March 13, 2026 - Week in Review: Andris Nelsons, an Oscars preview, and a Chalamet faux pas

March 13, 2026·56 min·5 clips

The Boston Symphony Orchestra just fired its Grammy-winning music director Andris Nelsons over a sudden 'clash in future vision.'

The Oscars preview carries real uncertainty. The panel talks through a year where even the big categories feel hard to call, with strong performances making the usual prediction game less tidy. Jessie Buckley gets the first clear nod. That quick agreement sits next to a wider sense that best picture and several acting races are still open. Then the conversation moves to songs. Golden from K-pop Demon Hunters sounds like the likely winner, while I Lied to You from Sinners gets treated as a serious reason to watch the ceremony. The mood loosens up there. A joke about loving children gives the awards talk the feel of colleagues who have done this together for a while. K-pop Demon Hunters hangs over the segment in a fun way. One speaker remembers Golden as one of those rare shared culture moments, helped by repeat watches and songs that refused to leave people's heads. Sinners has its own pull too. The panel links its following and nomination strength to the show's expected energy instead of treating the songs like filler. The opening is more formal. Before the Oscars talk, the news-desk segment runs through sponsorship, museum promotion, and Boston arts listings. Brian O'Donovan stays central, with the Celtic Night tribute at Symphony Hall placed carefully and broadcast times repeated for people who may attend or listen later. The close returns to logistics: the Boston Pops tribute, the Sunday broadcast, and a Monday conversation after Oscar night. It is polished public radio, but the best parts come when the listings give way to warm, opinionated movie talk.

As heard by us

A polished arts roundup that keeps the Oscar race open.

The Culture Show starts with a Boston remembrance of Brian O'Donovan and then turns to Oscar talk, and that change of pace gives the episode its edge.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

For a weekend culture fix with Oscar chatter and a Boston tribute thread.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Culture Show Podcast