The Ozarks and the study of its people, history, and culture are not an infrequent topic on this show. This is in part due to this show’s production near the middle of “The Queen City of the Ozarks.” It is also influenced heavily by this show’s place in the Missouri State University community and its sponsorship by the Department of History, which offers one of – if not the – only program devoted to the study of the region. Finally, it is in no small part due to the personal obsessions and interests of show cohost, Patrick Needham.
This week on Talking History, Patrick indulges this obsession once again by welcoming back history professor and chronicler of the hills and hollers, Dr. Brooks Blevins to talk about his new podcast The Old Ozarks, dying dialects, and the crafting of compelling narratives in nonfiction.
Brooks Blevins Brooks Blevins is the Noel Boyd Professor of Ozarks Studies at Missouri State University. He published his capstone work with the University of Illinois Press—three volumes constituting the definitive history of the Ozarks. He is also the author or editor of ten other books, including Arkansas/Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol’ Boys Defined a State. Dr. Blevins is host of The Old Ozarks podcast, a bimonthly show in which he examines the linguistic peculiarities of the Ozarks dialect and untold stories from Ozarks history.
