An Unofficial 'The MeatEater Podcast' Reading List
Ep. 763: Landscape and Murder in the Mississippi Delta
September 15, 2025
Description
Books Referenced
Author: Wright Thompson
Context:
Steve Rinella introduces Wright Thompson's previous works, mentioning this book about bourbon and family.
Author: Wright Thompson
Context:
Steve Rinella mentions this book by Wright Thompson, described as 'sports stories and other serious business.'
Author: Wright Thompson
Context:
This is the main book being discussed in the interview. It tells the story of Emmett Till's murder through the lens of the physical location where it occurred.
Author: John Barry
Context:
Steve mentions reading this book about the 1927 Mississippi River flood right before reading Wright's book. They discuss how it provides context about labor issues and agriculture in the Delta region.
Author: Robert Palmer
Context:
Wright Thompson quotes from this book about the Mississippi Delta, discussing poor whites from the hills bringing violence and racism to the Delta towns as cotton prices collapsed.
Author: William Faulkner
Context:
Wright Thompson discusses reading Faulkner's works and how they should be understood through the lens of bewilderment at the rapid transformation of the Mississippi Delta wilderness.
Author: William Faulkner
Context:
Mentioned alongside other Faulkner works as examples of literature that deals with civilization versus nature in the Mississippi Delta.
Author: William Faulkner
Context:
Discussed as one of Faulkner's works that explores the existential loss and trauma of wilderness being erased in the Mississippi Delta.