SYNOPSIS: The Democratic Party has an identity problem with voters nationwide, and especially in the South. But a rising wave of young party activists is seeking to bring new energy and ideas into some of the most conservative areas of the country — like Knox County, Tennessee, which has been sending Republicans to Congress since the Civil War. This week, Jesse talks to Solomon Trapp and Julia Kaye, two organizers of a new Young Democrats chapter in the county. They say there is a hunger among younger Southerners for alternatives to prevailing political powers, which aren't addressing their needs. Also: Curriculum fights across the South. Texas reshapes its social studies standards to emphasize the state's accomplishments and downplay less admirable parts of its history. Florida's war on sociology. And in Virginia, some tensions about how to teach the events of January 6th. Plus: A look at the Arkansas Folk Festival, marking its 64th year this weekend.

SHOW NOTES: "Texas students urge education board to focus on inclusion over politics in social studies overhaul" The Texas Tribune "Texas is changing its social studies curriculum. Critics say it's too state-centric" KUT News "Hey State Board of Education, what's the rush?" Texas Freedom Network "Sociology no longer a general education course at Florida universities" Florida Phoenix "Bill to require factual teaching about U.S. Capitol attack clears Va. General Assembly" Virginia Mercury "HB 333" Virginia General Assembly "Letter Urges Gov. Spanberger to Veto VA Bill Limiting Teaching About January 6" PEN America 64th Annual Arkansas Folk Festival "A Brief History of the Arkansas Folk Festival" Lyon College

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

Hey there. This is Jesse, I just wanted to check in and let you know there's not a new episode of Headlights this week, because I'm recovering from what I think is technically called some seasonal crud. But a lot has happened this past week, so I have a good selection of links and stories in the show notes to call to your attention, including: — A library director in Rutherford County, Tennessee, was fired by her library board for refusing to move more than 100 books from the children's section of the library to the adult section. Many of the books had LGBTQ themes. — President Trump unveiled renderings for his planned "presidential library" in Miami, which looks like it would become the tallest building on the city's skyline. Of course, library is probably the wrong name for this pricey vanity project. In a press briefing in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters, "I don't believe in building libraries or museums. Could be [an] office, but it's most likely going to be a hotel with a beautiful building underneath and a 747 Air Force One in the lobby." And a MAGA merch store, no doubt. — And some follow-up on our discussion the other month of high electricity rates in Alabama. The state Legislature did pass some changes in how the state regulates its Public Service Commission, expanding the number of members on the board and giving the governor more power in appointing them. It freezes rates at current levels until 2029. However, what it did NOT do is mandate public hearings on rate increases. It creates the possibility of them, but only if the commission WANTS to hold them. So, not much of a step forward for transparency or public input. You can find links to those in the show notes, and — lord willin' and the creek don't rise — we'll be back with a full episode next week. Take care!

SHOW NOTES: "Tennessee librarian is fired for refusing to move over 100 LGBTQ books from children's to adult section" NBC News "What to know about Trump's future presidential library, which he says may be a hotel" NPR "Gov. Kay Ivey signs bill giving governor more control over PSC" Alabama Reflector

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

SYNOPSIS: El Paso is a city at multiple borders — not only between countries, but cultures, languages, and histories. This week we talk to journalist Jazmine Ulloa, an El Paso native whose new book about her hometown dives into more a century of its history. Following the stories of five families, she traces the ways El Paso and the United States have been shaped by successive waves of migration and the never-ending fight over who belongs and who doesn't. Also: Dems flip two more seats, this time in Florida; Louisiana forces the 10 Commandments into every classroom in the state; and two anti-LGBTQ bills die (for now, anyway) in the Tennessee Legislature. Plus, a look at Little Rock's unusual purse museum and what it says about women's history.

NOTE: Due to an editing snafu, a few sentences were cut from the start of the discussion of laws mandating the posting of the 10 Commandments in public schools. Please see the Show Notes for the missing text.

SHOW NOTES: Here's the missing text from the 10 Commandments discussion:

Posting the 10 Commandments in public spaces has been a popular rallying point for Christian conservatives for decades. Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore was famously ousted from office in 2003 for refusing to remove a large sculpture of the Old Testament edicts that he had had installed in the rotunda of the court building. Federal judges ruled that Moore's sculpture violated the constitutional separation of church and state. But successive waves of conservative appointments to the federal bench and especially the U.S. Supreme Court have shifted the landscape for religious expression by public entities, with rulings in several cases broadening the legal scope of what's allowed.

"El Paso: Five Families and One Hundred Years of Blood, Migration, Race, and Memory" Jazmine Ulloa "Florida Democrats flip two seats in special legislative elections" Florida Phoenix "New Democrat representing Trump's district says he's just 'one of 180K constituents' she will serve" Florida Phoenix "Full List of Seats Democrats Have Flipped Since Trump Returned to Power" Newsweek "What to Know About the Push to Display the Ten Commandments in Classes" The New York Times "Court permanently blocks Arkansas Ten Commandments law" Americans United for Separation of Church and State ESSE Purse Museum CONTACT: Jesse Mayshark [email protected] (865) 214-7764

SYNOPSIS: Everyone knows the air around Louisiana's Cancer Alley is bad. But how bad? And what's actually in it? That's what two scientists at Johns Hopkins University set out to understand. Their work so far has shown the air in the communities around massive petrochemical plants has as much as 10 times higher levels of toxins than was previously known. This week, we talk to Peter DeCarlo and Keeve Nachman about their findings and the technology they used to do the research. In the news: Florida sheriffs call for a different approach on immigration enforcement; several Southern legislators fan anti-Muslim bigotry; and a data dashboard illustrates the economic impacts of gun violence in Tennessee. Plus: the Big Ears Festival returns to Knoxville.

SHOW NOTES: "Scientists Uncover the Truth in Cancer Alley" The YEARS Project "Florida Sheriffs rebel against Trump's, DeSantis' mass deportation efforts" Florida Phoenix "Sheriff Judd answers questions about Immigration Enforcement Council" Polk County Sheriff "Islam in the United States" Wikipedia "Tuberville shares social media post suggesting Muslims are 'the enemy'" Politico "'Unabashed bigotry': GOP's Tuberville sparks backlash with anti-Muslim messages" MS NOW "'It Doesn't Need to Be Here': The Right Vilifies a Muslim School in Alabama" The New York Times "Doug Jones calls Tommy Tuberville's anti-Muslim rhetoric 'vile'" Alabama Reflector "Nashville leaders demand Rep. Ogles resign after he calls for deportation of all Muslims" Nashville NewsChannel 5 "House GOP leadership silent as more members post anti-Muslim statements" NPR Tennessee Firearm Fatality Dashboard The University of Tennessee Voices for a Safer Tennessee Big Ears Festival The Pilot Light

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

SYNOPSIS: As minority whip for the Georgia state Senate Democrats, Senator Kim Jackson helped lead the fight in this session for a package of bills aimed at reining in aggressive immigration enforcement in the state. Republicans have blocked them, but this week Jesse talks to Jackson about the proposals and the public outcry that led to them. She also talked about her perspective and role as an Episcopal priest, a farmer, and a queer person of color in the Legislature. Also: Overt racism and ethno-nationalism are surging on the right. We take a look at leaked chat messages from young conservatives in Miami, the popularity among young Florida voters of far-right gubernatorial candidate James Fishback, and the efforts by the Texas-based Center for Baptist Leadership to push the Southern Baptist Convention into full embrace of white Christian nationalism. Plus: A preview of upcoming shows in Texas by Ballet Leplanta, which fuses classical ballet with Mexican folkloríco.

SHOW NOTES: State Sen. Kim Jackson "'Nazi heaven': Inside Miami campus Republicans' racist group chat" Miami Herald "'I love Hitler': Leaked messages expose Young Republicans' racist chat" Politico "Remember the hateful Young Republicans group chat? It's the tip of the iceberg." Eli Thompson, USA Today "I Went to Florida to See the 31-Year-Old Candidate Thrilling Gen Z. We're in Trouble." Michelle Goldberg, The New York Times "SBC influencer William Wolfe wants an America of white people" Rick Pidcock, Baptist News Edinburg Dance Theatre Ballet Nepantla Tour

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

SYNOPSIS: A raft of primaries and one special election in the South last week brought some fresh faces into the spotlight and offered tantalizing clues about this fall's midterms. This week we take a look at the high-profile Democratic and Republican contests for U.S. Senate in Texas, as well as a slate of anti-establishment votes in both parties in North Carolina. Plus, an Arkansas state House district flips blue. In part 2 of our look at ICE incarceration in the South, we drop in on a packed meeting in heavily Republican Wilson County, Tennessee — where nobody, Democrats or Republicans, wanted a massive new detention center. It's part of a bipartisan wave of resistance to the facilities across the country, which is complicating the federal government's plans for massive warehousing of immigrants. And we check in on an exhibit of the Kentucky photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard's work, at Atlanta's High Musuem.

SHOW NOTES: Wilson County Commission Feb. 17, 2026 "A Blueprint for Resistance: How Residents and Local Governments Are Shutting Down ICE Detention in Warehouses" Vera "MAP: All 23 industrial warehouses ICE wants to turn into detention 'death camps'" Courier Newsroom "'Not the right location:' Hanover supervisors, residents oppose DHS ICE facility" Virginia Mercury "Canadian company says Virginia warehouse sale to ICE won't proceed" Associated Press "Conservative Georgia town pushes back against ICE detention center: 'We are Americans after all'" The Guardian "Warnock tours Social Circle infrastructure amid concerns over proposed ICE detention center" CBS News "As ICE Buys Up Warehouses, Even Some Trump Voters Say No" The New York Times "Sen. Marsha Blackburn: ICE ends plans for Wilson County immigrant detention 'mega center'" Tennessee Lookout "Wilson County Mayor: ICE eyes immigrant detention 'mega center' in Lebanon to house up to 16,000" Tennessee Lookout "James Talarico defeats Jasmine Crockett in blockbuster Democratic primary for U.S. Senate" The Texas Tribune "Paxton says he'd consider dropping out of Senate runoff if Republicans pass voter ID bill" The Texas Tribune "He's No Beto, but Can Talarico Win? A Texas Writer Weighs In." The New York Times "What We Learned From North Carolina's 2026 Primaries" The Assembly "Arkansas Democrats just flipped a Republican seat" The Downballot "The Family Album of Ralph Eugene Meatyard" High Museum of Art

CONTACT:

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

SYNOPSIS: As the Trump administration's aggressive mass deportation campaign has ramped up, so have the profits of private prison companies. This week, we take a look at CoreCivic, the Tennessee-based company that is one of the two largest operators of private prisons in the United States. It has been in the immigrant detention business for more than 40 years, and last year was one of its best ever thanks to its close relationship with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We listen in on CoreCivics most recent quarterly earnings call, full of rising revenue numbers and rosy projections — and we annotate it with context and background that the executives somehow failed to mention to their investors. We also take a look at the company's history, and its direct connections to the South's ugly legacy of for-profit prisons. Plus: a preview of an upcoming tribute to Mississippi folk artist L.V. Hull.

SHOW NOTES: "The True History of America's Private Prison Industry" Shane Bauer, Time Magazine "CoreCivic Inc." American Friends Service Committee "Trump's Immigration Crackdown Is a Boom Time for Private Prisons" Mother Jones "Biden Administration Fights to Keep Private Immigration Jails Open, Despite Promises" American Immigration Council "CoreCivic Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results" CoreCivic "The Cruel Conditions of ICE's Mojave Desert Detention Center" The New Yorker "Tax Payments by Undocumented Immigrants" Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy "The Children of Dilley" ProPublica L.V. Hull Legacy Center "Mississippi Museum of Art to Present First Major Museum Exhibition of the Art and Singular World of L.V. Hull" Mississippi Museum of Art

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

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