f you’re a Southerner who’s interested in food, you probably know John T. Edge from his work as the founding director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, as the author of the Potlikker Papers, or as the host of True South, a TV show about Southern food and culture on the SEC Network. It’s hard to find someone who’s been more influential in shaping the conversation around Southern food and telling the stories of its unsung heroes. Well, now John T. is telling his own story with a powerful new memoir called House of Smoke: A Southerner Goes Searching for Home. Sid talked to John T. about his complicated and sometimes violent childhood in Clinton, Georgia; his fraught relationship with a mother who struggled with alcoholism; and the wild journey that finally led him to a career at the University of Mississippi. A note: This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the Southern Living offices in Birmingham, Alabama.

Sid Evans - Editor-in-Chief, Southern Living

Krissy Tiglias - GM, Southern Living

Lottie Leymarie - Executive Producer

Michael Onufrak - Audio Engineer & Editor/Producer

Jeremiah Lee McVay - Producer

Isaac Nunn - Recording Producer

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