Mississippi Moments Podcast

After fifty years, we've heard it all. From the horrors of war to the struggle for civil rights, Mississippians have shared their stories with us. The writers, the soldiers, the activists, the musicians, the politicians, the comedians, the teachers, the farmers, the sharecroppers, the survivors, the winners, the losers, the haves, and the have-nots. They've all entrusted us with their memories, by the thousands. You like stories? We've got stories. After fifty years, we've heard it all.

Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina: Ep. 4 - Lessons Learned 08/31/2025

Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina: Ep. 3 - Crawling from the Wreckage 08/30/2025

Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina: Ep. 2 - Riding the Storm Out 08/29/2025

Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina: Ep. 1 - Preparing for the Worst... 08/28/2025

Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina: Ep. 1 - Preparing for the Worst... 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 hurricanes were measured, had devastated the Gulf Coast. What were the odds that Katrina could cause that level of destruction? In our first episode, we look back on the days leading up to Hurricane Katrina. We examine the choices that were made and why. We hear first-hand accounts by key decision makers of the Mississippi Army National Guard including Major General Harold "Hac" Cross, Major General Bobbie Ginn, and Major General Janson "Durr" Boyles. We also hear from Dr. David Holt, Associate Professor with the School of Biological, Environmental and Earth Sciences and Coordinator of the Sustainability Sciences BS program at USM, and Dr. Deanne Stephens, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of the Gulf South at USM. To these voices, we add the stories of Mississippians from all walks of life, recorded shortly after the storm. From these raw accounts of survival and resiliency, we will hopefully gain a deeper perspective of how they prepared to meet the moment that fateful weekend in August of 2005. Hosted by Bill Ellison Produced by Ross Walton Executive Producer Dr. Kevin Greene. Written by Ross Walton, Isabel Loya, Jerra Runnels, Andrew Leib, and Holli Parker. Additional interviews were conducted by Isabel Loya, Jerra Runnels and Andrew Leib. Special thanks to the Center for the Study of the National Guard and the Mississippi Humanities Council. /episode/index/show/mississippimoments/id/37983060

Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina - Ep. 0 Series Introduction 08/27/2025

Voices of Our People: Hurricane Katrina - Ep. 0 Series Introduction 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 be the Mississippi National Guard. Already stretched thin due to deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, Adjutant General Harrold "Hac" Cross knew we would need assistance from other states to meet the moment. When the storm made landfall near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line early on the morning of August 29, those who were unable or unwilling to evacuate experienced sustained winds of 120 miles per hour and a 27 foot wall of water. Many clung to trees or floating debris, desperate to survive. By the time Hurricane Katrina left Mississippi, no part of the state was left untouched. All 82 counties were declared disaster areas. On the Gulf Coast, some 90% of the buildings within a half mile of the shoreline were wiped away, leaving 238 people dead, 67 missing, and billions of dollars in damages. As massive as the storm itself was the rescue and recovery efforts. Relief agencies and philanthropic groups from around the world descended on Mississippi with truckloads of food, water, and other desperately need supplies. Rescue and relief would take weeks, recovery efforts would take years. Even before the power was fully restored, the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Southern Mississippi began planning for an oral history project to preserve for future generations, the shared impact of what our people had just experienced. Over the next five years, the Center would collect some 400-plus interviews to be used for museum exhibits, presentations, books, radio programs, and even a stage play. In this four-episode podcast series, produced by the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage, and the Center for the Study of the National Guard at USM, with support from the Mississippi Humanities Council, we will mine that collection for stories of survival and resilience. To those stories we will add new interviews with key decision-makers and scholars to gain some new perspectives on the lasting legacy of Hurricane Katrina. I'm your host Bill Ellison, inviting you to take this journey with me as we witness the ferocity of nature and the resilience of our citizens. Mississippi Moments Presents: Voices of Our People - Hurricane Katrina: Twenty Years Later. Hosted by Bill Ellison Produced by Ross Walton Executive Producer Dr. Kevin Greene. Written by Ross Walton, Isabel Loya, Jerra Runnels, Andrew Leib, and Holli Parker. Additional interviews were conducted by Isabel Loya, Jerra Runnels and Andrew Leib. Graphic Design and Social Media: Isabel Loya. Special thanks to the Center for the Study of the National Guard and the Mississippi Humanities Council. /episode/index/show/mississippimoments/id/37982620

MSMO Presents: Dogwood - The Sean Cooley Story 05/29/2025

Introducing - Voices of Our People: WWII - Premiering Sept. 30 09/20/2024

Introducing - Voices of Our People: WWII - Premiering Sept. 30 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 Council, presents a new 10 episode exploration of the greatest conflict of the 20th Century, World War II. Hosted by Bill Ellison, Voices of Our People: WWII will premier on Monday, Sept. 30, with a new episode each subsequent Monday through Dec. 2--five days before the 83rd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. About the Center for Oral History & Cultural Heritage Since 1971, the COH&CH has collected and preserved the stories of Mississippi from all walks of life. In sharing their memories, the over 4,000 and counting contributors to our collection have given the Center--and all of Mississippi--a precious gift that remains long after they pass on. Our collection has proven an invaluable resource for researchers, journalists, teachers, students, documentarians, and museums. About the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society As one of the top military history programs in the country, the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society houses a distinguished academic community with expertise in how conflict affects communities, soldiers, and non-combatants. The Dale Center expands on the field of military history, with its traditional focus on leaders, strategies, and operations, and seeks to identify and understand the social and cultural consequences of war. About the Mississippi Humanities Council With funding from the State of Mississippi through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Humanities Council creates opportunities for Mississippians to learn about themselves and the larger world and enriches communities through civil conversation about our history and culture. /episode/index/show/mississippimoments/id/33146197

MSMO Classic - Fatal Friendly Fire, A Double Tragedy 05/29/2023

MSMO Classic - Jackson's Sports Journalist Pioneer 05/24/2023

MSMO Classic - Southern Miss Legend Coach P.W. Underwood 05/08/2023

MSMO Classic - V2 Rocket Scientists Design Stennis Space Center 04/18/2023

MSMO Classic: Coach David Dunaway - Overcoming Adversity 04/05/2023

MSMO Classic: Martha Blackwell - Toxic Dump Wars of Noxubee County 03/27/2023

MSMO Classic - Women Railroad Workers During WWII 03/20/2023

MSMO Redux - 761st Tank Battalion w/ Dr. Douglas Bristol 02/27/2023

MSMO Redux - Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman w/ Olivia Moore 02/14/2023

MS MO Redux: Freedom Day 1964 w/ Dr. Kevin Greene 02/06/2023

MS MO Redux - MLK and the Radical Priest w/ Dr. Rebecca Tuuri 01/16/2023

MS MO Redux - MLK and the Radical Priest w/ Dr. Rebecca Tuuri This is our first Redux of 2023 and because Monday the 16th is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we are looking back at a favorite past Mississippi Moments episode: MSM 601 Father Peter Quinn - Dr. King Comes to Hattiesburg, which aired originally on January 28, 2019. For the interview, we are joined by Dr. Rebecca Tuuri, an associate professor of history at the USM with expertise in Civil Rights, African American, and Women’s and Gender history. She is co-director for the Center for the Study of the Gulf South and a member of the Center for Black Studies at USM. She also serves on the boards of the Gulf South Historical Association, the Mississippi Historical Society, and is the Mississippi State Scholar for the Smithsonian exhibition Voices and Votes. Her 2018 book Strategic Sisterhood: The National Council of Negro Women in the Black Freedom Struggle won the 2019 prize for best book in Southern women's history from the Southern Association of Women Historians. Father Peter, O. Quinn moved from his home in Ireland to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in September of 1962, shortly after being ordained into the priesthood at the age of twenty-five. His first assignment was at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and then he became the priest at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, which was an all-black church in Hattiesburg. Father Quinn was very much involved with the youth groups including the Youth NAACP and the Catholic Youth Organization, advising and sponsoring the young people on weekly dances, ball games, and fund-raising. But also in promoting the advancement of Civil Rights by organizing boycotts, protests and picketing of whites-only businesses and facilities. Quinn gives a hair-raising account of being shot at as two truck-loads of men attempted to run him off the road as he returned from a meeting at Vernon Dahmer's house. When Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Hattiesburg in 1968, ten days before his death, he took a nap in Father Quinn's parsonage before continuing on his journey. PHOTO: Associated Press /episode/index/show/mississippimoments/id/25622115