Ep. 96: The Arkansaw Image

What do you think of when you hear the state, Arkansas? This is Clay Newcomb’s beloved homeland, and on this episode he dives deep into the long-standing national image of Arkansas. It hasn’t always been great. Scholars say it was the most picked on state in America in the 20th century and to this day remains the most “hillbilly” state per the internet. But is that truth, or just the results of branding and strong stereotypes? Clay interviews Dr. Books Blevins, Dr. Jeanie Whayne, and Dr. Bob Cochran to get to the bottom of this image. It’s fascinating, entertaining, and in the end you may wish you were bare-footed and grinning ear-to-ear, living the highlife in Arkansas. Clay visits one of the nation’s premiere American art museums, Crystal Bridges, in Arkansas. He visits the Walmart museum to talk to Sam Walton’s hologram, and lastly, he’ll release a never before heard interview with Arkansas’s first son, Bill Clinton -- for real. All this will prove that there are really two Arkansas’s -- the stereotype and the real thing. We really doubt you’re going to want to miss this one.

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