Writer Alexis Okeowo grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, and then moved away from the state for college. She is a contributing writer for The New Yorker, and has reported from Africa and Mexico. She has returned to her home state as the focus of her new book, Blessings and Disasters: A Story of Alabama. In a conversation, she talks about her experience in the state as the child of Nigerian immigrants, the layers of history and connection she dives through in her narrative, and the whiplash nature of progress and backlash in the state.
Also: measles spreads in Georgia; the consequences of South Carolina’s abortion ban; and still hopeful signs for electric vehicle investment in the South.
And our arts and culture segment looks at a striking new exhibit by Texas artist David-Jeremiah.
Show Notes:
Alexis Okeowo
“DPH Confirms Three New Measles Cases” Georgia Department of Public Health
“Headlights Ep. 8: Watering the Roots”
“Georgia’s Childhood Vaccination Rates Have Dropped. Doctors Are Worried.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“How Public Health Outreach Ended A 1990s Measles Outbreak And What’s Different Now” National Public Radio
“SC Senate bill is the most extreme, dangerous abortion ban in our history” Amalia Luxardo South Carolina Daily Gazette
“SC lawmakers are playing politics with women’s lives” Christine Glang South Carolina Daily Gazette
https://scdailygazette.com/2025/09/24/sc-lawmakers-are-playing-politics-with-womens-lives
“Transportation Electrification in the Southeast” Atlas Public Policy and Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
“David-Jeremiah: The Fire This Time” The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
https://www.themodern.org/exhibition/david-jeremiah-fire-time