Miami is a Southern city by geography, but by history, demographics and culture it’s really not like anywhere else in the South — or, arguably, the world. In this week’s conversation, Cuban-American writer and environmental activist Andrew Otazo helps us understand the politics and personality of the South Florida tourist mecca. He’s the author of a book and website called The Miami Creation Myth, and he explains how the city is built to be consumed — and not by the people who actually live there.
In the news round-up, we look at the looming threat to the Voting Rights Act posed by a redistricting case out of Louisiana. The U.S. Supreme Court has already weakened the landmark civil rights law in a series of decisions, and a request from the court earlier this month suggests its conservative majority might be ready to knock out one of its last major protections for racial minorities.
And in our arts and culture segment, we check out two new songs from Hayley Williams, leader of the Tennessee pop-rock band Paramore. She has some sad and scathing words for and about her hometown of Nashville.
We are thrilled to welcome cartoonist Rick Baldwin as a Progressive South contributor! Rick is a humorous illustrator, fine artist, writer and podcaster living in the Atlanta area. He is former editorial cartoonist for Knoxville, Tenn.’s Metro Pulse and Chattanooga, Tenn.’s The Pulse, and a three-time winner of SPJ’s “Golden Press Card Award of Excellence” for Editorial Cartoons. He is creator of the comic strips “Outta Toon,” “All the World,” and “Scotty Wallace and his Irresistible Kilt of Freedom.” His cartoons can be found at rickbaldwincartoons.com and on CartoonStock.com.
All eyes were on Texas last week as Republican legislators moved toward drawing new congressional districts, effectively trying to steal five seats from Democratic incumbents. It’s part of President Donald Trump’s strategy to maintain control of the House of Representatives after the 2026 elections. But it’s far from the only blatantly partisan gerrymandering Southern states. We break down the map to show that conservatives are already hugely overrepresented in congressional delegations across the region — with districts drawn to marginalize progressive voices.
Then it’s on to hip-hop! The conversation this week is with Corey J. Miles, an assistant professor at Tulane University in New Orleans who was the editor of a special issue of the journal Southern Cultures devoted entirely to Southern hip-hop. He talks about the region’s initial struggle for visibility in a genre dominated by the East and West coasts, and the ways it connects to Black Southern culture and narratives.
Plus, a look back at the 1969 Lonesome Cowboys raid that helped spur the growth of LGBTQ activism in Georgia.
Show Notes:
“Texas House Republicans unveil new congressional map that looks to pick up five GOP seats” Texas Tribune
Florida has an estimated 5 million immigrants — more than 20 percent of its total population. It is also ground zero of the Trump administration’s mass deportation program. With the eager assistance of Gov. Ron DeSantis and state legislators, it has seen some of the country’s most aggressive enforcement round-ups and most enthusiastic cooperation from state and local law enforcement. This week, we talk to Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, about the efforts of grassroots and community organizations to fight for the rights and security of the state’s immigrant communities.
We also take a drive out the Tamiami Trail, through the Everglades, to the entrance of Alligator Alcatraz — DeSantis’ hastily built immigrant detention camp, which has already generated many complaints about inhumane treatment of detainees.
And in our arts and culture segment, we consider the work of the late Arkansas poet Frank Stanford. A new biography makes a case for his place in the pantheon of modern Southern literature.
Angie Hayden became an accidental activist when she stood up against censorship in her local library in Prattville, Alabama. Now she’s a founder of a statewide coalition called Read Freely Alabama, which is fighting efforts to ban books and restrict libraries across the state. We talked to her from the frontlines of a contentious fight over the control of public libraries and information.
Also, in the tragic aftermath of the flooding along the Guadalupe River in Texas earlier this month, there was some fingerpointing about faulty emergency measures. But there was little discussion from state or federal officials about the causes of increased flooding — even as there have been a record number of flash flood warnings nationwide this year. Jesse looks at the ways many Southern states avoid discussing — or doing anything about — climate change and its effects. (You’ll never guess what Tennessee has legally declared a “renewable energy.”)
And in the arts and culture segment, a consideration of Rock The Country. The touring two-day festival organized by Kid Rock and featuring acts like Nickelback and Hank Williams Jr. is making its final stop of the year this weekend in Anderson, S.C. The event bills itself as being a celebration of hard-working, real Americans. But its roster makes clear that it has a specific and narrow idea of who those Americans are — and aren’t.
Show Notes:
“Louisiana Is the Latest State to Redefine Natural Gas as Green Energy” The Associated Press 6/26/25
What does U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett do in the bathroom? The privy proclivities of our East Tennessee congressman are among the issues on the minds of Jesse and the gang from “Cast Iron Resistance” in a special podcast crossover. Jesse joined the guys on their own show a few weeks ago, and here we present some relevant excerpts from the freewheeling conversation.
Besides Burchett’s toilet talks, topics include organizing efforts for progressives in the South, the poisonous impact of right-wing media, and the best ways to get politically engaged at the local level. Thanks to Steve Wildsmith, Nathan Higdon and Jeremy LaDuke for the hang! (And make sure you check out their podcast, too.)
Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in America. It is also home to the country’s second-largest population of immigration detainees. Last week, a group of workers from the Service Employees International Union from across the U.S. took a caravan of buses to demonstrate outside two of the state’s ICE detention centers. The union’s membership includes more than 400,000 immigrants, and they wanted to show solidarity with people who have been swept up in the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
In this week’s episode, we travel to Basile, La., and New Orleans to hear from union members and partners in organizations including the ACLU about their efforts to stand up to ICE — particularly across the South. They stood in the sun at the height of summer heat on the asphalt outside the detention center where Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk was held earlier this year, in the hopes that their voices would carry over the barbed wire fences to reach the people caged inside.
As we close out Pride month, we thought it was a good time to check in with two leading voices for LGBTQ rights in the South: Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project and Jeff Graham of Georgia Equality. We spoke just a few days after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of U.S. v. Skrmetti, and Sanders and Graham had a lot to say about the ongoing political and legal attacks on transgender people and the queer community more broadly. Both said they hear a lot of anger and fear, but also a determination to keep fighting for equality.
Also: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott pulls a last-minute reverse on the state’s ban of hemp-derived THC products; Mississippi faces a lawsuit over yet another anti-DEI bill; and with a group of six Southern state university systems announces the formation of a new accrediting body, which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promises will challenge what he called the “woke accreditation cartels.”
Plus: a look at some of the oldest and most creative 4th of July celebrations across the South.
Show Notes:
“Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes THC ban, calls for regulation instead” The Texas Tribune
Whose stories count in the South — and who gets to tell them? This week, we’re talking to Gwen Frisbie-Fulton, a social worker and author in North Carolina who writes about people in the rural and small-town South. She has a lot of insights about the importance of storytelling in Southern culture, and the absence of many voices in official narratives.
And after last week’s Supreme Court decision upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, we take a step back to consider the arc of LGBTQ rights in the South since the landmark Obergefell ruling in 2015. Southern states have been in the lead on attacks on the rights of transgender people, and have continued to push to marginalize queer people in general in various ways.
In our arts and culture segment, we catch up to the fantastic Mississippi Gospel-soul band Annie and the Caldwells.
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” CIDRAP
Bruce Springsteen once sang that “a king ain’t satisfied until he rules everything,” and Republican officials in one-party-rule states across the South are doing their best to prove the point. This week, we look at three examples of conservative attacks on the remaining pockets of liberalism in their states: Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn is calling for federal investigation of Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell; in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis is populating the ranks of state university presidents almost entirely with ideological politicos, most of whom lack academic credentials; and in Mississippi, the city of Jackson is continuing a nearly decade-long fight with state Republican leaders over control of its own airport.
Fittingly for Pride month, our interview this week is with indie country standout Adeem the Artist, a non-binary singer-songwriter who is part of a wave of “Queer Country” artists making space for diverse voices in the traditionally conservative genre. We talk about their North Carolina childhood and their growing awareness of their own gender identity and the complexities of their Southern heritage. It’s good stuff — and too much to fit all in one episode! So we’ll be posting a longer edit of the interview later in the week.
Finally, in our arts and culture corner we check in on a celebration in Texas this week of a homegrown pulp fiction legend — Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian.
Show Notes:
“Sen. Blackburn calls for DOJ to investigate Mayor O’Connell following ICE operations in Nashville” WSMV, Nashville
While much of the U.S. has given a green light to cannabis, the South remains mostly hostile to legalization. This week we look at recent moves in three states to restrict hemp-based THC products — and why Virginia still doesn’t have a commercial weed market, even though marijuana is legal.
In our conversation, we talk with Ilham Askia, CEO of the East Lake Foundation in Atlanta and co-founder of the nonprofit Gideon’s promise (in photo). She has worked in both criminal justice reform and community development, and she talks about the connections between the two.
We also check in on a special production of the play The Miracle Worker — staged every year at Helen Keller’s birthplace in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
Show Notes:
“Tennessee Governor Signs Hemp-Killing Legislation” Cannabis Business Times
