Big Daily Blend

In honor of World Tourism Day, we're at Tiffany's Bed & Breakfast in Bismarck, Arkansas with innkeeper Tiffany Bertram for this Big Blend Radio Success Insider — a stop we make every year, and one that happens to sit right on the historic Jefferson Highway.
Tiffany takes us through her whole path into hospitality: a hotel management degree from UNLV, working her way up from housekeeping to general manager, and a career that carried her through six cities and multiple hotel brands before she and her husband Bob bought a Hot Springs-area bed and breakfast twenty-some years ago — a purchase she almost talked herself out of ("No one would go there").
We get into what actually separates a bed and breakfast from an Airbnb, the daily headaches of online travel agencies, and how AI is already reshaping the back end of small hospitality businesses. Tiffany also shares one of her favorite guest story (the couple with no TV in their room), and her hospitality-adjacent dream job. Plus: the history behind Hot Springs' bathhouses, gangsters, and 4,000-year-old spring water.
Tiffany answers our 10-question Success Insider Q&A too — check it out here:  https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/getting-to-know-innkeeper-tiffany-bertram 
Learn more about Tiffany's B&B: https://www.tiffanysbedandbreakfast.com/ 

Every fourth Sunday, Big Blend Radio's "Music Talks" series brings together host/producer Lisa D. Smith and co-host Joey Stuckey — the award-winning musician, producer, and Macon's own "Music Ambassador." This time, the mic turns toward Joey's own milestone year.
Joey opens up about "Alive Day" — the anniversary of surviving a childhood brain tumor doctors once called inoperable — and the moment his parents reframed it forever: "September 29th is not the day you almost died. It is the day you lived." What began as a quiet family tradition has grown into a free, all-ages concert in downtown Macon, now in its ninth year.
This year's celebration doubles as the grand reopening of Joey's Shadow Sound Studio, newly outfitted with an SSL Origin Evo console, with longtime friend and Wet Willie vocalist Jimmy Hall joining him for a day of recording, a special in-studio taping of Joey's own podcast Stuck on Sound, and a free hour-long concert. It's all part of marking 30 years in the music business — and Joey's got a new record taking shape too, tracked in part at the historic Les Paul Recording Studio in Hollywood. We'll dig into the album itself next month.
Learn more at: https://joeystuckey.com
Listen to more episodes: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/t/joey-stuckey
Photos courtest of Maryann Bates and Matthew Odom.

On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "English Connection" Podcast, Glynn Burrows takes us for a wander through England's forests — ancient and modern, native and man-made — and what a single tree can teach us about history, health, and home.From Sherwood's legendary (and ailing) Major Oak to Thetford's man-made pine forest, from tree-ring dendrochronology to the real origin of the word "underdog," this one covers a lot of ground. Along the way: tree equity and environmental justice in American cities, why a felled tree feels like a genuine loss, cemetery bird-watching, England's Heritage Open Days, and a closing reading of Joyce Kilmer's "Trees." Read the companion article, "England's Ancient Trees: A Personal Tour of Britain's Forests," and check out Glynn's Digital Magazine at the links below. And what a great episode with today (Sept. 26) being National Public Lands Day, Johnny Appleseed Day, and Lumberjack Day! Resource Links: - Article: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/englands-ancient-trees - Check out Glynn's "English Connection" Podcast & Magazine on his website https://www.englishconnection.uk/- Glynn's new English Connection Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61594366433338 

It's World Contraception Day and acclaimed Director/Producer Vaishali Sinha (Made in India and Ask the Sexpert) joins Big Blend Radio to talk about her documentary "Give It A Shot," which follows the decades-long global race to develop the first reversible male contraceptive since the modern condom.
At the center of the story is 83-year-old Indian researcher Dr. Sujoy Guha, who has spent nearly 50 years on the technology, alongside a US-based team working toward the same goal.
Vaishali shares the personal story behind the film, why men currently have only three contraception options compared to more than fifteen for women, and why she believes this conversation matters now more than ever — including for reproductive rights in the US.
Watch the trailer and find screenings near you: https://www.giveitashotfilm.com/  

This shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Historic Jefferson Highway" Show is packed with news from the road. As always, the show features Roger Bell, Co-Host and President of the Jefferson Highway Association, along with host and producer Lisa D. Smith.
Fresh home from the Crossroads of America Centennial Conference in Joplin, Missouri, Roger shares the highlights. The conference marked 100 years since Joplin was promoted as the crossroads of the Jefferson Highway and Route 66, and brought together Route 66 Association members, tourism bureaus, travel writers, classic car clubs, and vintage trailer owners from every state and province on the route.
Hear about CeCe Otto's highway songs, Daniel Hershberger's 1920s tourist camp, 20-year-old Model T enthusiast Ian Borges camping in full period style, a trivia championship, and the pre-conference tour's surprise stop at the tiny post office in Opolis, Kansas. Plus, meet Flat Stinky, the conference's new travel companion.
Roger also announces the 2027 Jefferson Highway Association conference, the association's 14th, coming to St. Cloud, Minnesota, July 19–21, 2027, with a possible post-conference run north toward Itasca State Park, Bemidji, and beyond.
Lisa then announces the launch of the Jefferson Highway Travel Guide, a new monthly digital guide debuting October 1 and publishing the first of every month. The first issue is ad-free and celebrates the members and partners who helped make it happen, with haunted history along the highway, a directory, events, a Google Map for everything featured, and a new column called "The Notables." spotlighting a notable person born that month from each region of the route.
Learn more about the Jefferson Highway Association: https://jeffersonhighway.org/ 
Plan your journey with the Jefferson Highway Travel Guide: https://www.jeffersonhighwaytravelguide.com/ 
Subscribe to the Jefferson Highway Dispatch: https://jeffersonhighwaydispatch.substack.com/ 
The Big Blend Radio "Historic Jefferson Highway" Podcast airs every 4th Thursday. Follow the show at https://jefferson-highway.podbean.com/ 

As America celebrates 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson has been claimed, reshaped, and rejected by every side of the political divide. On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Way Back When" History Show, Lisa D. Smith talks with historian Francis D. Cogliano, professor of American history at the University of Edinburgh. He is co-author with Peter S. Onuf of "Thomas Jefferson Survives: American Independence in His Time and Ours" (Liveright, 2026).
This isn't a typical biography. Built from years of teaching seminars for American school teachers, the book's three essays, "Generations," "My Country," and "The People," look at Jefferson in his real historical context. Frank explains how Franklin Roosevelt and Donald Trump each invoked Jefferson toward very different ends. He talks about why the political left has largely stepped away from him this century, and how Jefferson's "Empire of Liberty" came at the expense of enslaved people and Indigenous nations.
The conversation also goes to the heart of the book. Jefferson believed that "the earth belongs to the living." He thought the Constitution should grow with the country, and that every generation must confront its own challenges instead of being held back by the past. Frank shares the story of Jefferson's lukewarm reaction to Madison's Constitution. He also discusses the powerful slave trade clause Congress deleted from Jefferson's draft of the Declaration, and why Jefferson is "America writ small." Lisa brings in the kitchen table conversations the book sparked, including Jefferson's failings on women and the questions that still surround Sally Hemings.
For Big Blend, the conversation hits close to home. The historic Jefferson Highway, the 1915 auto trail from Winnipeg to New Orleans, was named for Jefferson because it runs through the Louisiana Purchase.
Frank also talks about teaching American history from Scotland and the Whiskey Rebellion podcast he co-hosts with fellow historian David Silkenat.
RESOURCE LINKS:- Thomas Jefferson Survives: https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324098072 - Francis D. Cogliano: https://franciscogliano.com - Check out more history and culture interviews in the Big Blend Media House: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/t/history-and-culture 

Happy World Car Free Day! On this shared episode of Big Blend Radio's "Travel with Terri" Podcast, travel journalist Terri Guthrie kicks off a new series exploring Amtrak's Mardi Gras Train, joined by Knox Ross, Chairman of the Southern Rail Commission.
Terri just rode the full route herself — from New Orleans, through coastal Mississippi, to Mobile, Alabama — and shares what stood out most about slow train travel along the Gulf Coast: the wide seats and legroom, alligator sightings from the window, and the walkable hotel scene waiting at every stop. Knox walks through how the route came back after two decades without Gulf Coast passenger rail service post-Katrina, the Mississippi-led push to fund it, and why it's become one of the highest-rated customer service trains in the entire Amtrak system, with 150,000 riders in its first year.
Along the way: the best places to stay near each station, why downtown Mobile is quietly having a food-and-culture renaissance, what's in the café car, and the Facebook community of Mardi Gras Train superfans already planning their next trip.
This episode kicks off Big Blend Radio's new Mardi Gras Train series — stay tuned for upcoming episodes diving deeper into Bay St. Louis and Mobile.
Links & Resources- Amtrak Mardi Gras Service: https://www.amtrak.com/mardigras - Southern Rail Commission – Mardi Gras Service: https://www.southernrailcommission.org/amtrak-mardi-gras-service 
Listen to Terri's New Orleans Episodes:- The Roosevelt: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/the-roosevelt-new-orleans - Travel New Orleans: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/travel-new-orleans-with-terri 
Keep up with Terri's Podcast & Digital Podcast Magazine at   https://www.travelwithterri.com/ 

It's Fall Y'all in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana! 
Big Blend Radio host/producer Lisa D. Smith is joined by Natalie Roblin of the Avoyelles Commission of Tourism, filling in for regular co-hosts Wilbert Carmouche and Mary Guillory, who are at the Jefferson Highway Conference in Joplin, Missouri. Together they explore why fall is one of the best times to visit the Centre de la Louisiane.
Natalie shares the story of how Marksville got its start with a broken wagon wheel (hence Broken Wheel Brewery), what's happening at Paragon Casino Resort and the Fox Theater, and how fall in Avoyelles is marked by food: home-cooked church dinner plates on Sundays, cochon de lait, sweet potato harvest season, boudin, barbecue, and even gas station breakfasts you won't forget.
Then it's time to roll the windows down. Explore Bunkie Trade Days, Griffin's, Hoover's Five and Dime and the retro full-service gas station along the Jefferson Highway; learn about National Hunting and Fishing Day at the Outdoor Education Center in Woodworth; and discover the Solomon Northup Trail, the Louisiana Colonial Trail, the Zachary Taylor Parkway, and the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area. 
Natalie also shares outdoor favorites including the Big Bend Museum and Sarto Old Iron Bridge, the Big Bend loop (LA 451), Spring Valley WMA, the Tunica-Biloxi Nature Trail, and Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge, plus a Louisiana music playlist of swamp pop and Zydeco.
Events mentioned: National Hunting and Fishing Day (Sept. 26, free, 8:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Woodworth); Couillons of Comedy at the Fox Theater in Marksville (Oct. 3); Bunkie Trade Days (Oct. 3); church dinner plates and fairs throughout the parish in September and October.
Plan your visit: https://TravelAvoyelles.com  Events page: https://TravelAvoyelles.com/events     Last Month's Fall Event Episode: https://www.bigblendmediahouse.com/p/fall-in-avoyelles-parish-louisiana-2026 
New episodes of the Travel Avoyelles Podcast air every 3rd Sunday at 6pm CST on Big Blend Radio. Listen: https://travel-avoyelles.podbean.com/