Steven Rinella talks with author Wright Thompson. Topics discussed: Grab a copy of Wright's book, The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi; the history of a patch of ground; the Mississippi Delta as manmade land; the murder of Emmett Till; cotton; the sharecropper system; always referring to "The War"; what it means to be Southern; the connection between Chicago and Mississippi; learning history to know it; the existential trauma of having so much wilderness erased; and more.  Steve on Instagram and Twitter MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube Check out the gear the MeatEater Crew uses in the field here: https://store.themeateater.com Follow us: Web: https://www.themeateater.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/meateater Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StevenRinellaMeatEater Chapters: 00:00 - Introduction: Wright Thompson & The Barn 02:49 - From Sports Writing to Dark History 13:04 - The Murder of Emmett Till 21:12 - The Land Tells Stories People Won't 27:44 - Where History Gets Buried 34:07 - American Land as Colonial Outpost 42:21 - When Cotton Was King 50:13 - The Economics of Sharecropping 58:18 - Why People Lie But Land Doesn't 1:08:04 - The Duality of Southern Identity 1:17:16 - How Violence Shapes Communities 1:27:00 - War Heroes and Moral Complexity 1:42:00 - Teaching History vs. Rewriting It 1:53:02 - The Last Ivory-Billed Woodpecker 2:00:06 - Mysteries Still Hidden in Wilderness