Now You're Talking with Marshall Ramsey

It is no exaggeration to call Mike Duke the poster child for MPB’s mission of education and serving the community. Blind since birth, Mike attended the Mississippi School for the Blind and Mississippi State University, where he earned a degree in communications. He then worked as a commercial radio announcer for 12 years before joining Mississippi Public Broadcasting as director of the Radio...

Bibliophiles rejoice, the annual Mississippi Book festival is here at last. One of the most anticipated state events, this celebration of literary achievement takes place at the capitol every year. Dozens of panelists from around the country will be talking about their books, including yours truly, so my producer Lacey will be asking me some questions about my new children’s book, Saving Sam. We’l...

Ryan Parker is the Executive Director of the Mississippi Film Society, a non-profit that is working to bring unique film screening experiences, film-based educational programming, and a prison screening program to Mississippi. A Brookhaven native, Ryan has been working in the film industry as a producer and marketing/PR consultant for the last 12 years. He has already made his mark this month by p...

He’s been an attorney for nearly five decades, but he’s also a pretty darn good author. That’s right, we have entertainment attorney and 2024 Mississippi Book festival panelist X.M. Frascogna in the house. Known by his friends and family as simply Mike, X.M. has specialized in entertainment and sports law since the early seventies. He has co-authored with his sons five books about football set in...

It is Education Week here at MPB Think Radio and most of our shows are taking part in a very important theme- education and back-to-school topics. Who better to talk about this than the 2024 Mississippi Teacher of the Year, Shauna Waters. Currently teaching English at East Lauderdale High School in Collins, Shauna Waters has been a teacher since 2001. She has taught in Indiana University’s Intensi...

Apologies in advance if today’s episode makes you hungry- we have Newks’ CEO Chris Newcomb in the building. Based in Jackson, Mississippi, Newk’s Eatery is a fast-casual chain that operates and franchises just under 100 units in 16 states. Ever since it’s founding in 2004, Newk’s has been a go-to for sandwiches, soups, salads and pizza whether you live in Jackson, Atlanta, or Birmingham. Chris was...

A Vicksburg native and Ole Miss graduate, today’s guest uses incredible storytelling skills only the south can provide. Ellis Nassour has a background in Journalism and has been writing books about the history of Broadway musicals for decades. He is back home this week to sign copies and inform his statesmen of his newest book, Jesus Christ Superstar: Behind the Scenes of the Worldwide Musical Phe...

Today’s guests were recently recognized by the New York Times as some of the best pizza-makers in the United States. Leña (which translates to firewood) makes dough from scratch and brings it to life with traditional proofing practices. Located in the rural Mississippi Delta, this Cleveland staple provides pizza and bagels unlike anywhere else in the region. Today we’re talking to the masterminds...

If you’ve worked in television in the state of Mississippi in any capacity, today’s guests are no stranger to you. Emmy award-winning television legends Walt Grayson and his daughter Keri Grayson Horne are joining us in the studio today to talk about what they know best- how storytelling and educational media can truly shape an entire state. Walt has spent over five decades working in the media in...

Our guests today know all about the importance of keeping it in the family. Connie Hollins and her son DeSanto Rollins will be the the guests of honor in a soon-to-come episode of Family Owned: A Legacy Leadership podcast, produced in partnership with Ole Miss and MPB. The owners of Rollins Funeral Home in Woodville, this entire family has been dedicated to serving grieving families in the state f...

Our guest today wants to talk to you about the importance of giving life. Christopher Swafford is the President and CEO of Mississippi Blood Services (MBS) based in Flowood, MS. MBS is a community based blood center that serves hospitals throughout the state of Mississippi and was established 45 years ago. Christopher is the 3rd CEO of the organization and has been at MBS since June of 2...

We have two guests this week with one mission. Big House Books is an organization that provides literature to the incarcerated, making sure those in the prison system still have access to reading materials and the right to read. The team recently won a 2024 Governor's Initiative for Volunteer Excellence or GIVE Award. Here to discuss the success and mission of their initiative is Holly Smith, who...

Our first guest in the month of June is a local activist determined to save lives. Christina Dent is the Founder & President of End It For Good, a Mississippi-based nonprofit advocating for approaches to drugs that prioritize life and the opportunity to thrive. Christina supported a criminal justice approach to drugs until her experience as a foster parent sparked her curiosity about drug poli...

Happy Memorial Day! We are out of the office so in lieu of a new episode, here's an instant classic from earlier this year. 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...

Marshall welcomes director Ann Ford and long-time producer Perez Hodge to discuss the new documentary on film on the now-defunct WZZQ radio station. For a brief shining moment (the 70’s!), this free form, counterculture, FM radio station in Jackson, Mississippi rocked the mid-South. With no playlists, no rules, and very few inhibitions, the legendary WZZQ represented a way of life for its young li...

Francine Reynolds has been the artistic director at New Stage Theatre in Jackson since 2006, and has worked as a theatre artist for 35 years. A Michigan native and current Jackson resident, Reynolds has served three terms on the board of directors for the Theatre Communications Group, a national organization for American theatre; and is on the board of directors for the Mississippi Theatre Associa...

Kate Medley is a North Carolina-based visual journalist and filmmaker documenting the American South. Her photography work explores issues of social justice, community, and the shifting politics of states like Mississippi. Her work has been featured in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and her collection “ Thank You Please Come Again: How Gas Stations Feed & Fuel the American Sou...

Ana Lampton Triplett is a documentary maker and a retired attorney. In her episode of “Family Owned, a Legacy Leadership Podcast,” she discusses how she and her family have entrepreneurship running through their veins. Part of the Lampton family that owns manufacturing powerhouse Ergon in Jackson, Ana has used her talents to help with both the family business and her own project, a documentary fil...

Currently serving as the head honcho of the Mississippi Children’s Museum, Susan Garrard has been with the museum since it’s inception, serving as a volunteer when the museum was still in its planning stages. Originally from Sebastopol, she earned her undergraduate degree at Mississippi State University before attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. She and her family eventuall...

Trigger Warning: this episode of Now You're Talking contains recounts of war. Marshall Ramsey sits down this week with Mississippi Public Broadcasting's very own Chief Operations Officer Anna Neel as she discusses her career coming up in the world of media and communications. From her time as a humble intern with CNN all the way to where she is today with Mississippi Public Broadcasting, she goes...

World-renowned Chef, restaurateur, and Pike County native Austin Sumrall is no stranger to the kitchen. Owner of White Pillars in Biloxi, Austin is also a former Champion of Food Network’s “Alex vs. America” in May 2023. The James Beard nominee for “Best Chef: South” and crowned “King of American Seafood!” in the 2021 Great American Seafood Cook-Off, the self-proclaimed lover of oyster aquaculture...

Marshall Ramsey sits down the week with second generation jazz musician and singer Antonia Bennett, renowned daughter of Grammy Award winning jazz musician Tony Bennett as she discusses what it was like growing up surrounded by the jazz music scene and how it shaped her into the musician she is today. From growing up surrounded by greats like Rosemary Clooney, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra to...

Marshall Ramsey sits down with Natalie Perkins, a Rolling Fork-based journalist and recently named USA Today Woman of the Year. She discusses her journalistic efforts during the devastating EF4 tornado that struck her community in March 2023 and how she was able to keep those around her informed during that time of crisis. Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cart...

Dr. Roderick Little is an accomplished conductor, clinician, adjudicator, composer, arranger, drill writer, and instrumentalist, and currently serves as Director of Bands/Assistant Professor of Music at Jackson State University. A native of Jackson, he grew up in a musical family/background, and received his Bachelors and Masters in Music Education, and a Doctorate in Urban Higher Education A...

Our guest today is Peter Zapletal, one of those most recent recipients of a Governor’s Arts Award. A five-time Emmy Award-winning puppeteer, Peter had an illustrious career right here at Mississippi Public Broadcasting that spanned over several decades, and recently retired as the director of the Puppet Arts Theatre, a professional touring theatre company. Originally from Czechoslovakia, he h...