Everything That Rises is a weekly passion project podcast series dedicated to the short stories of the one and only Flannery O’Connor. Each week join English teacher, author and speaker John Meehan (@MeehanEDU) and a well-read friend to help co-host as we explore the stories, symbols, and rich cultural legacy of this iconic 20th Century author of the American South. Blending Catholic theology with literary analysis for a sort of 21st century book club (complete with the usual parade of good-natured tall tales and Southern “stretchers”), it’s a fun and fascinating journey through one of the most brilliant and influential writers in all of contemporary American literature. New stories twice a month! And new episodes every week, with about 45(ish) minutes devoted to the first half of each story, and another 45 minutes (or so) the following week dedicated to all the unexpected twists and turns that lie in store in the back half of each narrative.
This week’s story: Everything That Rises Must Converge! Questions of culture, class, and racial privilege all mix together to reach a boiling point in one of O’Connor’s most enduring short stories, and so we’ve invited Louisiana-based educator Dr. Kris Mecholsky (https://krismecholsky.weebly.com/) — a researcher at LSU who specializes in Crime Fiction Studies, Adaptation Studies, and Southern Studies — to help us make sense of this perfect storm.
