Our New South

Our New South

Levine Museum of the New South (Charlotte, NC) presents an original scripted non-fiction storytelling podcast hosted by journalist Kevin Blackistone and professor of history Robert Greene II who set out to discover the historical background on key societal issues in the South, providing a framework to understand the path forward. The show investigates how we got here, fostering conversations with changemakers seeking to make a difference in the South in order to educate, and provide an opportunity for understanding to inform our collective future.

Episodes

March 25, 2025 56 mins
On this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the origins of Southern hip hop, its impact on Southern culture, and why hip hop music from the South has become a major force in the global music industry today. Our guests on today’s episode are Speech, a Grammy Award-winning music artist and founder of the legendary hip hop group, Arrested Development, who will speak about the orig...
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On this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the disparities in women’s healthcare across the South, the impact of these disparities on women living in the region, and why the South leads the nation in passing legislation that threatens the lives and reproductive health of millions of women. Our guests on today’s episode are Dr. Nina Ragunanthan, a Gynecologist and Obstetrician ...
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On this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the legacy of college football in the South, the impact that the sport and its traditions have had on Southern culture, and why Southern-based universities have dominated national college football over the last 20 years. Our guests on today’s episode are Charlie Neal, a legendary television broadcaster, universally known as the “The V...
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March 4, 2025 55 mins
On this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the rise of tourism in today’s South and how two Southern traditions once considered taboo, slavery and the bootleg liquor industry, have spawned major tourist attractions, drawing people from around the world to the South and injecting millions of dollars into their states’ tourism economies.   Our guests on today’s episode are Sara H...
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February 25, 2025 53 mins
In this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Green II discuss Southern politics and the challenges facing immigrants and first generation Americans seeking to gain political office in the South.  Our guests on today’s episode are Steve “Junior” Ezeonu, a Nigerian born, Texas raised community leader who currently serves as a City Councilman in the city of Grand Prairie, Texas. Steve speaks about th...
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February 18, 2025 54 mins
In this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Green II discuss the evolution of transgender communities in the South and the challenges that they face in the midst of a growing political backlash emanating from Southern government leaders. Our guests on today’s episode are Errol “ER” Anderson, the Executive Director of Charis Circle, the non-profit arm of one the South’s oldest feminist bookstores,...
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February 11, 2025 56 mins
In this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Green II discuss the changing tide of religious expression in today’s South, and how factors such as immigration and the rise of atheism have altered the traditional idea of the South as being a region dominated by Christianity.  Our guests on today’s episode are Dr. Anthony Pinn, a noted religious scholar and Professor at Rice University in Houston, T...
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February 4, 2025 56 mins
In this week’s episode of Our New South, hosts Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Green II discuss the influence that Historically Black Colleges and Universities have had on the South, and their impact today. Our guests on today’s episode are Dr. Walter Kimbrough, one of the nation’s most distinguished HBCU Presidents, who speaks about the current state of HBCUs during this historic period of increased enrollment and funding; and wh...
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January 28, 2025 57 mins
In this episode of Our New South, Kevin Blackistone and Dr. Robert Greene II discuss the censorship of education in the South with Amanda Jones, a small-town, Louisiana librarian and self-proclaimed, "accidental activist," who became a nationally recognized figure due to her fight against censorship in Louisiana schools; and Robert Cassanello, a tenured professor of History at the University of Central Florida who took on the state...
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January 21, 2025 55 mins
In the Season 2 premiere of Our New South, cohosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II discuss food with Aarón Sanchez, an award-winning chef, TV personality, author, philanthropist, and Chefs Greg & Subrina Collier, owners of multiple restaurants in Charlotte, North Carolina. Aarón Sanchez is a judge on Masterchef and Masterchef Junior. He is the host and executive producer of El Toque De Aarón on Discovery Familia and Hogar de...
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January 14, 2025 52 secs
On Season 2 of Our New South, cohosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II explore the complexities of the many Souths that make up today’s New South. The series highlights opportunities and challenges that different communities face, diving into censorship and healthcare, tourism and religion, struggles for rights and resources, and the global reverberations of New South culture.  Donate to support this podcast! Learn more abou...
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March 26, 2024 58 mins
On the final episode of the season of 'Our New South', co-hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II discuss environmental justice with DeLesslin "Roo" George-Warren, a Special Projects Coordinator for the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project, and Dominique Burkhardt, a senior attorney at Earthjustice. 'Our New South' is presented by the Levine Museum of the New South with thanks to the generous support of The Knight Foundation....
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March 19, 2024 60 mins
On this episode of 'Our New South', co-hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II discuss Southern cities' approach to business and sports with Kieth Cockrell, President of Bank of America Charlotte and Head of Sports Sponsorships, Omar Jorge, CEO of Compare Foods Supermarkets and Chairman of Aurora Grocery Group, as well as Clayton Trutor, the author of Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta-and How Atlanta Remade Pr...
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March 12, 2024 53 mins
On this episode of 'Our New South', co-hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II discuss education and equality with Congressman Bobby Scott, Mecklenburg County Commissioner Arthur Griffin, as well as social impact strategist and former Charlotte resident Decker Ngongang. 'Our New South' is presented by the Levine Museum of the New South with thanks to the generous support of The Knight Foundation. 'Our New South' is produced by...
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March 5, 2024 62 mins
On this episode of 'Our New South', show hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II celebrate Women's History Month discussing the preservation of history and culture in the South through poetry and fiction with three exceptional writers. Jesmyn Ward, a novelist and professor of English at Tulane University, is a two-time winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, and was named a MacArthur Genius Fellow in 2017. Beth Ann Fenn...
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February 27, 2024 48 mins
'Our New South' co-hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II discuss the legacy of discriminatory policies which have displaced and disenfranchised communities in the South with Lori Thomas, the Executive Director of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and Charlotte Regional Data Trust, Mecklenburg County Commissioner Arthur Griffin, and Maurice Robinson, Assistant Professor of History/Political Science at Alabama State University...
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On this episode of Our New South, co-hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II discuss the power of elections and voting in the South with former South Carolina House Representative Bakari Sellers, the President & CEO of the NAACP Derrick Johnson, and Aimy Steele, Executive Director of The New North Carolina Project. 'Our New South' is presented by the Levine Museum of the New South with thanks to the generous support of The Kni...
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February 13, 2024 68 mins
On this episode of Our New South, co-hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II discuss how we preserve history and culture in the South with Stewart Gray, the Director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, Robin Waites, Executive Director of Historic Columbia based in South Carolina, Kevin Mitchell, Chefscholar at The Culinary Institute of Charleston, and Charlotte-based musician Harvey Cummings II. 'Our Ne...
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February 6, 2024 57 mins
In this episode, Our New South hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II discuss immigration in the South with Sil Ganzò, the Founder and Executive Director of Charlotte-based non-profit ourBRIDGE for Kids, Colton Bane, the Immigrant Justice Program Director at Community Legal Center in Memphis, Tennessee, and Daniel Valdez, the Chief External Affairs Officer at Welcoming America which is based in Decatur, Georgia.  At the concl...
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January 30, 2024 46 mins
In this episode of 'Our New South', co-hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II speak with Sherri Chisolm, the Executive Director of Leading on Opportunity in Charlotte, North Carolina, about The Chetty Report and her work to level the playing field on social and economic mobility and the recent migration of people of color back to the south. We also welcome Brian Straessle, Executive Director of The Sycamore Institute in Nashv...
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