SEASON 6  | EPISODE 0

Welcome to Alabama Short Stories. This is Shawn Wright, and I am happy to say that Season 6 starts on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, with more great stories about the state of Alabama.

I will start the season with a story in the news the past couple of years. It’s about Cudjo Lewis and the writers who have been telling this former slave’s story for the past 100+ years, and we find the Clotilda in the process.

We take driving on our well-maintained roads around the state for granted, but can you imagine what it would be like without them? Some Alabamians did and became part of a movement of good roads that turned out great.

There is a story about a photographer with a funny name, Spider Martin. A well-known photographer around Birmingham, he made his name on the road from Selma to Montgomery and got to know Dr. King along the way.

Music is a vital part of our lives in Alabama, and for centuries now, groups of people have been holding on tight to a tradition of singing named after a book of songs. Learn the story of Sacred Harp and the people keeping it alive and thriving.

While her husband may be remembered as a great writer, the people of Alabama know that F. Scott Fitzgerald would be nothing without his wife, Zelda Sayre of Montgomery. Listen to their story and how their volatile relationship made them the poster children of the Jazz Age.

I tell the story of a woman who was a psychic and the rush for gold. Both of these stories are in east Alabama, and while they don’t relate, they were both sought out for their life-changing discoveries.

There is a story of Johnny Mack Brown; he traveled to Pasadena with the University of Alabama’s team for football glory and turned that success into stardom as a movie cowboy.

The CIA battles communism with modern art only to find out that the real fight is at home among its people. Auburn University benefits from the pearl-clutching outrage and buys paintings for pennies on the dollar, the basis for their fine art museum.

And we end the season by telling the story of America’s oldest baseball park and the players who played there. Specifically, a son of Fairfield, Alabama, who went on to greatness playing for the San Fransisco Giants.

While you are waiting for the season to start, you can help the podcast out. Call a friend or two and recommend the podcast to them. You can subscribe to the podcast using your favorite podcast app. And if you are listening on Apple, make sure to rate us. It helps drive listeners to the show.

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoy season 6 of the Alabama Short Stories podcast.

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1. Tell a friend about the podcast.
2. Buy some merchandise from the Art Done Wright store at https://www.teepublic.com/user/wright-art
3. Buy Volume 1 of the Book. https://www.amazon.com/Alabama-Short-Stories-Shawn-Wright/dp/1735582239/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1660505378&sr=8-3
4. Buy the newly released Volume 2 of the Book.
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