September 18, 2025 - Richard Smith as Henry David Thoreau, MIT's Great Glass Pumpkin Patch, and a fall TV guide

For more than a quarter century, Richard Smith embodied Henry David Thoreau—donning the waistcoat and straw hat, walking the paths of Concord, and giving voice to one of New England’s most enduring thinkers. Now, after 26 years of living deliberately in another man’s shoes, Smith is stepping away from the role. Closing a chapter that made Thoreau’s world vividly real for thousands who visited Walden Pond.From there, If you think carving a pumpkin takes skill, imagine shaping one in glass heated to nearly 2,000 degrees. At MIT’s Glass Lab—a place where art meets science—students, faculty, and alumni practice the craft of glassblowing. It’s one of the only university studios of its kind. And each fall, the fruits of their labor gleam on the campus lawn in what is known as the Great Glass Pumpkin Patch, taking place September 27th at MIT's Kresge Oval. To learn more, go here.And, Chris Vognar, the Boston Globe’s new TV and pop culture critic is here. He’ll give us a preview of what to watch on the small screen this month, from the chilling sci-fi of Alien: Earth to the Jude Law-Jason Bateman brotherly bond in Black Rabbit. To read Chris' reviews, go here.