Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Podcast

Kelley Bass, CEO of the Museum of Discovery, joins Rex Nelson on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried Podcast. Kelley talks about how the museum weathered both the pandemic and a massive renovation after a burst pipe in the winter of 2021 caused extensive damage to many of the museum’s exhibits . Rex and Kelley also touch on the importance of nonprofit organizations like the museum and how th...

Adam Head, president and CEO of CARTI, joins Rex Nelson this week to discuss what his and other health care organizations are doing to improve cancer treatment for Arkansans across the state. They talk about Head's military service, and  how it prepared him to lead CARTI  into a period of strong growth and expansion across the state.  CARTI's most recent addition,  a one-stop cancer care and surgi...

Randy Zook, President and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, joins Rex Nelson on this week's episode to discuss the state's workforce on the heels of a  record-setting 2.7% unemployment rate .  Zook and Nelson discuss efforts to boost new employment in vital job sectors. They also break down the biggest employment drivers around the state.  Visit  arkansasonline.com/podcast23  for an e...

Victoria Ramirez, executive director of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, is back to talk about the museum’s reopening.  Ramirez and Rex Nelson discuss the reception AMFA has received — from the Little Rock community and all the way to the national level — since the museum reopened its renovated doors in April. They also talk about future growth of the museum and the surrounding community. 

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. joins Rex Nelson on this week's episode of the Southern Fried Podcast. Rex and the mayor discuss the capitol city's development and improvement coming out of the pandemic (and overcoming the occasional natural disaster). They touch on Little Rock's policing strategies, from community engagement to officer retention, as the city experienced a rise in crime. They al...

Rex Nelson's back in the studio after his recent accident and joined by Skip Rutherford to discuss recent major economic developments across the state, from lithium refinement in southern Arkansas to Lyon College's Little Rock campus.  They also touch on some recent reading favorites, and look back at the lives of several great Arkansans who passed away last week. Visit  arkansasonline.com/podcast...

With the Travelers’ season in full swing, Lance Restum is back on this week’s episode to talk Arkansas baseball with Rex Nelson.  Restum, executive director of the Arkansas Travelers Youth Foundation and on-field emcee at Dickey-Stephens Park, discusses the nonprofit’s efforts to foster neighborhood baseball, from trucking in clay to donating pitching machines.  And of course, Rex and Lance talk T...

Skip Rutherford’s back for his first 2023 appearance on the Southern Fried Podcast.  On the heels of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ 100th day in office and the close of a whirlwind Legislative session, Skip and Rex Nelson discuss the highlights of the new administration thus far.  With former Gov. Asa Hutchinson set to officially kick-off his presidential campaign, Rex and Skip analyze the field of...

Elizabeth Burns Anderson, executive director of the Farmers Bank Foundation, joins Rex Nelson on this week’s episode to discuss the development of the Lonoke Business Academy and other efforts across the state to boost rural communities.  Visit  arkansasonline.com/podcast23  for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners.

Gina Gemberling, president and CEO of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau, joins Rex Nelson on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried Podcast to discuss some key points of the agency’s 2023 Tourism Master Plan . Visit  arkansasonline.com/podcast23  for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listeners.

Ben Kutylo, executive director of Forward Arkansas joins Rex Nelson on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried Podcast. Kutylo discusses Forward Arkansas’ updated State of Education in Arkansas report, released earlier this year, and offers his insight on how the nonprofit is working to move the Natural State forward in education. Visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription...

Austin Booth, director of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, joins Rex Nelson on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried Podcast to discuss the agency’s efforts to promote conservation on public and private lands while fostering the next generation of hunters and anglers across the state. Visit arkansasonline.com/podcast23 for an exclusive subscription offer available only to podcast listene...

Little Rock restaurateur Ben Brainard joins Rex Nelson on the latest episode of the Southern Fried Podcast. Brainard, a pillar of the Arkansas food scene, opened a Big Bad Breakfast in West Little Rock last year. With the first location rapidly becoming a breakfast hot spot, Brainard announced plans to open a second shop downtown.  He and Rex discuss the capital city’s booming restaurant culture a...

Melissa Taverner, president of Lyon College, joins Rex Nelson this week to discuss the school’s plans to add dental and veterinary programs in Little Rock.  Taverner, a Virginia native and the 19th president of Lyon, talks about the Batesville school’s decision to bring the dental and veterinary programs to the capital city. She also discusses the impending “enrollment cliff” and how Lyon has adju...

Little Rock public relations executive Jordan Johnson joins Rex Nelson on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried podcast for a look at what 2023 has in store for the capital city.  Leading the list of economic developments in Little Rock this year is Lyon College’s plans to open dental and veterinary schools on the site of the Heifer International campus. Jordan and Rex discuss what effect  the...

Skip Rutherford’s back for the end-of-the-year episode of the Southern Fried Podcast.  Skip and Rex Nelson look back at Arkansas’ political and economic happenings in 2022, and share some of their predictions for 2023. Rex and the production team are taking a break for the holidays, but we’ll be back at it in 2023. See you in January!

Judge Robert Brown, former justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, is back on this episode of the Southern Fried Podcast.  After discussing his latest book on the last episode, he and Rex Nelson dive into the judge’s 2010 release, “Defining Moments: Historic Decisions by Arkansas Governors from McMath through Huckabee,” in this edition.  Judge Brown and Rex discuss the twelve men who have governed...

Robert Brown, former associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, joins Rex Nelson on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried Podcast. Judge Brown talks about his latest book, “All Rise: How Race, Religion, and Politics Shaped My Career on the Arkansas Supreme Court,” going into his storied career in law and politics, as well as his upbringing as the son of an Episcopal bishop attending high...

The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation turned 40 this year, and foundation President Deke Whitbeck joins Rex Nelson on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried Podcast to talk about the many ways the nonprofit continues to work with the Game and Fish Commission to better the state’s robust hunting, fishing and outdoor recreation resources.

With football season in full swing, Justin Dorsey, manager of War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, joins Rex Nelson on this week's episode of the Southern Fried Podcast. Dorsey and Nelson discuss the future of Arkansas college football at War Memorial, the stadium’s expanding role as the hub of high school football in the state, and the growing number of out-of-state college games hosted there. Th...

Clinton School of Public Service Dean Victoria DeFrancesco Soto joins Rex Nelson on the latest episode of The Southern Fried Podcast. DeFrancesco Soto, the former Assistant Dean at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, talks about her plans to expand on former President Bill Clinton’s vision for the institution, including broader curriculum, increased enrollment and deeper community engagement.  With...

Denver Peacock, president of Little Rock’s Rotary Club 99, sits down with Rex Nelson on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried Podcast.  Peacock, founder of The Peacock Group, discusses upcoming programs and projects “Club 99” has on the schedule in the upcoming year and beyond. On top of the club’s ongoing education and civic engagement projects, Peacock has kicked off "Illuminate the Rock," a...

Shanna Richardson, scout executive for the Quapaw Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, joins Rex Nelson on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried Podcast.  Richardson, a veteran of the BSA and a recent Arkansas resident, discusses scouting in the Natural State as families adjust to post-pandemic life.

Victoria Ramirez joins Rex Nelson to talk about the much-anticipated reopening of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts on this week’s episode of the Southern Fried Podcast. Ramirez, the museum’s executive director, has been overseeing the 3-year renovation of the AMFA, formerly the Arkansas Arts Center.  In addition to the reimagining of the original building by architecture practice Studio Gang, the...

Skip Rutherford’s back to talk Arkansas politics with host Rex Nelson on the latest episode of the Southern Fried Podcast. From the Watson Chapel School District special election to 2024 White House hopefuls, Rex and Skip discuss the latest in state and local government, and take a look at Arkansas' political future.