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About this Episode
Author and historian Jay Feldman joins host Alan Lowe to discuss When the Mississippi Ran Backwards, his gripping account of the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Alan and Feldman explore the quakes' massive impact, including over 2,000 tremors felt across 1.5 million square miles, and the deep historical context behind them. He explains the ancient origins of the Reelfoot Rift, Tecumseh's eerie quake prophecy, and how early steamboat travel intersected with disaster. Feldman also recounts a horrific crime against an enslaved teenager, exposed by the quakes, and touches on ongoing seismic risk today. He also discusses reflections from his new memoir.
Guest Bio
Jay Feldman is an author, historian, and storyteller with a uniquely diverse background. Before turning to writing full-time, he worked as a musician and ran a music store specializing in vintage stringed instruments. He also founded Baseball for Peace, an organization promoting international understanding through sports, and has written for both television and the stage. Feldman is the author of Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America and When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes, which explores one of the most powerful and overlooked natural disasters in U.S. history.
Show Highlights
- (4:32) When the earthquakes occurred and how many there were
- (9:23) The creation of the Reelfoot Rift and how it became the source of the quakes
- (12:38) What makes intraplate earthquakes different from other kinds
- (13:57) Why the Mississippi River ran backwards at the height of the quake
- (16:11) The creation of Reelfoot Lake
- (17:54) The legend of Tecumseh's prophecy about the earthquakes
- (21:55) How the Roosevelt family was involved with the event
- (27:55) The crime that was revealed in the wreckage of the earthquakes
- (32:44) Seismic activity in the area today
Links Referenced
- Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America: https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Hysteria-History-Scapegoating-Surveillance/dp/0307388239
- When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes: https://www.amazon.com/When-Mississippi-Ran-Backwards-Earthquakes/dp/0743242793
No transcript available for this episode.
