On this week’s episode, Rex Nelson sits down with Arkansas State University Chancellor Todd Shields to talk about the economic upswing of Northeast Arkansas. Todd cites his desire to build as a factor in his decision to move from the University of Arkansas to become ASU's chancellor.

Todd also talks to Rex about the need for healthy competition, which fuels academic excellence at large higher education institutions like UA and ASU.

Rex also talks with Todd about the rapidly changing technological landscape and the need for students to learn more about advancements in AI, cybersecurity and other areas of technological expertise that various industries sorely need.

Follow Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners.

Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners

In this week's episode, Rex sits down with Porter Briggs to talk about his new book "South, Towards Home: An Unexpected Love Story."

Porter, a Little Rock native, says he considers his adult life to have started when he arrived at his Army unit in Germany, citing a 4km trek using a map and compass in the extreme cold.

Porter also talks about his life growing up in Little Rock, his 1958 high school graduation and his time at Vanderbilt before joining the Army.

cast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners

In this week’s episode, Rex Nelson sits down with former Master Chef contestant, Jennifer Maune, to talk about her new restaurant, Restaurant Fleur, set to open in downtown Little Rock next year.

Jennifer tells Rex about her journey, how she became interested in cooking and her time studying abroad to learn different techniques for baking pastries and other world class foods.

Jennifer also expresses her goal of bringing the Michelin Guide to the state and truly standing out as the premier fine dining experience in Arkansas.

Follow Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners

On this week’s episode, Rex Nelson sits down with the president and CEO of the Ozark Foundation, Michael Spivey, to talk about the non-profit’s mission of ‘positioning our state as a premier outdoor recreation destination’

Rex discusses with Michael the challenges the organization faced at its inception during the covid-19 pandemic and how it has grown beyond them.

Michael also shares with Rex the events the organization has planned in the near future and beyond, both competitive and recreational.

Follow Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners

In this week’s episode, Rex talks with Little Rock City Director Capi Peck and Friends of Fourche Creek board member Norm Berner about Little Rock’s litter problem.

Rex talks with Capi about the Keep Little Rock Beautiful nonprofit and its mission to empower residents and businesses to prevent litter and beautify the central Arkansas area.

Rex also talks with Norm about Fourche Creek and the natural beauty it offers the Little Rock metro area, as well as the need to clean up litter in the area to preserve that beauty.

Rex, Capi, and Norm drive home the importance of first impressions and how they pertain to potential economic partners for the central Arkansas area, highlighting the amount of trash visible between the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport and downtown Little Rock.

Follow Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners

In this week’s episode, Rex talks with Sam Dean, Executive Director and CEO of the Scott Family Amazeum in Bentonville, about the hands-on approach that Amazeum and other science museums take in getting young people interested and engaged in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Sam discusses how science museums can not only engage kids in hands-on STEM activities but also spark a lifelong interest in STEM fields that are accelerating rapidly as technology develops.

Follow Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners

In this week's episode, Rex talks with Peter MacKeith, Dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas' Fayetteville campus, about the development of Arkansas' forest economy in building material sustainability and the programs the university is implementing to increase that sustainability.

The episode also addresses the benefit that the school of architecture can provide to the state through outreach, research and collaboration with other schools within the scope of architectural development.

Rex also talks with Peter about the role that architecture plays in the affordable housing arena and how students are encouraged to think in terms of viability through low-cost products such as wood laminate and other economic solutions to traditional building materials.

By implementing these products in thoughtful ways, Peter says, architecture can benefit not only the economic interests of the state but also impact the lives of Arkansans by using the state's readily available natural resources to accelerate the rate of new construction, which helps rural communities by providing low-cost and sustainable housing.

Follow Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners

In this week's episode, Rex talks with otolaryngologist Dr. Susan Emmett from UAMS about the dangers of hearing loss and the need for specialized care in rural communities throughout Arkansas, especially for K-12 students.

The conversation begins with Susan telling Rex about her journey to become an otolaryngologist and how she worked on Capitol Hill with former Tennessee Senator Bill Frist before attending Duke University's School of Medicine. Susan explains to Rex that she became interested in hearing loss during medical school when she studied abroad in East Africa while doing pediatric HIV research. Susan tells Rex that many of the children she cared for during that time suffered from hearing loss and impacted their ability to study in school.

Susan explains that hearing loss is much more common than one might think – stating that it affects approximately 684,000 Arkansans or nearly 1 in 4 people – and most people do not even realize they suffer from it. Susan and Rex discuss several contributing factors specific to Arkansans that play a role in the state's high rate of hearing loss, such as noisy farm equipment and hunting rifles.

The economic impacts of hearing loss, Susan tells Rex, stems from children not receiving the proper care and testing as well as the limited number of resources capable of identifying and treating hearing loss early on. She says that statistics indicate that children suffering from hearing loss can lead to behavioral problems, and that such children are three times more likely to repeat a grade and three times less likely to graduate from high school. In effect, long-term issues for those who develop hearing loss includes limited job opportunities, increased risk of unemployment and a higher risk of developing dementia.

In this episode, Susan also highlights challenges and barriers associated with hearing-related healthcare in rural Arkansas communities as well as innovative programs that UAMS is developing to mitigate those barriers. She also mentions intitiatives on behalf of the National Institutes of Health to bolster telehealth models, software developments and newer, more portable testing devices for those living in rural communities. 

Susan explains that these new resources will allow many more children to receive hearing-related treatment and much faster healthcare delivery.

Follow Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners. 

In this week's episode, Rex sits down with Create Conway's founder, Jessica Crum, and its Executive Director, Katie Wilson, to discuss the growing arts scene in downtown Conway as well as the city's thriving arts community.The conversation begins with an overview of Conway's art scene and how Create Conway's focus is to "put creatives on display."

Jessica, a Pine Bluff native who moved to Los Angeles, Calif., for a time as a fashion and graphic designer, moved to Conway in part to help build and develop an arts district and culture in the heart of the city. Katie, a performing artist and painter, is equally passionate about brining the community's art scene together and building a support system for regional artists. Both mention that part of the reason for the city's thriving arts scene is tied to the city's nickname, "the City of Colleges."

Much of the focus of this episode is on Create Conway's Conway Art Walk, a monthly festival held on the first Friday nine months out of the year for both aspiring and established artists that features vendors, performers, live music and, of course, artists. In an effort to promote the Conway Art Walk, which has been a staple of the downtown and community for several years, Jessica invites Rex to "get his hands dirty" and visit the festival to showcase all that Conway has to offer to citizens and visitors alike. In fact, Jessica and Katie mention that the Art Walk is unique in that it appeals to "a mix of young and old."

The duo also tell Rex how the Art Walk was inspired by a similar event in Fayetteville, and not only allows visitors entertainment and art, but also serves as an important revenue generator for one of the fastest-growing cities in the state. In short, the event has greatly helped with Conway's regional and statewide popularity, which is due in part to its reputation as a regional hub for artists, and attracts approximately 2,000 visitors each month that the festival is held.

Also discussed in this episode is how the Art Walk has a ripple effect for the retailers that participate in the event as well as storefronts and businesses in the city's downtown area, the newly renovated Studio in Downtown Conway – which features a museum-grade gallery that showcases the works of regional artists – and Jessica provides a descriptive overview of "the best way to do the Art Walk" for new visitors.

Follow Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners. 

This week, Rex is once again joined by old friend and frequent guest Skip Rutherford, the initial president of the Clinton Foundation and former Dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. On this episode, however, the duo largely avoid a conversation about politics or education in favor of an in-depth look at recent information released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arkansas State Data Center on population trends across the state. 

The first part of the discussion includes an overview of recent statistics released by both organizations, one indicating an overall increase in urbanization across the state, and another set of data stating that, over a one-year time period – from July 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024 – the state saw substantial population growth in several specific counties in Northwest and Central Arkansas in particular, while many other counties in outside of these areas also experienced some population growth. 

According to Rex and Skip, Arkansas' population is now 49 percent urban, although that growth continues to be focused in counties such as Benton, Washington (Northwest Arkansas), Faulkner, Conway, Saline (Central Arkansas) and Craighead county in northeast Arkansas. The duo mention how these trends affect both industry and business as well as affordability and livability, although a decline in certain parts of the state has led to what Rex describes as a "hollowing out of the middle class." 

Specific to this conversation are the ways in which many small communities, including Bella Vista, Pea Ridge, Highfill and Tontitown, are rapidly becoming suburbs due to urbanization in the surrounding cities and towns. But Skip is quick to point out that, as has been inthe case recently in Northwest Arkansas, population growth can also lead to challenges such as wastewater issues and a rising cost in housing. 

In the remainder of the episode, Rex and Skip also touch on towns that are slated to become high population centers in upcoming years, problems with rural health care, and cities and towns such as Pine Bluff and El Dorado that continue to show a decline in the number of residents. 

Follow Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, or visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners.