In the premiere episode of 'Our New South', co-hosts Kevin Blackistone and Robert Greene II speak with Tressie McMillan Cottom, professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, New York Times columnist, and 2020 MacArthur Fellow, about the concept of the "New South" and why she keeps her eyes on the South as an indicator of where the nation is heading. Follow her work at tressiemc.com.

At the conclusion of the episode, we hear the words of poet Nikky Finney who is the author of On Wings Made of Gauze; Rice; The World Is Round; and Head Off & Split, which won the National Book Award for Poetry in 2011. Finney is Carolina Distinguished Professor at USC in Columbia where she is also Director of the Ernest A. Finney Jr. Cultural Arts Center.

'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 Next Chapter Podcasts, written and produced by Byron Hunter.

The editor and sound designer is Kyle Murdock.

The technical producer is Brian Douglas.

Executive producers are Franky Abbott and Jeremiah Tittle.

Special thanks to Levine team members Alexander Piñeres, Karen Sutton, and Cliff Whitfield.

Please follow the show, rate & review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your pods.

Learn more at ncpodcasts.com/ournewsouth and

museumofthenewsouth.org/digital/our-new-south-podcast