Mark sits down with Michael Stipe, the lead singer of R.E.M. and 2025 McNair Honoree, to talk about his early career days and how growing up in the South influenced his journey as a musician.Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://linktr.ee/sostatusc#rem #r.e.m #music #podcast #gamecocknation #southernculture #spotify #spotifyplaylist #rock #countrymusic #lgbt

In this episode, Dr. Emily Allen sits down with fellow host Professor Mark Smith to discuss the history of firing squad executions in relation to South Carolina's first execution by firing squad in over 15 years, scheduled to take place on March 8. Mark provides his insight on how this practice dates back to the Civil War, when it was considered a controversial practice even then.Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://linktr.ee/sostatusc#usc #southcarolina #gamecocks #firingsquad #podcast #history

Host Dr. Emily Allen interviews Dr. Sarah Waheed, Assistant Professor of History at USC. Her scholarly expertise is on the history of South Asian Islam and the shaping of Muslim communities across the India-Pakistan divide, and her academic work focuses on gender and memory as well as transregional global histories. Dr. Sarah Waheed is also one of the lead directors of The Muslim South, a USC Humanities Collaborative sponsored Research and Creative Group. The Muslim South is an initiative that highlights the deep roots of Islam in the US South while also documenting the pasts and presents of growing Muslim immigrant communities in the region, by recording oral histories as well as organizing events in South Carolina and beyond.Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://linktr.ee/sostatusc

On this caffeinated episode, Mark sits down with USC Public History Master's student Anna Thompson to talk coffee. You heard that right... They discuss the origins of coffee, the British's historical disdain for it, and how the Union used coffee to turn the tides of the civil war. This is a good one that you don't want to miss.Follow us on Take on the South socials!https://linktr.ee/sostatuscFollow Anna on Instagram!@aghomeslice#podcast #southernculture #university #uofsc #history #gamecocknation #coffee #starbucks #barista

In this episode, Mark sits down with Dr. Evan Faulkenbury, the newly appointed official USC historian. They explore the competitive nature of a historian’s career, Dr. Faulkenbury’s North Carolina roots, his culture shock up North, and his future book-writing endeavors.

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In this episode, Matt sits down with Dylan Kobus, the 2024 recipient of the David G. Ellison Graduate Student Fellowship, to discuss his southern upbringing and research on southern magic conjuring. Together, they explore how these practices bridged diverse groups, blending medicinal knowledge with cultural traditions in the post-bellum era.Follow us on Take on the South socials!
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In this episode, Matt chats with Sophie deMaine, a rising sophomore at the University of South Carolina and the second recipient of the 2024 Neuffer Family Scholarship in Southern Studies. Sophie reflects on growing up in Greenville, a town now being transformed by DINKWADs—dual-income, no kids, with a dog households. She discusses how the town's vibe has changed and the challenges of dealing with Northern classmates' negative stereotypes of the South.

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In this episode, Matt chats with Addy Lee, a senior at the University of South Carolina and one of the two recipients of the 2024 Neuffer Family Scholarship in Southern Studies. Addy discusses growing up in Columbia, South Carolina, and the contrasts between her Southern roots and Northern family background. She also shares her journey in Southern Studies and her plans after graduating in May.

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Host Dr. Emily Allen interviews Dr. Deidra Suwanee Dees. Of Mvskoke and Scottish descent, Dr. Deidra Suwanee Dees descends from Hotvlkvlke (Wind Clan) following Mvskoke stompdance traditions. Dr. Deidra Suwanee Dees won a 2023 Native Voices Award.

She is the author of Vision Lines: Native American Decolonizing Literature. A Cornell and Harvard graduate, she works at the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and teaches Native American Studies at the University of South Alabama. Her second book of literature, Indian Ice, is scheduled to launch in Fall 2024.

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Host Dr. Emily Allen interviews Danielle Davis, a doctoral candidate in Musicology at Florida State University, an inaugural Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Innovation Fellow, and Pre-Doctoral Fellow at Emory University's James Weldon Johnson Institute. In this episode Davis discusses her dissertation project, The Tidewater Trio Project: Virginian Hip-hop in Hampton Roads. 

The project ventures boldly into the realm of record production, offering fresh interpretations on cultural productions of Shay Haley, Chad Hugo, and Pharrell Williams inviting audiences to reimagine how history resonates through sound.

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