March 27, 2026 - Week in Review: Hannah Montana at 20, SNL's UK debut, and remembering Tracy Kidder

March 27, 2026·56 min·5 clips

Disney celebrates Hannah Montana's 20th anniversary, revealing how Miley Cyrus's split-screen life still resonates with a generation.

Support credits open the program. Peabody Essex Museum and PNC Bank spots lead into Henry Santoro at the GBH Culture Show News Desk, where arts news gets the room settled. Joyce Linehan is first up. Her appointment to the Mass Cultural Council board comes with the full resume: Dorchester roots, City of Boston policy work, MassArt, Ashmont Media, and Sub Pop Records. The term is given plainly, the way public radio tends to do when dates, titles, and credentials matter. Then the episode leans into a tougher conversation about lawsuits. One speaker says even a small financial judgment could matter if it helps prove the product is addictive. The tobacco comparison does real work here. Documents, research, and the history of proving addiction come up as possible trouble later in court. The mood darkens when families tied to 1500 lawsuits are discussed through the deaths of young people, and one speaker warns those parents are not likely to stop pushing. Another voice gives the argument some room to breathe. The lawyer's jab at 35-year-old people addicted to YouTube lands as too neat, because adults know that pull too. The flip phone detail is small but telling: less a grand symbol than a practical attempt to step away from the habits under scrutiny. The close brings the show back into the room. The library audience gets a direct thank you, and Anna Hu gets a warm farewell. Jared Bowen praises her story ideas, dedication, and promise in journalism before signing off with a culture-filled weekend. The hour starts with institutions, moves into addiction and accountability, then ends with the people behind local journalism.

As heard by us

A measured culture segment that links arts coverage to platform addiction litigation.

The Culture Show moves cleanly from the Mass Cultural Council appointment to the Taylor Swift update, then into a longer stretch on platform addiction lawsuits and the documents being used to press those claims.

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Why you'd press play

For a measured culture roundup that moves from arts governance to pop culture and then into platform-addiction lawsuits.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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