SYNOPSIS: On back to back days earlier this month, the Tennessee Valley Authority reversed course on plans to close two massive coal-fired power plants, and the Trump administration abandoned federal regulation of greenhouse gases. The double whammy clearly illustrated the impact of the administration's aggressive insistence on fossil fuels, regardless of the local and global cost. To get a handle on the implications, this week we visit again with Steve Smith of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. He accuses the administration of an Orwellian denial of the reality of climate change. Also: Attacks on tenure in Tennessee, a move to restore voting rights to people convicted of felonies in Kentucky, and a remembrance of the Reverend Jesse Jackson's South Carolina roots. Plus: a historical exhibit of Black Southern crafts at the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C.

SHOW NOTES: Southern Alliance for Clean Energy Compass Points podcast "Coal Reversal" Compass "How reaction to Charlie Kirk's death led to Tennessee bill targeting tenure" The Knoxville News Sentinel "Restoration of Voting Rights for Felons" National Conference of State Legislatures "KY Senate committee backs bill to restore voting rights to some with felony convictions" Kentucky Lantern "Jesse Jackson: A voice that rose from Greenville and echoed across America" South Carolina Daily Gazette "Middle of Somewhere" International African American Museum

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

SYNOPSIS: When it comes to environmental protections, the Trump administration has been on a deregulatory spree. On the front lines of fights to protect air, water and ecosystems across the South is the Southern Environmental Law Center — a nonprofit with a team of more than 100 lawyers, who are keeping busy in courts and on Capitol Hill. This week we talk to Geoff Gisler, Program Director for the SELC, about the biggest threats to Southern communities and landscapes the group saw in the first year of Trump 2.0, and what they foresee coming. Also: the election conspiracy theorists behind the FBI's seizure of Georgia ballots from 2020; allegations of censorship at the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in Mississippi; and Florida takes another step toward blocking any regulation of greenhouse gases. And: Alabama native Ella Langley takes the charts by storm with "Choosin' Texas."

SHOW NOTES: Southern Environmental Law Center "FBI raid in Fulton County relied on previously investigated 2020 election claims" Georgia Recorder Affidavit for Warrant for Georgia ballots "Trump's 'Stop the Steal' lawyer probing 2020 election fraud has access to sensitive US intel" Politico "Trump's Director of Election Security Is an Election Denier" The New York Tim "Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home" National Park Service "Visitor brochures are returned to Medgar Evers home" Mississippi Today "Evers National Monument Never Removed Brochures 'Not One Second,' Superintendent Says, Disputing Reports" Mississippi Free Press "Local Florida governments would be banned from enacting climate change policies under new proposal" Florida Phoenix "A Brief Inquiry Into 'Choosin' Texas'" Texas Monthly "Choosin' Texas" Ella Langley

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

SYNOPSIS: Why does Alabama have the highest residential electricity rates in the country? This week, we dig into the profitable, polluting business of Alabama Power, the state's largest electrical provider. Dennis Pillion, a reporter for Inside Climate News, joins to talk about what he has found digging into the private company. Much of its decision-making is shielded from public view by Alabama law, and the state's residents are quite literally paying the price for it. Also: What does Democratic candidate Taylor Rehmet's overwhelming win in a Trump-friendly state Senate district mean for Texas? • Another generational stand-off in a Democratic congressional primary, this one in North Carolina. • Virginia looks to get strict on semi-automatic weapons. • And a new play in Miami revisits the city's language wars.

SHOW NOTES: "Wired for Profit" Inside Climate News "How Taylor Rehmet upset a MAGA candidate to flip a North Texas Senate district" The Texas Tribune "A House District Divided" The Assembly "Miami New Drama premieres 'English Only,' a play about Miami's language wars" Miami Times Herald "English Only" Miami New Drama

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

SYNOPSIS: While outrage continues to mount about violent immigration enforcement in Minneapolis, ICE and the Border Patrol are active at smaller scale in cities across the South. A hearing last week in New Orleans brought together political leaders and immigrant advocates to detail the terror that Operation Catahoula Crunch has instilled in local communities, where many people are afraid to go to work or school. This week we have selected excerpts from the hearing, including statements from Congressman Troy Carter, New Orleans' new Mayor Helena Moreno, and representatives from New Orleans City Council, the ACLU, and more. Also: The FBI's alarming seizure of 2020 election ballots in Fulton County, Georgia; the impact of increasingly severe winter weather across the South; and a heartbreaking story of one young Alabama man's deportation. Plus, we pay tribute to Carter G. Woodson, the father of Black History Month.

SHOW NOTES: "Shadow Hearing on Operation Catahoula Crunch, ICE Invasion of Louisiana" Homeland Security Committee Democrats (Video link) Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory on FBI raid (Instagram) "FBI raids Fulton County election office seeking ballots from Trump's 2020 loss" Atlanta Journal-Constitution "Fox5: Jack Smith labels Georgia 'Ground Zero' in 2020 election probe during tense House hearing" Ga. State Rep. Lucy McBath "Winter Storm Debilitates the South, Encasing Cities in Ice and Snow" The New York Times "Situation in Mississippi Grows More Dire After Days of Ice, Outages and a Rising Death Toll" Mississippi Free Press "Football referee forced to leave Alabama for Mexico: 'How many kids would get deported for that?'" John Archibald (AL.com) Carter G. Woodson Home (National Park Service)

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

SYNOPSIS: "Affordability" — the struggle many Americans face to pay for housing and food and transportation — has become a political buzzword. But what what drives it, and what can government action do about it? A recent report by the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy gathers specific data to look at the challenges in the Bluegrass State, and makes specific policy recommendations. We talk to Jason Bailey, the center's director, about their findings. Also: mounting deaths at the Camp East Montana immigrant detention center in Texas; rising pushback against the proliferation of energy-sucking data centers; and Florida considers scrapping the property taxes that support its local governments. Plus, three Oscar nominees with deep Southern roots.

SHOW NOTES: Kentucky Center for Economic Policy "Building a Kentucky Workers Can Afford" Kentucky Center for Economic Policy "Feds plan to build nation's biggest migrant detention center at Fort Bliss" The Texas Tribune "60 violations in 50 days: Inside ICE's giant tent facility at Ft. Bliss" The Washington Post "Detained Immigrants Detail Physical Abuse and Inhumane Conditions at Largest Immigration Detention Center in the U.S." ACLU "The black hole of Camp East Montana" El Pais "Immigrant's death in ICE custody ruled homicide by El Paso medical examiner" The Texas Tribune "Congresswoman Escobar Statement on Detainee Death at Camp East Montana Likely to be Classified as Homicide" Rep. Veronica Escobar "Tract details plans for 3,000-acre data center campus in Caldwell County" Austin Business Journal Headlights Ep. 20: Fossil Fuels and an AI Surge "Elon Musk's xAI faces tougher road building out data centers after EPA rule update" CNBC "Rep. Ruwa Romman introduces HB 1012 to slow the growth of data centers" The Atlanta Voice "A second proposl to eliminate property taxes in Florida is now ready for a vote by the full house" Florida Phoenix "Gov. Ron DeSantis Delivers State of the State Address" WPTV News "Counties Deliver" Florida Association of Counties "'The Alabama Solution': A Humanitarian Crisis in Grainy Detail" The Marshall Project "'The way you hold that camera': HBO doc pays tribute to slain Arkansas filmmaker Brent Renaud" Arkansas Times CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: Martin King Luther Jr. Day arrives this year in the midst of an ongoing assault on his legacy and the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Movement at both the national and — in the South — state levels. So this week we spend a little time listening to MLK the man, the leader, the strategist, the philosopher and preacher, who articulated a clear vision for moral and political progress in the United States and across the globe. His work was much broader, and his goals more specific, than the small portions of the "I Have a Dream" speech that gets trotted out every year. Here are some extended excerpts from him, from across his career. Also: It's January, which means many of our state legislatures are back in session. We check in on an aggressive package of immigration enforcement bills in Tennessee, questions about school vouchers in Alabama, and electoral politics coloring things in the Georgia State Assembly. Plus: a memoriam for Claudette Colvin, who became a civil rights pioneer as a teenager and died last week.

SHOW NOTES: "Rediscovering Lost Values" MLK (1954) Audio Transcript "The Birth of a New Nation" MLK (1957) Audio Transcript KCTA Interview w/MLK (1959) The "I Have a Dream" Speech MLK (1963) Audio Transcript "Eulogy for the Martyred Children" MLK (1963) Audio & Transcript "Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech" MLK (1964) Audio & Transcript "Beyond Vietnam — A Time to Break the Silence" MLK (1967) Audio Transcript "I've Been to the Mountaintop" MLK (1968) Audio Transcript "Immigration policy fights expected to take center stage as Tennessee Legislature reconvenes" Tennessee Lookout "Tennessee GOP wants to track K-12 student immigration status" Chalkbeat Tennessee "Busy first day set to kick off 2026 legislative session in Georgia" Georgia Recorder "Georgia Democrats unveil bills designed to rein in federal immigration agents" Georgia Recorder "Alabama Legislature 2026 preview: Let's get this over with" Alabama Reflector "Judge temporarily blocks Alabama rule saying voucher students can't play sports for a year" Associated Press "Civil rights activist Claudette Colvin dies at 86" The 19th "Before Rosa Parks, There Was Claudette Colvin" NPR

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

SYNOPSIS: Democracy is hard. As John Adams said, "It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself." It's even harder when governments are corrupted by money and partisan chicanery. Which is why the nonprofit group Democracy North Carolina has been fighting for truly representative government in the state for more than 30 years. Jesse talks with Marques Thompson, the group's Organizing Director, about the work of organizing, advocating and educating voters on issues including redistricting, ballot access, and the outsize role of corporate interests. He also talked about the impact the recent wave of immigration enforcement across North Carolina could have on this year's elections. Also: Why Texas A&M is censoring Plato, Tennessee opts out of federal funding for summer food assistance for low-income children, and Louisiana gives up on redistricting this year. And a look at a new exhibition that celebrates the music of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

SHOW NOTES:

"Louisiana will use challenged congressional map after Supreme Court declines to expedite ruling" Louisiana Illuminator "DeSantis calls April special legislative session on Florida congressional redistricting" Politico "Gov. Bill Lee declines to secure millions in federal funds to feed Tennessee kids during summer" Tennessee Lookout "How a secret recording of a gender identity lecture upended Texas A&M" Texas Tribune "Texas A&M restrictions on race, gender could affect 200 courses" Texas Tribune Martin Peterson "Texas A&M Bans Plato (further updates)" Texas Nous Muscle Shoals: Low Rhythm Rising - Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

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

SYNOPSIS: The political map of the South is full of interesting questions in 2026, some of which will be answered at the ballot box. In this preview of the new year, Jesse looks at some of the highest-profile races and the contenders facing off in them: Contests for governor and senator in Texas, a fascinating rematch in Alabama, a test of Georgia's purple-state status, and a high-stakes Democratic primary in Tennessee. Plus: As Carnival season kicks off, we check in on the home of the nation's first Mardi Gras celebration.

SHOW NOTES: "Texas Democrats fill every state and federal race on 2026 ballot, a first for either party" The Texas Tribune "Texas Rep. Gina Hinojosa joins Democratic race to challenge Gov. Greg Abbott" The Texas Tribune "Texas AG Ken Paxton officially enters Senate race against incumbent John Cornyn, Rep. Wesley Hunt" KUT News "Jasmine Crockett explains stance on Israel and Gaza amid 'coordinated attack' on social media" The Grio "State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt announces run for comptroller, dropping congressional bid" The Texas Tribune "Raffensperger, who rejected Trump's false election claims, is running for governor" Axios "Trump endorses Lt. Gov. Burt Jones for Georgia governor" Politico "Memphis state Rep. Justin Pearson to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen in 2026 Democratic primary" Tennessee Lookout "Mardi Gras in Mobile" Visit Mobile

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

SYNOPSIS: 2025 has been a tumultuous and difficult year across the United States, and certainly here in the South. In a year-end episode, Jesse looks back at some of the major issues we've covered on Headlights, from immigration enforcement to redistricting battles to labor rights and electoral contests — with help from a selection of voices we've heard here. Join us for a quick look back, and a look ahead to 2026.

Show notes: Headlights Ep. 14: Florida's War on Immigrants Headlights Ep. 21: Guns and Sanctuary in the South Headlights Ep. 11: ICE in the Louisiana Heat Headlights Ep. 3: A Union Veteran Headlights Ep. 25: The Heart of Texas Headlights Ep. 27: Looking for Progress in Texas Headlights Ep. 33: 'Can't Win' in North Carolina Headlights Ep. 8: Watering the Roots Headlights Ep. 29: Signs at the Ballot Box

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

SYNOPSIS: What do you do if you have to run for office in a district that was drawn so that your political party can't possibly win it? That was the situation Kate Compton Barr faced in a North Carolina state Senate race in 2024. Her solution: radical honesty. She told voters she couldn't win, and instead talked to them about the damage that rigged maps do to democracy. Then she and some partners launched the Can't Win Victory Fund, a political action committee dedicated to recruiting other candidates to do the same — all of it focused not on flipping districts but on redrawing the underlying maps, to allow for actual representative government. Jesse talked to her about that, and about her current political run for Congress — as a Republican.

Also: the ongoing conservative makeover of public education in the South. Florida loses track of thousands of K-12 voucher students; the University of Alabama shuts down magazines for Black and female students; and the University of Texas at Austin comes under the sway of the state's far-right leadership. And as Hanukkah begins, a look at one of the oldest and most important synagogues in the country — Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, founded in Charleston, S.C., in 1749.

SHOW NOTES: Can't Win Victory Fund Fair Map Fight Club "University of Alabama alumni organize fundraiser for suspended student magazines" Alabama Reflector 1956 Magazine Alice Magazine Florida audit of voucher programs "How Florida lost track of 30,000 students, a 'cautionary tale' for vouchers" Washington Post https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/21/funding-did-not-follow-the-child-state-audit-displays-school-choice-woes/ "The Conservative Overhaul of the University of Texas Is Underway" The New York Times "Texas Republicans are redefining higher ed. It's creating confusion about free speech on campuses." The Texas Tribune "What a Democrat's victory in the Miami mayoral election may mean for Trump" Associated Press "Democrat flips northeast Georgia state House seat, pulling off special election upset" Georgia Recorder History of Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764