The Culture Show Podcast

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.

Hank Azaria, Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian and voice artist, has spent decades creating characters on The Simpsons. Now he’s taking on another unmistakable voice: Bruce Springsteen. Azaria tells us how a surprise performance at his 60th birthday grew into Hank Azaria and the EZ Street Band, a full-fledged Springsteen celebration benefiting his Four Through Nine Foundation. The band performs at The Sinclair in Cambridge on October 21. Vanessa Bumpus, director of exhibits at the Museum of Worcester, explores the story of Worcester-born artist Harvey Ball, who created the iconic Smiley Face in 1963 for just $45. The museum’s newly expanded exhibition, The Smile Gallery: An American Icon, traces how his simple drawing became a universal symbol, appearing everywhere from T-shirts and bumper stickers to pop culture and digital communication.

Today on The Culture Show: Imari Paris Jeffries of Embrace Boston on personal and collective memory, from Día de los Muertos to the dangers of forgetting or rewriting history. Tony Award-winning Laura Benanti on Nobody Cares, her new one-woman comedy about Broadway, motherhood, marriage and people-pleasing, coming to the Huntington October 22–25. For more information, go here. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum curator Diana Seave Greenwald on The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt and how a biblical heroine captured the imagination of Dutch artists. For more information, go here.