SYNOPSIS: Democratic candidates romped in Virginia last week, and scored some significant wins in Mississippi and Georgia as well. What does that mean to politics in the rest of the South? It's complicated! That's why we asked Tennessee state Rep. Gloria Johnson, one of the "Tennessee Three," to join us for some analysis and thoughts about the results. She tells us why she thinks the pushback against conservative dominance in the South is real — and what it can learn not only from Virginia, Mississippi and Georgia, but also from Zohran Mamdani's win in New York City. Plus: her thoughts on President Donald Trump's pardon of convicted felon and former Tennessee state House Speaker Glen Casada. In our arts and culture segment, we forward — from afar — to the 8th annual Beignet Fest this weekend in New Orleans. We're wondering what exactly Crawfish Etoufee beignet fries are.

SHOW NOTES: "Blue wave rebuilds the House" Virginia Mercury "Democrats end GOP two-thirds supermajority in Mississippi Senate. What does that mean?" Mississippi Today "Democrats flip two seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission" Georgia Recorder Beignet Fest

CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: What does it take to run an effective progressive political campaign in the South? This week, Jesse talks to political consultant Eva Posner of Evinco Strategies, who specializes in exactly that. She focuses on candidates from working-class and marginalized communities, and also helps train campaign managers and staffers — helping to build progressive political infrastructure in places that often lack it. Also: As wrangling continues over SNAP benefits during the federal government shutdown, we look at the importance of the food stamp program in the South, where one-third of its lower-income beneficiaries live. Virginia and Louisiana have put forward plans to cover any gaps for their residents at least through November. But Texas and Florida, whose residents together receive about $1.1 billion a month in SNAP funding, have no plans at all. Plus: A look at the 1924 exhibition in Jacksonville, Fla., that helped introduce Modern art to the South.

SHOW NOTES: Evinco Strategies "SNAP: Key Statistics and Research" U.S. Department of Agriculture SNAP benefits by state "The loss of SNAP benefits could have ripple effects across the economy" Marketplace "The Armory South" MOCA Jacksonville

CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: What are the prospects for progress in Texas? Who better to ask than Progress Texas? This week Jesse talks to Chris Mosser, a veteran broadcaster who reports for the nonprofit media platform. They talk Lone Star politics, including this year's redistricting fight and names to watch in next year's elections. Also: how Florida sugar barons are capitalizing on their relationship with Trump; an Alabama school for LGBTQ students has to revise its mission to keep its charter; and a Texas school district locks its libraries. In the arts and culture segment, we look at the origins and spread of Trunk or Treating — coming to a church parking lot near you!

SHOW NOTES: Progress Texas "Meet The Florida Sugar Barons Worth $4 Billion And Getting Sweet Deals From Donald Trump" Forbes Magazine "​​Coca-Cola's Trump-approved soda begins to roll out in the United States" CNN "America's Addiction to Big Sugar Leaves a Bitter Aftertaste" The Heritage Foundation Magic City Acceptance Academy "Magic City Acceptance Academy secures renewal from Alabama Public Charter School Commission" Alabama Reflector Alabama Public Charter School Commission Meeting, 10/15/25 "Magic City Acceptance Academy and the cost of state-sanctioned bigotry" Alabama Reflector "A Texas District Has Just Banned Students from Secondary School Libraries" BookRiot "New Braunfels ISD libraries to reopen Monday, 81 books flagged for further review" KSAT-TV "What to know about trunk-or-treating, a trick-or-treating alternative" National Public Radio

CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: A new report shines light on gun deaths in Tennessee. It shows that the state has high levels of both gun homicides and suicides — and they have risen as conservative legislators have rolled back gun safety laws. We dig into the data with its lead researcher, Beth Joslin Roth, and state Senator Heidi Campbell. Also: Mississippi this year declared a public health emergency as its infant mortality rate hit its highest level in a decade. It has the worst infant mortality in the country, but many other Southern states aren't much better. Health care advocates say it will only get worse if subsidies for coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplace vanishes next year — which is one of the sticking points in the federal government shutdown. And we pay tribute to the great soul singer D'Angelo, and look at how his roots in Richmond, Virginia, shaped his music.

SHOW NOTES: Tennessee Under the Gun "Southern Lawmakers Say Infant Mortality Rates Could Worsen with Health Care Cuts" NOTUS "Stats of the States: Infant Mortality" CDC "4.8 Million People Will Lose Coverage in 2026 If Enhanced Premium Tax Credits Expire" Urban Institute and the Commonwealth Fund "MSDH Declares Public Health Emergency on Infant Mortality" Mississippi State Department of Health "The Legendary Ingramettes" Richmond Folk Festival "D'Angelo Brought Virginia's Soul to the World" Justin Tinsley, Andscape CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: The redistricting fight in Texas set the stage for a national scramble to redraw congressional lines ahead of next year's midterm elections. Among those at the center of the battle was Texas state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, a leading progressive voice in the state Legislature and one of the Democrats who fled the state in an effort to block the Republican power grab. This week, we hear from Eckhardt about that, and about the broader fight for representation in the Lone Star State. The biggest obstacle she sees? A lack of engagement by voters who feel ignored and have tuned out. She has ideas about how to bring them back in. Also, we look at the deportation of a Latino journalist in Georgia; a fascinating primary emerging in Memphis, over Tennessee's only Democratic congressional seat; and how yet another redistricting case being heard by the Supreme Court this week could spell the effective end of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In our arts and culture segment, we preview the LEAF Global Arts Festival in the North Carolina mountains this weekend — which is marking its 30th year, and possibly also its final one.

SHOW NOTES: "Spanish-language journalist arrested while covering protest near Atlanta deported to El Salvador" Associated Press "NAHJ expresses concern over deportation of journalist Mario Guevara" National Association of Hispanic Journaliss "A Letter From Detained Journalist Mario Guevara" ACLU "Tennessee House primary puts Democratic Party's generational divide on display" Politico "Supreme Court to hear arguments in pivotal case on the Voting Rights Act" SCOTUSBlog LEAF Global Arts "CNN Explores Recent Decline of Music Festivals" EDM Tunes

CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: In the South, the prospects for progressive causes and candidates can be daunting. But Corbin Trent thinks the answer is not to back down or dilute their messages — it's to take strong, bold positions on behalf of the region's working people. Trent has been fighting for progressive values for a long time. He was a cofounder of the influential PAC Justice Democrats, and served as communications director for New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. A native and resident of Tennessee, he is now the creator of "America's Undoing," a new media project that is developing an ambitious progressive agenda in response to President Donald Trump's MAGA movement — and to the paralyzing inertia of what should be the opposition party. He talks about what Democrats are getting wrong, and how to move forward. Also, we take a look at a recent dust-up at Tennessee State University, the state's only publicly-funded Historically Black University. Two white internet provocateurs attempting to follow in the late Charlie Kirk's footsteps showed up on the Nashville campus recently. The result was an entirely manufactured confrontation designed to create clippable content for sharing across the right-wing media. We take a look at the incident, and at the way that seamless ecosystem works to generate endless right-wing outrage and, increasingly, to set the the agenda for conservative politicians in our Southern states. Finally, a tribute to Norman Jones, who died last week — a legendary drag queen and bar owner who was for decades a central figure in Arkansas' LGBTQ communities.

SHOW NOTES: America's Undoing Corbin Trent "How to beat MAGA in 2026, 2028 and beyond" America's Undoing "​​Charlie Kirk's Most SAVAGE Campus Moments of Spring 2025" Turning Point USA "Tennessee governor signs into law a bill that vacates the TSU board" WTVF Nashville "Norman Jones, drag legend and gay bar proprietor, has died" Arkansas Times "Norma Kristie Performing at Miss Gay Fayetteville 1988-89"

CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: Writer Alexis Okeowo grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, and then moved away from the state for college. She is a contributing writer for The New Yorker, and has reported from Africa and Mexico. She has returned to her home state as the focus of her new book, Blessings and Disasters: A Story of Alabama. In a conversation, she talks about her experience in the state as the child of Nigerian immigrants, the layers of history and connection she dives through in her narrative, and the whiplash nature of progress and backlash in the state. Also: measles spreads in Georgia; the consequences of South Carolina's abortion ban; and still hopeful signs for electric vehicle investment in the South. And our arts and culture segment looks at a striking new exhibit by Texas artist David-Jeremiah.

SHOW NOTES: Alexis Okeowo "DPH Confirms Three New Measles Cases" Georgia Department of Public Health "Headlights Ep. 8: Watering the Roots" "Georgia's Childhood Vaccination Rates Have Dropped. Doctors Are Worried." Atlanta Journal-Constitution "How Public Health Outreach Ended A 1990s Measles Outbreak And What's Different Now" National Public Radio "SC Senate bill is the most extreme, dangerous abortion ban in our history" Amalia Luxardo South Carolina Daily Gazette "SC lawmakers are playing politics with women's lives" Christine Glang South Carolina Daily Gazette "Transportation Electrification in the Southeast" Atlas Public Policy and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy "David-Jeremiah: The Fire This Time" The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth

CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: Leah Song of Rising Appalachia joins us this week to talk about music, activism and bringing people together in difficult times. Leah and her sister, Chloe Smith, founded the band nearly 20 years ago and have combined an embrace of many strands of Southern music — from Appalachian string-band to Gospel and soul — with a commitment to social justice. Also: The troops are coming to Memphis. President Donald Trump last week announced a deployment of the National Guard to Tennessee's largest, Blackest and poorest city, with the enthusiastic support of Governor Bill Lee and the state's Republican senators. We take a look at the history of military deployment in the South, and why this mission is different from those after the Civil War and during desegregation. And we check in on Fiesta, this weekend's celebration of Hispanic and Latino culture in Birmingham, Alabama.

SHOW NOTES: Rising Appalachia

"Trump Deploys National Guard to Memphis" Associated Press

"Trump's Use of National Guard in Los Angeles Was Illegal, Judge Rules" BBC

Fiesta 2025 Birmingham, Ala.

"Immigration Will Likely Save Our Birmingham Region" Comeback Town

CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: In the wake of the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week, blame flew in multiple directions. As usual, nobody on the right wanted to talk about guns. But Kirk's wasn't even the first newsworthy shooting of the day — there was a school shooting in Colorado a few hours earlier — or the first American political assassination of the year. This week we look at the issues of guns and gun deaths in the U.S. — and particularly in the South, home to some of the nation's loosest gun laws and highest levels of gun ownership. On gun safety, as on so many other issues, most of our state leaders are out of step with what the people of their states want. The conversation this week is with Katie Blankenship of Sanctuary of the South — a grassroots organization working across multiple states to provide legal representation for immigrants and havens for marginalized communities. She talks about the challenge of representing clients in the nightmarish ICE detention system — and about reclaiming the word "sanctuary" from right-wing scorn. And in our arts and culture segment, a look at this weekend's Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion. The music festival celebrates Bristol's history as "the Birthplace of Country Music" and spreads across outdoor stages throughout downtown. It also takes place in two states simultaneously — Virginia and Tennessee — because the state line runs through the center of the city.

SHOW NOTES:

Sanctuary of the South

"School Shootings in the U.S.: Fast Facts" CNN

Everytown for Gun Safety

"Gun Ownership by State 2025" World Population Review

"Firearm Mortality: State of the States" CDC

Charlie Kirk comments Media Matters

Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion

CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS:

Up until January of this year, several Southern states were among the leaders in clean energy production, with big investments in solar and wind power in Texas, Florida and elsewhere. Then came the Trump administration, with its hostility to renewable sources and championing of fossil fuels. This week, we talk to Steve Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy about the status and future of energy production in the South — and the growing impact of massive new data centers and cryptomining operations, which are guzzling more and more from our regional grids. Also, we take a look at a trio of new laws in Texas that reflect the ongoing efforts of anti-abortion advocates to extend the state's total abortion ban outside its borders via novel legal mechanisms. If anyone thought religious fundamentalists were going to be happy with state-by-state abortion regulation, they were of course wrong. Our arts and culture segment previews this weekend's Mississippi Festival of Books, a celebration of all things literary in a state that punches way above its weight in producing great writers.

Show Notes:

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

"Stability in the Number of Abortions from 2023 to 2024 in US States Without Total Bans Masks Major Shifts in Access" Guttmacher Institute

"New Texas law requires hospitals support grieving families amid rising infant death rates post-abortion ban" CBS News

"Texas bill allowing private citizens to sue over abortion pills clears Legislature" The Texas Tribune

"City of Austin ends abortion fund to comply with new state law" The Daily Texan

"Abortion Views in All 50 States" PRRI

Mississippi Festival of Books

"Why has Mississippi inspired so many great writers?" W. Ralph Eubanks, America: The Jesuit Review

CONTACT:

Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764