The podcast made by Ainsley Dew and Poppy Bowling challenges the widespread belief among Mississippians that success requires leaving the state. It examines how research into Mississippi’s economy and business culture reveals overlooked growth opportunities. Through interviews with students and teachers, it highlights the tension between Mississippi’s current struggles and its untapped potential. Cited sources explain how the loss of educated workers weakens economic development, while arguments from Eric Hill propose that Mississippi could become a tech hub through investment in workforce development and entrepreneurship. The podcast closes that the state’s future depends on a collective shift in mindset: believing in Mississippi’s potential and actively building it from within.

In the last 60 years, Mississippi has made strides to move forward, but the scars of injustice still haunt its complicated and dark past. Mack Charles Parker was a black man accused of raping a white woman. He was later lynched, and justice was never brought to his case. The brutal lynching of Mack Charles Parker remains one of Mississippi’s deepest scars and stands as a reminder to move towards progress. This episode of RealMississippi looks beyond the headlines and focuses on the human cost of hatred and silence.

 The United Methodist Church, a denomination of Christianity, recently faced a disastrous split. This split is referred to as disaffiliation, and the main issue that caused this split is over the compatibility with the church and homosexuality. This podcast dives into the history of homosexuality and Methodism, along with how pastors and their families have been negatively impacted by this process. 

Theodore G. Bilbo was born in October, 1877, in Poplarville, Mississippi, and after studying law, Bilbo decided to focus on a career in politics. Bilbo’s local success grasped the attention of James K. Vardaman, and through working together, Bilbo would be elected as Governor of Mississippi. During Bilbo’s first term, his actions would benefit the state as he addressed many problems such as education and infrastructure in Mississippi. However, after losing an election for Congress, Bilbo would be re-elected as Mississippi’s Governor, and his following careless actions would wreck the state’s economy. Bilbo’s effects can still be felt through Mississippi even today. 

Our state of Mississippi is second highest for human trafficking rates in the nation! We are the poorest state, and limits to healthcare and education in most parts of the state create vulnerability that traffickers can take advantage of. We have great programs in our state working to stop trafficking, as well as provide resources to victims. While trafficking is a global issue, it is important to do what we can right here in Mississippi to help!

Throughout modern history, Mississippi artists have worked to revolutionize the media’s portrayal of the Magnolia State. Born in Mississippi, artists we consider “The Greats” like Elvis Presley, Eudora Welty, and Walter Anderson have each contributed to the fight against Mississippi's stigma. Today, talented artists across Mississippi have a different problem: artificial intelligence (AI). With the introduction of AI, how we create, view, and value art has changed. Though AI is revolutionizing our world, it cannot replace the artist's role of exploring Mississippi with a new perspective. This episode of the Real Mississippi is written, produced, and hosted by Margaret Parker and Bea Storment. 

 Lawns may not be as “green” as they seem. Revealed in "These Roots in Mississippi," a podcast written and recorded by Zander Dennison and Jett Woods focused on the negative impact of traditional lawn care. In this podcast we unveil the horrors of invasive species, pesticide runoff, and lawn mowing. We offer insight from figures such as botanist Michael Dodson and personal local accounts. And most importantly we offer solutions and alternatives to better root your lawn into Mississippi’s soil. 

The Tombigbee River is a major transportation avenue that runs through the South. It has altered American history, created the foundations of major towns like Columbus, Mississippi, and is the site of the largest civil works project ever constructed in the United States. Despite this, for many in Columbus, Mississippi, it plays a minor role in their life and some have never heard of it. Learn to appreciate The Tombigbee through jazz, heartwarming chats with Columbus locals, and a deep dive into the legacy of rivers.

Cleveland, Mississippi is known for many things, among them a desegregation case decades after Brown vs. Board. Education in Cleveland, Mississippi, was forever changed in 2016 when the U.S. District Court consolidated two high schools. With so many positive and negative aspects arising after the consolidation, Cleveland students, parents, and teachers ask: Was the consolidation a good idea? And is white flight to private schools representing inevitable segregation? Writer Adair Gaines and producer Jose Brevil explore these questions and what they mean in context to Cleveland.

This podcast shares viewpoints on the many “lack of” statements discussed by local residents from the rural area of Cleveland, MS and the small town of Columbus,