Ep. 64: FEMA's Failings in North Carolina
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
SYNOPSIS: In his first weeks in office in 2025, President Donald Trump visited Western North Carolina and promised to help the mountain communities still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Helene. The help never came. This week we talk to Chris Kromm of Facing South about his investigation of the administration’s failures to follow through, leaving state and local authorities mostly on their own to recover and rebuild. Kromm says it’s a warning for any state or city vulnerable to climate-fueled natural disasters. Also: With the midterms a month away, we look at some of the most...
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Ep. 63: Memory and Media in Alabama
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
SYNOPSIS: Pulitzer-winning reporter John Archibald grew up in Alabama and has spent his career as a journalist immersed in the state’s tangled and troubled past and present. In an illuminating conversation, he talks about the persistent problem of “white silence” in the face of the state’s injustices — and the responsibility of journalists to face up to them, as we have so often failed to do. Also: The blowback against racist comments by Texas Republican candidate Bo French, and what it illuminates — or fails to — about the rising wave of explicit white and Christian nationalism...
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Ep. 62: Fighting Censorship in Arkansas
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
SYNOPSIS: The United States is in the midst of one of the strongest waves of censorship and book-banning in our history. And nowhere is it stronger than across the South. This week, we talk to Fayetteville librarian and First Amendment advocate Molly Quinn about the fight to preserve the right to read in Arkansas. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has politicized the state’s library system, and a new law threatens criminal penalties against librarians. We also take a look at the record-breaking heat that has baked our states throughout the summer and into mid-September. Last week’s highly...
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Ep. 61: Teaching South Carolina's Real History
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
SYNOPSIS: With the teaching of American history — particularly its racial history — under assault from the Trump administration and conservative state governments across the South, the Modjeska Simkins School in South Carolina is a community-based model for carrying that work forward outside the bounds of state-controlled curriculums. This week, we talk to history professor Dr. Robert Greene, the school’s lead instructor, about what it does — and how you can learn from it. Also: ICE detentions continue to soar across the South; the impact of SNAP cuts on Southern states; and Trump’s...
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Ep. 60: The Big Tech Backlash
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
SYNOPSIS: Something remarkable has happened over the past 18 months across the U.S. and especially across the South: a mounting backlash against the explosion of data centers, surveillance cameras, and so-called artificial intelligence. This week, we talk to Tim Cywinski of the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club, who has been leading the fight against data centers in the state that has become their epicenter. Also: The bipartisan push to “get the Flock out,” and efforts to put some guardrails around AI. And a remembrance of the beloved Kentucky writer, conservationist and farmer Wendell...
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Ep. 59: The Southern War on Academic Freedom
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
SYNOPSIS: Classes are back in session at colleges and universities across the South, and in many conservative-dominated states students and faculty are returning to increasingly tense cultural war zones. This week, we talk to Teresa Klein, president of the Texas chapter of the American Association of University Professors. The group has filed lawsuits against two Texas public university systems over restrictions on what can be taught and how. “People are afraid,” Klein says. We also look at Tennessee’s erosion of academic freedom, a Texas professor denied tenure for no obvious reason...
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Ep. 58: Blue Ballots in Red States
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
SYNOPSIS: We return from our summer hiatus with a look at some fascinating local and state races in recent weeks in Florida and Tennessee. Democrats in both states flipped multiple seats at local levels across both states this month, and took control of some major school boards. It’s been a bad set of results for one group in particular — the Florida-based right-wing activist organization Moms for Liberty. We also take a look at progressive state Rep. Angie Nixon’s surprising win in Florida’s Democratic primary for state Senate. Plus: The Sidewalk Film Festival returns to...
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Announcing Our Newsletter
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
Our podcast, Headlights: Voices From the Progressive South has been on a summer hiatus while we’ve been working on other projects. We will be returning next week, with a look at interesting electoral indicators across the South from the past few months. In the meantime, we are preparing to launch our new newsletter. It will include links and more information about the issues discussed in the podcast, as well as other news and events across the South. You can get ahead of the curve by signing up now to receive it in your inbox. It’s free, like all of our content. All you need is an email...
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Headlights Archives 6: Steve Smith
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
SYNOPSIS: This week, we’re featuring an archive interview from 2025 with Steve Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. The nonprofit organization advocates for reduced carbon emissions and increased renewable energy across the Southeast. We talked about the Trump administration’s embrace of fossil fuels and the growing energy demand from data centers. SHOW NOTES:
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Headlights Archives 5: Dom Kelly
Headlights: Voices from The Progressive South
SYNOPSIS: In this archive interview, we talk with Dom Kelly, president and CEO of a nonprofit called New Disabled South, which works for equality and access for people with disabilities. Dom is a fascinating guy with a background in advocacy, music, and politics, and he has a lot of smart things to say about the barriers that remain throughout society — and especially throughout the South. SHOW NOTES:
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Well before Robert F. Kennedy Jr. brought his vaccine skepticism to the federal government, many Southern states were already taking steps to weaken immunization mandates. This week, we take a look at recent moves in Florida, Louisiana and Texas to make it easier for parents to opt their children out of vaccines. Florida already leads the nation in unvaccinated kindergarteners.
The conversation this week is with Brandon Jones, political director for the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund, which is seeking out and supporting progressive candidates in local races across the Deep South. Jesse talks with Jones about his background — which includes a stint in the Mississippi Legislature — and why grassroots races are important to building progressive strength.
Also: It’s AthFest time!
SHOW NOTES:
“Citing Government Overreach, Louisiana Won’t Promote Vaccination, Surgeons General Say” CDRAP
“Vaccine Opt-Outs Continue to Climb in Florida Schools” Axios
Texas House Bill 1586
Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund
New Southern Majority
AthFest
CONTACT:
Jesse Mayshark
jmayshark@theprogressivesouth.org
(865) 214-7764