July 2025
Up to my eyeballs in podcast production and purple hooter shooters
Here’s my (try as hard as I can) monthly round-up for those of you who want to learn about or keep up a little more with me and the work that I do. Hope you enjoy.
Season 10 coming soon
Well, you know my news now, and I’m so glad the secret is out! I paused the podcast last year because it needed a creative refresh, and I was unable to do it (or even see what was possible) until I stepped away. Those of you who follow along here know what a difficult decision it was, and I didn’t really know how, or if, I’d pick it up again.
Little by little, ideas percolated in the back of my mind, evolution happened and new sprouts of inspiration began to unfold into meetings, spreadsheets, and new sponsorship partners. I am ready and can’t wait to show you what we’ve been building for this season that promises to be filled with Lowcountry love.
While I’m deep in pre-production mode for the 10th Anniversary Season of The Southern Fork launching this fall, it is still summer, my favorite time of year, so I’m taking big gulps of it whenever I can, from weekday evenings on the beach, and slicing and salting all the tomatoes I can eat, to plenty of gardenia-sniffing and sweaty exercise walks under live oak trees.
I’ve also been working up a storm on some other projects, so let’s get down to it.
Updates
The Southern Fork became an official production studio this spring when I began a contract with SAVEUR as executive producer of the second season of their Place Settings podcast, in partnership with Travel Texas. Our first episode debuted last week, so please give it a listen and subscribe to hear more episodes from Texas, one of my favorite destinations for a great meal!
And during cocktail book research, I found an enclave of 1970s-80s cocktail shooters in the shag community, and I was fascinated by this slice of life. Thankfully editor Erin Perkins of Eater Carolinas also got interested in the idea, and so you can read all about it in “Inside the Wild World of Shag and Shots in North Myrtle Beach.”
Speaking of cocktail books, guess what’s on pre-sale? Cheers!
Other published media I like right now: I dipped into two classic shows this month. Fresh Air’s episode remembering iconic interviewer Bill Moyers (after his recent death) reminded me just why he’s been a go-to teacher in my life. And This American Life’s “Suddenly: A Mirror!” episode reinforced that Ira Glass and team are still some of the best audio story producers out there. They just weave a web and pull you in slowly.
On my mind: always a million things, especially at 3 a.m. … this month — Mark Marhefka of Abundant Seafood. On July 1 while fishing 50 miles off the Charleston coast, his boat, the Amy Marie, was struck by lightning. While all aboard made it back to shore safely, the boat’s electronics and other navigation was fried, which is extremely costly, especially because while he’s landlocked, he’s not earning any income. This trailblazing fisherman has been an outsized influence on The Southern Fork since the day I met him, so if you’d like to help, please click here.
Cooking soundtrack album: Lost on the River, The New Basement Tapes
Best thing I cooked this month: This time of year, I do a lot more salads than stovetop cooking. However, Katie Parla’s Pasta Alla Norma from her book Food of the Italian Islands, was probably the best pasta dish I have ever made (and I even substituted the cheese it calls for). I will try another recipe from this book soon!
Until next time,
Steph