Front Porch Views: a Podcast by Lauretta Hannon: Recent Episodes
Lauretta Hannon
True Southern stories. Some funny. Some heartbreaking. Some a bit of both. Short commentaries on everyday encounters turned extraordinary. Encouraging, uplifting stories, mostly. Equal parts grit and grace. WHO IS LAURETTA HANNON? Named the “Funniest Woman in Georgia” by Southern Living Magazine, Lauretta Hannon is the bestselling author of The Cracker Queen–A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life (Gotham Books, Penguin) and has been a commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, where her stories have reached 25 million listeners. Her memoir was named “One of the Top 25 Books All Georgians Should Read” by the Georgia Center for the Book. A documentary about her story, Raised in the South of Normal, captured several dozen awards at film festivals across the country. She writes in a shed that was once the site of a moonshining operation.
Perspective from someone who has been there, both as protester and college administrator.
Researchers have found that the Georgia version of the Southern accent is fading away. Resist, I say. RESIST!
Within a week of publication of my memoir, the first stalker appeared. Two more would follow. I never dreamt one of them would sneak into my home.
That time I was summoned to Nashville to write a tell-all about a country music legend. Shortly after, I was approached to pen a true crime book about the murder of a bar owner. Two books that were not mine to write.
I know you should let the wild things be wild. But when a hugely pregnant cat is yowling for food at your front door...
In a gritty Savannah neigborhood, the Rutabaga Woman shines a light and brings water to the thirsty.
My first homily at the age of four. Being Southern, of course the topic had to do with sins against good food.
Mama Bear springs into action when a crackhead holds her baby sister hostage. You can't make this stuff up, people.
Mama's fondest Chicago memory wasn't of the racial unrest she helped quell. It was of the stud muffin at her door.
Lauretta joins WRGA Host Tony McIntosh for a half-hour chat that's kinda all over the place. Entertaining...but all over the place.
She was sitting there alone studying. All I could see was a massive, sparkling crown on her head–and a purple sash with glittery words. Clearly, this person wanted to be seen and recognized for whatever the crown and sash denoted.
There's more than meets the nose when it comes to those treacly and savory aromas of fall candles. Lauretta busts the conspiracy wide-open in this live studio appearance.
A tale so fantastic I wouldn't believe it--had it not happened to me. Douse the overhead lights, curl up with a hot beverage, and enjoy this haunted house story.
The nuns and I hit the streets to offer food, cold drinks, and a listening ear to our unsheltered neighbors. Three encounters stand out. This work is incandescent, wrenching, funny, and exhausting.
Let's get ready to RUMBLE! Third-grade style. At recess. My hulk of a nemesis is thirsty for blood. And I'm about to pee down my leg--or possibly not live to see field day.
A very literal illustration of how life on earth–or in eternity–is merely a breath away.
My mother had a lifelong hero–a vivacious musician from just up the road from us in Macon, GA. The undisputed architect of rock-n-roll and the self-described “Beauty on Duty:” I’m talking about Little Richard–Little Richard Penniman. Mama was 13 when her church members flung her forbidden Little Richard records into a bonfire. She never forgave them for it.
The nicer folks would always describe my dog Benji this way: “He’s so ugly he is cute.” That’s the Southern way of saying your dog is bad ugly.
You will NOT believe what happened in the ladies' room that day. But you're going to laugh when you hear what did. Be ready.
Science confirms something many of us suspected: the secret to a happy life has nothing to do with wealth or privilege or an easy life.
Think of the sounds in your life that have made a deep, deep imprint. I was blown away when I recently heard such a sound--a sound that transported me back to my 10-year-old self.
You hear stories of folks finding priceless works of art or other items of immense value at yard sales and thrift stores. But THIS find couldn't have been better or more shocking.
The Christmas gift-giving season is here. I’d like to ask you to think for a moment and recall a gift--a gift of immeasurable value that you’ve received. What would that be? And what made it so precious?
Uncle Buddy, PawPaw, Nana, and Cousin Jeanie are all at the table this year. Lord help us.
I awoke to learn that Terry Kay, my writing mentor and beloved friend, had died. Then something rather numinous happened.
You already know it didn't end well. But there's something to be said for self-dignity, too.
John Paul Schulz planted many good seeds in his work as a garden designer, writer, and friend. But my first encounter with him was less than pristine.
In this live conversation, Lauretta and WRGA Host Tony McIntosh riff on the things you see--and wish you hadn't--at Wally World.
Take heart--and remember that you came into the world perfect, whole, and worthy–and still are. You just have some work to do in order to get back home. Best of all, it's never too late to make that trip.
"Despite everything, life is full of beauty and meaning," she says.
Just wait until you hear her story. You will be moved.
Mama understood how it felt to be broke and brokedown. So when the stranger had the meltdown in front of her at the grocery store, she knew just what to do.
A look at the Top 5 Regrets of the Dying. Lots to learn and apply in our own lives now.
Pundits and media folks are trying to sell us some serious bunk. Four such "news" pieces are exposed here.
Thirteen inmates and me. An invitation to tell their stories and be heard. Three hardcore troublemakers on a mission to take down the class by any means possible. How will it all end up?
Adapted for radio, this is the story from my memoir about our Christmas traditions. Let's just say "all is calm, all is bright" did NOT ring true for Mama and me in those lean years in the tiny apartment after my parents divorced.
Everyone knows about the Hallmark Christmas movies, right?
Well, here's the Hallmark Christmas movie I would make...
From the story of a lesser known civil rights hero to an ordinary woman walking on the street, the human spirit continues to overcome and prevail.
That time the explosive threatening 6'4" guy lunged at me--ending up within 6 inches of my face...
Wondering how to respond to all the bad news? Want to resist participation in the toxic culture and make it better? This episode proposes a way to do just that. True heart and soul radicals and revolutionaries, take note!
Have you ever received communication from The Great Beyond? Has a loved one or other dearly departed person visited you from The Other Side? If so, these things usually follow a few similar story lines. HOWEVER, I promise you that mine does not. Hear for yourself: a very atypical ghost story.
Mama's last months grew increasingly darker. More than anything, she was fiercely angry that she had not yet died. As a result, she became more and more sullen, resentful, and silent...until this thing happened on a desolate night in her hospital room...
**In 1965, Radio Legend Paul Harvey recorded a piece titled IF I WERE THE DEVIL. It became his most famous recording. Lauretta offers her own chilling version updated for the world and culture we find ourselves in today.
In her vision, the Devil would have 4 points of attack against us: distraction, deception, division, and discouragement.**
If you'd like to learn how to combat these attacks and create more joy and peace in your everyday life, join us for this class on November 13 .
Southern Writer Lauretta Hannon shares the most beloved story from her bestselling book, The Cracker Queen--A Memoir of a Jagged, Joyful Life. The story recounts the wild adventures she had with her mom in 1970s Georgia when Lauretta was a preschooler.
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A true story about a cat that's near death after teenagers beat her with a baseball bat. But this cat tale will not make you sad. In fact, it might just give you hope.
If you enjoyed this story, read more of the same here.
Outrageously funny and poignant stories from the South's one and only WAFFLE HOUSE. Lauretta Hannon has been a regular at the Waffle House for 20+ years. She describes what it means to be scattered, smothered, and covered in the Waffle House Experience.
For more Southern stories, check out Lauretta's blog.