Murder in Mississippi

About this episode

John Safran discusses his book 'Murder in Mississippi' and the complexities of the crime he investigated.

When Australian comedian John Safran flew to Rankin County, Mississippi to confront a white nationalist named Richard Barrett with a surprise DNA test, he had no idea the man would be killed eleven months later — by a 22-year-old Black neighbor he'd hired to do yard work. Safran returned to Mississippi to write his first true-crime book, expecting a clear-cut story about racism and a perfect victim. What he found instead was something stranger: a town built on things left unspoken, a killer who scammed him for gift cards from jail, and a relationship between victim and killer that defied the assumptions he'd brought with him. Jed talks with Safran about his book "Murder in Mississippi," the ethics of crime reporting, and what an outsider notices about the South that the rest of us miss. John Safran's book is "Murder in Mississippi"   https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mississippi-John-Safran/dp/034913426X Subscribe to our newsletter:  ⁠https://jedlipinski.substack.com/⁠   Connect with Jed Lipinski: ⁠ https://www.instagram.com/gonesouthpodcast/⁠ https://www.facebook.com/groups/gonesouthpodcast/⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/jed-lipinski/

People in this episode

Host: Jed Lipinski

Guest: John Safran

Topics covered

• true crime
• racism
• ethics of crime reporting
• outsider perspective
• Mississippi

Keywords

• John Safran
• Murder in Mississippi
• true crime
• racism
• Mississippi
• Richard Barrett
• crime reporting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Audacy Podcasts

Books & works: Murder in Mississippi

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