On Second Thought

A panel discussion with storytellers, activists and scholars on the power of the women's vote throughout history, and the importance of representation and empowerment; Otis Reddings' widow and daughter remember the legendary musician and reflect on carrying his legacy forward through a new picture book, ‘Respect'

A frontline doctor and advocate for Georgia's immigrant and refugee populations on supporting and encouraging some of the people most vulnerable to COVID-19; historian and author Grace Elizabeth Hale on her new book, "Cool Town: How Athens, Georgia, Launched Alternative Music and Changed American Culture"

Julian Zelizer's new book, "Burning Down The House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party" offers one explanation for today's divisive political atmosphere; examining the history behind "The Tree That Owns Itself" in Athens

With experts concerned about a surge in evictions amid the ongoing pandemic, we explore implications and potential mitigating factors of the coming eviction crisis; former U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey on her new memoir, "Memorial Drive"

Taking stock of the U.S. Postal Service's ability to process parcels — and ballots — amid financial struggles; renowned Southern pastry chef Lisa Donovan on her new memoir, "Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger"; author Lara Prescott on her debut novel, "The Secrets We Kept"

For this special edition of "On Second Thought," we invited a panel to discuss one central question: are Georgia schools prepared to support youth mental health in the coming school year?

To mark this Saturday's annual Moore's Ford lynchings reenactment, we revisit an interview with Jacqueline Olive, director of the film ‘Always in Season'; John Lewis on the redemption of the South; author Bruce Feiler on his novel "Life is in the Transitions."

A primer on QAnon and how it intersects with Georgia politics; how the Atlanta Community Kitchen Project is firing up underused kitchens to address food insecurity; author Lisa Napoli on her new book, "Up All Night"

John Lewis has gotten into a lot of trouble in his life. The now 17-term House Representative from Atlanta has been arrested 45 times – five as a U.S. congressman. One of the original Freedom Riders , Lewis trained in nonviolent resistance, but faced a lot of brutality during his time as a young activist in the civil rights movement. He suffered harassment and attacks during lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville, his skull was fractured by a blow from a Klansman in 1961, and he was badly beaten after crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on Bloody Sunday .

Growing up, Mahalia Latortue says she had three career options — doctor, lawyer or engineer. But despite starting her undergraduate studies at Oakwood University in Alabama focused on pre-law, she graduated with a passion for filmmaking. Today, she’s a recent Savannah College of Art and Design film graduate who founded her own Atlanta-based production company called Anacaona Pictures . The company’s mission is to “create diverse, untold stories and provide a voice to the voiceless.”

John Lewis has served as U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District since 1987, and is known for his passionate work both in the civil rights movements and on Capitol Hill. A new documentary called John Lewis: Good Trouble goes beyond the highlight reel of his storied life and reveals more personal elements of the man and the figure. On Second Thought hears from the film’s director and producer Dawn Porter and producer Erika Alexander about how the film connects his legacy of seeking justice from his youth to his role as a revered congressman today.

A new film reflects on the life, legacy and lessons of longtime Georgia Congressman John Lewis; how a recent SCAD film graduate is trying to "create diverse, untold stories and provide a voice to the voiceless" Show Notes: John Lewis: Good Trouble: https://www.johnlewisgoodtrouble.com/ Mahalia Latortue's 'The Struggle is Reel' podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-struggle-is-reel/id1394949640

For generations, “The Talk” has been a mainstay in African American families. At some point, Black children all get warnings from elders about how to avoid – and survive – police encounters. It’s a rite that cuts across region, socioeconomic status and profession – even for members of law enforcement.

America’s mayors have taken center stage in 2020. Big city mayors feuded with state and federal officials over COVID-19 protections and resources, and have been praised — and condemned — for their handling of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. These crises may be unfolding on a national and international scale, but affect lives in every American city and town. Outside of Atlanta’s national spotlight, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson is working to address these issues head-on.

When COVID-19 hit Savannah, city leaders were particularly concerned about the homeless population — or “roofless people,” as 3 rd District Alderwoman Linda Wilder-Bryan prefers. Her drive to help people who couldn’t get into shelters led to a proposal for “ Dundee Village .” Now, plans are underway for a safe and sanitary complex of tents – which will later be converted to livable shipping containers – to house people displaced by the pandemic and at risk of contracting COVID-19 on the streets.

America’s mayors have taken center stage in 2020. Big city mayors feuded with state and federal officials over COVID-19 protections and resources, and have been praised — and condemned — for their handling of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. These crises may be unfolding on a national scale, but affect lives in every American city and town. With Atlanta officials already in the national spotlight, On Second Thought turned to local leaders in Savannah — Georgia’s first city and the state’s largest coastal municipality — to see how they are responding. We begin with Savannah Mayor Van Johnson , who took office in January of this tumultuous year. He shed light on his decision-making processes and vision for the city’s future.

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson on leading the city through a global pandemic, a contracted economy, and protests against systemic racism; men across Georgia describe their experiences with “The Talk,” including Savannah Police Chief Roy Minter; a community-based plan to combat the spread of COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness in Savannah

Today, in celebration of Juneteenth, Power Haus Creative has organized what they’re calling the “ Juneteenth Takeover ” – in which 19 Atlanta artists will display their work on the exterior of the historic Flatiron building in downtown Atlanta. Carlton Mackey and Melissa Alexander are two of those artists.

While the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Sandra Bland galvanized the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the killings of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have forced America to reckon with centuries of racial injustice and police brutality in unprecedented ways. Not only have protests demanding change been widespread, but major corporations — which, until now, have been largely silent and hesitant to embrace Black Lives Matter — are pledging to fight racial injustice and declaring their support of the nearly seven-year-old movement.

While the deaths of Travon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Sandra Bland galvanized the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the killings of Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have forced America to reckon with centuries of racial injustice and police brutality in unprecedented ways. Not only have protests demanding change been widespread, but major corporations — which, until now, have been largely silent and hesitant to embrace Black Lives Matter — are pledging to fight racial injustice and declaring their support of the nearly seven-year-old movement. We discuss the significance of those corporate responses, as well as new challenges these companies face to commit to righting past wrongs.

What it means when corporations declare support for Black Lives Matter, and how their statements stack up against internal policies and attitudes; two Atlanta artists share how their work functions as a radical act of rebellion against racial injustice, and how uncomfortable conversations are necessary to move forward

In 2002, On Second Thought host Virginia Prescott recorded stories of residents from the Houston neighborhood where George Floyd grew up. Virginia reflected on the rich cultural legacy of the historically African American community. George Floyd was laid to rest in Pearland, Texas earlier this week. He was buried next to his mother, known as “Miss Cissy” in Houston’s Third Ward, where Floyd grew up. Beyoncé and Solange Knowles were also raised in the neighborhood. So was the actor Phylicia Rashad, the director and choreographer Debbie Allen, and musicians Samuel John “Lightnin’” Hopkins and Jason Moran.

In the weeks since protests against police brutality began in Minneapolis, calls to reform, defund or abolish the police have been escalating. Demands for reform or cuts to police budgets aren’t new among activists, but a pledge by the Minneapolis City Council to “ dismantle ” the police department is unprecedented. The mayors of Los Angeles and New York City have also announced that they would both divert city funds from police departments to social service budgets. Practically speaking, what would it mean to “defund” the police? On Second Thought sat down with Cedric Alexander, former police chief of DeKalb County, and Michael Leo Owens , associate professor of political science at Emory University, to dissect the history and meaning behind the language of the protest movement.

While protests set off by the killing of George Floyd show no signs of letting up, another quieter protest has been stirring at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Irwin County, Georgia. There, a group of detainees staged a hunger strike and protest over video chat to raise the alarm over a lack of precautions against the spread of COVID-19 inside the detention center.

In the weeks since protests against police brutality began in Minneapolis, calls to reform, defund or abolish the police have been escalating. These demands aren’t new among activists; however, responses from local governments across the country committing to redirect police funds or even “dismantle” police departments have been unprecedented. We break down reasoning, history and motivations behind the push to change how policing operates nationwide.

Making sense of calls to reform, defund and abolish the police; one reporter looks into the lack of COVID-19 protections in Irwin County's ICE detention facility; remembering George Floyd in the neighborhood that made him

Since George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, rage that had accumulated over centuries of racial violence spilled into the nation's streets. From Atlanta , Macon and Savannah to London , Amsterdam and Paris , protesters are flooding streets that, only weeks ago, stood nearly empty due to fears of COVID-19. The crowds are unprecedented in their size , diversity and condemnation of police brutality and systemic racial injustice. Despite early property damage , largely peaceful protests have gained momentum over the course of the last week.

Outrage and protests over the death of George Floyd show no sign of letting up. A diverse group of demonstrators in Georgia and worldwide say they're fed up with racial discrimination and police violence. We speak to Georgians on the ground and get context for the history of resistance in the “city too busy to hate.” Show Notes: The New York Times: “Thousands of Complaints Do Little to Change Police Ways” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/us/derek-chauvin-george-floyd.html The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “6 Atlanta officers charged after confrontation with college students” https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/live-fulton-announces-findings-atlanta-police-excessive-force-case/IwWL0tioOHNAtC29Ad2xGL/ The New York Times: “Many Claim Extremists Are Sparking Protest Violence. But Which Extremists?” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-protests-white-supremacists-antifa.html CBS46: “APD Police Chief: “You're a real cold son of a b---h”: https://www.cbs46.com/apd-police-chief-youre-a-real-cold-son-of-a-b---h/video_19031aa5-3e51-5b69-9a51-98403fb458a3.html

Mary Beth Keane’s 2019 novel Ask Again, Yes was an instant New York Times bestseller, and is now out on paperback. The book follows the families of two New York City police officers who live next door to each other in a suburb north of the city – and a tragedy that divides them and their children over four decades.

On Mar. 11, 1985, Harold and Thelma Swain were shot in the vestibule of a Baptist church in rural southeast Georgia during evening Bible study. Witnesses from the black congregation described a white man with shoulder-length hair who fled the scene. Despite years of investigation by both the local sheriff’s office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the case had gone cold by the end of the decade; even the leads generated by a 1988 episode of Unsolved Mysteries about the case proved false.

In 2003, Brunswick prosecutors convicted Dennis Perry of killing a couple in their church back in 1985 — while another suspect had admitted to the murder on tape. Renewed interest in the case from the Georgia Innocence Project and a true crime podcast spurred Joshua Sharpe, criminal justice reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution , to revisit an early suspect’s alibi. Sharpe's research unveiled new DNA evidence, and prompted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to reopen the case. Sharpe joins On Second Thought to talk us through what he learned in his nearly year of reporting on the 35 year-old case.

AJC Reporter Joshua Sharpe gives us the backstory on how his reporting about a 1985 murder case from southeast Georgia unveiled new DNA evidence and prompted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to reopen the case; author Mary Beth Keane on her New York Times best-selling novel, “Ask Again, Yes”

The last 35 seconds of Ahmaud Arbery’s life have been viewed, studied, dissected and discussed all over the world. That’s because of a video that went viral, showing his final moments before he was shot on a shady street in Satilla Shores, Georgia on February 23. And while his death has made international headlines, the people of his community remember Arbery for how he lived.

The last 35 seconds of Ahmaud Arbery's life have been viewed, studied, dissected and discussed all over the world. We sat down with some of the people who knew Ahmaud best — including his mother, friends, and neighbors — and heard about the nearly 26 years of life before he was shot on a shady street in Satilla Shores, Georgia. Learn who Ahmaud was, how his loved ones are remembering him, and how being thrust into the national spotlight is both compounding their grief and offering an opportunity to demand justice for his death.

Tributes have poured in from around the world since Little Richard’s death on Saturday, May 9. His influence crossed decades and borders, and he was beloved as one of Georgia’s own, always proudly proclaiming his love for his hometown of Macon. Not known for understatement, the man born Richard Wayne Penniman in 1932 – the third of 12 children – staked his own claim as the “architect of rock ‘n’ roll.”

James Madison was the fourth president of the United States, one of the founders of our country and author of the first drafts of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Dr. Bettye Kearse grew up being told that he was her great-great-great-great-grandfather. “Always remember, you’re a Madison,” her mother often told her.

While segments of Georgia’s economy have reopened, last week Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton extended the judicial emergency for the state’s courts until June 12. Some procedures have been held on Zoom, but criminal and jury trails – and the summoning or impaneling of new grand juries – have been suspended since shelter-in-place orders began in mid-March.

While segments of Georgia’s economy have re-opened, last week Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton extended the judicial emergency for the state’s courts until June 12. Some court procedures have been held on Zoom since shelter-in-place orders began in mid-March. On Second Thought explored the impact of coronavirus on the courts — as well as the implications for the pending case on the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery .

How the justice system operates during a pandemic; Alan Walden remembers musical legend Little Richard; Bettye Kearse's new book, “The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President's Black Family”

Author Sue Monk Kidd was raised in a conventionally Baptist family in Sylvester, Georgia. Her memoir, The Dance of the Dissident Daughter , follows her turn from fundamentalism into sacred feminine traditions. While best known for The Secret Life of Bees , Sue Monk Kidd has written three bestselling novels. Her newest novel, The Book of Longings , imagines the life of a first century woman named Ana, who becomes the wife of Jesus of Nazareth.

Compared to the lockdowns and shuttered businesses in countries across the world, Sweden is an outlier. Swedish officials have advised citizens to work from home and avoid travel, but most schools and businesses have remained open. This relaxed approach aims to minimize impact on the economy and slow the spread of the virus through what is known as “herd immunity.” But striving for herd immunity without a controlled vaccine in place can also prove risky.

In addition to changing many aspects of our waking lives, coronavirus has also shifted how we dream. Institutions around the world have been collecting examples of dreams since the outset of the pandemic, and some researchers found a 35% increase in dream recall since lockdown. On Second Thought sat down with Harvard University Assistant Professor Deirdre Barrett to learn more about the impact of COVID-19 on our dreaming minds. Barrett has analyzed dreams of World War II soldiers, 9/11 first responders, and Kuwaitis under Iraqi occupation. Since March, she’s collected details on more than 7,000 dreams to study how people are responding to coronavirus in their dreams.

Compared to the lockdowns and shuttered businesses in countries across the world, Sweden is an outlier. Swedish officials have advised citizens to work from home and avoid travel, but most schools and businesses have remained open. This relaxed approach aims to minimize impact on the economy, and slow the spread of the virus through what is known as “herd immunity.” Now, as the U.S. weighs further spreading the disease against the impact of a tanked economy, some Americans — particularly conservatives — are looking toward Sweden’s model as an option. On Second Thought unpacks the merits, risks and strategy behind Sweden’s approach, and what has become a political talking point here in the U.S.

The considerations behind — and U.S. political reactions to — Sweden's coronavirus strategy; the ways COVID-19 is affecting our dreams; author Sue Monk Kidd on her latest novel, “The Book of Longings”

Billy Bragg is many things: a poet, punk rocker, folk musician, and singer-songwriter. He’s also an activist, music historian, and best-selling author. In the words of another poet, he contains multitudes. Bragg’s newest work, The Three Dimensions of Freedom , is a slim volume that makes a weighty argument. It’s a pamphlet in the tradition of Thomas Paine, whose influential polemics helped spark the American Revolution, and later got him convicted of sedition.

Artists and arts organizations were quick to adapt to quarantine and coronavirus. Museum tours, operas, Broadway shows, author talks, home concerts and classes for kids sprung up online shortly after closures were announced. But as the dust begins to settle on our new normal, many worry about the long-term economic impact and outlook for the artists, performers and independent organizations essential to the cultural ecosystem.

For nearly 15 years, National Medal of the Arts award-winning poet and author Julia Alvarez has focused on writing picture books and novels for children. But earlier this year, she published her first novel for adults in more than a decade, called Afterlife . The protagonist, Antonia Vega, is a woman in her late 60s reckoning with isolation and her new identity after her husband’s sudden death. In a world upended by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and wrestling with its own kind of communal grief, the themes of the novel resonate in ways that Alvarez never could have predicted.

Artists and arts organizations were quick to adapt to coronavirus. Museum tours, operas, Broadway shows, author talks, home concerts and classes for kids sprung up online shortly after closures were announced. But as the dust begins to settle on our new normal, many worry about the long-term economic impact and outlook for the artists, performers and independent organizations essential to the cultural ecosystem. Doug Shipman , president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center, joined On Second Thought to talk about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the arts world now – economically, culturally, and artistically – and how that might change as things open back up.

The impact of coronavirus on Atlanta's arts ecosystem — economically, culturally and artistically; poetry, politics and punk rock with Billy Bragg; author Julia Alvarez on her latest novel, “Afterlife”

Self-isolation and quarantine have recalibrated our habits, routines, and what we present to the world. For many lucky enough to still have a job, getting dressed and made up is a vestige of normalcy in a world that feels upended. But for others, gray roots, shaggy beards and chipped nails are the last thing to worry about. What has this unprecedented period behind closed doors revealed about the motivations behind our self-care? And what will happen to the beauty market when self-isolation is over — especially given that Gov. Brian Kemp recently gave the greenlight for barbershops and hair and nail salons to re-open?

“The Squad” gets a lot of media attention, but they are just one part of the record number of women elected to Congress in 2018. In fact, it was the most diverse freshman class ever elected: the first Muslim women representatives ever, the first Native women, the first two Latina members from Texas, two black women from New England, and the two youngest members ever elected to the House of Representatives.