Boston Public Radio, The Curiosity Desk, & The Culture Show Live February 12, 2026

Today on BPR: Political commentator Chuck Todd and former Massachusetts Secretary of Public Safety Andrea Cabral. Lonnie DiNello, an AI user whose AI-created "family" has helped her through hard times, and Globe reporter Dana Gerber who reported on Lonnie last fall. And we’ll check in with The Culture Show’s Jared Bowen Today on the Curiosity Desk: Sangeeta Bhatia and Angela Belcher join for our inaugural edition of “How Close Are We?” where we look at a big-picture problem and the people moving us towards a solution. Angela & Sangeeta are researchers at MIT working to end ovarian cancer. And, Mark Philben writes the “Ask the Remodeler” column for the Globe – we'll talk & take listener calls. Today on TCS: Actor, singer, writer, and reality TV host Alan Cumming joins us to talk about everything from his hit show "The Traitors," to being a vigorous vegan, to his thoughts on "Heated Rivalry"; British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg joins us to talk about his new protest song in response to ICE "City of Heroes"; Director Courtney O'Connor and actor Aimee Doherty join us to talk about the reimagining of the Odyssey by way of the musical mythic makeover "Penelope," a song cycle that tells the epics story from her point of view. It's presented by Lyric Stage Company of Boston. Tune in: 00:00 – Boston Public Radio 11am 120:00 – The Curiosity Desk 1pm 180:00 – The Culture Show 2 pm Support GBH and help shape a future where facts matter, stories unite us, and everyone has access to quality media. Join us. Fund the Future: https://bit.ly/FundtheFutureYT