SYNOPSIS: Jim Hightower has seen Texas politics from the ground up for more than half a century. From editing the progressive Texas Observer to serving as the state's unlikely Commissioner of Agriculture to writing syndicated columns and books, he has been both a participant and a savvy and often funny observer. And he's still at it! Jesse sat down with him at an Austin brewpub for a wide-ranging conversation about the Lone Star State's political past, present and future, the Democratic Party's corporate money problems, and why "populism" — a word and idea Hightower has long embraced — has circled back into the political mainstream. Also: A series of court orders across the South throw roadblocks (however temporary) in MAGA's political path. And a look at why the South was slow to adopt the Yankee idea of Thanksgiving.

SHOW NOTES: JimHightower.com "Court order striking down Texas redistricting map upends plans for candidates across the state" The Texas Tribune "Judge temporarily blocks National Guard deployment in Memphis" Tennessee Lookout "Florida judge temporarily blocks transfer of downtown Miami land for Trump's presidential library" Associated Press "Appellate Court rejects Florida attorney general's request in Trump library case" Miami Herald "For Decades, Southern States Considered Thanksgiving an Act of Northern Aggression" Atlas Obscura Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day proclamation "How Thanksgiving, the 'Yankee Abolitionist Holiday,' Won Over the South" Serious Eats

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

SYNOPSIS: Wilderness and untamed landscapes loom large in the South's sense of itself. Southern history and folklore are full of tales of mountains and rivers, swamps and bayous. A new magazine called Southlands aims to explore the Southern outdoors, both literally and literarily. This week Jesse talks to Southlands publisher Boyce Upholt about our relationship to our natural surroundings — and about a new book Upholt has also written, about the history and destiny of the Mississippi River. Also: a look at public employees across the South who are fighting back in court after being fired or punished for comments about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. And we check in on the First Voices Festival, a celebration of indigenous culture in Atlanta.

SHOW NOTES: Southlands 'The Great River' Boyce Upholt Lawsuit against the University of Tennessee by Professor Tamar Shirinian "Former Auburn University instructor sues school, says she was fired over Charlie Kirk post" Alabama Reflector "Spartanburg County teacher's assistant claims wrongful termination over Charlie Kirk social media post" WYFF News "Firing over Charlie Kirk post was unconstitutional, former Clemson professor claims in lawsuit" South Carolina Daily Gazette "Florida college employee fired after social media post about Charlie Kirk assassination files lawsuit" CBS News "Former MTSU dean, fired for social media posts about Kirk, sues school" The Tennessean "Judge temporarily restrains university from firing professor for post about Charlie Kirk" South Dakota Searchlight First Voices Festival

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

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