Now You're Talking with Marshall Ramsey

Sally Burchfield Doty was recently named as the first director of BEAM - the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi. This office serves as the State's sole point of contact for broadband policy and oversees the administration of federal funding for broadband infrastructure expansion. Sally previously served as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff...

We are honored to welcome an iconic Mississippian from an iconic family to the show today. Reena Evers-Everette is the daughter of civil-rights activists Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-Williams. Born in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, she studied business merchandising at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. She is now executive director of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute in Jackson, Miss.,...

In the past few months, today's guests have made their own "black history," Here at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Director of Television Taiwo Gaynor and Director of Radio Java Chatman are the first black individuals to ever serve in their respective roles for the organization. On today's show, both of these men chat with Marshall about upcoming projects, meeting impactful Mississippians, and w...

If you’re a Jackson native, my guest today needs no introduction. Bill Ellison is a musician/radio host based in Jackson, Mississippi. Bill, a vocalist, guitarist and pianist, has performed professionally for more than 40 years, playing all styles of music from bluegrass to jazz. Bill has also worked for radio and television stations in Jackson and Memphis during his 45-year broadcasting care...

If you’ve ever wondered what good it would do if large organized faiths joined forces, todays guests will certainly be of interest to you. Lapidus & Myles is a collaboration between two faith-based musicians in Atlanta. Micah Lapidus is a Reform rabbi who serves as school rabbi for The Davis Academy and is also composer-in-residence at The Temple. Melvin Myles is a highly regarded soloist with...

Happy New Year! We’re doing things a bit differently today and sharing some of our favorite moments from 2023 with you. Join me and my producer Lacey Alexander as we talk about some highlights from the past year, from moving conversations to belly laughs to talks of exciting future projects with some of the coolest guests we’ve talked to this year. Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy aw...

Our guest today is Nina Parikh, the director of the Mississippi Film Office. She celebrates 25 years with the office this year, as she began working for the Film Office as the deputy director in 1998 and became director in 2017. She studied filmmaking at New York University and the University of Southern Mississippi, and her work place is celebrating a massive anniversary. Mississippi Film is now...

Coach Bill Courtney is a native Tennessean and an Ole Miss graduate. Though already a successful business owner, in 2003, Bill began volunteering at Memphis’ inner city Manassas High School in an effort to turn its underperforming football team around. In 2003, the team had 19 players with a dismal 4-95, 10-year record. In the 2008 & 2009 seasons, the team’s record improved to 18-2, with 75 pl...

Growing up in a military family, George Fondren knows very well what it means to have loved ones overseas for the holidays. That’s why he and his family are hosting the 8th Annual Christmas for the Troops party on December 9 in Ridgeland. This event has grown considerably over the years and now includes scouts and veterans from central Mississippi. George and his two sons use the event to send car...

Joining us today is Michael Farris Smith. He is an award-winning writer whose novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists with Esquire, NPR, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Oprah Magazine, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets. He lives in Oxford, Mississippi, with his wife and daughters, and the state he knows so well serves as a backdrop for his recently critically acclaimed novel, “Salvag...

Our guest today is Paul Elias, who recently made history as the very first bass fisherman to be inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. Paul Elias said he was too small to play football, was “pretty good” at baseball but “was really, really good” at fishing while growing up. A Mississippian thru and thru, Paul is a native of Laurel and a Southern Miss graduate. He turned pro in 1979 and...

The 6888 postal battalion was the only predominantly-black, all-female battalion to serve overseas during World War II, and serves as the subject for filmmaker James Williams Theres’ 2019 film “Six Triple Eight,” which will have a free screening tonight in Nachez. James is also an award-winning Executive Writer for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington D.C., and joins us on this Veteran...

Ghosts and ghouls beware, my next guest, Jeff Duke, author of the 2022 book, Ghostly Tales of Mississippi , uncovering 14 terrifying tales, based on reportedly true accounts about some of the state’s most haunted locations, proves that his fascination for things that go bump in the night, has reached the pinnacle of detective level. He joins me today to discuss the book, his passion for writing, h...

My next guest’s boots are made for walking, the son of a fourth generation farming family, growing up on Double B Farms in Randolph, Mississippi, Benjamin Bowen spent his childhood riding horses, and going to football games,  all while wearing his favorite pair of boots. Fast forward to today, he not only still wears his favorite pair, he is the founder of celebrity loved, Double B Boots Comp...

Filmmakers Willy Bearden, and George Larrimore join me today to discuss their 4-part docuseries: The Rolling Fork Tornado of 2023 , premiering on MPBTV this Thursday at 7 p.m. In the film, Director Willy Bearden returns to his hometown of Rolling Fork, to document the destruction from the March 24th tornado. Damage was catastrophic, fourteen died and hundreds had to find shelter elsewhere. Then ne...

My next guests, Richard & Dr. Tamika Bradley, work as President and Exec. Director, respectively, of Metro Booming Workforce Training Academy . It’s a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide workforce training certifications, accredited by U.S. Department of Labor. They have both joined me today to discuss that, in addition to, Richard’s work as Assistant Women's Basketball Co...

Hailing from Laurel, my next guest has risen to online viral fame discussing topics like, what is lollygagging, the difference between nekkid and naked, and exactly what is a come to Jesus’ meeting. Landon Bryant, aka “Landon Talks ,” has delighted audiences with his glossary style invitation to southern colloquialisms and captivated students at Laurel Magnet School of the Arts, as Visual Art inst...

Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Coach, Author, Therapist, Podcaster, and Goal-Setting Guru, Jocelyn Lane is here today to discuss her newest book, The Power of Self-Love , a self-help guide on How to Break Free from Unhealthy Relationships . The book, guides readers through the process of recognizing warning signs in relationships, establishing healthy boundaries and embracing self-love. We’ll di...

My next guest definitely needs no introduction, but I’ll attempt to do him justice, an eleventh-generation American gardener, a non-stuffy horticulturist who travels the world looking for simple garden approaches, which he promotes in his newspaper columns, books, magazine articles, and on MPB Think Radio’s Gestalt Gardener . The author of over twenty books and founder of Slow Gardening, Felder Ru...

Douglas Blackmon , Pulitzer-Prize winning author, journalist, and filmmaker, started his career at, get this, the age of twelve when an article he wrote published in his local newspaper, and he has not stopped since… Fast forward to his current project, PBS American Experience “The Harvest,” a documentary examining public school integration and the consequences, 50 years later, premiering Septembe...

My next guests, award-winning sportswriter Rick Cleveland and best-selling author Neil White , have joined forces and created   The Mississippi Football Book: Stories and Records from the Greatest Teams, Coaches, and Players - Who Lived and Played in the Greatest Football State , a publication including profiles of players, coaches, teams, and a sort of A to Z listing of all things football i...

My next guest has mastered turning adversity into triumph, whether on the football field – becoming a Superbowl champion in 2013, or on life’s field – facing homelessness to becoming an incredible husband and father of four, Michael Oher is here today to discuss his newest book, “When Your Back's Against The Wall: Fame, Football, and Lessons Learned Through a Lifetime of Adversity,” his book signi...

My next guest is not only a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and owner/executive director of Essential Touchstones and Killebrew Psychological Services in Ridgeland, but she also carries a torch for those she has loved and lost. And that torch is burning bright for her late husband, as she honors his memory at this year’s inaugural and star-studded, Keath Killebrew Memorial Rodeo , happening, July 2...

This episode profiles Nash Nunnery's Magnolia Gridiron Cathedrals coffee table-type volume, documenting 47 of Mississippi's most historic and unique high school football fields, August 2023 release.  Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now...

With the stroke of a brush, my next guest, Ed McGowin has impacted the world of art as a painter and sculptor whose work has been installed and exhibited in numerous galleries, museums, and public spaces around the globe… A 2023 recipient of the Governor’s Arts Awards Lifetime Achievement honor, a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, and proudly hailing from Hattiesburg, Ed McGowin...