alongside a screening of the Halloween classic on Saturday, October 24, at 8 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Wakefield.Artist, illustrator and costume designer Bill Crisafi introduces his debut graphic novel, The Glam Reaper’s Guide to Slaying: Life Lessons for Rebellious Souls, a darkly comic exploration of self-acceptance through horror, folklore and drag. Crisafi will appear at the Salem Night Faire October 23–24 and sign books at Eric Lesh Gallery in Provincetown on October 30.