Now You're Talking with Marshall Ramsey

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 Louisia...

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 ...

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 ma...

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 S...

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 B...

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 book...

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 (publishe...

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 g...

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 Mis...

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 Mississi...

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. Richar...

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 de...

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 Lamen...

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 ...

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 ov...

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 ab...

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 Low...

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 me...

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 accomplis...