Michael Ansara spent years as an activist and an organizer, starting with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, going on to be a regional organizer for Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). He spent 10 years organizing opposition to the war in Vietnam. For 15 years, he was a community organizer, including directing Mass Fair Share. He has worked on political campaigns, coordinated voter registration efforts, and trained many organizers. He joins The Culture Show to talk about his new memoir “The Hard Work of Hope,” which takes us into his days of activism. Ansara is also a published poet and co-founder of Mass Poetry. To learn more about his upcoming book events go here

Christine Baranski has played a variety of strong women on stage and screen, including Agnes van Rhijn in HBO’s “The Gilded Age” and attorney Diane Lockhart on “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight.” She joins The Culture Show ahead of “The Gilded Age’s” season finale and to preview her event tonight, headlining a special edition of the John G. Winslow Lecture at The Elms, one of the famous Gilded Age mansions of Newport, Rhode Island. To learn more go here.

Finally Katie Hanson, William and Ann Elfers Curator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, joins The Culture Show for an overview of their exhibition “Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits.” It’s on view through Sep 7, 2025. To learn more, go here.

August 7, 2025 - Michael Ansara, Christine Baranski, and Van Gogh's Roulin Family Portraits

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