Earlier this month, accomplished cartoonist and editor Marshall Ramsey announced he would be accepting a new role training young adult minds at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. This means he and his lovely wife Amy will be relocating to North MS after several years in Jackson. In the final episode of Now You're Talking, we go down memory lane to revisit some of Marshall's best moments. From all of us at MPB, we want to say THANK YOU to Marshall and the entire Ramsey family for the love t...
Apr 28, 2025•52 min
Happy National Volunteer Week from us at MPB. Today we’re chatting with a guest who can absolutely speak to the importance of helping your neighbors. Executive Director of the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service, Suzanne Rutherford is here to talk about about her relationship with volunteering, the importance of volunteering in the state, and how the Commission helps Mississippians every day. A Millsaps College and Louisiana State University graduate, she has served Volunteer Mississipp...
Apr 21, 2025•49 min
Since joining the MPB Foundation in 2017, Angela Crossley Ferraez has strategically enhanced fundraising efforts for Mississippi Public Broadcasting, significantly growing membership and revenue. We chatted with Angela a few years ago when she was named 2022’s Businesswoman of the Year by the Mississippi Business Journal. Today we’ve welcomed Angela back so that she can give us updates on both her life and the goings-on of the MPB Foundation, which include an upcoming Antique appraisal event in ...
Apr 14, 2025•48 min
The definition of “power couple” joins me in the studio today. Wyatt Waters is a nationally recognized watercolorist known for his vivid, expressive paintings that capture the essence of Southern life with remarkable clarity and heart. Wyatt and his wife, Kristi, own the Wyatt Waters Gallery in historic downtown Clinton, Mississippi, which serves as both a creative space and community hub. Kristi Jacobs Waters is an accomplished marketing and brand strategist with over 30 years of experience gui...
Apr 07, 2025•48 min
An award-winning educator, conservationist, and Museum Director, we are thrilled to close out Women’s History Month with Angel Rohnke. She has served as the Director of the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science since July 2024 and has worked for MDWFP and the Museum for 19+ years. Rohnke’ s extensive expertise in conservation, education, tourism, and leadership have contributed to the growth of the museum and LeFleur’s Bluff State Park. She has served Museum Educator, Education Coordinator, Assi...
Mar 31, 2025•46 min
We want to let our great state know the importance of libraries today, and we want to continue to elevate women's’ voices as well. That makes Jennifer Lena a perfect guest for today. She serves as the Deputy Executive Director of the Mississippi Library Commission, a role in which she has demonstrated expertise since commencing her career in state government in 2010. A Rankin county resident and high-achieving alumna of both Belhaven and Southern Miss, Jennifer is Mississippi to her core. She is...
Mar 24, 2025•48 min
We are showcasing some of our favorite moments of the year today so that we can make optimal time for messages about our Spring Fund Drive. :) Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 ...
Mar 17, 2025•53 min
We are continuing the theme of “amazing Mississippi women” this Women’s History Month with today’s guest. Marion Garrard Barnwell grew up in the Mississippi Delta, where her writing life began at age thirteen with a column in the town newspaper. For twenty-five years, she taught writing and literature classes at Delta State University, and her 2024 book, All the Things We Didn’t Say, includes her grandmother’s 1956 memoir (published for the first time), which Barnwell both reveres and laments, a...
Mar 10, 2025•49 min
March is Women’s History Month and it was important to us that we bring you the stories of some awesome women in Mississippi. We begin with private chef and catering extraordinaire, Chef Po. Born Lashante Cox, Po has roots in both Shaw MS and Jackson and will be telling us the story of how being in the kitchen with her family influenced her current career. She has also previously attended a few food festivals in the state and can give us a heads up on what to expect. Marshall Ramsey, a nationall...
Mar 03, 2025•49 min
We want to wrap up our February by sitting down with one of the recent Governor Arts Awards winners. Jane C. Hiatt served as a staple in the Mississippi arts community for decades. She was the executive director of The Arts Alliance of Jackson & Hinds County for four years and the Mississippi Arts Commission for six. With the University Press of Mississippi, Hiatt helped create the Hiatt Fund of the Community Foundation for Mississippi with her generous donations. The Hiatt Fund supports wor...
Feb 24, 2025•48 min
As the blackest state in the nation, it is imperative that Mississippians observe Black History Month. This February, we wanted to sit down with some guests that can speak to how contributions from Black people have shaped and improved our state and we have definitely accomplished that this morning. Omo Moses, son of Bob Moses, and Frank Figgers are on the line today. Two men that know a thing or two about Civil Rights and Mississippi, both gentlemen have served in the Young People Project in Ja...
Feb 10, 2025•48 min
We like to discuss stories on this show, and today’s topic may be a part of your story in some way as it is so many others. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is bringing a free conference to Mississippi this will allow participants to learn from experts in the field of Alzheimer’s disease, brain health, caregiving, and legal and long-term care planning- the latter of which is why Richard Courtney is in the building. Richard is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and the Principal of Courtney Elde...
Feb 03, 2025•48 min
Today I’m sitting down with a man that loves Mississippi and loves the ecosystems it has helped develop. Davy Murrah is the son of Herman Murrah, who lived his entire life on the banks and in the swamp surrounding this river in southeast Mississippi. His book Watershed: Herman Murrah and the Pascagoula River Swamp recounts pivotal moments in Herman’s life and in Mississippi’s conservation history more broadly. In this book, Davy details the adventures that continue to inspire young conservationi...
Jan 27, 2025•49 min
Our guest today is author and political mind Bill Crawford, a Canton native that has served as a daily newspaper reporter, a statewide political campaign operative, and an IHL Board leader over the years. A graduate of Millsaps and Mississippi State, Bill is Mississippi to the bone and knows a thing or two about the political history and tendencies of the Magnolia State. He’s here to talk about his recent book, A Republican's Lament, in which Crawford weaves a unique and eventful story about his...
Jan 13, 2025•49 min
Happy New Year! We’re doing things a bit differently today and sharing some of our favorite moments from 2024 with you. Join me and my producer Lacey Alexander as we talk about some highlights from the past year! Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several bo...
Jan 06, 2025•48 min
Joe Lee has a background in radio, television, and journalism and was a radio disc jockey and a television weatherman before becoming a full-time writer and publisher. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Dogwood Press, a small but traditional publishing house headquartered in Brandon, Mississippi, and he is the author of nine suspense novels set in northeast Mississippi and a pair of non-fiction books released earlier this year. He has over 1,000 non-fiction news and feature stories to his credit and h...
Dec 16, 2024•49 min
If you’re looking to see some cool stuff and learn about our state’s history, consider the Museum of the Mississippi Delta . Director Lisa Cookston joins us via Zoom today to talk about the museum, which at the crossroads of regional history and art. Located in Greenwood, the building houses visual reminders of the Delta’s military and agricultural history. Lisa is New Orleans-born but Greenwood-raised, and in addition to talking about the museum will fill us in on her story and why she’s so pro...
Dec 09, 2024•49 min
What do you say we kick off the month of December chatting about Christmas play? Arts educator and friend to many William “Peppy” Biddy is back in town to direct “Million Dollar Quartet Christmas” at New Stage theatre in Jackson. Peppy is a professor emeritus of Mississippi University for Women where he served 31 years and directed over 40 productions. During his tenure at “The W”, he received a plethora of honors including the Lowndes County Educator of the Year Award. His current project is Mi...
Dec 02, 2024•48 min
This episode is produced in loving memory of Maggie Hurley, Marshall's mother-in-law and dear friend, who passed the day before this show was recorded. If you haven’t heard by now, a massive music festival has decided to make our capitol city its host for the next few years. The 82nd National Folk Festival will take place in downtown Jackson, Mississippi November 7-9, 2025 but with a kickoff event having gone by and plenty of media coverage the hype is starting early. First presented in St. Loui...
Nov 18, 2024•48 min
There’s a new documentary soon to air on MPB Television and today’s guest wants to tell you about it. Renowned writer Eudora Welty is explored through intimate photographs and in charming interviews of family and friends set against the backdrop of Jackson, Mississippi. A film by Anthony Thaxton, Eudora is a revealing portrait of adventure, daring, humor, and love as we meet a writer we only thought we knew. Anthony is an accomplished artist in several mediums and has taken home a plethora of aw...
Nov 04, 2024•48 min
Sometimes you just need a friend, and that’s what today’s guest is to me and so many others. Corinth native Kenneth Williams joins us by phone today to tell some stories about where his life has taken him. He decided in 1977 it would be fun to run a marathon, and that decision has led to the completion of 75 marathons over the ensuing 46 years, many around the world. This includes 23 Boston Marathons, 22 consecutively, and he briefly ranked 3rd in the World Marathon Majors rankings for 80+ year ...
Oct 28, 2024•49 min
A native Mississippian, Ross Walton became involved in digital humanities as a way of promoting the Hattiesburg music scene. He began publishing a monthly music podcast, The South Mississippi Music Sampler, in 2005. Wishing to learn more about the oral traditions of storytelling, he started as a volunteer with the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage that same year, taking over production of the Center’s award-winning weekly radio show, Mississippi Moments. He is now the editor and prod...
Oct 14, 2024•47 min
A proud native of the Mississippi Delta, author Nash Nunnery has peened newspaper and magazine articles for various publications over four decades, including the Clarion-Ledger, Jackson Daily News, Mississippi Business Journal, Clinton News, Mississippi Sports Magazine, Clinton Courier, Vicksburg Post and Rankin County News. He joined the Mississippi Development Authority as a project manager and after being laid off lived his childhood dream of being a groundskeeper for the Mississippi Braves i...
Oct 07, 2024•51 min
Patrick Carpenter is Singer/Songwriter from Jackson, Ms. He moved to Nashville full time after being a part of several acts in Mississippi and quickly joined other artists and bands on the Nashville circuit. His First studio album “Chasing Me” debuted at #1 on the iTunes singer/songwriter charts in 2021. Carpenter has amassed over 10 million streams and opened for acts such as Grammy Award Winner and Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Famer, Sheryl Crow. It’s also drive time here at MPB, and we’ll be telling ...
Sep 30, 2024•46 min
Two men that Marshall has known for several years are in the house today to talk about a very cool event. What began as a small church-sponsored afternoon of music 40 years ago is now one of Jackson’s major fall festivals with top musical talent on two stages, food trucks, children's activities, arts and crafts vendors, and more. Since the festival began in 1984, WellsFest has raised more than $1.5 million for local non-profit agencies. Malcom White and Raphael Semmes are here to talk about the ...
Sep 23, 2024•49 min
It is no exaggeration to call Mike Duke the poster child for MPB’s mission of education and serving the community. Blind since birth, Mike attended the Mississippi School for the Blind and Mississippi State University, where he earned a degree in communications. He then worked as a commercial radio announcer for 12 years before joining Mississippi Public Broadcasting as director of the Radio Reading Service of Mississippi in 1988. Radio Reading Service of Mississippi features on-the-air readings...
Sep 16, 2024•49 min
Bibliophiles rejoice, the annual Mississippi Book festival is here at last. One of the most anticipated state events, this celebration of literary achievement takes place at the capitol every year. Dozens of panelists from around the country will be talking about their books, including yours truly, so my producer Lacey will be asking me some questions about my new children’s book, Saving Sam. We’ll also be chatting with Book Festival director Ellen Daniels and artist Noah Saterstrom. Ellen Danie...
Sep 09, 2024•50 min
Ryan Parker is the Executive Director of the Mississippi Film Society, a non-profit that is working to bring unique film screening experiences, film-based educational programming, and a prison screening program to Mississippi. A Brookhaven native, Ryan has been working in the film industry as a producer and marketing/PR consultant for the last 12 years. He has already made his mark this month by providing unique experiences for his statesmen and we’re excited to learn what’s next. Marshall Ramse...
Aug 26, 2024•50 min
He’s been an attorney for nearly five decades, but he’s also a pretty darn good author. That’s right, we have entertainment attorney and 2024 Mississippi Book festival panelist X.M. Frascogna in the house. Known by his friends and family as simply Mike, X.M. has specialized in entertainment and sports law since the early seventies. He has co-authored with his sons five books about football set in his home state of Mississippi, but we’re here to chat mostly about his first full-length non-fiction...
Aug 19, 2024•49 min
It is Education Week here at MPB Think Radio and most of our shows are taking part in a very important theme- education and back-to-school topics. Who better to talk about this than the 2024 Mississippi Teacher of the Year, Shauna Waters. Currently teaching English at East Lauderdale High School in Collins, Shauna Waters has been a teacher since 2001. She has taught in Indiana University’s Intensive English program, and in the Comparative Cultures department of Aichi University in Japan. Her Tea...
Aug 05, 2024•48 min
