Rebel on Main

A Confederate from Canada


Listen Later

Bob doesn’t care at all about the statue—until he does. A Canadian transplant to Jessamine, his ancestry traces back to abolitionist New England. But as the 2020 election approaches, Bob sees a political opening. For months prior to the election, he spends three hours a night working through a list of 13,500 Democrats conducting a telephone survey.

The work is arduous and often dispiriting. It takes fifteen phone dials to get one person to talk, and sometimes that person just hangs up or refuses to answer Bob’s questions. Nevertheless, he is able to convince many pro-statue Democrats to switch parties. Confederate controversies cement the Republican takeover of Jessamine.

Timestamps

01:38      David walks two doors down from his house to interview Bob

15:22      Bob describes his telephone survey and how he’s using it to defeat Democratic candidate Carolyn Dupont.

20:45      Pastor Moses responds.

25:03      Carolyn Dupont responds.

31:54      Blue Lives Matter rally at the courthouse

39:00      November 2020

43:52      David reflects on local politics and his relationship with Bob.

Transcript: Visit www.rebelonmain.com/episode6.

Engage

  • Check out our website at www.rebelonmain.com.
  • To support future creative projects, contribute here: www.rebelonmain.com/support
  • Email [email protected] to let me know what you think of this episode of Rebel on Main.
  • Resources

    • For pictures of the Back the Blue rally and video of the scuffle at the courthouse, head to www.rebelonmain.com/episode6.
    • Carolyn Dupont, Mississippi Praying: Southern White Evangelicals and the Civil Rights Movement, 1945-1975
    • Production team

      • Writer and Host: David R. Swartz
      • Original Music, Sound Design, and Mixing: Barry Blair
      • Story Editor: Stephen Smith
      • Artistic Design: Josh Smith and Lisa Weaver Swartz
      • Next episode: In Episode 7—Change Is Gonna Come—find out what happens after a final push to remove Jessamine County’s Confederate statue.

        ...more
        View all episodesView all episodes
        Download on the App Store

        Rebel on MainBy David Swartz

        • 5
        • 5
        • 5
        • 5
        • 5

        5

        13 ratings


        More shows like Rebel on Main

        View all
        Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

        Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

        38,465 Listeners

        Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney by ESPN, Buster Olney

        Baseball Tonight with Buster Olney

        4,090 Listeners

        Radiolab by WNYC Studios

        Radiolab

        43,944 Listeners

        Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life by Tim Keller

        Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life

        15,531 Listeners

        The Holy Post by Phil Vischer

        The Holy Post

        4,276 Listeners

        Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

        Hidden Brain

        43,343 Listeners

        Scene on Radio by Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University

        Scene on Radio

        52 Listeners

        The Wake-Up Call by Seedbed

        The Wake-Up Call

        209 Listeners

        The Daily by The New York Times

        The Daily

        112,758 Listeners

        Up First from NPR by NPR

        Up First from NPR

        56,140 Listeners

        KSR by iHeartPodcasts and Sports Talk 790 (WKRD-AM)

        KSR

        4,032 Listeners

        Hard Fork by The New York Times

        Hard Fork

        5,377 Listeners

        The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

        The Ezra Klein Show

        14,859 Listeners

        The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott by Audacy, Red Hour, Great Scott

        The Severance Podcast with Ben Stiller & Adam Scott

        2,391 Listeners