Award winning writer and poet Kwame Alexander joins The Culture Show to talk about the PBS Kids debut of “Acoustic Rooster.” Based on Alexander’s beloved children’s book “Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band,” the “Acoustic Rooster” universe is now on PBS KIDS. To learn more, go here.

From there the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Elizabeth Strout joins The Culture Show to talk about her latest book “Tell Me Everything.”

Finally Oliver de la Paz, the poet laureate of Worcester and associate professor at The College of the Holy Cross joins The Culture Show to talk about his latest collection of poetry “The Diaspora Sonne

Boston’s AAPI Holiday Market returns on December 3, 5–8 PM. Organized by The Boston Foundation’s Asian Business Empowerment Council, the event highlights the creativity and entrepreneurship of the region’s AAPI community. Irene Li and Qingjian Shi join us for an overview. Qingjian Shi is Senior Director of the Asian Business Empowerment Council at The Boston Foundation, and Irene Li, a celebrated chef, restaurateur, and community leader, is the co-founder of Mei Mei, a restaurant-turned-dumpling-company based in Boston, and co-founder of Prepshift. To learn more about the AAPI Holiday Market go here.

Peter DiMuro brings his long-running alt-holiday show, Funny Uncle Cabaret, back to The Dance Complex on December 13 & 14. A variation on The Nutcracker, it blends dance, drag, storytelling, and live music, drawing on DiMuro’s own “gay avuncularity” and stories of chosen family. Tickets and details here.

Culture Show contributor Julia Swanson leads a tour through Providence’s community-driven public art scene. Swanson — a multidisciplinary artist and creator of The Art Walk Project — spotlights the works created by and for the local community.

Crossword constructor and writer Natan Last joins us to explore his new book, “Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle.” He traces the evolution of crosswords from early newspaper amusements to today’s culturally expansive grids. Last is a writer and immigration policy advocate. He writes bimonthly crosswords for “The New Yorker.” You can catch him at Harvard Book Store on December 10; learn more here.

Filmmaker Vincent Straggas takes us inside “Life on the Other Planet,” his new documentary about Boston’s music scene in the 1970s and ’80s. Through interviews and archival footage, he captures the clubs, bands, and renegade energy that shaped a generation. To learn more about the film and upcoming screenings go here.

Finally, Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare returns to Somerville’s Rockwell for its 10th anniversary season with a drunken production of “Hamlet.” Actors Brett Milanowski and Noelle Scarlett join us to preview the show, which runs November 29 through February 14; to learn more go here.