June 19, 2026 - Annette Gordon-Reed onJuneteenth, Regie Gibson on Shakespeare, and Summer Solstice

Historian, lawyer and Pulitzer-prize winning author Annette Gordon-Reed joins The Culture Show to talk about her book “On Juneteenth,” which explores the holiday commemorating the day Union troops announced the end of slavery in Texas. We mark the staying power of William Shakespeare with Regie Gibson, the inaugural Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He’s a writer, performer, and educator whose work engages Shakespeare through spoken word .Finally the best-selling author Nina MacLaughlin joins The Culture Show to talk about her essay book “Summer Solstice,” which is a meditation on a season full of long days, hot nights and  fat red tomatoes.