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Salvation South

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Salvation South editor Chuck Reece comments on Southern culture and values in a weekly segment that airs Fridays on GPB Radio. Salvation South is an online magazine inspired by hope, healing and — most importantly — the desire to create a place on the web and a community of people where civil conversation can happen. We celebrate the culture of the South, and discuss issues of importance to our region.

Location:

United States

Description:

Salvation South editor Chuck Reece comments on Southern culture and values in a weekly segment that airs Fridays on GPB Radio. Salvation South is an online magazine inspired by hope, healing and — most importantly — the desire to create a place on the web and a community of people where civil conversation can happen. We celebrate the culture of the South, and discuss issues of importance to our region.

Language:

English

Contact:

(800) 222-4788


Episodes

Giving Thanks to a Truly Exceptional Former First Lady

11/24/2023
Salvation South editor Chuck Reece and his family had much to be thankful for as they celebrated Thanksgiving. But he couldn’t get through the day without adding someone outside his family circle, the former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, to the list of people for whom he was grateful. Chuck explains in this week's commentary.

Duration:00:03:30

How to Taste a Memory

11/3/2023
When our ancestors pass away, we reckon with what they leave us. That can be objects, or money, or land, or a host of other material things. But for some folks, the most important thing bequeathed by an ancestor is the food, the recipes, because in those tastes—sometimes…if we’re lucky—there is magic. Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has a story about that magic in this week’s commentary.

Duration:00:03:30

The Dark Sweetness of Sorghum

10/27/2023
Salvation South editor Chuck Reece’s father ate sorghum syrup almost every night. In his era, refined sugar was scarce on a North Georgia farm. There wasn’t a sugar bowl on most tables; instead, there was a jar of sorghum. These days, sorghum is a necessary element of Southern food and culture as Chuck explains in this week's commentary.

Duration:00:03:29

Howard Finster, Man of Visions

10/8/2023
One of the most famous painters the state of Georgia ever produced never took an art class. Instead, he was a small-town preacher. He believed God called him to paint what he called “sacred art.” Salvation South editor Chuck Reece remembers a day he spent with Howard Finster forty years ago in this week's commentary.

Duration:00:03:31

Why the First Line Matters

9/21/2023
Too often, we do not think about the first thing that comes out of our mouths in a conversation. After many years of paying very close attention to the first lines of books and magazine articles, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has a few ideas about why we should give our first words a little more thought in this week’s commentary.

Duration:00:03:31

How Folk Music Works

9/15/2023
When we think about “folk music,” most of us think about music that sounds a certain way. But really, folk music is the stuff we pass around to each other, that we sing around the fire, the songs that we let anyone join in on. Salvation South editor Chuck Reece explains the origins of one of the most famous folk songs in this week’s commentary.

Duration:00:03:00

The Blind Man Runs

9/8/2023
One of the South’s greatest musical treasures is a gospel singing group that has been around since 1939, called the Blind Boys of Alabama. The longtime leader of that group is, at age 91, retiring after a lifetime of singing. In this week's commentary Salvation South editor Chuck Reece reflects on a recent visit with the singer and a lasting memory of one of the singer's performances.

Duration:00:03:30

An Understanding of 'White Privilege'

8/18/2023
In our public discourse these days, certain phrases are almost guaranteed to make people nervous. One of those is “white privilege.” In this week's commentary Salvation South Editor Chuck Reece explains how a long talk with Southern writer, David Joy, helped him look at the phrase differently.

Duration:00:03:29

This One's For the Teachers

8/10/2023
Ask anyone the question, who taught you how to do that thing you love to do? The answer will often be something like, "There was this one teacher who really believed in me and didn’t give up on me." Today, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece wants to celebrate every school teacher listening, who never give up on their students.

Duration:00:03:30

Eatonville and Zora Neale Hurston

7/31/2023
Building a series of travel stories about the hometowns of Southern writers, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece discovered an essay by the novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston in which she discusses the town of Eatonville, Florida where she grew up. He has more thoughts on Hurston and her connection to the historic town in this week's commentary.

Duration:00:03:30

A Lament for the Georgia Peach

7/21/2023
Due to this year’s unusually warm winter, Georgia peach growers are facing one of the worst seasons in memory. In this week's commentary, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has a few words of lament for this situation—and some thoughts about how to behave when you visit a fruit stand that has no peaches.

Duration:00:03:00

Why Faulkner's "Absalom, Absalom" is a challenging must-read for Southerners

7/7/2023
When Salvation South editor Chuck Reece was 19, he encountered what many people say is the greatest Southern novel ever written — William Faulkner’s "Absalom, Absalom!" The book is a grueling test for even the most dedicated reader, but in this week’s commentary Chuck says it is still worth your time.

Duration:00:03:00

A Georgia Kid in New York City

6/30/2023
When Salvation South editor Chuck Reece first moved to New York City, he felt like he had something to prove. But he didn’t know exactly what that was. In this week’s commentary, he reports on what he learned from an audacious experiment.

Duration:00:03:30

Chinese Bluegrass

6/23/2023
Salvation South editor Chuck Reece often talks about how cultures from around the world have integrated into the culture of the American South. In this week's commentary, Chuck looks at a truly unique and harmonious marriage of bluegrass picking with the music of China direct from Nashville of course.

Duration:00:03:30

Lessons in Pride

6/16/2023
June is Pride Month, and LGBTQ+ communities across the South and elsewhere are celebrating, while some state legislatures across the country have passed or are considering new anti-LGBTQ laws. In the middle of this controversy, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has decided to stick with a simple lesson his father taught him years ago in this week's episode.

Duration:00:03:30

Southern Influence on Immigrant Chefs

6/2/2023
Food lovers often talk about “fusion cuisine,” a type of food created when a cook mixes flavors from one place with flavors from another. Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has a few words about a chef who grew up in India but who adamantly and proudly declares himself a Mississippian in this week's episode.

Duration:00:03:30

Recapturing Our Carefree Childhood

5/26/2023
How well do you remember what you were like when you were only eight years old? Most of us would never dream of doing the things we did when we were kids. But have you ever wondered whether thinking like an eight-year-old could be a great thing? Salvation South editor Chuck Reece has a story about that in this week’s commentary.

Duration:00:03:30

Mother's Day and Memories of Mama

5/12/2023
As we celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, many of us are thinking about the ones who brought us into this world. In this week’s episode, Salvation South editor Chuck Reece explains how he’s been thinking about his own mother, who left him too early but remains with him still.

Duration:00:03:30

Robert Johnson and the Soothing Power of the Blues

4/28/2023
After diving once again into the history of blues music — arguably the greatest Southern contribution to American culture — Salvation South Editor Chuck Reece has been thinking about music’s power to soothe even the deepest pain we feel. He shares his thoughts in this week's commentary.

Duration:00:03:30

Appalachian English

4/21/2023
April is National Poetry Month. In this week's commentary Salvation South editor Chuck Reece celebrates the occasion by looking at the richness of Southern speech — specifically at how the words we use tell the world who we are.

Duration:00:03:30