Primary Sources

Frank Scott

January 11, 2019 06:00 - 34 minutes - 1 Byte

Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott sits down with Matt DeCample to talk about growing up in Southwest Little Rock, what he hopes to see change as a newly elected mayor, and the unique path he took from being a shy child to an outspoken public speaker and politician.

James Fallows

October 26, 2018 06:00 - 50 minutes - 1 Byte

In a special edition of Primary Sources, James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic, speaks about his book Our Towns, a vivid, surprising portrait of the civic and economic reinvention taking place in America, town by town and generally out of view of the national media.” This CALS’ J.N. Heiskell Distinguished Lecture for journalism took place Sept. 27, 2018. The event was also sponsored by the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

George McKinney

August 10, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

From 1959 to 1961, George McKinney helped lead the Arkansas Razorbacks to three shared or outright Southwest Conference championships in football, getting new Coach Frank Broyles off to a good start. He sat down with a teammate from his freshman year, U.S. District Judge Billy R. Wilson, to recall some of the great moments in Arkansas sports history, with support from Jim Rasco of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. It was said of McKinney, “He couldn’t run. He couldn’t throw. All he knew how ...

Wes Ward

July 06, 2018 06:00 - 43 minutes - 1 Byte

Agriculture Secretary Wes Ward discusses the present and future state of Arkansas's biggest industry, how his time in the Marines has helped him as a leader, and about growing up in Lake City, Arkansas.

Kelly Kissel

June 29, 2018 06:00 - 57 minutes - 1 Byte

Outgoing Associated Press Bureau Chief Kelly Kissel talks with Matt DeCample about 24 years of covering Arkansas people and politics.

A Preview of the 2018 Arkansas Literary Festival, Part

April 20, 2018 06:00 - 45 minutes - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample has conversations with four authors featured at the 2018 Arkansas Literary Festival: Bill Worthen, co-author of "A Sure Defense: The Bowie Knife in America"; Laverne Bell-Tolliver, associate professor at the UA Little Rock's School of Social Work and the author of "The First Twenty-Five: An Oral History of the Desegregation of Little Rock's Public Junior High Schools"; Monica Clark-Robinson, who has written a children's book -- "Let the Children March" -- about the 1963 Childre...

A Preview of the 2018 Arkansas Literary Festival, Part II

April 20, 2018 06:00 - 39 minutes - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample has conversations with three authors featured at the 2018 Arkansas Literary Festival: Carmen Boullosa, author of seven volumes of poetry, two books of essays, ten plays, and eighteen novels, including "La otra mano de Lepanto" which has been deemed among the top works of literature written in Spanish in the last twenty-five years; Kory Stamper, a lexicographer at Merriam-Webster and author of "Word by Word"; and David Giffels, author of "Furnishing Eternity: A Father, a Son, a ...

Nate Smith

March 08, 2018 06:00 - 37 minutes - 1 Byte

Arkansas Department of Health Director Nate Smith sits down with Matt DeCample to discuss how his work as a Kenyan medical missionary shaped his approach to public health, this year's rough flu season, and the impact the opioid epidemic continues to have on Arkansas and the nation.

Dr. James H. Cone

March 01, 2018 06:00 - 59 minutes - 1 Byte

From the 2007 Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecture, Dr. James H. Cone dicusses the Central High Crisis and it's effect on his development of Black Liberation Theology.

Billie Jean Calloway

February 23, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

Dr. Billie Jean Calloway discusses growing up in Jonesboro, Arkansas and her time as an educator duringintegration.

Willie Booker, Jr.

February 16, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

Willie Booker, Jr., describes growing up in the delta and his experience in the segregated education system. He also discusses his time as a county extension agent and his civic activities.

Randall Aragon

February 09, 2018 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

A conversation with Vietnam veteran Randall Aragon, lieutenant, and later captain, with the 551st Transportation Company. His unit was responsible for stevedore operations and port security at Newport Army Terminal, near Saigon.

Yolanda Amaya

February 02, 2018 06:00 - 41 minutes - 1 Byte

An immigrant from Nicaragua by way of Canada, Yolanda Amaya works with the Hispanic community in Arkansas assisting with translation services. among other things. She describes the changes she has seen in the Hispanic communities of Arkansas and difficulties they face.

Al Bell

December 15, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

Arkansas native Al Bell is considered the driving force behind Stax Records as a producer, songwriter, and executive during the company’s most productive period, from 1965 to 1975. He was responsible for promoting the careers of such talent as the Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes, and Otis Redding, among many others.

James R. Blaylock

December 08, 2017 06:00 - 50 minutes - 1 Byte

James R. Blaylock enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in January 1948 at the age of seventeen. He served in the Korean War as a gunner in a machine gun platoon. He participated in the Inchon Landing and the subsequent recapturing of Seoul as well as in action at the Chosin Reservoir. Here Blaylock talks about his experiences with Brian Robertson, Manager of the Research Services Division of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies.

Eddie Odle

December 01, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

Vietnam War veteran Eddie Odle talks to the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies Research Services Division Manager Brian Robertson. Mr. Odle discusses his service as a rifleman in the Marines, including a year spent near the Demilitarized Zone.

Eddie Pannell

November 24, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

Eddie Pannell, a Vietnam War veteran who joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 1967, talks to the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies Research Services Division Manager Brian Robertson. Mr. Pannell details his experience as an interpreter who assisted South Vietnamese civilians with medical treatment, infrastructure growth, and other humanitarian missions.

Traci Berry

November 17, 2017 06:00 - 45 minutes - 1 Byte

Traci Berry, organizer of the annual Raid the Rock Adventure Race, talks with David Stricklin about the challenges and rewards of competing in and organizing expedition races.

Kenneth C. Barnes

November 10, 2017 06:00 - 29 minutes - 1 Byte

This week's Primary Sources podcast features Booker Worthen prize winner Kenneth C. Barnes speaking with the Butler Center's Director David Stricklin about Barnes's new book, "Anti-Catholicism in Arkansas: How Politicians, the Press, the Klan, and Religious Leaders Imagined an Enemy, 1910-1960". Barnes is a professor of history at the University of Central Arkansas. The Booker Worthen Literary Prize is awarded annually for the best work by an author in the Central Arkansas area.

Mark Christ

October 27, 2017 06:00 - 45 minutes - 1 Byte

Mark Christ, Outreach Director for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, talks with Matt DeCample about the Arkansas World War I Commemoration Committee and how Arkansans dealt with the war effort a hundred years ago.

James Mitchell

October 20, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

James Mitchell, a Vietnam veteran who joined the U.S. Navy in 1967, talks to the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies Research Services Division Manager Brian Robertson. Mr. Mitchell details his experience as a Navy corpsman.

Charles Stewart

October 13, 2017 06:00 - 45 minutes - 1 Byte

Charles Stewart sits with Matt Decample to talk about how growing up in a large family help shaped his character, how he started the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, and how they are celebrating the Hall's 25th anniversary.

Robin Woods Loucks

September 29, 2017 06:00 - 28 minutes - 1 Byte

Students from Central High Memory Project and City of Little Rock youth radio interns interview Robin Woods Loucks about her experience offering to share her Algebra textbook with Terrence Roberts, on the Little Rock Nine's first day to attend classes at Central in September 1957. The Memory Project Team, sponsored by CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, is a student-produced effort to collect, preserve, and share oral history about civil rights and human rights experiences.

Delphine Hirasuna

September 22, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

This week on Primary Sources, we've dug through our archives to present an interview with curator, author, and historian Delphine Hirasuna. She is the author of "The Art of Gaman: Arts and Crafts from the Japanese American Internment Camps 1942-1946". She curated a traveling exhibition of the same name in 2010, which toured throughout the United States and Japan. This interview was conducted in 2011 for the Butler Center's exhibition "The Art of Living", which displayed works of art created ...

Jeff Nichols

September 15, 2017 06:00 - 57 minutes - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample chats with Little Rock native Jeff Nichols, the writer and director of several critically-acclaimed films ("Mud", "Taking Shelter", "Midnight Special", and "Loving") about growing up in Little Rock, his entrance into the film industry, and the Arkansas Cinema Society.

Judge Reinhold

September 08, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

Judge Reinhold chats with Matt DeCample about starting his acting career to impress a girl and how a warehouse dinner theater in Florida prepared him for Hollywood. He shares behind-the-scenes stories about his roles in "Stripes", "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", "Beverly Hills Cop", and "Ruthless People", and discusses what it was like to be a guest on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson."

Central High School Memory Project

August 25, 2017 06:00 - 27 minutes - 1 Byte

The Memory Project at Little Rock Central High is a student-led effort to preserve, and share oral history of civil and human rights. For the 60th anniversary of the 1957 Central High Desegregation Crisis, the Memory Project students have produced an audio walking tour recounting the events of September 4th, 1957: the historic first attempt by the Little Rock Nine to attend their classes at Central. This episode of Primary Sources highlights a conversation with the Memory Project students ab...

Sarah Wilkerson Freeman

August 18, 2017 06:00 - 48 minutes - 1 Byte

Arkansas State University History Professor Sarah Wilkerson Freeman sits with Matt DeCample to talk about The Art of Injustice, a show she is curating at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies through the end of the year. Injustice focuses on the WWII Japanese internment camps in Southeast Arkansas and the art that shared the experiences of those who lived there.

Sally Mengel

August 11, 2017 06:00 - 44 minutes - 1 Byte

Sally Mengel tells Matt DeCample the origin story of Loblolly Creamery and why she thinks it has grown so quickly. She also explains why vanilla ice cream has an unfair reputation as a "basic" flavor.

Gretchen Hall

July 28, 2017 06:00 - 40 minutes - 1 Byte

Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Gretchen Hall sits down with Matt DeCample to discuss how being a student athlete prepared her for a career in tourism, how she helps sell Little Rock to the world, and the city's potential to someday hos a national table-tennis tournament.

Rachel Silva-Patton

July 14, 2017 06:00 - 48 minutes - 1 Byte

Preservation Arkansas Executive Director Rachel Silva-Patton talks with Matt DeCample about her career in Arkansas history, the economic potential that preservation holds for communities throughout the state, and shares the scandalous tale of the Villa Marre.

Capi Peck

June 30, 2017 06:00 - 51 minutes - 1 Byte

Encyclopedia of Arkansas author Bick Satterfield interviews Capi Peck, owner of Trio's Restaurant and Little Rock City Director for Ward 4. Capi's grandparents were the legendary Sam and Henrietta Peck, who owned the Hotel Sam Peck in Little Rock from the 1930s through the 1970s. This episode focuses on Capi's memories growing up in the hotel, her grandfather's flair for design, his friendship with the famous architect Edward Durell Stone, and Capi's life in the restaurant industry.

Debra Buckner

June 23, 2017 06:00 - 51 minutes - 1 Byte

Pulaski County Treasurer Debra Buckner talks with Matt DeCample about being a woman in banking during the 80's and 90's, becoming an elected official, and shares stories of showing up on doorsteps to collect back taxes.

Kelley Bass

June 09, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample sits down with Kelley Bass, Executive Director of the Museum of Discovery, about his life and work.

Dr. Sherece West-Scantlebury

May 26, 2017 06:00 - 55 minutes - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample sits down with Dr. Sherece West-Scantlebury, President and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, to talk about her life in non-profit work, living through Hurricane Katrina, finding Arkansas, and how the WRF is fighting the root causes of problems facing Arkansans.

Richard Weiss

May 12, 2017 06:00 - 56 minutes - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample sits down with Richard Weiss, longtime director of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, to talk about the joys and tragedies of growing up as a missionary kid in Africa, trying to adjust to life in the United States as a young adult, and the important of good government.

2017 Arkansas Literary Festival, Part 2

April 21, 2017 06:00 - 45 minutes - 1 Byte

Brief interviews with authors featured at the 2017 Arkansas Literary Festival, including: Hussein Hussein (01:04), Kanishk Tharoor (07:51), Dominic Walliman (18:50), Ed Bethune (24:18), Celia Anderson (35:35). For more information, visit www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org.

2017 Arkansas Literary Festival, Part 1

April 21, 2017 06:00 - 52 minutes - 1 Byte

Brief interviews with authors featured at the 2017 Arkansas Literary Festival, including: Alex Beam (01:10), Cora Daniels (11:30), Odie Lindsey (20:48), Therese Oneill (29:45), Owen Laukkanen (41:35).For more information, visit www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org.

Cara Brookins

April 07, 2017 06:00 - 52 minutes - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample has a conversation with Cara Brookins, author of "Rise: How a House Built a Family", a memoir about a series of traumatic events that led Brookins and her four children to build a 3,500-square-foot home from the ground up. Brookins will appear at the 2017 Arkansas Literary Festival. For more information, visit www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org.

Rodney Block

March 24, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

Arkansas Sounds Music Series Coordinator John Miller interviews Rodney Block, an Arkansas native and classically-trained jazz musician whose work blends traditional jazz, gospel, hip-hop, bebop, funk, and soul.

Gabe Holmstrom

March 10, 2017 06:00 - 45 minutes - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample has a conversation with Gabe Holmstrom, Downtown Little Rock Partnership's Executive Director, about his life and work.

Susan Altrui

February 24, 2017 06:00 - 44 minutes - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample has a conversation with Susan Altrui, the Director of the Little Rock Zoo, about her life and work.

Korto Momolu

February 10, 2017 06:00 - 50 minutes - 1 Byte

Matt DeCample interviews fashion designer Korto Momolu about her childhood in Liberia; living in Canada as a refugee; discovering her love of fashion, art, and design; her participation in Project Runway; and her life and career in Little Rock.

Joyce Williams

January 27, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

Dr. John Kirk, the George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History and Director of the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, has a conversation with Joyce Williams, a retired public school educator and principal, about her life and work in Arkansas.

John Cain

January 13, 2017 06:00 - 1 hour - 1 Byte

John Miller, Coordinator of the Arkansas Sounds Music Series, has a conversation with John Cain, community organizer and Program Director of Little Rock's 100,000 watt community radio station KABF 88.3 FM, about his work preserving Jazz as America's original art form in cities like Birmingham, Atlanta and throughout Arkansas, spearheading the movement to preserve the Mosaic Templars' African American Cultural Center, and operating a community radio station.

Episodes