Author Gish Jen discusses her 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.

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.”

Finally, pastry chef and author Gesine Bullock-Prado talks about her 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.

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Stephen Greenblatt joins The Culture Show, to talk about his latest book, “Dark Renaissance:The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare’s Greatest Rival.” It traces the meteoric rise and violent end of Christopher Marlowe—playwright, poet, spy, and heretic—whose genius endures today.

From there, Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore discusses her new book, “We the People." Published on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding—the anniversary, too, of the first state constitutions—"We the People" offers a wholly new history of the Constitution.

Finally writer Nicholas Boggs joins The Culture Show to talk about his book, “Baldwin: A Love Story.” It's the first major biography of James Baldwin in three decades, revealing how the writer’s personal relationships shaped his life and work.

Robert Reich served in three presidential administrations, including as Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. As a professor he has been the ultimate explainer about rising inequality. As a public intellectual he pulls no punches–calling out the bullies: anyone and any institution that threatens democracy and human decency. It’s a life’s work on which he reflects in his book “Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America.” He joins The Culture Showto talk about it.

From there Marianne Leone is an actress, author, and screenwriter. She joins The Culture Show to talk about her novel “Christina The Astonishing," a coming-of-age story about Christina Falcone and her desire to break free from Catholic school nuns, Italian mothers, and small-town Massachusetts.

Finally, Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated actor Sam Waterston joins The Culture Show to talk about the role that launched his career, Nick Caraway in the 1974 film adaptation of “The Great Gatsby.”

And for your culture calendar, here is where you can see Jared's picks for his weekend recommendations.

Christopher Castellani’s new novel “Last Seen” follows four young men who vanish on separate winter nights and find one another in the afterlife. The book blends elements of mystery with a meditation on identity, longing, and visibility, told through four distinct voices. Castellani joins The Culture Show to discuss why he chose to tell the story from the afterlife, and what these characters reveal about love, loss, and the people who carry on without them. Castellani has a number of book events in the area. To learn more go here.

The Lynch Family Skatepark in East Cambridge is both a skating destination and a rare public canvas, where graffiti and mural work are encouraged as part of the park’s identity. The exhibition “Free to Be: Skate, Paint, Imaginate,” on view at the Multicultural Arts Center through March 6, brings that creative energy indoors, featuring murals, photographs, and visual art shaped by the park’s community. Photographer and curator Matt Ringler and Charles River Conservancy program manager Taylor Leonard join The Culture Show to discuss how skating, street art, and public space come together in this evolving cultural landmark. To learn more about the exhibition go here.

Today we’re putting on our warmest winter gear and bundling up for our Wednesday Watch Party — the show where we revisit the movies that shaped us, and ask if they still hold up. This month Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley and Joyce Kulhawik enter a snow globe of crime, manners, and very bad decisions by way of the Coen Brother’s 1996 “Fargo.” A snow-covered noir where decency and depravity share the same frozen frame. In 2026 our hosts ask: does it still hold up?

Joyce Linehan joins “The Culture Show” to reflect on the legacy of documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. As Chief of Policy for Mayor Marty Walsh she was key to Wiseman’s documentary “City Hall,” which is an expansive exploration of how Boston runs.

Dell M. Hamilton, interim director of the Alain Locke Gallery of African & African American Art, joins us to discuss Renaissance, Race, and Representation, on view through June 6 at Harvard. The exhibition spans nearly two centuries of Black printmaking and explores how artists used reproducible media to shape representation and the public record.

Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture at the Native Plant Trust and a 2026 Distinguished Service Medal recipient from the Garden Club of America, explains the hidden benefits of this winter’s deep snowpack. Sustained snow cover stabilizes soil temperatures, protects roots, preserves moisture, and can help suppress certain pests — setting the stage for a stronger spring across New England.

Matthew Shifrin, founder and CEO of Bricks for the Blind, returns for our recurring feature “AI: Actual Intelligence.” This month, he shares what it’s like to travel blind — from navigating unfamiliar hotels to the unpredictability of ride-shares and the way weather reshapes a city through sound.

After more than a decade as Executive Director and CEO of the Coolidge Corner Theatre, Katherine Tallman is stepping down. She reflects on expanding the Brookline art house, elevating its national profile, and guiding it through the shifts of streaming and the pandemic — reshaping what independents can be. To keep on top of all of Coolidge's programming go here.

Ceramic artist Roberto Lugo blends classical porcelain with hip-hop, portraiture, and social critique — asking who belongs in museums and who gets left out. His exhibition “(In)visible Ink” is on view at the Robert Lehman Art Center at Brooks School in North Andover though March 6. It brings together porcelain, painting, and customized sneakers in a powerful conversation about visibility. To learn more about the exhibition go here.

Chompon Boonnak, co-owner of Mahaniyom in Brookline and its cocktail slinging sibling Merai, joins us after a double Michelin distinction: a Bib Gourmand for Mahaniyom and an Exceptional Cocktails Award for his bar program. He talks about balancing bold street food with serious mixology and what the recognition means for Greater Boston’s dining scene.

On this edition of The Culture Show, Jared Bowen, Callie Crossley, and Lisa Simmons, go over the week’s top arts and culture headlines.

First up, the Winter Olympics delivered medals — and meltdowns. Norway’s biathlon star Sturla Holm Lægreid hijacked headlines with a tearful on-air confession about cheating on his girlfriend, while ski jumping faced a surreal scandal dubbed “Penis-gate,” with allegations that athletes gamed suit measurements for an aerodynamic edge. And on the ice, Ilia Malinin’s crowd-roaring backflip revived debate decades after Surya Bonaly was penalized for the very same move.

Then we remember James Van Der Beek, who died this week at 48. The former Dawson’s Creek heartthrob later reinvented himself, gleefully skewering his teen-idol image with sharp, self-aware performances that proved he was always in on the joke.

Plus nearly two centuries after Wuthering Heights, the mystery of Heathcliff endures. A new film adaptation has revived debate over the character’s racial identity — and how Emily Brontë’s “dark-skinned” antihero should be portrayed today.

Finally it’s a week in preview with host recommendations of upcoming events and happenings to take in. Callie offers “Romantasy Trivia” on February 14th at the Trident Booksellers & Cafe; Lisa Simmons highly “Say It Loud: AAMARP, 1977 to Now” on view at the ICA; and Jared suggests “The Moderate,” presented by Central Square Theater.