Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina: Ep. 4 - Lessons Learned
Mississippi Moments Podcast
In the twenty years since Hurricane Katrina, numerous storms and tornadoes have brought death and destruction to our nation. But for Mississippi, no other event has had as much of an impact, with the possible exception of Hurricane Camile. Anyone who lived here during that time has a Katrina story and while some of the details have faded in the decades that followed, the emotional trauma remains just below the surface. Within a month of Katrina, the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage began planning an oral history project to preserve those stories while the details...
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Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina: Ep. 3 - Crawling from the Wreckage
Mississippi Moments Podcast
As the wind and rain began to die down, people crawled from the wreckage to survey the damages left by Hurricane Katrina. The most common description of what they found was "a warzone." First came the first responders seeking, listening, for survivors. Then came the Mississippi Army National Guard. They were soon joined by community and business leaders desperately searching for sources of water, food, and fuel to pass along to those in need. Then came an army of volunteers from across the nation and around the world: from the American Red Cross and countless faith-based and...
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Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina: Ep. 2 - Riding the Storm Out
Mississippi Moments Podcast
Early in morning of Monday, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall near the Louisiana / Mississippi state line and the eyewall passed over the cities of Bay St. Louis and Waveland as a Category 3 hurricane. A 27 foot storm surge with sustained winds of 120 mph made for a devastating one-two punch that rocked even the most storm-hardened shelters and wiped away 90% of all structures within six miles of the beach. Joining us for the interview today we have Dr. David Holt, Associate Professor of Geography in the School of Biological, Environmental and Earth Sciences and...
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Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina: Ep. 1 - Preparing for the Worst...
Mississippi Moments Podcast
On the afternoon of Friday, August 26, 2005, the National Hurricane Center changed the predicted landfall of Katrina from the panhandle of Florida to Mississippi. As the storm continued to increase in size and intensity, Federal, State, and local officials, began planning for the worst case scenario. For Gulf Coast residents, it was a familiar dilemma: to stay or to go? Boarding up homes and businesses, packing up and heading north was a costly effort that too many times, proved unnecessary. Afterall, it had been some 36 years since Hurricane Camile, the yardstick by which all...
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Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina - Ep. 0 Series Introduction
Mississippi Moments Podcast
On August 25th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina crossed over South Florida and into the Gulf, where it quickly strengthened into a massive category 5 storm. Gulf Coast residents watched with increasing alarm as it became obvious that Mississippi was in the crosshairs of this once-in-a-generation weather event. As President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency and evacuations were ordered for New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, emergency crews, equipment, and supplies, were prepositioned for the rescue and recovery efforts that would follow. Key to those efforts would...
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MSMO Presents: Dogwood - The Sean Cooley Story
Mississippi Moments Podcast
To celebrate the publication of an important new book Dogwood, A National Guard Unit's War in Iraq, by Dr. Andrew Wiest of the Dale Center for the Study of War and Society, we present this one hour special podcast episode. In 2003 US and coalition forces unleased Operation Iraqi Freedom to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein, expecting an easy victory and a short war. After a quick seizure of Baghdad, though, the nation of Iraq dissolved into disarray, with an insurgency, led by both Saddam loyalists and foreign jihadists, spiraled out of control. The deteriorating...
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Introducing - Voices of Our People: WWII - Premiering Sept. 30
Mississippi Moments Podcast
From the producers of Mississippi Moments comes a new 10 episode long form podcast, Voices of Our People: WWII. Follow this link to subscribe or search your favorite podcast directory: From the Center for Oral History & Cultural Heritage at USM, comes a new history podcast combining the best of our extensive Oral History collection and in-depth analysis of the major events that have fundamentally shaped modern society. In Season 1 of Voices of Our People, The COH&CH, in partnership with the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society at USM and the Mississippi Humanities...
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MSMO Classic - Fatal Friendly Fire, A Double Tragedy
Mississippi Moments Podcast
On this Memorial Day, we look back at episode #615 from May 2019. Jim Swager of Brookhaven joined the US Army shortly after his 18th birthday, three months before D-day. In this episode, he shares his memories of the journey from Mississippi to the battlefields of France as part of the 103rd Infantry, Cactus Division. Although he weighed a mere 130 lbs. his captain made him a machine gunner and assigned him a BAR. The Browning Automatic Rifle was a 30-caliber light machine gun used extensively by Allied forces during WWII. Swager recalls the challenge of lugging the twenty-pound weapon across...
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MSMO Classic - Jackson's Sports Journalist Pioneer
Mississippi Moments Podcast
Today we look back at a classic MSMO from April of 2016. Carl Walters of Laurel landed his first newspaper job in the 1920s working as a printer’s assistant. In this episode, he recalls how his love of sports led him to become a sports writer. Later, Walters began working for the Meridian Star. He discusses how the Meridian paper broke new ground by being the first to segregate the sports news into its own section. Walters became the first sports editor for the Jackson Daily News in 1946. Walters reflects on his career as a sports editor and columnist with pride and the innovations we...
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MSMO Classic - Southern Miss Legend Coach P.W. Underwood
Mississippi Moments Podcast
This week we look back at the storied career of USM football coach, P. W. Underwood in this MSMO classic from March of 2016. After playing football for Southern Miss, P.W. Underwood returned to Hattiesburg as an assistant coach in 1963. In this episode, he remembers the team ranked number 1 in defense, three years out of four. When Underwood was named head football coach for Southern Miss six years later, he knew some changes needed to be made. At that time USM was known as The Generals and the mascot was a character named General Nathan after Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. That...
info_outlineNative Americans first used fire to manage the forests of South Mississippi. After decades of discouraging the practice, forestry experts have shifted their thinking about prescribed burning. Ecologist, Tate Thriffiley explains why this practice is good for the longleaf pines and the entire ecosystem.
By 1930, virtually all of the longleaf pines in Mississippi had been harvested. Thriffiley describes the mistakes made in replanting the DeSoto National Forest and explains why a host of State and Federal agencies have teamed up with conservation groups to promote the planting of longleaf pines in Mississippi.
Keith Coursey is the Prescription Forester on the DeSoto National Forest. He recounts the history of the Forest Service and its evolving attitude towards fire. Please enjoy this classic episode first broadcast in 2015.