The Bitter Southerner

“After three of her dear friends were murdered in 2015 — a case that drew national attention and triggered calls for stronger hate crime legislation — Nida Allam took to politics.”

“After losing a father and a brother to substance misuse disorder (SUD), a Kentucky public health worker wants to tear away the stigma of being in the ‘survived by’ category.”

“An expert woodcarver can take a block of wood and make it look alive…A beginner who spent last summer at the Folk School, shares this appreciation — not only of carving but of the non-competitive and life-giving work he learned there.”

The Trillbilly Worker’s Party podcast is anticapitalist with a sense of humor and a Southern twang—though your nana might want to wash their mouths out with soap.

“Louisville poet and activist Hannah Drake reflects on the women in her family whose names were lost and stolen and the names of Black women that must never be forgotten.”

‘Few things say “hillbilly” in that condescending Hollywood way than the word “moonshine.” But when you visit the new breed of legal shiners in West Virginia, you learn how they fill every barrel with the complex, distinctive stories of Appalachia.’

“As federal troops and militarized police descended on protesters, John Lewis pleaded for nonviolence. Cynthia Tucker shares her hope that a new generation of activists can learn from his courageous and peaceful fight for ‘beloved community.'”

“His poetry deftly names the forces — be it cop, disease, or addiction — that would have him dead, while he celebrates the beauty, be it in a flower, in a lover’s embrace, or in anything that helps him thrive in this burning world.”

“E.O. Wilson’s big ideas for saving nature and humanity along with it.”

“Memphis photographer Jamie Harmon took to the streets and asked his neighbors to stand for portraits of life under lockdown.”