Levine Museum of the New South takes listeners on a journey into the challenges and cultural shifts defining the modern South

CHARLOTTE – Levine Museum of the New South is asking the nation: What do you really know about today’s South?

Season 2 of Our New South, Levine Museum’s podcast exploring themes, individuals and stories in the U.S. South, launched today with episodes dropping every Tuesday available on all major podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, as well as the museum’s website. This project is developed in collaboration with Next Chapter Podcast.

Building on the success of its debut season – which garnered more than 130,000 downloads and won national recognition from The Signal Awards and The Anthem Awards – the podcast delves deeper into the stories, communities and challenges shaping this region. Episodes will explore history, culture, and current trends, diving into censorship and healthcare, tourism and religion, struggles for rights and resources, and the global reverberations of New South culture.  

The first episode will focus on the traditions and history of Southern foodways, as well as new ideas and voices shaping the culinary scene today. It will feature James Beard nominee Chef Greg Collier and his wife/business partner Subrina Collier (restaurateurs based in Charlotte), and Aarón Sánchez, an award-winning chef, TV personality, cookbook author and owner of the celebrated New Orleans restaurant Johnny Sánchez. 

The episode examines the roots of “Southern” food and how shifts in opportunity and population continue to influence the region’s culinary landscape.

“Listeners from across the nation and beyond have fixed ideas about what the South is,” says Richard Cooper, Levine Museum President & CEO. “With this podcast, we aim to unravel the complexity of today’s New South: how it came to be, how it’s changing, and how it can continue to evolve equitably. We want listeners to reflect on what the promises of progress mean for everyone and challenge their beliefs of this region we call home.”

Hosts Kevin Blackistone, a renowned Washington Post sports columnist, ESPN panelist, and journalism professor at the University of Maryland, and Robert Greene II, an Assistant Professor of History at Claflin University and a leading voice on Black history, memory, and Southern politics, will explore the complexities of Southern identity. 

Alongside expert guests, they’ll tackle topics ranging from religion and book banning to the rise of hip-hop and the legacy of football in the South. Interviewees include a range of experts like librarian Amanda Jones, hip-hop artist Speech from Arrested Development, and Dr. Tonya Matthews, President and CEO of Charleston’s International African American Museum.

Our New South is one of the museum’s most significant projects, exemplifying its commitment to showcasing diverse voices, providing a space for open dialogue about the meaning of the New South, and highlighting the individuals who make this multicultural region what it is today.