Have you ever been to a “pounding?” Salvation South editor Chuck Reece was taken to one when he was a child, but he never knew where that name came from. That is, until a writer submitted a story to his magazine about the fading Southern tradition where those who have, help those who don’t. Chuck explains in this week's commentary.

Salvation South Deluxe is a series of extended episodes of the Salvation South podcast that unravel the untold stories of the Southern experience, narrated by the authentic voices that make this region truly unique. In our first episode, host Chuck Reece takes you to Old Fort, North Carolina, where the power of unity has rebuilt a thriving economy for this small Southern town.

Salvation South editor Chuck Reece and his family had much to be thankful for as they celebrated Thanksgiving. But he couldn’t get through the day without adding someone outside his family circle, the former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, to the list of people for whom he was grateful. Chuck explains in this week's commentary.

When our ancestors pass away, we reckon with what they leave us. That can be objects, or money, or land, or a host of other material things. But for some folks, the most important thing bequeathed by an ancestor is the food, the recipes, because in those tastes—sometimes…if we’re lucky—there is magic. Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has a story about that magic in this week’s commentary.

Salvation South editor Chuck Reece’s father ate sorghum syrup almost every night. In his era, refined sugar was scarce on a North Georgia farm. There wasn’t a sugar bowl on most tables; instead, there was a jar of sorghum. These days, sorghum is a necessary element of Southern food and culture as Chuck explains in this week's commentary.

One of the most famous painters the state of Georgia ever produced never took an art class. Instead, he was a small-town preacher. He believed God called him to paint what he called “sacred art.” Salvation South editor Chuck Reece remembers a day he spent with Howard Finster forty years ago in this week's commentary.

Too often, we do not think about the first thing that comes out of our mouths in a conversation. After many years of paying very close attention to the first lines of books and magazine articles, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has a few ideas about why we should give our first words a little more thought in this week’s commentary.

When we think about “folk music,” most of us think about music that sounds a certain way. But really, folk music is the stuff we pass around to each other, that we sing around the fire, the songs that we let anyone join in on. Salvation South editor Chuck Reece explains the origins of one of the most famous folk songs in this week’s commentary.

One of the South’s greatest musical treasures is a gospel singing group that has been around since 1939, called the Blind Boys of Alabama. The longtime leader of that group is, at age 91, retiring after a lifetime of singing. In this week's commentary Salvation South editor Chuck Reece reflects on a recent visit with the singer and a lasting memory of one of the singer's performances.

In our public discourse these days, certain phrases are almost guaranteed to make people nervous. One of those is “white privilege.” In this week's commentary Salvation South Editor Chuck Reece explains how a long talk with Southern writer, David Joy, helped him look at the phrase differently.