An author and playwright navigates her Southern roots and Jewish identity in a world that often saw them as contradictions.

Coming from Louisiana and working in Germany, an anthropologist calls both places home—and so must reckon with two dark histories.

She grew up in a bicultural family with deep roots in South Carolina. The product of two rich storytelling traditions, she now captures on film the dualities of the South—and of her own life story.

Forty-six years ago, some young Southern boys watched “Smokey and the Bandit” and saw a region where the little guys could win. Were we looking at it wrong?

In Appalachia, the relationship to coal is changing. An Oscar-nominated filmmaker and a Methodist preacher have created a eulogy for King Coal—a rite that reminds us how difficult, but necessary it is to say goodbye.

Appalachians leave home for many reasons. But no matter where they go, mountain folks defend their people and culture.

In the mountain town of Blairsville, Georgia, an annual Sorghum Festival has celebrated Appalachian culture for over 50 years. And it kicks off again this weekend.

Home is one thing. Where you’re from is another. And can you talk about the difference politely while you’re standing in the checkout line?

Two Georgia promoters combine punk rock and pro wrestling to create a close-quarters blend of two slam-bang art forms. And yes, art is the right word.

On the other side of the levee from the city, there is a small community called the batture that few people ever see. Macon Fry has lived there for 30 years.

The Ring Shout — an ecstatic and transcendent spiritual dance rooted in West Africa — rose historically through the South as a tool of Black resistance. Today, its cultural significance and power serve the purpose of collective healing and the expression of Black joy.

Since its inception in 2009, Knoxville’s Big Ears Festival has become one of the world’s foremost gatherings for music from outside the lines. But when it returned this year after a two-year COVID shutdown, it became something greater than a chance to hear music. Instead, it brought the Knoxville community together for a joyful, citywide celebration. Big Ears offers lessons in how to make joy happen for a whole town. This is the first of a three-part series in which Salvation South studies the Big Ears method.