south

Most weekdays, Ana wraps up cleaning houses around 4 and gets in her car. That’s when she starts her second job: cruising the streets of Houston County on the lookout for law enforcement officers.

Ana, who asks we only use her first name, cruises the four-lane arteries in the county south of Macon with eyes peeled for the police. Why? So she can warn undocumented immigrants about where not to drive.

Ernest Matthew Mickler's White Trash Cooking was released in 1986 to mixed reviews. Some of the recipes in the cookbook include "Uncle Willie's Swamp Cabbage Stew," "Rabbit Pie" and "Broiled Squirrel." Critics wondered if the book was for shock value or if it was just another elitist dig at poor southerners.  

Michael Adno's profile of Mickler portrays a man who took pride in his disappearing southern heritage and in the food served by his Florida relatives and neighbors —the same people he felt rejected by as a gay man.

Understanding what southern ladies are saying has nothing to do with accents. That's what author Helen Ellis wants people who aren't from the South to understand. The author stopped by On Second Thought to talk about her new book, Southern Lady Code.

Ellis says the title refers to the “technique by which, if you don't have something nice to say, you say something not-so-nice in a nice way.”  

The University of Tennessee is making a big promise: Starting in 2020, the system will offer free tuition to qualifying low-income students enrolling at its Knoxville, Chattanooga and Martin campuses.

The program, called UT Promise, is the first of its kind among public universities in the South. UT Interim President Randy Boyd, a first-generation college graduate himself, is the architect of the program. Boyd joined On Second Thought from WUOT in Knoxville to explain why Tennessee is making this promise, how the university will fund it and how other Southern states could follow suit. 

In New York in the 1980s, Chuck Reece had his first job in journalism covering the media industry for Adweek magazine. That meant he got the first look at network television pilots and magazine protoypes, and every time any of those had something to do with the South, he said he only saw a couple of stereotypes. 

"One looked like the party scene from the beginning of 'Gone with the Wind' except maybe with updated clothing, and the other one looked like ... 'The Beverly Hillbillies' to 'Duck Dynasty,' most recently," Reece said. "Those two stereotypes just didn't fit the South that I grew up in and knew."

The holidays are just around the corner. As we turn up the heat and the to-do lists grow, we recommend reading.

Alison Law is host of Literary Atlanta, a podcast for readers and writers. 

Churches were built all over Georgia during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They were social and spiritual centers from across mountains, the Piedmont, to the swamps and pine barrens of south Georgia. They were of all dimensions and denominations. Some have lasted down the years in fine shape while some require restoration.

Jessica Handler is author of "Braving The Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Invisible Sisters: A Memoir." Handler gave her list of favorite southern books. Her forthcoming novel, "Magnetic Girl" will be available in 2019.

"Southern" has a variety of meanings in the personal and popular imagination. It's a term that evokes history, food and musical traditions and ways of speaking. They often get lumped together, especially by those who don't know the South.

Food can evoke so many rich memories. A book by Savannah food writer Jonathan Barrett captures some of the stories tied to Southern recipes. We talked with Barrett, author of the new book Cook & Tell, in 2017. We also heard from freelance writer Amy Condon, who contributed her own story to the book.

Three years ago, a coyote with ice blue eyes lay stock still as scientists took her blood, weighed her, and fixed a GPS collar around her neck on a dirt road next to a field near Augusta.

For National Iced Tea Day, we dive into the little-known origins of a Southern staple: sweet tea. These days you can find it just about everywhere in Georgia. However, there was a time when sweet tea was more rare. Producer Sean Powers pours up a tall glass of history with freelance journalist Tove Danovich and Vernell Mosley of the Sweet Tea Factory.

Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane is almost as known for his run-ins with the law as he is for his raw, Southern-fried lyrics. He was recently released from prison after serving almost three years, but incarceration didn’t do much to curb his creative drive. From behind bars, he released more than a dozen new albums, a movie, and an autobiography is in the works. 

We speak with Atlanta hip-hop artist Makonnen and hip-hop scholar Regina Bradley about Gucci Mane’s influence on hip-hop in the South.

Before she performed under the name TORRES, she was Mackenzie Scott, a teenager in Macon, Ga. Hear Scott perform three songs off her album Sprinter and talk about what its like to come home in this performance at Capricorn Studio in Macon. Listen above, watch below.