SYNOPSIS:

It’s Labor Day, even in the South — the region of the country that has long been most hostile to workers’ rights. From slavery through Jim Crow, from “Right to Work” laws aimed at weakening unions to low or nonexistent minimum wages, right-wing leaders in the South have long conspired to disempower labor. But in recent years a few fights — and some high-profile wins — have shown there’s life in the Southern labor movement. In this week’s holiday-abbreviated episode, we look at the state of play on the shop floor.

SHOW NOTES:

“They Moved My Job to Georgia” Peyton Hopkins

“History of Prison Labor in the U.S.” End Slavery Now

“The Evolution of the Southern Economic Development Strategy” Economic Policy Institute

“List of U.S. States and Territories by Income” Wikipedia 

“Headlights Episode 3: A Union Veteran”

"​​Just by having a union vote, Mercedes workers in Alabama won major concessions and proved the importance of worker power” Economic Policy Institute

Union of Southern Service Workers

“As a key labor union pushes into the South, red states push back” Stateline

CONTACT:

Jesse Mayshark

[email protected]

(865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: Florida was once the swing state that presidential elections hinged on. But over the last few decades, it has turned redder and redder. This week we’re joined by writer, educator and Progressive South board member Alfred Soto to talk about what has happened to his home state — and what (if anything) he sees that gives him hope. Also: School vouchers! As they roll out in ever more expansive forms across most of the South, we take a look at the shifting rationale behind them. First sold as a way to give options to low-income families, they are increasingly talked about in hazier terms of freedom for all — including wealthy families who already send their kids to private schools. Who’s really benefiting from them? And in the arts and culture segment, we look at the desecration by the Trump and DeSantis administrations of a memorial to the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre.

SHOW NOTES: “School Choice Facts & Statistics” EdChoice

“A Betsy DeVos-backed group helps fuel a rapid expansion of public money for private schools” NBC News 

“Kentucky voters rejected proposals to allow tax dollars to go to private schools” NPR

“Tennessee to give more average per-pupil funding to voucher participants than public school students” Chalkbeat

“Private school vouchers are now law in Texas. Here’s how they will work.” The Texas Tribune

"Why Florida school vouchers can pay for Disney tickets, TVs while draining billions from public schools” WESH

Private School Review

“The Role of Government in Education” Milton Friedman

“Florida removes rainbow crosswalk honouring Pulse nightclub victims” BBC News

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer response X.com

“Only When I’m Dancing Can I Feel This Free” Alfred Soto (MTV News) 

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

SYNOPSIS:

The Confederacy ended in 1865, but it never really died. The iconography of the slavers’ secessionist rebellion has returned again and again through the succeeding 160 years, particularly in times of backlash against progress toward racial equality. This week we look at recent moves by the Trump administration, along with a Texas school board, to once again pay tribute to the Confederacy’s leaders and its so-called Lost Cause.  The conversation this week is with Dom Kelly, president and CEO of a nonprofit called New Disabled South, which works for equality and access for people with disabilities across the region. Dom is a fascinating guy with a background in advocacy, music, and politics, and he has a lot of smart things to say about the barriers that remain throughout society — and especially throughout the South. And in the arts and culture segment, we preview a new exhibition in Charleston, S.C., by the Iranian-born and Southern-based artist Raheleh Filsoofi.

SHOW NOTES:

“Whose Heritage?” Southern Poverty Law Center 

"The Army is moving quickly to bring back the original names of bases named for Confederates” WUNC 

“Confederate statues in DC area to be restored and replaced in line with Trump’s executive order” Associated Press

“Confederate Memorial (Arlington National Cemetery)” Wikipedia

“The History of the Confederate Section at Arlington National Cemetery Was Never Erased” Kevin M. Levin

“Midland school board votes to restore school name honoring Confederate general” Texas Tribune

New Disabled South 

Ep. 4: A Second Southern Redemption  The Progessive South (YouTube)

“At the Edge of Arrival” Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art 

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

SYNOPSIS: Miami is a Southern city by geography, but by history, demographics and culture it’s really not like anywhere else in the South — or, arguably, the world. In this week’s conversation, Cuban-American writer and environmental activist Andrew Otazo helps us understand the politics and personality of the South Florida tourist mecca. He’s the author of a book and website called The Miami Creation Myth, and he explains how the city is built to be consumed — and not by the people who actually live there. In the news round-up, we look at the looming threat to the Voting Rights Act posed by a redistricting case out of Louisiana. The U.S. Supreme Court has already weakened the landmark civil rights law in a series of decisions, and a request from the court earlier this month suggests its conservative majority might be ready to knock out one of its last major protections for racial minorities. And in our arts and culture segment, we check out two new songs from Hayley Williams, leader of the Tennessee pop-rock band Paramore. She has some sad and scathing words for and about her hometown of Nashville.

Show Notes: “The Miami Creation Myth” Andrew Otazo   “Court Asks for New Briefs in Louisiana Redistricting Case” SCOTUSBlog  “How We Got Here: Louisiana’s Redistricting Case Puts the Voting Rights Act on Trial” Louisiana Illuminator “‘Colorblind Constitution’: Supreme Court wrangles over the future of race in the law” NBC News “Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party” Hayley Williams “True Believer” Hayley Williams 

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

SYNOPSIS:

All eyes were on Texas last week as Republican legislators moved toward drawing new congressional districts, effectively trying to steal five seats from Democratic incumbents. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to maintain control of the House of Representatives after the 2026 elections. But it’s far from the only blatantly partisan gerrymandering Southern states. We break down the map to show that conservatives are already hugely overrepresented in congressional delegations across the region — with districts drawn to marginalize progressive voices. Then it’s on to hip-hop! The conversation this week is with Corey J. Miles, an assistant professor at Tulane University in New Orleans who was the editor of a special issue of the journal Southern Cultures devoted entirely to Southern hip-hop. He talks about the region’s initial struggle for visibility in a genre dominated by the East and West coasts, and the ways it connects to Black Southern culture and narratives. Plus, a look back at the 1969 “Lonesome Cowboys” raid that helped spur the growth of LGBTQ activism in Georgia. 

SHOW NOTES:

“Texas House Republicans unveil new congressional map that looks to pick up five GOP seats” Texas Tribune

Hip-Hop Southern Cultures

"Hip-Hop Playlist” Corey J. Miles 

 "Film, summit to commemorate police raid that sparked Southern LGBTQ+ rights movement” Rough Draft Atlanta 

“The Stonewall of the South That History Forgot” Smithsonian Magazine 

 Lonesome Cowboys Andy Warhol 

CONTACT:

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

SYNOPSIS: Florida has an estimated 5 million immigrants — more than 20 percent of its total population. It is also ground zero of the Trump administration’s mass deportation program. With the eager assistance of Gov. Ron DeSantis and state legislators, it has seen some of the country’s most aggressive enforcement round-ups and most enthusiastic cooperation from state and local law enforcement. This week, we talk to Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, about the efforts of grassroots and community organizations to fight for the rights and security of the state’s immigrant communities. We also take a drive out the Tamiami Trail, through the Everglades, to the entrance of Alligator Alcatraz — DeSantis’ hastily built immigrant detention camp, which has already generated many complaints about inhumane treatment of detainees. And in our arts and culture segment, we consider the work of the late Arkansas poet Frank Stanford. A new biography makes a case for his place in the pantheon of modern Southern literature.

  SHOW NOTES: Florida Immigrant Coalition

Republican Party of Florida Storefront

“Bright Lit Place”   WLRN

“Frank’s Battlefield” Arkansas Times

“Frank Stanford” Poetry Foundation

“It Wasn’t a Dream; It Was a Flood” Frank Stanford

CONTACT:

Jesse Mayshark 

[email protected]

(865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: Angie Hayden became an accidental activist when she stood up against censorship in her local library in Prattville, Alabama. Now she’s a founder of a statewide coalition called Read Freely Alabama, which is fighting efforts to ban books and restrict libraries across the state. We talked to her from the frontlines of a contentious fight over the control of public libraries and information. Also, in the tragic aftermath of the flooding along the Guadalupe River in Texas earlier this month, there was some fingerpointing about faulty emergency measures. But there was little discussion from state or federal officials about the causes of increased flooding — even as there have been a record number of flash flood warnings nationwide this year. Jesse looks at the ways many Southern states avoid discussing — or doing anything about — climate change and its effects. (You’ll never guess what Tennessee has legally declared a “renewable energy.”) And in the arts and culture segment, a consideration of Rock The Country. The touring two-day festival organized by Kid Rock and featuring acts like Nickelback and Hank Williams Jr. is making its final stop of the year this weekend in Anderson, S.C. The event bills itself as being a celebration of hard-working, real Americans. But its roster makes clear that it has a specific and narrow idea of who those Americans are — and aren’t.

SHOW NOTES:

“Louisiana Is the Latest State to Redefine Natural Gas as Green Energy” The Associated Press 6/25/25

“A fossil fuel may be rebranded ‘renewable energy’ under proposed Tennessee law” WPLN News 3/7/25

HB 1143 Tennessee General Assembly

 “Which States Produce the Most Renewable Energy?” The Motley Fool 6/27/25

 “Monthly Climate Reports” National Centers for Enviormental Information 

 “Texas Leads U.S. Renewable Energy Generation by a Country Mile” Inside Climate  News 3/6/25

“U.S. Hit With Record Number of Flash Flood Warnings” NBC News 7/17/25

“Climate change helped fuel heavy rains that caused Hill Country floods, experts say” Texas Tribune 7/9`/25

 “Texas political leaders are indifferent, if not hostile, to climate change mitigation” MIT Climate Portal 4/22/25

“Fifth National Climate Assessment” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

Read Freely Alabama

“Autauga-Prattville Public Library sued over policies restricting book access”  Alabama Reflector 5/9/24

“Support Fairhope Public Library” Fundlibraries.org

Rock the Country

“Rock the Country Documentary” Kid Rock 

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

Synopsis: What does U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett do in the bathroom? The privy proclivities of our East Tennessee congressman are among the issues on the minds of Jesse and the gang from “Cast Iron Resistance” in a special podcast crossover. Jesse joined the guys on their own show a few weeks ago, and here we present some relevant excerpts from the freewheeling conversation. Besides Burchett’s toilet talks, topics include organizing efforts for progressives in the South, the poisonous impact of right-wing media, and the best ways to get politically engaged at the local level. Thanks to Steve Wildsmith, Nathan Higdon and Jeremy LaDuke for the hang! (And make sure you check out their podcast, too.)

SHOW NOTES: Cast Iron Resistance  U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett 

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

CORRECTION: We inadvertently refer to ACLU Louisiana Executive Director Alanah Odoms as Alanah Combs. We apologize for the error!  SYNOPSIS: Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in America. It is also home to the country’s second-largest population of immigration detainees. Last week, a group of workers from the Service Employees International Union from across the U.S. took a caravan of buses to demonstrate outside two of the state’s ICE detention centers. The union’s membership includes more than 400,000 immigrants, and they wanted to show solidarity with people who have been swept up in the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign. In this week’s episode, we travel to Basile, La., and New Orleans to hear from union members and partners in organizations including the ACLU about their efforts to stand up to ICE — particularly across the South. They stood in the sun at the height of summer heat on the asphalt outside the detention center where Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk was held earlier this year, in the hopes that their voices would carry over the barbed wire fences to reach the people caged inside.

SHOW NOTES:  “Immigration Quick Facts” TRAC

“GEO Group Announces Reactivation of South Louisiana ICE Processing Center”

“Inside the Black Hole: Systemic Human Rights Abuses Against Immigrants Detained and Disappeared in Louisiana”

“Rumeysa Ozturk Describes Detainment” Tufts Daily

“States of Incarceration: The Global Context 2024”

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

Synopsis: As we close out Pride month, we thought it was a good time to check in with two leading voices for LGBTQ rights in the South: Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project and Jeff Graham of Georgia Equality. We spoke just a few days after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of U.S. v. Skrmetti, and Sanders and Graham had a lot to say about the ongoing political and legal attacks on transgender people and the queer community more broadly. Both said they hear a lot of anger and fear, but also a determination to keep fighting for equality. Also: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pulls a last-minute reverse on the state’s ban of hemp-derived THC products; Mississippi faces a lawsuit over yet another anti-DEI bill; and with a group of six Southern state university systems announces the formation of a new accrediting body, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promises will challenge what he called the “woke accreditation cartels.” Plus: a look at some of the oldest and most creative 4th of July celebrations across the South.

Show Notes: “Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes THC ban, calls for regulation instead” The Texas Tribune “Game changer? Fresh face enters Texas governor race” San Antonio News

“Teaching the Holocaust Just Got Harder in Mississippi” The Bulwark

Mississippi House Bill 1193

Gatlinburg 4th of July Midnight Parade

Thunderfest(Bowling Green, Ky.)

Panama City Beach 4th of July

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