Reckon Interview

The South has been hit hard over the last few decades by the opioid epidemic. 20 years ago, governments weren’t prepared. Police focused on shutting down marijuana growth, not the rapid spread of prescription drugs. Ground Zero for the spread of drugs like oxycontin may have been coal country in Eastern Kentucky. In his new book "Twilight in Hazard: An Appalachian Reckoning," Alan Maimon chronicle...

From their Kentucky homes, Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers have helped tens of thousands of people process the past few years of national news and politics. Their podcast "Pantsuit Politics" offers audiences information and grace. They join the Reckon Interview to discuss ways in which the South shaped their outlook and approach to politics and the role Southern politicians play. They also...

Figuring out your identity is hard. Figuring it out while going through sorority rush? That's even harder. In her hilarious new memoir, "The One You Want to Marry (And Other Identities I've Had)" Sophie Santos offers a story of self-discovery and of coming out. On the Reckon Interview, she discusses growing up in a military family and remaking herself with each move, what rush is really like, the...

In his new book "The State Must Provide," Adam Harris examines the systemic inequities baked into the American higher education system. In this episode, he joins the Reckon Interview to explain how America's colleges were created, the emotional toll on students trying to desegregate American colleges, the role of HBCUs, student loan debt and what the future may hold for colleges in the South. Find...

Margaret Renkl's new book "Graceland, At Last" is a balm for anyone who has ever pushed back on Southern stereotypes. She has a true gift for finding unsung voices that push back on the stereotypes perpetuated by Southern politicians or national narratives. On the Reckon Interview, she offers lessons for making a better South day by day from your own backyard. "Graceland, At Last" is available fro...

Most people probably wouldn't think to set a sitcom in Montgomery in Alabama in 1968, but when he was tasked with rebooting the "Wonder Years," Saladin K. Patterson drew on what he knew. He grew up in Alabama's capital city in the 1970s and 80s and knows how to find the comedy and drama in the lives of the people who lived outside of the spotlight during the years after integration. On the Reckon...

"Reparations Now!" the latest collection of poetry from Ashley M. Jones is a stirring message from the heart of the Deep South. Jones was just named poet laureate of Alabama, the youngest person and first Black Alabamian to hold the title. On the Reckon Interview, she discusses hearing everyday poetry in Alabama, her works that confront that the South's past and present, the legacy of Black womanh...

In his new book, “Where the Devil Don’t Stay: Traveling the South with the Drive-By Truckers,” Stephen Deusner tells the story of the acclaimed band from either Muscle Shoals or Athens, depending on who you ask. The Truckers have, at various points, included some of the greatest songwriters in American music: Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Jason Isbell and Shonna Tucker. But he also tells a story ab...

Cedric Burnside started touring when he was just 13 years old. His grandfather, R.L. Burnside, helped create the unique sound of Mississippi Hill Country Blues and Cedric has embraced that legacy. He's been recognized as one of the best Blues musicians in America several times over. Mississippi is where American music was born, but many of its creators never reaped the financial rewards that other...

Joshua Burford and Maigen Sullivan, co-founders of the Invisible Histories Project, saw a gap in Southern history and the history of queer culture in America. There have always been Queer people in the South, and so many of them have been collecting and keeping their own stories in private for decades. In the Season 4 finale of the Reckon Interview, Josh and Maigen join the show to discuss their w...

Flipping through the pages of the new Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English, you’ll find the stories of thousands of words and phrases unique to the American South. This week, the dictionary's co-author, Jennifer K. N. Heinmiller joins the Reckon Interview to discuss the early 20th century origin of this project, the process of gathering and investigating words to include in a collection such...

For three decades, Don Heflin has served his country abroad. Currently, he's the head of consul operations at the U.S. embassy in India. On the Reckon Interview, he discusses how the pandemic complicated that work, how the rest of the world perceives Southerners and how his time around the globe has changed his perspectives on the South. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. L...

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lawrence Wright was in a unique position to chronicle the Covid-19 pandemic. As the coronavirus was beginning to spread through the United States, Wright had just published his prescient novel, "The End of October," a story of a pandemic that upends the world. Wright joins the Reckon Interview to discuss what we know about the origins of Covid-19, what we got righ...

Are Americans having the wrong debate about guns? Professor Carol Anderson's new book "The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America" presents the case that the common story we all know about the Second Amendment preserving our rights to fight back against a tyrannical government is wrong. The debate about the Second Amendment at the time it was ratified was rooted in anti-Blackness. And...

Right now, Kiese Laymon is revising and reclaiming his early work. After buying back the right to "How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America" and "Long Division," Laymon has updated those books to reflect the stories he originally wanted to tell and to better suit modern audiences. But how do you revise and update beloved works without isolating your longtime readers? How does Laymon's "re...

Anjali Enjeti is the author of two brilliant new Southern works, "Southbound," a collection of essays about identity, and "The Parted Earth," a novel multi-generational novel examining the impact of Indian partition on a woman living in Atlanta, Georgia. On the Reckon Interview, she describes her experiences as a Brown woman living in the Deep South, the whiteness of Southern literature, and the p...

Sarah Jarosz is one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters in American music, first picking up a mandolin at age 9. She joins the Reckon Interview to discuss her albums, "Blue Heron Suite," and "World on the Ground," each of which were released during the Covid-19 pandemic. She also shares stories about saying goodbye to New York on "Live from Here," lessons learned from Steve Martin and why th...

Barbecue was born out of the South. But it's hard to fine true masters of whole hog barbecue. Chef Rodney Scott is unmatched. The James Beard award-winning chef joins the Reckon Interview to share the secrets of his trade and why every day is a good day. He also offers his recommendations for the South's best BBQ joints. Buy Chef Rodney Scott's book and find his restaurant locations at https://www...

Who do our stories about the South serve? Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, co-executive director of the Highlander Research and Education Center, blows up many of America's misconceptions about the South and about Appalachia in the latest episode of the Reckon Interview. A self-described Affrilachian activist, Ash-Lee explains how the South has always been the center of the movement and discusses what c...

In a live recording to celebrate the publication of John Archibald's new memoir "Shaking the Gates of Hell: A Search for Family and Truth in the Wake of the Civil Rights Revolution," we chat with Archibald, RL Nave and Dr. Wayne Flynt about the history of silence and complicity in the Southern church. Archibald's memoir asks the question: "What good is a pulpit if you don't use it for good?" The e...

Minnie Bruce Pratt is a queer and feminist icon, renowned for her activism and art. With another spike in anti-LGBT legislation around the South, Minnie Bruce discusses what it’s like to be targeted by these laws. When she came out in the 1970s, the state of North Carolina took custody of her children away from her. And when her spouse, Leslie Feinberg, grew ill, Minnie Bruce experienced directly...

Elizabeth Spiers helped establish how we read and write on the internet. Elizabeth was the founding editor of Gawker, a website that maybe didn’t introduce the snarky, blogger voice that took over media, but certainly took it mainstream. She helped define that voice and went on to work with New York Magazine, edit the New York Observer, and found and run several other media sites.  And Elizabeth g...

Religion affects almost everything in the South. Even for nonbelievers. But so few people actually spend time understanding the stories they heard as children in Sunday School. Jason and Emily Kirk's podcast "Vacation Bible School," examines everything that was glossed over in the watered down versions we remember. They've set out to break down the Bible one book at a time, binge mode style. Jason...

Long before the Big Lie there was the Lost Cause, one of the most pervasive and damaging "stories" in American history. Connor Towne O'Neill is the author of "Down Along with That Devil's Bones" a book that examines the Lost Cause through the lens of Nathan Bedford Forrest statues. He is also a producer of critically-acclaimed podcast "White Lies." He joins the Reckon Interview to discuss Forrest,...

Dr. Regina Bradley, author of the new book "Chronicling Stankonia" explains how the South’s hip hop generation used their music to respond to, remix and interpret their parents’ and grandparents’ civil rights struggles as well as the whole of Southern history. In addition to the unique sound created by sampling Southern blues, soul and funk, this was a unique perspective for hip hop at the moment....